The Legend of the Hungry Wolf in Basketball

Chapter 397 [The Opening Battle of Disparity in Strength]

Christmas is a good day to go to war.Celtics VS Knicks, Heat VS Mavericks, Magic VS Thunder, Lakers VS Nets are all strong dialogues, fans have been waiting for this day for too long.

The Clippers also made their debut on Christmas, but the opponent was the Golden State Warriors.This puzzled some fans.Maybe the league feels that their state needs to be adjusted, and they have to play with confidence in the first game, so they arrange a weak team, not a defensive team.

The Warriors failed to enter the playoffs last season, and their insides were not strong. The main center, Bidelins, has suffered a severe decline. Last season, he could only score 5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1 block.David Lee's data is very beautiful, but he still can't get rid of the doubts of "data brush". Substitutes Ai Pai Udo and Kwame Brown are the people they can use inside.The outside line mainly relies on the backcourt double shots of Kyle Lowry and Monta Ellis, and the Clippers' Anthony Morrow.This year they dug up Brandon Rush from the Pacers, and selected Klay Thompson as a rookie. Except for these few, their strengths are all average.

The Warriors simply can't play against the Clippers.

In the locker room, Thibodeau said: "The new season has started, a bit suddenly, and everyone has gotten used to relaxing after a few months of rest. We lost two games in the preseason. At that time, we didn't have to play well. Now we must Let's cheer up, there is still some time before the appearance, do you have anything to say?"

Ye Feng was the first to speak: "What I want to say is that today we will win the Warriors by more than 50 points to kick off the new season!"

After hearing this, the players are full of confidence in today's game. Winning 50 points is a bit exaggerated, but it is not difficult to win.

Josh Smith said: "We will definitely defend our title this year."

Love said: "Pass me a few more balls. I'm not idle in the summer. I practiced shooting for the summer. I'm more accurate. I will definitely be able to make the ball!"

Grant Hill said: "I will not let everyone down."

Everyone said a lot, most of them hoped to defend the title successfully, but they didn't mention the playing time. It is estimated that many people want to get more playing time, especially the two who did not make the squad, Isiah Thomas and Vujacic.

In addition to the desire for a championship, the Clippers still have a lot of pressure.A shortened season is not good for defending the title, because the schedule is dense, anything can happen, and it is easier to play abnormally and get upset.From then until the end of the season, it will be a great psychological test for the players.

At this time, in the Warriors locker room, the atmosphere was a bit dignified, and no one wanted to meet the Clippers in the first game.The main problem of the Warriors is defense. Although the old Nelson has resigned and replaced Mark Jackson, a former ESPN commentator, as the head coach, the Warriors' defense still has not improved. The coach does not dare to expect to win this game, but only hopes to lose a little less .It is very difficult to deal with Ye Feng from the outside. The Warriors arranged a zone defense, and the offense was dominated by the pick-and-roll cooperation between Ellis and David Lee.

The first game was broadcast live on TN*T. Barkley said: "The Clippers introduced the Gasol brothers, Vujacic and Hill, and chose Thomas. The reinforcement is not as high-profile as people think. I hope Gasol The brothers can play at a high level next to Ye Feng, and they are still destined to be with Los Angeles."

Kenny Smith said: "Some fans said on the forum that the Gasol brothers affected the team's offensive speed. Without them, the Lakers would be stronger. This season, the Lakers introduced Paul to form the Big Three. I don't know what will happen in the derby. , It is a pity that the two teams did not meet in the opening game."

Barkley said with a smile: "I think the Clippers will win. Ye Feng didn't play hard in the preseason. I don't know if he can win the scoring title this season. Gasol will definitely take some of his shots."

After the warm-up, the starting players of both sides played.

Five Clippers: Paul Gasol, Kevin Love, Josh Smith, Ye Feng, Stephen Curry.

Five Warriors: Andris Biedrins, David Lee, Brandon Rush, Monta Ellis, Kyle Lowry.

The Warriors' starting lineup last season was similar to this, except that Rush replaced Morrow, and his three-pointers were also very accurate. The Warriors' outside players are not good at confrontation, and Rush is relatively strong.As long as you analyze the lineup, you know that the Warriors can't win this game.

Barkley patted his thigh and said happily: "I don't know how the Warriors are going to defend. Let Ellis defend Ye Feng? Then the game is over as long as the pass is passed to Ye Feng. He can score 100 points. If Rush defends Ye Feng Forward, Smith's physique is not something Ellis can defend against. Curry still has a height advantage against Lowry, and the Clippers also have the advantage inside, and the strength of the two sides is very different."

