I was determined to be bad, but I went straight to the Basketball Hall of Fame

Chapter 564 will be criticized
On December 12, the Clippers returned to Los Angeles to host the Utah Jazz.

This is the second time the two teams have met in three days.

In the last game in Salt Lake City, the Clippers had a hard time winning.

At the final stage of the game, the Clippers relied on their hard power to kill the Jazz's hope of a comeback in the cradle.

This situation is quite unfavorable for the Clippers. If it is difficult to play against a rebuilding team like the Jazz, it means that there is something wrong with the team's state.

When there is a problem, we must find a way to solve the problem.

Before the game started, the host of the TV station introduced the starting players of both sides and found that the Clippers had made adjustments compared to the previous game.

James Harden did not appear in the starting roster, nor did he suffer from injuries, but sat on the bench.

The Clippers' starting five became Gasol Jr., Randolph, Leonard, George and Curry.

Mike Malone, as an assistant coach, sat on the bench before the game, with Harden sitting next to him.

He didn't know how Tyronn Lue persuaded Harden. In short, this was not a simple matter, which is enough to show that Tyronn Lue's prestige in the Clippers is very high.

In fact, Malone is simply thinking too much. This has nothing to do with Tyronn Lue's prestige. First of all, his relationship with Harden is very good. Tyronn Lue established a very "close" relationship with Harden when he first came to the team.

Secondly, Harden's personality is different from that of many black stars. He does not have that kind of paranoia and arrogance.

He definitely has no objection to letting him play the starter, let him play the sixth man on the bench, he thought to himself that the salary will be the same anyway, so what if the starter doesn't start?

In the Clippers, he and Curry are known as double stars, but he knows that Curry is the biggest star of the Clippers and the darling of Manager Smart.

Harden is tantamount to grabbing the show with Curry. He also renewed his contract with a high salary this summer, only a little worse than Curry, and he is already very satisfied.

As a substitute, he is also the sixth man and the main force of the team. That's what he does in the Thunder. It's nothing.

Min Congda didn't expect before the start of the game that the Clippers changed the starting lineup and Harden sat on the bench.

He thought to himself: "Whose idea is this? Could it be Malone's? It's not bad, it came up with a random idea and let Harden play as a substitute. It was a beautiful idea. But Leonard and George were on the court at the same time, and the offensive organization was compromised. The most important thing is that the pressure on Curry holding the ball increased, and his power off the ball is not as strong as before, fool."

Min Congda's idea is the opposite of Mike Malone's.

In fact, the idea of ​​the two is the same, but the emphasis is different.

Min Congda's focus is that Harden is placed on the bench, and the Clippers' offense will decline and be affected.

Mike Malone's focus is that the Clippers' defense can be strengthened in this way.

In fact, it means the same thing, and the two people pay attention to different points.

After the start of the game between the two sides, the two sides played quite anxiously in the first quarter.

Before the Clippers players have been accustomed to large space, large-scale fast attack.

The three organization points of Harden, Curry, and Gasol are on the court, and the ball runs smoothly and quickly.

Now there are only Curry and Gasol Jr., which is actually enough, but I am not used to it.

Especially when the ball is given to George or Leonard, the two always have to pause more or less.

These two guys have mediocre passing talents and lack sufficient vision and passing imagination.

As a result, the two sides scored 25:24 in the first quarter, and the Clippers led the Jazz by 1 point.

Harden came on in the middle of the first quarter, replacing Curry, and Harden took the lead on the court alone.

To be honest, after getting used to collaborating with Curry, he is really not used to it without Curry's pulling off the ball.

And Curry was a little unaccustomed to holding the ball a lot in the first quarter, and no one shared the task of holding the ball.

Mike Malone was also anxious while watching the game, wondering if there was something wrong with his suggestion?
In fact, there is no problem, but it is normal for players to feel uncomfortable in the first game of making adjustments.

The bigger unaccustomed is that the Clippers players still think about attacking and solving problems, instead of investing more energy on the defensive end to achieve a balance.

Of course, the personal ability of the Clippers surpassed the Jazz by a head. They still relied on a wave of offensive climax in the second quarter to establish a 10-point lead.

In the 5 minutes when Curry and Harden cooperated on the same stage, they set off a whirlwind offense, destroying the Jazz's defense with continuous quick downs and three-pointers.

