basketball pope

Chapter 732 [The Thunder in the Western Showdown, there is no weakness in defense]

The Western Conference finals between the Thunder and the Clippers attracted far more attention than the Eastern Conference finals. It was determined by the style of the game. Both sides were young stars in charge, and there were many breakthroughs and alley-oop dunks.

Experts predict that the outcome is generally optimistic that the Clippers will win, and [-]% of the people who are optimistic about the Clippers' promotion online vote.

First, Thunder coach Scott Brooks is a "Jerry-type" coach who has never won against Jerry in the current playoffs.Secondly, the Thunder players are inexperienced in the playoffs. After all, they are relatively young, and their play mainly depends on the personal ability of the stars, and the rotation of the lineup is poor.

Yang Rui was interviewed before the game and was very relaxed. "The Clippers will definitely go to the Finals and win the championship because we are the best team."

The reporter asked: "What do you think is the advantage of the Clippers?"

"The offense and defense are balanced, the combination of inside and outside is a tacit understanding, the players are more experienced, and there is me." Yang Rui is very confident.

Durant is currently a little green in terms of ball handling, organization, defense, confrontation, etc. Although he is already a superstar, his flaws are equally obvious; Westbrook has always been a double-edged sword, and his lethality is unstable unless he can balance The balance between the individual and the team, otherwise you can only perform to attract fans, and you cannot win the game.

The current Harden is weaker. He has no possession of the ball at all. He averaged 31.4 minutes per game in the regular season, only 10.1 shots, and scored 16.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1 steal.Too few shots are what caused him to lose to Curry in the sixth man selection, and now who can think that he will be one of the MVP candidates in the future?

The Thunder people were very low-key in the interview, even if the three young masters were a little lacking in the face of the Clippers, they only said that they would work hard.

On May 5, the first battle between the two sides started at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

There is a little tidbit at the beginning. Jack Nicholson, the actor known as the "Lakers Mascot", also came to watch the Clippers game, and the cameraman gave him a lot of close-ups.

With the increase in Nicholson’s attendance at the Clippers, many people feel that Los Angeles has completely changed hands. Next season, they don’t know whether Nicholson will continue to buy the two Lakers seats.

Many radio stations around the world broadcast live. Before the game, the commentator analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the two lineups and believed that the outside line was half a pound, with star guards and super sixth men. Durant had an advantage in the position of small forward, but the Clippers had obvious advantages in the interior.

After the warm-up, the players came out.

Clippers starting: Paul, Korver, Gay, Shane, Griffin.

Thunder starting: Westbrook, Sefolosha, Durant, Ibaka, Perkins.

Zhang Lili of CCTV5 said: "Yang Rui changed the formation at the beginning, did not let Chandler play, and played small ball tactics. This is the red class's inside attack that defies the Thunder."

Yu Jia smiled and said: "Perkins is a blue-collar center. Ibaka's offense mainly relies on mid-range shots, most of which are catch-and-jump shots, and his low efficiency is not high. Yang Rui's arrangement is very targeted. Less possession of the ball and breakthrough, Shane and Gay are better than Chandler on the perimeter."

Brooks took a deep breath on the sidelines. Before the game started, the pre-match deployment was broken.He arranged a pick-and-roll, trying to dislocate Westbrook to get a big man. Now that the Clippers don't have a big man, they can definitely keep up with the speed.

In the playoffs, the two rookies of the Clippers have reduced their playing time. As the game becomes more and more critical, players' psychology can easily affect their performance. Those who play in the playoffs for the first time are prone to mistakes. Has a big heart and always knows what to do.

Perkins won with a jump ball and the game started.

Westbrook dribbled the ball in the middle and played a pick-and-roll with Perkins, and the other three opened up. The Clippers were in zone 122 defense, Paul was alone, and the other four could shrink at any time to block the penalty area.

