Tolliver's performance in the first half of the first quarter confirmed Min Congda's policy in selecting players.
As the All-Star Game approaches, the season is gradually coming to an end. Those who are rushing to make the playoffs, and those who are not making the playoffs have begun to think about the draft.
The Clippers are vacillating between the two. They can make a push and have a chance, but it will be difficult.
Min Congda certainly does not want the team to enter the playoffs. If he wins a game after entering the playoffs, he will directly deduct US$3,000.
Who can afford to lose $12,000 after winning a series?
Coupled with the recent setbacks in the investment field, there is no room for mistakes on the court.
Therefore, Min Congda frequently briefed Dunleavy and the entire team.
Let everyone relax, don't be pressured by performance, and just play to your own value.
Especially Lao Deng, he was worried because he was afraid that Lao Deng would rotate six or seven players.
Sprinting all out after the All-Star break to make the playoffs is troublesome.
Therefore, Min Congda once again held a meeting with the coaching staff and repeatedly emphasized the strategic policy of "everyone has the ball to play".
Lao Deng and several assistant coaches took a look and decided that in this case, they should continue to experiment with the lineup.
So in the last game against the Jazz, the Clippers collapsed in the fourth quarter because the Clippers played too loosely in the fourth quarter.
The Jazz are focused on attacking the top three in the Western Conference, and they will definitely kill them in the fourth quarter.
As for the Clippers, they still give Curry a chance to make wild shots from outside. It would be weird if he doesn't lose.
Curry shot two three-pointers in the first quarter, but he still didn't feel very good and missed.
Although the Clippers maintained the lead, the point difference did not widen, maintaining a gap of about 6 points.
The Warriors can't guard the Clippers' interior on the defensive end, so they want to get the points back on the offensive end. The defense will not defend well.
Monta Ellis began to exert force in the second half of the first quarter, holding the ball one after another to break through Baron Davis.
After getting inside, facing Gasol, Ellis used his amazing waist and abdominal strength to dodge in the air, and was finally able to send the ball into the basket.
Ellis has what the Clippers lack most: speed.
Baron Davis was originally a heavy defender, but now with a knee injury, he has become an old man on the floor.
Curry is more sensitive, has fast reaction speed, and average absolute speed and explosive power.
He is not a player like Ellis who can drastically change directions and perform 360-degree circles in the air.
Not to mention the frontcourt, Thornton is slow, Randolph is slow, and Gasol is even slower.
So overall, the Clippers are a slower team.
Ellis seemed to be a beat faster than everyone on the court.
Rubio, who is paired with him, is also very fast, and the ball arrives quickly.
The Warriors quickly launched an 11:4 offensive counterattack.
Using speed to overtake the score in one fell swoop, the Clippers were one point behind at 20:21.
Dunleavy called a timeout at this time, and Min Congda looked at the Clippers' slow performance and felt very satisfied.
"Nothing in the world of martial arts is indestructible except speed! Let's just call our fast boat a slow boat. Isn't this the case of being chased and beaten by warriors?"
In fact, on the basketball court, you can play no matter how fast or slow you are.
Being fast has its advantages, and being slow has its advantages.
The key is whether you can drag your opponent into the rhythm you are good at.
Teams that are good at playing fast can make their opponents run with them and outrun them to death.
Let’s talk about the Show Time Lakers at a distant place, and the Suns and the Golden State Warriors in 2007 at a closer place.
Monta Ellis is the remnant of the Black Eight Warriors and still maintains his fast and furious style of play.
Teams that are good at playing slow must suppress the rhythm and prevent their opponents from following their lead.
Everyone strives for success rate and low error rate. Whoever makes fewer mistakes will win.
The Spurs before 2007, the Celtics in 2008, the masters among them.
Of course, the truly historically powerful teams can play both fast and slow, and are not afraid of how their opponents play.
You are good at playing fast. I will play fast with you. If you are fast, I will be faster than you. If I attack, I will kill you.
You are good at playing slow, and I can also play slow with you. I am slower and more efficient than you, and I will wear you down.
For example, the Chicago Bulls, who won 72 games, have the ability to control all opponents.
The current Clippers obviously cannot reach this level, and Dunleavy is still undecided on whether to focus on fast or slow tempo.
If the system is built with Randolph and Gasol as the core, it should focus on slowness, grinding the position, playing rhythm and consumption, and using high-intensity defense to kill the opponent.
But if a system is built with Curry and Baron Davis as the core, it should focus on fast, play speed, play offensive basketball, and end the game with efficient and rapid offense.
Dunleavy has felt the huge contradiction brought about by the difference in style between the inside and outside through repeated tactics and lineup experiments.
As for how to mediate this contradiction, Dunleavy believes that the key point may lie in the selection of the third position.
"If we have one or several comprehensive three-position players who can organically combine Randolph and Gasol with Curry, Gordon, Davis and others, then our Clippers might not be able to become a team. A top team that can play both fast and slow, combining movement and stillness.”
Dunleavy was arranging tactics during the timeout, and he was also making assumptions in his mind.
Currently, the Clippers' third position is the weakest, with Thornton pulling his hips and Ricky Davis having limited abilities.
PJ Tucker and Novak are both functional players who cannot take on big responsibilities. If LeBron James can come in the summer...
I dare not think about it, but Dunleavy thinks that if it can really be realized, the championship will see the light of day!
Then the hope that he had been vaguely aware of since the beginning of the season would become a reality.
"Let's also increase the speed a little bit, Steph, speed up and play faster."
Dunleavy reminded Curry to speed up and play fast or slow depending on the No. 1 position.
As a point guard, Curry must learn how to lead the rhythm of the game.
Curry nodded, and the jeers of Warriors fans could be heard from time to time.
So far he has not given a strong response, and Ricky Rubio is definitely not that easy to deal with.
The Spanish prodigy is physically gifted, has both speed and strength, outstanding wingspan, and good court awareness.
It can be said that he is full of talent. No wonder many people believed that Rubio had the potential to become the No. 1 pick before the draft.
He dropped to seventh place, and the Warriors missed him.
For Rubio, the Warriors paid a lot of money to resolve the contract issues with the original club.
This is to allow Rubio to land in the NBA earlier, start training with the Warriors earlier, and adapt to the intensity and competition of the NBA.
After half a season of training and coaching from Nelson, Rubio fully understood Nelson's system tactically.
His passing is excellent, and he supports the Warriors' rapid offensive system at a young age.
He doesn't suffer on the defensive end, and because of his outstanding awareness, he has a very good steal.
In the first quarter, he successfully stole Curry once and succeeded in counterattacking, which was the go-ahead goal.
The only shortcoming is that Rubio's shooting is too poor and he has not made any progress in half a season.
I often ask Nelson to hold his forehead, thinking, is this kid going to follow Kidd's route?
Relatively speaking, Curry's shooting is not at the same level as Rubio's.
When he came back from the timeout, Curry received the ball from the outside. Gasol made a single screen at the top of the arc, and came out of the open space to shoot a three-pointer!
The ball went into the basket with a swoosh, and the Warriors' 1-point lead was instantly wiped out.
On his third three-point shot in the first quarter, Curry finally hit!
He clapped vigorously to encourage himself, and the performance had just begun.
(End of chapter)
