start with scouting

Chapter 591

In the second round, the opponent unexpectedly became the Clippers, and with Griffin injured and absent, the Kings adjusted their defensive strategy accordingly.

Su Yang took the coaching staff to a meeting, studied the Clippers lineup a little, and found that Griffin had no qualified power forward substitute, only Jeff Green, who was traded in the middle of the season, could barely use it, and Green's physique couldn't defend Antetokounmpo or Cousins.

"Lying trough..."

Su Yang was a little surprised. The image of the Clippers in the past was mainly due to the lack of qualified strikers, but he didn't think it was so serious. Rivers has been the president of basketball operations all these years, what the hell has he done? Defender, three consecutive taverns?

Think again, in the absence of a qualified striker, Rivers still has to give his son Rivers a high salary for three years!

It can only be said that Paul is not nice to people.

At the beginning, he was named to cooperate with Rivers, the black champion coach with excellent reputation in the league, but his peak period was tragically delayed.

If you consider Nowitzki's name to cooperate with Rondo, it is really a bit tricky to designate teammates.

Anyway, the phrase 'I want to play GG with Baqi' also didn't get any good results in the end, I really have to believe in evil.

"Who will the Clippers arrange as the starting four?"

Assistant coach Mike Brown asked questions, and assistant coaches McMillan and Di Brown each expressed their views, thinking that only Green is suitable.

Su Yang chuckled: "You may not be able to guess what Coach Rivers is thinking. What if he chooses a three-guard lineup?"

"The Clippers with three guards can't play..."

"The Clippers' three guards are equal to surrender..."

"Rivers wouldn't be that stupid..."

Su Yang didn't worry about it, he just wanted to wait and see.

As the Clippers reversed the Rockets and advanced to the second round, the four groups of eight teams in the East and West semifinals were all determined.

In the East, the Heat welcomed Batum's comeback after being pulled by the Hornets for three consecutive games, and finally advanced 4-3 against the Raptors who also narrowly beat the Pacers 4-3, while the Eagles defeated the Bulls without Noah and Butler. Against the Cavaliers who swept the Pistons.

In the west, apart from the Kings and the Clippers, another matchup is the Warriors playing the Spurs, which belongs to Mars hitting the earth.

The king's first advantage in the regular season has emerged, and there is no need to consume with strong teams in the second round, saving energy and reducing risks.

For the second round of the Kings vs. Clippers, ESPN also organized experts to give predictions, but this time the differences are particularly large.

依然超过14人看好国王晋级，只是从4比0到4比3，各种小分预测都有。

The main thing is not to know whether Griffin will come back in the middle of the series and what effect the comeback will have. The Clippers have not yet determined.

Anyway, the Clippers like to put smoke bombs on the injuries of their leading stars. Griffin has a partial torn quadriceps muscle in his left leg.

The outside world does not know how serious the part is.

In a blink of an eye, on May [-]st, the first game of the second round of the playoffs between the Kings and the Clippers started at the Golden No. [-] Arena in Saskatchewan.

The Clippers started, Paul, Redick, Rivers, Jeff Green, Jordan Jr., and played a three-guard lineup on the spot.

Green also started, and Su Yang and the teaching assistants each guessed half of it. No one really could guess what Rivers was thinking.

Amidst the cheers of the crowd, the Clippers won the jump ball and made the first attack from the five-out formation. Jordan Jr. set up the wall to cover Paul.

George, who was in charge of defending Paul, according to Su Yang's arrangement, decisively bypassed the screen and intercepted the breakthrough, loosening the space for Paul to shoot a three-pointer, but Paul really boldly combined the ball to make a shot, and the basketball immediately hit the iron, probably because Paul only made 37 hits .

George didn't completely let Paul shoot, but also relied on his height, wingspan, and bullet speed to apply pressure and provide interference.

Turning around, the King delayed his start, Cousins ​​used the cover of Antetokounmpo, misplaced Jeff Green, successfully received the basketball from George's sling, and directly used his strength to sit and hit. Without any skills, he easily pushed into the penalty area. Redick hurriedly double-teamed.

Cousins ​​didn't care about the double-teaming at all, turned around and jumped up and dunked. The weight advantage was too great, and Green retreated repeatedly.

