The division of labor between Curry and Harden is becoming increasingly clear.
Although Curry is a point guard, he is better in three-point shooting, scoring efficiency, and running without the ball.
The explosive scoring power is strong, and the ability to attract defenders on the offensive end is very strong.
And it is still making progress.
Although Harden is a shooting guard, he has better passing vision and passing imagination.
If he lets go, Harden can also become a scoring machine.
However, after some evaluation, Min Congda believed that Harden is more suitable to be a comprehensive commander.
In terms of scoring efficiency, Harden is not as good as Curry.
His three-point shooting percentage is not as good as Curry's, and his ability without the ball is average.
His advantage is that he is strong and can develop in the direction of unsolvable single points.
In fact, Thunder Westbrook + Durant should also develop in this direction.
Let Kevin Durant be a more pure scorer and give up the things he's not good at.
Westbrook has the ability to become an all-around commander. He has a better vision on the offensive end. Even though his football intelligence is more impressive, he is a point guard after all. Reasonable tactical combination and design can make their combination more powerful.
It's a pity that Durant still wants to become a greater and better striker, thinking about surpassing LeBron James, not just a pure scorer.
Facing Curry's continuous scoring provocation, Durant still tried to use tactics to mobilize his teammates by passing the ball, hoping that the team's score would increase so that he could endure it until the fourth quarter before swinging the sickle again.
But Durant is really not this material. Apart from the sudden score, he really lacks imagination in passing and cannot achieve the effect of tearing apart the Clippers' defense with one blow.
As for the support points, the passing is also mediocre, without the effect of a sudden change or a flash of inspiration.
Anyway, if you don't hold the ball and attack hard, there won't be much difference in the Thunder's offense with or without him.
The Clippers rarely double-team Durant, and they still use the routine of wheel battles.
George, Leonard, Butler, and Ricky Davis took turns to play. Everyone took turns to mark Durant one-on-one, and they went all out to consume Durant's physical energy.
From this point of view, it makes sense for Durant to pass the ball more and save his physical fitness for harvesting in the fourth quarter.
If he keeps attacking with the ball in front of him, he will be out of energy in the final stage when faced with the Clippers' exhaustion.
But if you want to harvest in the fourth quarter, you can't fall too far behind.
With one move from Curry, the point difference widened to 14 points.
Fortunately, Westbrook on the Thunder side stepped forward in time.
He scored 6 consecutive points with sudden penalties, approaching the score, and did not let the score continue to open up.
Westbrook doesn't think as much as Durant does about supporting, assisting, and being comprehensive.
He rushes and scores when he sees the opportunity, and plays the game completely according to his understanding of the game.
Of course, sometimes his understanding may not be correct, and he just sticks to his own ideas.
Sometimes, Durant's hesitant character really needs a reckless man like Westbrook to motivate him.
Compared to the Thunder's duo, although the Clippers also have two stars, the other Clippers players have a much higher tactical status.
It can be said that even without Curry and Harden, the remaining Clippers players can still build a very powerful system and lineup.
Therefore, the Clippers played more freely in the game, which was unpredictable and traceless.
In the regular season, this kind of freedom is sometimes a disadvantage. Because of the instability, the whole team sometimes loses focus.
After sorting out the playoffs, especially after competing with the Spurs, the players have a better understanding and are more relaxed.
The Thunder's defense has always been unable to deal with the Clippers' ever-changing offense, and the point difference has remained at around 10 points.
Westbrook scored consecutively in the third quarter to help the Thunder bite the score, but Durant seemed to be still hesitating, waiting for the opportunity.
Of course, for Durant himself, he didn't feel like he was hesitating, he felt like he was being patient.
He firmly believes that he can defeat the Clippers' forward in the fourth quarter and completely reverse the situation.
At the end of the third quarter, the two sides tied at 86:97, and the Clippers already led the Thunder by 11 points.
The score of 97 points in the three quarters is even more frightening. In many playoff games, they cannot score 97 points in a game.
Facing the defensive-focused Thunder, the Clippers were able to score 97 points in three quarters. This offensive firepower was truly terrifying.
Min Congda watched as Durant only took 3 shots in the third quarter, hit 1 goal, and scored 2 points. So far, he has only scored 20 points.
