NBA: Duncan feels uneasy coaching Warriors

Chapter 233 The playoffs have begun!

With the regular season over.

The records of each team are also out.

east.

1. Atlanta Hawks.

2. Cleveland Cavaliers.

3. Toronto Raptors.

4. Washington Wizards.

5. Chicago Bulls.

6. Indiana Pacers.

7. Milwaukee Bucks

8. Miami Heat.

There have been some changes in the Eastern Conference's rankings. Originally, the Heat would not be able to make the playoffs this season.

But with the Celtics dismantling the team and the Nets trading Lopez for the top picks Wiggins and Bennett, this season has also entered the road of reconstruction.

The Heat just squeezed in.

At the same time, with Rose's return, the Bulls relied on the performance of Love and Rose to secure their position in the playoffs.

The Pacers led by Griffin barely made it to the playoffs.

Of course, the main reason is that the Eastern Conference is too weak. The Eastern Conference does not even need a 50% winning rate to enter the playoffs. Although the Bucks do not have Antetokounmpo and lack some combat effectiveness, Antetokounmpo is not the Bucks' number one star in this original period.

On the contrary, there is no need to train Antetokounmpo and Middleton. Knight has gained more shooting rights, and with the human debut elite McAway, the team squeezed into the Eastern Conference playoffs with a winning rate of less than 50%.

Compared to the Western Conference, which has a winning rate of 60% and is only ranked No. 8, the Eastern Conference's playoff threshold is a bit too low.

In the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers rely on James Irving and Lopez, and they are basically far ahead of other teams.

Even the Hawks, the No. [-] team in the Eastern Conference, are not good enough in front of the Cavaliers.

The east is really a bit too boring.

On the other hand, the situation in the West is much more intense.

Western.

1. Golden State Warriors.

2. Los Angeles Clippers.

3. Minnesota Timberwolves.

4. Houston Rockets.

5. Portland Trail Blazers.

6. Memphis Grizzlies.

7. San Antonio Spurs.

8. Dallas Mavericks.

First round matchup.

1. Golden State Warriors VS Dallas Mavericks.

2. Los Angeles Clippers VS San Antonio Spurs.

3. Minnesota Timberwolves VS Memphis Grizzlies.

4. Houston Rockets VS Portland Trail Blazers.

After looking at the matchup map with a huge gap in strength in the Eastern Conference, and then looking at the Western Conference, it’s really a very intense rhythm.

There is no such thing as a weak team.

The eighth Mavericks in the Western Conference have a winning rate of 61%, and they can compete for third place in the Eastern Conference.

Moreover, the Mavericks still squeezed the Pelicans and Thunder out of the playoffs.

The Thunder have already been weakening their combat effectiveness after making a deal with Su Chen. Durant has only played more than 20 games this season, and it is still difficult to rely on Westbrook to lead the team.

Although thick eyebrows are the inside answer in the small ball era, it is still too difficult for a power forward to lead a team, and he is still suitable to be a second-in-command.

Even a top power forward like Garnett has never led a team beyond the Western Conference in his career, and he still has star teammates around him.

Unless he is a superstar like Duncan who can ignore his position.

The competition in the West is too fierce.

The Cavaliers seem to be in trouble in the East, but their opponents, the Warriors and Clippers, who are also rated as three major super teams, don't look like soft persimmons.

Mavericks Nowitzki still has the strength to fight.

Similarly, although the Spurs' GDP is old, their past dazzling glory and rich experience are worth beating any team.

No matter what, it brings certain challenges to the Warriors and Clippers.

In the past season, the cow-horse battle left a very deep impression on the audience and can be described as a classic Western drama.

But now the old Nowitzki and the old Duncan are picking up from the bottom together. People also want to see who can make another run.

There were even many fans of the Cow-Horse team who joked before the game and rushed together to have another Cow-Horse battle.

What is even more intense is the matchup in the middle.

After the defending champion Timberwolves changed coach Rivers, it is still worth paying attention to what level they can perform against the veteran playoff powerhouse Grizzlies.

The Rockets led by Harden met the Trail Blazers led by Paul and Aldridge, which was also a very exciting matchup.

However, since the Clippers and Warriors will meet in the Western Conference in advance, the two teams will consume a certain amount of money, so the odds of the Cavaliers have risen to first place.

