In the NBA, superstar basketball has always trumped team basketball.
On the one hand, because of the commercial alliance, the NBA has always favored hero ball in terms of rules to ensure that superstars can determine the outcome of the game, create legends of personal heroism, and compose basketball stories that attract fans.
On the other hand, the intensity of the playoffs is indeed far higher than that of the regular season. As the players become stronger, the tactics become more and more rigorous, and the field space becomes smaller and smaller, personal ability will indeed play a decisive role.
The Clippers in the regular season are a team between superstar basketball and team basketball.
From a tactical point of view, the Clippers prefer team basketball, with average possession of the ball and average playing time. No one is the absolute boss.
There is only one real boss of the Clippers, and that is general manager Min Congda.
From the perspective of player composition, the Clippers fully have the potential of superstar basketball.
Curry and Harden both have signs of becoming superstars.
Especially Curry, who was born in 1988 and is now 24 years old and has entered the mature stage of a superstar.
His performance this season is definitely at a superstar level, averaging 24.8 points and 6.7 assists per game in the regular season, ranking first in the league in three-point field goal percentage and number of field goals made.
The data is absolutely core level.
It's just that the Clippers are a multi-core team. Harden, Randolph, and Gasol all play important roles in the tactical system.
Although Kuli is the tallest mountain, because the surrounding mountains are equally tall and majestic, Kuli is not so conspicuous.
Moreover, within the Clippers, there has always been a phenomenon that Steve Kerr likes Curry and head coach Tyronn Lue likes Harden.
In everyone's eyes, Harden is more likely to become the No. 1 super defender of Kobe and Wade, while Curry is too advanced and ahead of his time. Only Cole can fully realize Curry's potential.
Curry often follows Cole's guidance.
But one advantage of Tyronn Lue is that as a newcomer, he is not stubborn and has no absolute standards in his mind for the outcome of the game.
To put it nicely, this is called "nothing is impossible", which is a very high state. To put it bluntly, as long as you can win, as long as you can solve the current predicament, the available method is a good method. As for whether it conforms to any rules or what? Thoughts, that's not important.
To put it bluntly, this guy really doesn't have anything. The better thing is to have self-awareness and simply delegate power to the team's best player and let him decide the game.
As the fourth quarter approached, Tyronn Lue pulled Curry to the sidelines and said, "Stephen, the fourth quarter is up to you. You know how to change the situation on the court, right?"
Tyronn Lue is willing to trust Curry at critical moments.
Based on his sensory understanding, he believes that Curry is a more determined guy, while Harden is relatively more submissive.
It can be seen from the personal relationship between the two that Curry married early and is determined and loyal. This is a sign of strong willpower and self-discipline for a man.
Harden will spend more, and Tyronn Lue knows this very well, so the two have a good relationship in private, and Tyronn Lue trusts Curry more on the court.
Curry bit his braces and nodded. He did have an idea.
Several Clippers players are guys with very high basketball IQs.
During the previous regular season, they often solved problems by themselves on the court.
Especially in the games coached by Min Congda, everyone gathered in a circle to discuss and determine how to play the game.
Director Lu's coaching style generally continues Min Congda's free development, giving players space to think and perform.
As the game entered the fourth quarter, the Lakers had the advantage. The combination of Curry + Harden was suppressed by Kobe + Paul.
This is the case in the regular season. These two guys are very capable and experienced. They are full-fledged superstars. 1+1 is greater than 2.
Curry was thinking at this time: "If it were Mr. Smart, would he instruct us how to fight?"
At this time, the fourth quarter of the game has begun, Curry stayed on the court, and Harden rested off the court.
Teaming up with Curry in the backcourt is Ricky Davis, and Tyronn Lue trusts the veteran more at critical moments.
If a young guy like Butler is allowed to come up, he is likely to be tricked by the experienced Lakers and make mistakes.
Both teams, which scored very smoothly in the first three quarters, fell into a scoring drought at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
The Lakers' shots were often hit hard, and the Clippers were not much better, with no gains in several attacks.
Obviously, the physical fitness of both sides has been affected, and the shooting rate has begun to decline.
After the two sides were in a stalemate for three minutes without scoring, Chris Paul used his personal ability to cut into the basket and hit a floater. At 81:94, the Lakers led the Clippers by 13 points.
Tyronn Lue was anxious on the sidelines, wondering why he couldn't find the feeling in several offenses?
Curry tried another three-point shot, but still missed.
There were some problems with the team's operation. Randolph also failed to hit twice in the low post.
The Lakers' shrinking defense worked, and someone from the Clippers had to step up to break the game.
Tyronn Lue trusted Curry, but Curry's performance in the first three minutes did not repay his trust.
"Is his condition really bad tonight? Hey, it's normal for his condition to have ups and downs." Tyronn Lue comforted himself in his heart.