I thought to myself: "This kid has good basketball talent, but his basketball IQ is average. Can't he see that the rhythm of the game is completely different from the Thunder's? He doesn't want you to harvest and take away the game in the fourth quarter, right? Silly boy, Times have changed. This is not an 80 or 90-point game in the 1990s. At the end of the day, you can use the personal ability of a superstar to take away the game. When the total number of points increases, the scoring role of a single player will decrease, and the overall efficiency will decrease. The effect will be improved.”
Although Min Congda has a low-to-average IQ in other matters, he is indeed very insightful when it comes to basketball.
This is an era that focuses on efficiency. Not only basketball, but most sports will eventually start to move towards efficiency.
The deeper the commercialization of sports, the more so. Basketball and football are the most obvious.
It's like evolving from a meticulous handcrafted workshop to an industrialized assembly line.
The products made in hand workshops are more personalized and artistically attractive, but it is impossible to compete with industrial assembly line products in the market.
The production efficiency is too different.
Of course, the NBA has not yet entered the industrial assembly line stage. These players still have a strong sense of personal heroism. They grew up dreaming of heroic basketball when they were children.
However, the Clippers' offensive and tactical system already has the characteristics of an industrial system.
Clear division of labor, tight integration of internal and external, rich tactical system and high degree of freedom.
During the regular season, the Clippers' coaching staff has begun using computer software to study the impact of shooting divisions and shots on offensive efficiency.
How many three-point shots, how many attacks at the basket, and how many mid-range shots are most appropriate in a game.
As for why the Clippers did this, they benefited from their basketball consultant Jerry West.
The old man came to the Clippers to receive a salary and couldn't just do nothing. He had to make some plans.
She saw the trend early and put forward this suggestion. She also applied for a fee from Min Congda to set up a basketball tactical strategic planning center and recruit some people to come in and specialize in these things.
Min Congda is no longer focused on how to prevent the Clippers from becoming stronger, so if he lets it go, and it costs money, he will spend the money on you.
Therefore, everything about the Clippers is moving towards standardization, but the genius of the players will cover up the industrial smell that is slowly seeping out.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Durant took a rest on the bench at the end of the third quarter.
As soon as the fourth quarter started, he ran without the ball, found an opportunity outside the left three-point line, and hit a three-point shot!
This ball was Durant's call to counterattack the Clippers. He felt that his offense felt great.
In the fourth quarter, you can rely on your own offense to help the team turn the situation around!
Then, Durant caught the ball in the low post, turned around and hit Leonard alone, and then shot from mid-range while leaning back.
He also took advantage of Westbrook's sudden score, faked a move to shake off the defender, and hit the target again while riding a horse in the face of a double-team.
He also caught the ball during the fast break and hit the basket. He changed hands and made a reverse layup from the other side!
So tall, yet so flexible, Durant scored 9 points in four rounds.
Looking at the scoreboard again, we are still 11 points behind...
Dragic hit a three-pointer in the Clippers' offense.
Then Dragic assisted Leonard and hit a three-pointer from the corner.
Harden faced Sefolosha's defense, caught the ball and hit a three-pointer.
In three rounds, he also scored 9 points, easily wiping out Durant's 9 points.
Is there a problem with the Thunder's defense? In fact, the problem is not big, but there is no solution.
The Clippers' first four and four small fours spread out in all directions. Gasol provided support from the high post, cut through the air, ran counterattacks, and ambushed in the corners. The Clippers had too many offensive options.
This is no longer the one-on-four era of the 1990s. The space for offense is getting bigger and bigger, and the role of role players in the offense is becoming more and more obvious.
In the 1998 Finals, Jordan could score more than half of the team's points by himself. The team scored 87 points and he scored 45 points alone.
On the one hand, Jordan was really strong, and on the other hand, personal heroism in that era was developed to the extreme.
You know, in Game 5, Karl Malone also scored almost half of the team's points.
The team scored 83 points, and he scored 39 points alone. At that time, one-on-four was no joke, that was the most efficient way.
Because the offensive space is small, the rhythm is slow, the confrontation is strong, and the total score is low, instead of giving inefficient mistakes to ordinary role players, it is better to give points to the players who have the greatest confidence.
This situation is becoming less and less common now. It is easy to score more than 100 points. There is an upper limit on the number of shots a star can take. If the upper limit is exceeded, the efficiency will be greatly reduced.
The space on the court is also getting bigger and bigger, and the number of body hair whistles is increasing to encourage offense. If the total score is high, others must share the scoring task.
From this point of view, there is no doubt about the strength of the Clippers, and all of their "role players" are ruthless characters.
