hotmtlnovel Chapter 581
Chapter 581
Chapter 581
In the series between the Clippers and the Lakers last year, the Clippers relied on offense and the endless physical fitness of young people.
In the fifth and sixth games of the series, the Lakers' rhythm and physical fitness could no longer keep up with the Clippers, and they were finally dragged to death by the Clippers.
And this season, after half a season of transformation by Mike Malone, the Clippers have a heavier style of play and a more stable defense.
The Lakers' foul ball, Paul began to call the pick-and-roll after receiving the ball again.
The Lakers' offense is completely initiated from the outside, and neither Jordan Hill nor McGee has the ability to attack independently.
D'Antoni's tactical arrangement is very simple and clear, which is to use a lot of pick-and-rolls to create opportunities for Paul, Kobe, Iguodala, and Ci Shiping to eat opponents one-on-one.
Paul's ability to fight big is very good. Once the opponent picks and rolls and switches defenses, Paul has the opportunity to directly attack the opponent's big man.
If there is a gap in the defense without switching defenses, Paul will choose to pass the ball and create opportunities for his teammates.
Kobe's defensive appeal is still very strong, and Paul has plenty of space in the backcourt.
But this time after receiving the ball and the pick-and-roll, Paul was flanked by Curry and Gasol Jr.!
Double-teaming the ball holder, Paul quickly sent the ball to McGee, and Gasol immediately retreated.
McGee received the ball, the inside was empty, and he dribbled the ball and rushed in!
"Beep!"
The referee blows his whistle and McGee walks.
McGee, who still wanted to make a strong dunk, could only throw the ball back to the referee, and ran back to defend with his head down.
McGee was also unprepared for this ball. He thought he would go down immediately after the pick-and-roll, eat cakes or grab offensive rebounds.
Unexpectedly, it became an attack with the ball, and there was no one in front of him, only Randolph on the flank and Gasol who was catching up behind him.
The opportunity to directly attack the basket, but he was stunned, and the one under his feet was not clean, and he was blown away.
Afterwards, the Clippers' outside offense did not hit, and the Clippers' offense felt mediocre at the beginning.
It is true that the first round ended too early, the rest time was a bit long, and the offense needs to find a feeling.
But the Clippers' defense is quite tough. Paul tried to cut in from the left this time, but was flanked by Leonard to help defend.
Rarely, the Clippers adopted a massive flanking defensive strategy at the start, forcing Paul to play the ball.
There is no problem with Paul's ball, but except for Kobe, others, especially the two insiders, have very limited ability to handle the ball.
Iguodala is not a top player with the ball, so the Lakers' offense seems a little hasty and messy.
Leonard pinched and released Iguodala. Iguodala turned around and cut to the basket. Paul's pass arrived. Gasol blocked the layup and missed the shot.
McGee wanted to grab an offensive rebound, but was stuck by Randolph. Fatty Lan took the backcourt rebound and passed the ball to Curry. The Clippers quickly counterattacked!
George took the lead to get rid of Kobe, Curry made a long pass to the basket, George caught the ball and licked the basket in the middle!
George, as the team's fast-break arrow, has a very high sensitivity to quick downs.
Kobe faced George in this game, and he was at a disadvantage in terms of height and physical fitness.
The main reason is that he is getting older. If it is Kobe when he was young, he has unlimited physical strength and can completely defend with mad dogs.
And if you play against other teams, Kobe can completely avoid the edge of the opponent's outside core and let Iguodala match up.
But there is no way, the opponent is the Clippers, if you don't defend George, then you should defend Leonard, who is taller and has a longer wingspan.
And then there's James Harden on the bench, and Butler...
The Lakers originally had plenty of resources at the second and third positions. They also have a veteran, Ci Shiping, who is still capable of fighting.
But when they meet the Clippers with groups of potential talents at the third and third positions, the Lakers are not enough.
Then the Lakers still missed the outside attack!
Paul was flanked just after halftime.
This time Paul didn't play the ball, but forced a breakthrough on the left side, throwing off Curry and heading to the basket in the middle.
Facing Gasol's defense, he walked in against the center, but the throw missed.
The Clippers are simply layers of checkpoints, and each checkpoint can make the attacker peel off a layer of skin.
Moreover, the players' defensive positions are very precise, and the ball holder is not given an easy shot.
Paul obviously wants to establish his position as the core of the new offense at the beginning.
Kobe didn't even touch the ball on three possessions.
And the Lakers didn't score a point.
In turn, the Clippers passed the ball to the low post, and Randolph caught Jordan Hill with his back and scored two points.