Kenny Smith said: "I believe the fans want to see a big victory."

During the warm-up, Ye Feng greeted Lowry and Morrow, telling them that this match was going to be a pity, that the Clippers would definitely not show mercy in the first game, and that the Clippers played with the idea of ​​a big victory.

This season, the Clippers have definitely declined in one ability, and that is scrimmage.Without McGee and Gortat, the Clippers would have no "spring man" inside.Biedrins beat Gasol on the jump ball, and the Warriors went first.

Lowry dribbled the ball and handed it to Ellis. Ellis averaged 24 points per game last season and is also an All-Star player. Ye Feng was responsible for defending him on the outside.

Ellis knew the level of Ye Feng's defense very well. He protected the basketball on the outside, waiting for David Lee to cover and Smith to switch defenses.Gasol went to the perimeter to catch up with David Lee, while Ye Feng bypassed the cover and ran towards Rush.The Clippers quickly switched from a 23-zone defense to a 32-zone defense.Smith, Gasol, and Love formed a triangle on the penalty area line.This is the Clippers' usual formation last season.Although Gasol has just arrived, he has a very strong understanding of tactics and immediately integrated into the team.

Ellis returned the ball to David Lee, and Gasol defended against Lee's drive while raising his arms to interfere with the shot.The biggest disadvantage of David Lee is that he is only 206CM tall.Gasol's non-defense shot will make him very uncomfortable, and he passed the ball to Lowry.

The Warriors played very patiently. Several passes were missed. Ellis ran back to catch the ball and turned around and missed a jumper. Love got the ball.Some people were worried that the cooperation of Gasol and Love would slow down the Clippers' offensive speed. The Clippers came up and proved that there was no need to worry. As soon as the rebound was won, Ye Feng, Smith and Curry quickly went down.

Love handed it over to Gasol, who passed a long pass to Ye Feng.Rush returned to the defense, Ye Feng had the advantage and didn't attack by force, he caught the ball and handed it to Smith, who was rushing inside.

Smith took the ball in the middle, strode to the basket, and made a basket. 2 to 0.Ellis returned to the defense quickly enough, but he was squeezed away. If he wanted to defend Smith, he had to foul. He couldn't foul so early and chose to back down.

The Warriors attacked, Ye Feng stared at Ellis, David Lee covered, Ye Feng directly bypassed the defense this time and retreated to block Ellis' breakthrough route inside, Ellis made a three-pointer from the outside, and the ball did not pass. middle.

Ye Feng and Curry are about to get off. They believe in the ability of their teammates. Last season, the Clippers ranked first in the league in rebounds. Love stuck to the left position. Smith followed Rush to the right in time to pick off the rebound and landed. After taking a step, he threw it to the front field.

When Ellis faced Ye Feng, if he played a quick counterattack, the Warriors would have to be close and man-to-man. No matter how hard Ellis defended, it was impossible to withstand Ye Feng and Smith in the confrontation.At the beginning, the Warriors' perimeter core became a loophole.After receiving the ball, Ye Feng turned around and leaned on Ellis to break through to the basket. Ellis could keep up with the speed, but it didn't work. Ye Feng leaned on him and went into the basket. The ball goes into the basket! 4 to 0.

The fans applauded together, and the Clippers showed an overwhelming advantage.Barkley said: "Playing like this, as long as the Warriors don't make a shot, the Clippers will definitely counterattack immediately."

"And they're going to be tough to get into," Smith said.

The Clippers must leave two people behind the basket to guard the penalty area. If Biedrins is out of the penalty area, he can make a mid-range shot. That is not Biedrins' strength. He is very bad at free throws. Ship compressed the defense and let him shoot outside.

The Warriors are attacking, and Ellis and Lowry can't play the breakthrough that they are best at. They also like to counterattack quickly, and now they can only play positional warfare.

Ye Feng didn't say a word, just followed Ellis.This time Ellis received the ball, he was close to the body immediately, almost knocked Ellis into a stagger, Biedris pulled to the outside screen, Ye Feng bypassed Biedris and followed Ellis, no need to switch defenses, strong physique Another advantage is that you don't want to succeed in the pick-and-roll casually.

Ellis passed the ball to Lowry, who dribbled the ball laterally to the right and passed to David Lee in the low post.Gasol's top defense, as long as he puts David Lee on the outside and interferes with his height and wingspan, it will be effective.David Lee dribbled two steps behind his back and missed a jump shot with a 45-degree turn. Love took another backcourt rebound. This time, the Warriors returned to defense at full speed and did not allow the Clippers to play a fast break.

