Anthony Davis gave the Warriors two more big hits in the second quarter.
His number of blocks in the half came to 4, and he was simply an insurmountable barrier in the paint.
The Clippers' shrinking defense certainly gave the Warriors opportunities to take shots from the outside. Klay Thompson hit three three-pointers in the second quarter, and his shots were fast and accurate.
However, the Clippers still relied on their very high offensive efficiency to maintain a lead of more than 5 points in the second quarter, firmly suppressing the Warriors.
When the confrontation reaches the level of the Clippers and Warriors, the battle between the two sides is no longer a simple technical and tactical duel, but more of a competition in strategy and ideas.
In terms of personal ability, both sides are very strong. Even if the Warriors are missing Kevin Durant and the Clippers are missing Paul George, the lineup is still crushing against other teams.
When playing against other weak teams, neither side needs to talk about ideas or ideas. If they play normally, they can defeat their opponents by relying on the players' personal abilities and normal tactical movements.
However, when masters compete with each other, their personal abilities are about the same, and they are all in good condition. Tactics and lineups cannot be said to be restrained or not, so it depends on the ideas and strategies, whether they can make the players more comfortable and whether they can be better targeted. , surpassing the opponent in terms of offensive and defensive efficiency throughout the game, rather than just focusing on the outcome of certain rounds.
A few months ago, Min Congda persuaded his boss Shelly Sterling to acquire the sports technology company WSC not just for investment and profit, but also because Min Congda knew that this type of neural network AI technology has a great future and will have a major impact on many industries. , including the sports industry.
WSC's software can accurately capture the player's movements in the game video, identify, classify, and make statistics. If it is programmed to a certain extent, it can also conduct very precise analysis of the offensive and defensive situations of the entire game.
For example, in which position and in what posture a player takes the shot, he has the highest success rate of scoring a goal.
Or a certain opponent's player, in a certain position, habitually launches attacks with what kind of pace, what is the proportion of shots, what is the proportion of breakthroughs, etc.
In the American sports leagues, data analysis first entered professional games in baseball, and the effect is very good, because baseball has many types of statistics, and the game is relatively static and isolated, tending to a turn-based game, like chess, when analyzed will be very useful.
Basketball is more dynamic, and the statistics of one round alone have different calibers and methods. Ordinary data analysis cannot show the full picture of the game.
Only by introducing artificial intelligence to assist in analysis can the game be dismantled and restored to a more microscopic and detailed form.
Min Congda had been making relevant preparations before taking office as the head coach of the Clippers. He spent a lot of time studying the game with WSC staff, focusing on the Clippers themselves and the Warriors.
Among them, Min Congda personally participated in debugging the algorithm for game analysis and the weight distribution of some data. For different games and different teams, he would give different algorithm weights and conduct different analyses. This made several founders of WSC It's amazing, this man's understanding of basketball is really profound.
The change brought about by this analysis is a major change in coaching philosophy that Steve Kerr and other coaches of NBA teams may not feel yet.
In the middle of the second quarter, Min Congda replaced Anthony Davis. This kid was very tired today. He didn't rest for a minute in the first quarter and didn't come down until the middle of the second quarter. He played for almost 20 minutes in one breath.
Seeing Anthony Davis sweating profusely from exhaustion, Min Congda encouraged him: "You have rested long enough. Play more and you will be worthy of your salary."
Gasol came on as a substitute, Randolph also came on again, and on the outside, the Clippers used Livingston, Butler and Harden, which was obviously another slow lineup.
Min Congda called Harden to the sidelines and told him to hold down the rhythm, grind out positions with the Warriors, draw more fouls, and not give his opponents a chance to counterattack.
Harden nodded to express his understanding that all this was arranged before the game. The Clippers as a whole must follow a slow-fast-slow-fast rhythmic state from the first quarter to the fourth quarter.
As for how the Warriors play, it is the Warriors' business. Min Congda will never be led by Kerr and the Warriors. It is better not to fight against the headwind if possible.
Harden followed Min Congda's instructions. After playing without the ball for more than a quarter, he began to slow down his rhythm and collect the ball in his hands. Pick-and-roll, breakthrough, pick-and-roll, breakthrough. If you collect it, I will throw a three-pointer from the outside.
If Curry is the cornerstone of the Clippers' tactics, then Harden is a weirdo who exists independently of the Clippers' tactics. Once his offensive sense is up, he will play alone against a team.
