Chapter 416 Ambition
When Griffin left the field, Li Liang naturally moved to the 4th position, while Barnes returned to the familiar 3rd position.
Crawford and Paul have a double backcourt, one is short and the other is thin, and the defense must be not good.
At this time, if there are Lakers fans on the scene of the Clippers, they will definitely find that the lineup of the Clippers at this time is not the same as the Lakers of last season?
A defensive big center inside, Bruce Lee at the fourth position, a small forward who is not as good as before at the third position, and a double leak in the backcourt...
Saying that Paul is a loophole is really slandering him, but the backcourt formed by him and Crawford is indeed prone to loopholes.
But for Li Liang, this situation is all too familiar, isn't it equivalent to Nash with Kobe?
Li Liang felt that he had returned to the familiar Lakers defensive system.
Put the main energy on checking for leaks and filling vacancies for the two outside players, and the inside line appropriately helps to block positions and grab rebounds in the backcourt.
Jordan's defensive improvement this season has been quite significant, and his rim protection, interception, and backcourt rebound protection have reached an elite level.
What he currently lacks is mainly experience. As Rivers further reuses Jordan, his ability will steadily improve.
After this set was taken out, the Clippers' game rhythm stabilized, and the strength of the defensive end did not increase, but the formation was obviously more stable.
At Griffin's point before, the defensive end moved relatively slowly, which caused Ibaka to rush to the basket and catch the ball three times in a row after returning from a timeout to directly dunk.
Now that Li Liang and Ibaka are facing each other, Li Liang is not afraid of Ibaka.
In terms of strength, Li Liang is not as good as Ibaka, but Ibaka's offensive style is destined to be of no use to him.
In terms of flexibility and lateral movement speed, Li Liang surpassed Ibaka.
For Ibaka, who mainly eats cakes, there is always someone in front of him, and he cannot attack well.
At the same time, Li Liang can also devote his energy to dealing with Westbrook.
As for Durant, it will be handed over to Barnes. Anyway, Li Liangfang is still Barnes' defense, the difference is not particularly big.
As long as it's not Westbrook's defense, whether Durant can score or not mainly depends on his touch.
The two sides played all the way from 19:11 to 29:20, and the Clippers kept suppressing the Thunder.
On the offensive end, Li Liang began to replace Griffin and Paul in the pick-and-roll, and the effect was surprisingly good.
Li Liang's three-point threat was too great. Once he cut outside, the Thunder would follow. As a result, Paul easily got into the basket several times.
Once Paul enters the three-second zone, he is the shortest in the game, and he always has a way to get the ball into the basket.
Pull-up jumpers, ground passes, and fake fax shots made Adams overwhelmed.
Adams had suffered a loss at the beginning, and learned a lot from a fall, and gradually found some tricks in defending Griffin.
As a result, Griffin went down and became Li Liang, a thieves and thieves who haunted the inside.
Thinking of the moment when his crotch was smashed at the beginning, Adams still had lingering fears.
Li Liang wouldn't fight head-on with anyone on the inside, although he was not afraid of anyone. He just fought Cowens for more than two hours last night.
On the offensive end, he is very good at seizing opportunities, has a wide range of running, and is accurate in three-pointers.
If Adams accidentally switched to Li Liang, he would really die. I don't know if he will pass, shoot, rush or smash his crotch.
With the last 2 minutes left in the first quarter, the Clippers had rewritten the score to 31:22, still leading by 9 points.
At this time, the Clippers were called a defensive foul, and Rivers made another substitution, letting Griffin replace Li Liang, and Butler replaced Barnes.
Paul led the game for a while, until the end of the first quarter.
The battle between the two sides became 35:27, and the Clippers led by 8 points.
In fact, the Thunder had two chances to turn the situation around in the first quarter.
Once, the Clippers missed three consecutive offenses, and the Thunder got a chance to counterattack quickly.
As a result, he only grasped it once, and did not hit an offensive climax.
Once at the end of the first quarter, after Westbrook made a breakthrough layup and hit a goal, taking advantage of the Clippers' careless serve in the backcourt, he succeeded in stealing, and then took the ball to the three-point line and made a hit, scoring 5 points in a row.
But Griffin, who was well-rested, succeeded in attacking Adams in the low post, and then Paul successfully steals Westbrook, pressing time to play the final attack.
Crawford caught the ball from the outside and made a mid-range jumper, which brought an end to the first quarter.
