Tyronn Lue was a little confused when he saw the content of this note. He read it again and made sure to let Gasol control the ball instead of letting Gasol organize.
It's normal to let Gasol organize the offense. He is an excellent organizational insider. He averaged 5.3 assists per game in the regular season. His assists on the team are second only to Curry and Harden. The Clippers' passing One of the Big Three.
In the playoffs, Gasol's assists dropped, and in the finals it dropped to 2.1, which was half the number.
Because he has to focus a lot of energy on fighting Dwight Howard, which consumes a lot of him.
Moreover, the Clippers took a defensive approach to win, and their passing and cutting offense was intermittent, leaving Gasol little room to play.
Another point is that even if Randolph is inhibited, his performance will also be affected.
Generally speaking, in the first two games, the Heat did a good job in the paint, leaving both heroes unsatisfactory.
The idea of letting Gasol play is correct, but what the hell is it about letting him control the ball?
Gasol is a center, how can we let him control the ball? Is it possible for a center to dribble past half court?
If he were replaced by another coach, he would suffer some consequences. I can just listen to the general manager's opinions. If it's too outrageous, I won't listen.
But Tyronn Lue just pointed at the small piece of paper. Last time, a small blank piece of paper turned the tide. This time, he gave clear guidance. How could he not listen?
So, Director Lu talked about this arrangement during the timeout, "Next... well, give the ball to Gasol and let him dribble the ball through the half court and organize the team's offense."
It sounds a bit outrageous, but the Clippers players had expressionless faces and seemed to be saying "Okay, no problem."
Even Mike Malone didn't react at all. He stood aside and listened silently, taking small notes in his mind.
It was Coach Lu's turn to lose his composure and asked: "Uh...Mark, I asked you to hold the ball for half the court and organize the offense. Are you okay with that?"
Gasol nodded and said, "No problem, I can do it. I've practiced this before."
"Practice? When?"
"Uh... In the regular season, we played the Timberwolves in one game and the Pacers in another game. This is how we played. Stephen handed the ball to me, and I dribbled the ball across the half court to organize, one senior and four juniors, running positions, and the effect was pretty good. I know what to do with the ball."
Tyronn Lue was a little surprised, why didn’t I know? Why can't I remember? Have you ever fought like this?
What kind of magical personnel arrangement is this, allowing the center to dribble and organize? What's wrong with the world?
The timeout ended quickly and players from both sides reappeared. Tyronn Lue quietly asked Mike Malone: "Did we really let Marc Gasol control the ball?"
Mike Malone said: "Oh, sometimes they do that. The blurring of player positions, the comprehensiveness of functions, and the integration of offense and defense have always been the focus of the team's tactical and strategic experiments this season, allowing the center to control the ball and organize , is also part of this experiment that we have been doing."
"Oh...really? Then...then we will also let Curry play center? Let him go to the basket to grab rebounds?"
"Well...he doesn't have this ability for the time being, but maybe Harden can. He did a pretty good job on defense today."
It can be said that Tyronn Lue was confused for the entire season, not knowing what the team was doing. Anyway, the team was winning.
The benefit of Min Congda passing the note is to reactivate the Clippers' rich staffing and system.
Obviously there are so many people who can play, and the tactics are so rich, but because of being conservative and safe, the score turned into a defensive battle in the 1990s and 2000s. No wonder it was a pain for him.
On the Clippers' sideline ball, Harden passed the ball to Gasol. Gasol ran directly to the center circle and caught the ball.
This is a defensive problem for Howard. He has to pull to the three-point line, freeing up a large area behind him.
Harden came over to screen for Gasol at this time. Curry cut to the basket. Gasol suddenly passed the ball at an angle to George in the bottom corner. George made a three-pointer and hit!
The Heat's defense was obviously confused on this ball and it was in chaos. What kind of offensive routine and formation was this?
The guard provides a screen for the center. This is not to say that it does not happen in NBA history. In fact, it does.
Back then, Malone and Stockton were said to be playing a pick-and-roll game in Utah. People thought that Malone screened Stockton and Stockton passed the ball to Malone to score. This is logical and obvious.
But in the playoffs, finals, and high-intensity games, Stockton will also find another way to serve as a screener to cover Malone or other teammates, and he can catch the ball and shoot three-pointers by himself.
But then, the Heat became even more confused.
The Clippers hit a three-pointer and the point difference returned to 8 points. Nash held the ball and missed a mid-range jumper after continuous screens.
Nash's touch this time was far inferior to the last one. The veteran is prone to being inconsistent and unstable.
Gasol grabbed the backcourt rebound, passed the ball to Curry, and avoided the opponent's cut ball.
Curry dribbled a few times and returned the ball to Gasol. Gasol dribbled the ball across half court and went to the top of the arc to organize the attack in a decent manner.
What should Howard do? Post it or not? Can we return to the three-second zone? Still can only stand at the three-point line to defend.
Someone else to help defend? Sorry, Gasol plays the ball very quickly, and the Clippers players have a lot of space.
If you come here to help defend, you have to run a long way, which will leave a huge space for your defense.
One senior and four juniors, the other four are all capable of shooting three-pointers and attacking with the ball.
As long as the Clippers' power forward is a forward without range and independent offensive ability, the Heat can use rotations to pressure Gasol, but that's not possible now.
Leonard had already cut inside, disturbed the Heat's defense, and switched positions with Curry. George provided a screen for Curry, ran to the bottom corner, and was empty again.
When the ball arrived, Gasol's ball was passed diagonally. Curry caught the ball and shot a three-pointer, and hit it again!
The Clippers made two consecutive three-pointers and stopped the Heat again!
