NBA: Duncan feels uneasy coaching Warriors

Chapter 219 Jokic’s scoring ability
The Clippers' opening game was stopped by a 5-0 score.

This made the Clippers fans on the sidelines a little dissatisfied or disappointed.

Although the game shouldn't be so urgent when it starts, the situation in this game is slightly different, but it is Paul who he is facing.

That was Paul who was traded away by them.

Doesn't this appear to be the stupidity of the management? The more they change, the worse they get.

And this time off the court.

"Coach, don't worry I can handle it."

Lillard still looked unconvinced.

Su Chen originally took the tactical board and wanted to rearrange the tactics, but Lillard's attitude gave Su Chen some other ideas.

Even though he won the game through tactical arrangements.

Lillard still acted like the boss, and no one was convinced.

Last season, if people like Iguodala were unconvinced, Suchen could directly hold them down.

But Lillard is different.

Jokic needs a point guard with strong offensive ability to share the firepower with him, and Lillard is the best candidate the Clippers can trade for.

Curry is more suitable, but Curry is not for sale to the Warriors now and cannot be exchanged for it at a loss.

"OK, then you can try it, but only in the first half."

Su Chen put down his tactical board and gave Lillard unlimited firing rights.

"I'll teach him a lesson."

Lillard was overjoyed when he heard that Su Chen had delegated power to him.

In fact, Su Chen's idea this time was also very simple.

It's just a single regular season victory, one more game or one less game makes no difference.

It would also be nice to use Paul's hand to rub Lillard's pride away.

However, George is very obedient. During the offseason, George made it clear that he would not mind playing a supporting role if he could win.

As for being provoked by Paul, Su Chen didn't care.

It's pretty good to be able to inspire the strongest Paul to help him wipe away Lillard's arrogance.

Momentary conflicts of temperament are not important.

Who can go further in the playoffs is what matters.

Pause back.

Su Chen did not change the lineup, or even the strategy, and still continued the previous lineup.

After returning from the timeout, Lillard showed a very strong desire to attack.

He also hit some shots, but more often than not, Paul had the upper hand.

Paul is good at dealing with point guards, that is to say, Curry can still fight back when facing Paul, while other point guards will basically be distracted by Paul when facing him.

Paul's good brother Rondo was caught off guard by Paul, and the conflict directly extended from the court to off the court.

Although Lillard has just reached his peak at this time, he still inevitably suffers when facing the experienced and scheming Paul.

The first quarter is over.

Clippers 20:26 Trail Blazers.

The Clippers fell behind by 6 points in the first quarter.

Lillard's main attack just fell into Paul's trap. Paul obviously knew Lillard's technical characteristics very well.

After Paul directed a three-pointer against Lillard, he was forced to use more other methods.

At this time, Lillard's weaknesses in mid-range micro-management skills, his insufficient breakthrough efficiency, and his organizational ability to cope with high-pressure environments were all exposed.

Although Suchen had arranged for Lillard to conduct special training in this area during the summer training camp, Lillard's skills were still not enough to cope with such high intensity when being targeted.

I originally thought the Clippers would change their strategy in the second quarter.

But Lillard came back right after a few minutes of rest and continued his own style of play.

Su Chen was watching from the sidelines and was not in a hurry.

After halftime.

Clippers 39:55 Trail Blazers.

Although Lillard scored 15 of the points, his efficiency was very low, taking more than 17 shots.

locker room.

"Lillard, please rest, Clarkson will come in the second half."

Seeing Lillard like this, Su Chen seemed to feel that the time was ripe and said directly to Lillard.

Lillard originally wanted to refute something.

But Xiang Su Chen only said that he would be given the right to fire in the first half at the beginning, and he led the team to play ugly.

他低效率得了15分，而保罗这个时候已经拿下13分7助攻2抢断的数据了，同时出手仅仅只有7次。

Paul not only scores efficiently, but also makes the Blazers' offense very smooth.

It’s obvious who wins and who loses.

Regarding Su Chen's move, Lillard lowered his head and said nothing.

Although a regular season victory is not important, getting a good start is still a good feeling.

The effect of beating Lillard can be considered achieved.

If you are really disobedient, you can trade it.

When Lillard saw Clarkson playing in his place, he actually didn't care much because he already knew how capable Paul was.

He can't even beat Paul. How can Clarkson, a rookie, beat Paul?
Su Chen wasn't going to let him go on the court to deal with Paul at that time.

At this time, the atmosphere in the arena was not very good.

The fans were obviously disappointed.

What a magical championship coach, he only saw being beaten, and it was Paul who was traded away by Su Chen.