With Lan Fatty, the Clippers always have a stable low-post scoring point, which is quite comfortable.
When the ball was served in the backcourt, Kobe was obviously annoyed, and said directly to Paul: "Give me the damn ball!"
After missing three goals in a row, Paul was embarrassed to attack with the ball again, and he failed to play the offensive routine in three rounds.
The Clippers' defense not only maintains the characteristics of strong resilience in the past, but also increases its intensity. What's even more frightening is that under the training of Mike Malone, the Clippers' defense has begun to be full of cunning.
They will use tricks on the court, set up traps, try to use trash talk to interfere with the opponent, and form a double blow to the opponent from the body to the spirit.
This is the only way for a young team to evolve towards an old fritters team, and the arrival of Mike Malone has accelerated this process.
In the third minute of the first quarter, the Lakers finally ushered in their first goal in the fifth round of offense.
Kobe Bryant received a pass from Iguodala at the top of the arc by running, made a mid-range jumper and scored two points.
For the Clippers, Leonard was used to defend Kobe, one-on-one, without double-teaming or other defensive arrangements.
This is the strategy that Min Congda arranged before the game.
If it is the peak Kobe, such a defense is asking for death.
Once Kobe's touch is opened, he can really score [-] points in a game and smash your head.
But now, Kobe has lacked such ability.
Moreover, Min Congda can trust Leonard's single defense ability.
Different top scorers have relatively fearful defenders.
Like Kevin Durant, he is more afraid of the type of short dunzi pushing his waist.
On the contrary, Kobe, Ao Dunzi's top and bottom plate have no effect on him, because his footwork is too good.
Defense against Kobe requires good hardware, long arms, and fast movement, which can interfere with him to the greatest extent.
Like Prince of the Pistons, James Posey of the Celtics, etc., let him always have interference in front of him.
Leonard's hardware is undoubtedly excellent, with long arms, large hands, and outstanding athletic ability.
After two years of training with the Clippers, his defensive ability has been significantly improved.
After Mike Malone came to the Clippers, he regarded Leonard as a treasure, thinking that he is a core offensive and defensive character who needs to be vigorously cultivated.
Kobe beat Leonard's defense and scored the Lakers' first point.
Immediately, Leonard received a pass from Curry on the wing, pulled out a mid-range shot at a zero-degree angle, and hit it!
Leonard, who was considered a poor shooter in the draft, actually didn't shoot that badly.
In this regard, Ball contributed a lot. The shooting coach team he invited is the top in the league, and he has put a lot of effort into Leonard's shooting improvement.
At this time, the score on the court was 8:2, and the Clippers led the Lakers by 6 points.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that there is a gap in the level of strength between the two sides.
It's not that the Lakers are not good, but that the Clippers have no dead ends.
Paul dribbled the ball for halftime, and Curry was like nougat, sticking to Paul.
Anyway, he doesn't need to save energy. He averages 30 minutes of playing time per game in a season, and his physical reserves are quite good.
After playing for another 3 minutes, Tyronn Lue will start the rotation, and Curry will go down to rest. Why don't you hurry up and have a good fight with Paul?
Paul's small movements began to increase, trying to block Curry with his left hand and gain more space for himself.
After all, Paul is an experienced star, and the predicament at the beginning was beyond his expectation, but he quickly adjusted.
He keenly found Kobe who was cutting the basket, and suddenly a long pass was sent to the three-second zone, and Kobe jumped up to catch the ball.
Turn around, shake Leonard away with a feint, take a step up and down and cut in, get stuck in the air, and hit a shot from close range!
Kobe scored a beautiful goal. The Clippers' defense was at its best. Kobe still moved around and scored the ball.
But immediately, after Curry made a single block from the outside, he hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc!
Staples Center sounded even more enthusiastic cheers than just Kobe Bryant's goal.
Curry's ignoring defense and indiscriminate killing outside the three-point line, the entire league can't find a way to deal with it.
The score came to 11:4, and the point difference was further widening.
The game entered an official timeout, giving the Lakers a break.
On the bench, the Lakers players were panting.
Although the game against the Nuggets was tough, and the away game on the plateau was also tough, the Nuggets' strength is really not at the same level as the Clippers.
Although the intensity of the first round was high, the Lakers are actually the dominant side, controlling the rhythm, and the Nuggets are the chasers.
When this situation came up, most of the Lakers' offensive routines were manipulated, and many tactics could not be played out.
If it weren't for Kobe's personal ability, they would have had a worse start.
