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

Chapter 522 Just Fight Like This!

The Clippers have met their opponents in this round of the series.

After all, the Spurs were old in the first round, but the Thunder were defeated in the second round.

Now judging from the lineup and experience, the Lakers are more restrained against the Clippers.

How can two 09 young men in the backcourt respond adequately to a 183-year-old man who is the second-best shooting guard in history?

After all, the playoffs are still the battlefield of superstars. The Clippers have superstar embryos, but they are not mature enough.

Curry has grown into one of the best perimeter scorers in the league this season.

His precise three-pointers and maverick super long-range shooting skills are amazing.

Already extremely popular among young fans in California, jersey sales are evidence of that.

He is like a raging fire on the court, and he can quickly burn the opponent's Nets with meteor-like three-pointers.

And he has a crucial position in the Clippers' perimeter offensive tactical system.

However, his stability needs to be improved, and his defense needs to be strengthened.

Harden and Curry complement each other, with comprehensive skills, wisdom and calm.

He believes that slow is fast, makes good use of the time difference, has a strong body, and has a strong ability to digest the ball.

Although the appearance is rough, in fact, the style is delicate and smart, and he is good at using rules.

When he was on the court, he was as quiet as water, and with Harden in the Clippers, the offense was very stable.

The disadvantages are also the lack of stability, the defensive speed is not fast enough, and the aggressiveness is average.

During the intermission, Tyronn Lu was making tactical deployments, and he kept flipping through the little note Min Congda left him.

But these notes were all left over from the last round of thunder.

Before the Western Conference Finals, Min Congda did not hold a preparatory meeting with the coaching staff.

Without Min Congda's guidance, everything became blurred.

The coaching staff discussed for a long time, but did not give an exact coping strategy, only a general direction.

However, based on Tyronn Lue and Steve Kerr's understanding of Jackson, they can roughly guess the strategy the Lakers will implement.

Jackson will definitely shrink his gambling skills, and Jackson will definitely make the best use of the personal abilities of Paul and Kobe.

At the end of the first half, Jackson's strategy worked. If the Clippers want to reverse the situation, they must first make a damn three-pointer.

If you can't score a goal, all your efforts will be in vain.

"We only hit two three-pointers in the entire first half. We must be more determined in our shots! If we miss the shot, the Lakers will further shrink their defense and give the opponent more opportunities for quick counterattacks. The three-pointer is our goal. lifeline, as well as offensive rebounds, everyone must be involved in the offensive rebounds."

Tyronn Lue arranged a more risky move in the midfield, which was to rush to the frontcourt rebound.

The Lakers are old and the Clippers are young, and hitting offensive rebounds sometimes has unexpected effects.

Of course, there are also side effects. Once the rebound is firmly protected by the opponent, the opponent's counterattack will be more fierce.

After all, the energy is focused on rushing to grab offensive rebounds, and retreating will be greatly affected.

Near the end of halftime, Kerr asked Tyronn Lue: "Is it too risky to go for the offensive rebound?"

Tyronn Lu said: "We are the younger and more impactful one, it is worth a try."

"But ... the Lakers don't make low-level mistakes like this. They have good rebound protection."

"I know, but we still have to rely more on the state of Curry and Harden. They have to deal with Kobe and Paul well."

"It's not a level that can be achieved overnight... We should have adjusted more in the second half."

"I will wait until the game is in progress...Mr. Smart doesn't know what he's thinking, why doesn't he seem to pay so much attention to the Western Conference Finals? He obviously made full preparations with everyone in the semifinals."

Tyronn Lu couldn't help complaining that the semi-finals had been well prepared because of Min Congda's participation.

It's not that what Min Congda said is all right, but that there is such an unwavering backbone, and everything is arranged very properly and firmly.

Everyone will play in accordance with the strategies and tactics prepared before the game, disintegrate the Thunder from many aspects on and off the court, and finally easily kill the powerful opponent.

Now that they met the more sophisticated Lakers, Min Congda did not participate in the meeting. Tyronn Lu called Min Congda, and Min Congda said he was busy.

Min Congda also said, "I spend millions of dollars a year to invite you here to coach this team well. If you let me participate in the preparation meeting, will you share some of your money with me?"

Tyronn Lue wanted to say that he would share half with you, but he still held back after thinking about it.

In fact, he didn't know, if he said it, Min Congda would really come to help him make tactical preparations.

Without the backbone, Tyronn Lue and Kerr are double-headed coaches. In theory, the final decision rests with Tyronn Lue. In fact, Cole has a lot of say in the offense.

But this guy Cole didn't speak when preparing for the game, saying that everything was left to Tyronn Lu to decide, which made Director Lu feel uneasy.

