Standing pretty old

Chapter 836

The first-round series is all over, and the Clippers, who advanced early, finally ushered in their second-round opponent-the Memphis Grizzlies.

In the past few seasons, Zach Randolph has been one of the few players in the league who can wrestle with Erniu in the paint.

But judging from the performance in the first round, the Black Bears have long lost their courage due to major injuries during the season. Now the real inside core of the Grizzlies is Marc Gasol.

The black bear has become the second bear, and the white bear is gradually becoming the big bear, but this is also not good news for the Clippers, because whether DeAndre Jordan can handle the white bear is also a question mark.

If the Jazz's inside combination only poses a slight threat to the Clippers inside, then the Grizzlies' inside combination is undoubtedly an upgraded version of this threat.

On the outside of the Grizzlies, Tony Allen, the league's top backcourt defender, will also not let Paul pass the test easily. If the Clippers want to kill the Grizzlies, the performance of role players is crucial.

"This is a test for you!"

What Er Niu said was not aimed at Jordan, but the team's rookie Kawhi Leonard.

When Kawhi learned that he would continue to appear in the starting position in the second round, there was a rare excited smile on his almost paralyzed face.

That kind of trust is precious, especially when he's about to face Rudy Gay, the Grizzlies' leading scorer.

"Do you know why I insist on using you instead of Sean (Battier)?" Er Niu said.

Kawaii shook his head, but still said firmly: "But I will not let you down!"

Ruan Erniu said with a smile: "Don't pay attention to my thoughts, as long as you feel that you have given full play on the field.

Sean is indeed more experienced, but Kawhi, you have to remember that you are the future of the team! "

Don't use the suspect, but don't use it.

Now that Er Niu decided to give Kawaii a chance, he naturally wouldn't be stingy with pouring a few bowls of chicken soup on the cutie.

US time, on May 2012, 5, the Clippers ushered in their second round of G15 at home.

Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said in an interview before the game: "I know that many people are optimistic about the Clippers' advancement, but what I want to say is that the series did not reach the last minute, so don't take it lightly." In terms of wins and losses, we've already beaten one Los Angeles team and don't mind beating another."

As the head coach of the Clippers, Er Niu also stood up and said: "We have rested for too long, and we are already impatient.

To be honest, it doesn't matter whether it is the Grizzlies or the Lakers. Since our ultimate goal is the championship, any opponent is something we need to overcome.

How many games to end the series?

It doesn't matter, because the result is that we will definitely be the team in the upper half of the Western Conference Finals. "

The head coaches of both sides expressed their determination, and the attitudes of the players were similar.

In general, the Grizzlies focused on showing their unyielding, which belongs to the type that loses and takes the opponent's skin; the Clippers are more confident.

As the top player in the league, they also have two top five players in the league, Er Niu and Paul. Their eyes were locked on the O'Brien Cup long before the start of the playoffs.

After the opening ceremony, the Grizzlies first announced their starting roster:

C Marc Gasol

PF Zach Randolph

SF Rudy Gay
SG Tony Allen
PG Mike Conley
Using Tony Allen to start instead of OJ* Mayo, of course, is not to defend JJ* Redick. run.

On the Grizzlies' bench, there are Mayo, Speights and others. By the way, the No. 0 agent who is about to be forgotten due to injuries-Gilbert Arenas.

The general who was bought out early chose to join the Grizzlies with a basic salary of 41 yuan, just to have the opportunity to prove himself again.

Injuries and the gun incident almost made Arenas cut himself off from the league. This is actually his last chance, although judging from the performance of the past few games, he can only get a little chance to play in garbage time.

The Clippers' starting lineup hasn't changed much:
C DeAndre Jordan
PF Ruan Erniu

SF Kawhi Leonard

SG JJ* Reddick

PG Chris Paul
With the whistle of the referee on duty, the game officially began.

Jordan won the jump ball, and the ball went to Er Niu, who passed the ball to Paul, who encountered Tony Allen's tight defense just after halftime.

As the Clippers predicted before the game, the Grizzlies made up their minds to use Grandpa (Tony Allen's American nickname) to limit CP3 from the beginning.

Paul didn't force the shot, he was smart enough to know how to use his teammates' offensive talents.

JJ* Redick made a reverse run, and used the double screens of Jordan and Er Niu from the bottom line to throw off Mike Conley who was defending him.

