Standing pretty old

Chapter 865 Fierce divisional battle, status quo of promotion
On May 2013, 5, US time, G5 of the Clippers VS Grizzlies started.

The Clippers, who adjusted three starting lineups in the first round, resumed their regular starting lineup in the second round:

C DeAndre Jordan
PF Ruan Erniu

SF Kawhi Leonard

SG JJ* Reddick

PG Chris Paul
The Grizzlies' starters have been solid:
C Marc Gasol

PF Zach Randolph

SF Tyshawn Prince

SG Tony Allen
PG Mike Conley
Jordan beat Gasol on the jump ball and the ball went to Paul.

On the offensive end of the Clippers, Paul held the ball in a high position. Under Tony Allen's defense, the ball was sent to Redick, who ran out with the help of a pick-and-roll.

Redick made an open three-pointer.

"brush!"

Go in!

The Grizzlies had the ball, and Conley advanced the half court with the ball. After several passes, the ball reached Gasol Jr. in the low post. Gasol used his footsteps to eat Jordan.

"boom!"

Jordan's defense has improved significantly, and he has not lost his position.

Erniu held Randolph to protect the backcourt rebound, and immediately allocated the ball to Paul. CP3 quickly advanced with the ball, and sent the ball to the center on the way.

Kawhi plugged in from the back row, threw off Prince to get the basketball, and dunked the ball into the basket with one arm high.

The Grizzlies can play back and forth against the Nuggets, but they are very twisted against the Clippers.

In the top competitive arena, the gap in talent is often the most difficult thing to smooth out.

Whenever it comes to talent, it seems that Edison has to be mentioned for most Chinese students.

Because Edison once said: "Genius is one percent inspiration, 90.00 percent perspiration."

Of course, there was a saying that was circulated on the Internet later, saying that Edison still hadn't translated the second half of the sentence: "But that 1% of inspiration is the most important, even more important than that 99% of sweat."

However, the rumor was later refuted, and it was confirmed that Edison did not say the second half of the sentence, at least lacking the stone hammer of the original English text.

Of course, there is an even more astonishing truth. Some researchers believe that even the famous quote in the first half of the sentence was fabricated by later generations.

Because in Edison's private notes from 1915, he wrote: "I said these things they said, but I don't remember ever saying them."

Do you feel familiar?
Yes, Mr. Lu Xun once said: "The above is not what I said, but I think it makes sense."

Well, it could also come from the famous critic Wozsky Schud.

Celebrity quotes may seem unreliable, but games are played game by game.

Before the game, many people were optimistic that the Grizzlies' tenacious defense would cause the Clippers a lot of trouble.

The inside line composed of black and white bears, coupled with the outside defense of Prince and Tony Allen, will greatly limit the Clippers' offense.

But the fact is that the Clippers played smoothly from the first quarter, and by the end of halftime, they had already led their opponents by 20 points.

When Ruan Erniu was interviewed in the midfield, he said with a smile: "We got several days of rest, but fortunately we did not lose our focus."

The Grizzlies worked hard to get rid of the Nuggets and reached the second round, but they were still beaten in the Western Conference semifinals.

In the second half of the game, the Grizzlies also tried to set off a wave of counterattacks.

But the Clippers are also not soft on the offensive end. Compared with the offense, the Clippers with multiple scoring points really don't boo the Grizzlies.

Thomas Jr., in particular, was very active on the bench in this game. In just a few rounds, he overwhelmed the Grizzlies backup point guard Jerry Bayless, even against Mike Conley.

In the middle of the fourth quarter, the game had already entered garbage time. At 83:123, the Clippers beat their opponents with a huge advantage of 40 points and won the second round of G1 smoothly.

The subsequent G2 and G1 were similar. The Grizzlies played proactively at certain moments of the game, but the entire game was always under the control of the Clippers.

Picking up girls teamed up to score 63 points, 21 rebounds, and 22 assists, helping the team beat the Grizzlies with a 15+ advantage, leading the opponent with a total score of 2:0, ending the first two home games.

The two teams of G3 will move to Memphis. For the Grizzlies, this is undoubtedly a last stand.

In the crucial battle, the Grizzlies played top-level defensive ability. In the first quarter of the game, the Clippers only scored 14 points, while the Grizzlies relied on multiple points to bloom and scored 29 points in a single quarter. The highest scorer was actually Tony Allen.