However, the Jazz team has always been known for its tenacity, strong teamwork, and a low-key and pragmatic team culture. Anyone who can play here with peace of mind can often perform at a super level.

So there is a peculiar phenomenon in the league, that is, once a player who has played well in the Jazz leaves the Jazz and goes to another team, it is often difficult to replicate the glory of the Jazz, let alone go further.

For example, the previous Utah duo Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer were both at their peak age when they left the Jazz, but they did not meet expectations when they went to the Nets and Bulls.

This is enough to show that for a small city team like the Jazz, their team system and culture have a strength bonus for players.

If you leave this pure and simple playing environment and go to a big city, you may get lost in it.

Trailing by 11 at the half, the Jazz rallied after the start of the third quarter.

It is difficult for them to play an effective offensive shock wave against the Clippers, so they began to use the "wrap" tactic commonly used in the league.

Drag the Clippers into the chaotic quagmire, use a series of methods such as offensive rebounds inside, strikers to kill the basket and make fouls to disrupt the situation.

At the same time, the back line also began to bite Curry crazily. There was only Curry on the court as a stable ball-holding organization point, and the Clippers' offense was greatly affected.

In the third quarter, the Jazz beat the Clippers 23:16. The 16-point score also created the Clippers' lowest score in a single quarter this season.

The Jazz narrowed the point difference to 4 points, and they still had something to play in the fourth quarter.

Clippers fans expect the Clippers to play a wave in the fourth quarter and take their opponents away at home.

However, it is difficult for a player's offensive feeling to explode all at once, and it needs the foreshadowing and practice of the previous game.

Especially for pitchers, if they can't shoot in the first and second quarters, it is very difficult to suddenly reverse their touch and explode in the third and fourth quarters.

It's a good idea for Harden to play as a substitute, but obviously the players are not ready, and there are still problems with rotation, tactical routines, and field feeling.

At the critical moment of the fourth quarter, Tyronn Lue still adopted the safest way to give the ball to Fatty Lan to dig hard inside.

Fatty Lan deserves to be the mainstay of Min Congda's contract renewal after "defying all opinions".

At the age of 32 this year, he has declined physically, but his offensive skills have become more refined and proficient.

At the critical moment, the low-post offense succeeded in consecutive singles. The Jazz either watched the ball score or fouled and sent the fat man to the free throw line.

Randolph didn't let up on himself because of his decline in the team's tactical status.

On the contrary, he perseveres in improving his skills. Compared with before the age of 30, his explosive power has dropped a lot (although it is not much).

But his skills are more slick, and his physical distribution is better. He takes the ball to score at critical moments and grabs one or two key rebounds. Randolph is definitely worthy of his salary.

When the Jazz reached a critical moment, they lacked finalists. Gordon Hayward's breakthrough short-range jumper was directly intercepted by Leonard from the air.

The Clippers counterattacked, Curry assisted George, and forced a dunk in the case of a double interception!Also caused a foul by the opponent.

With George's extra free throw, the Clippers finally defeated the Jazz in two consecutive home games with a 97:91 advantage of 6 points.

However, at the end of the game, the faces of the players were not particularly good-looking. They played against the Jazz twice in a row. They won, but they didn't win well.

It is far from being as devastating as the 11-game winning streak in November. The main force dug a hole for 15 minutes, and after throwing the opponent down, the substitute players came to fill the field and completely buried the opponent.

The winners of these two games were quite constipated. One game broke [-], and the opponent also broke [-]. This time, he didn't score [-].

Mike Malone watched the entire game from the sidelines and followed the players back to the locker room.

He was quite disturbed in his heart, because he suggested that Harden be the sixth man on the bench.

To be honest, it is quite offensive for an assistant coach to let a star play as a substitute when he first comes to a team.

The only thing he is thankful for is that the Clippers won the game tonight. If there is an accident at the last moment and the Jazz come back, Malone's life will be difficult.

For the coaching industry, the salary is high, the circle is small, and the substitutability is low, which are the advantages.

Disadvantages, high pressure, high elimination rate, and word of mouth is very important.

Once a coach's reputation in the circle is rotten, it will be troublesome in the future.

Mike Malone regretted it a little. Was it too hasty to put forward the idea of ​​making Harden the sixth man too early yesterday?
However, he did not expect that Tyronn Lue agreed so directly, and then put Harden on the bench the next day in the game.

