"Not bad, Blake, he actually scored."
In the frontcourt, after the pick-and-roll, the player defending Wang Zelin turned into Griffin. Wang Zelin couldn't help but joke.
Humph, you want to anger me again? I won't be fooled.
Griffin ignored Wang Zelin, but leaned over and continued to apply pressure.
After receiving the ball, Wang Zelin began to sit inside and play. His peak terrifying power caused Griffin behind him to retreat one after another.
Approaching the penalty area, Jordan decisively came to double-team, and Wang Zelin passed the ball more decisively. In the end, Aldridge dunked under the basket.
On the court, the Trail Blazers players retreated quickly. However, just when the Trail Blazers players adopted a strategy of protecting the basket first and preventing the Clippers from counterattacking fast breaks, Paul suddenly made a long pass and gave the ball to Redick. …
The latter, after receiving the ball from the right wing's three-point line, fired decisively.
Batum, who finally retreated to the elbow of the right wing, reacted and rushed out.
This Redick...how did he end up in this position?
And Paul...he preached too decisively!
JJ Redick, as the Clippers' perimeter turret this season, only played 34 games in the regular season due to injuries. He averaged 15 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists per game. His overall field goal percentage was 45.5% and his three-point field goal percentage was 45.5%. 39.5%.
In the field of three-pointers, he is the best in the league in terms of production and efficiency, perhaps only slightly inferior to the Warriors' backline duo.
Redick's shot caught the Blazers by surprise. The basketball bounced on the rim and then fell into the net.
5:11!
The Clippers' rhythm is about to pick up.
On the next attack, Aldridge took the initiative to ask for the ball and hit Griffin alone. Not long ago, Griffin scored a goal in front of his eyes, which obviously made Aldridge a little annoyed.
Don’t forget, I am also a member of the club that averages 20+ points per game this season!
Facing Aldridge, Griffin didn't want the former to catch the ball in the low post, so after Aldridge got the ball in the high post, he dribbled out and emerged as an "elite mid-range pitcher".
"Uh-huh!"
The basketball entered the frame, 12:5!
On the court, except for Wang Zelin, who was responsible for grabbing offensive rebounds, his retreat was a little slow. The other four Blazers players retreated as soon as they scored.
In the following time, Beverley frantically tore at Paul from the outside, preventing the latter from finding any scoring opportunities.
Under the basket, Wang Zelin stared at Jordan, leaving him with no chance to cut into the penalty area.
In desperation, the Clippers' offense mainly relied on Griffin's strong play in the interior and Redick's occasional outside shots to barely maintain their firepower.
In contrast, the Trail Blazers have more offensive points. Among the five players on the field, except for Beverley who lacks the ability to handle the ball in singles, the 2, 3, 4, and 5 positions are equally difficult to face the Clippers. As a position player, he can maintain good singles efficiency.
After one quarter, 32:22, the Trail Blazers led by 10 points.
Compared with G1, the situation on the field was obviously reversed.
Except for the first few minutes, Wang Zelin had no desire to attack in the rest of the game. He made 3 of 3 shots and scored 6 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block... including 3 offensive rebounds.
Although Wang Zelin focuses on helping to defend the perimeter and organizing teammates, he still protects the rebounds under the basket, and the Clippers have never been able to solve this problem.
Having stable rebound control means having enough shots, coupled with the violent offensive momentum from the beginning, giving the Blazers an absolute advantage in the score.
"As expected, the Clippers relied too much on Chris Paul in the first two games. So much so that the Trail Blazers took off original starter Damian Lillard and replaced him with Patrick Beverley to target Chris Paul. And so far, Patrick Beverley’s defensive job against Chris Paul has been impeccable.”
Steve Cole said.
"Now the Clippers have two solutions. One is to see Clippers coach Doc Rivers' personnel adjustments, and the other is to see if Chris Paul can come out on his own."
Buckley analyzed.
"Hehe," Steve Kerr smiled inexplicably, saw Buckley looking back at him, and said:
"According to our previous understanding of Doc Rivers, if the Clippers want to get out of trouble, they still have to rely on Chris Paul himself."
