With his taller height and longer wingspan, Bynum took the lead in getting the ball on the jump ball.
The Lakers started their first offense and Paul got the ball.
Paul, who wears the No. 3 jersey, has already integrated into the Lakers' triangle offense in just one season - no, actually only 10 games.
In fact, the essence of the triangle offense is not in the routine, but in controlling the position, being able to distribute the ball reasonably and autonomously, and make appropriate choices.
Therefore, the essence of the triangle offense actually lies in "autonomy". It gives players enough autonomy to choose, and each round will use different coordination according to the actual situation.
This is the difficult side of the triangle offense to defend. In NBA-level confrontations, the triangle offense does not pursue absolute open spaces and the best shot opportunities, but pursues one-on-one situations as much as possible and relatively good shot opportunities.
Once this is understood, it's only a matter of time before integrating into the triangle offense.
Paul, like Gasol, seamlessly connected with the Lakers and the triangle offense.
After dribbling the ball past half court, Paul immediately handed the ball to Kenyon Martin on the wing and ran to the left corner to take away the defense in the middle.
Martin then passed the ball to Kobe at the top of the arc, and starter Gerald Wallace got stuck low in the ribs.
At this time, Kobe, Wallace, and Paul in the left corner formed a passing triangle.
The distance between the three people is moderate. After Wallace receives the ball, he can attack by himself, return the ball to Kobe for Kobe to hit in the middle, or he can give the ball to Paul in the bottom corner for Paul to hit.
If the Clippers players want to double-team, this distance will be very awkward. If they don't pounce, there will be a singles opportunity. If they pounce, this distance may not be enough, and passing the ball will be very convenient.
This is the basic idea of the triangle offense. If there is any difference from the triangle offense in the early years, it is that the size of this triangle is larger and further outside than in the past.
Because three-pointers have become more and more important now, Paul and Kobe are both standing further outside.
The problem caused by the enlarging triangle is that the stability of passing will decrease, which will further test the player's ability to play the ball.
In modern basketball arenas where offensive space requirements are getting wider and wider, this problem is plaguing Phil Jackson and his coaching staff.
But for now, relying on experienced veterans like Kobe, Paul, and Wallace, this system can still operate well.
Wallace chose to take the ball alone. He turned his back and walked to the left to rush into the basket. He squeezed Paul George away and shot with his left hand, hitting the basket and scoring two points!
The Lakers scored the first point of the game, a single from Gerald Wallace's ribs. George faced the experienced Wallace and had some problems with his defensive judgment.
The Clippers' first ball play was completely different from that of the Lakers. Curry dribbled the ball across half court and passed it to Harden on the wing. Harden held the ball on the left. George used the double screen in the middle to catch the ball at the top of the key and three meters away. One step away from the line, he catches the ball and shoots a three-pointer directly!
Unfortunately, George's touch was average at the beginning, and the ball hit the neck of the basket and missed.
George's shot was bold, and the Clippers' tactics were very concise.
The inside duo used a simple screen to create an opportunity at the top of the key.
This opportunity was not called an opportunity in the past because it was a bit far from the three-point line.
Players won't take a shot of this kind of ball once they get it, but choose to click it, then hit it, and then hit it.
But the Clippers are different. This kind of slightly farther three-pointer is still a good opportunity, so shoot it directly.
If I can't make this shot, I will continue to make it next time I get a chance.
"The playing styles of the two teams are really completely different. Why are the Lakers still doing the same thing? It seems that their coaching staff did not study the article I wrote carefully."
Min Congda has recently updated fewer articles on the NBA-Batman blog. There are so many things going on that he doesn’t have that much time to pay attention to basketball-related matters.
But the two important tactical articles he wrote previously have become must-read content for the current NBA team coaching staff.
One article "Victory of Space and Ball Rights" and one article "The Application and Limitations of Pick-and-Roll in Current Game Trends".
These two articles were first noticed by Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle, who once sent a message inviting Min Congda to join the Mavericks coaching staff.
Of course he got no response.
Later, as the Mavericks won the championship, Carlisle's content became famous, and he began to mention these two articles to people, saying that they were very inspiring to him.
As the new season begins and the competition continues to deepen, the coaching staff of each team is looking for innovation and change, and they have begun to pay attention to these two great articles to understand the development trend of NBA basketball.
