The Lakers unexpectedly lost to the Grizzlies in the first game, which surprised people.
Lakers fans at Staples Center experienced a somewhat disappointing night.
But they were not worried. In the 2009 championship season, they faced the Rockets in the second round, but also lost the first game and were taken first by the Houstonians.
After that, they successfully advanced through a tough tie-break. This is a test that almost any championship team must go through on the road to winning the championship.
After just one night, early the next morning, the arena staff began to replace the floor in preparation for the Clippers' game that night.
The first two games of the Western Conference semifinals were played in Los Angeles. This kind of scene is really rare-in fact, this is the first time in history.
The Lakers have enough samples in the playoffs, but the Clippers are too shabby.
In the past two years, the Clippers and Lakers have had more and more opportunities to compete in the same city.
The shadow of war is once again hanging over the arena. Everyone knows that the battle between the Clippers and Thunder will be extremely fierce.
This is a collision of talents. As the leader of the young team, the winner has to be decided in the semifinals for two consecutive years.
In the pre-game interview, Kevin Durant told reporters very seriously, "We are ready and we will win the series."
There is no doubt that the Grizzlies' victory yesterday gave the Thunder confidence, and the flames of revenge made the Thunder's morale very high.
Before the game officially started, live footage captured the audience on the sidelines, including Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Conley and other Grizzlies players.
This was an extremely rare situation in the past playoffs, because how could the teams that were playing go to other cities to watch other teams play?
But the Grizzlies players can. After playing the game against the Lakers and watching the Clippers and Thunder, maybe they can advance to the next round?
None of the Lakers players showed up at the game. Kobe and Paul, who lost, must have found a place to practice or receive physical therapy to maintain their condition.
Min Congda booked a VIP room tonight and watched the game upstairs with Staples Center owner Anschutz, and of course the new Clippers owner Shelley Sterling.
Unlike Donald Sterling, Shelly doesn't like to sit on the sidelines and watch the game in public. She likes to hide in the private room and watch everything from behind the bead curtain.
The divorce lawsuit between Shelly and Sterling is progressing very smoothly. In the past, Sterling would definitely not be willing to divorce and want to divide the property.
Now Sterling knows that someone is trying to mess with him and ask him to sell the Clippers. The divorce can keep the team in the hands of "his family", so of course he agreed.
And once he gets divorced, the sky is as high as the birds can fly, and the sea is as wide as the fish can jump. He will be single and free again, and he will have more reasons to find a girlfriend.
Even if you are 80 years old, as long as the glory is still there, you will still be a teenager when you wake up.
"Smart, what you do is really unreasonable. It's such a big job to build a new arena. Why don't you communicate with me? Are you afraid that I will steal your business?"
Anschutz lit a cigar, blew out smoke rings and said to Min Congda.
When it came to raising funds to build a new arena, Min Congda never thought of asking Anschutz for help.
Staples Center and the new arena are in competition with each other.
Once the new arena is built, it will surpass the Staples Center in terms of location and equipment.
Anschutz also has a cold and unfavorable attitude towards this new arena. It is too crazy to build a basketball arena for US$1.2 billion.
Although Anschutz is rich, he doesn't want to wade into this muddy water. He thinks there must be something wrong with Smart's brain.
However, recently, as the Sterling incident has taken a turn for the worse, Xie Li has come out to fully support Min Congda, and things have begun to look more interesting.
As a sports tycoon with a keen sense of smell, Anschutz does not want to miss any opportunity to increase the value of his assets.
If Min Congda can really raise funds to put the new arena into construction, regardless of whether the Clippers will go bankrupt, this arena must be a high-quality asset.
Therefore, Anschutz, who was not interested before, became interested again and said that Min Congda was not looking for him.
Min Congda thought to himself, did you pay attention to me when I came to you before?
Min Congda smiled and said: "If you are willing to join and invest, I think the foundation of this arena will be stronger. But by then, the Clippers will not pay you rent every year."
"The rent is nothing, the assets are passed on forever. Some of my friends in the financial world are very interested in this project, but they also have some concerns and need the Clippers to give a better record."
Anschutz, like many investors, is most concerned about the Clippers' performance, because it means the Clippers' box office appeal, future cash flow, and profitability.
Min Congda knew that the Clippers had to win this semifinal. Continuously entering the Western Conference Finals was a good sign, right?
Before the game, Min Congda participated in the Clippers' tactical preparation meeting and provided important guidance.
