the great gatsby

Chapter 466 Opener, Harris.

October 2013, 10.Los Angeles.Staples Arena.

The flags of the Lakers above the arena were covered up, and the few flags of the Los Angeles Clippers were hung, but this did not affect the attendance rate. The addition of LeBron James made the Los Angeles Clippers unprecedentedly powerful, allowing the Los Angeles Clippers to have The F5 lineup!

"NBA fans around the world, hello everyone, welcome to the opening game of the NBA 2013-14 season, and now we are at the Staples Arena in Los Angeles, and we are broadcasting the game between the dynasty team Knicks and the Los Angeles Clippers. Superteam competition!" Charles Barkley explained enthusiastically.

TNT sent Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith to broadcast the game live.

"The Clippers re-signed Chris Paul in the summer, and signed LeBron James and top shooter Redick. Now their strength is predicted to be the first in the league. In terms of the probability of winning, TNT, ESPN and other media will put the Clippers ranked first;

The second is the San Antonio Spurs. They introduced Howard, J.R. Smith, and renewed Ginobili's contract. Their strength has skyrocketed unprecedentedly.

Ranked third is the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder acquired Chris Bosh, the original Big Three of the Heat, plus Westbrook, Durant, Ibaka, Adams, Robertson and others to form an unprecedented team. A strong team hits the championship.

The New York Knicks fell to fourth place because of the departure of champion members such as Jamelin, Bogut, Wilson, and Nick Young, but no one dared to underestimate this team. Their core lineup has not been weakened. Gatsby, Thompson, Leonard, Iguodala, Green and others are all growing rapidly!

And today, the fourth-ranked New York Knicks challenged the No. [-] Los Angeles Clippers game away! ” introduced Kenny Smith.

"Kenny, who do you think is going to win tonight?" Charles Barkley asked.

Kenny Smith smiled: "Anyone can win the game, but in my personal opinion, I think the Clippers should win the game."

Charles Barkley laughed: "The reason?"

“Well… the Clippers’ lineup is more complete, and the point guard is Chris Paul, who was on the second team last season;

The shooting guard is sharpshooter Redick;
The small forward is LeBron James, the best small forward in the league, in the first team last season;

The power forward is Blake Griffin, who entered the second team last season;

The center is DeAndre Jordan. Last season, he averaged 8.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 1.4 blocks. He is a very good defender. Redick, who opened up space, such a lineup is really scary! said Kenny Smith.

Barkley said with a smile: "If you calculate it this way, the Knicks are not bad, well, the league's No.1 Gatsby, the No.1 point guard position, the league for a while;
Klay Thompson, one of the best three-point shooters in the league, Redick's three-point shooting percentage is 39.0%, while Klay Thompson's three-point shooting percentage is 42.9%, averaging 1.1 more shots per game;
Kawhi Leonard, a top-five small forward in the league, was a member of the third team last season, defending first;
Draymond Green, last season's first team member;
There is also Whiteside, for a period of time, he once averaged 15.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game! "

Kenny Smith had a wonderful expression on his face: "Yes, compared to this, the Knicks' lineup is really strong."

Barkley looked dejected: "You just think now? The Knicks are a dynasty team after all, okay?"

James is warming up, but his movements are a little mechanical, and his mind is a little trance. He thinks that with a better lineup, he will be more confident when facing Gatsby.

But tonight he became a little uneasy again, because as a person who has played against the Knicks the most, he knows that the Clippers have such a strong lineup, and they may not be able to take much advantage when facing the Knicks.

Others thought he was an advantage, but he himself knew how powerful the dull-looking young man opposite was on defense!

But no matter what, the Clippers are his best choice. Regardless of the ball market, big cities, exposure, cooperation between teammates, positional fit, and the strength of the coach, they are all the best choices.

The Spurs are of course good, but he doesn't like the Spurs, and the Thunder is good, but he doesn't think he will be able to play his best in the Thunder. He definitely doesn't want to stay in the Eastern Conference. Boat.

The Staples fans cheered and shouted before the game started. The atmosphere was very enthusiastic. The arrival of James gave them hope that the Clippers would rise. People like Paul, James, Griffin, etc. The ship is about to become the most powerful team in the league!
Game start.

The Clippers' starting lineup is: Paul, Redick, James, Griffin and Jordan;
The Knicks' starting lineup is: Gatsby, Thompson, Leonard, Green and Whiteside.

Bogut's departure is a good choice for him. Whiteside is already better than him. If Bogut stays in the Knicks, it will be a good thing for the Knicks, but for Bogut, he may have to leave On the bench.

