Coach: Coaching the Grizzlies at the beginning, playing the bantam

In the Christmas game in December, the league arranged for the defending champion Nets to face the Clippers at home.

The Clippers have just formed a frontline duo of Leonard and Paul George in the summer. Coupled with the team's ability to make the playoffs, they are regarded by the media as one of the favorites to win the Western Conference championship.

Especially Leonard, who has entered his peak period, is called the modern Jordan by fans. He was defeated by Lu Yong when he was in the Raptors.

Now that he has changed a team, everyone is looking forward to whether he can lead the Clippers to avenge their disgrace.

Before the game started, players from both sides went to the arena locker room early to wait.

Leonard relaxed his muscles with the help of a masseur and lay down on a stool to rest.

In a basketball game, the player's on-field status is very important, which directly affects the player's performance throughout the game.

If you can adjust your body to the best condition before the game, you will most likely be able to exert 150% of your strength.

Leonard is the typical player who is ruthless and doesn't say much. He looks like he has a paralyzed face on weekdays, but he is very good at adjusting himself in tough battles.

'Pig Head' Rivers stood next to Leonard and smiled: "If I remember correctly, this should be your first on-site massage of the season?"

Leonard said with a cold face: "We must not lose this game, otherwise it is just a trivial matter to be looked down upon by the media. The decline in morale in the locker room is the most fatal. The Lakers just lost to them in the last game. As long as we win the game tonight, It can narrow the record gap with the Lakers."

The Clippers' luxury warship is very strange. On the surface, it looks strong, and the players are united to win the championship, but in fact, the atmosphere in the team's locker room is not stable.

The fundamental reason is that Leonard often takes turns in back-to-back games. He takes credit for winning games, and his teammates take the blame for losing games. In the long run, it has caused dissatisfaction with veteran Clippers players Lu Wei, Harrell and others.

I think Leonard is a big name, not an easy teammate to get along with, let alone an excellent team leader.

Thanks to 'Pig Head' Rivers' skill in mediating player relations, the conflicts in the locker room have been suppressed for the time being by relying on chicken soup and deception. If it were replaced by a rookie coach, the Clippers' internal conflicts would have erupted long ago.

Even so, the Clippers are not monolithic now. The locker room is divided into two camps, relying on Rivers to be sandwiched in the middle.

The reason why we can't lose the Christmas game is that the Raptors led by Leonard were eliminated by Lu Yong last year. If he leads the Clippers to lose again this year, the following players will definitely dissatisfy him and even take the opportunity to attack.

It doesn't matter if the star player takes a break from time to time. He can't lead the team to win even if he fights tough battles. How can such a boss convince his younger brother?

And a team boss who loses his support will indirectly lead to the disbandment of the team.

Perhaps the Clippers management will not give up Kawhi, but veteran players such as Lou Williams, Harrell and Beverley will definitely be sent away.

At that time, if the Clippers want to become a team and win the championship, the difficulty will increase exponentially.

The Lakers are always ahead of the Clippers in the West. If there are problems within the team, it will be useless even if Rivers is a master of chicken soup. His smooth tongue will not escape his dismissal.

The two sat on the bench and chatted for a while. Rivers stood up, clapped his hands, and said loudly to the players: "Pay attention to your movement, cut inside, be more decisive in outside shooting, and try to finish in the shortest time, don't get basketed." The pace of play in the net leads the way.”

Rivers has changed in the post-Clippers era. Although he is still a great coach in the eyes of many people, he himself knows the status of a championship coach.

In the past, Rivers might have used strong tactics to suppress the situation, trying to highlight his importance through tactics.

Now, he knows that he can't live without top-notch combat power, and he can't live without stars.

So Rivers began to build a good relationship with the team boss and submitted his certificate by suppressing the second boss.

This is not difficult to see from the fact that he was criticized by Paul George when he left the Clippers, and was scolded by Harden when he left the 76ers. Rivers only sees the strongest player on the team, and everyone else is in his hands. tool.

Leonard and Embiid have never scolded Rivers, because they were both the biggest beneficiaries when Pig Head coached.

It's hard to say whether Rivers' approach is correct, but the purpose of the coach's role is to lead the team to win. If he can't go further in the playoffs, he will have to be dismissed no matter how good his relationship with the star is.

