As night fell, a thin layer of mist rose from the surface of West Lake.
Lin Qi turned on the desk lamp and opened another video on the computer desktop.
This is the first game of another Western Conference semifinals matchup: San Antonio Spurs vs. Dallas Mavericks.
If the Los Angeles Lakers were crushing the Seattle SuperSonics with their unstoppable talent, then this " Texas derby" was, from the very first game, a chess-like contest that tested both mental agility and tactical execution.
Lin Qi stared intently at the screen. On the screen, the Dallas Mavericks ' offensive formation was spread out wide. The system that Don Nelson had built for this Mavericks team seemed extremely avant-garde for this era. Steve Nash controlled the ball at the top of the arc, with Michael Finley and veteran Glen Rice on either side, while their true tactical core, Dirk Nowitzki, was frequently stretching out to the three-point line to set screens for Nash.
Nowitzki is the nightmare of all traditional defensive systems of this era. A seven-foot center with a shooting guard-like soft shooting touch and three-point range. When he moves to the perimeter, Gregg Popovich faces a very difficult choice.
If Tim Duncan were to guard him outside, the Spurs ' paint would be completely unprotected, and Nash's drives would slice through the defense like a scalpel. If David Robinson were to guard Nowitzki, the near-retirement veteran simply couldn't keep up with the Germany's pace and would be instantly beaten or directly pulled up for a jump shot.
But in the first game of the video, Popovich offered a solution that had been brewing for a long time during the regular season.
When Nowitzki tried to receive the ball above the free-throw line again, Kwame Brown was right next to him.
This young man, whose confidence was completely destroyed by the Chicago media and Kobe last year, and who was even labeled a "bust" second overall pick, is now facing the most important defensive task of his career so far in his first year of rebirth in San Antonio.
Based on Lin Qi's understanding of Kwame Brown, this big man is actually not stupid at all; he has no problem with normal tactical positioning and communication. His real weakness is his poor "basketball IQ" and his ability to read the game.
This is a common problem for almost all talented players who skip college and enter the NBA directly from high school. In high school, they only need to rely on their superior athleticism to overwhelm everyone, without needing to understand concepts like strong-side and weak-side transitions or defensive rotations. But when they skip the rigorous NCAA system, which emphasizes tactical awareness and team discipline, and go directly into the highly commercialized NBA, disaster strikes.
In this league, there are very few teams that truly possess tactical awareness, patience, and the willingness to teach players fundamental skills from scratch. Most head coaches face the risk of being fired every day; they prefer players who can contribute immediately rather than mentoring a rookie who has just turned eighteen and can't even choose the right pick-and-roll angle.
Fortunately, Kwame Brown arrived in San Antonio last summer.
In Lin Qi's view, there are probably only a handful of teams in the entire league that truly possess an "academic" foundation, maintaining a strong academic atmosphere and patient coaching environment similar to college basketball, and the two most representative teams among them...
These are the Boston Celtics coached by Rick Carlisle and the San Antonio Spurs under Popovich's leadership.
Throughout the entire regular season in San Antonio, Kwame Brown didn't have to face the relentless jeers of the Chicago media, nor the suffocating pressure from his superstar teammates. Popovich didn't demand that he master any complex offensive pivot tactics, and David Robinson, the " The Admiral " at the end of his career, became the most perfect, patient, and knowledgeable interior mentor in the league.
During the eighty-two games that honed his skills, David Robinson practically taught the young man step by step.
It was this extreme patience and academic-style coaching, which broke down the most basic movements, that reshaped Kwame Brown's defensive habits and helped him regain his confidence.
Therefore, when Popovich put him on the court to guard Nowitzki in this game, he didn't give him any complicated defensive rotations. Popovich's instructions were simple and straightforward: ignore the tactics, ignore where the ball is, just keep an eye on Dirk Nowitzki. Use your height to disrupt his shooting vision, use the defensive techniques David taught you to deal with him, fouls don't matter, just don't let him jump easily.
Kwame Brown executed the instruction perfectly.
In the video footage, he stuck to Nowitzki like glue. His amazing lateral speed made it difficult for Nowitzki to break through easily, and when Nowitzki was forced to choose a difficult fadeaway in the confrontation, Kwame Brown no longer blindly jumped to get faked out like he did during his time with the Chicago Bulls. Instead, he remembered David Robinson's teachings and simply stretched out his long arms, using his static size to create interference.
Kwame Brown effectively neutralized Nowitzki, completely freeing up Tim Duncan.
Tim Duncan returned to his most familiar central position in the paint. When Nash tried to drive into the paint using a screen, he was facing Tim Duncan. And when the aging Mutombo tried to attack under the basket, he found that his fakes couldn't fool Tim Duncan at all.
After stabilizing their defense, the Spurs displayed remarkable consistency on offense. Tim Duncan repeatedly punished Mavericks Mavericks' weak interior defense with simple bank shots in the low post, and when double-teamed, he quickly passed the ball to Bowen or Steve Smith in the corner.
The game ended, Spurs secured a comfortable first victory at home.
Kwame Brown's performance in this match was truly impressive.
Lin Qi closed his laptop. He leaned back in his bamboo chair and rubbed his slightly sore temples.
Don Nelson's team certainly has a fierce offensive firepower. If the Mavericks can get into good form at home, they'll definitely be able to snatch two or three wins. But their defense is too weak.
As the series progresses and the game enters the final, most intense moments, even the most beautiful jump shot will eventually become ineffective due to fatigue. At that point, Tim Duncan's machine-like consistency and the Spurs' rigorous defensive discipline will slowly wear down the Mavericks, like a frog being slowly boiled in water.
The Western Conference Finals will most likely be between the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs.
Both of these teams have already established a significant gap in roster depth and tactical execution compared to other teams in the league.
Lin Qi stood up, letting the night breeze from West Lake caress his face.
Tim Duncan is in amazing form this year.
Which of these two teams will make it to the NBA Finals?