On the Clippers bench, Doc Rivers' face turned dark on the spot. Of course he could tell that Steve Kerr and Barkley were making fun of his poor on-the-spot adaptability.
In the live broadcast of the Imperial TV station, Yang Jian analyzed: "As soon as I replaced Lillard, I knew that coach Terry Stotts was making a dangerous move. I didn't expect that this one would be so effective. If Beverly today If he can limit Chris Paul for an entire game, I believe that when the trade market reopens in the summer, many teams will be interested in him."
In the second quarter, both teams came on the bench.
In fact, the Trail Blazers can't be said to have a full bench lineup, because they are led by Lillard.
Although Lillard already knew about the coaching staff's redeployment of personnel before the game, he was mentally prepared in advance for his pseudo-starting status tonight.
But when it came time for the actual game, after this proud man had been on the bench for nearly a quarter, he was already filled with anger.
It's not against his own team, let alone Beverley who performed well in the first quarter, but he hates himself and hates why he can't be as capable as Wang Zelin in both offense and defense.
So, full of anger, Lillard came back on the field, and with the lineup of Connett Lee + Will Barton + Yi Jianlian + Adams, he began to kill.
As soon as he came up, he first hit a pick-and-roll three-pointer from the outside, and then completed a steal on Clippers substitute point guard Darren Collison on the defensive end, ran into the frontcourt and dunked successfully.
At the beginning of the second quarter, there was a wave of personal offensive performances, helping the team lead the Clippers by 15 points in the blink of an eye.
Almost instantly, Doc Rivers couldn't sit still and wanted Paul to play early. But when I thought that the second half would be even more difficult, I could only choose to endure it and take another look at the situation on the court.
It was precisely because of this tolerance that at halftime, 61:45, with only two goals missing, the point difference between the two sides could expand to 20 points.
Fortunately, with more than 3 minutes left in the second quarter, Paul, who could no longer sit still, asked the coach for help and returned to the field.
If not, the current point difference between the two teams is very likely to exceed the 20 mark.
In the home locker room, Terry Stotts is setting up tactics.
"In the second half, the Clippers will definitely start a crazy counterattack. We now have two options. One is to continue the style of play in the first quarter, replace Chris Paul with Patrick, the whole team will engage in a biting defense, and then wait until the fourth quarter. Work hard and win this game!”
He looked at Beverley, who was silent, and found that the latter's expression had not changed. Then he turned to look at Lillard and said:
"The second is to put on the full lineup and attack them hard in the third quarter. In this way, we are sure to take away the Clippers in one wave in the third quarter and end the game; similarly, it is also possible that the Clippers will set off an attack With one move, we quickly equalized the nearly 20-point deficit.”
The Terry Stotts in front of him is much better than the one in the original time and space. After all, the Trail Blazers' long victory not only promoted the overall progress of the players, but also accelerated Terry Stotts' promotion path from the famous coach.
But there is a saying that goes well, "A country is easy to change, but a character is hard to change!"
To put it bluntly, Tristos has a good-natured character and has a friendly relationship with the players. He is not a "willful" tyrant-style coach.
Many times, he is very happy to discuss the development of the team with his disciples.
For example, now, he can almost be said to have distributed part of his head coaching functions to the players in the locker room.
In the eyes of the outside world, the head coach should be the most authoritative in a team and cannot be provoked... But here, in the Trail Blazers' locker room, a completely different scene is presented.
It can be said that the Trail Blazers' current happy locker room atmosphere is really inseparable from Terry Stotts' contribution, or concession.
Terry Stotts briefly explained his thoughts to his disciples, and for a while, the locker room fell into silence.
Everyone is thinking about the pros and cons of both options.
Logically speaking, the first option would allow the Trail Blazers to win tonight's game more stably, but when they thought about Lillard's explosive offense with 11 points in the second quarter, they were somewhat inclined to the second option.
For a long time, no one spoke. Terry looked at the innermost position and smiled:
"Wang, why don't you tell me how the team should play next."
