Chapter 681 [Last Train, King of Data]
Opportunities always come to those who are prepared. In March, Danny Green's good luck came, and Korver missed four weeks due to injury.
When he joined the Clippers, Korver said in an interview that his defense was underestimated.
"I think so. I have never claimed to be a player who runs 30 meters with the opponent at half-time. This is not my task, but if you give me a team system, I will adapt to it. In the past two years, Jazz, I have my own defensive tasks and I have done a good job. Although I am not the best defensive force in the team, I think I have implemented the Jazz's defensive plan very well. What I want to say is, if you give me a I will be able to complete the defensive suggestions very well."
This is indeed the case. In the zone defense system, Korver does a good job of using his height to interfere with shots in his own area, and occasionally he can retreat to cover the basket and block shots.
On March 2, Korver defended the basket and gave Rockets center Spencer Hawes a beautiful block. He sprained his ankle when he landed.
As a pitcher, it is better to do less of this kind of defense against Korver. He was injured while defending last season and missed 30 games in the regular season.
As a result, Green got a chance to perform and entered the rotation. He was not as accurate as Korver in three-pointers, but he was much better in single defense.
He is very mobile and is good at defending against breakthroughs and shooting. In Yang Rui's previous life, he played on the Thunder to defend Durant and the Warriors to defend Curry. He could block Durant's jump shot and Curry's three-pointer. There are not many such people in the entire league. No matter how strong King Alma is, Popovich resolutely puts him on the court, which shows the level of defense.
The Clippers' offensive power has weakened, Tony Allen, Gay, and Green have rotated, their defense has strengthened, and their winning rate has been stable.
The Mavericks have lost a lot of games this month. Nowitzki, Prince, and Marion were injured one after another and their strength declined.
The other two are defenders, and there are others who can replace them. With Nowitzki absent, the Mavericks' offense immediately dropped to a level, and others cannot attract double-teams like him.
Kidd has become a pure role player this season, averaging 33 minutes per game, only 7.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 8.2 assists, shooting only 36.1% from the field and 34% from the three-point range.
Nowitzki missed 9 games, and the Mavericks had 5 wins and 4 losses. The two teams competed again, and the Clippers easily won.
The team doctor asked Nowitzki to rest for 4 weeks. He was worried that the record would be overtaken, so he returned a week early to help the team stabilize the situation.
Nowitzki was called "soft" by fans when he was on the court. Only when he is absent can people see his value.
In Yang Rui's previous life, the Mavericks barely made the playoffs in the second season after winning the championship. It was not just because of the departure of center Tyson Chandler. After winning the championship, Nowitzki's condition declined and his mentality changed. He was very motivated when he didn't have a championship. In the 11-12 season, he realized his dream and started playing basketball for health.
Nowitzki's performance can directly determine how high the Mavericks will reach.
In April, the Clippers and the Mavericks competed for first place in the regular season.
The Clippers have lost a lot of games, and the final winning record may not exceed 60 games. However, this year, teams generally suffer from injuries, and it is possible to get the best record around 60 wins.
Yang Rui knows when to fight hard. While solidifying his defense, he increases the playing time of Paul and Griffin so that they can focus on offense. Gaining home court advantage in the playoffs will give the Clippers the initiative in the Western Conference Finals.
The two stars and substitute Curry did not disappoint Yang Rui. While producing beautiful statistics, they led the team to 7 consecutive victories.
The Mavericks failed to maintain their advantage at the last moment. The Mavericks are a team with veterans as the core, and they need more rest during the regular season.
Prince's absence affected the team's defensive system. He followed the team doctor's instructions and chose to come back in the playoffs.
Relying on a winning streak, the Clippers finally achieved a record of 61 wins and 21 losses, improving from 13th in the Western Conference last season to first in the league.
The Mavericks ranked second with 60 wins, followed by the Thunder, Spurs, Warriors, Nuggets, Lakers, and Trail Blazers.