The efficiency is too high. The atmosphere in the Clippers team gives him a very different feeling from other teams.

After returning to the locker room, the players were in a bad mood, but there was no quarrel, but a replay after the interview.

On the whiteboard where the head coach should have painted, Curry, Harden, Xiaojia and others came to express their views and opinions, pointing out some problems in the game.

There were arguments in some places, but the overall atmosphere was friendly. After the discussion, everyone took a shower and left happily to do what they should do.

The locker room is the most secret place of every team. Malone had no idea before that there was such an atmosphere in the Clippers.

You must know that in many teams, the players cooperate with each other tacitly on the court, but off the court, the relationship in the locker room may be poor.

If the team wins, it's okay, but if the game is lost, the locker room is likely to explode.

Intense quarrels and cold wars between each other often destroy a team's combat effectiveness.

Don't look at these black players, who are star-studded on the court and millionaires off the court. In fact, many of them are poor students with little culture and quality.

Let's not talk about good or bad character, but many people's temper and personal quality are really worrying, and they are often unstable time bombs in the locker room.

But the Clippers are different. Curry, George, and Gasol Jr. have a complete and beautiful family, and their personalities are very good.

Although Harden and Leonard are single parents, Harden's mother is strict, and Leonard has an uncle who cares about him very much.

Butler has no parents, but he has the great help of his friends. He works very hard on the team and rarely messes up off the court.

The bench is left, and there are no thorns. The only thorn Ricky Davis has played in peace and has become a veteran of the ballast in the team.

Mike Malone asked Tyronn Lue after everyone disbanded, "Tylon, the team atmosphere is really good. It's the first time I've seen everyone actively discuss tactics."

Tyronn Ludao: "I told you, the Clippers adhere to the idea that everyone has the ball to play. The most important thing here for us is basketball, and everything else is just an accessory."

"When you play basketball well, what should come will come naturally."

Tyronn Lu said quite philosophically.

It's not that Mike Malone doesn't understand this truth, he understands it, but it's too difficult to realize.

Because the NBA is a huge vanity fair with so many temptations, it is not easy to play basketball seriously.

How did the Clippers create such a team atmosphere?
Mike Malone was curious.

After this game, the Clippers rushed to the away game, Denver, non-stop.

This schedule is quite difficult for the Clippers.

Both Salt Lake City and Denver are plateaus, which consume a lot of physical energy for the players.

And after playing the Nuggets on January 1, they will go to Golden State to play against the Warriors on January 1.

Back-to-back away games and plateau battles are a huge test of the players' physical fitness and energy.

But the Clippers are in a stage of lineup changes at this time, and the players have to adapt to the new starting and rotation.

As a result, in 2013, on the first day of the new year, the Clippers were beaten 101:89 by the Denver Nuggets in an away game and lost to the Nuggets by 12 points.

89 points is the Clippers' lowest score in a single game this season. The 12-point difference is already the biggest loss for the Clippers. They suffered their first fiasco in the new season.

The Clippers players have not yet come out of the frustration of the big loss, the team immediately flew to Oakland, and played away against the Warriors on the night of the 2nd.

As a team that has been targeting the Clippers since the offseason and is determined to surpass the Clippers, the Warriors will certainly not let go of this good opportunity to beat the league's No. [-] team.

Young players such as Lillard, Thompson, and Barnes have all shown strong potential.

They are obviously different from the previous generation of NBA players. They play more concisely, shoot more powerfully, and take extremely decisive three-pointers.

With resentment towards the Clippers, Mark Jackson built the team according to his ideas, with Lillard as the core, attacking outside and defending inside, improving the defensive strength of the team, and has already built the Warriors in a good shape.

In this game, the Warriors exploded with three-pointers from outside. Lillard, Barnes, and Thompson scored 20 points and scored 115 points.

In the end, their 115:109, 6-point advantage gave the Clippers a two-game losing streak at Oracle Arena.

This is also the Clippers' first losing streak this season.

The fans at Oracle Arena cheered, and the Clippers were pierced by their three-point rain!
Mike Malone really panicked this time. As soon as he came, the team had a two-game losing streak. Isn't that good?

Sure enough, when he returned to the locker room with the players, Ma Long saw Min Congda standing in front of the whiteboard with a serious face.

He thought to himself, "It's over, I will definitely be criticized."

(End of this chapter)