Standing pretty old

Chapter 864 Different Battle Situations, Same Ending
The first round of G1 played so easily, so the Clippers are very optimistic about the prospect of promotion.It may be a bit early to say a sweep, but it is basically a no-brainer to solve the opponent in 5-6 games.

The Rockets managed to make it back to the playoffs. They played so hard in the last few games of the regular season, and they didn't come to the playoffs for a vacation.

After some deliberation, head coach Kevin McHale made an astonishing decision. He wanted to play three backs and compete with the Clippers on offense!
So, three days later, still at the Staples Center, the Rockets' starting lineup became like this:
C Omer Asik

PF Chandler Parsons

SF James Harden
SG Jeremy Lin

PG Patrick Beverley

As the former Big Three of the Green Army, regardless of whether McHale's own command ability is top-notch, but with this mentality of daring to put all his eggs in one basket, he is better than countless mediocrities.

Thinking about it, the guy who plays next to a bastard like the King of the King, who will be sprayed in the face for nothing, probably won't be able to survive if he doesn't have a bone in his heart.

The Clippers were somewhat surprised by the Rockets' extreme style of play. As a result, they beat their opponents 19:42 in the first quarter, leading the Rockets by as many as 23 points.

Hehe, you have to be prepared to pay the price for taking risks!
阮二牛一人单节9投8中，其中三分球2投2中，罚球3罚3中，砍下21分，10板的两双数据。

Whether it's a long-range shot or a low position, facing tall, rich and handsome, Erniu has played real * local tyrant-level data.

However, the game is not just one quarter. In the second quarter, the Rockets gradually found the rhythm of playing with three guards on the court at the same time.

In particular, Beverly still played a considerable role in biting CP3.

But any guy who has played can find someone like Beverley on the court.

If this kind of guy is on the same team as me, he will become a very popular existence, but if he becomes an opponent, he will be annoying, and if not done well, he will even hurt people.

Those who like Heibei to call him Wolverine, but those who don't like it, will naturally say he is a mad dog, and he is the kind that is not on a chain.

At the end of the regular season, Westbrook suffered a slight meniscus tear under the impact of Heibei. This injury is roughly similar to Er Niu's injury at the beginning. It is very possible to recover with conservative treatment, even in the playoffs. Can't catch up.

It is said that Westbrook guarded Durant, but only God knows how far the Thunder can go in the playoffs without Westbrook to contain Durant's defensive pressure.

At 30:27, the Clippers' bench performance tonight was mediocre. The Rockets recovered 3 points in a single quarter, but still trailed the defending champion by 20 points at halftime.

If the game continues at this pace, I'm afraid the Rockets still have no chance of a comeback, but the opportunity comes when it comes.

In the third quarter, the Clippers suddenly fell into a scoring shortage. All Clippers players, including Er Niu, missed shots repeatedly. The most unlucky one was JJ* Redick, who managed to get rid of the defender. , but even a simple cut layup can be blocked by his own basket.

At 27:14, the Rockets recovered 13 points in a single quarter. After three quarters, the score gap between the two teams returned from 20+ to single digits.

In the crucial fourth quarter, Yi Jianlian of the Rockets and Carlos Delfino of Argentina attacked at the same time. The two teamed up and scored 16 points in the rotation time, once reversing the score.

The girl-picking group was ordered to return to the court when they were in danger. The Los Angeles people who stabilized their positions did not give their opponents more opportunities.

Er Niu and San Pao played a classic and efficient pick-and-roll combination. With Er Niu's unreasonable high-position shooting and Paul's repeated hits to the basket, the Clippers once again overtook the score.

In the critical last 2 minutes, Ray Allen stood up, with two cold-blooded three-pointers from Gentleman Ray, 102:107, the Los Angeles Clippers won the game by 5 points at home and won the G2 game without any risk .

After the game, Thibodeau believed that the Clippers played extremely ugly in the third quarter, and the Rockets didn't win in the end because they lacked a little luck.

What Thibodeau said was not objective enough, not because of their lack of luck, but because Beverly and Jeremy Lin were too iron, one made 10 of 3 shots and the other made 6 of 1 shots, or the Clippers actually did a good job on the defensive end.

Although the Rockets lost two games in a row in Los Angeles, their spirits have not dissipated, especially after G2, the Houstonians discovered that as long as they are willing to fight, they may beat the Clippers.

Sure enough, after the two teams came to Houston, the situation changed.

Jeremy Lin had to miss G2 due to a wrist injury in G3.

