Defeating the Warriors is just a small step in the new season for the Clippers.
For any team aiming to defend its title, the role of the regular season is always more about training than winning.
Sometimes the regular season is even a burden for the defending team that wants to win the championship.
Because the regular season is too long and intensive, it will cause injuries to the veterans in the team.
In a long season, a team that loses passion and morale and is riddled with injuries will lose its status and strength very quickly.
However, the Clippers don't seem to have encountered such a problem yet. The team's lineup is complete and their morale is very high.
On November 1, the Clippers went to Sacramento to challenge the Kings. In this game, facing Kings center Cousins, Marc Gasol played All-Star level defense and performance.
After adapting to two games, Gasol has become accustomed to the new rules and penalties. He used his smart positioning and excellent defensive skills to beat Cousins to his temper.
Cousins took 20 shots, hit 8 goals, and scored 20 points. His statistics were so-so, but he also committed 5 fouls and was suppressed by Gasol on both offense and defense.
Gasol only took 11 shots in the game, but efficiently scored 18 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks and a team-high 9 assists.
His talents in organization and passing were fully demonstrated in this game. His continuous high and low pass coordination, as well as beautiful inside passes, poked holes in the Kings' already weak defense.
The Clippers defeated the Kings without any effort at all, and Gasol also won the best player of the game with his near-triple-double performance.
After the game, Li Liang called Min Congda and said, "I think Marc Gasol is also the leader of the same faction in the team, the overseas faction!"
The Clippers' current overseas players include Marc Gasol, Milicic and Dragic from Europe, and of course Li Liang from Asia.
The relationship between the European trio is indeed quite good, especially Milicic and Dragic, who have a close relationship both on and off the court.
And Gasol is a person who is very open-minded in the whole team. Although this guy has a big mouth, everyone likes him very much.
Min Congda thought that it was indeed possible. Gasol, Milicic, Dragic, and PJ Tucker who had overseas playing experience, it would indeed be a decisive force.
If it is as Min Chongda thinks, the Clippers team will be divided into four factions. The first faction is the "No. 1 pick faction" headed by Curry. The leader is Curry. The main supporter should be Anthony Davis. Both of them are No. 1 picks. , obviously sympathize with each other and have common ideas.
The second faction should be the "small forward faction" headed by Leonard. The leader is Leonard, and the main supporters are Paul George and Jimmy Butler. These guys are all small forward three positions. It stands to reason that They are competing with each other, but they have always cooperated perfectly, and their private relationship must be good.
The third faction is the "bench faction" headed by Harden. The leader is Harden, and the main supporters are bench players such as Randolph, Livingston, and Bonner. In addition to being on the bench, they have one thing in common. He has played for other teams except the Clippers. He is not a true local faction and belongs to the foreign faction.
The fourth faction is the "overseas faction", headed by Gasol, and its main supporters are overseas players such as Milicic and Dragic, which theoretically should also include Li Liang.
"There are only a dozen people in the team, divided into four factions. This is worse than the girls' dormitory... but it is worse than the girls' dormitory. But there are so many small groups, and people are not unified. If there are conflicts and conflicts in the future, the morale of the team will be affected. Isn’t it going to plummet? Maybe it’s going to be in danger of falling apart.”
There is a saying that goes without saying that factions within a party are full of strange things, and it is normal for small groups to appear within any group.
Because everyone has different personalities and experiences, there are always some people who have particularly good relationships with each other, some people have more ordinary relationships with each other, and some people even have many conflicts.
There is no small group, or everyone is not familiar with each other, they just work together and do part-time work, and there is no interaction except work.
Obviously not the Clippers. This group of young people have been playing together for so long and have experienced a lot. Their private relationship is very good.
However, although the Clippers players have small groups, they are not the kind of interest groups that exclude each other and create unhealthy competition.
But some people have similar interests and naturally have a better relationship. For example, Curry actually has a very good relationship with Harden, and the two attended training camps together in the summer.
Gasol is a frequent visitor to Randolph's house and they often play cars together. They also have a very good relationship with George because they both like fishing.
The person who has the best relationship with Leonard is actually Livingston, because Leonard often discusses tips on mid-range shooting with Livingston, and the relationship between the two has become very close over time.
Bonner often plays with them, because Bonner is very stingy and suits Leonard and Livingston's tastes very well.
As for Dragic and Milicic, they are both Serbian. It is very normal for them to have a good relationship. At the same time, the person who has a lot of fun with them is Anthony Davis.
Because all three of them like playing video games.
As for PJ Tucker, his relationship with everyone is good, but not particularly good.
Because Tucker's best friend in Los Angeles is actually not with the Clippers, but with the Lakers.
He and Paul have known each other since childhood and have a very close relationship in private, but they just don't work on the same team.
Min Congda didn't know any of this real information. Instead, he compiled a "list of internal small groups" based on Li Liang's information.
Recording these contents one by one in his notebook, Min Congda felt a headache looking at these names.
"What can we do? There are four small groups. The leaders of the groups all want to stand out and lead their younger brothers to have a good time. During the game, it is inevitable that they will fight back and forth, fighting for playing time and the right to take shots. Contradiction. This kind of drama is not uncommon in the basketball world. What kind of eyes did I have at the beginning, how could I choose a bunch of talents like you?"
Four years later, Min Congda finally realized that many of the decisions he made were "wrong".
Now he has to change his ways and let these players play well together and work towards the championship goal.
"Trading cannot be done. If it is traded, it will not reflect the superiority of my Clippers system. Since they have four small groups, each wants to perform well. How about I design four sets of tactics belonging to these small groups? , let them take turns to perform! Give each team a chance, let their leader win the MVP first, and lead everyone to win the MVP together!"
Min Congda's brain came up with a good idea again, preparing to give the Clippers a co-MVP.
(End of chapter)