Such a fantastic start once gave the Grizzlies the hope of tying the score, but the Clippers' ability to adjust is also amazing.

During the rotation time of the second quarter, Ray Allen first blew the counterattack horn. He first scored a three-pointer on the offensive end, and then intercepted Conley's pass in defense, and then strode directly Layup, completed an explosive dunk.

Ray Allen was old and strong and opened up the situation for the Clippers, and the entire quarter after that belonged to Paul's personal performance time.

First of all, on the defensive end, Sanpao taught Mike Conley to be a man. The Grizzlies made 6 of 0 shots in the second quarter and didn't even get a point.

而保罗本人4投4中，其中三分球2投2中，单节砍下10分，5助攻，率领球队打出一波16:0的攻击波。

The two teams played at 29:15 in the second quarter, halftime ended, and the Los Angeles people, who were 15 points behind in the first quarter, had chased the score to only 1 point.

The third quarter is the battle that determines the trend of the game. Ruan Erniu has become the core offensive point of the Clippers without hesitation.

In this quarter, the Bulls made 7 of 5 shots, including 2 of 1 three-pointers, 6 of 5 free throws, scored 16 points, and scored 12 rebounds in a single quarter. The score reversed the game.

After three quarters, the scores of the two teams came to 75:65. The Clippers in the away game had overtaken by 10 points. This was actually the smallest score difference in the first three quarters of the Grizzlies in the series.

In the final quarter of the game, the two sides continued the defensive battle to the end, and the ugly sound of iron strikes echoed through the audience. The Grizzlies did not replace the main force until the last moment, and they were extremely tenacious.

But the final result will not change.
At 98:86, while the Clippers won G3, they also got the match point in the Western Conference semifinals.

Losing the Grizzlies in G3 is equivalent to saying goodbye to the playoffs in advance. From the current history, no team has been able to complete a comeback after falling behind by a big score of 3:0.

For the Grizzlies, G4 is a standard battle of honor. They just want to save the last face, and they don't want to go home to fish in a swept posture.

However, the girl-picking group obviously didn't have the patience.

Er Niu and San Pao scored 4 points in G75, giving the Grizzlies a desperate blow.

Throughout the entire game, the Grizzlies didn't think about launching a counterattack for a moment, but the Clippers were always in the lead.

The Memphis people who have achieved the ultimate on the defensive end just have no way to form a proper confrontation with the Clippers on the offensive end.

The importance of offensive and defensive balance has once again emerged. A team with only defense wants to win the championship?
Ask Billups on the Clippers bench or Prince in the Grizzlies. Billups and Hamilton, who played the backcourt double guns in the Pistons, averaged 20+ points per game in the series. down?
After the game, the players on both sides remained friendly and bid farewell to each other.

Billups and Prince, the two Pistons, hugged each other for a long time.

Billups' career has entered the late stage, and Prince is also a veteran of the league. If they want to meet on a stage like the playoffs, I am afraid that there will not be many opportunities.

After the interview, Er Niu happened to see the two Pistons who had just finished talking in the player tunnel.

After another high-five and hug with Prince, he also turned around and gave Billups a hug.

"I promise you will get another ring this year!" FMVP said to FMVP.

The FMVP grinned and said to the FMVP: "Anyway, I will continue to lie down and win. I will wear a suit to receive the ring next season."

Er Niu was slightly taken aback, then understood and said, "It's decided?"

Billups laughed: "Isaiah is good enough to get two rings in the last two years of his career. I have no regrets."

……

The Clippers eliminated the Grizzlies and advanced to the Western Conference Finals, and the places to advance to the other three conference semifinals were also determined one by one.

First look at the Eastern Conference. The Miami Heat defeated the Bulls with a total score of 4:1 and successfully advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, but the Bulls who were eliminated were not without gains.

Their second-year show Jimmy Butler played well, averaging 15.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, shooting 43.1% from the field, but 42.1% from the three-point range, plus free throw data, Butler's The true hit rate is over 5%.

Another surprise player for the Bulls is Nate Robinson, the little potato played the most classic round of the series in his career.

