When pride still matters

Chapter 585 Another Curse

Eliminating the Warriors in the semifinals means that the Clippers have made history.

This is a big event in Los Angeles.

For a long time, the Clippers were like the Fredo Corleone of Los Angeles professional sports. No one looked up to them, and because of their bad luck over the years, they were also given the name of a curse.

So when GOAT chose to join the Clippers, so many people were not optimistic about them.

But now, new history has emerged, and the cursed Clippers seem to have really gone with the end of Donald Sterling.

"The Clippers set a new all-time record, and then what?"

The Clippers' opponent is the Spurs, whose strength completely surpasses that of any Western Conference team.

This year's Spurs are one year older than last year, but Duncan and Ginobili are getting better with age. The loss in the finals provided them with motivation, and the growth of Paul George and Kemba Walker has significantly improved their overall strength.

Yu Fei predicted before the start of the season that their ceiling would be the Western Conference Finals, but now that they have made it to the divisional finals, how could they be willing not to fight the Spurs?
The Spurs are a completely different opponent than the Warriors.

As a coach, Rivers is far worse than Popovich.

In terms of player matchups, the Clippers expect their advantage to still be Yu Fei and Griffin.

As a result, after the game started, they found that only Yu Fei had the advantage.

Griffin can bully the Rockets and Warriors' inside players, but his tactics don't work against the Spurs.

The 38-year-old Duncan looks very old. His white beard proves that he has reached the end of his career. His old legs, which have been cast a spell by time, no longer have excellent running and jumping abilities.

But somehow, he was able to use all kinds of simple basic inside offensive methods to score the ball against Griffin's defense.

Griffin seems to be able to run and jump, but as an inside player, his static talent is completely suppressed by old Duncan.

Old Duncan doesn't need to run or jump. He just needs to use his core strength to lock down Griffin's talent. When launching an attack, he will suppress his opponent and not give him space to jump. Griffin will have no way to stop him.

Fortunately, Duncan is old after all. He could score 20 points on Griffin in the first half, but in the second half, he didn't have much energy left to attack.

However, after finally wearing down Duncan's strength, Gasol started again.

His suppression ability is not as good as Duncan's, but he will not let Griffin fight back easily.

Griffin is known as the Griffin. He has unparalleled running and jumping skills and superb skills, but as an inside player he lacks the most crucial thing - toughness in confrontation.

The toughness of inside players comes from their core strength, and this energy, which is related to the inside status, is the least valued part of the contemporary inside players, and it is also the least valued point of the so-called unicorn inside players who thrive in the era of space basketball.

Griffin can bully the Warriors' inside line at will, but his toughness in front of the Spurs' inside line is not even as good as Antetokounmpo.

After the game, Yu Fei knew that he could no longer rely on Griffin.

At this intensity, Griffin must completely regard himself as an off-ball attacker.

But he just likes to play with the ball.

Moreover, the Clippers really can't do without him.

If Griffin doesn't have the ball, the Clippers have to focus the ball on Yu Fei.

Then, Rivers found that it was not impossible to fuck the GOAT to death.

In Game 2 of the Holy City, Yu Fei played for 44 minutes, slowing down the game by compressing the tempo, and then constantly switching between calling out players and shooting from all angles, narrowly beating the Spurs 88 to 86.

Yu Fei scored 44 points, 14 rebounds and 9 assists.

"I love playing against Frye," Popovich said meaningfully. "That's how he played in 2003. I didn't expect he still plays like that now."

Over the years, Yu Fei has undergone several transformations, and his style is very different from that in 2003.

However, tonight, he was forced to force a game at the Spurs' home court in the same way as in 2003. This is indeed a limitation of the lineup, which forced the Clippers to rely entirely on him.

But such a one-man show cannot last until the end of the series.

Because he was facing the 2014 Spurs.

In the third game back in Los Angeles, the Clippers hoped to win the game to take the initiative in the series 2 to 1. However, the Spurs used excellent pick-and-roll, cut-ins, and ball-holding tactics, plus three-pointers from the left and right corners, to ruin the game in the first half.

Yu Fei scored 35 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists tonight, but in the end they still lost by 19 points.

