I was determined to be bad, but I went straight to the Basketball Hall of Fame

Chapter 497
Another Mars-to-Earth collision between the Thunder and the Clippers.

Tonight, all the Clippers played, and Jeremy Lin sat back on the bench.

Facing the Thunder, Tyronn Lue is still the main player. If he plays the three guards, he will definitely be beaten to death by Durant.

Therefore, the Clippers still used the starters of Gasol Jr., Randolph, Paul George, Harden and Curry.

Although Ricky Davis returned from injury, his starting position has been replaced by the younger Paul George.

In this way, Ricky Davis can return to his more familiar second position as a substitute, instead of facing monsters in the third position like James and Durant every night.

Paul George is getting better and better, and he is getting more and more confident. The air cuts and positioning shots on the offensive end, as well as the good positioning and defense ability on the defensive end, make the Clippers have always been the weak third position and found the answer.

Of course, Leonard and Butler are still sitting on the Clippers bench.

Tyronn Lue did not make Leonard and Butler completely supporting roles because of George's rise.

On the contrary, he thoroughly implemented Min Congda's strategic thinking of "everyone has the ball to play", and often gave the two a lot of playing time.

The Clippers coaching staff collectively decided that with one James and one Durant in the east and west, the Clippers must have enough talent reserves at the third position to accumulate capital for future competition with the Cavaliers and Thunder.

Therefore, both Leonard and Butler are excellent small forwards worth cultivating.

Everyone agreed that General Manager Min Congda had a far-sighted vision and chose such three outstanding No. [-] positions. The coaching staff must not let down the painstaking efforts of the general manager and train them well!

Facing the Thunder in this scene, Tyronn Lue knew that Durant was definitely the one to focus on, so a wheel war was inevitable.

In this regard, Mike Dunleavy, as the team's basketball consultant, gave a lot of pointers.

I think the Portland Trail Blazers were a bunch of high-quality strikers who took turns serving Shaquille O'Neal.

At that time, the Blazers also made a mistake, that is, with Jermaine O'Neal, they did not train him well and let him sit on the bench for several years.

In the end, O'Neal was taken away by the Pacers and grew into an All-Star forward, the core player of the team.

Dunleavy believes that the Clippers must learn this lesson, and these young people must be well trained. Maybe they can raise a small O'Neal?

As for the Pacers, Larry Bird has always wanted to get Paul George, thinking about trading with the Clippers.

The Clippers completely ignored it, how could they make the same mistake again?
Min Congda wanted to trade, but the system didn't allow it!

On the other side, the Thunder also played with all their members.

Sefolosha, who was absent from the Clippers game before, returned to this game.

In this way, Eric Gordon returned to the bench and made the Thunder's second unit more dynamic.

Both sides are healthy and fully staffed, and the battle is imminent.

As soon as the game started, the Thunder at home took the lead, and Westbrook made an emergency stop jumper after the pick-and-roll.

The Thunder's offense is as simple and crisp as ever, and the core is to revolve around Durant Westbrook, so that the scoring ability of the two of them can be fully utilized.

Then on the bench, Eric Gordon can be a supplement.

This season, Westbrook's mid-range jumper has greatly improved.

Although his shooting posture is not good-looking, it is quite stiff.

Throwing himself into the air after the jump, there's a forward-leaning release that's disjointed.

However, Westbrook seems to have excellent physical fitness. When he throws himself in the air, it is difficult for opponents to interfere with him.

This kind of abundant leg strength gave him a good shot space.

The first ball was hit, and then the Thunder blocked Harden's jumper in defense.

The Thunder counterattacked quickly, and it was Westbrook again, holding the ball and running all the way, reaching the basket and dunking with one hand!
Westbrook started with one shot and one dunk, quickly filling the atmosphere at home.

The Energy Solutions Center is naturally full tonight. The two teams are currently ranked second and third in the Western Division, and it is very likely that they will meet again in the playoffs.

The three tigers are competing, and two of them must meet in advance in the semifinals. The Thunder definitely regard the Clippers as the first potential opponent to deal with.

The Clippers looked a little soft at the beginning, which is also their old problem. It is easy to dig holes in the first quarter.

It's not because the players are in poor condition, but because of the Clippers' lineup and style of play. They must not have been so determined at the start.

Because there are too many players who can attack.

You can play around Curry, you can play around Harden, you can also play around Gasol and Randolph.

Then how to fight?In theory, it should be the head coach to decide.

But as a rookie coach, Tyronn Lue made a "weak" decision: whoever has a good game will play!

This caused the Clippers to play loose at the beginning, you come and I will play, and whoever has a good effect and a good state in the end will focus on him.

