Chapter 681: Coach’s sacrifice to heaven
On May 27, at 7:30 pm Pacific time, at Oracle Arena, Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals is about to begin.
Everyone was waiting for the sudden death of the Los Angeles Clippers - including the more than 19,000 Warriors fans wearing gold T-shirts at the scene, as well as the millions and millions of people watching the live broadcast in front of the TV. Millions of non-Clippers fans.
Watching a statue of a god fall has always been a major event in the sports world.
The Clippers have dominated the league for three years. They are big enough and have enough legends about the team.
When they fall, it's as if a huge whale has died, providing rich nutrients to the food chain.
First there are the flesh-eating sharks, which bite chunks of flesh off dead whales.
This summer, Leonard and Jimmy Butler's contracts expire and they will become free agents.
Once the Clippers dynasty collapses, these two fresh, potential big fish are likely to become the targets of strong competition.
It is said that the Texas Spurs and Rockets have their eyes on the two. The Spurs really want to get Leonard, while the Rockets hope that Butler, who was born in Houston, can return to his hometown to play.
Next are the small fish that eat bones, internal organs, and leftover meat. They will eat all the meat they can see.
Role players such as PJ Tucker, Bonner, Dragic, and Livingston will also face contract renewal and trade issues. They are all very high-quality role players.
Once the Clippers trade or give up on them, there will definitely be a team willing to take over. By then, the strong team will have pieces of the championship puzzle and its strength will be improved.
After all, the Clippers' product is truly excellent.
Then there are the bones of whales. The bones are rich in oil and contain nutritious marrow. Crabs, sea worms, and plankton can use them as delicious meals. A whale skeleton is enough to support a small ecosystem.
The end of the legend means that television stations such as ESPN, Turner, Fox and others can criticize without restraint. Of course, after criticizing for a period of time, they can start the nostalgia mode.
TV stations can produce documentaries, interviews, and write a lot of articles summarizing and analyzing the Clippers' impressive three years, the first three-peat dynasty since Phil Jackson.
By the way, Min Congda can be brought out to criticize, saying how successful he was when he was the general manager, but he rashly became a coach, resulting in a failure.
Of course, Min Congda may lead the Clippers to make a comeback, continue to win the championship, and return as the king, but at least in the summer of 2015, he will be said to be useless.
The media has been waiting for this day for a long time. They have accumulated enough grievances and black materials, and they are all waiting for an opportunity to vent them out.
Everyone is waiting to see how Batman, the biggest hater of the NBA, will hack the Clippers and Min Congda on Twitter - the current influence of this account has expanded to exceed that of all NBA celebrities. It is the uncrowned king of league news and the number one mystery in the NBA at the moment. .
After all the whale bones have been chewed clean, the role of the whale carcasses is still not over, because their skeletons can also create an environment for the cultivation and reproduction of many bacteria.
For a long period of time, whale bones will become a huge bacterial colony, and the bacteria on the seabed will slowly absorb the nutrients above for several years or even more than ten years, allowing this huge creature to finally return to its natural environment.
For ordinary fans, the legend of the Los Angeles Clippers will be a story that many people will never forget.
In a few years, they forced the league's other best stars to form teams frequently, and finally ended their dynasty rule with two super small forwards.
Fans continue to debate who is stronger, more dominant, and better between the Clippers dynasty and the Lakers and Bulls dynasties?
These topics will continue to nourish the gossip enthusiasm of NBA fans, as well as the traffic enthusiasm of many column article creators.
Before the arrival of a new dynasty, new topics, and a new generation of fans, it has become the spiritual nourishment of fans for a long time.
Finally one day, all the organic matter and nutrients on these bones were eaten away, and the huge skeleton was buried in the sand, becoming a huge and amazing fossil under the influence of time.
One day in the future, it will bring a little sigh to the new fans who have never witnessed their glory: they were so powerful and awesome. But it's just a fossil.
Just like the Boston Celtics who set a record for consecutive championships in the North American Professional League, and the golden generation of black and white double brakes that have been buried in fuzzy TV signals, etc.
All of this was foreseen and even expected. The Clippers, from the coaching staff to the players, were like lambs waiting to be slaughtered, and the entire team exuded an aura of death.
Min Congda stood on the sidelines. He loosened his tie to loosen the tight collar.
What troubled Min Congda the most after becoming a head coach was that the head coach had to wear suits and ties on the sidelines.
In order to make himself more comfortable on the sidelines, Min Congda ordered several sets of particularly loose suits and shirts for himself.
In this way, when he gets emotional, he can wave his arms and yell at the referee without being restrained by his clothes.
But the suit still seemed a little tight on him tonight and felt a little weird.
But the fans' attention is not on the coach's suit, but on the players on the field.
Marc Gasol was accidentally injured in the last game, making the Clippers' situation even worse.
As expected, he was absent in this game, and the Clippers made Matt Bonner the starting center.
Between Bonner and Jokic, the Clippers coaching staff chose the more mature Bonner after discussion.