Without performance as support, blindly pleasing stars will only lead to dissatisfaction from other players. It's not that Rivers doesn't understand this truth, it's just that he can only do this if he wants to survive in the league.

This season, Rivers has also reached a fork in his coaching career.

If he cannot lead the Clippers to win the championship, he will have no choice but to be fired.

In the home team's locker room, compared to Rivers' serious look, Lu Yong looked much more relaxed.

For a long time in the past, Lu Yong has never taken Rivers seriously. He won a championship with the help of the Big Three of the Green Army. He is still far behind the top coaches.

He has only led the team to two finals, and Lu Yong has led the team to win nearly double-digit championship rings. This is the existence that Rivers looks up to.

The Nets players are not very nervous. Even the Lakers, who are ranked first in the Western Conference, are not opponents. The Clippers, ranked second in the Western Conference, are not qualified enough to make everyone nervous.

Lu Yong didn't say much before the game, but only symbolically emphasized a few words on defense, suggesting that weak-side players double-team Leonard and let others score.

The reason is simple. Leonard has a certain passing ability, but he is far behind James.

Most of his assists come from being double-teamed and then passing the ball to teammates for shots, which is not very imaginative. The Clippers' win this season mainly relies on Kaka holding the ball in isolation.

As long as Leonard's scoring is limited, it will be difficult for the Clippers to win with George's output alone.

In particular, Paul George is still a star with a sharp-edged personality. No one knows what his status will be tonight. The only one the Nets are mainly targeting is Kawhi.

The assistant coaches had no objections and began to follow Lu Yong's ideas and emphasize the specific details of defense to the players.

Leonard is called the modern Jordan because he is the key to winning, not because of his beautiful statistics.

Lu Yong's method of arranging double-teams not only strictly prevented Leonard, but also damaged the morale of the Clippers.

After all, not all teams have the Nets' lineup, and stars can still produce terrifying offensive firepower when flanked.

Players from both sides played, and TNT TV station Barkley and partner Kenny Smith provided commentary.

When introducing the lineup, Barkley was still optimistic about the Nets, "In the past few seasons, the team led by Lu Yong has never lost a Christmas game. Porzingis, Rose, and Cousins ​​have all gained a lot this season. Rest, the state is maintained very well, and the Nets are playing at home today, I am optimistic that the Nets will win this game."

Kenny Smith nodded and said: "Many experts believed that the Lakers and Clippers could pose a threat to the Nets after strengthening, but now they have proved that everyone is wrong. The Nets are fully capable of dominating the league, and the Clippers want to win away games. Not easy."

Barkley smiled: "Durant's performance is very brave. Not only does he score, but he can also use his involvement to assist his teammates. He will most likely win the first consecutive MVP in his career."

Starting lineup, five Nets: Brunson, Mitchell, Durant, Porzingis, Cousins.

Clippers five: Beverley, George, Leonard, Harrell, Zubac.

Cousins ​​won the jump ball and the Nets attacked first.

Cousins ​​provided an off-ball screen to Mitchell from the side and helped him get rid of George. Mitchell received the ball and Zubac defended it.

Mitchell took the ball and observed his teammates, and found that there was a mismatch in front of him. He changed direction and walked to the left to pass Zubac, and stopped suddenly in the middle distance.

George chased up from the side and wanted to block the shot but was a step too late.

Mitchell didn't waste the opportunity and made an emergency stop and hit from mid-range, 2-0.

Once Zubac is hoisted out of the basket, his poor lateral speed is a flaw, and Mitchell can effortlessly hit one after another out of position.

When the Clippers have Leonard and George at the same time, it is impossible to sign another super center, so the Clippers' starter will be Zubac.

His personal strength is not too good, but he is still a bit weak as the starting center in a championship team. His only role on the defensive end is as a human shield.

The Clippers attack and the formation is also widened.

Beverley dribbled the ball across half court, passed it to George in the middle and ran to the bottom corner.

George took a step and passed the ball to Leonard on the right, preparing to challenge Durant in the mid-range.

Durant was in a calm mood. He had faced off against Kawhi in last year's playoffs. The two knew each other's playing styles thoroughly and were no strangers.

Leonard broke through with the ball and failed to get past Durant in one step. He took it to the left corner and leaned back. Porzingis came up to double-team and decisively let Harrell open.