He averaged 15.2 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game. He is the third-highest scoring player of the two teams, and the first and second are James and Butler.

From the data point of view, a large part of the reason why the Heat can advance with a total score of 4:1 is that James, who averaged 23.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game, is too strong.

With both Wade and Bosh's status declining significantly, the Heat had to put more responsibility on James.

The ESPN reporter team has said more than once that without Kraft Ruan, LBJ should be the well-deserved No.1 active player.

In addition, there is another hero of the Heat's promotion that should not be forgotten, that is, Norris Cole, who averaged only 23 minutes per game, shot 69% from the field, and scored 11 points per game efficiently.

He's the X factor for the Heat.

A good fighter has no great achievements. When everyone is focusing on the Big Three of the Heat and even the starting point guard Mario Chalmers, the guy who really gave the Chicago people a fatal blow is a guy only 188CM short point guard.

In the upper half of the East, it took 5 games to decide the winner, while in the lower half of the East, it took one more game to decide the winner.

The Pacers eliminated the Knicks with a total score of 4:2 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. They will decide a final spot with the Heat.

Carmelo Anthony wins the stats and loses the game.

Paul George's average points, rebounds, and offensive efficiency are not as good as Anthony, but the number of assists is slightly better than Melon.

It is a pity that the game has never been played by one person. With the outstanding performance of Eric Bledsoe, David West and others, the stronger Pacers must have the last laugh.

Stoudemire has completely degenerated into a pure substitute, and the bully can no longer have fun.

At this time, Xi Di is still carrying a contract with an annual salary of 1995 million, and there are still two seasons of 2000 million-level contracts to be implemented.

The general manager of the Knicks has always been a position with a high turnover rate. Anyway, James Dolan is rich, so he just needs to sign big contracts one by one.

The current general manager Glenn Wall spent money on the second place in the East that looked beautiful, but unfortunately in the playoffs, everything showed its original shape.

It seems that this summer, it is time for the Knicks management to change again. Well, this can be regarded as the daily life of the Knicks.

It is worth mentioning that in this round of the series, Roy Hibbert showed the brightest moment of his career.

He averaged 13+10 per game, completely blowing out Tyson Chandler who averaged only 6+6 per game.

Gao Yuanyuan, who has just completed the contract renewal with an annual salary of tens of millions this season, looks extremely vigorous.

In the current era of withered centers, even Hibbert can turn into a steel gorilla from time to time. From this perspective, what's wrong with Jordan's annual salary of tens of millions?
Looking back from the east to the west, the Clippers' opponents in the Western Conference Finals that they will face next also solved their opponents in a sweeping manner and successfully advanced.

That's right, the San Antonio Spurs with a relatively complete lineup completely defeated the Thunder without Westbrook.

4:0, the battle was resolved very simply.

Durant, who averaged 28.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game, tried his best, but the game was never his alone.

When Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Ginobili, Danny Green, and George Hill scored in double figures at the same time, when Boris Dior, the dick, used his P shares in the Thunder from time to time To add to the chaos, the Oklahomaians finally fell in the second round of the playoffs.

Facts have proved that without Westbrook, it is impossible for Du Shao to lead the team to the Western Conference Finals alone.

Kevin Martin's scoring is not low, but it is impossible to replace Harden's tactical role, especially in terms of impact on the basket.

When Erniu first saw the Thunder trade Harden, he knew that the team's business model was still conservative.

It is impossible for them to cause trouble for the Clippers again in a short period of time. Even if Westbrook is not injured, they will have a hard time with the Spurs.

There are three seasons left on Durant's contract, and the Thunder management still has a lot of time to reorganize the lineup, so that the Thunder have the strength to hit the championship.

Sam Presti, produced by the Spurs, is quite good in terms of draft vision, but if the team wants to trade for a championship-level superstar, it needs a stingy boss to nod.

You know, not every team has the opportunity to have Kraft Nguyen, or Popovich.

The former has its own championship system, while the latter can always use various methods to build a team capable of competing for the championship.

Most importantly, the above two will meet in the Western Conference finals of the 12-13 season.

The old but tough Spurs are back!
During the Los Angeles Clippers meeting in the team, they unified the consensus:
For the Spurs, any regular season record cannot be counted, because the Spurs in the playoffs are already another team.

(End of this chapter)