The Cavaliers have become the biggest favorites to win the championship.

Looking at the Heat this season, one has to marvel at James' wisdom and his ability to always make some smart choices.

Not only are the Sons of Akron making a strong comeback, but the team is still the biggest championship contender, which can be described as a win-win.

Staples Arena.

The Clippers' first playoff game starts tonight.

The atmosphere at Staples tonight was very lively. Clippers fans filled the arena and the momentum was very high.

Although the Clippers were also a strong playoff team in the past season.

But they have never been ranked as one of the three super teams in the league like this season.

Boss Ballmer was also on the sidelines. Ballmer seemed particularly excited and even personally guided the fans.

Ballmer himself is a fan. As a fan, it is a supreme honor for the team he bought to win the championship.

Putting aside the perspective of the fans themselves, Ballmer, as a businessman, bought the Clippers with a premium of 20 billion. If he wins the championship, the market value of the entire Clippers will rise rapidly.

This is different from the Timberwolves winning the championship.

The Timberwolves are a small market, and Minnesota's consumption level is much lower. The team's profit is not just from selling tickets.

The consumption of various peripheral jerseys and shoes is also a big source.

Besides, tickets in small ball markets cannot rise too much, and if tickets in big ball markets increase, there will still be wealthy people who will pay for them.

Los Angeles is a place where the most indispensable thing is the rich.

Ballmer chose to hand over full control of the Clippers to Suchen for three years. He wanted money for money, and power for power.

No matter how much Su Chen squanders, as long as he can bring a championship to the Clippers, no matter what he squanders in the first round or pays any super luxury tax, it will be profitable for Lao Mo.

The Clippers' opponent in this game is the Spurs.

Although the Spurs failed to break out of the Western Conference last season and their GDP has declined, the foundation accumulated by the Spurs in the past is still there.

It's perfect to use the Spurs as a litmus test to see if the Clippers are truly a super team, or just in name only.

The team's entrance ceremony was also very majestic.

The fans at the scene also cheered and made enough noise.

After all the Clippers took the field, the camera immediately showed Su Chen on the sidelines.Not only was Su Chen's picture on the national live broadcast, but also Su Chen's picture on the big screen above the stadium at this time.

Su Chen folded his hands on his chest and stood on the sidelines like a strategizing coach.

Championships cultivate temperament. After winning two championships in a row, Su Chen also looked handsome.

On the other side, Popovich looked serious. After losing to Suchen for two consecutive years, Popovich was no longer as calm as before.

In addition, the current Spurs GDP has really declined a lot, and Leonard still has not evolved into a real superstar, which makes Popovich less confident.

The game begins immediately.

Su Chen also took the lead to walk towards the middle and briefly shook hands with Popovich.

When shaking hands, Suchen smiled at Popovich.

Speaking of which, he and the Spurs are also destined to play against the Spurs from the first game he coached.

It has been three years now, three consecutive years playing against the Spurs.

Only this time, Su Chen's mentality was different.

Facing the Spurs for the first time made me nervous and I didn't dare to relax on every detail.

When facing the Spurs for the second time, I was cautious and did not dare to give the Spurs a chance.

Now facing the Spurs for the third time, Su Chen's current mentality is more calm.

In any case, the era of GDP has passed, and now it is difficult for even Duncan to compete with the Clippers.

Leonard's growth is still slow, and there is no need to worry too much about Leonard now.

The fact that this Spurs entered the playoffs in seventh place this season is already very telling.

If the Spurs want to beat him this time, they must have a black seven.

At this time, the starting players from both sides also entered the field.

Clippers starting lineup: Nikola Jokic (C), Nicolas Batum (PF), Jeff Green (SF), Paul George (SG), Damian Lillard (PG)

Spurs starting lineup: Thiago Splitter (C), Tim Duncan (PF), Kawhi Leonard (SF), Danny Green (SG), Tony Parker (PG)

The Clippers' starting lineup was already determined when Su Chen was in the All-Star Game.

However, despite the arrangement, Su Chen still made some adjustments on the defensive end.

Batum and Jeff Green swung to defend Splitter, while Duncan was left to Jokic to defend.

Su Chen has a three-year contract with the Clippers, and he will coach Jokic next season.