The young Jokic just made a fatal mistake in the fourth game. A defensive three-second penalty gave the opponent a free throw, causing the team to lose the game and be in desperate situation.
At this moment, he is sitting on the bench, his eyes calm and distracted. He has just entered the NBA and cannot yet fully understand what this game means.
The game started with a jump ball between the two sides. Bogut was the first to touch the ball, and the Warriors started their first attack.
Game 5, at home, leading 3:1, the morale and confidence of the Warriors team have reached their peak.
On the first goal, James made a sharp breakthrough and rushed to the basket, throwing a high ball to Bogut.
Bogut caught the ball and dunked with both hands!
With Bonner starting, the team's defense will inevitably be affected.
His ability to protect the basket is much worse than Gasol.
The Oracle Arena was filled with jubilation, as if starting from this ball, the Clippers were about to be pronounced dead.
However, Bonner's starting position has advantages on the offensive end. He stands in his sweet spot-the position 45 degrees to the left.
After receiving the ball from Curry's breakthrough, he made a three-pointer!
Curry is all too familiar with this point, having practiced it countless times during the regular season.
Bonner's three-pointer cooled the Oracle Arena.
Although the two sides launched a high-quality attack.
James assisted Durant to hit a mid-range hit.
After a pick-and-roll, Harden drove to the basket and hit the ground to assist Anthony Davis for a layup.
James supported Lillard from the high post and made a layup for two points.
Leonard turned around to get the ball, turned around and beat Durant, and hit a mid-range jumper.
After the tempering of the previous games, the core players of both sides were in good condition, and the feeling of the game came quickly.
There is nothing too secretive about the tactics of the two teams, including passing and cutting, mismatching, and high-speed, high-intensity offensive and defensive confrontations.
The defense of both sides throughout the entire series was almost one-on-one. No one used zone defense, no one used strong or weak side pressure or double-teaming.
Because the use of zone defense, or pressure and double-teaming from the strong and weak sides, means that the defensive end must choose one of the two and must let go of part of it.
But with this lineup of the two teams, who can you let go? No one can be spared. Leaving anyone alone may lead to collapse.
Therefore, both teams are basically in the ultimate one-on-one defense, testing the players' personal defensive abilities and basic defensive qualities.
Insiders like Bogut, Anthony Davis, Green and others will have to pay a price to help defend and fill positions.
Both teams have too many people who can pass the ball both offensively and defensively, and there are too many people who can handle the ball themselves after receiving the ball. It is better not to move around.
So in the fifth game, the coaches of both sides decided that firm one-on-one defense was to compete with the strength of the players on both sides.
However, the game is based on a perfect match and a surprise victory. Cole achieved a surprise victory. The five small lineups he used have so far been unable to really contain the Clippers.
Even if Min Congda has discovered the problem of the fifth primary school, how can you solve it? It still depends on specific operations to crack it.
Judging from the first quarter of the game, the Clippers seemed to have no solution, and they still relied on the strength and state of the players to solve the problem.
This is a common practice for ordinary coaches to ensure that the players give full play to their strength. Whether they win or not depends on the players' own performance and creativity.
Their rotation was still the same as before, and there were no major adjustments to their tactics, but they still took a 29:27 lead in the first quarter.
But Cole knew that Min Congda was not such a person. He waited patiently and nervously. In the middle of the second quarter, Cole changed to the five-small lineup. He wanted to see how Min Congda would respond.
At this time, the Warriors were 3 points behind the Clippers. When James, Durant, Thompson, Green and Lillard were on the court at the same time, the Warriors' offensive state was instantly activated, and their confidence was too strong.
Kevin Durant and Thompson scored two three-pointers in a row. They were still swaying in the first quarter, but they seemed to have opened their three-pointers in an instant.
In the first four games, facing two cups of poison from Thompson and Durant, the Clippers had to drink one of them, and the one they didn't drink didn't necessarily mean they wouldn't be able to perform.
So far, the Clippers still insist on letting PJ Tucker defend Durant alone, but it does not seem to have a very good effect. Durant's indiscriminate singles, Tucker is simply useless.
The Warriors took the lead in an instant. Min Congda stood on the sidelines and watched the performance of the Clippers players. Their defense became sluggish, their offense gradually became unorganized, and their passing began to hesitate. The Clippers' passing coordination has always been very fast and tacit.
As a result, Harden's breakaway ball went out of bounds and made a mistake.
Following Green's support from the high post, James passed the ball. James caught the ball and made a layup. The Warriors led by 5 points at 48:43!
Min Congda still didn't call a timeout. At this time, Curry stepped forward. The only tactic the Clippers could use seemed to be singles.
As a result, the Warriors chose to switch defense. James defended Curry one-on-one and used pressing and aggressive defense to force Curry to break through.
Green rushed towards Curry under the basket and interfered with Curry's layup!
The ball had a downward movement, but the referee didn't call it!
Green grabbed the ball and Oracle Center erupted in jubilation.
The Warriors counterattacked, James received the ball and quickly advanced, hitting the ground and passing Durant.