Of course, the tactical preparation for playing against the Thunder is not complicated. It still focuses on two points: Perkins' shortcomings on both ends of the offense and defense, and the implementation of a wheel battle against Kevin Durant.
However, Min Congda made some suggestions for modifications. He believed that Brooks would definitely make adjustments tonight. It would be impossible to let Perkins' flaws be exposed, and he would not let Durant be trapped in a tight siege.
The Thunder are likely to take advantage of Durant's defensive appeal to create more opportunities for the wings and the basket. Durant will pass the ball and let Westbrook drive the rhythm, which will shorten Perkins' playing time and even allow him to play. Durant goes inside, in the low post and in the ribs, to serve as an offensive node.
Min Congda repeatedly watched the first-round game between the Thunder and the Nuggets. Durant had this ability in the playoffs, but he was not very strong.
"If the Clippers want to win the Thunder, they must return the game to the Thunder's familiar rhythm of doubles and small singles, plus Gordon's singles on the bench, so that the Thunder's offense is completely separated. The first game of the series sets the tone, and cannot Let the Thunder play something new and let them indulge in inertia."
Min Congda is a master in handling tactics and game rhythm.
After three years of training, he has been able to see through the things behind the surface such as tactics and confrontations, which are related to the psychology of players.
Nowadays, Min Congda plays NBA2k or LIVE games less and less. He realizes that no matter how accurate the numerical values in the game are, they cannot restore the game situation.
Because players are human beings, and the team is a collective of people, and everyone has their own ideas and habits.
When they have the same idea and are used to tacit understanding, the team's combat effectiveness is very strong.
But once the ideas are misaligned and everyone plays his own role, the team's combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced.
Before the first game of the series, both sides will be confident and united.
However, as the series progresses, many problems will gradually be exposed. Some seem to be tactical problems, and some are technical problems, but in fact they are more psychological problems.
Psychological problems cannot be simulated in the game. In the game, players always listen to instructions and always play according to established tactics and operations.
It's different in reality. With wins and losses, personal performance, and a series of events on the field, people's hearts will change subtly.
Some teams obviously cooperated well in the first game, were in good shape, and had successful tactics, but later in the game, all those advantages will be lost.
Because the two sides are familiar with each other and the tactics and moves have become old, players will increasingly follow inertia and instinct to play, and those things corrected by the coach will gradually be discarded.
It's like two people fighting. At the beginning, they all put on a good posture. You were a black tiger who took out the heart, and I was a white crane with wings. In the end, it was all about the king's eight punches, and even bricks, folding stools, and beer bottles.
Min Congda knows this after watching too many games. He knows that when playing against the Thunder, there are not many fancy tactics. The Thunder rely on talent and hardness to compete head-on with you.
If the Thunder's tactical intentions are realized and the offense and defense go smoothly, especially if the Thunder steal the home court advantage, the series will be difficult to win.
Therefore, the Thunder must get into the inertia of the game as soon as possible, where the two young players are swaying for others to watch, and there is a large hole inside.
With this kind of inertia, the Thunder can't beat the Clippers in the regular season.
The sooner this inertia comes, the Thunder will enter a slow death. Even if they win one or two games with the explosive performance of both young players, the series will still be controlled by the Clippers.
Min Congda informed Tyronn Lue and Steve Kerr of these requirements and his strategy. Both of them sighed in their hearts, Min Congda was simply Phil Jackson second.
Phil Jackson is a master who is good at understanding the psychology of his opponents and his own players. His manipulation of the "situation" of the game is unparalleled in NBA history.
But Phil Jackson usually responds by advising on the spot, directing and dispatching on the spot, or making adjustments after each game.
Like Min Chongda, he sets the tone for the entire series before the series even starts. I don’t know if he is conceited or confident?
As coaches, Lue and Cole also expect to see results in the game.
The game officially started at 7:30 in the evening. Under the spotlight, the two teams started their first attack with a jump ball.
Min Congda is keenly paying attention to the opening attacks of both sides. The starting style is very important, which means what ideas the two sides use to start the fight.
The Clippers are adaptable to all changes. After winning the jump ball at the beginning, Gasol was asked to support him from the high post. The team's passing and cutting cooperation has become more and more proficient.
The Thunder still played a high-intensity man-to-man defense, but after repeated screens, Curry still found a gap in the three-second zone. After receiving a pass from Gasol, he passed the ball to Paul George, who was receiving the ball. George dunked successfully. , scored the first point of the series.