Curry dribbled the ball past halftime, Ye Feng pulled the ball to the top of the peripheral arc to catch the ball, Rush single-handedly defended, and Ellis followed Smith.Even if it is off the ground to attack, this matchup is still a tragedy.Smith ran for the ball, and Ye Feng dribbled the ball laterally to the left side by Rush on the outside, and lobbed the ball to Gasol who wanted the ball in the low post.

Love evacuated the inside line, David Lee followed, and Gasol got a one-on-one chance with Biedrins.Gasol became the person in charge of the mid-range shot after the Lakers' pick-and-roll last season. Don't mention how depressed he is. Now Thibodeau lets him attack in the low post to his heart's content. As long as he has the confidence to take the opponent hard, he wants the ball.Even Biedrins at his peak, Gasol is confident to blow him up.

As soon as the ball was passed to the hand, Gasol immediately turned his back and dribbled two steps to the inside, swayed his left shoulder lightly, then turned to the baseline and slid into the basket with his right hand and picked the basket with low hands and easily scored.Biedrins is too thin, and has the same characteristics as McGee, so he can't defend against back attacks. 6 to 0.

After the goal, Gasol quickly returned to the defense and clapped hands with Ye Feng.

The Warriors attacked, Lowry took the ball at the top of the arc and broke through with a cover from David Lee, Biedrins on the bottom line made an off-ball screen for Ellis to block Ye Feng, and after switching defenses, it became Love defending Ellis.

Lowry delivered the ball accurately to Ellis, who caught the ball and pulled the bar for a backhand layup. As soon as the ball was shot, Gasol returned to the inside and slapped the ball on the backboard.His ability to block shots is also not bad. After the switch, Smith went out to cover David Lee, Ye Feng and Rush, and the Clippers changed positions again. Biedrins is still a target that can be released.If Biedrins rushes inside, the Clippers inside players can wait to block shots under the basket.

Against a team that is good at zone defense and rotates very well, if one person can't shoot, the offensive end may be in trouble.With McGee gone, the Clippers' defense has not weakened, at least not in the starting lineup.

The Clippers attacked, Ye Feng took the ball from the outside again, and David Lee went to the low post to defend Gasol.

Love pulled to the outside and set a screen for Ye Feng. He broke into the inside with the ball, and after switching defenses, he singled Biedrins. Gasol ran in the low post and went into the middle to ask for the ball.

Ye Feng originally wanted to play by himself, but seeing that Gasol asked for the ball in the middle, he immediately sent the ball in. Gasol didn't make any extra moves, and relied on David Lee to turn to the right for a jump shot. The ball went into the net, and he He took advantage of his height again and hit easily. 8 to 0.

Both David Lee and Biedrins have weaknesses in defense, which is why the Warriors seem to have a good lineup but always lose. They can only attack and have no good defensive players in the starting lineup.Youdu defended well, but his offense was a bit worse.

The Warriors attacked, Ellis received the ball and dribbled the ball horizontally. He was stimulated by a big cap just now, and he has failed to attack three times in a row.Ye Feng slid to keep up, Ellis couldn't make a few fake moves, and passed the ball out to Lowry. Curry reached out and touched the basketball in time. Smith came out and picked it up first, Rush had to foul to stop him On the fast break, the Warriors made another mistake.
The first game, Ellis was terrible.The coach is most afraid of him playing like this. If Ellis breaks through and points the ball, the Warriors' offense will be much smoother.

A throw-in was sent, Smith received the ball from the outside, passed it to Ye Feng, and Ye Feng passed the ball to Gasol on the right side.Gasol hit David Lee in a low post single, dribbled two steps with his back to the middle, and gave the ball to Smith, who was running to the middle. In! 206 to 191.

With Grant Hill, the second team is not afraid that no one will attack. Smith returned to the starting lineup and played his power in the first game. Of course, this is also related to Ellis' loose defense.

In the past when the Clippers played a triangle offense, Ye Feng was the pivot in the low post. Now Gasol has become the pivot of the inside line, freeing Ye Feng's outside offense. If the opponent can't defend the low post, double-team Gasol?Then they can only empty Smith and Ye Feng, aren't they courting death?
Gasol is like a player who was born for the triangle offense. He has a good low-post singles ability and can play a supporting offense in the low post. When he is pulled to the line to attack, he is also a player who can shoot and pass Big man, which makes the Clippers' triangle offense flexible and difficult to defend.

The Clippers sent a signal to everyone that their offense is stronger this season!
(End of this chapter)