The finals are never easy. As a decisive battle for the NBA's highest honor, the confrontation between the two sides must be of an extremely high level.
The Heat have been looking forward to this championship for a long time. They have a strong belief in winning from top to bottom and are well prepared before the game.
Coach Spoelstra is a typical workaholic who devotes himself wholeheartedly to the game of basketball.
Before the game, he formulated several plans for this round of the finals to deal with the Clippers' strong, changeable lineup and rich tactics.
The Clippers' advantage is their versatility. They have too many players who can play, and their tactical system is complex and there are many routines.
Although the Heat also have a group of outstanding players, including many stars and superstars, they each have major weaknesses. Coupled with age and condition issues, their functionality is obvious.
Under this situation, the Heat must remain unchanged in response to all changes and strengthen the team's core ideas. Several of Spoelstra's plans are also centered around the core ideas.
First of all, the first one is that no matter what, if you want to compete with the Clippers in the interior, you must win the advantage of the interior.
The Heat's outside line is aging seriously. If the inside line is continued to be wreaked at will by the black and white duo, then the Heat will be easily manipulated by the Clippers.
The Clippers in the Western Conference Finals are the best example. Griffin and DeAndre Jordan did not have an advantage inside. The Grizzlies had no power to fight back and were beaten 0:4.
In the first quarter, Howard's rebounding foul at the beginning made Spoelstra break out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, Howard held on and helped the team gain the advantage with his impeccable performance.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Spoelstra will have to deal with the Clippers' second advantage, which is the Clippers' long rotation. The young players are full of energy and will definitely have an impact on the Heat's defense.
Spoelstra's response strategy is still to adapt to changes. He knows that the Heat do not have many choices in terms of tactics and lineup matching.
At this moment, the players' belief and state are the only magic weapon to bridge the gap and withstand the pressure.
This is not something Spoelstra can do by yelling at the players from the sidelines and pouring a few mouthfuls of chicken soup.
Instead, they rely on daily hard practice and large-volume physical training to ensure that players can support and maintain high-intensity competitions for a long time.
In the second quarter, the Heat have replaced Nash, replaced Cole, and Haslem at the forward position to increase defensive hardness.
For the Clippers, Tyronn Lue followed the established plan and used the second team in the second quarter. Harden and Dragic were paired with Davis inside and Butler on the striker. They had to use strong firepower and tireless running. , to attack the Heat's defense.
No team in the West can withstand the Clippers' second or even third lineup in the playoffs.
The normal pace of a race is like a long-distance race. You grab the position at the beginning, then alternately take the lead and run at a constant speed, and launch a sprint in the final stage.
If the strength gap between the two sides is relatively large, they often run out of energy when taking the lead and running at a constant speed, and are pulled further and further away. In the end, there is no need to sprint, and the game is over.
The Clippers' rhythm is completely different. Their even-speed running is sometimes similar to the opponent's fast running.
The opponent can also try to compete with the Clippers at the beginning. If you run quickly, I will run with you.
But after running at a constant speed, why are you still running fast?
The Clippers even ran faster, always maintaining the speed on the offensive end. Not only did they run fast, they also moved the ball quickly, and they defended fiercely.
It's similar to the Lakers' show-time in the 1980s. Opponents are often not shown to death, but run with the Lakers and get killed.
At that time, Riley attached great importance to the players' physical training. Behind the Lakers' gorgeous offense was actually a huge physical reserve and ample bench rotation.
The Clippers now have both of these points and do them better. They launched a counterattack in the second quarter.
James Harden got the ball in the high post, but Ray Allen defended him extremely tightly.
Although Ray Allen is a veteran and not known for his defense, in key games, he is rarely a colander on the defensive end.
During the Celtics period, against the Lakers in the Finals, Ray Allen sometimes defended Kobe Bryant, and his defense was not bad.
Under Ray Allen's entanglement, Harden could only pass the ball to Dragic, who then passed the ball to Milicic.
The two Serbians engaged in a pick-and-roll at the high post. As a result, the Heat's outside line directly let go of Milicic and came to attack Dragic.
Dragic passed the ball to Milicic in the middle, Haslem broke in and knocked the ball away from Milicic, a successful pressing defense!
The Heat are good at this kind of high-pressure defense of the ball. Spoelstra believes that if the opponent can maintain a high-intensity offense for 48 minutes, then in response, the Heat must maintain a high-intensity defense for 48 minutes.
