On the evening of February 23, the Clippers' second stop of three consecutive trips to the Southwest came to Oklahoma.
Clippers vs. Thunder, a focus battle after the All-Star Game. Before this game, the Clippers had won 22 consecutive games.
They defeated the Spurs and Grizzlies in succession, successfully tying their winning streak with the Houston Rockets in the 2008 season and tying for second place on the all-time winning streak list, second only to the Los Angeles Lakers' 33-game winning streak in the 1971-1972 season.
If the Clippers win this away game against the Thunder, they will set a new winning streak of 23 consecutive games and secure their second place in history.
At the same time, this game is also likely to determine the regular season MVP. This is a head-to-head showdown between Curry and Durant.
However, before the game started, the Clippers locker room was very calm. No one took this game particularly seriously, especially Curry.
In an interview with reporters, Curry simply said: "This is an important regular season, but it is only a regular season. I will go all out. The whole team does not take the winning streak to heart. For us, , the championship is the ultimate goal, we just try to win every game."
When asked about competing with Durant for the MVP, Curry said directly: "Of course I want to win the MVP. This is a very remarkable achievement, but I think the team's winning is always the first priority, and the MVP is natural." results, but I'm on a great, winning team, so I'm going to be an MVP."
After Curry said this, he was ridiculed by his teammates when he returned to the locker room. You really know how to put gold in your face, and it's natural. At the beginning of the season, you said you wanted to win the MVP, and now you say you can't compete. What a hypocritical guy.
Before the start of the game, the players took the stage to prepare for the game. Mike Malone asked Tyronn Lue on the sidelines: "Hey Tyronn, did you read the article posted by NBA-Batman online?"
Tyronn Lu said: "Article? What article? Is there any new gossip?"
"No, it's about tactics."
"Oh no, I never read anything about tactics, that's what you should read."
Tyronn Lue said it very confidently, but he just doesn't pay much attention to basketball tactics.
That was the case with Jackson at the beginning. Most tactical matters were handed over to assistant coaches. The head coach's main responsibility was management.
Mike Malone shook his head and thought, forget it, you won’t understand even if I say it, I’d better communicate with others.
NBA coaches are also a small circle. They are opponents on the court and friends off the court. They communicate with each other.
Basketball tactics are not high-tech, and there are no secrets. On the contrary, the more communication, the easier it is to stimulate the spark of thinking, and the easier it is to perfect the tactics.
In the case of continuous communication and improvement of tactics, the specific effect depends entirely on how the coach trains and implements it, and whether he can teach the players in accordance with their aptitude and allow the players to implement the tactical details well.
Yesterday, when Mike Malone saw the article "Pick-and-roll, Cut, and Switch—The Art of Dislocation and Infinity in Contemporary Basketball," he knew that this article would definitely trigger another tactical change in the league.
With the development of the times, the NBA has invested more and more capital, technology, and resources, and its versions have been updated faster and faster. For this multi-billion-dollar business, a large number of practitioners are working hard.
However, just like natural science, many times the repeated research work of ordinary people is not as good as the flash of inspiration from a genius. A good inspiration can often inspire many people and point the way for many people.
The previous article "Victory of Space and Ball Rights" was considered by many people to be unremarkable at the time. As a result, three seasons later, almost every team began to emphasize the issue of offensive space and distribution of ball rights.
Keywords such as low post, post, breakthrough, and online pressure defense, which were always mentioned in the past, appear less and less frequently in media pages and forum discussions.
No expert will always say to a certain star, "You should practice your back in the summer." The low post attack has been reduced from the tactical axis to an ordinary offensive method, and it is becoming less and less popular. emphasized.
Now that this new article came out, it immediately triggered the thinking of people in the industry. Of course, Mike Malone was one of them. And after reading it, he was keenly aware that like the previous article, this article was also based on the fast Based on the team's lineup and tactics, a new system idea is most suitable for the Clippers.
Mike Malone is very suspicious. Is the controller behind NBA-Batman a gangster, a senior Clippers fan, or both?
While coaches and experts from other teams have not fully realized the value of this article, Mike Malone believes that if the best parts of it can be realized and integrated into the Clippers' offensive system to form a new offensive idea, Then the Clippers may really be able to dominate the NBA!
This thought only flashed through Mike Malone's mind, and he was quickly brought back to the real game by the whistle.
After the opening ceremony, the game between the two sides officially began.
As the season enters the middle and late stages, the All-Star Game ends, the trade deadline approaches, and the regular season begins to enter its final mode.
The playing styles of each team have almost been adjusted, and the players' condition has come out. Those with injury problems have been adjusted in the middle and early stages of the season, and now they are entering the sprint stage.
After the Thunder learned the lessons of the previous two years, they decisively gave up Kendrick Perkins at the center position and greatly reduced his playing time. He basically started for a walk and played in less important transition stages.
Once it gets serious, the Thunder would rather use the rookie they selected in the draft, Steven Adams. This 20-year-old New Zealand young man has grown up very quickly and plays dirty, hard and fast in the game. He is flexible in movement, and although the offensive end is not very good, it is better than Perkins, who is not good at offense at all. At least he is not so hindered.
In addition to reducing Perkins' playing time, the Thunder also tapped Reggie Jackson on the bench. Westbrook was unable to appear in many games at the beginning of the season due to injuries. Jackson completed part of Westbrook's tasks very well. Some games have even more outstanding performances.
He and Eric Gordon formed the Thunder's bench. After Westbrook's return, the Thunder's strength this year is extremely strong.
With the Clippers winning 22 consecutive games, the Thunder are only one game behind the Clippers, ranking second in the Western Conference.
Once the Thunder win tonight's game, they will surpass the Clippers in the rankings and take first place in the Western Conference.
The starters for both sides, the Thunder are Perkins, Ibaka, Durant, Sefolosha and Westbrook, who has returned from injury.
The Clippers' starting lineup is still very stable with Gasol, Randolph, Leonard, George and Curry.
However, tonight, old Thunder player James Harden missed the game due to injury. His hip was slightly strained during training, and the Clippers immediately placed him on the injured list.
Obviously, tonight the Clippers' backcourt has to rely on Curry alone to take the lead. This is a huge challenge for him, and it is also an opportunity to prove himself.
(End of chapter)
