The Clippers were unable to play with a complete lineup today, but their overall strength is still far better than Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Min Congda thought that the Clippers' morale was low and that a loss to Maccabi in the preseason would dampen the team's confidence. This idea didn't feel very reliable not long after the first quarter started.
The Clippers launched a fierce attack on Maccabi at the beginning, and they played steadily from the inside.
Chris Kaman is known as "White Duncan", and another person who is so called is Big Mouth Bogut. Anyway, a white insider with solid skills can easily be compared with Duncan, but in fact there is a huge difference.
Of course, facing Maccabi, Kaman could indeed play like Duncan, scoring consecutive points in the low post in the opening game.
His low post steps are very solid, his shooting touch is very good, and his skills are comprehensive. When the opponent's defense is not particularly strong, he can have very good inside performance.
In addition to the pre-season games, it is impossible for both sides to make targeted arrangements. It depends on the players' personal abilities and status.
After falling behind at the start, Maccabi certainly caught up and took advantage of the Clippers' loopholes in the outside defense to continuously break through and score inside.
The game between the two sides uses NBA rules. There is a three-second defensive period inside, so Maccabi players can rush in as much as they like.
Min Congda watched Curry being beaten by Maccabi's small guard twice in a row and thought: "Curry's defense is indeed flawed. If the Clippers want to make up for this shortcoming, they must set up a mobile player at the third position." A strong, small forward with excellent perimeter defense will do."
"Thornton is not good at this. His physical talent is good, but his defensive experience and intuition are too poor, and he is too inside..."
Min Congda analyzed the characteristics of the Clippers' lineup through the offensive and defensive battles between the two sides. Once Curry becomes the starting point guard, the Clippers' backcourt defense will actually be tested.
Thornton has the physical qualities to become an excellent third-position defender. His wingspan, jumping, and strength are very good, but he lacks outside defensive awareness and experience.
On the defensive end, he prefers to stay inside to protect backcourt rebounds and go to the basket to make up defense, rather than becoming a good outside lock. After all, there are statistics for rebounding.
As for Kaman and Camby... expect them to help defend and fill positions on the outside? You might as well expect Kobe to pass the ball more.
As a result, Maccabi continued to rely on the breakthroughs of outside players to create opportunities, score consecutive goals, and bite the score.
At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers led Maccabi by 7 points, 29:22.
Facing Maccabi, the Clippers' offense is still unmatched. Even against NBA teams, when Randolph comes back, the Clippers' lineup can still compete against each other.
In the first quarter, Curry focused most of his energy on defense and organization. He fed Kaman the ball, distributed the ball after breaking through, and passed first and second passes at the top of the arc, but he did not try to shoot his own shot.
Because in Dunleavy's tactical system, the point guard's first responsibility is to organize and coordinate the distribution of ball rights between the inside and the forwards. If there is an opportunity left, he can choose to attack by himself.
A more traditional method of using point guards.
It can be foreseen that when Randolph returns to the team, the twin towers of Kaman and Randolph will inevitably occupy a lot of ball rights.
As a rookie, even if he is the No. 1 pick, Curry will not be able to fully perform in such a team system.
The Clippers didn't treat him like James or Durant. After all, he was an accident. It was taken off by Smart on the spur of the moment.
However, before the start of the second quarter, Dunleavy said to Curry: "You will continue to stay on the court to lead the second team, let go and control the ball."
Curry nodded. It was not a problem for him to play the first quarter and continue the second quarter.
Dunleavy saw that there might be some energy hidden in Curry's body. In addition to the summer league, Kim Hughes said that this kid Curry performed well.
Therefore, Lao Deng will give him some time and opportunities to display his talents during the game and play in a way that he feels more comfortable with.
At the beginning of the second quarter, both sides switched to the second lineup. At this time, there would be no specific tactics. During the chaotic stage, it was time for Curry to perform.
As a result, Curry failed to hit consecutive three-pointers from the outside. He seemed to be a little impatient, too eager to display his abilities in a short free time.