Behind the bench, Min Congda also frowned, thinking: "Why is the offense becoming more and more rigid? The players are all tied up. At this time, someone must stand up to break the game. No matter how the tactics and strategies change, failure to score will always be the problem." No way."
Although he didn't really want the Clippers to win, Min Congda still felt a little anxious when he saw the Clippers' struggling performance.
Especially seeing Curry unable to find his form and frowning, Curry was tortured by Paul tonight.
Paul targeted Curry in various ways from the first quarter, harassing him with small actions and attacking him verbally, putting Curry in a state of crisis.
After Paul hit the throw, the Clippers served from the backcourt. It was obvious that Curry was frustrated and was a little distracted when receiving the ball. As a result, the ball was knocked away by Paul again!
The ball was about to be lost, and Curry rushed to grab it. The two of them got the ball at the same time, and the ball flew towards the Clippers bench.
Curry knew he could no longer lose the ball, so he rushed over desperately, jumped out of the sideline, and threw the ball toward the court.
The ball flew back down the court and was caught by Ricky Davis, but Curry sprinted to the bench.
Harden and Jeremy Lin both hid quickly on the bench. Curry put his feet on the bench to cushion the situation and flew into the audience.
It hit Min Congda impartially, knocking Min Congda directly over...
"Fuck!"
"Human bomb!"
Although Curry is considered thin among NBA players, to an ordinary person, Min Congda, he is a 190-meter tall man!
This hit Min Congda so hard that he fell directly to the back row.
Everyone in the audience fell on their backs. Curry was fine, but when he saw Min Congda being knocked down, he quickly helped him up.
"Don't move! Your back hurts!"
"Don't move, don't move, let the doctor come!"
The Clippers' medical staff quickly came to check on Min Congda's condition.
Curry was also very worried. Min Congda pointed at him and shouted: "Go back to the game! If you can't make a three-pointer, won't you get closer? You fool to score first!"
Min Congda still couldn't help but give some advice and let Curry concentrate on the game first.
Although there is pain in the waist, the problem should not be major, it is just a twist.
After the team doctor conducted a simple inspection, Min Congda slowly stood up and moved a few times.
Out of caution, the team doctor suggested that Min Congda return to the locker room for further examination. If he injured his lumbar spine, he would be in trouble.
"Bring me a wheelchair!"
Min Congda was also afraid that there would be a real problem with his lumbar spine, which would be a big deal.
So the team doctor got a wheelchair, Min Congda sat on it, and Ada pushed him out of the tunnel and back to the locker room.
The player was not injured, and the general manager who was watching the game left in a wheelchair. It must be said that Min Congda was truly a unique sight on the sidelines. His ability to attract attention was unique in the league and unmatched by anyone.
Min Congda unexpectedly left the game, and the pressure on the referee was greatly reduced.
Curry, who ran back to the court, immediately participated in the offense.
Min Congda's words just now seemed to wake him up.
Since the three-pointer is not accurate tonight, why don't I take a closer shot?
Of course, the Lakers' mid-range defense was very tight tonight.
Kenyon Martin never relaxed his sweep of the mid-range area.
But the Lakers have a defensive shortcoming, and that's Bynum.
Once Bynum was in the pick-and-roll, it was difficult to guard against him, so Curry immediately called Gasol to pick-and-roll.
After the pick-and-roll, Curry followed Paul's example. He did not rush to make a move, but dribbled, tested, lingered in the mid-range, observed, and then suddenly stopped and shot a mid-range jumper!
This move is very similar to what Paul learned, a 45-degree mid-range shot and scored 2 points!
The Clippers finally broke their scoring drought that began in the fourth quarter!
After scoring the goal, Curry breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at the sidelines, only to find that Min Congda had already left in a wheelchair.
His heart tightened and he was very worried about Min Congda's condition, but the competition prevented him from getting away.
"Fake, I have to win this one!"
Thinking that he might accidentally injure Min Congda, Curry gritted his teeth and decided to win this game no matter what.
Otherwise, how can I go to the locker room to meet Mr. Smart later?
83:94, a score difference of 11 points, there is still a fight to be made.
Paul then also tried a mid-range shot, but was interfered by Curry and missed.
The Clippers counterattacked. Curry quickly broke through the middle with the ball, accelerated past the defender, made a difficult change of hands under the basket, and made a layup. The man was knocked out of the baseline, but the ball fell into the net.
"Beep!"
The referee blew the whistle and called a foul on the Lakers. Curry wants to play 2+1!
Randolph stepped forward and pulled Curry up. Curry said: "Pay attention to the offensive rebounds. I will increase the number of close shots."
Randolph nodded.
Curiga made a free throw, 86:94, and the score difference came to 8 points.
