Dunleavy did understand, but his understanding was:
With the Clippers' current lineup, even if they build a defensively stable and interior-focused tactical system with Randolph and Gasol as the core, the Clippers' upper limit is only the top eight in the Western Conference. Whether they can pass the first round depends purely on luck.
If you can advance to the second round, it will basically be the ceiling of this style of play. The 2006 Clippers are a precedent.
In Dunleavy's opinion, the talent of the 2006 Clippers was a little better than the current Clippers.
The competition in the Western Conference is now more intense and cruel than in 2006. If the Clippers continue to play as before, the upper limit is too low.
In the 2006 Clippers, Dunleavy often rotated 7-8 people.
Short rotation can bring stability and high intensity, but it is not conducive to the discovery and training of new players.
After experiencing the final stage of last season's sprint to the playoffs, Dunleavy realized Smart's good intentions.
There may be many problems at the beginning, but by the end of the season, all members of the Clippers are in good physical condition and have few injuries.
And Ricky Davis and PJ Tucker were discovered.
Curry got a lot of training and became the core of the team.
Thinking of this, Dunleavy was finally willing to believe that Smart had a far-reaching plan for the Clippers.
It’s never just about the outcome of one or two games in front of you.
No wonder Smart doesn't feel relaxed every time he wins.
On the contrary, when he loses, he will comfort the players. He is really not pretending.
"We all listen to you, Smart." Dunleavy said, determined to continue to maintain an open and free tactical style.
Min Congda didn't expect that persuasion would be so easy this time, and he felt very happy.
What a joy, the team lost, Curry rested, and the team played blindly.
In Min Congda's view, the Clippers are finally going to be a bad team and never look back.
The schedule at the beginning of the new season is quite unfriendly to the Clippers.
At the beginning of last season, weak teams came over from time to time to provide warmth.
The Clippers faced very strong teams at the beginning of this season.
After playing against the Mavericks, another strong rival of Texas, the San Antonio Spurs, came to visit.
Even though the Spurs' core players have aged another year, Duncan is no longer as brave as he once was.
In the offseason, Popovich was intercepted by Min Congda again and Bonner was taken away.
But the Spurs still have strength and have become more balanced and team-oriented offensively.
Unlike before, the Spurs relied on Duncan first and then Manu Ginobili.
The current Spurs offense and defense are very balanced, and every player has enough ball rights.
Whoever has a good offensive feel will play more, move the ball a lot, and use a lot of pick-and-roll cooperation.
In two consecutive games, the Clippers encountered pick-and-roll problems on defense.
The Mavericks' difficulty lies with Nowitzki, and the Spurs' difficulty lies with Parker.
Also, Duncan's cover is very, very solid.
A large number of pick-and-rolls caused a lot of losses to the Clippers, who were slow to move inside defensively.
It was another game that was suppressed by everyone. The Clippers lost again 99:105, with a 6-point disadvantage.
Suffered three consecutive defeats!
Without Curry, the Clippers' defensive weaknesses are further amplified.
With Curry here, the offensive end can smooth out the problems caused by defense.
But is it just a matter of Curry's absence?
After three consecutive losses, the Los Angeles media began to ask questions:
"Where were the Los Angeles Clippers last season?" 》
"The Clippers are in trouble again. After a wonderful season, they seem to be in trouble again"
"The Clippers without a solid winning culture cannot escape the tragedy of a flash in the pan"
Seeing these articles, Min Congda felt happy.
Letting Curry have surgery was a very wise decision.
As the saying goes, one move affects the whole body. Curry's absence suddenly made the Clippers lose the feeling of winning.
It seems that this boy's strength cannot be underestimated and he has a great influence on the team.
Seeing the Clippers losing three games in a row, Fan Chen, who was far away in China, became anxious.
He sent a message to Min Congda and asked: "Mr. Min, what's going on with the Clippers? They've lost three games in a row? It's a bad start."
Min Congda replied: "Don't worry, it's just a small setback at the beginning. It will get better soon!"
"Mr. Min, I feel that the lineup is not much different from last season. The core inside team is also here. Why does it feel like the defense is so much worse?"
Fan Chen's question made Min Congda think for a while.
Although he is very happy with the current situation of the Clippers, he doesn't need to think more about it.
What if the Clippers slow down later? Think more now so you can take action later.
The Clippers' core lineup has indeed remained unchanged. Thornton has long been replaced by Nick Young.
It stands to reason that Ricky Davis has been very serious about defense after his transformation, but the results in these two games were average.
The defense of Randolph and Gasol inside can only be said to be flawed, but not bad.
As for the backcourt, Kirk Hinrich is obviously a defensive expert, and his defense is better than Curry.
So in theory, the Clippers' defense shouldn't perform too poorly.
The replacement of the backup center from Camby to Milicic is indeed a weakening.
But Milicic's performance in these games is pretty good, quite satisfactory.
A substitute center does not have such a huge impact on the game.
So what exactly is the problem?
Min Congda recalled the offensive situation on the court in several games, as well as the Clippers' defensive mode.
He told Fan Chen intuitively: "It's not necessarily because the Clippers' defense is poor, it could also be because the opponent's offense has become stronger."
This statement inspired Fan Chen, but he couldn't figure out the reason.
Min Congda continued to explain: "The Mavericks and Spurs are already strong, and this season they have begun to use pick-and-rolls a lot. I visually inspected that the frequency of their use of pick-and-roll tactics has increased by at least 30%. Repeated pick-and-roll cooperation, The requirements for defensive rotation are very high. The Clippers' rotation has always been a weakness, and our team that was good at pick-and-roll last season suffered a lot. On the contrary, when we play against a traditional team like the Lakers, we can fight hard."
Fan Chen felt that what Min Congda said made sense and said: "Then how to improve? You can talk to Coach Dunleavy about how to improve the defense, otherwise you will keep losing."
Min Congda thought, communication? I'm talking shit!
The Clippers have finally found themselves on the road to getting worse and worse.
How could I help Dunleavy restructure the defense?
However, Min Congda couldn't stand it in front of Fan Chen, so he still mentioned it and said: "Pick-and-roll defense is nothing more than delay, double-teaming, delay and retreat. The first three methods have higher requirements for tacit understanding. From a conservative and steady perspective, Say, drop and retreat, add a little coverage defense, and add a little zone defense, it will have a good effect."
"Yeah, yeah, what else?"
"More? Why are you asking so many questions? I asked you to discover young geniuses. Have you found any traces?"
"Not yet. I will report to you if I have it."
"Very good! No, hurry up, I'm waiting for your good news."
(End of chapter)
