The first game of the Western Conference showdown between the Spurs and the Grizzlies has officially begun!

The starting lineup on the Grizzlies' side didn't surprise everyone, and it was still their familiar lineup:

Center: Marc Gasol

Power forward: Zach Randolph

Small forward: Tayshaan Prince

Shooting Guard: Tony Allen

Point guard: Mike Conley

This lineup is really a standard defensive formation, Gasol Jr., Prince and Tony Allen are all capable of competing for the "best defensive player", Conley's defensive level is also above average, although Randolph used to leave people with the impression of "cancer", but if he gets serious, do you think the big piece of meat defense is a joke?

The Spurs' lineup for today is a little bit different.

Centre: Hassan Whiteside

Power forward: Boris Dio

Small forward: Kawhi Leonard

Scoring guard: Qin Yan

Point guard: Tony Parker

Parker returned to the starting lineup today, and it is estimated that the old coach thinks that Parker will have no problem carrying Conley, and there are still two old monsters on the opposite side, Carter and Miller, and Maddie and Ginobili are considered to have met opponents today.

What the? Who is Miller? This Mike Miller is not simple, the hero of the Heat's 12-year championship, the man who made 7 of 8 three-pointers in the Finals! This season in the Grizzlies, Miller shot 48% from three-point range! It's the quintessential marksman!

However, when the Grizzlies saw that the Spurs' starting power forward was actually Dio, they were also a little stunned, huh? What is this for? I didn't hear Duncan couldn't fight!

Looking at Duncan sitting on the bench in his coat, obviously a substitute rather than an injury, the Grizzlies are a little unhappy, even if our strength is not as good as yours, you don't have to be so humiliating, right?

Randolph looked at his opponent with some ill will, well, it looks very similar to himself, it's just a little smaller.

Dior really wants to kill Qin Yan now, it's all you, now it's okay, I'm going to be unlucky!

Who knew that Qin Yan, who was standing on the edge of the middle circle, actually gave him a thumbs up, that meaning is obvious, I am optimistic about you!

Whiteside and Gasol Jr. jumped the ball, there was really no accident with this, Gasol Jr. jumped up and didn't even have the height of two bricks stacked, how could he grab the jumping man Whiteside?

Parker gets the ball and dribbles forward slowly, the Grizzlies are the opponent, and now the style of play is very similar to the Spurs many years ago, like to fall into the ground and like to solve problems with defense.

But what the Spurs are most afraid of is actually this kind of positional battle, there are a lot of people in the team who can play positional battles, and everyone knows how to control the tempo.

The Spurs were in position, Whiteside went to the position and Gasol Jr. one-on-one, Dior pulled Randolph out a little, and the rest stayed on the outside.

Oh? If you look like this, is it intended that Whiteside will eat Gasol Jr. first?

Whiteside was in position, Parker gave the ball, and there was no hesitation at all.

Gasol Jr. is heavy and a little taller, and he sticks directly to Whiteside to prevent him from moving, because Whiteside is an athletic center, and he is very fast under the basket, and if he is not careful, he will use his speed to pass and then watch him dunk!

So little Gasol first kept him from moving.

As soon as Whiteside received the ball, he felt a wall behind him directly pasted it, which made him very unfamiliar, he was originally going to make a feint and then turn around and break through, but now the feint can't be done at all, and it is blocked.

If you can't turn around, give this a try.

Because today's Spurs' tactic is to be sure to open the inside line, so this first ball Whiteside can't escape, he leaned heavily behind him, and then used the reaction force behind him to turn over and shoot directly!

Gasol Jr. guessed what he was going to do the moment Whiteside hit him hard (after all, Gasol Jr. defended well), but there was no particularly big gap in the strength of the two.

Raise his arms high and try his best to block Whiteside's sight, although Gasol Jr. knew that this might not do much to Whiteside, but he was betting, betting that Whiteside had not mastered this trick and could not be used as a conventional weapon.

Luckily, he got it right.

Whiteside's turnaround jumper smashed out of the basket, and Randolph pressed Dior, arching his ass to push him out two steps, and then unhurriedly accepted the rebound.

"It's a pity!"

Qin Yan and the others felt that it was a pity, Whiteside's turn-over mid-range shot just now was very good, and he already had the feeling that a technical center used this move, but it was a pity that he practiced this move too late, and he wouldn't be proficient in using it, otherwise, he would definitely be able to throw it just now.

Whiteside himself feels a pity, this trick was specially learned by him at the suggestion of the coach, and his current score, in addition to relying on various empty catches and explosive dunks, is good at directly making baskets and hitting the back to break through.

In other words, in fact, his main range is still based on the penalty area, although he can occasionally score one or two in the middle distance, but he is not allowed.

In order to improve his offensive threat, Popovich specially let him learn to turn over and jump shots, as long as he combines the back singles with this move, then his offensive methods will be many different in the future, after the back, he can break through and shoot, so that the opponent is unguardable.

Being able to attack and defend, this is what Popovich expects from Whiteside.

Obviously, he is still far from meeting the mark.

And Gasol Jr., although he is known for his defense, but in terms of offensive skills on the inside, he is much better than Whiteside, and he is a traditional center in the true sense.

The Grizzlies attacked, Gasol Jr. was in place, and Conley passed the ball directly without saying a word.

"I won't let you in."

Whiteside is confident in his defense, and he believes he can keep Gasol Jr. at bay!

Gasol Jr. turned his back, held the basketball in the air with both hands, and turned his head slightly to look at Whiteside's position.

Hmm, the center of gravity is pressed very low, does that mean that I won't be allowed to turn around?

The corners of Gasol's mouth hooked, it seems that everyone thinks I can't attack? Is it true that I can't score without turning around?

Squeezed sideways to the inside line, did not squeeze Whiteside, but little Gasol was unmoved, it is normal to not be able to squeeze away, and he didn't intend to squeeze away like this, he took a small jump with the trend, stretched out his right hand to slightly separate Whiteside, held the basketball high at his side with his left hand, shook his wrist, and directly used the sideways hook!

Whiteside felt that something was not quite right after blocking Gasol Jr.'s hard squeeze, and when he saw that he had jumped a small step, he hurriedly stepped forward to prepare to block, but Gasol Jr. protected himself very well, and his outstretched big hand prevented him from getting close, so he could only watch Gasol Jr. score the ball with a hook hand!

Tsk, this hook, the center who can hook is cheating!

Whiteside patted his hands in annoyance, thinking that he must also practice hook hands in the future, otherwise, it would be too embarrassing!