The Clippers have had big problems at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends in more than 10 games, and their defensive efficiency has dropped sharply to 25th in the league, and the offensive efficiency that once rushed to the top has also plummeted by 10 places! None of the last three games have scored more than 110 points, and the average of 105 points per game is lower than the season average of 117The difference of 6 is embarrassing!
Just talking about the Clippers' offense, what exactly did it go wrong? From my point of view, the three major problems have been exposed!
First, the tactical soul of the organization has been dismantled by many teams. I've done a number of posts and won't repeat them here. In the last seven games since the loss to the Pelicans, Harden has not had a double-double in assists, averaging 63, including only 2 assists against the Thunder, but Harden's average turnovers per game is 3, which can be completely telling!
Second, the skeleton of the existing rotation arrangement has been formed, and it is difficult to find new offensive growth points. Recently, due to the physical condition of individual players, Tyronn Lue has made some combination changes, but there is no injury to the existing rotation system, Leonard and Wei Shao with a bench in the second half of the third quarter, and Harden and Wei Shao with a substitute in the early second and fourth quarters, almost no change. From a dialectical point of view, there is a stable side, but it will also be subject to the opponent's research and targeted offensive and defensive arrangements. Combined with Harden's assist-to-loss ratio, it can also be seen that there is no good reason for the so-called Tyronn Lue trial lineup!
Third, the offensive auxiliary tactics are very transparent, and the single strong attack has become a basic feature. When the Clippers couldn't open up the situation on the offensive end, Tyronn Lue would mostly arrange three tactics after the timeout, Leonard's misplaced attack, Westbrook's low back play, and Powell's pocket from the bottom corner to cover the ball and attack the basket. Most teams now take a reckless approach to Leonard, especially when it matters most.
Judging from Leonard's timely distribution of the ball, many games proved to be unsatisfactory, resulting in Leonard's error rate being relatively high. In the six games since the Pelicans, he has accumulated 20 turnovers averaging 33 times, surpassing Harden's average of 3 times per game, becoming the first person to make mistakes in the team. Based on the impression, most of Leonard's mistakes come from being trapped, which provides a hard basis for other teams to follow suit. The gains outweigh the losses, and the opponent's bag clip will be even crazier in the future!
What to do? How can the Clippers effectively solve the dilemma on the offensive end? The good news is that Tyronn Lue is already making changes, the focus of the Battle King's attack has shifted from the outside to the inside, although the game was lost, but a statistic is commendable, the penalty area score is as high as 62 points, which is rare, and the estimated budget exceeds the average by at least 15 points!
The offensive and defensive points in the restricted area can be said to be the biggest weakness of the Clippers at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends! The high win rate brought by the super high three-point shooting percentage in the past has covered up these two major injuries, and it is the recent losses and difficult wins that have made these two major pain points clear and prompted Tyronn Lue to make substantial changes! Without the changeable and excellent means and ability to score in the restricted area, if the Clippers want to go further in the playoffs, it is almost wishful thinking on paper!
Thankfully, Tyronn Lue has made the Clippers know that they are lost! After the loss to the Kings, Tyronn Lue summed up the cause of the loss, emphasizing the Clippers' lack of energy. When it comes to energy on the offensive end, apart from attacking the basket, what are the hallmarks?
How can this be done? Multiplayer ball-handling attacks are a must! Zubac, Mann, Powell, and Coffey were all seen trying to attack the basket.
Here we must focus on Powell! With Harden at the helm, Tyronn Lue has given Powell a new role, and in the past, he used to attack the basket from the high post with the ball to the vast majority of the bottom corners. What I didn't expect was that he became the king of the league's three-point bottom corner, with a shooting rate of up to 50%, which was jaw-dropping! This inevitably begs the question, how will Tyronn Lue make a reasonable balance and pragmatic choice regarding Powell's corner shooting and basket attack? NBA Spit Conference