Durant's scoring explosion would have reversed the situation before or against other players.
But facing the Clippers, they remained motionless, and the Clippers even organized another counterattack.
After Gasol received the ball in the high post, he suddenly made a through pass to the basket.
Leonard caught the ball, cut for a layup, and the point difference widened!
The Thunder immediately called a timeout, and the game had completely entered the Clippers' rhythm.
Think about it, you allowed the Clippers to score easily throughout the game, 97 points in three quarters.
By the fourth quarter, your touch has been developed and your offense feels good. If you still want to make a comeback, how can you make a comeback?
Durant also wants to achieve a reversal by scoring consecutive points on his own. A major prerequisite for reversal must be strong defense.
A strong defense can, firstly, contain the opponent's scoring, and secondly, it can cause a psychological blow to the opponent and destroy the opponent's morale.
Several consecutive good team defenses can greatly boost team morale.
But the Thunder's defense couldn't do it, and Perkins was targeted to death.
When Brooks paused, he hoped Durant would make more contributions on the defensive end and go to the fourth position again.
But after the timeout, the Clippers had no intention of fighting the Thunder at the fourth position.
The luxurious defensive interiors and forwards equipped by the Thunder are of no use at all.
Perkins couldn't play, Ibaka was filling holes everywhere, and Durant was at a loss.
The Clippers pulled away in all directions, repeatedly cutting back and running counterattacks, and the Thunder's defensive system suddenly collapsed in the fourth quarter.
Even if Durant scores continuously on the offensive end, what's the use if he can't defend him?
The point difference remained between 10 and 15 points, and the Thunder could not turn the situation around with a burst.
The fourth quarter, which was originally the most intense and took the longest time, passed very quickly, and it was halfway over in a short time.
The Clippers led the Thunder by 119:106, leading the Thunder by 13 points, and their score of 119 was unmatched.
You must know that this is the playoffs, and this is facing the Thunder team, which is good at defense.
Brooks called the last timeout of the game. He knew he couldn't win this game and had to give up.
From the strategic level to the tactical level to the execution level, the Thunder suffered a comprehensive defeat. In the fourth quarter, everything broke out and they were defeated miserably.
Brooks knew it was time to think about how to adjust for Game 2.
Kevin Durant scored 35 points very efficiently in this game, which is the same as his jersey number.
The shooting percentage is as high as 61%, which can be said to be easy to reach. He also sent 6 assists and 2 blocks. The statistics are quite luxurious.
But watching the game, he had very little influence on the course of the game and did not lead the team to control the situation at key points.
On the contrary, the Clippers firmly grasped the rhythm. It is useless to score 35 points efficiently, which is only less than one-third of the team's score.
The Clippers scored 125 points, with Curry scoring 27 points, Harden 21 points, Randolph 17 points, and Gasol 15 points.
George, Leonard, Milicic, Dragic, Fisher and others all scored, and all 12 people on the team scored.
And many people don't just score points in garbage time piecemeal, but actually implement tactics and score points as part of the Clippers system, which is the most terrifying thing.
What's even more frightening is that the Clippers are far from reaching their ceiling, and their potential is still huge.
After winning this game, Min Congda paid another 3,000 yuan fine, but he was rarely very happy.
Because the investment in the arena has taken care of a large part, if the Clippers win, let them win.
Looking at Durant's disappointed back when he left the court, Min Congda thought that you should change as soon as possible and play in the way you are familiar with.
Although we will still lose in the end if we play like that, at least we won’t lose so badly and we can still struggle for two more games.
The game between the Clippers and the Thunder ended. I have to say that this game shocked many people.
Fans may not feel it, but the players feel it deeply, because the Clippers' winning style is really different from the strong playoff teams in the past.
If the Mavericks were a surprise, then the Clippers seem to be the general trend.
It’s just that this trend is coming faster.
The day after the game between the two sides, the Lakers and Grizzlies had a rematch.
In this game, the Lakers adjusted their strategy and mentality and easily defeated the Grizzlies 100:91. The two sides evened the score, which was expected.
The second battle between the Clippers and Thunder was also as exciting as people expected.
Durant, Westbrook, and Gordon showed off their power, scoring 37 points, 30 points, and 21 points respectively. Together, the three scored 88 points!
The performance of the trio was simply terrifying.
But the Thunder still lost to the Clippers.
107:114, a gap of 7 points, a fragile defeat.
(End of chapter)