Redick, who received the ball from outside the three-point line, directly pulled out his hand.

"boom!"

The basketball bounced on the hoop, and then it spun three times in a row...

Still not in!

Marc Gasol got stuck and protected the backboard.

The Grizzlies are sitting on two big men, and it is impossible to play small balls. They just want to slow down the tempo and play more positional battles.

Conley held the ball for half court, and under Paul's defense, he lobbed the ball to the high post Gasol.

Er Niu was pulled to the other side by the black bear. Randolph has the ability to shoot in the mid-range, Er Niu dare not completely sell this product.

Gasol held the ball with his back and turned to the basket, facing Jordan's defensive breakthrough, made an emergency stop, stood on the pivot foot, then turned his back, feinted, and made a fallback jumper.

"brush!"

Jordan defended well, but Gasol played more resolutely.

Although Xiaojia is strong and strong, in fact, he is a player with quite delicate skills. His mid-range and long-range shots accounted for more than 40% this season, and the number of close-range two-point shots outside the three-second zone also accounted for his total shots. More than 35%.

Jordan's defensive skills have improved rapidly, but it is still sweaty against Xiaojia.

In the Clippers' offensive round, Paul missed a mid-range two-pointer. Er Niu took the offensive rebound and turned the ball back to Kawhi before going out of bounds.

Kawaii made a fake shot from outside the three-point line, and after getting rid of Guy, he made a dry shot from the middle distance.

"boom!"

Still missed.

There are black and white bears standing inside, which makes it difficult for most offensive players with the ball to take advantage.

In the offensive round of the Grizzlies, the White Bears repeated their tricks. This time, he played even more gorgeously.

Also from the position around the free throw line, turn your back to the basket, after two consecutive tentative steps, add a big step, and enter the three-second zone with the ball.

Half-turned, feinted, got up again...

Before the stunned uncle could react, he watched Gasol make a small hook and easily scored two points again.

The above scene definitely appeared more than once in the first quarter of the game.

Marc Gasol made 6 of 5 shots in a single quarter after several successful singles with the ball against Jordan.

Er Niu had to switch defenses with Jordan. This is the cruel playoffs. Once a defensive weakness is encountered, the opponent will attack this point without restriction.

Don't look at Erniu's height being inferior to Jordan's, but his tough chassis is really capable of blocking Xiaojia's offense. In fact, the only shot that the White Bears missed in a single quarter was caused by Erniu's defense.

34:16, according to the usual practice, the visiting team is in front and the home team is behind.

Before the game, they kept saying that they wanted to eliminate their opponents, but the Clippers, who advanced to the next round, encountered a tenacious resistance in G1.

Paul made 3 of 0 shots in a single quarter, Redick made 3 of 1 shots, Kawhi made 4 of 2 shots, Jordan Jr. made 2 of 1 shots, Er Niu made 2 of 1 shots, Battier came off the bench and made 1 of 1 shots, Nick * Yang didn't make a shot and scored 2 points with free throws.

Tom Thibodeau was quite angry on the sidelines. He directly replaced all the main players, including Er Niu and San Pao, during the rotation time of the second quarter.

This is also the first time in the playoffs this season that the Los Angeles Clippers have put the pick-up combination on the bench at the same time during the normal rotation time.

In the view of Thibodeau, who is in charge of on-the-spot command, they are all played like this, and the substitute may not perform worse than the starter.

At this time, the Clippers' lineup became like this:
C Kenyon Martin
PF Yi Jianlian

SF Sean Shane Shane

SG Nick Young

PG Randy Foye

Fearful of being targeted on the defensive end, Thibodeau simply didn't even put Isaiah Thomas on the court.

The subsequent half of the game became Yang Shaoxia's personal show.

"Brush!", "Brush!", "Brush!"

There is nothing to explain. According to the quotations of a famous entrepreneur surnamed Luo in the early years of China: "A tough life needs no explanation!"

Nick Young's three-pointer also needs no explanation. In just 2 minutes, Nick Young made 4 of 3 three-pointers and led the Clippers to a wave of 14:3 attacks to help the team close the score. Pulled back to single digits.

This will be the turn of the Grizzlies coach Hollins angry!

After finally establishing a lead in the first quarter, it was sent back in an instant. More importantly, the Grizzlies' rotation was actually pierced by the Clippers' pure substitute.