Whiteside and Jordan jumped the ball in the middle circle. Jordan's bounce was even better. The referee threw the ball into the air, and he jumped up and passed the ball to Paul.

Paul dribbled the ball quickly across half court.

For James, he must move more without the ball. Paul is entering his ninth season, which is when his experience and physical strength have reached the best balance, which is also his peak period. Paul's Most of the effort is on his combing offense, and James can't do as much as he did when he was in the Cavaliers.

So when they're on the court, when Paul has the ball, he has to move more off the ball.

However, James has experience working with Wade in the Heat. Although he is not top off the ball, it is enough for him to cooperate with Paul tacitly.

After Paul and Griffin pick-and-roll, they gave the ball to James on the wing. James broke through to attract a pinch attack and threw the ball.

Staples boiled instantly.

This is the meaning of James' arrival. With him and Paul cooperating, Jordan and Griffin will become the most terrifying beasts inside!

Gatsby squinted his eyes. From the analysis of the chemical reaction, James' choice was indeed the most correct. Most of the Clippers' positions are very strong, but this small forward has always been their weakness. The arrival of James , to make up for the last weakness of the Clippers.

Some people say that James is not suitable for the cooperation of point guards who need the ball. They only need a point guard who focuses on offense like Irving. , To control the team when he is off the court, Irving is too easily restricted. Only a point guard like Paul is James' best partner.

Gatsby dribbled the ball across the half, Paul kept pressing Gatsby. Paul did not take advantage of Gatsby many times, but he was not afraid at all.

He is a real fighter. Although he is short in stature, he has a very strong temper and fighting spirit, and he is not at all inferior to many tall players.

But Paul's shortcoming is that although his physical fitness is very good, his weight and height are his shortcomings. Why Deron always has the advantage when facing Paul is because Deron is both a skilled and experienced controller. Guard, he is a heavy point guard!
And Gates is taller and stronger than Deron, a tall point guard.

If James is the James of the small forward, then he is the Gatsby of the point guard.

The mystery of these words actually means that they are at the historical level in their respective positions.

Magic Johnson is 206cm tall and weighs 98kg. Before Gatsby, when commenting on who is the best point guard, most of them gave this crown to Johnson, but after last season, Gatsby has been listed as the best in history The point guard commented.

Magic Johnson has five championships, but he has three regular season MVPs and finals MVPs, which is the same as Gatsby, and his average data is far behind Gatsby, but the difference in assists Not big, but far surpasses Johnson in terms of points, rebounds, steals, and efficiency values!
The point is, it took Gatsby just four seasons to accomplish this feat, and Magic's 13.

Gatsby didn't call the pick-and-roll, but leaned sideways on Paul and went inside. Paul desperately lowered his center of gravity and tried his best to resist Gatsby.

But the weight close to 25 kilograms made it difficult for Paul to resist. Gatsby advanced two steps, turned around in the middle and broke through Jordan and hurried to help defend him. Gatsby threw the ball into the sky, and Whiteside jumped lightly. Arms extended to catch the ball and dunk.

After the dunk, Whiteside's expression is still quite lazy. This is his frequent expression, which has something to do with his personality.

The Clippers have indeed become much stronger after James joined. Their offense is very smooth. They have Paul and Redick on the three-point line, and Griffin and DeAndre Jordan are two inside beasts. Small forward James can combine the inside. , it is indeed difficult to defend.

But on the defensive end, it is also difficult for them to limit the Knicks. The natural dislocation of Gatsby and Paul forced the Clippers to let Redick defend after a few rounds, but Redick's height and athletic ability It's also hard to defend Gatsby.

It is also a misplacement for Paul to defend Thompson after the defense. Gatsby is best at arranging these. After Paul defends Thompson, he specifically asks Thompson to attack Paul in the low position.

Thompson will definitely not be able to dribble against Paul, but there is no problem at all with post-up singles.Thompson's height of two meters beats Paul, who is only more than 1.8 meters tall, which is too dominant.

At the end of the first quarter, the score between the two sides was 35:31, with the Knicks leading by 4 points.

"It's a wonderful game. The matchup between these two teams is fascinating enough. The comparison between Gatsby and Paul at the point guard position, the three-point contest between Thompson and Redick, the confrontation between Leonard and James position, the duel between Green of the best defensive team and the inside beast Griffin, and the rebounding battle between two talented insiders Jordan and Whiteside.

