Lionel Hollins took over the Grizzlies last season and began to transform the Grizzlies.
He knows Chris Wallace quite well and knows that this person is not a basketball professional and lacks some talent and sense of smell.
He used to rely on the famous Jerry West, but after West left, he could only rely on himself.
No, he is not relying on himself, but following the Clippers general manager Smart.
As the saying goes, a wolf travels a thousand miles to eat meat, and a dog travels a thousand miles to eat shit. If you follow a wolf, you eat meat, but if you follow a dog, you only eat shit.
Hollins is dissatisfied with the Grizzlies' recent transactions, whether it's sending away Gasol or trading Rudy Gay for Beasley.
Especially the trade for Rudy Gay to acquire Beasley seemed to Hollins to be nonsense.
Now Beasley's performance has proved that this deal was a complete failure.
But his failure was that he got Beasley in exchange instead of sending Gay away.
After more than half a season of observation and lineup experimentation, Hollins found that there was nothing wrong with trading Gay.
With Griffin, it is not a good thing to leave a "cancer" small forward with average defense and a lot of ball rights at the third position.
Gay's struggling performance with the Heat has proven this.
Otherwise, Pat Riley wouldn't have to spend a lot of money to get Battier from the Rockets at the trade deadline.
The real failure of Wallace's deal was the exchange of Gasol for Kaman.
Kaman only lasted a moment, and when Griffin returned, he was useless and happened to be injured.
Hollins once imagined the combination of Gasol + Griffin, which seemed to go back to the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977.
A center who can pass + a power forward with strong finishing ability, plus a smooth offensive team.
As a result, Gasol was taken away by the Clippers.
What surprises Hollins even more is that his ideal team seems to be gradually being established in the Clippers.
That unparalleled Blazer was Hollins' muse throughout his basketball career, the only place where he tasted a championship.
The Portlanders, led by Jack Ramsey and led by Bill Walton and Lucas, before the three-point line arrived, their offensive fluidity was the best in history.
Hollins was the team's guard at that time, where Ramsey was always yelling "run run run" at them, and Walton could always pass the ball accurately to the guard cutting to the basket.
Unfortunately, the current Grizzlies do not have such talent, and Hollins took the team in another direction.
But in tonight's game, Hollins saw the shadow of the Trail Blazers in the Los Angeles Clippers. What a smooth pass, cut and move, coupled with more powerful points, he attacked Hollins several times. He was so absorbed in watching it that he even forgot about his identity as the head coach of the Grizzlies and wanted to applaud him.
Hollins admires Steve Kerr. He knows that it was Kerr who gradually established the Clippers' offensive system and achieved results in just half a season.
But the person he admires more is Min Congda. In just over a season, he built a bad team like the Clippers into a good playing environment.
Hollins played for the Clippers when he was young, and at that time the Clippers' boss was already Sterling.
Hollins knows how bad this team is from top to bottom, from the top to the root.
And Smart Min can clean up this mess and give these young and talented coaches room to display, which is enough to show how amazing his ability is.
When setting up a stage to sing an opera, the actor who sings the opera always has the greatest reputation and the largest number of fans.
But only a person who can set up a stage and set it up well can bring out the most and the best role.
During halftime, Wallace came over and took out his notebook and said he had several tactics to discuss.
Hollins and Wallace have worked together for two seasons. Does Hollins know how much he weighs in basketball tactics?
When he told those defensive strategies, Hollins was shocked because they played into Hollins' hands.
At that moment he suspected that Wallace must not have thought of it himself, but someone taught him, and he was unwilling to tell?
Who could it be? Who has been sitting with Wallace in the stands? Only Smart-Min.
But why Smart helped Wallace and the Grizzlies, Hollins was puzzled.
Deliberately deceive Wallace and the Grizzlies later, and gain their trust now?
No, this is too far of a detour.
Most of the NBA's strategies and methods are still conspiracy.
There is no future in engaging in intrigues.
Hollins couldn't figure it out. He just knew that Smart was not a dog, but a wolf.
If Wallace follows him, he might actually get some meat.
After the start of the second half, Hollins changed his defensive strategy.
Tony Allen was moved to the third position and no longer faced directly with Baron Davis.
The Grizzlies' two inside defenses moved closer and stopped making meaningless delays. It was OK to just defend the basket.
The mid-range position is vacated for the Clippers, or as much as possible, given to Tony Allen.
Anyway, if you want to force Tony Allen in the mid-range, you can do it. I won't give it to you easily in the inside.
In the first half, the Grizzlies gave the Clippers too many opportunities to cut to the basket and broke their defense.
At the beginning of the third quarter, the Grizzlies' defense really worked, with Jordan and Griffin squatting under the basket.
No matter how he bypasses the screen in the high position, how he responds, or how he cuts through the air, he doesn't give in easily.
Although Curry was allowed to hit two mid-range shots, the Grizzlies could accept this result.
You're not Kobe, can you still kill me with your mid-range shots?
The Grizzlies offense also calmed down and took their time with the Clippers.
The Grizzlies' staffing meant that they would not be able to break out and get the score back in four or five minutes.
But they had the patience to make exchanges little by little, trading time for space, and chasing back one ball after another.
The pace of the game plummeted, and along with it, the Clippers' offensive efficiency plummeted.
After Tony Allen came to the third position, he seemed to be facing Ricky Davis, but in fact he actively switched defenses.
Whenever there is a screen or cross-position change, the defense is switched, not giving the Clippers a chance to run out of space.
He spared no effort in physical strength and switched positions to defend with full coverage, which significantly slowed down the Clippers' passing speed.
Halfway through the third quarter, the Grizzlies chased the score to 78:68, trailing by only 10 points.
When Harden and Paul George came on the court, Tony Allen once again took on the important task of defending Harden alone.
Close defense with no blind spots, full concentration, and will steal your ball if not careful.
Although the offense is not very good, the defense cannot be underestimated.
Harden made two turnovers in front of Tony Allen.
Griffin dribbled the ball all by himself during the fast break counterattack, turned around and passed George with a spinning top.
Throw the basket with both hands!
The basket trembled.
At the end of the third quarter, the score was chased to 80:74, and the Grizzlies were only 6 points behind!
Wallace looked at the Grizzlies' wonderful performance in the third quarter and smiled proudly.
Then he turned around and saw Mr. Smart smiling even more proudly than him!
(End of chapter)