What if everyone is fine?Then there is a high probability of crushing the opponent in this game.

If the state is average, don't be afraid, there are many people who can play on the Clippers bench.

Steve Kerr can form at least five lineups on the court, and he is not afraid of any strong team in the NBA!
The Clippers now have such confidence. They are taking a road that is difficult for other teams-the last team that can take this road has to go back 50 years. In the 1960s, the eight consecutive championships Celtic period.

Of course, the Clippers' coaching staff and players themselves don't know very well, they just want to play well and win seriously.

The Thunder quickly took the lead at the start and beat the Clippers to an 8:2 spurt.

The Clippers did not suspend, and Tyronn Lue has now learned to let the players solve their own problems.

Min Congda looked at the Clippers trailing by 6 points, but he was not happy at all.

"What's the use of this point difference, Lei Ting, you guys didn't hit hard enough, use more strength!"

The Thunder haven't exerted their strength yet, and the Clippers finally exerted their strength.

James Harden broke through on the left with the ball, and took advantage of Sefolosha's defensive miss to reach the basket and make a layup!
With this ball, Gasol Jr. and Randolph completely emptied the basket, creating enough room for Harden to break through.

Gasol Jr. and Randolph's medium-to-long-range shooting ability made the Thunder's inside line a bit overwhelmed.

Perkins is the key to the Thunder's defense, but it is also a big hole in their defense.

If you switch to a team that generally has Gasol and Randolph as the core, it will definitely start a hand-to-hand battle with the Thunder.

Perkins vs. Randolph, Ibaka went to pounce on Gasol Jr., a high-intensity inside battle.

As a result, the Clippers players are very smart. After playing for a while, they realized, why should I fight you hand-to-hand?
Perkins, you are a tough guy at the basket, you are a slow weight when you run out of the three-second zone, and you can't go back.

After Harden succeeded in breaking through, Curry immediately used a high double screen to reach the basket and hit a throw.

Perkins is very uncomfortable, to come out or not to come out?

Come out, the inner line is empty.

Not coming out, Randolph picks and rolls and receives a pass from Curry, making a mid-range jumper.

The Clippers immediately responded to the Thunder with a 6:0, tying the score to 8:8.

The Clippers players are very capable of self-adjustment.

Of the five starting players, at least three have very high basketball IQs.

There are two left, one is experienced, and the other is a support, although he is stunned.

Paul George has been pestering Durant since the beginning. Anyway, he doesn't need to hold the ball on the offensive end, and he goes all out on the defensive end.

On the field, the two seemed to be dancing face to face. Wherever Durant went, George followed him, and Durant was not given the opportunity to easily catch the ball and attack.

Halfway through the first quarter, the Clippers gradually reversed the situation on the court and led the Thunder by 16 points at 12:4.

"Damn it, Brooks is an idiot, don't you know how to make some adjustments? Why should a colander like Perkins be put on the court? He is fat and ugly? Such a player should be traded! What's the use of keeping it? ? The offensive end is four against five, and the defensive end is targeted against the small and the big... hey~"

Min Congda was anxious, Lei Ting's performance really made an expert like Min Congda look hopeless.

If players like Perkins were still useful last season, then almost from this season, Perkins' role will become smaller and smaller.

Now there are no low-post monsters in the league, and Perkins' strong low-post defense is just a display.

And he moves slowly, and the problem of offensive lameness will gradually be magnified.

It's okay to play other teams, and other teams are still in transition.

It's okay to play the Lakers, because the Lakers have a slow Bynum.

But playing the Clippers is really not good. Since the middle of the season, the Clippers have become faster and faster, and the offensive end has become more and more outside.

In the middle of the first quarter, the Clippers made a substitution. Tyronn Lue replaced his favorite player Jeremy Lin and directly replaced Randolph to speed up the game.

This substitution was unexpected by many people, but it was a trick given by Steve Kerr-the classic one big, four small and three guards.

Can't play Paul George, because George wants to defend Durant.

With Randolph, Ibaka and Perkins are further dislocated and unable to play.

The Thunder still use the original lineup, how can Perkins defend on the defensive end?What about the offensive end?
As soon as Jeremy Lin came up, he opened all four directions. George cut to the basket and received a pass from Gasol for a layup.

Jeremy Lin teamed up to pinch Durant, Durant forcibly missed the shot, and the Clippers got a backcourt rebound and counterattacked.

Curry quickly crossed the half court, passed the ball obliquely to Harden, Harden threw it high again, George followed, jumped high, and succeeded in an alley-oop dunk with both hands!
The Thunder had to call a timeout, and Perkins was really a side effect on the court.

