super small forward

Chapter 229 229. Sweeping the Clippers
The Lakers lost one game to the Clippers this season, and there were many factors in that game.

The first is that the Clippers were in full swing at that time, and all players were in their best condition.Then the Lakers had several injuries and couldn't play. Green's absence made the Lakers' internal organizational ability drop by more than half. It's not that Gasol's organizational ability is not good, but that Green's organizational talent is really outstanding.

These two points were the biggest factors for the Lakers' loss in that game.

Now everything is reversed. The Clippers are in such a sluggish state that they shouldn't even make it to the playoffs. It's just that the foundation laid by the previous 17-game winning streak is too deep. They have been losing all the way in the last month to ensure that they will stay firmly in the Wild West. playoff ranks.

Green is also back now. By watching his teammates play off the court, he has a better understanding of his teammates' running habits and best shooting positions, and has a deeper understanding of organizing offenses.

On April 4, the Lakers and the Clippers played their first game.

D'Antoni's words the day before still had some effect. Everyone in the Lakers didn't want to capsize in the gutter, they all focused all their attention, and no one slacked off.

Jordan is this year's jump ball king. The Lakers only won jump balls in more than 80 games in the regular season, which is the last in the league.

Because Redick refused to play, the Clippers' starting shooting guard was the Lakers' backup Godlock last year. Paul had to do it by himself. Facing Liu Ren's defense, he chose a mid-range jumper. Green grabbed a defensive rebound.

When the Lakers attacked, Liu Ren changed direction continuously, accelerated suddenly and pushed Paul, who was defending him, into the paint. He attracted Jordan Jr. and Griffin who were supplementing the defense, and then passed the ball to Kobe who cut into the basket with both hands. Score dunks.

Liu Ren is the key point to win. Jordan has already cast a shadow on him. He scored in the paint like no one else.

When Green, Gasol, Nash, and Kobe all opened up space for him to play the ball, he scored 40 points, setting a new personal playoff scoring high.

On the contrary, Liu Ren began to pass the ball after being defended by the opponent's concentrated firepower, sending a lot of assists to his teammates.

On the defensive end, the Lakers players have honed their defensive understanding for a season and it is already above the average level of the league. The current Clippers are basically a duo of Paul and Griffin. Except for the two who can score, no one else is interested in playing. , want to end this season early.

Liu Ren watched Paul holding the ball with a ferocious face and heading for the basket, but this 1.8-meter-tall man had to bear the heavy responsibility of scoring all the outside lines of the team, which was unbearable to watch.

Yes, Liu Ren couldn't bear it, so he used the strongest impact, the highest fighting spirit, and the most focused game attitude to lead the three veterans and a group of talented substitutes to bombard the Clippers indiscriminately, preparing to end early Clippers season.

Without any accidents, Liu Ren scored a triple-double of 40 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds. It was also his first triple-double in the playoffs, leading the Lakers to a 119-80 victory over the Clippers in their first game.

On April 4, the second home game between the Lakers and the Clippers.

After resting for two days, the Lakers played even better. The Clippers had three main players who refused to play because Sterling made a fool of himself. Barnes, Redick, and Collison, three players who hated racial discrimination, left the field directly.

If there are players who refuse to play in normal times, the team and the league will refuse to pay the salary for this game, but this is the playoffs, there is no salary in the first place, it is a compulsory game, and even if the Clippers play in the last ten playoff games this year Ensi and others refused to play, and the alliance did not mention the non-payment of salary. No one dared to provoke public anger!
Liu Ren was suffocated when he didn't play in the last few games of the regular season. In this game, he took 35 crazy shots. Although his shooting percentage was average, he only made 15 shots, but he still scored 40 points, the second consecutive game. By 40 points, the Lakers once again beat the Clippers 121-95.

I don’t feel like I’m abused. D’Antoni will train directly in the playoffs in the next two games. The main role players will use Antetokounmpo, Green, Whiteside, Nick Young, and McCollum as the main players. Four of these five players are possible core members of the Lakers in the future. They are full of talents. They have grown rapidly under D'Antoni's system and beat the absent-minded Clippers at the Staples Center.

The Clippers played worse in the next two games than the first two!
The reason is simple. These two games are the home of the Clippers. Since Sterling has been banned from participating in NBA business activities, the ticket price is set by Shelley Sterling, which is lower than the ticket price of the regular season and the Lakers. To be relatively cheap, most of the fans who buy tickets are Clippers fans.

But these fans wearing Clippers jerseys did not come to cheer for the Clippers, but each of them held up a sign saying "Sterling get out of the NBA", and they vented their anger on the team. The ship players booed as soon as they took the ball, causing the Clippers players who had no intention of fighting to surrender early.

4 is better than 0!

A sweep without any suspense!
Only Paul and Griffin played well on the Clippers side. Paul averaged 24 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game. Griffin averaged 27 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists per game. His scoring is very good, but from With two assists, it can be seen that the rest of the Clippers have not played their strength at all.

Paul and Griffin did not say a word in four games, even though the opponent was a Lakers player with whom they had a good relationship, they were unwilling to speak.

……

It took just one week for the Lakers to wrap up their first-round series, and it looks like they'll be taking a long break.

The Clippers are out, which finally let the league breathe a sigh of relief. The playoffs are in full swing. No one will pay attention to an eliminated team. They can finally carry out the plan to change the Clippers.

"Shelly, are you sure there is nothing wrong with this proof?" Adam Silva asked solemnly.

Adam Silva is worried that Shelley Sterling made a fake certificate in order to get half of his money as soon as possible, because Shelley is ready to divorce Sterling, and the Clippers will sell Half of the money should go to her.

Shelly is a very shrewd middle-aged woman, with a pair of small eyes shining brightly: "Adam, don't worry, this is a firm certificate issued by the Ronald Reagan Medical Center accompanied by people from the court! From Donald's previous cases and his recent behavior, Dr. Regan is sure that his depression has become very severe and he is incapable of independent behavior. As his guardian, I have the right to be fully responsible for the control of all property of the Sterling family!"

"Dr. Regen's certificate? OK, I understand, we will hold the auction as soon as possible..."

(End of this chapter)