There is no doubt that Perkins' shot is still a loophole, because both Gasol and Randolph are very wide, so there must be a gap in the three-second zone.
Perkins's lack of mobility resulted in his lack of timely assistance in defense.
Brooks looked at Perkins' defense and sighed in his heart.
Perkins plays very dedicatedly and has sufficient defensive strength, but the Clippers' current style of play is really killing this traditional center.
He placed more hopes on the offensive end.
On the first kick, Westbrook and Ibaka used a pick-and-roll, broke through the middle, and distributed the ball to the wing Durant.
Durant faced George and was double-teamed by Gasol. He immediately passed the ball to Ibaka in the high position, and Ibaka hit a mid-range jumper from the top of the arc.
This ball was also expected by Min Congda. Durant was passing the ball at the beginning, hoping to use the pass to drive the team's offense.
"The core ball-holding attacker will move the ball and pass the ball to break double teams." This has been the only way for attackers to grow up over the past 15 years.
The reason why this time span is set at 15 years is because these 15 years are the time when superstars earn the most from singles. In the team's offensive tactics, the status of singles players with the ball has never been more prominent.
Going forward, although the NBA was also a league of stars, the singles of stars did not have such a prominent position. The two most shining superstars in the 1980s, Bird and Magic, were not top singles players.
Although Jordan is the originator of this situation and may be the strongest singles player in NBA history, but actually watching Jordan's games you will know that in the regular season and relatively easy games, his singles are very few.
That is to say, during this period around the 21st century, a large number of one-on-one singles appeared in strong confrontation games. From O'Neal to Duncan to Kobe to Iverson, James, and even Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, singles with the ball have become a scenery on the court. .
Fans love to watch it because it looks good, teams love to use it because it is easy to use, the league encourages it, and stars are very efficient in singles.
However, no matter how much the league encourages an obviously anti-team operation like singles, the game still follows basic rules.
Winning depends on five people, so an excellent singles player must be paired with excellent ball-playing and passing abilities to lead the team to victory.
Durant is on this path, and Brooks believes that this year's playoffs will be the year when Durant truly transforms.
In the first round of the series, Durant's assists per game increased from 3.5 in the regular season to 4. He is trying to help the team in ways other than scoring.
Anyway, many NBA stories say this, like Kobe, when he learned to share the ball, victory and success beckoned to him.
The Thunder played well at the beginning, and the Clippers' offense was also smooth. Both sides came and went, the offensive efficiency was very high, and the score continued to rise.
At the end of the first quarter, the two sides tied at 30:31, with the Clippers leading by 1 point. Durant did not score in the first quarter. He has been assisting and passing the ball, and sent 4 assists, which has reached the average of the previous series. .
He also felt very good, as if the whole team was driven by him. He attracted the defense, and his teammates were open. He passed the ball and the ball went in. Everything went smoothly.
In the second quarter, there were some changes in the game situation. The Clippers suddenly started to defend a zone to contain the Thunder's sudden points.
At the same time, Randolph succeeded in continuous strong attacks in the low post. The Clippers beat the Thunder with a 7-0 spurt, and the point difference instantly opened to 8 points.
This is an important suggestion given by Min Congda at the pre-game preparation meeting. It is necessary to use zone defense in a timely manner to change the situation on the court and make the Thunder uncomfortable.
Thunder must take the move, what move should it use?
Can Durant think of any tactics to use to break the zone defense?
Of course you can, just move the ball in time to find a 45-degree gap on the wing and shoot a three-pointer directly.
Shooting three-pointers is the best way to break the zone defense, or there is a passing center near the free throw line to support, which the Thunder does not have.
Therefore, Durant tried to support him, directing his teammates to move, looking for gaps to pass, and allowing his teammates to score three-pointers.
This requires good coordination between him and Westbrook.
After the timeout, Westbrook rushed into the three-second zone with the ball and challenged Gasol.
Being surrounded, the pass was wrong, the Clippers counterattacked, Leonard rushed through the half court like a wind, caught the ball and dunked easily.
Durant ran over and could only take the ball and serve from the backcourt, shouting to Westbrook: "Be smart, zone defense, don't rush around, pass the ball well."
Westbrook nodded, but thought in his heart, he just had a chance to get to the basket and score directly...
The score difference suddenly came to 10 points.
At this time, Durant and the Thunder coaching staff suddenly missed James Harden.
If he was here, wouldn't there be someone in the middle who could direct and break the zone defense?
(End of chapter)