This ball cannot be defended, the defensive strategy on the field is completely out of order, and Spoelstra must adjust.
Otherwise the game would quickly turn into a Clippers three-point practice session.
Tyronn Lue was very excited. This is the Clippers' offense!
Why didn’t I think of that before the game?
It’s not that you didn’t expect it, you simply don’t know.
Malone and other assistant coaches knew about it, but they didn't dare to use it.
It was too bold, too risky, but it worked really well.
The Clippers have the resources to play like this. They have one senior and four juniors, so they can still defend well. They also have a center like Gasol who is very good at organizing and dribbling.
If you switch to an average center, you won't be able to play this set, so you have to think of other ways.
Spoelstra had no choice but to replace Bosh and replace him with Odom.
Subsequently, the team's defensive strategy changed to pure man-to-man defense.
The Heat's use of pure man-to-man marking is definitely a benefit to the Clippers.
In the first two games, the Heat's rotation, Howard's high-coverage defense, and Wade's repairs to the backcourt all had very good results.
As a team with obvious holes on the defensive end, cooperative defense changes and assisting defense are the best ways to make up for it.
With pure man-to-man marking, it would be difficult to fix the loopholes. Spoelstra had to replace Nash in advance and replace him with Cole.
Wade missed a mid-range shot and Howard got the rebound under the basket. Gasol fouled and sent Howard to the free throw line.
With the fans cheering, Howard missed two free throws and Leonard got a backcourt rebound.
The ball was given to Gasol, and the Heat's backcourt immediately came to interfere. Gasol avoided it with a beautiful back dribble, and immediately passed the ball to Harden. Harden accelerated the breakthrough in the middle, and the Heat marked man-to-man. Wade didn't follow up, Harden rushed directly to the basket, no one was there, and succeeded in a layup!
This pause is in vain.
In just three minutes, the Clippers opened the difference between the two sides to 13 points.
Spoelstra hugged his chest on the sidelines with a blank expression on his face.
How to defend against the Clippers' aggressive offensive style?
Either it's purely man-to-man, and then it's easy to be ripped apart like just now.
Or it is to further speed up the defense change and use speed to make up for the cracks in the space.
But how can an aging team like the Heat possibly speed up again?
After the first quarter, the Clippers led the Heat by 11 points 35:24.
The 35 points were the Clippers' highest score in the first quarter in the three games of the Finals.
Gasol controlled the ball for half the game and acted as a passer, leaving the Heat at a loss.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Clippers entered the second lineup rotation period. Tyronn Lue saw the lead, and the substitutions became bold.
Livingston, who didn't get a chance to play in the first two games, came into the battle. Facing Cole, he dribbled the ball with his back and hit a mid-range shot after turning around.
Among the Heat's point guards, neither Cole nor Nash has the ability to lock down Livingston.
Nash aside, Cole performed very well in defending Curry in the first two games.
Small, energetic, good at dog fighting, he kept pestering Curry.
In the second game, he pestered Curry for almost the whole game. Curry missed consecutive key shots at the last moment because of Cole's defense.
But Livingston is different from Curry. His technical characteristics are completely different from Curry. He is of the traditional style, and he has absolute advantages in height and wingspan.
How can Cole defend against such a matchup? You can only push for the next move, or take risks and grab ahead.
If you push the bottom plate, you may not be able to withstand it. The result of taking risks and rushing ahead is to lose your position.
In one-on-one man-to-man defense, it is very dangerous to lose position.
From the outside of the Heat, Ray Allen missed a shot.
Gasol got another rebound. Tyronn Lue thought this trick was useful and simply didn't let Gasol take a rest.
Keep playing in the second quarter! Gasol almost died from exhaustion, but in the finals he could only grit his teeth and continue playing.
After dribbling the ball halfway, Livingston dropped directly to the low post and asked for the ball with his back, and Gasol quickly passed it.
Livingston caught the ball, took a step in, turned around, and hit a mid-range hit on the board, scoring 4 points in a row!
The Clippers opened the point difference to 15 points, which was the largest point difference between the two teams since the finals.
The Heat started to get a little anxious. In the subsequent offense, Wade rushed to the basket with the ball, and the referee gave a whistle for a foul.
Wade made two free throws to slightly bring the score closer.
Then in defense, the Heat repeated their old tricks and strengthened physical confrontation. Haslem again pushed Butler down in defense at the basket.
Butler was young and energetic, but he learned his lesson and did not conflict with Haslem. Instead, he went to the baseline to serve.
The Clippers' offensive rhythm was somewhat affected, and Butler's jump shot after receiving the ball failed to hit.
Bosh got the rebound, the Heat counterattacked, Wade broke through and distributed the ball to Bosh who followed.
Bosh used his footsteps to avoid Anthony Davis's defense and succeeded with a pick-up basket with his left hand.
When Bosh moves to fight, his power is obviously stronger than sitting down.
Relying on the strengthening of this wave of defensive confrontation, the Heat launched several counterattacks in succession, narrowing the point difference and catching up to 8 points.
Tyronn Lue immediately called a timeout. He knew that he could look at the tips again!
It's impossible to live by relying on Manager Smart's schemes. It's impossible to think of a solution on your own.
There is no way, nothing at all.
Director Lu took out the second ball of paper and took a look at it: "Let Milicic kill Howard."
Tyronn Lue understood, put away the paper ball, replaced Gasol, and let Milicic come on.
Before going on the court, Tyronn Lue said a few words in Milicic's ear. Milicic nodded and understood his mission tonight.
Since you are playing with the Heat, I, the Clippers, can also play with you.
And we are the second pick against the top pick, so we won’t let you suffer too much.
(End of chapter)