After the head coach mentioned this, the same idea suddenly came to everyone's mind, yes, why not take a look at Wang's tendencies first?
Uh, why did you blame me?
When he looked up and saw the expectant looks in everyone's eyes, Wang Zelin was stunned for a moment, with big doubts in his small eyes.
However, he understands better the principle of "if you continue to cut off, you will inevitably suffer chaos"! If they don't determine the style of play in the second half first, in such a high-intensity playoff game, a 16-point lead may not necessarily guarantee that they will win tonight's game.
So, should we choose to be conservative or radical?
After thinking for a moment, his mind suddenly recalled a classic line from the TV series "Conquest":
"You're still called a young man if you're not full of energy?"
Immediately, I had a decision in my heart.
He said: "I don't want to grind any more in the second half. I declare that I will win this game after the third quarter!"
"Great!"
"That's how it's supposed to be played!"
"Destroy the other side!"
The next moment, everyone gathered in the locker room.
The third quarter begins.
Both teams' lineups have been adjusted and returned to the starting lineup.
"Hey, what's going on? Why did the Trail Blazers choose to give up Beverley, who performed well defensively in the first quarter?"
Yang Jian was a little confused.
Ma Jian on the side smiled: "Isn't this obvious? The Trail Blazers want to attack the opponent and take away the opponent in one wave!"
Yang Jian murmured to himself: "It's a good idea, but it's a bit crazy!"
"It's okay to be crazy! If you're not crazy, can you still be called a young man?"
On the Clippers bench, seeing the Trail Blazers' personnel adjustments, Doc Rivers' brows relaxed at first and then furrowed again.
Although I really don't want to admit it, I have to admit that Barkley and Cole were right in the first half. If the Clippers want to come back, they really have to count on Paul's performance.
But for some reason, Doc Rivers' worries were getting bigger and bigger.
Halfway through the third quarter, the two sides were playing back and forth. You just scored a goal, and I responded with one in the next round. The scene was very lively, and the fans enjoyed watching it.
But the Clippers were still unable to further narrow the point difference. At 6 minutes and 48 seconds, Paul faked a mid-range pass and assisted Jordan for a dunk under the basket. The latter finally scored the first goal of the game. .
At 76:65, the Clippers were still 11 points behind.
Next, as long as they hold on for one round and complete a counterattack, they can reduce the point difference to less than 10 points.
If it comes to fruition, it will be a big improvement for the Clippers' morale.
Can they do it?
Trail Blazers offense.
Just after halftime, Terry Stotts called a timeout.
"Damien, LaMarcus, Wang, no matter who of the three of you gets a chance next time, they must score this goal. We must never let the Clippers close the point difference to less than 10 points. Do you understand? ?”
He said to the three of them seriously.
Lillard and Aldridge nodded. Wang Zelin casually wiped the sweat from his head, raised his head and showed a confident smile: "Give me the ball later!"
Up to this point, the two sides have not only competed between team tactics and players' physical fitness, but also a competition between the wills of the two teams.
Led by Paul, the Clippers want to touch the coveted Western Conference Finals floor.
Under the leadership of Wang Zelin, the Trail Blazers want to go one step further this year and set foot on the highest stage of the NBA league-the championship stage!
Neither side wants to lose, but unfortunately, in sports competitions, there can only be one winner. Therefore, Wang Zelin will never give up the victory.
If you want to do it, do it the best!
"Okay, then it's up to you."
After saying that, Terry Stotts warned again: "You guys are taking over outside and make room for the king."
Lillard and Aldridge nodded again without retorting.
The timeout ends and the Trail Blazers attack.
Wang Zelin reached the lower part of the right elbow area, and Lillard passed the ball to him.
The defender behind him was Jordan. Griffin was intent on entering the short corner and wanted to double-team him, but found Aldridge pulling out and had no choice but to follow him.
At this moment, everyone is waiting for the offensive and defensive showdown between Wang Zelin and DeAndre Jordan. The latter even held his breath and did not dare to relax for a second.