The Clippers' second lineup is really not used to it. For the young people of the Clippers, the journey to the Western Conference Finals has been too smooth, which is not necessarily a good thing.
Especially on defense, no team's defensive intensity among their opponents in the first three rounds of the Western Conference can reach the level of the Heat, especially the Heat's sustainability is very good.
This shows that their players are energetic and focused, and their defensive lineup will not be easily broken.
When it came to the Heat's offense, the Clippers also used tough defense to cause the Heat to make mistakes.
Odom's breakthrough under the basket knocked over Milicic and was called an offensive foul by the referee.
But immediately Harden was blocked by Ray Allen's personal defense and missed a three-point shot.
There was an obvious hitter foul on this ball, but the referee did not call it, causing Tyronn Lue to scream on the sidelines.
Inside, Milicic got an offensive rebound and stumbled to Dragic, who drove to the basket but still missed the throw.
Bosh inside got a backcourt rebound, but before he could get the ball, Jimmy Butler came in from the side to steal it.
After Butler successfully intercepted the ball, he slid to the baseline and returned the ball to Harden. Harden faced Ray Allen again. After continuous crotch dribbling, he rushed into the basket from the middle and made a layup that caused the opponent to foul.
The two teams were locked in a very intense offensive and defensive battle. This was only the second quarter, and it felt like the fourth quarter.
After Mike Malone came to lead the Clippers this season, he brought a lot of defensive genes to the team. Compared with the previous three-point-pass-cut-offense road during the Cole era, the team has put on the brakes slightly and moved towards It deviated from the traditional confrontation-defensive line.
In fact, this deviation is very meaningful. If the Clippers stick to Cole's path, they may still be able to enter the finals, but they are likely to be killed by the Heat's extremely tough and tenacious play style.
Now, the Clippers seem to have entered a quagmire of physical combat rhythm that they hate, but Tyronn Lue and Mike Malone are not worried about this. The Clippers are not as afraid of physical combat as people think.
Harden made two free throws and scored the first point of the second quarter. At this time, the game had been played for more than 2 minutes, nearly three minutes.
In the regular season, the Clippers were on full fire, often scoring 40 points in a single quarter.
Now, neither team has scored more than 30 points, so one can imagine the intensity of the game.
Subsequently, the offensive efficiency of both sides was not high, and Spoelstra's tactical intentions were realized, withstanding the Clippers' ferocious second-team offensive shock wave.
However, the Clippers did not lag behind on the scene. Instead, they caught up with the score little by little. As Butler held the ball and went to the basket for a layup, the Clippers tied with the Heat at 31:31.
At this time, almost half of the second quarter was played, and the game entered an official timeout. The fans had time to pee and take a break. This game was really intense.
But Min Congda looked at the Clippers' offense and felt very sad, thinking: "Damn it, is it painful to watch you guys play?"
Min Congda's perspective is certainly different from that of the fans and the Clippers coaching staff. He has his own unique ideas.
In his opinion, it is not impossible for the Clippers and Heat to compete defensively, but it can only be said to be a poor strategy at best.
Because of the Clippers' lineup depth and tactical richness, they can definitely find tactics to restrain the Heat's style of play.
If Min Congda were now the head coach of the Clippers, with his decisive and fierce style, he would definitely field a radical lineup of one, four, or even five juniors.
In one of the few games when Min Chongda was the head coach last season, the Clippers used a five-small lineup, three small forwards, plus Harden and Curry.
The space is stretched to the extreme, all five ball holders are versatile, and it is a pure offensive lineup.
Heat, don't you want to compete with me for the inside position? Don't you want to build the base of the inside position?
It doesn't matter, I won't argue with you anymore, I'll just give it all to you, including the three-second zone.
I want territory outside the three-second zone.
This approach would naturally be a suicide for another team, but the Clippers' small lineup can do it.
Moreover, Howard and Bosh in the Heat's interior lack destructiveness on the offensive end, making it difficult to score consistently and beat their opponents to death.
If you really can't bear it, then be more conservative and have one senior, four juniors, and Gasol.
In this way, the Clippers' offensive space is completely opened up, further increasing the defensive energy consumption of Heat players.
Even if everyone in the Heat is an iron man and an iron lung, facing the ultimate space lineup, the body will be overwhelmed.
What's more, the Heat's outside players are already older.
Unfortunately, neither Tyronn Lue nor Mike Malone dared to try this very risky lineup play.
Didn't even think about it.
