After the All-Star weekend, the second half of the NBA sprint was in full swing, and the overall situation in the East and West was very clear, the Celtics were in a state of chaos in the East, starting from the second Cavaliers, including the Bucks coached by Rivers Sr., the 76ers who lacked Embiid, and the Knicks who lacked Randle and Anunoby, in fact, the overall competitiveness was not strong. On the Western side, the Timberwolves, Thunder, Clippers and Nuggets formed the first group early, and opened up the gap with the teams behind them, including the Pelicans, Mavericks, Suns, Kings, and Lakers, to fight for the only two direct tickets to the playoffs, and once they fall into the play-offs, the situation becomes uncontrollable. Although the Timberwolves and Thunder have been holding the top two positions in the West this season, when the major championships belong to the Clippers and Nuggets, the favorites in the West are the Clippers and Nuggets.
To put it simply, although the overall framework of the Timberwolves and Thunder is perfect and there is a new generation of supergiants leading the team, the playoff experience is about 0 and is destined to pay tuition. But can the Clippers and Nuggets really move forward? The Clippers have won 33 of their last 44 games and once topped the top spot in the West, but then suffered consecutive upset defeats in several key card battles, and were opened up by the Timberwolves and Thunder. Coach Tyronn Lue's goal for the team is to have home-court advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs (second in the West), but after he tasted the sweetness of Harden's control of the court, he used his "crooked brain" again, especially in several peak matchups, Harden had bitter words, and Xiaoka was also very tired. Lost 22 points in an upset and lost 21 points in an unexpected fiasco! It turned out that it was not strong and became the most overrated team in the league.
The Clippers team reporter listed the team's record against the other top four teams in the West: 0-2 against the Timberwolves, 1-2 against the Thunder, and 1-2 against the Nuggets, for a total of 2-6. Among them, there are two games with little reference value, namely being counterattacked by the Nuggets on the bench and losing miserably when they lack small cards. But taking the last two high-end games as an example, the Clippers still exposed their shortcomings. Playing the Timberwolves before the All-Star weekend, the Clippers unexpectedly lost 100-121 to the Timberwolves, especially in the third quarter, when the Timberwolves played a 40-19 climax in a single quarter, losing by 21 points, and finally losing by 21 points. After the All-Star weekend, the 107-129 defeat to the Thunder, the reason why it is described as an upset, the Clippers are not bad on paper, but it collapsed in the third quarter! Including the previous loss to the Nuggets, the same is true! The Clippers won 14 of 16 games from December to January, and the two games they lost were not there.
But why can't it anymore? The problem is not with Harden, not with Willis, not with George, but with Tyronn Lue. Harden has been the league's No. 1 plus/minus since mid-November, and his offensive efficiency at the same stage is also the league's, with a +18 difference per 100 possessions while on the floor5. To put it simply, as long as Harden is not on the court, the Clippers are another team, in the words of team reporter Eisnasari, Harden and Leonard are the only two irreplaceable players in the Clippers team. But in the last 20 games, Tyronn Lue has changed his style of play: reducing Harden's playing time in the first and third quarters, and striving to increase the proportion of role ball possession of George and Wei Shao, which triggered a series of butterfly reactions: Wei Shao and Zubac together, the Clippers lack space, and the opponent unscrupulously packs small cards (or George), and there is no way to crack the key!
Take Plumlee and Theis, the Clippers have no speed and no frame protection, they can only let the small card or Wei Shao go to the top inside, and it is easy to increase the risk of injury, playing the Timberwolves is a good example, can Leonard carry Gobert? How does Wei Shao top Downs? Finally, Harden was suddenly replaced when he felt hot several times, and in the fourth quarter, he asked Harden to fill the hole and fill the hole with a substitute, but when George or Xiaoka returned, Harden had to give up the ball again, and the Clippers' entire style of play became chaotic. Tyronn Lue's experiment with a different duo is to make it more difficult for Harden! The combination of Ke Wei Shao and George, both of whom were on the court at the same time for 152 minutes, lost 9 per 100 rounds0 points, the worst duo match of the Clippers' Big Four, but got the most playing time for the duo! As a result, the Clippers formed an illusion: they are not strong when they are strong, but they can pinch soft persimmons.
To put it mildly, the lower limit of the Clippers, Harden can't hold it! Instead, it depends on the feel of George and Wei Shao, which becomes very unstable! Because Tyronn Lue wants to take credit and find a way to win without Harden's team. At this point, Tyronn Lue wants to keep it for the playoffs, or want to reduce the burden on Harden, but to tell the truth, it backfired, not only did he not keep his killer feature, but also constantly exposed his shortcomings, no interior frame, no projection, no organization, and the burden of Harden coming back to fill the hole is still increasing! The opponent wrapped Leonard every game, and Harden also intended to increase his share of the ball, but in the 103 minutes he played at the same time as George, Harden's shot accounted for the lowest, and Harden recognized his identity.
Bullying the soft and being afraid of the hard, being overestimated by the major **, actually has nothing to do with Harden and Leonard. They do their job dutifully, George includes Wei Shao, but whenever there is one of Harden or Leonard around them, they rarely mess around, at least on the court. I'm afraid that when only the two of them are there, the field will collapse! If Tyronn Lue still insists on this strategy and tactical play, then the Clippers have no championship this season, and to put it bluntly, the Clippers can only rely on Harden to control the court if they want to guarantee the regular season; If you want to break through the ceiling in the playoffs, it's up to Leonard, don't put the cart before the horse!
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