The game started on time, and the Clippers still had a lineup of two heroes inside.
Replacing Curry in the starting position was Bledsoe.
In November, Bledsoe gained Dunleavy's trust and appeared in a large number of starting positions.
However, his performance is not very stable. Sometimes he can score more than ten points in a single game, and sometimes he will score zero points.
Kirk Hinrich basically split the playing time with Bledsoe, Hinrich is more stable but lacks energy.
Baron Davis' condition is getting better and better. After some hard recovery training and weight loss in the summer, his strength has returned to about 70% of his peak.
It's just that without the ball in the offense, Baron Davis is still not as good as with the ball.
Throughout November, Balang missed Curry very much.
Compared to the instability in the backcourt, the Clippers' frontcourt is quite solid.
Ricky Davis is now firmly established as the Clippers' starting small forward.
And he has completely regarded himself as a 3D player, focusing on defense and shooting three-pointers.
As the season progresses, his condition gets better and better.
Not to mention the inside, Randolph and Gasol have become more and more in sync with each other.
Overall, the Clippers are gradually coming out of the trough period in November.
Moreover, Dunleavy has been adjusting the team's defense for more than half a month.
Some time ago, Olshey found Dunleavy and read him an article called "The Use and Limitations of Pick-and-Roll in Current Game Trends."
Lao Deng originally sneered at it. As a senior head coach, how could he look at such a thing.
Tactics and strategies are all stored in his extremely clever head.
Olshey said, however, that the article was a draft written by Mr. Smart.
Smart hopes this article can help solve the Clippers' defensive problems.
Dunleavy was surprised, "Why didn't Smart let me see it himself?"
Olshey said, "I guess Mr. Smart doesn't want to put pressure on you, Mike. Someone else found this and sent it to me. Take a look. I think it makes sense."
Dunleavy spent 10 minutes looking at it carefully, then sat on the sidelines and fell into deep thought.
The writing is indeed very reasonable. Although it is a rather simple article, it provides insight into the major problems on the Clippers' defensive end.
In particular, he reversed one of Dunleavy's beliefs. Dunleavy believed that the team's poor defense was because everyone did not work hard.
But the reality is that everyone worked hard, even harder than last season, but other teams have improved.
There are many such situations in the NBA. Wasn't this the case with the Clippers in 2007?
He was still very impressive in 2006, but fell into disrepair in 2007. Is it just an injury problem?
Brand is still at his peak, and the aging lineup does not age overnight.
Teams like the Spurs are getting older, so why do they stay so young?
In this increasingly competitive league, there will be new situations every season, requiring new changes.
This article, coupled with recent losses, made Dunleavy realize that the team needed to make changes.
Therefore, following the instructions of the article, Dunleavy began to rearrange the team's defense and increase the proportion of defensive training in daily training.
The previous game against the Hornets had already shown some results. They defeated the Hornets 90:86 at home, ending their five-game losing streak against the Hornets.
Before tonight's game, Dunleavy continued to emphasize the basic defensive strategy: very simple, just retreat.
"Today we are playing the Spurs. Parker's shooting is not stable. Let's slightly increase the proportion of sinking."
Before the game started, Dunleavy murmured in his heart and looked back at the audience - Min Congda was not in his seat.
To be honest, Lao Deng and the Clippers players were still not used to Min Congda not yelling from behind.
Recently, he has not come to the training center to have a meal. Everyone thinks that Mr. Smart must be disappointed with the team's record.
This made the Clippers players hold their breath and wanted to win!
The Spurs' lineup tonight is very small compared to the past.
Duncan moved to the center position, with DeJuan Blair at power forward, Jefferson at small forward, and guards Ginobili and Parker.
Ginobili returned to the starting position from the past sixth man, because under the new system, the outside has to bear more scoring tasks.
After Duncan moves to the fifth position, his main job will be defense, and his role on the offensive end will gradually weaken.
Of course, at critical moments, Duncan will still be the team's most important offensive option.
In the first quarter of the game, just two rounds into the game, Popovich felt that the Clippers tonight were different from more than half a month ago.
The Spurs' first attack, high Duncan's pick-and-roll, a very solid high-quality screen, Parker came in from the right.
As a result, Gasol did not switch defenses on this ball, but quickly sank into the basket. At the same time, Bledsoe squeezed through and chased Parker.
Parker tried to rush to the basket, but Garfield was in a good position. He didn't have a good chance and could only pass the ball to Ginobili on the wing.
Ginobili's throw after the breakthrough missed, Gasol got the backboard, and the Clippers launched a counterattack.
Popovich smelled the Clippers' changes on the defensive end.
"The most robust retreat defense is indeed very suitable, but if it is just retreat, the effect will not be very good."
The big man sinking back to the basket is the most stable way to defend against pick-and-rolls, protecting the three-second zone and backcourt rebounds.
But this gives smaller players more room to move, especially small guys with strong shooting, who will punish the big guys who retreat in the mid-range.
Therefore, the small man is required to squeeze through the defense at all costs, pursue from behind, interfere with and block shots in the mid-range.
What Bledsoe lacks most is physical strength. Young people have very good physical fitness.
If it is just a simple retreat, then the Clippers' defensive method is still too simple.
Subsequently, during the Clippers' attack, Randolph attacked Blair in the low post, turned around and hit the board.
The Spurs still used a pick-and-roll to launch the offense. This time it was Blair's pick-and-roll, and Ginobili organized it.
But this time the Clippers did not make a complete retreat, and the slower Randolph took a weak delay.
Strong delay can only be played by a player like Kevin Garnett. After a high-intensity delay from outside the three-point line, he can also rush back to the basket to block the opponent's layup.
Weak delay seems to be just a pretense, reaching out to block it, but it is not completely ineffective. It can still delay the ball holder for a short period of time.
It is this short period of time that gives the defender a chance to adjust his position.
Randolph retreated after a weak delay, and Baron Davis was able to make timely replacement to defend Ginobili.
Of course, Ginobili still managed to get to the basket and pass the ball to Duncan, who caught the ball and made a layup.
But the Spurs' offense obviously won't be like the previous games, where they randomly hit several opportunities with one pick-and-roll.
Also, in order to counter the Spurs' quick attack, Ricky Davis would double-team and delay the ball holder almost every time the offense and defense transitioned. After the delay was over, he immediately retreated to defend against his defender.
This consumes a lot of players' physical energy, but the effect is quite good.
In the first quarter of the game, the Clippers led the Spurs by 6 points, 25:19.
The Spurs, who couldn't increase their speed, were completely misfired offensively and had no moves on the court.
Min Congda watched the game progress in the first quarter, and the steak in his mouth suddenly felt unsatisfactory.
And the more he read, the more confused he became, "Why do I think the Clippers' defense is the same as what I wrote in my article? Could it be that Lao Deng's thoughts coincide with mine?"
(End of chapter)