He thought to himself, Cole wouldn't trip him up in the Western Conference Finals, would he?Deliberately working without effort, want the Clippers to lose?
If the Clippers lose in the Western Conference Finals, Tyronn Lue will definitely be criticized, and it is hard to say whether he will dismiss get out of class.

After all, last season was the Western Conference finals. If this season continues to stand still, it will not look good after all.

After a tough first round and a confident second round, the Clippers hope to go one step further.

With an uneasy mood, Tyronn Lue returned to the playing field with the players, ready to start the third quarter.

The Clippers have always been very strong in the third quarter, and they often beat their opponents through the third quarter in the regular season.

Because in the third quarter, the intensity will go up a notch.

After adapting in the first half, the state came out in the third quarter.

But the Clippers made a mistake as soon as they came up in the third quarter.

The pick-and-roll of Gasol and Curry, passing the ball down, was destroyed by Gerald Wallace.

Kobe took the ball to control the speed, and suddenly made a lob pass to Bynum who cut inside.

Bynum asked for the ball deep in the basket, and Gasol had to foul it, otherwise it would have been an easy dunk.

The third quarter got off to a bad start. Tyronn Lue, whose butt was still hot on the bench, stood up anxiously and watched the game from the sidelines.

He didn't have the patience of Zen master Jackson, sitting on the bench motionless from beginning to end, that kind of calmness is not something everyone has.

Cole looked at Tyronn Lu's anxious look, and felt a subtle sense of comfort in his heart.

Although the relationship between the two has long been eased and the daily cooperation is not bad, they cannot be true friends and collaborators after all.

Cole is ambitious, and the Clippers are a springboard for him.

If the Clippers can enter the finals and win the championship, it will be a good thing for him.

But if he can't make it to the finals and stay where he is, then he may replace Tyronn Lue as the head coach.

So he and Tyronn Lue have always had a cooperative and competitive relationship.

After working together for more than half a season, he found that Tyronn Lue's main skills are all focused on interpersonal relationships and emotional intelligence.

He has a very good relationship with the Clippers players, especially Harden. It is said that Harden is a kid who sings and sings every night under the leadership of Tyronn Lue.

Fortunately, this guy is young and strong, otherwise he has to train, play games, and indulge in pleasure, how can he bear it?

The whole team pursues a 12-man rotation, and Tyronn Lue can be said to have the rain and dew evenly, so that every player can get a chance to play.

This is unique in the NBA, allowing both main stars and role players to play team basketball in peace.

Even for the San Antonio Spurs, thorns appear in the team from time to time, and Popovich's handling strategy is to send them all away.

Tyronn Lue can hold the whole team together, of course he knows that there is a Smart behind him, and this general manager is the ballast stone of the Clippers.

But apart from this advantage, in terms of tactical thinking and on-the-spot command, Tyronn Lupine is unremarkable and has no bright spots.

During the regular season, Tyronn Lue often called a timeout, and Cole took the tactical board to make command arrangements.

Both parties gradually got used to this mode of cooperation.

But in this game, Cole suddenly stopped talking and handed it over to Tyronn Lue.

In the third quarter, the Clippers did not hit a counterattack climax and quickly narrowed the point difference.

On the contrary, the Lakers still maintained pressure on the Clippers, and Paul and Kobe also entered the state.

The two took turns to attack with the ball, and it was really difficult for the Clippers' defense to suppress the combination of the two.

What's more terrible is that the Clippers' three-pointer still didn't open in the third quarter.

Outside George, and even Gasol Jr. tried long-range three-pointers, all of which missed.

Curry was still entangled by Paul. He kept harassing Curry with small movements, making Curry unable to comfortably catch, dribble, and shoot.

And Harden seemed to be afraid when facing Kobe, shooting and passing the ball, he felt a little timid.

After all, Kobe is famous. When he became famous, Harden and Curry were still children, and they grew up watching Kobe play in front of the TV.

Kobe was in pretty good shape tonight, with a high shooting percentage on the offensive end. Although the defensive end was not as aggressive as when he was young, the trash talk was always output to Harden.

Kobe's trash talk is not swearing, but constantly provoking and belittling Harden, thinking that Harden is not good, he can't make the next shot, you dare not break through, you can't guard me, etc.

Harden's character is not the kind of revenge, he just wants to play well. Although he is angry in the face of this kind of provocation, he doesn't have the urge to kill you.

The Clippers were gradually suppressed by the Lakers in terms of morale.

In the 8th minute of the third quarter, Paul held the ball in the middle to support Bynum, who was stuck in the three-second zone.

Bynum received the ball and turned around and hit a hook, scoring two points, the Lakers 69:57, leading the Clippers by 12 points.