Brooks has a headache, this is only the first quarter, how can he play later?
And this is still the regular season, what about the playoffs?
In the regular season last season, Perkins was targeted at this point.

It's just that last season, Randolph played a lot on the offensive end.

Perkins still has a big role.

Well now, Harden and Curry have grown further, and the Clippers no longer rely on Randolph's low-post offense.

The Thunder had nothing to gain in the summer, and they didn't make any moves before the trade deadline, because Perkins simply couldn't be sold.

Who wants this kind of dinosaur from the last era?

Replaced Perkins, replaced Collison, the problem came again.

The Clippers began to focus on the point of Gasol Jr.

Gasol Jr. moved from the high position to the low position, and forced Ibaka with his back.

In the second half of the first quarter, Gasol Jr. made consecutive low-post turnaround jumpers.

The Clippers gradually opened up the score, 22:16, and the Thunder's advantage only lasted for half a quarter.

With 4 minutes left in the first quarter, Durant finally received a pass from his teammate and made a mid-range jumper.

George followed Durant for most of the quarter, and there will eventually be times when his physical fitness will not support him.

But at this time, the Clippers began to make substitutions.

Leonard came on and replaced Paul George.

Before his debut, Tyronn Lue whispered to Leonard on the sidelines, telling him to continue to entangle Durant in defense.

Leonard nodded, appeared expressionless, and silently came to Durant.

Durant sighed, thinking that if I don't show off my power, I really think I'm easy to deal with, right?

Then on the Thunder's next drive, Durant drove past Leonard and got a steal...

Leonard snatched the ball from Durant abruptly, and the Clippers counterattacked!
Although still a rookie, although he only played about 20 minutes per game, Leonard still averaged 1.4 steals per game.

If converted to 36 minutes, Leonard can average 2.1 steals per game, which is quite high for a rookie third position. He can contribute a high-quality steal every game and give the opponent Apply a lot of pressure.

In the counterattack, the Clippers made a fast break on the third line. Jeremy Lin rushed to the basket and missed a layup, but Leonard followed up and made a tip-up.

Jeremy Lin's speed and awareness of holding the ball are very strong, but his finishing ability is average, but he dares to hold the ball to the basket and take the lead, which puts considerable defensive pressure on the opponent.

"Jeremy Lin is so daring to rush? With his eyes closed, he can still average 20 points per game. This NBA team is really hopeless. If I were to be the coach, I would have nine ways to let him Can't get up!"

Min Congda watched Jeremy Lin play like a fish in water and become Tyronn Lu's confidant general, feeling uncomfortable in his heart.

It's fine to help the Clippers keep winning, but also create a "Linsanity" to further increase the Clippers' national popularity.

Michael Key and Jordan Peele are already preparing to make a sports documentary related to Jeremy Lin, and continue to help the Clippers gain popularity!
Min Congda can't control them now, let them go, they can't stop them, they can only let them go.

In fact, Jeremy Lin's recent performance has gradually declined.

Every team started to play targeted defense on him.

But Jeremy Lin is not the only Clippers. In terms of pure strength, Jeremy Lin is not ranked.

An unranked substitute makes the opponent spend so much energy to target, so how do you deal with other Clippers players?

After being intercepted by Leonard, Durant turned around and was about to hit Leonard again.

This time he chose to break through the middle after the crossover, and then made an emergency stop and hit a mid-range jumper.

With Durant's abnormal direction-changing ability and his height and wingspan, once this move is felt, it is impossible to guard against it.

But if the whole game is such a single-handedly difficult goal, Durant must be exhausted.

He needs the opportunity to catch the ball in transition, he needs the c&s after the run, he needs some fast break goals, he needs the comfortable post-up after the low catch, and he needs easy ball.

And these are things the Clippers don't want him to easily grab.

Leonard's defensive style is slightly different from George's. George's aggression is not so strong.

Leonard, on the other hand, is obviously more adventurous, more aggressive, and more daring to strike and take off.

Therefore, Leonard's blocks are slightly more than George's, but George's defense is more active.

In short, the two have their own characteristics, and both are excellent defenders at the third position.

At a young age, he showed great energy in the confrontation with Durant.

At the end of the first quarter, Durant only scored 4 points and made 5 of 2 shots. He didn't play very well.

This made Durant very depressed. After all, he was alone, and the two guys on the opposite side were fighting with each other, which was annoying.

In the last game against the Clippers, it was still Ricky Davis who defended him. It was much easier to play against Davis.

When Kevin Durant reappeared in the second quarter, he was going to face another desperate Saburo of the Clippers-Jimmy Butler.

Durant is destined to suffer from the Clippers' front line's tough defense in turns, referred to as: round tough.

(End of this chapter)