Durant avoided Leonard's interference, jumped up, and dunked with both hands!
51:43! The Warriors lead by 8 points!
There seems to be an unbridgeable crack in the giant Clippers ship.
At this time, there are still three minutes left before the end of the first half.
Min Congda finally called a timeout. After a long timeout, the players returned to the bench with heavy steps.
Everyone looked a little confused, how to fight? How to prevent it? have no idea.
Maybe they have the ability, but at the moment, they don't have the confidence.
Everyone looked at Min Congda. Manager Smart always had a way in the past.
But, will he be able to do anything tonight? He said that the series has just begun. It’s already 1:3. Is it still just beginning?
Could it be a 5:4 comeback?
Besides, after all, it is the players who fight on the court to determine the result. No matter how good the coach is, he can't do it himself...
Hey, no, something is wrong.
The Clippers players discovered that the coach didn't say anything after the timeout, didn't lay out tactics, didn't encourage everyone, and he actually started to take off his clothes.
Undress? What is this operation? He took off his tie, unbuttoned his shirt, and took off his suit jacket. What was he doing? ?
Min Congda's actions quickly attracted the attention of the players, the surrounding audience, and even the TV station. He actually took off his suit, and then revealed the blue Clippers away jersey he was wearing underneath!
Blue, No. 4 jersey, red piping, is this Superman? Take off your suit and transform?
The TV station commentators were confused. What was Smart trying to do? He wanted to play on his own?
The fans at the scene were so surprised and speechless when they looked at the Clippers bench. What kind of amazing operation is this Smart?
At this time, Min Congda looked at the dumbfounded looks of the players and said: "You idiots, if you can't win and implement my tactics, I will have to do it myself!"
As he spoke, he took off his leather shoes, took out a pair of sneakers from under the bench and put them on.
The Clippers players all looked at each other, what's going on? Can the coach still do it by himself?
It's not like Min Congda has never played with everyone. This season he often plays together, but he always gets blocked.
When Min Congda participated in team training, he gave instructions and explained many tactics in great detail.
Everyone knows that if he can play in the NBA, he must be a very good point guard.
Harden and Curry both feel they have benefited a lot.
"Don't be stupid, I don't want to lose here yet. Do you just want to end the season like this and go back fishing with George? I don't want to die. I tell you, if we lose this series, I will resign. I'll go back to China to sell insurance, and you can fend for yourself! But before that, I want to go out and fight! James, Durant, they are just cowards who stick together, what the hell are you afraid of! I'm not afraid of them! Stephen, do you remember that when Griffin fouled you, I dared to rush up and beat him! What are you afraid of! Fxxk!"
Min Congda rarely vented his anger to the players, but this anger was not negative, but made the Clippers players slowly wake up.
Yes, what are you afraid of? We are united and have gone through so many ups and downs. Can we be defeated by two cowards forming a team?
"Stephen, you come down and rest. I'll go on the court and play point guard. I'll tell you how to attack."
Curry said nothing, thinking to himself, do you really think you can play?
At this time, the referee and the technical table also noticed something was wrong. What was Smart trying to do?
When tonight's referee Malloy saw a little man wearing No. 4 Clippers jersey, standing on the sidelines about to come on the court, and this man was Smart Min, he felt bad.
He quickly blew the whistle and ran over to ask: "What are you doing Smart! Why did you change into player clothes!"
Min Congda said: "I want to play, Malloy."
Malloy quickly stopped Min Chongda and then stopped the game, "You can't do that, and you can't wear sportswear on the sidelines!"
Then, Malloy and the other two referees gathered at the technical table to discuss with the technical officials how to handle this unique situation.
The fans at the scene were also speechless. There were boos at the scene, but there were also many spectators cheering for Min Congda, "Come on, Smart, come on!"
When the Warriors players found out that Min Congda was about to play, everyone looked blank. Everyone was going to kill the Clippers in one go. What's the situation now?
The game was interrupted for two minutes. After discussing with the technical desk, the referee decided that in accordance with the provisions of the labor agreement, coaches are not allowed to serve as players, and the requirements of the dress code, Min Congda was ejected from the field!
Min Congda spread his hands and ran to discuss with the technical desk official. The other party said: "Smart, you are too messy. You should put on your suit so as not to catch a cold."
"Fuck you!"
Before leaving, Min Congda said to the players: "I will not go back to the locker room, I will go directly back to the hotel. If you win, we will go back to Los Angeles together to prepare for the sixth game. If you lose, we will go back to Los Angeles to go fishing. You Just figure it out yourself!"
"Taylen, I leave this to you."
Min Congda handed over the command to Tyronn Lue.
Director Lu nodded calmly. In fact, he already knew the result.
He took out a note from his suit pocket, which contained the instructions Min Congda gave him before the game.
Article 1: Reuse Jokic and add Randolph to the rotation.
Article 2: Focus on attacking Draymond Green and Lillard.
At this time, Min Congda left the field from the player tunnel wearing the No. 4 jersey.
He sacrifices himself to awaken his players.
(End of chapter)