The Spurs' "beautiful basketball" makes the greatest individual talents seem powerless in the face of the team.

Yu Fei thought that only five wing players could limit the Spurs' beautiful basketball.

However, if the Clippers make full calculations, only Yu Fei, Antetokounmpo and Matt Barnes can perform unlimited switching defenses.

Judging from the lineup configuration, they simply do not have the basic conditions to defeat the Spurs.

Coming to G4, it was almost the same script repeated.

The only difference is that the Spurs' performance was even more amazing than the previous game.

Throughout the first half, the Spurs' overall hit rate reached 65%. They tore through the Clippers' defense through continuous passing and cutting, and then found easy scoring opportunities. While the team's tacit understanding was fully utilized, the three-pointers from outside were also % successful.

Yu Fei thought he had played well enough. Tonight he changed his style of play, constantly assisting his teammates to shoot three-pointers through breakthroughs and passes, but the difference in hit rate between the two sides was 20 percentage points.

The Clippers trailed by 24 points at halftime.

Every second after that seemed to be paying off for the mistakes in the first half.

We played at our best for 48 minutes, and finally only narrowed the gap to 14 points.

"What's more despairing than the Clippers losing because of Frye's poor performance is that Frye played well in every game, but the Clippers had no hope of winning at all."

Yu Fei was unwilling to give up and he was still looking for the Spurs' weaknesses.

But after searching for a long time, the only flaw he saw was that the Spurs' inside players seemed somewhat helpless when facing the targeting tactics.

However, the problem is that the Spurs' shooting percentage in these two games was too high.

Faced with such a hit rate, no matter how you target the opponent, it will be useless. The only thing you can do is to shoot more accurately than the opponent. However, the Clippers have been relying on dunks to ignite the audience's passion throughout the season. The essence of their enthusiasm for dunks is that they are actually not completely in line with the mainstream playing style of the times.

The Clippers' three-point shooting percentage and number of hits per game are both at the bottom of the league, and no one else is to blame.

Griffin doesn't take many three-pointers and his hit rate is average. Players like Pachulia and Brown don't shoot three-pointers. Hawes joined the team halfway through the season and only served as a substitute. They still need to develop Antetokounmpo. Although the Greek Freak has brought surprises in shooting, he cannot increase his output in a short period of time.

The Clippers' main outside firepower points are Yu Fei and Chauncey Billups.

Billups is more like Antetokounmpo's guide, and his role is like a pseudo starter. Therefore, Yu Fei is the real outside explosive point of the Clippers - this is simply the opposite of the positioning of Tiangang. Because GOAT has always been a beneficiary of the space system in the past, he has to suck the blood of shooters to feed back the entire offense, but now it is Griffin and Antetokounmpo who are sucking his blood to get dunk space.

However, the lineup is so distorted that it cannot be changed this season, and Yu Fei can only adjust his playing style.

The problems caused by the lineup were not exposed much against the Rockets and the self-destructive Warriors, but they were very glaring in front of the Spurs, a team at the peak of team basketball.

Rivers and Yu Fei discussed the fifth battle towards the Holy City.

They all agreed that they had no chance of winning if they didn't change their formation.

Ever since Rivers tasted the sweetness of letting the GOAT play in the interior, he wants to use this trick whenever the situation is difficult to open up.

But can the Spurs' inside line compare with the Warriors?
Yu Fei was worried: "If I play inside, who will go outside to open up the situation?"

"Have faith in Paul Pierce," Rivers said. "The truth will come true."

Well, he simply loved the truth.

But Yu Fei admitted that they had to change their formation to make the Spurs unable to adapt to their rhythm, and they had to prevent Duncan from continuing to withdraw money when he was full of energy.

Watching Duncan do whatever he wanted to Griffin like a father beating his son was a major blow to the Clippers' morale.

This move essentially transfers the pressure that should have been borne by Griffin to the GOAT.

What if the GOAT was beaten by Duncan in the paint? This is something Rivers has not considered.

No, even Griffin himself didn't think about what to do if the GOAT was beaten.

Griffin can't defend Duncan, and Yu Fei has stronger core strength, but the offensive logic of the Spurs' No. 21 pick is not to crush the opponent with strength. It's just that Griffin's lower body is too soft, so the opponent's strength is highlighted.

