At the beginning of the game, the Thunder's home court is always so noisy, which will put huge pressure on the away team.
However, for the Clippers, this kind of pressure created their superior concentration, so as soon as the game began, the Clippers quickly took the lead.
Curry said that "MVP comes naturally". In fact, he is aggressive at heart. Of course he understands the importance of this game, so he showed very strong aggression at the beginning.
Without a pick-and-roll, Curry used his dribbling to escape, penetrated into the paint continuously, made two breakthrough layups, and then directly hit a three-pointer after receiving a pass from George during the counterattack.
This is the game method adopted by Curry after Min Congda fine-tuned it, reducing pick-and-rolls and increasing off-ball and direct singles, making it more difficult for the opponent's defense to double-team Curry.
Moreover, Curry's singles are different from those of many stars. Most outside singles masters play static singles. They don't move before catching the ball. After receiving the ball, they start to use dribbling and speed to attack the opponent, directly tearing apart the defense and attacking the basket. .
Curry is a dynamic singles player, or the fans named him "off-ball singles." Before catching the ball, Curry starts to use running positions and footsteps to mobilize the opponent's defense. Once he gets rid of the opponent, it is a ball-free offense, catching and shooting. Or cut to the basket and catch the ball for a layup.
If you can't get rid of the opponent, you can at least mobilize the opponent's defense. At this time, you can catch the ball and start the attack. The attack effect is more efficient and more energy-saving than the Cavaliers one-on-one after getting the ball.
These changes have liberated Curry from the black hole problem of ball rights at the beginning of the season, allowing him to be both within the system and above the system, and can independently play his own unique tactical role.
The remaining four people on the court can better display their offensive methods under the defensive attraction of Curry, the support of Gasol, the singles of Leonard, Paul George, Randolph, Dragic, Harden's comprehensive selection, etc., all fit together perfectly.
However, in Mike Malone's view, there is still room for further improvement and exploration for the Clippers.
After the Clippers took an early 9-0 lead, the Thunder did not call a timeout, but immediately responded with an 11-0 lead, turning the situation around.
Kevin Durant hit consecutive jump shots in the face of Leonard, followed by Westbrook grabbing the backboard to launch a counterattack, and drove to the basket for a layup.
The Thunder's tactical system has not fundamentally changed in recent years. It is still a defensive counterattack based on Durant Westbrook's personal ability.
High-intensity defense, energetic running and rotation, unstoppable top attackers, and strong, tall and powerful inside rushers to grab offensive rebounds.
In short, the Thunder's routine is fierce and powerful. They are not without tactics. Every team in the NBA has tactics on the offensive end.
It's just that the Thunder's offensive tactical system has a lot of freedom, fully serving Durant and Westbrook, and the routine is relatively simple. Basically, three passes and two leads. If you have the opportunity, shoot. There is no chance for the third young master to solve the problem on his own. If you can't shoot, He rushes forward to grab offensive rebounds, is very oppressive on the defensive end, has a lot of long-arm talent, and has the most blocks per game in the league.
This determines that the Thunder's style of play has always been open and closed. When it is strong, it is full of momentum, and when it is weak, it feels like a headless chicken with no solution.
Especially as the point guard and the brains of the team, Westbrook often makes some incredible choices at critical moments, which makes Thunder fans and spectators angry, but there is nothing they can do.
Of course, as Durant and Westbrook continue to mature, this shortcoming is constantly decreasing. The Thunder has made great progress this year under the leadership of Durant.
He didn't panic at all after being beaten 0:9. After 11:0, the situation turned around. The Clippers needed a goal. Leonard received the ball with his back in the corner, faced the basket and beat Durant, and walked into the middle to get to the basket.
After a lag in the air, he made a one-handed throw, causing Durant to be fouled. At the same time, he hit the board, which required an additional penalty. 2+1 was successful, and the Clippers regained the lead.
Theoretically speaking, the Clippers have one Leonard and one Curry. With two ball-handling attackers who are silent and moving, and with the two as the core and some role players to build an offensive system, it can already be called the Western Conference. A strong team.
But the Clippers still have several players like Leonard and Curry who can't even fit into the starting lineup.
Then, George changed defense and intercepted Westbrook's ball. The Clippers counterattacked. The Thunder retreated very quickly and quickly settled into position under the basket to form a defensive formation.