When Porzingis and Durant were flanked by two long-armed monsters, Leonard couldn't even see the passing route and could only throw the ball to the right based on his feeling.

The ball was lucky. It didn't go to Harrell, who was cutting to the basket, but luckily it fell into George's hands. Paul George caught the ball and shot from outside the three-point line, and hit Mitchell with a jumper, 2-3.

Lu Yong was sitting on the sidelines and was not in a hurry. He stood up and applauded the players vigorously. The quality of the double-teaming in this round was good, and Leonard's vision was completely blocked.

Although George caught the ball and scored a three-pointer, the defensive strategy he deployed was executed perfectly, so there is nothing to worry about.

In the positional battle, the Nets still launched an attack around Zubac.

After the screen, Mitchell attracted a defensive pass. Cousins ​​singled out George under the basket, turned and hooked, but missed due to interference.

Harrell grabbed the rebound and passed Beverley to launch a counterattack.

Leonard took the ball in a fast break. This time Porzingis retreated to double-team, but still let Harrell go.

Leonard didn't pass, not because he was alone, but because Harrell was too far back, and he didn't have the shooting ability to pass the ball, so it couldn't be considered an offensive opportunity.

Kawhi took a step towards the baseline and turned around. He turned over and shot a jumper under the double siege. The rebound was protected by Durant.

When the Nets were attacking, Lu Yong stood up and shouted to the court: "Play the No. 4 tactic!"

The players on the field understood and immediately changed their formation.

Brunson went to the frontcourt and passed to Porzingis who was outside the three-point line on the right side. Cousins ​​​​in the middle gave Durant a ball-free screen to help him get rid of Leonard's pursuit.

The next moment, Porzingis broke through to attract double teams, relying on Harrell to pass the ball in the opposite direction to Adu.

This style of play is the epitome of a typical Hammers offense. Durant ran to the bottom corner to catch the ball, changed direction and distanced himself from Zubac, who was half a beat behind when changing defense, and made a three-point pull-up jumper.

The basketball draws a beautiful arc in the air, wow! Hollow into the net! 5 to 3.

When Zubac caught up with him, Durant had already thrown the ball. No matter how tall he was, he could only stretch out his hand to interfere slightly.

In the small ball era, slow inside speed is a flaw. Unless he can attack like Teacher Yue, he is destined to be a role player in the tactical system.

Cousins ​​is also slow on his feet, but his inside partner Porzingis is fast. He doesn't need to come out in the inside, so the defensive pressure is not too great.

The Clippers attacked, and Brunson let Beverley take a step in the middle, ready to double-team Leonard at any time.

Beverley's 37.9% three-point shooting percentage looks good, but his output is still low. Compared with George, he is more stable when attacking from outside.

Leonard broke through from the strong side after the pick-and-roll, and was double-teamed by Porzingis again. His speed was not much slower than from the outside.

Leaving Harrell open is not a big problem. He can only catch the ball and rush to the basket. With Cousins ​​guarding the penalty area, it is not easy for him to dunk easily.

Leonard was flanked near the three-second zone and passed to George on the outside.

George didn't have such good luck this time. The shot missed due to interference from Mitchell, and the rebound was picked up by Cousins.

In transition between offense and defense, the Nets launched a sharp fast break counterattack.

Mitchell went all the way to the three-point line to receive a long pass from his teammate, swayed and made a strong shot, and relied on his jumping power to avoid George and hit a three-pointer. Whoops, 8-3.

Looking back, Leonard was still double-teamed after receiving the ball, and had to go out to find Harrell, who made a mid-range shot from a wide open space.

Unfortunately, no matter how big the open space was, it couldn't change Harrell's inaccurate shooting. The ball bounced out of the frame and the rebound was collected by Porzingis.

In the position battle, Cousins ​​continued to cover Durant. This time Leonard was very active in bypassing the pursuit. Durant received the ball and changed direction to open up space, attracting double-teams and then passed back to the middle.

Cousins ​​is a heavy-weight inside man but has a soft touch and can catch and shoot from the free throw line.

Zubac was a bit far away, and he didn't have time to reach out to interfere with the shot. He hit the mid-range shot in mid-air, 10-3.

When the Clippers attacked, the Nets players spread out their formation, leaving Cousins ​​alone in the penalty area.

Leonard turned over and shot a jumper from the left corner, but was interfered by Durant and Porzingis and bounced out of the frame.