The fans just feel that the Clippers played differently in the first quarter than usual, with different rotations and starts, but it is impossible to say exactly what is different.
And Van Gundy Jr. saw the clues.
"After the Clippers changed the rotation, let Griffin lead the second team, use Bruce Lee in the fourth position in the middle of the highest intensity and fierceness, and command the defense of the whole team. Barnes' task is not to defend the second team. position, but to properly assist the inside, his height and wingspan can interfere with opponents. And Bruce Lee contained Ibaka very well, and he had two goals that were bound to be scored by Bruce. Bruce was also very Good at encircling the ball handler with Paul and Crawford, putting pressure on the ball handler, Westbrook had three turnovers in the first quarter, and both of them were related to Bruce Lee...”
After analyzing Van Gundy Jr., he believed that the Clippers did make a good move.
Mike Brown copied the experience of using Li Liang in the Lakers to the Clippers, and made fine-tuning and improvements at the same time.
Van Gundy only analyzed the defensive end. In fact, Mike Brown's adjustments will be more reflected in the offensive end.
It's just that in the current quarter of the game, many things cannot be revealed.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Collison hit a throw, but Crawford immediately hit a three-pointer from the outside to pay back.
The second teams of the two sides began to see-saw on the court.
At this time, Griffin is playing with the second team on the field. With Griffin, the second team at least has an offensive backbone, and it is no longer a one-man show by Crawford alone.
In terms of strength, the Thunder's second team is not as good as the Clippers.
Thabeet, Reggie Jackson, Lamb, Collison and Perry Jones.
The Clippers are led by Crawford and Griffin, center Hollins, point guard Darren Collison, and small forward Butler.
This lineup is not good at defense, but what defense is needed for the second team, as long as it can play offense.
Griffin is still relatively confident in beating Collison.
Thunder wanted to chase points, but they couldn't catch up, and the point difference was being opened up instead.
Bruce is in a hurry, the damn Clippers cheated and let the starters take the lead?
Brooks also wants to, but Durant and others must be allowed to rest. At this time, Brooks misses Harden more and more.
If there is a beard, why is it so difficult to employ people?
In comparison, the original second lineup of the Clippers was not good enough. After adjusting the rotation, it seems to be rich all of a sudden.
You know, there is still a Bledsoe lying on their injury list, this assaulter is better than Darren Collison.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Clippers stabilized the situation on the court, and Griffin squandered the extra energy in the first quarter in the second quarter.
He firmly controlled the rebounds and kept attacking Thabeet in the paint - the No. 2 pick in the same year.
As the saying goes, there must be water in the second place of the No. 1 pick. If Griffin is going to be the No. 1 pick, can you not count on Thabeet's water?
However, the Clippers failed to further widen the point difference. The Thunder quickly stabilized their position, and Reggie Jackson seriously organized the team's offense.
Although the Thunder's substitute players are not strong, they play quite well on the court.
Like the first quarter, their air cuts went well through the back door, and they kept hitting behind the Clippers under the basket.
The weakness of Griffin and Hollins' defensive speed is undoubtedly obvious, and the Thunder, except for Perkins, who plays non-stop, uniformly requires "fast, tall, and long wingspan" in the selection of forwards and insiders.
No matter what the skills are, there is always nothing wrong with being physically fit to play.
The two sides played all the way to 47:40, and the Thunder were only 7 points behind the Clippers.
There was no spark on either side, or rather, a spark was brewing.
The game entered an official timeout, and the main players of both sides were about to play again.
Li Liang was sitting on the bench, and Mike Brown, who was wearing a suit, was babbling endlessly at Li Liang.
"Expand your vision, stay in the middle, move more in the middle, the bottom corner is not your destination, you should be in the middle more..."
Mike Brown kept emphasizing the middle, because when he was in the Lakers, Li Liang would ambush on the two wings most of the time, except for occasional support at the top of the arc.
When it came to the Clippers, Brown believed that Li Liang should make more fuss in the middle, and he played a very good pick-and-roll with Paul in the first quarter.
Li Liang got annoyed and said, "Are you the head coach or Doug? How about the head coach do it for you?"
Brown didn't say much, just nodded, "OK, OK, you can play better."
When Brown said this, Li Liang remembered what Ramsey said in the mission. Brown probably wants to be the greatest player, right?
At least greater than James.