Yi Jianlian returned to the starting lineup, while Beverly served as the team's starting point guard and continued to bite CP3.

Beverly, who averaged only about 41% of his field goals this season and only averaged 5.6 points per game, gradually showed his value in the playoffs, because his shooting percentage was fixed, and Paul's decline in efficiency did come from Yu Heiback's defense.

Compared with G2's ups and downs, both sides of G3 put out great efforts to fight each other in both offense and defense, so that the score rose alternately. No one had an absolute advantage for a relatively long period of time and opened up the score.

The Rockets are worthy of the name of Texas Xiaoqiang. Even if the personnel turnover is frequent, their energy still causes headaches for opponents.

The Rockets at home tied with the Clippers in the last minute and a half of the final quarter.

103:103, and at this time the most controversial penalty of the game appeared. Parsons made a high-post shot fake, and Kawaii took advantage of Gao Fushuai to raise his hand to make a fake without being overwhelmed. , stretched his long arms, and cut off the basketball.

Just as Kawhi was about to attack the Rockets half court with the ball, the referee's whistle came late.

Thug foul, three free throws!

Kawaii, a teenager with facial paralysis, showed a frustrated expression, holding a basketball and explaining to the referee, but it didn't work.

Parsons made two of three free throws. In the following 1 minute, the two sides made many shots, but they all hit iron.

At 103:105, the Houstonians pulled back a victory at home and broke free from the panic of being swept away in an instant.

Speaking of the No. 27 player in this game's victory, it is undoubtedly the Rockets' Parsons who scored 10 points, 8 rebounds and [-] assists.

The sophomore Gao Fushuai really looks promising. It's no wonder that he can win a big contract in the future. As for his performance after getting a big contract, it's another matter.

Another hero of the Rockets is undoubtedly Asik who scored 17 points and 14 rebounds efficiently. Jordan also scored 10 points and 9 rebounds tonight. insufficient.

You know, at this time Asik's annual salary is 837 million yuan, and Jordan is a star with tens of millions.

Losing G3 is both a reminder and a spur for the league's longest winning streak.

There are no underdogs in the NBA, especially in a stage like the playoffs, any team that is not focused enough will pay the price.

With a score of 2:1, both the Clippers and the Rockets are determined to win G4. The Clippers will get the match point if they win, and the Rockets will tie the game if they win. Enter the tie-break, and even complete the black eight.

On April 4th, US time, it was still the center of Toyota.

The Rockets continued their G3 start, but the Clippers made changes:
C DeAndre Jordan
PF Chris Anderson

SF Ruan Erniu

SG Kawhi Leonard

PG Chris Paul
Er Niu appeared in the third position for the first time in the NBA. The intention is obvious, it is to deal with Gao Fushuai who performed gorgeously in the last game.

At the beginning of the first quarter, Er Niu faced Parsons on the defensive end.

Parsons's fake moves are extremely large, but he is still a little immature against the third consecutive D-POY.

Gao Fushuai had no choice but to force a breakthrough with the ball. Under the interference of Erniu, he had to choose to pass the ball. As a result, Kawaii, who was ambushing him, successfully judged the ball path and cut the ball with one palm.

During the transition between offense and defense, Kawaii threw the ball high, and Jordan, who inserted from behind, jumped forward and completed a dunk on Yi Jianlian's head.

The Rockets were stunned at the beginning, and then the rhythm was completely controlled by the Clippers.

Ruan Erniu's strength teaches how to be a man. In the arena where the strong are strong and the strong are the best, Man Niu is the well-deserved final big boss.

Unwilling to fail, the Rockets tried to launch another counterattack in the third quarter. Harden, who scored 12 points in a single quarter, narrowed the gap between the two teams to less than 15 points. However, as Ruan Erniu broke out again, the game entered garbage time.

Maybe it was because of the reluctance to lose in the last game. At the end of the quarter, Thibodeau did not intend to replace the main players in advance. It was not until the last 2 minutes that the pick-up team was pulled back to the bench. At this time, the score difference had exceeded 30 points.

129:97, the Clippers won G4 and won the match point.

At the press conference, when asked why he played the No. 35 position, Ruan Erniu, who scored 17 points, 15 rebounds and [-] assists, spread his hands and said: "I just want to practice tactics with different starting lineups. "

Well, you win anyway.

Even in a pesticide professional league, if a professional player didn't pick up a hero at the beginning and took the big sword passively, he could claim that it was for surprise after winning.

From this perspective, Er Niu is still low-key, at least he didn't shout: "I'm a strong thief in the third position (Arthur)!"

