Chapter 776 [Press the Blaster on the Ground]

After the timeout, the Clippers made no substitutions and continued to press the Spurs. The position battle was okay. During the counterattack, Bonner was misplaced and struggled to defend against the defender. After Curry and Parsons missed shots, Faried was still able to rush for offensive rebounds.

Six minutes later, the Clippers allowed Curry to continue playing, rested Battier and Faried, and replaced Danny Green and Griffin. The Spurs are the "GDP combination" with Leonard and Neal.

Curry only needs to defend Neal. The latter is not strong in offensive ability with the ball and mainly relies on shooting. Curry will not become a defensive vulnerability, and Green will have no problem guarding Faried.

At halftime, thanks to better offense, the Clippers led 51 to 42.

In the second half, Yang Rui began to strengthen his defense again and sent in the starting lineup. Paul and Chandler rested for a whole quarter to recover their physical strength and led their teammates to run tactics.

Paul controlled the rhythm, reduced the number of rounds, and slowly ground the Spurs. The Spurs don't have a big man, and Duncan alone can't guard the penalty area. The Clippers' offensive mode is like the Hornets back then, and Griffin is better than David West.

The Spurs strengthened their defense and their own offense became weaker. At the end of the three quarters, the Clippers were not far ahead 76 to 64, but they were firmly in control of the situation.

In the final quarter, when the Clippers once again accelerated their run-and-gun attack, the Spurs couldn't defend themselves. Duncan has to perform on both offense and defense. It's easy to deal with Chandler, but he couldn't guard Griffin last season.

The tactic arranged by Yang Rui is to try to pass the ball to Griffin when he rushes up and prevent Griffin from hitting Duncan on his back, so that Duncan cannot do what he is best at. When Griffin attacks the basket, Duncan has to defend against breakthroughs, just like facing a big swingman.

On the offensive end, the Spurs were completely misfired on the outside. They missed several three-pointers and were counterattacked by the Clippers. The point difference quickly widened to more than 20 points.

After playing for a few more minutes, Popovich replaced all the main players and gave up the game early. At the end of the game, 102 to 81, the Clippers easily won and got off to a good start.

In this game, everyone who supported the Spurs felt very uncomfortable. The score difference in the first three quarters was not too big, and it seemed that there was still a fight to be made. However, the Spurs kept falling into the Clippers' rhythm, playing lifelessly and losing coordination. The stars took turns to strike.

Jeff Van Gundy commented: "Jerry didn't even arrange for Tony Allen, the top perimeter defender, to play. He restricted the Spurs with his overall defense. This kind of victory will greatly demoralize the opponent."

McBrin said: "The Clippers swept the Spurs in the playoffs last year. The DP combination is old. If they want to win, others must step up, especially the newcomers. They have to do more."

In the second game, the Clippers did not change their tactics. They first defended and then ran and bombed. The Spurs still couldn't defend.

The coaching staff led by Popovich can't think of any way to break the run and gun. "Orcs" like Faried, whether it is Bonner or Split, can't keep up with his speed and can't grab rebounds. But him.

A functional player like Farid will be of little use if he plays for more than 30 minutes, because his offense is poor and the team cannot use positional tactics. He is also a bit short and has poor frame protection ability. But if he only plays for 15-20 minutes, without conserving energy, and allows him to run, fight and perform with all his strength, Farid will be a superman with terrifying efficiency.

The Clippers led by 20 points at halftime. In the second half, the Spurs were completely misfired from the outside. The score widened to more than 30 points and entered garbage time.

123-87, two big wins for the Clippers. Everyone began to predict that this series would be swept again.

Sure enough, the Spurs failed to win when they returned home. Under the cheers of the home fans, the Spurs tried their best, made great defensive moves, broke through, and shot decisively. They still lost after three and a half quarters. Because of this Curry cheated on the court.

Curry played 40 minutes, making 18 of 35 shots, 6 of 14 three-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 44 points, 4 rebounds and 11 assists. The number of shots he took set a new personal playoff record.