The team was originally a team that could make a breakthrough in the playoffs, but this deal was a good thing. It fell directly to the edge of the playoffs and it was not even clear whether it could enter the playoffs.

"The point difference has reached 16 points, and this Clippers still shows their immaturity and running-in problems."

Johnson said.

"This is why Paul is the best traditional point guard in the league. Although he did not do much in the playoffs in the past season, his ability to guarantee the playoffs is really strong."

Kenny Smith said.

"Aldridge didn't even get into singles too much. He just relied on some coordination for mid-range shots and basket attacks. This was already overwhelming for the Clippers."

O'Neill said at this time.

Chatting about the problems between the two teams, the intermission soon ended.

The Clippers made lineup adjustments.

Clippers lineup: Nikola Jokic (C), Nicolas Batum (PF), Marcus Morris (SF), Paul George (SG), Jordan Clarkson (PG)

Su Chen slightly expanded the lineup, which triggered the bond of the strikers and improved the offensive and defensive capabilities of the strikers.

Lillard had already put on training shorts at this time, and it looked like he didn't plan to play for a while.

"The rookie has taken Lillard's place. Why is Lillard wearing training shorts and not playing?"

Barkley said with some surprise.

"Perhaps because he was suppressed by Paul throughout the first half, Suchen didn't want him to play."

O'Neill said with a smile.

"How can you not play Lillard? You got this in exchange for Paul, so you can't play here."

Kenny Smith said speechlessly.

The second half of the game begins.

Clippers possession.

As a second-round pick, Clarkson's playing time is hard-earned now, no matter what his style is, but now he has to be obedient to play.

So after Clarkson got the ball, before halftime passed, he gave the ball to Jokic according to Su Chen's tactical arrangement.

The ball was held by Jokic across half court.

At this time, according to the tactical arrangement, everyone is in a widely spaced position.

The Trail Blazers have to defend these people, so Jokic dribbles through half court without anyone to interfere with him.

Although it is rare for a center to dribble the ball across half court, it does happen occasionally, so I am not too surprised.

When Jokic walked to the three-point line, he found that his defender, Chris Kaman, had not moved up at all.

Because Jokic didn't play much time in the first half, Capela often came on the court to act as a blue collar for Lillard, and Jokic also acted as a blue collar for Lillard when he played.

Moreover, Lillard's own offense is concentrated at the three-point line, and it is difficult to pass the ball when he breaks through. Even when Jokic was open at three points, he did not get much of Lillard's pass.

So in Chris Kaman's subconscious mind, this fat and white guy should be a blue-collar human shield like Pearkins.

But after dribbling halfway and seeing no one guarding him, Jokic took aim at the basket and shot a three-pointer.

brush!
This goal was scored, which made the Blazers look at each other a little bit.

"Prevent it, defend it!"

Terry Stotts said to Kaman on the sidelines.

Because it's rotation time for the Blazers.

Neither Paul nor Aldridge was on the court at this time.

Will Barton got a chance to play on the bench, so he naturally had to throw.

Button, who dribbled the ball past, also threw one directly against George's defense.

The ball hit the iron.

After Jokic got the ball, he made a long pass.

The Blazers' lineup was still running quite fast, and Batum had already reached the front. Because Batum was playing as a power forward, Thomas Robinson, who was defending him, could not keep up with Batum.

There is no offside on the basketball court. Batum easily completed the layup after receiving the ball.

Although he was chased by five points in a row, Terry Stotts was not in a hurry to change into the starting lineup.

The Blazers have the ball.

This time the ball stopped moving when it was turned to Button.

But this time Button overcame Morris' defense and scored a two-point mid-range shot.

Button had a stable playing time when he was on the same team as Jokic in the Nuggets because he was still good at offense. If the real ball couldn't be scored, the coach wouldn't let him play.

The two teams played like this for a few minutes.

Jokic was in the low post, attacking Kaman.

Kaman is getting older, and Jokic's size matches his peak ability value of 80%. At this moment, he was beaten by Jokic and was a little overwhelmed.

Score soon.

Clippers 51:60 Trail Blazers.

The point difference was suddenly within ten points.

beep!
At this time Terry Stotts called a timeout.

The bench lineup was chasing points, which allowed Terry Stotts to change into the starting lineup a little early.

Clippers lineup: Nikola Jokic (C), Nicolas Batum (PF), Marcus Morris (SF), Paul George (SG), Jordan Clarkson (PG) Trail Blazers field lineup: Robin Lopez (C), LaMarcus Aldridge (PF), Aaron Afflalo (SF), Wesley Matthews (SG), Gram Reese Paul (PG)

After returning from the timeout, the Trail Blazers re-assembled their strongest lineup.