At this time, Kobe reappeared, but Harden was still sitting off the court.
Kobe comes on to take away the game.
He held the ball high and faced Ricky Davis one-on-one.
Davis only came on the scene in the fourth quarter. He was very physical and had enough energy to deal with Kobe.
Kobe dribbled continuously, stabbed straight from the middle, made an emergency stop, and hit a mid-range jumper from the top of the arc!
The ball was short and hit the front of the basket. Gasol grabbed the backboard and gave it to Curry.
Curry continued to advance quickly, broke into the three-second zone with the ball, and made another emergency jump shot.
The ball didn't go in, but Randolph followed up in time and made a tip-in with a tap of his hand!
At 88:94, the Clippers were only 6 points away from catching up, and the Lakers called a timeout.
After returning to the bench after a timeout, Curry quickly asked: "Is Mr. Smart okay?"
Tyronn Lue said: "His waist seems to have suffered some injuries. Don't worry too much. Winning the game is the best consolation for him."
Curry nodded and suppressed the worry in his heart. He was slowly finding the feeling.
Tyronn Lue made a substitution and replaced George with Harden. The Clippers used the starting lineup of Harden, Curry, Randolph, Davis and Gasol.
Because Tyronn Lue discovered that George and Leonard still lacked experience when facing the old gangsters like the Lakers.
When playing against the Thunder, he could rely on talent and talent to compete with Durant, but in the Western Conference Finals, he was a bit unable to use these veterans.
It's better to use an experienced veteran like Davis to play. After the transformation of Ricky Davis in the past two years, his reliability has been greatly improved.
After the timeout, Ricky Davis once again completed a successful defense in the face of Kobe who was always playing hard. He made no fouls or mistakes and watched Kobe hit the iron.
Harden got the backcourt rebound and passed a super long pass to Curry. Curry caught the ball and dribbled, and shot a three-pointer directly from the left side at a 45-degree angle!
An extremely risky and bold three-pointer. Tyronn Lujuhua was tight. With such a good opportunity to chase points, you just threw a three-pointer?
"Uh-huh!"
Three point hit!
This goal was unreasonable, but it went in!
91:94, the two sides are only 3 points apart!
The speed at which the Clippers chase points is amazing.
Curry was completely open and scored continuously during this period.
Min Congda's exit seemed to give him a huge motivation.
He couldn't go to him with a defeat.
The pressure is on Kobe and Paul.
Kobe has missed two consecutive offenses.
It stands to reason that Kobe is already used to this kind of situation, having seen it many times in his career.
According to his usual style of play, he will definitely respond to the opponent and use his superb singles ability to send the opponent to hell.
But in 2012, Kobe's ability to fight hard is indeed not as good as in the past.
His physical functions are declining, and the high-intensity defense in the playoffs has taken a lot of energy out of him.
So he chose to give the ball to Paul.
Paul faces Paul one-on-one on the outside. This is the Cavaliers showdown between the two tonight.
Paul dribbled the ball continuously. Instead of calling a pick-and-roll, he chose to force a breakthrough!
On the right, Paul is familiar with the route, killing the basket and making a throw shot with his right hand.
Hit!
Paul hit a key shot, 93:98, and the Lakers regained a 5-point lead.
Of course, the Clippers still gave the ball to Curry, in the same position, playing Paul one-on-one in the high post.
Curry did not force himself, but called a pick-and-roll, but it was a fake pick-and-roll.
Curry seemed to be going to the right, but actually went to the left and hit the basket. Facing the help defense, he threw a high pass to Gasol.
Gasol made an alley-oop and dunked with both hands!
95:98, still a 3-point gap.
At this time, the court has turned into a duel between Curry and Paul.
Paul also called the pick-and-roll this time, and Kenyon Martin cut inside the pick-and-roll and made the same lob pass.
Martin jumped high and completed an alley-oop dunk!
The two sides are going back and forth, refusing to give in to each other.
Time is precious for the Clippers. The ball was immediately served from the backcourt and Curry quickly advanced to the frontcourt.
The Lakers began to delay and double-team Curry, and Curry quickly passed the ball to Gasol in the middle.
Gasol acted as a transfer point and immediately passed a through ball to Ricky Davis who was cutting through the air.
Davis caught the ball and made an easy layup!
"Good shot! Good shot, our offense is playing well."
This ball made Tyronn Lue very excited.
What seemed to be an assist from Gasol was actually caused by Curry attracting multiple defenders, which caused a flaw in the Lakers' defense.
The Clippers moved the ball extremely quickly, quickly turning the gap into a scoring opportunity, easily scoring two points.
Obviously, Curry is using his personal performance to turn the situation on the court.
At this time, the score was 97:100, and there were less than two minutes left before the end of the game.
(End of chapter)