Objective analysis shows that not only Erniu locked up Gao Fushuai on the defensive end, but Kawhi, who scored 24+5+5 in the last game but failed to win, also put most of his experience away. On the defensive end.

Kawhi, who only scored 14 points in this game, kept Harden from scoring more than 14 points tonight.

It's just that Kawhi took 14 shots for 8 points, while Harden took 14 shots for 19 points.

This is where the strength of the Clippers lies. It is clear that Kawhi has gradually acquired an all-star scoring ability, but as long as the tactics require him, he can become a top blue-collar at any time, and he can handle the opponent's attack arrows on the defensive end without insufficient output. question.

The Clippers, who returned to Los Angeles with the match point, decided to implement Er Niu's high-profile declaration, so they changed their starting lineup again.

Er Niu returned to the fourth position, Kawhi returned to the third position, and JJ* Redick returned to the starting lineup. He changed three starting sets in five games.

In other words, the defending champion, who has won 37 consecutive victories, has sufficient confidence to carry out multiple rotations.

This season, the biggest change for the Clippers is that it has changed from a 6-8 rotation last season to a 9-11 rotation.

It's not how much Thibodeau's own coaching level has improved, but that the number of people who can play for the Clippers has actually increased.

Er Niu's data declined because his own shooting rights were allocated to other teammates, but the overall strength of the Clippers continued to grow.

The Rockets who lost G4 failed to create a miracle in Los Angeles. After they resisted tenaciously for halftime, they were taken away by the Clippers in a wave in the third quarter.

The Clippers team hit 26 three-pointers in this game, just rewriting the record of 09 three-pointers in a single game created by the Eagles in the 10-25 season.

The Atlanta fans are undoubtedly lost, because the impressive records they once had are being surpassed one by one by another team led by their former leader.

Tony Ressler was once again criticized by Atlanta fans. The Eagles owner probably won't want to go to the home court to watch the game in the past two years, because whenever he appears, the fans will boo him to the end.

4:1, the defending champion successfully advanced to the second round, and several other teams in the first round of the Western Conference also decided the outcome.

Let’s first look at the Oklahoma City Thunder, which advanced faster than the Clippers. In the lower half of the Western Conference, they easily swept the Lakers with a total score of 4:0. Both sides lost generals. The Lakers did not have Kobe, but the Thunder did not have Westbrook. .

But judging from the team's chemical reaction, the Thunder are still better. Howard is very unhappy in the Lakers. He does want a championship, but what he wants is to lead the team to win the championship, and he doesn't want someone to be with him all the time. Said in the ear: "Let me teach you how to win the championship!"

The Spurs struggled a lot against the Warriors. They defeated their opponents with a total score of 4:1 and advanced to the second round.

But those who have watched the game are very clear that Curry and Thompson have grown up. If David Lee had just returned from injury and was in no condition, even if the two teams reached the tiebreaker, it would not be surprising.

The two teams that advanced in the second half of the Western Conference are the Thunder and the Spurs, and in the first half of the Western Conference, the team that will compete with the Clippers for the Western Conference Finals is the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies defeated the Nuggets with a total score of 4:2.

The playing styles of the two teams are actually very similar, with the same emphasis on overall and defense, but the offensive talent of the Grizzlies is still better than that of the Nuggets who lack offensive points.

The ravages of the black and white bears made the Nuggets insiders composed of Landry, Faried, and McGee miserable. The strength of the Grizzlies only proved one thing, that is, when the two strong teams meet, the winning team , Often a team with a more balanced offense and defense.

The first round of the West has roughly decided the result, but the East is progressing slowly. The second round of the playoffs in the West has started, and the first round of the East has not yet ended.

Except for the Heat who eliminated the Bucks 4:0 and taught Mr. Brandon Jennings, who averaged 29.8% shooting in the series with 55 points per game, to be a man, the other three groups of teams in the first round fell into a hard fight.

In the lower half of the Eastern Conference, both the Pacers and the Knicks eliminated their opponents with a total score of 4:2 and completed the promotion.

In the competition for the last promotion spot in the upper half of the Eastern Conference, the Bulls also managed to get ahead. They stubbornly defeated the Nets with a total score of 4:3 and won the last promotion spot in the Eastern Conference.

The process of the first round in the east and west is different, but the result is the same result.

Except for the fifth victory over the fourth, the other high-ranking teams have successfully advanced to the next round.

The Los Angeles Clippers continue to sit at the Staples Center, and their opponent in the Western Conference semifinals will be the Memphis Grizzlies.

(End of this chapter)