So Su Chen also asked Jokic to play against Duncan. It was a match and a lesson.

Let Jokic experience Duncan in the playoffs and get a good feel for how the No. [-] power forward in history plays.

This is still very helpful to Jokic's growth.

Both sides jump the ball.

Split still jumped over Jokic.

But the Spurs' advantage is really just the jump ball.

It is undeniable that Duncan is the number one power forward in history, but Duncan is no longer what he used to be.

Jokic has a variety of offensive methods, his shooting range can cover beyond the three-point line, and Jokic's organizational skills are also very strong.

Coupled with Lillard's super shooting ability, the Spurs duo obviously cannot beat the Clippers duo.

Even because Parker's three-point accuracy is not enough and Jokic cannot prevent it, the Spurs cannot hit this point well.

Even if Popovich asked Leonard to target Lillard, the effect was average.

Because Lillard was not playing in isolation, the offense was not initiated by Lillard, but by Jokic.

Moreover, Parker's weakness is exposed. Jeff Green can cut inside Parker's point. At the same time, George can also target Parker by holding the ball for three-pointers or breaking through.

The Clippers' five-man group on the court all have three-pointers.

This point-to-point explosion is even stronger than the Timberwolves last season.

After all, Antetokounmpo does not have a three-pointer, and he also lacks a top organizer like Jokic.

The Spurs suffered strategically, but also suffered from strength.

When playing against the Spurs, Su Chen didn't even let the main players exhaust their energy excessively, but instead made substitutions.

This also surprised the on-site commentators.

Generally in the playoffs, the rotation is usually reduced to an eight-man rotation, or even a seven-man rotation.

But Su Chen's substitutions were extremely excessive.

Ten people rotate!
This is the playoffs, and the opponent, the Spurs, also has a tradition of being a strong team for many years, and they actually used a ten-man rotation.

But what makes Spurs fans helpless is that even though the Clippers have taken out a ten-man rotation, they still have not caught up with the score.

Parker's performance was sluggish in this game, scoring only 6 point on 0-for-1 shooting.

Poor touch and declining strength make Parker's performance in the playoffs now a bit like sleepwalking.

Although Ginobili scored 6 points, his efficiency was not high.

Seeing Parker and Ginobili playing like this, even if Spurs fans don't want to admit it, they know that this Spurs is no longer in the era of GDP.

Clippers 106:89 Spurs.

This game also ended with the Spurs losing.

The actual difference between the two sides is even higher than the 17-point difference.

The Clippers also used this game to let those watching the excitement understand that the Clippers were rated as one of the three super teams this season, and it was not a random comment.

The strength gap between the two sides is very obvious.

The Clippers easily won their first playoff win of the season.

Big score of the series: Clippers 1-0 Spurs.

The first game ushered in a big victory, and it was a big victory against the Spurs, a veteran team.

This made the Clippers fans in Staples Arena very excited.

Ballmer on the sidelines was so excited that his face turned red. He stood up and kept cheering.

This team is not the original Clippers, they are basically new crew members. The first victory in the playoffs was a hearty victory, which made the team's morale extremely high.

The players were also very excited and celebrating each other.

In comparison, Su Chen on the sidelines was much calmer, but Su Chen also smiled and applauded the players.

Su Chen was quite happy about this victory.

It's not just the victory, it's the fact that these players withstood the pressure of the playoffs and performed at the level they should have.

Especially for Jokic, Su Chen can be said to have been vigorously cultivating him from the offseason to the entire regular season.

If the playoffs are weak, it will not be easy for the Clippers to win the championship this season.

This means that Su Chen's entire strategy needs to change.

However, judging from this game, Jokic was not stage frightened at all when facing Duncan. Not only did he record a standard 20+10+10 triple-double.

At the same time, he dared to fight against the old Duncan's defense, and at the same time, he still dared to make difficult passing moves like the regular season.

Don't be intimidated by old Duncan's illustrious reputation.

It seems playoff stardom is in the genes.

Even if Jokic is just a rookie, as long as the data is in place, he still has the ability to operate.

On the other hand, a certain regular season MVP star can be said to be at his peak, but in the playoffs that guy is weak.

If Jokic plays with confidence, then this team will be stable.

Otherwise, Lillard and George will not be reconciled to their current tactical status as the second and third leaders.

(End of this chapter)