Steve Kerr thought about it, but before he could use it with the Clippers, he went to the Cavaliers.
He wanted to try it in the Cavaliers, but James didn't cooperate.
If James cooperates and polishes this set, they may not lose to the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Min Congda now feels like two bad chess players. They have good chess in their hands, but they are playing bad chess on the court, and they are inextricably killed.
As a basketball general manager who had ideas but couldn't speak out, he was really tormented inside. He wanted to pass a small note to Director Lu, but after thinking about it, he held back.
In fact, Tyronn Lue + Mike Malone, as well as Spoelstra and his coaching staff, are definitely not bad guys.
It's just that they can't be like Min Congda, who has extremely high tactical talent and can control his players as he wishes.
They can only be part of the game and cannot be the controller of the game. The performance of the players is decisive.
After the official timeout in the second quarter, Tyronn Lue replaced Curry again, and Curry and Harden partnered in the backcourt. This was a good change.
The Clippers need to better activate their offense, let Harden control the ball, let Curry's movement pull the ball, and let the Heat's defense fall into a state of fatigue like constantly bending metal.
Also on the inside, Tyronn Lue replaced the inexperienced Anthony Davis and replaced him with Matt Bonner, which was also a good move.
Davis is still too young and a rookie. He seems a little at a loss in the finals-level confrontation. For him, this game should be used to accumulate experience.
After Bonner came on the court, he immediately got a chance. Curry's involvement created a gap on the right side. Bonner caught the ball and the Heat players tried their best to pounce - the Heat must pounce on every ball.
As a result, Bonner made a fake move and chose to break through with the ball. After getting to the basket, he threw a shot, causing Haslem to foul and go to the free throw line.
Seeing this, Spoelstra immediately replaced Howard, replacing Haslem who had been playing for a long time.
Haslem came off the court to rest and was really tired. Bonner made two free throws and the Clippers took the lead.
Subsequently, Wade shot from a 45-degree mid-range and actually shot a three-pointer...
Spoelstra began to worry again. Could it be that Wade had a physical problem?
Riley, who was watching the game from the sidelines, was also thinking that it would have been great if such a lineup could have been formed two years earlier.
Wade's knees have been getting worse and worse in the past two years. At the critical moment, who will be able to hold up the Heat's offense?
In the Clippers' quick counterattack, Curry quickly crossed the half court with the ball and passed the ball to Butler in the bottom corner. Butler received the ball and shot a three-pointer directly, and hit!
This was the Clippers' first fast-break counterattack three-pointer of the game, and the Staples Center was filled with jubilation.
The Clippers are ahead by five points.
This is also the third problem Spoelstra has to solve when facing the Clippers: relying on his personal ability to score key points.
Wade is of course the first choice, but Wade is no longer the Flash he was back then, and the team needs a second choice.
Is this a difficult question for Nash? Just three years younger.
To Howard? It would be better to just give the ball to the Clippers.
To Odom? Odom only plays 15 minutes per game now and plays good ball for 15 minutes.
To Bosh? In theory, Bosh should be the second choice.
From a statistical point of view, Bosh is also the team's second-leading scorer.
Normal coaches would give this task to Bosh.
The second-largest player on the team and the second-highest salary, he is perfect with Wade inside and outside.
But Spoelstra did not. Spoelstra knew that in the intensity of the playoffs, allowing Bosh to handle too many offensive key balls would definitely be detrimental to the team.
Because his ability is not enough to support him, he is more suitable as a cold shooter and a low-post attacker in the repulsion stage, and cannot be a blaster.
The coach must be clear about this. Just like the Portland Trail Blazers back then, Drexler was the well-deserved star of the team.
But when things get tough at critical moments, the ball is often in Terry Porter's hands because he is better at handling the ball and has better shooting.
Therefore, Spoelstra placed this task on the veteran Ray Allen. The self-disciplined Ray Allen is trustworthy.
When trailing by 5 points, Ray Allen burst forward with the ball and was double-teamed and passed the ball to Bosh. Bosh missed a mid-range shot.
But Ray Allen actually grabbed the offensive rebound, and then made a light throw to score two points.
Spoelstra breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the team was slightly stabilized.
That's what key players are like, no matter what method you use, whether you're good at it or not, whether it's a beautiful single or an ugly free throw, in short, you can put the ball into the basket and score.
At this point, even though Bosh is younger than Ray Allen, in better shape than him, and has a higher salary and scores more points, he is still not as good as Ray Allen.
(End of chapter)