Paul also played 32 minutes, making 8 of 15 shots, 0 of 2 three-pointers, 3 of 3 free throws, and scored 19 points and 6 assists.

The two-back tactic maximizes speed.

The Clippers won this offense, 129 to 117, leading 3-0.

Because Curry had been teammates with Gary Neal, he knew the basics and shot in the face. He hit two goals from more than one meter away from the three-point line.

In the fourth game, the Spurs' morale has collapsed. They have tried all methods, and they are not as good as the Clippers on both offense and defense. The Spurs' offense was almost one-on-one. They made a lot of moves on defense, got a lot of fouls, and sent the Clippers two big inside free throws, but it had no effect.

Chandler made 5 of 8 shots and Griffin made 7 of 10 shots. It was not accurate, but it was enough.

On the Spurs' side, they made 33 of 93 shots from the field, a hit rate of 35.5%, 7 of 27 three-pointers, a hit rate of 25.9%, and even only made 14 of 25 free throws, a 56% hit rate.

With such an overall shooting percentage, the Spurs only lost 87 to 107, and the Clippers have already given them a lot of face.

Curry made 7 of 15 shots, 5 of 10 three-pointers, 3 of 3 free throws, and scored 22 points and 4 assists.

The more efficient one was Danny Green, who made 8 of 11 shots, 5 of 6 three-pointers, and scored 21 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Parsons also had 19 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

The outstanding performance of these three people made up for the vacancy of Paul, Griffin and Chandler.

On the Spurs' side, it was the aging GDP combination that scored the most points. Duncan scored 19 points, 15 rebounds and 2 assists, but this was not enough to win.

Throughout the playoffs, he had 18.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.6 blocks. He is still the core of the Spurs. It's incredible and a little sad. How can the Spurs win the championship if they rely on a 37-year-old veteran?

After losing weight, Duncan's movement speed is not bad. He can hold up three quarters, and in the final quarter he can basically pass the defender easily. Fans say he is the No. 21 pick, but he will not really get younger.

Many people say that veteran experience is important in the playoffs, but teams with veteran leaders rarely win. Even the Mavericks in 2011 had veterans paired with young people. Now the Spurs rely entirely on veterans, including all starting and bench players.

In Yang Rui's previous life, Leonard won a Finals MVP and entered the Finals twice. Leonard, who averaged 25.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game at his peak, was praised by some fans as one of the top three superstars in the league, even 16-16. The number one player in the NBA in the 2017 season, I really don’t know what these people think.

Obviously, Leonard's offensive statistics are more than average. On the defensive end, he is often pushed to the ground by James, Durant and others. Even in the 14 years when he won the FMVP, James' finals statistics were 28.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. He shot 57.1% from the field and 51.9% from the three-point range. Some people actually said that Leonard defended James alone. Which planet's defense is this?

This is clearly James' best performance in the finals since he entered the league. Leonard only performed well on the offensive end, but the overall data of the Spurs players was too poor, so he was given the FMVP.

Now, the Spurs are missing Danny Green, and Leonard's invincible help defense that fans boasted about can no longer be used. Whoever he defends, the Clippers will attack from the other side. If Leonard helps defend Paul, Curry Li and Griffin broke through, and the ball was a three-pointer. If he doesn't help defend, the Clippers will have a way to create misplaced offensive opportunities. Defense is simply not something that one person can do well.

Leonard's fate has also changed, and his defense has not yet been affirmed. This season, Jimmy Butler was selected to the second team of the All-Defensive Team because of the Nets' excellent record. Leonard is still just a role player.

In terms of popularity, Leonard is much worse than Parsons in the same year. He is evaluated as a blue-collar player.

If the Spurs cannot improve their overall defense in the future and have no record to support it, Leonard will be able to win the Defensive Player of the Year twice. He will still join the Spurs, but his destiny will change.