Duncan's strength still lies in his basic inside skills which are ingrained in his bones.

Yu Fei held on without losing his position, but Duncan had already come to his hot zone, so he took a direct shot despite the interference and still made the shot.

Passively taking a beating is not GOAT's style.

He never thought about guarding Duncan.

As long as Duncan scored on him, he would go all out to get it back. Yu Fei held the ball in the low post and turned to face the basket in an instant. Duncan's defense collapsed in an instant, the situation in the interior began to change, and Pierce on the outside seized the opportunity to start.

For a veteran like him, his condition every night is like rolling the dice, and tonight Pierce rolled a 6.

As the game dragged into the second half, Duncan's strength began to decline. He gradually became unable to attack and could only passively defend. Gasol also began to be unable to cover Griffin.

The shaking of the inside pillar caused the Spurs' shooting percentage to plummet. On the defensive end, Yu Fei was like a rebound maniac, grabbing defensive rebounds from the crowd and then passing them to Antetokounmpo. Then, there was a dunk from outside the three-point line that made the Spurs fans' scalps numb, like a weirdo.

"No matter what problem he encounters, Doc Rivers always seems to have only one trick - 'We are powerless, why not let the GOAT play inside and pray for a miracle!' As a result, this trick works every time. Is this the benefit of coaching the GOAT?"

Game 5 was considered the Clippers' "homecoming game." As a result, Rivers once again turned the situation around by letting Yu Fei play inside.

This is undoubtedly a kind of luck, but will this luck last forever?
Tonight's loss gave the Spurs a strong sense of urgency.

Because this defeat was different from the game in G2 that relied solely on the individual abilities of the stars, the Clippers cleverly took advantage of the GOAT's unstoppable all-around swing, put him inside, and wore Duncan out. After gaining an advantage under the basket in the second half, this advantage was fed back to the outside.

This is a strategy that can be used continuously. The Spurs must find a way to deal with it in Game 6. Otherwise, if the game is dragged to Game 7, Popovich can't imagine how much motivation the desire to "bring the Clippers to the finals when the whole world is not optimistic about them" will bring to the GOAT.

Timeless lesson: Don't go into a "win or go home" matchup with the best players in the world.

The Spurs' tactics revolved around saving Duncan's energy. Popovich even used Brazilian center Split as a starter at the start of the game, trying to play a "low-class horse vs. high-class horse" game with the Clippers.

Rivers thought, do you think I'm afraid? Our GOAT can play the full 48 minutes without any problem.

Just as the two sides were fighting intensely, competing with each other in wits and courage, a tight string of the Clippers suddenly broke.

Griffin received an alley-oop dunk from Yu Fei and sprained his thigh after landing.

The cost of over-reliance on key players eventually came back to the Clippers.

Despite a poor performance in the Western Conference Finals, Rivers still let Griffin play 40 minutes per game.

Because many times, the performance of core players is certainly the most important, but if they don't perform well, letting them continue to "exist" on the court is also the best use of their resources.

In front of the Spurs, the Clippers are inferior horses. They are not qualified to "change cards after each game". The available players must be used to the death until they have problems.

When Griffin was injured, a guilty thought flashed through Rivers' mind: Fortunately, it wasn't Frye who was injured...

But, back to reality, he also knew clearly what Griffin's injury meant.

Yu Fei can fight against Duncan or Gasol, but he can't fight against both of them at the same time. Losing Griffin means losing the key force to check and balance Gasol. No matter whether the Clippers replace Pachulia or Brown, they can't stop the imbalance in the interior.

The situation began to deteriorate, and whenever the Clippers were about to catch their breath, Yu Fei would have an amazingly dominant performance.

He would play 2+1 in the paint, grab key offensive rebounds and assist teammates to hit three-pointers, then face the basket to single out Duncan or Gasol, or even sweep the high post like a center and then come to the basket to block Paul George.

Isn’t this the performance of the league’s top inside player?

However, the Clippers' good luck has come to an end.

The Spurs let Duncan rest for a long time, so that he had enough physical strength to play one-on-one in the second half. Without Griffin's restriction, Gasol exerted enough pressure on the other side.