In the first half, it was with this lineup that the score difference was reduced to 16 points.

After being chased by the Clippers by 7 points, he returned to this lineup, which reassured Terry Stotts.

This lineup is also effective.

After returning, Paul and Lopez played a pick-and-roll. Facing the switch of defense, Jokic was unable to switch out in time, so Paul made a mid-range shot.

brush!
CIC hit.

Clippers 51:62 Trail Blazers.

It was effective as soon as Paul came back.

Paul's two-point shot is very powerful against a big man like Jokic who cannot be switched out.

Su Chen on the sidelines naturally saw it, but he was not in a hurry.

Paul's mid-range shot is really good, and Paul's top-notch passing ability means that even if he rashly double-teams and helps defend, Paul will find an opportunity to pass the ball.

When facing big men, Paul's mid-range shot can easily draw money.

But Su Chen understood this about Paul and still traded Paul out.

That is, in this era, it is difficult to defeat others with CIC.

After seeing DeRozan play, many people will admire the aesthetic inheritance of the classic shooting guard.

But DeRozan's mid-range shooting is so good, has he achieved any results?

In this era, CIC is synonymous with inefficiency.

Three-pointers and breakthroughs are the answer to this era.

Although Jokic seems to be playing from behind, his offensive areas are often concentrated at the basket and three-point line. The mid-range is a weapon to increase his own threat, not the only means.

Including Jokic's offensive threat, most of the passes are passed inside and to the three-point line. The mid-range shot is usually a two-man turn when there is no good opportunity for three-pointers and the basket.

Seeing Paul hit the shot, Su Chen remained calm.

If you like CIC, just keep shooting. Su Chen doesn't even want to change his defensive strategy.

The real threats to Jokic are top three-point ball handlers, such as Curry and Lillard.

Oh, and Lillard is in the lineup.

Jokic directly signaled Batum to pass the ball to him this time, not even bothering to pass to Clarkson.

At this time, Clarkson has not yet played a two-man game with Jokic.

Because the Trail Blazers haven't double-teamed or helped defend Jokic yet, before that, let Jokic take out his threat.

It was Lopez Jr. who defended Jokic.

Jokic launched the attack directly from the three-point line, and he was still behind the back.

"Hahaha, what did you see? Did he start attacking with his back from outside the three-point line?"

Buckley laughed and said.

When he was playing, the league had not changed the post-up time rules, but he once got the ball near the three-point line and then sat in it.

But times have long since changed.

Just as Barkley was laughing, Jokic suddenly moved.

Jokic suddenly turned his back, and Lopez wanted to use his strength to block Jokic, but the impact of Jokic's size and strength was obviously not something he could block.

After turning his back and knocking him away, Jokic suddenly accelerated.

Lopez was one position behind and couldn't catch up.

boom!
Jokic, who was fair and fat, immediately accelerated and dunked after completing his back-turn pass.

Clippers 53:62 Trail Blazers.

"What the hell is this? How did he score this goal?"

Barkley was still laughing one second, and was shocked the next. He didn't understand why Lopez was passed so easily.

Not only the on-site commentary, but also the Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts on the sidelines was confused at this time.

It seems like this is just a second-round pick, right?
Even before the game, he saw Jokic's physical test report when he entered the league and felt that the first pick in the second round was too high for the rookie.

There might still be a place for such a center in the past ten years.

But in this small ball era, this does not meet the requirements for centers in the small ball era.

But it is undeniable that the Clippers' point-chasing wave was driven by Jokic alone.

Trail Blazers round.

Paul took the ball and tried to repeat his old trick, and then pulled out Jokic for a mid-range shot.

But Paul hit the ball a little too hard and it was a hit.

"Return to defense, everyone quickly returns to defense!"

Terry Stotts also saw that the guy named Jokic had a long pass.

After suffering a loss just now, and with the reminder from the head coach, the Blazers didn't even grab offensive rebounds this time and went back to defense with all their players.

After Jokic got the ball, he found that he had no chance, so he passed the half slowly by himself.

The Clippers opened their stance again.

Just let Jokic beat Lopez.

For this single defense candidate, Terry Stotts actually had no choice.

Among the Trail Blazers, Lopez's interior defensive ability is already the best in the team, and Aldridge is a strong offensive and defensive player.

The center who can carry the bench is Kaman Kaman, but Kaman Kaman just proved that he can't guard Jokic.

"Aren't you going to be double-teamed?"