The addition of James has indeed made the Clippers' strength by leaps and bounds, but we have also seen the progress of young people such as Thompson, Leonard and Green, especially Leonard, whose ability to hold the ball has increased too much. He made three breakthroughs with the ball and scored twice. His breakthrough center of gravity is low, and he can break through to the basket to finish. " Barkley commented.

The game entered the second quarter.

The Clippers were led by Paul and included Jordan, Crawford, Dudley and Matt Barnes;

The Knicks are on the pure bench lineup of Livingston, Harris, Iguodala, Gallinari and Scola.

"Huh? The Knicks lineup, who is the second position? Let's take a look, Livingston is the first position, Iguodala is the third position, Gallinari is the fourth position, Scola is the fifth position , So, the second position is Harris?
The height of this lineup is too high, Livingston 201cm, Harris 206cm, Iguodala 198cm, Gallinari 208cm, Scola 206cm, wow! "Barkley was surprised.

This season is a challenging season for Harris, because he is about to provoke the offense of the second team. Livingston is mostly used as a rhythm stabilizer. He is generally not very offensive, just shoot a cold arrow at a critical moment And with.

Iguodala is not a player who likes to attack. He often exists as a lubricator. Gallinari and Scola can play, but the breakthrough is a bit weak. Only Harris is highly valued by Gatsby.

Harris is the kind of player who can deliver satisfactory performances almost every night and make the fans watching the game keep praising him, but people often forget about them when talking about stars: "This guy is so good, he is simply Everywhere, this guy is playing really well, what's his name?"

Well, his name is Tobias Harris.

In the original history, he would become famous in the second half of last season in the Magic, but this history was intercepted by Gatsby. Although Harris did not have many opportunities to play in the Knicks, he got the exercise More, especially in the playoffs, his growth has been amazing.

Harris is an average player, and his evaluation during the draft was polarizing:

Some scouts believe that Harris is the future trend of basketball. He has good physical fitness and inside skills, and his outside skills and passing have potential for development;

Other scouts believe that Harris will most likely become an "all-powerful" player if he enters the NBA. He can't practice three-pointers, and his height of 6 feet 8 is a little short for the inside, and his defense is not good. His advantage will be eliminated, and the shortcomings will be infinitely magnified.

The reason why Gatsby traded to Harris was mainly because Harris had already made a name for himself at that time, and Gatsby remembered him, but after becoming a teammate, Gatsby discovered that Harris was indeed a very good player. As a player, he works very hard and is very humble. He is very good at learning. He listens to almost every coach and trainer, especially Gatsby's guidance.

He would often challenge Leonard and others to hone his defense and offense. He was as ferocious as a beast on the court, but he was very silent off the court, which suited Gatsby's appetite. A capable young man, Gatsby is willing to give him more opportunities.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Knicks had the ball, and Livingston dribbled the ball for halftime. As a famous wanderer, Livingston was traded to the Knicks last season. Thinking that Livingston actually stayed and became a stable rotation player.

Livingston gave the ball to Iguodala after halftime, Iguodala directed the movement, Harris cut out from the inside, and used Gallinari's screen to get the ball open at the three-point line. The 196cm Crawford made a three-pointer.Crawford's height is not enough to interfere with the 206cm Harris.

In the next game, Harris did play the role of an arrow. He kept running and never hesitated to play singles when he had the opportunity. Crawford's thin body was too easy for him to play. Whether it's shooting or passing, playing like an All-Star.

Harris scored 10 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists in half a quarter, leading the team on both the offensive and defensive ends.

"Wow, good shot, this young man Harris played very well, with such a tall body and such agility, but a few years ago, such a player would still suffer, but he can be like a fish in water in the Knicks.

The position of the Knicks is very vague. As it is now, it is difficult to tell what position they play. The power forward goes outside, but the small forward does not attack. The shooting guard is 206cm, the point guard is 201cm, and the center is also 206cm. , is also weird enough. " Barkley said helplessly, spreading his hands.

D'Antoni looked at Gatsby, and admired this disciple's vision. He can always dig out conservative and controversial talents, such as Bogut, Thompson, Leonard, Green, and Harris!

Gatsby watched Harris' performance calmly. It is not surprising that Harris can achieve such an achievement. He has such strength, but in the second team, Harris has to take on more roles. His The offensive ability and organizational ability must continue to improve. The Knicks have to endure much more difficulties this season than expected, especially when it comes to the playoffs, his strength is not enough!
However, there is still a whole season for Harris to train. Gatsby believes that this young man will definitely improve by leaps and bounds after a whole season of training. By then, the strength of the Knicks' bench will be astonishing!

(End of this chapter)