I have to admit that these two articles point to two important directions for the future development of basketball. One is that as three-pointers become more accurate, the court space becomes larger and the distribution of ball rights will become more extreme; the other is that the pick-and-roll will gradually replace the post-up game. Attack has become the most important tactical initiative on the field.
Judging from the Lakers' opening offense, it is clear that Jackson and his coaching staff do not want to learn basketball experience from two online articles.
This is a kind of confidence. He is the king of NBA coaches with 11 rings on his hand. It is also a kind of arrogance. Aren't the Lakers ranked first in the Western Conference this year? Why does he still need to learn tactical analysis written by someone on the Internet?
Subsequently, the Lakers used a burst of ball deployment to give the ball to Bynum in the low post.
Bynum gets the ball in a deep position and can attack directly.
He turned around and beat Gasol, but his layup was interfered by Gasol and missed!
Gasol defended the ball very well, but Martin got the rebound and passed it back to Kobe on the outside.
Kobe swayed from outside the three-point line, passed Harden, then took a step in, stopped suddenly and shot a mid-range jumper, and hit!
Kobe hits mid-range shots. Compared with three-pointers, he still prefers mid-range shots.
The Clippers' first goal came quickly. Curry screened without the ball to the top of the arc to receive a pass from Harden.
Paul didn't choose to stick close, but let Curry take a position.
How could Curry miss such an opportunity and shoot a three-pointer!
A fast and fierce three-pointer, hollow into the net!
"Tch, what did the Lakers prepare before the game? Why don't you chase such a ball closely? Isn't this just a throw for Curry? Jackson, an old thief, won't want to play outside shots again and shrink around the three-second zone. A defensive trick, right? This old trick is useless now, you will be shot to death by the Clippers."
As soon as Jackson arrived in the playoffs, he liked to play the psychological tactic of releasing three-pointers and shrinking the defense.
If I let you vote, either you will lose me, or you will lose your own mentality.
Haven’t we learned the lessons from the 2011 semi-finals? We’re still going to do this trick.
The Clippers' shooting is even better than that of the Mavericks.
The Lakers had a tough time against the Mavericks in the first round this year.
In the end, they won the game by relying on hard power and talent, as well as the aging Mavericks and the departure of core players and the decline of the lineup.
But Kobe immediately responded with a three-pointer.
A fairly classic strong and weak side ball transfer tactic.
The side with the ball on the right forms a strong side, with Paul, Wallace, and Bynum cooperating.
The ball was given to Bynum, and then returned to Paul. Paul held the ball and walked towards the center to attract the defense.
Kobe on the weak side took a step forward to 45 degrees, Paul immediately passed the ball to Kobe, and Kobe received the ball and shot a three-pointer.
Hit!
Kobe's touch was excellent at the start.
"Shifting the strong and weak sides, it's the same old routine, it's the same old routine."
Min Congda shook his head while eating fried corn cakes, thinking that this routine was getting old.
The strong and weak side transfer of the ball has always been a basic strategy in basketball tactics.
By moving the ball and involving the opponent's defense, you can gain enough offensive space.
There are three players on the strong side holding the ball, and the offensive side has two players who are very capable of attacking alone. The defensive side is bound to double-team.
Once the ball is picked up, the defensive focus shifts towards the strong side, and the strong side will pass the ball to the weak side in time, giving the weak side players more space to launch an attack.
This is a very basic offensive strategy that all teams use.
But in Min Congda's view, it will be a matter of time before this strategy is eliminated.
The key to eliminating this strategy lies in zone defense.
Zone defense or partial zone defense can make the defensive formation more flexible.
The former super defensive teams like the Celtics and the current Bulls can put strong pressure on the strong side with the ball and at the same time, the weak side can defend less and more through zone defense. The Spiders can recover in time and predict in advance. and other strategies to render your transfer ball useless.
The best way to deal with this kind of defense is to open up the space wider, and then use small coordination such as pick-and-rolls to eliminate the opponent's formation flexibility.
The Clippers also scored immediately, with a pick-and-roll between Randolph and Harden in the high post. After the pick-and-roll, Harden made a concealed ground pass to Randolph, and Randolph hit a mid-range shot.
With the five Clippers on the court, there are so many combinations they can do that it's hard to guard against them.
But Kobe had a good start tonight.
He asked for the ball in the low post, turned around and beat Harden alone, took a fadeaway jumper, and hit it again!
Kobe has scored 7 points, and 7 points in a row.