Su Chen watched with interest from the sidelines.

With the Blazers' inside strength, how can they guard Jokic, who has 80% of his peak strength?
Not to mention that Jokic has also undergone special ability improvement through the summer training camp. The main training is offensive.

Whether it is a three-point close-range throw or a low-post footwork, Jokic's learning has improved by leaps and bounds. Now with the blessing of 80% of the peak ability value, he can operate with ease.

But I have to say that Lopez is a very hard-working and diligent player.

This is why he can still serve as the starting center for a playoff-level team in the league despite his mediocre talent.

After seeing Jokic's back-turning ability in the last round, Lopez consciously paid attention to it this time.

This time Jokic wanted to repeat his same trick, but Lopez did not challenge Jokic at all this time, but retreated in advance.

Jokic's absolute speed is not fast, and he is not at his true peak, so he did not catch Lopez's flaw.

But Jokic doesn’t only know this trick.

As the MVP of the series, a man who can put high-level statistics out of the table, his offensive methods are quite rich.

Even if it's not the peak, it's enough.

Just now he used a left turn, and then Jokic changed to a right turn, performing continuous back turns.

Little Lopez didn't dare to bear Jokic's tonnage, so he could only retreat continuously to defend.

After turning around, Jokic was already close to the basket, and he jumped directly at this time.

Lopez's center of gravity was already unstable due to the continuous turns and jump steps. At this time, when he saw Jokic's jump step and wanted to take action, he could only jump up and block the shot.

Because if his ball didn't jump, with his current control of the center of gravity, he wouldn't be able to interfere with it at all.

But this ball was a fake move. Jokic made a dream move under the basket, shook it for a while, and then shot from another direction.

beep!
Lopez's defense was called for a foul.

brush!
At the same time, Jokic's ball was also scored.

This is a 2+1!

After scoring this goal, the originally dull Staples Center finally burst into cheers.

This ball is too exciting!

"Hahaha, I like this ball, it kind of looks like me."

O'Neill laughed and said.

The other three glanced at O'Neill, with some speechlessness in their eyes.

Where did the nickname "Shark" come from? Isn't it because after he rushed to the basket, he just ignored the defender and dunked violently?

How is this similar?
However, although O'Neal had a bit of a funny tone, he really appreciated the ball.

Although he has been known as a violent center throughout his career, O'Neal actually has a technical heart.

In his fantasy, his basket is as dreamy as Olajuwon, his dribbling is as smooth as a magician, and his passing is more unconstrained than white chocolate.

At this time, Jokic had already stepped to the free throw line.

Free throw hit.

Clippers 56:62 Trail Blazers.

The 16-point difference was suddenly reduced to only 6 points.

beep!
The Trail Blazers called a timeout again.

Although being stopped continuously was a bit embarrassing and hurt morale, Terry Stotts felt that Jokic could no longer be allowed to score at the basket so unscrupulously.

Terry Stotts, holding the tactical board, seemed a little irritable.

This feeling is very familiar, just like last season when facing the Timberwolves led by Su Chen.

And the situation is quite similar.

All through tactics initiated by a rookie that he couldn't handle.

The rookie named Jokic reminded him of the rookie named Giannis last season.

It is also not favored by the outside world, but it is equally powerful.

I really don’t know how Su Chen discovered these players. How come no one else could, but Su Chen could?
But now is not the time to think about that. Terry Stotts is holding the tactical board nervously and is arranging defensive tactics against Jokic.

Soon the pause time is over.

Terry Stotts also laid out the plan for Jokic.

"Fortunately, this is just a rookie. Until he can handle NBA-level help defense double-teams, there are still ways to defend."

Terry Stotts thought of this and relaxed a little.

The ability to take the ball and score is the standard for measuring stars, but the ability to take the ball and break double teams is the standard for measuring superstars.

Many players seem to be scoring very well, but some don't even make the All-Star team.

It's because he doesn't have the ability to break double teams.

Once an opponent targets him, his efficiency will drop rapidly.

Just like Lillard in the first half, it is obvious that Lillard at this time cannot be called a superstar. Faced with more targets, he still chooses to take difficult shots against the defense.

Even Lillard, who was selected into the top 75, is actually just barely on the superstar line, because he relies on the improvement of his shooting rate with difficult shots to break double teams and target.

His lack of defensive ability and organizational skills are what really limit his upper limit.

Breaking double teams is not that easy, which is why Terry Stotts is so confident.

In his opinion, Jokic's scoring ability is indeed great, but after being double-teamed for a while, he immediately became unable to play.

This is a rookie wall that all rookies face.

(End of this chapter)