With him, the Clippers can still maintain a very high offensive efficiency during the period of tactical exhaustion or chaos. Whether it is 1 point, 2 points or 3 points, this little fat guy is good at it.
The Warriors tried to bring up the rhythm and used defensive counterattacks to chase points. Cole also increased the speed and intensity of defensive rotations, aiming to tie the score before halftime.
However, the Clippers still fought fiercely for offensive rebounds. Randolph, Gasol and Harden all tried their best to get offensive rebounds. Even if they didn't grab them, they still had to foul to interfere with the Warriors' counterattack.
The Warriors were forced into a positional battle, a positional battle. The Clippers insisted on one-on-one defense in tonight's game. Without Durant, the super attacking point, the Warriors' offense seemed like "I have many methods, but none of them seem to be of any use."
James and Lillard can score points based on their personal abilities, but if you score 2 points and the Clippers score 4 points, if you score a 3-pointer, the Clippers will also score a 3-pointer.
The Warriors' offense has never been smooth, and the Clippers have been firmly guarding the basket and not giving the Warriors a chance to score easily. As for three-pointers, if you shoot normally, I won't target you.
Without Durant, relying only on Klay Thompson and Lillard, the Clippers were not afraid. At halftime, the Clippers led the Warriors by 7 points, 71:64.
The Warriors were able to score 64 points in the first half against the Clippers' defense, which was quite high, but the Clippers' offensive efficiency was even more terrifying, with 71 points in the half and 32 points in the second quarter.
The two sides returned to the locker room to rest. Steve Kerr had a feeling that throughout the first half, they were held down by the Clippers and drowned in the water, unable to get out of the water to breathe.
This feeling is of course terrible, just like playing football. If someone scores a goal at the beginning and the score is 0:1, you will always have a sense of urgency to fall behind. You want to score but at the same time you are worried about being blocked by your opponent and then scoring. , this feeling of headwind is very uncomfortable.
The Clippers seem to have a tailwind, but in fact the players are just playing according to Min Congda's pre-game arrangements and following the process.
In the locker room during halftime, Min Congda summarized the first half and arranged the second half on the whiteboard.
Min Congda is not a chicken soup coach. He has no interest in giving the players chicken blood.
Besides, in tonight's game, the Clippers players don't need to mobilize at all. They all want to defeat the Warriors.
"We did a good job in the first half and protected the basket very well. Without Durant, the Warriors' three-pointers will not be a big problem, but having Klay Thompson shoot too smoothly is also a problem. In the third quarter , Leonard, you go to guard Thompson, Harden, you go to deal with James, just let him shoot. In the third quarter, our thinking remains the same, inside, twin tower tactics, continue to suppress the opponent in terms of efficiency. Remember, The basket is our lifeline. Without Kevin Durant, fighting for the three-second zone is the winner. Everyone keeps this in mind. Everything else is going according to the established plan."
Min Congda further emphasized the importance of the inside line, something Tyronn Lue ignored in the previous two games.
The coaching staff focused too much on the battle between the forwards and the backs, ignoring the Clippers' absolute advantage inside and the decisive impact it can have on the battle situation after the inside attack and defense dominate.
Of course, Min Congda not only drew conclusions based on intuition and experience, but also added pre-match video AI analysis and big data analysis.
In the past, NBA coaches relied on experience, intuition, and a large amount of knowledge accumulation to formulate tactical strategies.
For coaches, basketball games are like chess and cards. Both sides play cards, move pieces, and target each other.
The game is therefore divided into pieces. A certain team has the advantage at the beginning and calls a timeout. The inferior team changes strategies. The two sides continue to compete, chasing each other, one after another.
It's like attacking a city, competing for each specific area, and sending different players to target each other.
However, when big data analysis and AI image analysis are introduced, the game becomes more macroscopic and holistic.
I no longer care about the gains and losses of one city or one place with you. What I value is the overall efficiency and the final score rate.
I can get you 120 points, but I can get 123 points, 125 points.
In one game or two games, a score difference of 3 or 5 points may give people the impression that it is a problem of the player's condition.
But if you lose by 5 or 3 points every time you play against such an opponent, the feeling will be different.
Just like AI playing Go, if it beats you by one or half an eye in a game, you will feel that there is not much difference between you and the AI.
