The Clippers easily took a 2-0 lead at home.
In the first game, the Clippers scored like crazy and won easily.
In the second game, the Clippers' scorer and the two young men clashed, and the whole audience was overwhelming the Thunder.
It fully demonstrates what it means to be unable to defeat four hands with two fists.
After this game, the confidence of the Clippers team was once again boosted to a higher level.
Confidence is very important for a team on its playoff journey.
For example, last year the Dallas Mavericks played the Trail Blazers in the first round and their 2:0 lead was equalized. People thought they were going to overturn in the playoffs again.
As a result, the defending champion Lakers were eliminated 4:0 in the second round, which not only made the outside world look favorably on them, but also inspired the team's confidence.
You know, from 2008 to 2010, the Lakers have won the Western Conference championship for three consecutive years, and can be said to dominate the Western Conference.
At that time, experts, players and fans felt that the Lakers had no rivals in the Western Conference and that Kobe was too stable.
The first three quarters were evenly matched, but once Kobe got the ball in the fourth quarter, he was sure of it and made deadly moves.
The Mavericks started stretching their hips in 2007 and have been stretching their hips for several years. The Lakers have home court advantage.
Who knew that a 4:0 bald head was beyond everyone's expectations.
Stepping on the body of the defending champion, the Mavericks completed a transformation.
Then the Western Conference Finals and the Finals, the Mavericks went all the way to the end, 4:2, 4:1, without much effort.
Now the Clippers are vaguely like last year's Mavericks.
The Thunder are not weak. With two young men and Gordon, they have extremely strong firepower.
Perkins, Ibaka, and Sefolosha are all defensive heroes.
The Thunder's lineup configuration, five or six years ago, could definitely compete with the then-Nicholas for being the strongest in the Western Conference.
Thunder's configuration is also based on the original thinking.
The heavy inside line will deal with the Lakers' three top players, Duncan, Nowitzki and other powerful inside lines in the Western Conference.
The outside offensive firepower is extremely strong, and the offense and defense are integrated. Who can compete with them?
Unfortunately, the Thunder did not keep pace with the times. The team had just taken shape and the configuration was already lagging behind.
Perkins was introduced to deal with the three highs. As a result, the three highs disintegrated and the Lakers also played a two-star guard.
The Clippers suddenly rose up, with two heroes inside. As a result, they are stronger on the outside and the team has excellent shooting ability.
The entire league has begun to accelerate towards perimeter and three-point differentiation.
In the 2011 season, the Thunder ranked 20th in the league in three-point attempts per game, which is a very low position.
This season, their number of three-point attempts has increased to 20, and their ranking has improved to 15th. However, the Clippers have the highest number of 31 attempts in the league, and the highest shooting percentage of 40.05%.
This number of shots has created the highest record in NBA history. At the same time, this shooting rate is also the only three-point shooting rate in the league with 4-digit shots.
Before the playoffs, many experts believed that a three-point team like the Clippers would suffer a big loss in the playoffs.
Because the three-pointers are unstable, one game is a hit, and the next game may be a hit, and there are only a few players on the field, so every series that must be fought for will be very fatal.
There is nothing wrong with this view. The instability of three-pointers is indeed a big problem.
But the Clippers don't entirely rely on three-pointers. They also have Randolph and Gasol inside, as well as several good players who can break through and make air cuts.
In the first two games, the Clippers' three-point shooting percentage increased to 44%, which can be said to be quite terrifying. The Thunder are unable to defend against it.
Especially Curry, whose three-point output is stable and a huge threat, there is nothing Brooks can do against him.
The series soon came to the third game. The Clippers team went to Oklahoma City to challenge the Thunder on the road.
Thunder fans naturally gave a "warm welcome" to the entire Clippers team. Last season, the Clippers eliminated the Thunder in Oklahoma City, ending the Thunder's dream of advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
The Energy Center became a blue ocean tonight, and huge sound waves hit the eardrums of the Clippers players one after another.
After two consecutive defeats in Los Angeles, the Thunder took a deep breath. They will definitely win this game at home.
Durant "pretended" in the first two games to appear to be versatile, to drive his teammates and lead the team.
Then I found out it was all fake! It's all fake, nothing is as important as the score.
So he stopped pretending at all in this game. From the first quarter, Durant was on full fire.
Breakthroughs, mid-range, three-pointers, free throws, everything.
There is nothing the Clippers can do to face Durant in the playoffs.
In the regular season, Durant still pauses and takes a moment to give his opponents a chance to fight.
Durant went all out in the playoffs, was extremely quick, caught and handled the ball cleanly, and just attacked the basket.