Pierce is no longer as brave as he was in Game 5. Once Antetokounmpo has no chance to rotate and counterattack, his only skills left are spot-up three-pointers and open cuts.

But the Clippers, with their space erosion, couldn't give him a chance to cut in, so he could only shoot from the outside.

When a 19-year-old suddenly has to bear the heavy pressure of unlocking the team's space, even if he usually has a 36% three-point shooting percentage, his technical movements, touch and muscle memory are crushed by the heavy pressure.

The Clippers collapsed in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter.

With 58 seconds left in the game, Yu Fei, who had not rested for a second since the start of the game, was finally replaced by Rivers.

When Yu Fei was leaving the court, he was thinking, if I had known this would be the result, why would I have worked so hard?
However, this negative thought only lasted for a moment.

“!#￥#@!￥%”

"Ladies and gentlemen, give your applause to our GOAT!!!"

The new Clippers will lose tonight, but in essence, this defeat is exactly the same as their past defeats.

They were unlucky as Griffin was injured and fell down at a critical moment.

But is that the whole reason?
It's much more than that.

They became the most entertaining team in the league in the regular season and broke team records in the playoffs. However, facing the so-called "best Spurs team in history", they had run out of bullets.

Next year, the GOAT will still be here.

Antetokounmpo will continue to grow.

The Clippers will be better.

They have become a top team that is loved and respected.

"Frye, you put on the greatest performance I've ever seen tonight!"

Rivers said in a hoarse voice.

I had my greatest performance and still lost, didn’t I?

"What a great comfort, Doug." Yu Fei said self-deprecatingly.

"We'll be back, like you said," Rivers said. "We'll be back in the conference finals."

What else can we do now?
Yu Fei exhaled lightly, "Next year the result will not be the same."

The last minute was just garbage time.

现场的四方大屏幕上显示了于飞的比赛数据：出场47分02秒，拿下39分、21个篮板、8次助攻、4次封盖、2次抢断以及不可避免的5次失误。

This series really showcased Yu Fei's endless versatility as a player across positions.

He can play the No. 1 position as a ball-handling core, can be a space shooter, and can be an ace No. 3 position. When these roles don't work, he can also play inside, the No. 4 and No. 5 positions are not a problem, and he can even beat Duncan.

In this day and age, if he can beat Duncan, he can beat any other big man.

Perhaps only Howard and Yao Ming are beyond his reach in terms of absolute strength and tonnage, but these two also have their own flaws and shortcomings, and they are not the type that requires Yu Fei to take the initiative to suppress them in the inside.

Although the Clippers lost, the unlimited possibilities shown by Yu Fei frightened his opponents.

They couldn't imagine how high the Clippers' ceiling would be if they had a few suitable teammates for him.

After all, even with such an unbalanced Clippers, if Griffin hadn't been injured, the outcome of tonight would still be unknown. Once the series drags on to the seventh game, everything is possible.

Now, the most powerful basketball player in the world has stopped in the conference finals, which is undoubtedly good news for other competitors.

At least in 2014, the world championship was out of reach for Fry Yu.

competition is over.

The Spurs eliminated the Clippers 4-2.

They learned from last year's lesson and remembered the curse of GOAT - don't celebrate. If you use all your tears to celebrate your victory over GOAT at this moment, what will you have to celebrate in the finals?

Therefore, the Spurs silently digested the feat of eliminating Yu Fei for two consecutive years, only rejoicing in their hearts, and then turned their attention to the finals.

Duncan hugged Yu Fei after the game.

"Can we win this year?" Yu Fei asked.

"We're not going to screw this up."

"Well, I wish you good luck." Yu Fei smiled, "But those who beat me in the playoffs usually don't have good luck."

This is not trash talk.

Look at the 2002 Nets, the 2005 Pacers and last year's Spurs.

They all made it to the finals after defeating the GOAT, and then all came back empty-handed.

Defeating the Chosen One might be sinful.

Yu Fei reminded Duncan sincerely.

And Duncan did think about that history, which made the No. 21 draft pick feel a chill down his spine.

Is this another curse of the GOAT?

(End of this chapter)