Without a good shooting feeling in the first quarter, and in the case of physical fatigue, if he rashly forces a shot in the second quarter, his shooting rate will naturally not be very high.
However, PJ Tucker, the interior player who came off the bench, performed very tough. When Curry missed a three-pointer, he continuously grabbed offensive rebounds, preserving the team's offensive opportunities and not giving Maccabi a chance to counterattack.
"This P.J. Tucker just relies on his brute strength to play. He can still play with this intensity in the preseason, but when it comes to the regular season... he definitely won't be able to!"
"And Curry, wouldn't it be enough if he had a little more intensity? Haha, my vision is indeed right!"
Curry's performance in the preseason was obviously not as good as in the summer league. Min Congda believed that his idea was indeed correct. Curry's performance would not be good in high-intensity games. His selection was correct.
In the middle of the second quarter, Curry was substituted. The two sides switched players and brought up all the players who could be on the bench. It was just for warm-up in the preseason.
Min Congda was still thinking about whether Maccabi could rise to the top, and kept attacking while keeping an eye on the Clippers' defensive loopholes, and maybe they could win.
As it turned out, Maccabi was only here to train and warm up. This game was a charity game, and the ticket sales from the game would be donated to an orphanage in northern Israel.
"The Clippers have such a big hole in their perimeter defense. They can just use their small guards to break through. What are Maccabi doing? Is the coach a Palestinian?"
Min Congda felt anxious when he saw that the Maccabi team did not insist on breaking through and attacking the Clippers' inside line.
European teams like Maccabi are actually playing basketball accustomed to FIBA rules. FIBA insiders do not have three seconds of defense.
Therefore, there are big centers standing in the three-second zone at all times, making breakthroughs difficult. The team's tactics are mainly based on repeated running and cutting.
This style of play is not very suitable for the rules and rhythm of the NBA, and it is very difficult to chase points.
Although Thornton is disadvantaged defensively, his height, strength, and jumping give him an advantage against European players, and he can get into the paint and score various points.
At halftime, the Clippers led Maccabi by 8 points 65:57.
In the second half, the two sides played more relaxedly. Dunleavy let the starting five play for five minutes before starting the substitute rotation.
Players at the end of the bench came on stage one after another. After taking down P.J. Tucker, Min Congda still gave Olshey permission to sign three 10-day short contracts to make up for the preseason.
These short-term contract players are all great players in the European leagues, and they are on short-term contracts. They must seize every opportunity to express themselves. The preseason games are treated as official games, and they perform 100% every time they play.
Min Congda looked at the situation between the two sides in the third quarter. The Clippers kept pressing Maccabi, and the gap between the personal abilities of the players on both sides was too big.
The Clippers will lose this game unless they play match-fixing, or Maccabi suddenly plays it real and catches the Clippers off guard, but this is obviously unlikely.
He sighed, "Why would the league arrange such a game? Next time, just let the Clippers play in the CBA in the preseason! Is it easy for me to earn some wages? I'm going to harm working-class people like me!"
In the end, the Clippers easily defeated Maccabi 109:96 at Staples Center with a 13-point advantage.
Curry's performance in this game was mediocre, scoring 8 points, but sending 7 assists. It seems that Dunleavy wants to train him into a traditional point guard.
Min Congda was disappointed after watching a preseason game, and his 500 yuan salary was gone. He decided to go to the training center tomorrow to have a good meal to relieve his hatred.
At this moment, Ada, who was sitting nearby, came over to tell Min Congda a message: "Mr. Smart, I just received the news that Blake Griffin of the Grizzlies injured his knee during the game and may be reimbursed for the new season. ”
"Reimbursed? What do you mean?" Min Congda didn't react when he heard this word.
"This means that Blake Griffin will not be able to participate in the new season and he will miss all games."
Griffin,
absent,
All games…
Min Congda thought for a moment and realized what it meant. He showed a stiff expression on his face and murmured: "This is really bad news. I deeply sympathize with the Grizzlies. I sympathize, really..."