The Clippers' defensive end clearly wanted to pass the outside line, forcing the inside King to play inside, and then use the advantage of the rotation of the three guards to suppress the King's three-pointer, but the first step was because the three guards were too short to restrict the pass. It becomes more difficult later on.

Redick really couldn't interfere with George's pass to Antetokounmpo or Cousins, Paul could barely interfere, and it was quite expensive.

The Clippers' defensive end did not meet expectations, and Rivers made decisive adjustments, reminding the wall to surround the front for interference and pressure with the ball.

But it didn't help either.

The difference in weight and strength is too large, and the position is stuck, but Cousins ​​is very excited when encountering confrontations, and succeeds one after another.

After seven or eight rounds, the Kings kept attacking the inside line. Seeing that the defense didn't think about it, Rivers simply played poorly and emphasized offense.

However, the Clippers' three-guard lineup does have a mobility advantage against other teams, but it has no advantage against the Kings.

Antetokounmpo, George, and Covington are all super defensive players, and Curry's steals king is no joke.

After the first quarter, the Kings led 34-19.

Of the Clippers' 19 points, 10 were Paul's hard-fought shots, which caused Paul to consume a lot of energy at the start.

Immediately following the second quarter, Rivers sent his capable general, Crawford, ready to attack and chase points.

Anyway, Rivers likes to win games in that unexpected way. From the Magic period, leading the underrated lineup to rank ninth in the Eastern Conference, to coaching Leonard, his love for the substitute and the best sixth man, Far above other coaches.

Before the start of the game, Rivers emphasized in an interview, saying: "The best sixth man of the season should be Jamal Crawford. I know Isaiah Thomas is also worthy of this award, but I think K Lawford is more qualified..."

For that adjustment, Su Yang had already made arrangements.

Turner directly marked the defense, and Covington, who played consecutive games, assisted in the defense. When encountering pick-and-rolls, he would partially defend three and defend two, and the pressure was full.

After half the game, Crawford only had 4 points.

2 of them were free throws.

Crawford's brain is buzzing, and his usual performance is okay, that's because he hasn't encountered the pressure of starting-level defense.

Crawford did not open, and Rivers pinned his hopes on his champion veteran Pierce, probably because Pierce played in the Wizards last season, averaging 14.6 points per game in the playoffs, and lore The highlight moment of the Raptors.

However, the tactics designed by the Clippers around Pierce are the tactics of the Celtics period, and Su Yang has already explained them in detail.

The king's players could hear cocoons.

What slice, what horn chest, as soon as the Clippers used it, Grant and the others blocked the tactical movement in advance, and the Clippers are not like the Kings for a long time. reckless.

After the same half of the game, Pierce only scored 4 points, and three of them came from fouls. It is true that the referee was biased.

On the King's side, Thomas Jr. wanted to make a name for himself. He continued to use screens to break through, caught the Clippers' backup center Cole Aldridge, rushed, made all kinds of tough layups, and was completely unafraid of confrontation. .

Between you and me, half the game is over.

Although Paul continued to play brilliantly, the Kings still extended their lead to 20 points, and the game showed a crushing trend.

Back from intermission.

Unconvinced, Rivers adjusted the lineup, gave up the three guards, and changed to Green with Mbah a Moute, starting from defense.

Perhaps after Thibodeau was waived, he specifically communicated with the former boss Rivers. The Clippers used a lot of local three-defense and two-two and ICE strategies in the second half, making no secret of wanting to limit Curry and suppress the King's offensive rhythm. Fight a wave.

Su Yang didn't hesitate either.

Learn Cole's ideas on the spot, let Curry cover for George, and easily crack the Clippers' partial three-defense and two-defense and ICE.

There is no way, Su Yang is reluctant to let Curry do the cover when he usually encounters that kind of black and hard guard, it will consume too much.

But Redick is white and soft, absolutely arranged!

After eight rounds of confrontation, the Clippers had no temper, and the point difference could not be narrowed. Halfway into the fourth quarter, they surrendered.

At the end of the game, the Kings defeated the Clippers 115 to 95, leading 1-0 in the second round of the playoffs.

ESPN analyzed the game process between the two teams after the game. Stephen Smith commented: "Rivers is like standing in front of Su Yang wearing only a pair of XXXL swimming trunks, and writing his thoughts on his chest. If Griffin can't come back, then the Clippers will There's no chance of winning..."

(End of this chapter)