The Clippers knew he was going to attack the basket, but they didn't have a good way. Anyway, they just left it to George, Leonard and others.
In terms of experience and ability, the Clippers' three little pigs on the front line are far inferior to Durant, and they cannot stop Durant from scoring consecutively on them.
After scoring 35 and 37 points in the first two games, Durant scored 13 points in the first quarter of this game, and the whole game was aimed at 40 points.
The Thunder led the Clippers by 5 points 32:27 in the first quarter.
The Thunder team returned to the home court with fierce firepower. The team abandoned the somewhat hesitant style of play before and focused on Durant and Westbrook. Eric Gordon added that everyone else focused on defense. superior.
Brooks knows that the Thunder no longer have an advantage in tactics and can only rely on the players' personal abilities and on-the-spot performance.
In the playoffs, superstar Carry can also win the series.
In fact, if the Thunder are more patient and more meticulous in formulating tactical strategies, there is no way out.
As a young team, the Clippers still have many flaws.
The offensive end is unstable and the defensive end lacks an absolute core point.
There is a lack of mobility inside, as well as a lack of experience.
If the Thunder can stabilize their position, make careful arrangements, set traps for the Clippers, and regain the initiative in the series, they have a chance to overpower the young Clippers.
It is a pity that Brooks, the Thunder coaching staff, and Durant himself agreed to abandon more detailed and sophisticated tactical arrangements and return to their accustomed strategies after the defeats in the first two games.
The third young master let go, and the others tried their best to defend, using morale, hardness, and overwhelming momentum at home to defeat the Clippers.
This move had a very good effect at least in the first half. Durant's preemptive strike, Westbrook's bravery, and the Thunder's high-intensity defense inside allowed them to firmly suppress the Clippers.
At halftime, the Thunder continued to maintain a 7-point lead over the Clippers at 59:52.
However, this kind of suppression was not a tactical suppression. After the start of the third quarter, the Clippers were still able to play tactics steadily and complete the game according to their established ideas before the game.
Tyronn Lue stood on the sidelines and directed, taking out the small card in his suit pocket to take a look at it from time to time.
The above are some on-the-spot command points summarized by Min Congda, Cole and others before the game.
Tyronn Lue basically made personnel adjustments and arrangements according to these points in this game.
Anyway, the Thunder didn't make many targeted arrangements, and it didn't do any damage to the Clippers' rotation and speed deployment.
I just want to rely on the talents of Durant and Westbrook to defeat the Clippers. At least they can win a game at home, right?
As a result, midway through the third quarter, the Clippers began to chase points back bit by bit.
The Clippers' first shot in chasing points is neither Curry, nor Harden, nor Randolph, but Milicic!
Tyronn Lue followed the arrangement on Min Congda's note and requested that Milicic be given more opportunities to play in this game.
Especially when Perkins is forced to take a rest, Milicic should be used more and more pick-and-roll cooperation should be used.
After Milicic came on the court, he started a lot of pick-and-rolls with Harden and Curry. After the pick-and-roll, he cut inside without any other ideas.
Harden and Curry can shoot if they want, and he rushes in to grab rebounds.
If there is a chance to pass the ball to Milicic, he will choose to finish.
After all, Milicic was the second overall pick and is talented on the offensive end.
Although he has tried his best to become a defensive villain after coming to the Clippers, he will never lose his touch.
Once Perkins is gone, Milicic's pick-and-roll layup is almost like no one else.
Both Harden and Curry have very strong passing skills, and their own offensive power is even more terrifying. How dare the Thunder relax its defense.
As a result, one left and one right, Milicic couldn't stop eating the pie in the paint!
A little hook after the ball, a little hook after the ball, his touch was pretty good tonight.
Ibaka is excellent in assisting defense, but his height is much smaller than Milicic.
In a static defensive state, it is difficult to completely block Milicic's pick-and-roll attack.
Milicic hit four goals in a row! Scored 8 points in a row!
Brooks thought his scalp was numb. What on earth was going on?
Why can't I prevent this simple pick-and-roll?
When Brooks called a timeout and was about to replace Perkins, Tyronn Lue looked at the small note:
"When Perkins comes on, replace Bonner. Don't forget that Bonner needs to match Leonard and shrink the defense appropriately."
Tyronn Lue followed the instructions carefully. As soon as Perkins was about to play, he replaced Milicic and played Bonner.
As soon as Bonner comes up, Perkins will be blinded again at this point in defense. Can you guard Bonner at this point? How to prevent it?
As soon as Bonner came on the court, he hit a three-pointer from the middle, and the Clippers took the lead!
