The Clippers' impatience filled the first quarter.
In fact, the players are in good spirits. After a day's rest, they all want to fight a tough battle in Cleveland.
Defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers means the Clippers are eligible to join the ranks of championship teams.
It is a sublimation for the team's self-confidence and season goals.
Since Min Congda took charge of the team, he has never conveyed his intention to "win the championship" to the players.
He always said, "realize yourself", "everyone has a ball to play", and "losing is not terrible".
But the team's performance is getting better and better, and everyone naturally aims at the championship.
For a young team, there is no better way to become king than to beat the league's former king.
Although James has not yet won a championship, he has two finals, two MVPs, and is only one step away from winning the title.
This season they are the favorites to win the championship again, ranking first in the league.
Beating them on the road is a great boost to morale and confidence.
But it is precisely because of the strong desire to win that the players are impetuous.
The continuous offense in the first quarter was unfavorable, and the players became more and more anxious. Curry, Harden, and Randolph all started attacking as soon as they got the ball.
They are all players with strong personal abilities, but the Cavaliers are obviously prepared.
Danny Green defends Harden one-on-one, Robin Lopez helps defend Randolph, and James helps defend Curry.
Mike Brown performed very targeted defense on these three Clippers offensive arrows.
When Curry faced James' proactive defense, it became difficult to play the ball and take shots.
Robin Lopez and Jamison's double attack on Randolph was also quite successful.
Danny Green is the Cavaliers' biggest discovery this season.
This player, who was retained at Min Congda's suggestion, gave the team a lot of surprises on both offense and defense, and gradually established himself as the Cavaliers' starting shooting guard.
His functions, position, and abilities all fit perfectly with the combination of James and Irving.
He has strong defensive enthusiasm, a pretty good three-point shot, and is very stable on both offense and defense.
The most important thing is height, which was the biggest shortcoming of the Cavaliers' previous guard line. It has been targeted by the Magic and Celtics for two consecutive years.
The arrival of Green made up for this shortcoming, and his defense against Harden in the first quarter was quite successful.
With both stars in 2009 being contained, the Clippers' main shooting opportunities came to George and Gasol.
The first quarter lasted five minutes and entered the official timeout. The Cavaliers were 14:6, already leading the Clippers by 8 points.
Being 8 points behind at the start was a very bad start for the Clippers, who urgently needed to find a breaking point.
Tyronn Lue decisively handed over the command to Steve Kerr during the timeout!
From Tyronn Lue's point of view, he didn't know what to do, so handing over command was the best option.
Cole took out the tactical board and shifted the team's offensive focus to Gasol-Paul George.
At this time, the pass-cut cooperation can come into play again, and George's running position is already very good.
Through George's air cuts, García's support in the high post, mid-range shooting, and even three-point shooting created a new offensive threat for the Cavaliers.
The effect of this move is immediate.
In the first offense after returning from the timeout, Gasol held the ball in a high position. Curry and George ran around him continuously, taking away the defense.
Gasol suddenly shot a cold arrow at the top of the arc and hit a three-pointer.
Robin Lopez's defensive attention is mainly focused on Randolph.
I didn't expect that Gasol would make a three-pointer.
Of course, three-pointers have not yet become Gasol's regular weapon.
He made two last season, one against the Trail Blazers in the first game of the season and one against the Grizzlies in the middle of the season.
So far this season, plus this, he has made 5 three-pointers. There is improvement, but not much and needs to be developed.
However, this goal undoubtedly sounded the alarm for the Cavaliers' defense to be careful with Gasol.
However, the Cavaliers' offense was very stable. Irving controlled the ball and gave it to James who cut to the basket.
James made a strong breakthrough, attracting the defense to pass the ball to Danny Green in the bottom corner.
Danny Green caught the ball and hit a three-pointer!
responded with a three-pointer.
Playing next to James, it is enough to have a core player who can share the responsibility of holding the ball and attacking.