The playoffs are a matchup that must be fought in every game. The Grizzlies quickly adjusted after the timeout and put the starting lineup back on the field.

Seeing that the advantage of the bench lineup was declining, Thibodeau immediately replaced some of the main players.

Sanpao came on stage first, followed by Erniu.

Thibodeau said between the Celestials: "Kraft, what we need most now is you to stand up and score."

Ruan Erniu made a gesture of acceptance, and returned to the field calmly.

In the first quarter, he did not play very enthusiastically. In the final analysis, facing a black bear whose athletic ability has declined significantly, Er Niu himself was somewhat unable to arouse his competitive spirit, but as the game progressed, the concentration of Man Niu There has been a marked recovery.

After all, this is a competition between the two teams, and the team's backwardness has aroused the fighting spirit of the two bulls.

On the offensive end of the Clippers, Ruan Erniu received a pass from Battier in the low post.

Responsible for defending him, of course, is Zach Randolph.

If it was in normal times, Er Niu would probably choose the smartest way, turn his back to the basket, and use speed to attack the opponent, but this moment of continuing to boost morale cannot be deduced by common sense.

"boom!"

Er Niu, who was as strong as a black bear, was forced to take a big step back by Er Niu. Instead of taking advantage of the gap as usual, Er Niu turned over and shot a jump shot. Er Niu raised his hip again and took a step in.

"boom!"

This time Er Niu had reached the three-second zone.

Gasol immediately gave up on Jordan and rushed over. Facing the double-team, Er Niu had no fear, cut inside forcibly, and flew over the slow-moving Randolph's head. Er is a tomahawk buckle.

"boom!"

There was a scream from the basket, and the basketball was smashed into it heavily.

"beep!"

The referee's whistle sounded at the same time, the score counted, Gasol made a defensive foul, and Er Niu got a 2+1 chance.

Er Niu roared, slapped his chest hard at the camera at the bottom line, and walked out of an exaggerated overlord dance.

The morale improvement of this ball is very obvious. Since the injury, Erniu has often staged alley-oop performances with Paul, but there are fewer and fewer dunks like before.

This is also an inevitable choice for a more mature inside play style. Although Er Niu's play style is not considered floor-style, it is an indisputable fact that it is gradually becoming more reasonable.

Reasonability often means more shots, and the audience actually prefers to watch talented players, showing their top physical talents in various ways, and bombing the basket indiscriminately.

"MVP!"

"MVP!"

"MVP!"

……

Ruan Erniu, who walked to the free throw line, received warm cheers from the audience. The founder of the Eagle Dynasty is now at the helm of the Clippers. Whether the broken ship can become a universe-class galaxy battleship depends on Erniu's ability to carry the ball how far the team goes.

Luck adjustments, kneeling squats, turning wrists and throwing the ball...

"brush!"

For the classic flushing of the toilet, Er Niu hit this extra penalty.

The subsequent second quarter of the game was taken over by the fully awakened Celestials.

He first gave Conley and Mayo today's big caps on the defensive end, and then on the offensive end, he successfully killed the Black Bear in the low post several times.

Randolph's athletic ability has degraded too obviously. Facing Er Niu's ball-holding attack, he can only use fouls to prevent the Clippers leader from hitting the basket.

What's more serious is that the black bears can't guarantee to interrupt the Chinese people with fouls every time. Once Er Niu finds an opportunity to attack, even as strong as Randolph, he can't stand the Er Niu's violent face-to-basket play.

Whether you have the ability or not, and whether you use this ability or not are completely two different things.

Fans are used to seeing Erniu's various delicate back-up skills and accurate shooting ability, but die-hard fans will never forget that the Bull Demon King may transform at any time at a certain moment.

Ruan Erniu, who is in a runaway state, is fully qualified to compete with Peak Stoudemire and Peak Griffin for the position of the top player in the league.

At 24:37, the second quarter ended, and the Clippers recovered 13 points in a single quarter.

The final score of the half was fixed at 58:53. Under the unfavorable situation of 18 points behind in the first quarter, the Clippers finally chased the score to only 5 points.

Relying on the strong performances of Nick Young and Ruan Erniu, the Clippers played an unreasonable frenzy of chasing points in the second quarter.

Go TM tactics, when the situation cannot be opened, the superstar should stand up and solve the battle directly. This is the biggest procedural justice in the NBA.

Simply put, just pick up the sledgehammer and do it!
(End of this chapter)