The Lakers and Trail Blazers have the same record, ranking seventh due to their record advantage.
Successfully avoided the Clippers in the first round. But they were also very sad about the Mavericks.
The Lakers' record improved significantly after the All-Star Game, and finally overtook the Jazz to catch the last train of the playoffs.
Many media have discovered the league's manipulation and have been publishing news comparing the Lakers and Jazz for more than a month. The league does not want the Lakers to be eliminated in the regular season. They can create high commercial value by entering the playoffs, but it makes little sense for the Jazz to enter the playoffs.
ESPN publicly stated that the free throw data of these two teams in the last dozen games this season have changed significantly from their free throw data throughout the season.
Among them, the Lakers averaged 7.2 more free throws per game than their opponents throughout the season. This occurred when the Lakers lacked low-post attacks, while the Jazz averaged 1 fewer free throws per game than their opponents.
In the past 15 games, the Lakers averaged 12.1 more free throws per game than their opponents, nearly 5 more free throws per game.
During the same period, the Jazz's free throw disadvantage has gone from 1 free throw less than their opponents per game to 4.7 free throws less than their opponents per game.
What's even more amazing is that in the games the Lakers won, they only won by an average of 1.7 points per game. Regardless of the strength of the opponent, they were anxious until the end and then relied on key goals to win.
What matters is the Lakers players or the referees?
Another fun fact: An average of 18.8% of the Lakers' points this year have come from free throws, which ranks fourth in the league. In the past 15 games, this number has increased to 21.6%, ranking first in the league.
This year, the Jazz averaged 17.8% of their points from free throws, ranking 10th in the league. In the competition for playoff spots, this number has dropped to 11.9%, ranking 30th in the league and last in the NBA. One person.
In other words, a team that excels at scoring from the free-throw line becomes better at it than any other team in the league at a critical moment in the fight for a playoff spot. During the same period, a team that was equally good at scoring from the free throw line and a competitor of the team above became less good at the line and even fell to the bottom of the league.
Ranked 9-15 in the West are the Jazz, Hornets, Rockets, Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Suns, and Kings.
The Hornets had a chance to make the playoffs, but unfortunately Kaman, Okafor, and West all suffered injuries and fell behind halfway.
The top spot in the Eastern Conference is the Cavaliers, with 58 wins and 24 losses, a disappointing result. Fortunately, other teams in the Eastern Conference performed worse, so they were able to gain home-field advantage in the playoffs.
2-8 are the Celtics, Magic, 76ers, Hawks, Bucks, Knicks, and Bulls.
The Pacers suffered injuries in the second half and fell back from leading the Bulls by up to 6 games. The Bulls reached the playoffs with only 37 wins.
However, Brand's condition has seriously declined and cannot be traded, Artest has been reduced to a pure role player, and the Bulls, who only rely on Derrick Rose's pick-and-roll offense, are destined to go home and fish in the first round.
10-15 are the Raptors, Bobcats, Pistons, Heat, Wizards, and Nets.
Durant retained the scoring title with 27.7 points. Kobe changed his style of play in the second half in order to hit the playoffs and began to pass the ball to assist his teammates. The number of assists increased, and his scoring dropped to 27.1 points, ranking second.
Kobe said in an interview in the second half that he didn't care about the scoring title, what he wanted was victory, and he succeeded.
The hackers are also very surprised. It turns out that this guy knows how to play and win more easily...
The Lakers' Kevin Love averaged 14.6 rebounds per game and won the rebounding title, including 4.1 offensive rebounds.
The leader in blocks is Jazz's Andrew Bogut, averaging 2.6 per game.
Paul won the assists and steals title, averaging 17.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 13 assists and 2.4 steals per game, shooting 46.3% from the field, 38.8% from three-point range, and 87.8% from free throws. He is the number one candidate for the regular season MVP and has almost already. Stable.