The Clippers immediately started a pick-and-roll with Curry and Gasol. Curry made a high throw, and Gasol cut into the basket, caught the ball and made a hit.
Both teams were in pretty good offensive shape at the beginning, and each played according to their own characteristics, with completely different ideas in terms of offensive tactics.
On defense, the two teams have similar strategies. They both shrink the defense and let their opponents take more shots.
This is also the basic strategy that most playoff teams currently follow when arranging defense - choose between the basket and three-pointers, with the first choice being control of the basket.
Although the three-point shot is powerful, it is not stable enough. In a series of seven games, it is unlikely to explode in every game.
And once the basket is penetrated, it is really penetrated, and it will be penetrated every game.
Under the condition of controlling the basic basket, different teams will have different choices for controlling three-pointers and mid-range.
The Lakers chose to control the Clippers' mid-range, although the Clippers' three-pointers are very good, ranking first in the league.
But Phil Jackson is still afraid of the Clippers' mid-range, because their starting five players all have mid-range capabilities.
Although Curry, Harden, and Randolph are not historical mid-range shooters like Kobe, they are all mid-range masters.
The Clippers, on the other hand, are more concerned about the Lakers' three-pointers and seem not to be afraid of the power of two super elite mid-range shooters, Kobe and Paul.
You know, in the semifinals, the Grizzlies were killed by Kobe + Paul's mid-range shots at critical moments. It was so accurate.
It can only be said that the coaching staff on both sides, in the first game, are formulating strategies based on their own experience rather than the opponent's situation.
After all, this is the first game, and both sides are still in the trial stage.
Bynum once again beat Gasol one-on-one in the low post.
Get the ball with your back, push in hard, turn your back, and force the basket...
This guy played so hard, but in the end he didn't score and missed the layup.
Complaining to the referee that Gasol committed a foul, the referee simply ignored him. This is a good defense.
Obviously, Bynum can't take advantage of Gasol.
Before the game, Gasol called his brother Gasol and asked him how to target Bynum.
Although Gasol is Bynum's former rival, Gasol is his biological brother, so he naturally teaches him everything he can and tells Gasol about Bynum's weaknesses.
Bynum does have some power in the low post, but speed and burst are his weaknesses, and there are relatively few changes in the low post, just a few moves back and forth.
Gasol's defense against Bynum at the beginning was obviously very successful, and the Clippers got a chance to counterattack.
But Curry was a little anxious in his advancement. He made a mistake in the middle of the pass and was intercepted by Wallace.
The Lakers counterattacked, Paul caught the ball, suddenly accelerated to the basket, and easily succeeded in a left-hand layup.
Paul spotted the shortcomings of the Clippers' two inside men who were strong but slow to move, and caught the Clippers off guard with a counterattack layup.
The Lakers started the offense quite smoothly. It can be seen that they have a psychological advantage.
After all, the Clippers are quite stable in the regular season. Kobe and Paul are experienced and extremely capable.
What they have to do is to stabilize the score from the front and maintain a slight advantage.
At the critical moment, Paul + Kobe's mid-range shooting will teach the opponent how to behave.
In terms of scoring and success rate at critical moments, the Lakers are currently the strongest in the playoffs.
The ability of these two guys in the backcourt to eat alone and control the ball is indeed too strong.
The Clippers called a timeout. The Clippers played so-so at the beginning, but their defensive pressure on the Lakers was obviously not enough.
After returning from the timeout, the Clippers shifted their offensive focus. Gasol began to receive the ball at the top of the arc and direct the team's passing attack.
The Clippers started running.
The Lakers also responded.
Kenyon Martin went to guard Gasol, leaving Bynum to watch Randolph.
Paul George likes to cut and run, Gerald Wallace will naturally take good care of him, but there is Ci Shiping off the court.
In terms of configuration, the Lakers do have a certain restraint on the Clippers in terms of lineup, just like the Clippers restrained the Thunder.
The key problem for the Thunder is that Perkins can't defend and can't attack offensively.
Although Bynum can't come out defensively, Kenyon Martin's mobility and experience can make up for it to a certain extent.
At the same time, Bynum's offense is not comparable to that of Perkins. Even if the start is not smooth, he is an important offensive fulcrum after all.
The most important thing is that the Clippers' two-star backcourt has to face Paul + Kobe, the top backcourt in history. This is the key to the outcome of this series.
The targeted battle between the two sides has just begun.
(End of chapter)