But if you play a hundred games or a thousand games, and you find that you are still losing 1 or half a game every time, then you will understand that the gap between the two sides is too big to count.
Because he doesn't need to win you by 5 or 10 eyes at all, he just needs to win you by 1 or half an eye steadily.
Of course, Min Congda's team is far from reaching this level. He is not an AI, and basketball is not Go.
The players' technical and tactical abilities and status are still decisive to the outcome of the game.
Therefore, Min Congda repeatedly emphasized that there will be "no Kevin Durant" in tonight's game. If Durant is here, it will be a completely different situation.
It's just that when it comes to formulating tactics, Min Congda will no longer be specific and use tactics as you see fit. Instead, I will give you a firm strategy based on a holistic analysis and use different systems and tactics to run through it. The whole crowd goes to fight.
No matter how strong your Warriors are, you can't immediately add a top insider at night to improve your offensive and defensive capabilities in the three-second zone, right?
And "focus on the inside" is not just a simple sentence. After all, the strategy on the field is either to focus on the inside or outside. The key is a series of details that match the strategy.
Many teams will choose to focus on the inside in the opening game, let the center play more, and run the tactics. Not only can they score goals, but also let the team warm up their tactics. Then they will become blue-collar by playing the center, and then turn around or just run. defense.
The Clippers are different. In order to suppress the Warriors inside, they have made preparations before the game in terms of rotation, positioning of inside players, offensive options, and rebounding details.
For example, in the beginning, Gasol's ribs were in a low position, Leonard controlled the ball, Harden and Curry did not have the ball, and Davis rushed for offensive rebounds. This was all arranged in advance.
After that, every time Randolph and Davis held the ball with their backs, positioned, fed the ball, others moved, blocked, and whether to return to defense or charge for offensive rebounds, all were carefully decided before the game.
The basis for decision-making is, firstly, Min Congda's intuition and experience, and secondly, the data results of analysis of a large number of videos to ensure that strategic goals can be achieved.
This kind of decision-making mechanism, coupled with the Clippers' high execution ability, made it difficult for Steve Kerr to deal with it. During the entire halftime, Kerr didn't think about how to deal with it.
Cole couldn't help but feel a little numb. If this is the playoffs and the Warriors have made an announcement this time, then they will watch the video of the next game and hold a meeting after the game to discuss and find a response strategy.
Of course, there is still half a game, and whether or not to explain depends on the players' on-the-spot performance.
Besides, Durant still sits on the Warriors bench, which is Cole's biggest support and safe island.
"Even if we lose, we are missing a scoring champion after all. He will be back soon."
Cole thought so, comforting himself in his heart.
After the start of the third quarter, the intensity of confrontation between the two sides further increased, the intensity of defense increased, and the speed and rhythm of the game suddenly increased to a higher level.
Ordinary teams facing strong teams like the Clippers and Warriors may collapse in the third quarter when faced with high-intensity offense and defense.
And the strong confrontation caused sparks to fly instantly.
James came up and hit the basket with a single block for a dunk. This evasive dunk made the Oracle Arena abuzz.
Although James has changed his role on the court this year and become an all-round support, his powerful breakthrough scoring ability has not been lost.
His breakthrough was also intended to cause damage and increase the Clippers' internal defensive consumption.
The Clippers started the third quarter as usual from the low post, with Gasol and Anthony Davis taking turns to take positions, and Curry Harden on the outside to open up space and wait for opportunities.
The response plan given by the Warriors is to shrink. Once the ball is handed to Gasol or Davis, the people in the middle will immediately double-team. It is just a fake double-team, slightly disturbing the rhythm and then retreating to defend their opponent. people.
As a result, after only two rounds of double-teaming, Harden and Curry shot one after another. They immediately no longer dared to fake a double-team, and could only let Gasol and Anthony Davis dominate the inside.
Bogut's one-on-one defense is very good, and he also protects backcourt rebounds. His ability to protect the rim is enough to deal with most situations. He can deal with Gasol, but he can't handle adding Anthony Davis. He faced Harden, Curry and Leonard taking turns rushing inside, and Bogut was even more helpless.
Against other teams, one Bogut plus one Green can be said to be more than enough, plus James, it is already overmatched.
But when playing against the Clippers, when the Clippers are determined to play traditional style of play with you, play twin tower tactics, and play inside, the Warriors' super match has become a simple match.