No matter how many balls there are, there won't be enough points. The remaining players just need to be functional players.
The current configuration is indeed very suitable for him and he plays very comfortably.
Then, Gasol still held the ball high, and Lopez extended his defense slightly this time.
George made a beautiful reverse run and cut to the basket, and Gasol made a perfect lob pass.
George caught the ball, cut and dunked!
After slamming the ball hard, George hung on the rim for a while.
After landing, he roared, encouraging his teammates to cheer up.
After George's battle with the Thunder, his entire court temperament has been sublimated.
Maybe he found that someone with Durant's looks can be the future face of the league. He is so handsome, why can't he be a super giant?
Once they have the heart of a superstar, players will be more open-minded and play better on the court.
The Clippers' offense gradually broke the ice.
Tyronn Lue saw that the passing effect was good, so he replaced Harden in the second half of the first quarter and replaced him with Jimmy Butler.
Butler and George are both active defensively and active in cutting and running at the third position. They will be very energetic on the court.
But the disadvantage is that he lacks experience and his personal abilities need to be improved. He needs Gasol, Curry and others to lead him.
Mike Brown knew what the Clippers were thinking, and he did not change his defensive strategy because the Clippers' offense gradually improved.
He insisted on chasing Curry and double-teaming Randolph. He was determined that relying on George, Butler and Gasol, the Clippers' offense would not be able to turn around.
Mike Brown's strategy is not wrong. Without Randolph's low post attack and Curry's three-pointer, the Clippers' offensive efficiency has been slow to improve.
It is impossible to succeed with every ball in the air cut. In many cases, it still depends on the player's personal ability.
At the end of the first quarter, Curry used continuous screens, got rid of, caught the ball and hit his first three-pointer of the game!
It was also the first point he scored in this game!
In the first quarter of the game, Curry struggled quite a bit.
James basically gave up his full defense against George and "take care of" Curry every chance he got.
When the defense is switched after the pick-and-roll, James will also defend with all his strength. James's big defense and small defense may be the best in the league.
As for George? His ball-handling offense is not yet at a level that can kill the Cavaliers.
Curry worked hard to hit this three-pointer. At the end of the first quarter, the score only reached 24:33, and the Clippers were 9 points behind!
Falling behind by 9 points in the first quarter, the Clippers were completely suppressed on both offense and defense.
Curry felt very depressed when he returned to the bench. He felt that he was being targeted tonight, completely and completely. 33
All of his familiar routines and habits were thoroughly understood by his opponents.
James defended him very well, and Curry lost his temper when he defended him.
"The Cavaliers are really well prepared for the game, especially the defense against Curry." During the break, Cole communicated with Tyronn Lue.
"Yes, Mike Brown has two brushes, and their research is quite detailed."
Tyronn Lue felt that he had neglected his duty and did not prepare enough before the game, but there was no way. It was like this in consecutive away games, and there was not much preparation time.
Just like when you go to work, everyone has plenty of time for some work projects, has time to discuss them, and does a good job.
Sometimes I’m busy on a business trip, and there are people who are sick and have asked for leave but didn’t come. If I’m in a hurry, I won’t do well enough.
Every NBA game is a project, and it is normal to be underprepared.
However, Curry, Cole, and Director Lu must not know that the reason why James defended Curry so well was not because of Mike Brown's good preparation, but because of the good guidance of Min Congda, the traitor!
At this time, Min Congda was sitting in front of the TV, feeling very proud as he watched the Clippers trailing behind in the first quarter and looking like they could not beat them.
"Sure enough, I know Curry well. This player I single-handedly selected, how can I not know how much he weighs?"
"Oh, it's the second quarter. Curry needs to take a rest. Let's go to Jeremy Lin... Oops, our lifelong enemy. I think Coach Lu wants to die. You don't know how to implement the strategy of everyone having the ball to play!"
Some people died, but not completely...