On the Clippers' bench, Tyronn Lue received a small note from Ada—it was written by Min Congda.
The note read: "Change Dragic to post Paul, Curry rests, Harden replaces George, slow down the rhythm, attack the inside, and don't counterattack."
Tyronn Lu understands that Mr. Smart is about to micromanage!
Min Congda doesn't know how to micromanage easily. Once he starts to micromanage, it shows that he attaches great importance to the game.
Of course, Tyronn Lu strictly followed Min Congda's instructions, carried out personnel changes, and replaced Curry early.
Curry is very confused, is my starting core so worthless?Let me go down to rest after playing for 4 minutes?
But Curry didn't say much, obeying the coach's arrangement, Dragic appeared on the stage.
Before playing, Tyronn Lue also gave some instructions.
It can be seen that this Clippers is going to fight Paul, which is to toss Paul to death.
Min Congda has a good grasp of the rhythm of the game.
He knew that with Paul's style of play, he was overwhelmed by his opponent and couldn't score in 4 minutes.
When the timeout came back, the Clippers relaxed a little, and Paul would definitely take the opportunity to steal points.
For example, take a mid-range shot after a single block, or quietly swing the ball into the paint to make a zero-range jump shot from the corner.
This is a skill that Paul steals points and makes good use of, and it is also where he is smart.
This kind of stealing points, in fact, does not have too much impact on the progress of the game, and such opportunities will not be given at critical moments.
However, this will help Paul regain the rhythm of the game, and by the way, make his data not too ugly.
Min Congda saw this clearly, and replaced Curry, who had a slight decline in defensive momentum, and let Della play.
As soon as Della appeared on the stage, he came with a mission and immediately posted towards Paul.
Paul thought, What the hell is going on again?What's the situation with the Clippers, what kind of hatred and resentment, you want to stare at me like this?
With the strength of the Clippers, they didn't need to play like this originally. Playing normally, they are also stronger than the Lakers.
And targeting someone like this is a typical murder.
Sure enough, after returning from the timeout, Paul tried to steal two points, but was flanked by Dragic and Harden.
Pass the ball to Kobe, Kobe made a three-pointer from the outside and hit it!
Kobe scored 7 points in a row.
Then Harden broke through Kobe with the ball, made a layup and fouled Kobe, went to the free throw line, and made two free throws.
Regardless of offense and defense, the Lakers' focus seems to be on Kobe.
Harden made two free throws.
At this time, Kobe slowly found the feeling of the game and began to increase his shots.
Duang...
Didn't go in, the Clippers got a backcourt rebound, and Harden counterattacked.
On the third line of fast break, Harden made a long pass to Randolph, Randolph caught the ball in the middle for a layup, and was blocked by Iguodala who was following up!
But Gasol followed up and made a tip-up.
Iguodala blocked the ball very beautifully and it was a successful return defense.
However, the Clippers always have back players, and they really have too many people playing.
At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers have completed a 9-man rotation, but their defensive strength has not diminished at all.
At 27:17, the Clippers led the Lakers by 10 points in the first quarter.
Kobe scored 11 points in a single quarter, more than half of the Lakers' points.
And Paul? 0 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 turnover.
Paul is so depressed, what's going on?Why did the Clippers target me like this?
He must know that he has become the new core of the Lakers, so he must find a way to suppress me!
Paul knew that in this case, he had to stand up and prove himself.
Not just for the team, but also for his newly won status as the leader of the team.
It can't be just three days after getting the boss position, and the next day can't beat the Clippers, and then hand over the position?
This is too embarrassing.
In fact, even if Paul plays normally, the Lakers still can't beat the Clippers.
Curry reappeared in the second quarter. Paul was not there. Facing Blake, Curry hit consecutive three-pointers from the outside.
Single-block three-pointer, quickly counterattack three-pointer, after receiving Harden's pass, the left 45-degree direct three-pointer hit!
Curry's hands were hot in the second quarter. Without Paul, the Lakers couldn't prevent Curry's three-pointers.
This is also a difficult problem for the entire league. After all, the Clippers are a balanced team that cannot be targeted individually.
The score was pulled apart at once, the score came to 39:23, and the Clippers quickly led by 16 points.
The Lakers requested a timeout, and Paul volunteered at this time to play with the second team for a while!
By the way, he wants to contain Curry's three-pointer on the defensive end.
But as soon as the timeout ended, Curry actually ended up on the Clippers side.
He was replaced by the Clippers' third substitute, Livingston.
(End of this chapter)