Before the start of Game 3, while reviewing the video of the first two games with the Spurs staff, Popovich suddenly fell silent.

To describe Qin Yue's performance, Spurs assistant coach Budenholzer used a specific term:

— Explosive creativity.

In the first two games, just looking at technical stats, Qin Yue only totaled 16 assists.

On some nights in this era, that's merely a game worth of data for Steve Nash.

"He influences our defense every possession, whether it's by passing, setting screens, or coordinating hand-offs with teammates. These on-court performances that cannot be captured in technical statistics have ultimately become the key for the Warriors to break our zone defense on the court. If we can't use tougher defense to curb his play, then in this series, we can only try to increase our three-point output to match the Warriors' perimeter firepower."

While carefully observing the on-court details of Qin Yue through video, there was a moment when Popovich even thought Qin Yue dominated the first two games.

Yes, truly dominated in the literal sense.

Although this kind of dominance has the objective factor of referees not allowing Spurs to exert tough confrontations, Qin Yue's offensive influence on the court still deeply shocked Popovich and his staff team.

Such a player should not appear in this era.

In the NBA, there are indeed big men proficient in facilitating and good at breaking the zone defense.

But none can compare with Qin Yue.

Qin Yue has a shooting range extending beyond the three-point line, which forces the Spurs' defense to move up as the Warriors use him as the core to break the zone.

However, from the three-point line to the basket, he can initiate an attack on the rim with just three big steps, so once the Spurs' defense moves up, they inevitably have to face another conflicting dilemma:

— Who will guard the basket that will face the impact of Qin Yue?

"His ability to read the game is really astounding, which allows him to effortlessly create scoring opportunities for both himself and his teammates during games."

After several hours of replaying the game, Budenholzer concluded.

"At the current defensive intensity, no NBA team can limit him, and terrifyingly, all his teammates benefit from his excellent performance."

This was a disheartening review.

Because it meant that the Spurs, who could keep opponents' average three-point attempts below 11 per game during the regular season...

Currently cannot use their defense to limit the Warriors' perimeter shots.

Fortunately, Popovich's stubbornness successfully alleviated the despair already permeating the entire conference room.

"Let's find some of the Warriors' losing game videos to analyze. After all, in those winning games, which superstar wasn't Michael Jordan?"

The Spurs staff found Popovich's words very sensible.

Thus, after spending several more hours replaying the games the Warriors lost during the regular season, the weaknesses that were not discovered by the Spurs think tank before the start of the Western Conference Semifinals became clear and apparent to everyone's eyes.

Is Qin Yue a flawless player?

Of course not.

Are the Warriors a team without weaknesses?

How could that be?

Through research, the Spurs staff discovered that Qin Yue indeed possesses explosive creativity, but he cannot impose his explosive creativity on the team night after night in every game.

"Our strategy was wrong from the beginning," Popovich said.

Budenholzer nodded and said, "It's not too late to discover now; the series has just begun."

Finally, Popovich did not forget to complain, "It's all David Stern's fault. If it weren't for his scheming against us, how could we be trailing 2-0?"

The Spurs had found the answers they were looking for.

Now, it's time for the defending champions to strike back.

Two days later, at Oracle Arena.

Amid the awe-inspiring golden tide, the Spurs won Game 3 with a score of 114 to 105.

To match the Warriors' perimeter firepower, the Spurs took a total of 25 three-point shots in this game and made 14 of them.

Duncan, who had previously scored 31 points, 20 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks for the Spurs in Game 2, only managed 17 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks in this game.

Parker scored 28 points, 7 assists, and 3 rebounds for the Spurs, becoming the hero of the night for their victory.

A day later, still at Oracle Arena.

The Spurs once again extinguished the golden wave and won Game 4 with a score of 110 to 102.

In this game, the Spurs attempted a total of 27 three-pointers, and although they only made 10 of them, more three-point attempts indeed created more expansive offensive space for Ginobili and Parker.

Duncan's performance remained mediocre in this game.

He totaled only 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block in the entire game.

After Game 4, in an interview, Popovich, now relieved, said, "This is the charm of basketball. I thought we were close to being eliminated, but now, we're back on even terms with the Warriors."

According to the 22111 format of the Western Conference Semifinals, the Warriors, having their home court continuously breached by the Spurs, will visit San Antonio again with the series tied at 2-2.

From the joy of leading 2-0 to the shock of being tied 2-2 by the Spurs, the Bay Area fans have always silently supported this team from behind.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.