Start without the ball

20 - Clippers
On October 10, the Thunder will challenge the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center.

The Clippers traded power forward Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons last season for Boban Manovich, Avery Bradley, and Tobias Harris. .

The Clippers, cleared of cap space, tried to sign LeBron James.

Due to the lack of competitiveness of the Clippers, James refused to sign with the Clippers' rivals in the same city, the Lakers.

Although there is a lack of star players in the team, the strength of the players in the Clippers should not be underestimated.

The starting players are veteran center Gortat, power forward Harris, small forward Gallinari, shooting guard Bradley, and the point guard is "Mad Dog" Beverly, whom Li Haoyu is very familiar with.

On the Thunder's side, Li Haoyu, who played well in the previous game, was still pushed to the bench by Donovan.

This move caused dissatisfaction among domestic fans. After seeing the starting list, netizens complained in the live broadcast room one after another.

"Donovan is a real genius. Put aside such an efficient brother Yuzi, Ferguson will be the starter? He was only 2 for 0 in the last game."

"Conservative is not so conservative. Brother Yuzi is a rookie. I understand that you don't want to start, but you still put Patterson on top?"

"Patterson is Donovan's son? I remember 9-of-2 in the last game, but Grant scored 14 points."

Tengxing Sports arranged for Ke Fan and Yang Yi to explain this game.

After Li Haoyu's stunning debut, Ke Fan was also puzzled and asked Yang Yi:

"Director Yang, how did you look at the starting list?"

Yang Yi: "I think Donovan must have noticed Li Haoyu's outstanding performance in the last game. As for not starting, it should be hoped that he can continue his offensive firepower on the bench. After all, the Thunder's bench is too weak."

Ke Fan: "Then let us wait and see."

After the entrance ceremony, the game officially began.

Gortat lost to Adams on the jump ball and the Thunder got the ball.

After Schroeder dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, he reached out for Patterson to come up for the pick-and-roll.

Beverly was not far from Schroeder, seeing Schroeder raising his hand to call a pick-and-roll, which weakened the protection of the ball, how could a defensive champion miss this opportunity.

After a quick steal, Beverly made a layup and opened the scoring for the Clippers.

The score was 0-2.

The Thunder attacked, and Schroeder gave George at 45 degrees.

It was Gallinari who defended George, and his feet moved slowly.

George made a mid-range shot after breaking through, but unfortunately he didn't feel good and missed the hit.

On the defensive end, Donovan took care of George very much and asked George to guard shooting guard Bradley.

The task of defending Gallinari was handed over to Ferguson.

Gallinari is 208cm tall, 8cm taller than Ferguson, and has a 16KG advantage in weight.

In terms of digging holes, the genius Donovan really has a way. In order to take care of the physical fitness of star players, there is no one who can arrange this kind of matchup.

The Clippers are also well aware of this. Gallinari sits low. As a European small forward, although he moves slowly, his footwork and touch are still very good.

After pushing away Ferguson, he made a mid-range shot.

The score was 0-4.

TNT commentary seat
O'Neill: "The current coach really spoils the star. Obviously George can match up normally, so he insists on saving the star's energy and letting a shooting guard guard Gallinari."

Barkley: "We were all arrow figures who took the initiative to find each other. Now the stars are taken care of like babies."

In the next game, the Clippers focused their defense on Paul George.

George is feeling bad.

The hammering sound was loud.

The breakthrough was double-teamed,

Divide the ball very poorly.

Ferguson's three-pointer this time is really eye-catching.

The Thunder's other ball-handler, Schroder, was clearly arranged by Beverly. Other players stood up, and the Thunder's offense stagnated without scoring a point.

The Clippers' offense was booming. Gallinari was so comfortable when he met Ferguson, who was one size smaller, passing and receiving the ball.

Harris, who was born at the 3rd position, is also at ease when he meets Patterson, who moves very slowly.

At 9 minutes and 50 seconds, the score came to 0 to 9.

Donovan couldn't stand it anymore and called a timeout. The stubborn Wan didn't adjust his personnel or defense. He firmly believed that as long as the offense opened up, the problem would be solved.

Rearranged the offensive tactics and returned to the court. George relied on tactics to catch the ball easily, but it didn't mean it was easy to score.

The outside touch is still not open, the breakthrough will still encounter double-teams, and the ball to Ferguson and Patterson is also a hit.

The Thunder's offense was still unable to start the situation. At 7 minutes and 20 seconds, the score came to 0-16.

Faced with the bloody reality, Donovan still compromised and replaced Grant with Grant defending Harris, George defending Gallinari, and Ferguson defending Bradley.

After changing the defense, the Clippers' offense was hindered, and Grant also brought vitality to the Thunder on the offensive end.

Grant was on the weak side, taking the initiative to set a screen for Ferguson, leaving Bradley behind him.

George with the ball saw the dislocation and passed the ball.

After receiving the ball, Grant took a step forward. The movement was very clean, without unnecessary movements such as swinging elbows and sinking shoulders.

But Bradley chose to fall directly backwards. The referee on the side saw this kind of flop as extremely ridiculous and ignored it.

With no blocking behind him, Grant went straight to the basket, dunked and scored, opening the scoring for the Thunder.

Bradley, who fell to the ground, was extremely embarrassed. Without his teammates reaching out to help him, he could only get up by himself.

In the next few minutes, the Clippers can no longer score easily, but they can also achieve something.

Grant's vitality has attracted some attention, and George is no longer receiving too much attention. The breakthrough has improved, and the two sides have played back and forth.

With 3 minutes and 40 seconds left in the first quarter, the score came to 9-22, and the Clippers requested a timeout.

Tengxing commentary seat.

Ke Fan: "The Thunder can now play back and forth with the Clippers. Why did Donovan go and have to train with weights?"

Yang Yi: "Although the Thunder can score, the 2 points and 2 points are not enough to quench their thirst. There are still no three-pointers."

TNT commentary seats.

Barkley: "The two sides will enter the rotation after the timeout. The Clippers have the best sixth man in the league, Louis Williams. Can the Thunder withstand it?"

O'Neill: "Did you forget that the Thunder has Huaguo rookie Li Haoyu? He scored 20 points against the Warriors."

Barkley: "I think he just felt hot in the last game. He should not be so lucky this time. Louis Williams is the king of the rotation."

O'Neill: "Not betting on something?"

Barkley: "No, I have bad memories."

At this moment, Li Haoyu was listening carefully to the tactics beside Donovan, rubbing his hands to keep warm.

At the end of the timeout, Li Haoyu played.

The Thunder's lineup is Noelle, Grant, George, Li Haoyu, and Felton.

The Clippers are center Scott, power forward Harrell, small forward Mbah a Moute, shooting guard Lu Wei, and point guard Alexander.

The Clippers attacked, and the sideline ball was sent to Lu Wei.

Li Haoyu defended Lu Wei, the king of the bench.

(End of this chapter)