The Thunder rely on star singles, and generally use 122 in the offense, while the 122 zone defense is just the pinnacle of opposing players. As long as Wei Shao and Durant hit the basket from the middle, they will be double-teamed.

In addition, the 122 zone defense is a deformation of the 32 zone defense, which has a certain pressure on the outside line, especially the obstruction to the singles on the flanks.

The Lakers' defense in the last round was not bad, the Thunder didn't score much, but the Lakers' offense was worse and they lost.

Westbrook chose to break through from the left, Shane switched defense in time, and Paul caught up from behind to form a double-team.

Ibaka cut to the low post to attract Griffin’s defense. Westbrook shifted the ball to Sefrosa on the right in a wide range. In the first round, a chance appeared in the bottom corner.

After seeing the ball from Wei Shao, Shane turned to the right to interfere with Sefrosa.

He's too far away, it's impossible to catch up, but it's not a perfect scoring opportunity. Sefrosa took aim and shot, the ball bounced out of the box, and Griffin won the backcourt. rebound.

The Thunder players didn't grab offensive rebounds, they quickly returned to defense, and the zone defense took place.

The Thunder win the game, relying on the balance of offense and defense. On the premise of ensuring the intensity of defense, the personal ability of the stars can be used to solve problems.Brooks's coaching level is not as bad as many people think, and he has no tactics... He reuses Perkins and Severosha who have bad offense, and is unwilling to give up defense for offense.

It's also a waste to start with two more offensive players, because they can't fully play unless Durant and Westbrook are willing to share the ball.

Thunder's two super scorers can coexist, relying on Brooks' formation, three blue-collar and their partners.However, in this way, the score is generally not high.

The Clippers attacked, Paul dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and played pick-and-roll with Griffin, and the Thunder were also in zone defense. These were all things that Brooks and Yang Rui studied when they cooperated.

Because of this, Brooks is well aware of how difficult the Clippers lineup is to defend. The strength of the Lakers during their three consecutive championships lies in the ability of Yao Ming, Rasheed Wallace, and Lamar Odom to evacuate the air. Kobe Bryant's opponents are fundamental in singles. Can't pack.

Now the Clippers are Shane Battier and Gay. Their three-point ability and mobility are better than Rashid, and they suffer a little when defending the inside line.

Paul went to the right, and Ibaka switched defenses a bit. He could interfere with shots and prevent breakthroughs. He had a good sense of position, and he deserved to be a defensive player.

Paul did not attack strongly, and gave the ball to the bottom corner Guy. Battier attracted Durant's defense at 70 degrees on the right side. Immediately there was a dislocation on the field, and Guy faced Perkins.

Perkins threw out to interfere with the shot, Gay feinted and then moved laterally, one step past Perkins, one step inside the three-point line, a 45-degree pull-up jumper, and hit the board. 2 to 0.

In a round, Brooks secretly screamed that Perkins was going to have problems defending near the penalty area. Yang Rui would definitely try to create opportunities for Guy to face him.

The Thunder attacked, Westbrook dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, and then played a pick-and-roll, attracting Shane to switch and then score the ball to Ibaka on the right side with a 70-degree angle.

Ibaka feinted with the ball in the face frame, protruded the bottom line, took a step, and was followed by Griffin. He covered the basketball with his back, unable to squeeze Griffin, and passed the ball out of the perimeter again. Rand was entangled by Guy, and it was difficult to turn around and pass on Wei Shao again.

Griffin has no problem defending today. Against the Kings Cousins, Warriors Brook Lopez, Randolph, Spurs Duncan and others, Griffin suffered a lot on defense. He was afraid of those who could attack in the low post. It takes a lot of good footwork, relying on him to turn around and shoot, hook, he can't block shots, and his arms are too short.

However, Griffin is better than Perkins when it comes to defending the player's face-to-frame breakthrough. He is more agile, traverses and sprints faster, interferes with outside shots, has a height advantage, and it doesn't matter if his arms are shorter.

(End of this chapter)