In the third quarter, the Clippers took advantage of the inside line to quietly widen the score gap, 81:72, and the advantage expanded to 9 points.
No team on either side can create an offensive shock wave, suddenly pulling away or suddenly approaching, after all, the players' individual abilities are too strong.
But the Clippers rely on higher efficiency. After four to five rounds, I will score two points more than you. After four or five rounds, I will still score two points more than you.
This slowly accumulated, the Warriors were always tired, and the point difference was still widening a little bit. Cole could only call a timeout and make substitutions.
As a last resort, Cole tried to use a traditional center + power forward combination like Bogut + Speights.
As a result, the defensive end did not improve much, but the offensive end stagnated and was firmly nailed by the Clippers' defense.
After the timeout, the Clippers went 5-0, further widening the point difference to 14 points, which was the largest gap in the game.
Cole, who had just paused for substitutions, could only call another timeout, replace Bogut, and put Green on the court again.
With this poor on-the-spot command and scheduling, Cole obviously fell into panic when facing the Clippers' unexpected play style.
In other words, when facing Min Congda, he lost some confidence, and his substitutions and tactical arrangements were messy.
James complained to Cole during the timeout: "We should play according to our own ideas, instead of being led by Smart! Have you been led by his lead for a long time?"
Cole knows that what James said makes sense, and James himself understands it deeply. Without that conversation 10 years ago, how could he have ended up like this, becoming a super assistant?
In other games, Cole performed very well. The Warriors were invincible and invincible, but this time he was confused.
He tried to make adjustments and let the players calm down. There was still a lot of game time and enough opportunities to turn the situation around.
At this time, the Clippers followed the process, Anthony Davis stayed on the court, PJ Tucker came on, and they began to enter a fast-paced stage with one senior and four juniors.
Tonight, Min Congda did not use a large rotation, but used a 9-man rotation, Randolph, Tucker, Butler plus Livingston.
Dragic, Jokic and others were all put on the bench by DNP because the opponent was the Warriors and they had to keep the rotation compact and the players' condition consistent.
You can play multiple lineups and tactics against other teams, but playing this way against the Warriors will only lead to a dead end.
The Warriors quickly launched a counterattack in the third quarter. James made consecutive breakthroughs and scored assists to assist Thompson and Lillard to hit three-pointers.
The Clippers' defense is already in place, but Lillard and Thompson still hit the ball head-on with their outstanding three-point abilities. This is purely a matter of personal ability.
The Clippers' offense fell into a slight slump. It may be that the players relaxed after being far ahead, causing the Clippers' offense to lose focus in several rounds.
The Warriors once narrowed the point difference to 7 points, and Min Congda called a timeout. This was the first time in this game that he took the initiative to call a long timeout to make adjustments.
During the timeout, Min Congda handed over the offensive burden to Leonard at the end of the third quarter, allowing Leonard to hold the ball more and launch attacks, attacking the Warriors from far, medium and near distances.
Harden and Curry once again became ambushes. They could just ambush outside, or stand with their arms akimbo.
After several seasons of training, Leonard has gradually transformed from a robot that dribbles and shoots stiffly to a top-level swingman offense.
Post-up and alone, shooting directly after the pick-and-roll, breakthrough layups, fadeaway jumpers, the whole life is a rusty version of Jordan.
It doesn't matter whether it's rusty or not, as long as it can score goals, it's good.
The Clippers had an offensive focus, and Leonard immediately pulled away and succeeded in consecutive one-on-one possessions. He would pull away from the right side, either sudden or shooting. Green, who was unable to defend Leonard one-on-one, had no way to do it.
At the end of the third quarter, the Clippers reopened the point difference, 95:85, and entered the fourth quarter with a 10-point advantage.
Curry and Harden set up an ambush for most of the game, which restrained a large number of the Warriors' defensive forces and gave the Clippers and Leonard more room to play.
This strategic move was quite clever. In the fourth quarter, the Warriors were even more afraid to let Harden and Curry go. The two were full of physical energy.
Cole clenched his fists, knowing that he was completely at a disadvantage in the contest with Min Congda.
Now, he has one last trump card to use, and perhaps he can rely on this card to make a comeback in the fourth quarter.
But should we use it? Cole hesitated.
(End of chapter)