Tyronn Lue immediately called a timeout, 12 points was the biggest difference between the two sides in the half, and the Clippers were a bit messed up.

Seeing that the two young men were in average condition, Tyronn Lu decisively shifted the center of attack to the inside.

Randolph, as the team's pinnacle, can still play when he needs energy.

At the same time, Tyronn Lue made a substitution, replacing Curry, who was in mediocre state, with Fisher.

Curry complained to Tyronn Lue, "It hasn't been long in the third quarter."

As the team's top star, he was substituted after only playing for more than four minutes in the second half, which is really not the treatment he deserves.

Tyronn Lue explained: "Let's adjust the rhythm a little bit, and you will still play later, don't worry, adjust Stephen."

During the regular season, Tyronn Lue often made substitutions like this. After playing three to four minutes in a quarter, he would replace the starting core and replace individuals.

If it is another team or other star, like James, you let him play after 4 minutes, then the coach can also play, no need to do it.

Unlike the Clippers, multi-person rotation is the team's basic strategy. The coach can deploy personnel at will, regardless of what the players think.

And Curry just complained, and he didn't have any complaints in his heart. In fact, he complained more about his poor state.

Cole looked at Curry a little depressed, and comforted: "It's okay Stephen, too much playing time is not necessarily a good thing for you, efficiency is what you have to do."

Cole's preference for Curry is unquestionable. In Cole's mind, Curry is an extension of himself to a certain extent, and he has confirmed it since the moment he came to the Clippers.

Cole used to be a player whose external conditions looked similar to Curry, a small guard, a shooter, and average physical fitness.

But what Curry can do is obviously much more than Cole, and Cole's dreams that are difficult to realize on the court may not be realized in Curry.

Curry is also one of the reasons why Cole is willing to stay in the Clippers and be an assistant coach to Tyronn Lue. He doesn't want Curry's talent to be wasted.

Among Tyronn Lue's various decisions, reducing Curry's playing time is something Cole agrees with.

He believes that Curry's playing time is controlled in the early 30 minutes is the best, and 30 minutes of high efficiency is better than Lai's 40 minutes on the court.

Tyronn Lue's adjustments worked, and Randolph and Gasol began to attack more in the low post.

The offensive rebounds arranged during the halftime break also played a certain role.

Randolph got consecutive offensive rebounds under the basket, made a layup and caused a foul by the opponent, and made consecutive free throws.

The Clippers played a 7:2 spurt to narrow the point difference and the score was approaching.

When Fisher received a pass from Randolph and hit a three-pointer from the bottom corner, the difference between the two sides was reduced to only 4 points!
But at this time, Kobe faced Harden one-on-one at the top of the arc, and made a mid-range hit, and the point difference widened again.

Kobe still has the ability to make accurate shots and suppress the opponent's momentum when he needs energy.

Curry reappeared in the second half of the third quarter after a 4-minute break, but his three-pointer after the outside pick-and-roll screen still missed.

When Curry struggles to hit the [-]-pointer, it becomes difficult for the Clippers to win.

Min Congda knew this rule very well. At the end of the third quarter, the Clippers trailed the Lakers by 81 points 92:11.

The scoring efficiency of both sides is relatively high, but the Lakers obviously have more firepower.

Bryant has scored 27 points in three quarters, Paul also scored 20 points.

The two's mid-range jumpers are unstoppable, and they are tailor-made for the playoffs.

The fourth quarter is about to start, and during the intermission, Tyronn Lue took the tactical board and wanted to make some arrangements.

The situation is very bad for the Clippers. The two stars in the backcourt are not open, and it is difficult to compete with the Lakers only by relying on the inside duo.

What arrangements can be made?I don't know, I feel like my mind is blank!

Look at Mr. Smart sitting behind the bench, and Miss Ida.

Ada didn't mean to hand over the note, and it seemed that Smart couldn't be counted on.

What about Cole?This guy seems to be dead tonight, what use do you need?
At this moment, Tyronn Lue couldn't think of any subtle arrangements or tactics that could break the game.

Or, like Smart, think of an extremely critical substitution that can change the situation of the battle.

Unexpected, what should I do?
Tyronn Lue thought to himself: "Forget it, why think so much? I'll just give the ball to the person with the strongest scoring ability in the team, and it's over?"

"Curry is the best scorer in the team. Even if he is not in good shape, I still have to trust him, right? He had a lot of rest time in the first three quarters."

"I give the ball to the best scorer in the team. Why is it not called a tactic? Isn't Jackson also giving the ball to Jordan when he is in the Bulls?"

"That's it. The tactics in the fourth quarter are still firmly around Curry and let Curry play!"

(End of this chapter)