Zubac failed to grab the rebound, and Cousins ​​landed and passed directly to Brunson. The latter faced Beverley, one-on-one in the frontcourt.

Brunson was guarded by Mad Dog and had no room to take a shot. He dribbled the ball in the opposite direction from behind, relied on his rhythm to get out of half of Beverley's body, and forced a layup with a European step.

Beverley is 1 meters tall. After being thrown away, he was not high enough to block the shot. He only caused slight interference, 85 to 12.

Not long after the game started, "Pig Head" Rivers requested a timeout.

He realized that it would not work to continue playing like this. It was up to the players to adjust themselves, and the Clippers couldn't defend them.

Barkley said with a smile: "The Nets' offensive and defensive rhythm at the beginning was very smooth, and they firmly suppressed the Clippers. Kawhi was double-teamed in several individual singles, and it was difficult for him to score easily tonight."

Kenny Smith sighed: "The Clippers need a defender with organizational skills, otherwise it will be too confusing to rely on the forward stars alone. Beverley defends well, but is not good at organizing offense. If the problem of the point guard is not solved, the Clippers will Even if the team finishes second in the Western Conference, it will be difficult for them to go far."

After the timeout, the Clippers still couldn't organize an effective offense.

Leonard was double-teamed time and time again, and Rivers had nothing to do.

Even if he changes players, he can't become a master of field control at Paul's level. He can only emphasize over and over again the rapid conduction of defense and offense.

The situation is favorable, and Lu Yong is not in a hurry to make substitutions, and uses star players to create local opportunities in singles.

The Nets are better than the Clippers in that they have enough space, good shooting, and both inside players can pull out to shoot three-pointers. After the formation spreads, the Clippers cannot double-team, and even help defense must be treated with caution.

At the slightest bit of open space, Nets players can immediately take a three-pointer.

This is also the reason why Lu Yong put Cousins ​​​​in the starting lineup. He is not required to work hard on defense. As long as he plays a role on the offensive end, it will be the greatest help to the team.

After the first quarter, the Nets led the Clippers by 33 points, 20-13, and the home fans stood up and shouted.

In the second quarter, the two teams competed with the substitutes, and the Nets' offensive advantage became more obvious.

The Clippers sent Lou Williams and Shamet to play as a double guard, with JaMychal Green and Harkless partnering on the front line. The center was Patrick Patterson, a space-based inside man who is 2 meters tall and weighs 06 kilograms.

The Nets benched a gangster, sending in Rose, Dunloe, LeVert, Oubre, and Claxton.

Compared with the Clippers, Lu Wei has a ball-holding point, while the Nets' Rose, LeVert and Oubre can all launch attacks, and their tactical movements are more diverse.

The inside line composed of Patterson and Harkless was not slow in moving, but the efficiency of protecting the frame was poor. The penalty area was destroyed by Rose's breakthrough.

Patterson is a short inside man with mediocre athletic ability. Rivers only saw his offensive advantages but ignored his defense. He's not tall enough for a center, lacks aggressiveness, and is terrible at protecting the rim and rebounding.

Claxton relied on his athletic talent to completely crush his opponents, and his continuous offensive rebounds brought many secondary offensive opportunities to the Nets.

Harkless has good physical fitness, has both strength and flexibility, and has a positive defensive attitude. However, Oubre is not a vegetarian. He and Rose have formed a good chemical reaction as a substitute this season.

Not only does he complement the inside and outside lines, he can also take on more scoring responsibilities when Rose is guarded by opponents. He can freely switch between breaking through with the ball and shooting, bringing more offensive aggression to the Nets. .

The Clippers are not afraid of Lu Wei's singles with the ball.

After more than four minutes of play, the Nets extended their lead to 20 points.

Rivers hurriedly replaced Leonard and George, trying to use the star singles to win back the victory.

Unfortunately, the Clippers' two stars ensured the team's offense, but they still couldn't defend the Nets, and the score always trailed.

In the second half, Brunson, Durant, and Porzingis scored three-pointers in a row, 38 to 21 in a single quarter, and stunned Rivers.

Durant scored 26 points and shot 62.3% from the field. Others also performed well.

Under the watchful eyes of fans across the United States, the Nets led 93 to 62 in the third quarter and entered garbage time. (End of chapter)