ebonymovies Chapter 654. 654. Fighting the Clippers
Chapter 654. 654. Fighting the Clippers
Chapter 654. 654. Fighting the Clippers
Whiteside struggled to take off, but still lost to Jordan on the jump ball. Jordan is indeed one of the best in the league in terms of jumping.
Whiteside, who lost the jump ball, was very unwilling. After returning to his basket, he began to defend Jordan in close combat.
The Clippers took the lead and Liu Ren led the defense against Paul.
Whiteside and Jordan fought on the inside, and the fierce physical confrontation and even the sound of muscle collision reached the ears of the surrounding players.
This brought huge sensory stimulation to the players on both sides, and subconsciously entered the tense rhythm.
Liu Ren liked to play against the Clippers very much, and now his emotions were fully mobilized, and he fought fiercely with Paul.
If Liu Ren's favorite point guard against is Curry, then Paul is the second.
Paul and Curry are two completely different types. In fact, Liu Ren thinks it is easier to fight against Curry.
This simplicity does not mean that Curry is easier to deal with, but that Curry's style of play is actually relatively simple, which is the type of "just do it" similar to Kobe. You know that he exists to score.
As for confronting Paul, Liu Ren feels that it is much more complicated. Let’s talk about scoring. Paul’s scoring ability is not bad. He averages 20+ per game and has a super high shooting percentage all the year round. He is short, he is indeed short, but he averages rebounds per game in his career. 4.4, which is higher than the main small forwards of many teams, and he also has the strength of the assist king, and his three aspects are not separated, but can be completed together in the same season. The best season has been played Averaged 22 points, 11 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 2.8 steals.
This kind of player is really difficult to guard against. No, Liu Ren is already very strict on Paul's defense, but he still finds a chance to send the ball to Redick, who is only open for a moment. The shot hit and the Clippers took the lead.
Liu Ren really marveled at Paul's personal ability. He always felt that in terms of the ability to ensure the overall strength of the team, James should be number one in the league, and Paul should be second. They are the ones in the league that guarantee the lower limit of a team's strength. The strongest players, as long as they are in the team, no matter what their teammates are, they can play against any team.
Offensive and defensive transition, Liu Ren advanced to the frontcourt with the ball.
Liu Ren looked at the Clippers' defense, showed a playful smile, passed the ball to Antetokounmpo, and then sat directly on the left edge of the three-second zone.
The reason is simple, Paul is defending him!
Liu Ren felt that Paul was really hard-pressed!Paul, like Wade and James before 2010, is the team's talking scorer and the best organizer. He needs to take on everything on the offensive end, and he is also the best defensive player on the outside of the team. Be a father and a mother.
Defending Antetokounmpo is Pierce, the soul of the former Celtics army, and now he followed Rivers to the Clippers, and got the Clippers' two-year middle class last summer.
It was Redick who defended Kobe. Redick also renewed his contract with the Clippers last summer and got a three-year 3 million contract with a player option for the last year.
Both of them can attack well. Redick can compete with Korver in running, catching and shooting. Although Pierce has improved a lot this year, the key ball is still the frightening truth.
However, the defense of these two men...was a disaster!Pierce defends Antetokounmpo, and even Antetokounmpo can't make a little interference when passing the ball standing up.
It stands to reason that when the opponent has an attacker who can crush the opposing player in a low position, the player defending the ball needs to use height and jumping to interfere, but Pierce can't do this at all. Not to mention, there is still a huge gap between Antetokounmpo and Antetokounmpo in stature.
Pierce's defense against Antetokounmpo can be described as hard work but powerless. Pierce is really hardworking, which fits the impression of his career.
But the old man is cruel. The harder Pierce defends Antetokounmpo, the more sad it seems. Antetokounmpo just holds the ball with one hand and makes an upward lob movement, and Pierce immediately takes a big step back. Jump hard to steal the pass.
However, Antetokounmpo was just a fake move that couldn't be more fake, but Pierce had to intercept it, because if he didn't jump, Antetokounmpo only needed to stand to pass the ball, and he There is no interference at all, he would rather make a defensive mistake than let Paul be eaten by Liu Ren, then Paul is very likely to be fouled by Liu Ren at the beginning, and Paul... His existence is everything to the Clippers!
After deceiving Pierce away, Antetokounmpo speeded up and strode into the basket. The road was empty. Whiteside turned around and stuck Jordan firmly behind him. Antetokounmpo rushed into the basket with one hand. Deduction scored two points.
I have to say that the current defense of the Clippers... is really bad for Paul's new world after he came to this team!
The Clippers have begun to decline in the past two years. On the one hand, the contradictions between players have gradually increased, and on the other hand, their defense has declined, mainly because of the small forward position on the outside.
Originally, the Clippers lineup was very good, with a balanced offense and defense, but after Rivers came to the Clippers, he always felt that the scoring ability of the small forward was too poor, and he wanted to change it.
After all, Rivers has had top small forwards throughout his coaching career. This is a matter of habit. He is used to handing over to small forwards when he encounters problems that cannot be solved while coaching.
Rivers used to coach the Magic version of McGrady and the Celtics version of Pierce. How could he like Matt Barnes, a guy who can only defend and open three-pointers.
But after Matt Barnes was sent to the Grizzlies late last season, the Clippers' original balanced offense and defense completely collapsed. The exchange for Jeff Green and Pierce who joined this year is simply a defensive nightmare... This nightmare is their Clippers themselves. From the opponent's point of view, the Clippers' small forward position is the same as before. The offensive end is not good, and the defensive end has become a cash machine.
In the final analysis, Rivers is still a chicken soup-type coach. He just wants to strengthen the small forward and want the small forward to score more.
But with Redick, Griffin and a point guard who needs to handle a lot of balls and can score well, how much more do their small forwards have?
Blindly "reinforcing" the small forward turned the Clippers from a balanced offensive and defensive team into a team that is about to become a pure offensive team.
But the foundation of the Clippers is there. They have Paul and Griffin, two top ten superstars in the league. They also have the strength of the top five in the league on offense alone. They have the mentality that they will become more relaxed after leaving Los Angeles anyway. Facing the Lakers, his performance was not abnormal, and he started to compete with the Lakers.
Redick's catch-and-shoot, Paul's organization, Griffin's routine singles, Pierce's catch-and-shoot, Jordan and Whiteside's rebounding impact... Except for defense, the Clippers played really well.
For the Lakers, Kobe's off-ball running and Liu Ren's low-post threat helped his teammates a lot. Antetokounmpo, Green, and Whiteside formed a triangle formation, and the scoring at the basket soared. The two teams After the first quarter, it was tied at 29!
(End of this chapter)