The Clippers meet a nemesis in 5 small quarters, Leonard is alone, and Harden George is expected to trade?
After Zubac's injury, the Clippers, although they have two defensive centers, Tejus and Plumlee, are basically just soy sauce stocks, and they will not be the Clippers' first choice in the real crunch time. Tyronn Lue is still a firm believer in his limit five, which is Harden + George + Leonard + Powell + Coffey, or he replaces Coffey with Mann. In this game, the 5-small lineup found a nemesis. Why? The Cavaliers are known to be a big man with a round of size taller than the Clippers. If the speed of the Clippers is suppressed, then there is no advantage in positional warfare. The game presented itself as it was, with the Clippers simply not playing as well as they should.
Yes, Leonard is healthy this season, but what we need to know is that Leonard swept the front court double in this game. Leonard hit 13 of 25 shots in the game to finish with 30 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Leonard guaranteed a basic production, but none of his teammates were able to help Leonard. The big two giants, George and Harden, did not play well in the previous game and lost this game again. George shot 3-of-11 from the field, drew six fouls and was ejected. Harden finished with 11 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds as a team, and his performance was also excellent across the board. In fact, just like in this game, if Harden and George don't play, it's still very difficult to win because the opponent can target us.
Overall, the Clippers didn't play to their strengths, while the Cavaliers did. The Clippers don't have an inside line, while the Cavaliers have a luxurious inside line. Allen chipped in 20 points and 17 rebounds, and the Clippers were a little anxious. and Mitchell, who scored 28 points and 12 assists in the game, winning the game with his own strength. In this game, the Clippers lost, exposing a lot of problems. First of all, judging from the current state of the Cavaliers, the interior line has always been a shortcoming. Secondly, small lineups can work in some games, but not all games can be played that way. Third, the Clippers need shooters. In this game, the Clippers hit 11 of 34 three-point shots, a relatively low shooting percentage.
If the Clippers want to win the championship this season, whether they will adjust the lineup next, whether they can bring in shooters and other issues have been exposed. What we need to know is that the Western Conference powerhouse Nuggets have Jokic as the interior line, and the Timberwolves have twin towers, and the Clippers need to prepare in advance. Of course, in the next few games, the Clippers will still have to play on the road, depending on whether they will rotate, after all, the continuous away games, the consumption is still very large, and the players are also prone to injury. The Clippers have accumulated old Ben, and they can eat for a while.