The Thunder were a little panicked now, but the referee still favored the Clippers at this time. Durant quickly counterattacked and knocked down Leonard at the basket. The referee called Durant for an offensive foul.
This goal can be called the turning point of the game. Durant, who had already scored 31 points, directed a pass at the referee, and the referee decisively gave Durant a technical foul.
On the Clippers side, Curry stood on the free throw line and made a free throw. The score became 78:80, and the Clippers went ahead by 2 points.
Then, Bonner received the ball from the outside again, and Durant misplaced the ball to guard Bonner.
Leonard was able to cut to the basket, catch the ball and hit Perkins with a small throw, 78:82, leading by 4 points!
The Thunder are on the edge of a dangerous cliff. If they lose again, the Thunder will face a desperate situation of falling behind 0:3.
There is no hope of a comeback after falling behind 0:3, and they will definitely not be able to beat the Clippers.
Durant immediately hit a three-pointer, chasing the score to just 1 point.
But Harden immediately hit back with a three-pointer. In terms of talent, the Clippers' perimeter is no worse than the Thunder's perimeter.
The two sides began to get into a tug of war, and the little advantage the Thunder established in the first half was gone.
Durant is still efficient, but their defensive end cannot prevent the Clippers' smart pass-and-cut offense.
It can be said that Brooks has not solved the problem of how to consume the Clippers on the defensive end throughout the season.
The result was that when the series came, they tried every means to compete offensively with the Clippers, but they couldn't beat the Clippers.
This series seems like the 2005 Western Conference Finals, with the Spurs playing the Suns.
The Suns seemed to have great firepower, and Stoudemire was even more unstoppable. Duncan was defeated one-on-one and averaged 37 points per game in the series.
As a result, the Suns were unable to contain the Spurs' offense as a whole and were beaten to death by the Spurs' offensive. They were beaten 0:3 in the first three games and almost had their heads shaved.
Nowadays, when the Thunder beat the Clippers, they are in the same embarrassing situation as when the Suns beat the Spurs. They thought they could survive, but found that they couldn't beat them at all.
Now that Presti sees James Harden's performance, he will definitely regret the trade that traded him for Eric Gordon.
Although Gordon is also very good and has better defense, Gordon's defense is obviously not as important as Harden's organizational talent.
It can only be said that Presti's thinking is still out of date and he underestimates the role of organized offense in the current and future NBA games.
After all, in the past 10 years, organizational ability has been ignored in the playoffs.
Top point guards have never been able to lead their teams to a championship in the playoffs, because there are not so many opportunities to play tactics in the playoffs, and isolation ability is the key.
Organizational ability is often considered to be the ability to improve records and assists in the regular season. For example, Phil Jackson, the biggest winner in the NBA in the past, has never had a top backcourt organizer in his triangle offensive system, and everyone else has to share a little bit of organization. The task is fine.
Nash, Paul, and Kidd were all successful in the regular season, but failed in the playoffs, which further proves this point.
Therefore, Presti’s original move of replacing Harden with Gordon was correct from the perspective of the past. When three players with strong individual attack and defense abilities are combined together, I will fight after you finish the playoffs. Very powerful ah.
Unexpectedly, the trend has changed since last season.
Kidd won the championship, and his on-field scheduling ability made the Mavericks' offense invincible.
The current Clippers offense also gives the Thunder a huge headache for the defense. Harden's scheduling and imagination make the Thunder lose sight of one thing.
Bonner only hit one three-pointer in this game, but it made the Thunder's defense always fearful. Perkins was even more hesitant, not knowing whether he should come out to help defend.
Harden broke through the basket, and Perkins didn't know whether he should pass or shoot. After a hesitation, Harden made a throw and scored two points.
Durant responded immediately, and Curry immediately took the ball to the basket, passed the ball to Leonard who was cutting, and succeeded in a layup.
With beautiful and imaginative offense, the Clippers expanded their advantage little by little.
Min Congda looked at the Clippers' attack and thought, "The Thunder compromised too early. They entered their own inertial style of play early and didn't even have a surprise player. How could they fight me?"
He was content and happy, and it was rare to feel happy that the Clippers were playing well. After all, the Clippers' strategies and policies were all controlled by him behind the scenes.
Facing the emotional trap set by Min Congda from the first game, Brooks fell into the trap without making any decent resistance.
Another one who fell into the trap was Kevin Durant.
At the end of the third quarter, he had scored 36 points, and his score went straight to 40 points or even higher.
But looking at the point difference, the Thunder are still 8 points behind!
This was a huge blow to his confidence.
He has really gone all out. Are the Clippers really that strong?
(End of chapter)