As a result, George paused outside the three-point line, observed, and suddenly shot a three-pointer and hit!
There were not many such balls last season or the season before last. This season, George's independent offensive ability has been significantly enhanced.
When he started with Leonard last season, experts criticized that his and Leonard's offensive imagination was as poor as James' shooting skills.
However, this year the two have obviously become much richer and have different technical characteristics. Leonard's style is more tough and inside, George's long-range shooting is better, and his breakthrough is smoother.
The two partner as the Clippers' starters. As long as Curry or Harden is there, the team's offense will be absolutely fine, and the defense will be even more terrible. Letting Harden be the sixth man is the right decision.
And Mike Malone, who made this decision, watched the performance of George and Leonard on the court, and thought about the article "Pick-and-roll, air-cut, and switch defense-Contemporary Basketball Dislocation and Infinite Art". The more he read, the more he felt that The content inside is simply tailor-made for the Clippers.
Although the Clippers have a clear and complete tactical system, with pass-cutting, singles, pick-and-rolls, all playing impressively, if you look at the content of the article, it is obvious that there is still more room for improvement.
Mike Malone was paying attention to the progress of the game, but he was thinking about other things. When the first official timeout came, Mike Malone didn't even react and sat on the bench in a daze.
"Mike, Mike, Mike!" Tyronn Lue shouted several times before Malone came back to his senses.
"What? What's wrong?"
"Pause and talk to everyone about defense."
"Oh, okay...let me see..."
At this time, the score between the Clippers and the Thunder was 16:17, and the Clippers were 1 point behind the Thunder.
In the beginning, the offensive efficiency of both sides was very high. Basically, you were one and I was scoring goals. Half the game was not finished, and the score had already exceeded 20 points.
The consensus across the league last season was that beating the Clippers required quagmire tactics. Starting with the Cavaliers, they used anxious defense to drag the Clippers into a chaotic battle, and then used one or two sharp knives to seize the opportunity to kill the Clippers.
But facts have proven that this old method from the previous era no longer works. The result of a quagmire battle is often 800 injuries to the enemy and 1,000 losses to oneself. The statistics are ugly, the players are tired, and in the end they lose.
At the beginning of this season, all teams have changed their strategies. When playing against the Clippers, they are playing against each other. You attack and I attack. After all, the current league rules mean that the rate of return of offense is higher than that of defense, and it is getting higher and higher throughout the league. More than 60% of teams average over 100 points per game.
There are only a few Eastern defensive die-hards left, such as the Bulls, Heat (the Heat changed their tactics after Nash retired), Celtics, or some weak teams that really have no offensive talent. They can't score more than 100 points and have to rely on toughness. defense to win.
But as there are more and more strong offensive teams in the league, these die-hards will not last long. It is only a matter of time before the league scores more than 100 points.
"Uh... I think... I think our defense is good. There is nothing to say. Strengthen our offense and score more points than them." Mike Malone was not thinking about defense at all, so he couldn't say anything. Come four or five.
Tyronn Lue and the other players looked at Mike Malone, their eyes seeming to say, "Are you telling the truth?"
You must know the previous games, if the Clippers allowed their opponents to score 17 points in half a quarter, Mike Malone would definitely scold him.
As a result, the official timeout passed, and the Clippers players made slight adjustments and returned to the court.
Tyronn Lue asked Malone, "Mike, you're not paying attention very well. What are you thinking about?"
Malone told the truth, "I've been thinking about that article in my mind, and I didn't think about defense at all."
"What article? The one you said you saw on NBA-Batman?"
"Yes, everyone is watching and discussing, why didn't you watch?"
"Okay, okay, bring me a pad and show me what is so special about this article that can distract you from completing your job!"
The assistant handed over a pad. The Clippers were the first team in the league to equip their coaching staff and players with electronic equipment, so that coaches and players could understand their own data at the first time. These basic data and advanced data will be It will be quickly displayed on the pad's statistical software.
Tyronn Lue turned on his pad, and regardless of the situation on the court, he read the article in the NBA-Batman column and glanced at it for about ten seconds before returning the pad to Malone.
"There's nothing interesting to watch. I'll just watch the game."
"Don't you understand?"
"Shut up, Mike."
(End of chapter)
