The NBA regular season continued as the Clippers comfortably defeated the Pistons 136-125 on the road, and after trailing by double digits at one point in the opening period, the Clippers reversed the score at halftime and relied on a wave of victory in the final minute of the third quarter and the beginning of the final quarter to usher in a two-game winning streak. With this win, the Clippers have a record of 32-15, continuing to stay in third place in the West, and are in close pursuit of the top two teams. Exactly how the Clippers won easily, perhaps the data can give us some answers.
Leonard, little card doesn't need to be said, the Clippers are an absolute mainstay. Today, when George came back to the offensive state and Harden was also in the doldrums, Xiaoka, as the boss of this team and Dinghai Shenpin, stood up again and opened the "Wushuang" mode. He shot 12-of-17 from the field, 6-of-8 from three-point range, 3-of-3 from the free-throw line, and finished with 33 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block. The plus/minus on the court is +18, and considering that he almost carried George and Harden in average shape in the first three quarters, if there is no timely outbreak of small cards, to be honest, the Clippers may really fall behind by 20 points in the first quarter, in this case, the possibility of an upset for the Pistons is really not small.
George, let's just say, if General Joe's groin injury is not healed, he can rest, if he is not in good shape and affected by the injury, it is better to let Coffey continue to start, and the team can continue to play a comfortable overall offensive and defensive rhythm. If it weren't for the sudden outbreak in the final quarter, George would have been completely deflated today, he shot 8 of 16, 2 of 5 three-pointers, and personally got 18 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and 1 block. Obviously, it seems that his injury is not good, and the groin is also a tricky position, so he will come back immediately after a break, and George is too anxious, is it for a larger contract extension?
Harden, to tell the truth, George and Harden, the two brothers, today's performance is really difficult brothers, and George scored 10 points in the last 4 minutes and got rid of the embarrassing situation, Harden's offensive state can be described as embarrassing, he shot 1 of 10, 0 of 5 three-pointers, and only got 4 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 34 minutes. Overall, playing an opponent like the Pistons, the Clippers are indeed so extravagant that they don't need the giants to play all of them, but Harden's state during this whole period of time is still somewhat worrying, after all, All-Star Harden has a holiday, Leonard George can't take a vacation, and it stands to reason that Harden should contribute more during this time.
Wei Shao, today's Wei Shao, returned to the state of "Megatron", the starter first dug a big hole for the team, frequently guided the ball on the periphery, looked soft, Wei Shao was different as soon as he came up, he shot 10 of 13 as a whole, 2 of 3 three-pointers, and personally cut 23 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers. Although it is frustrating to go up to Wei Shao many times, but for a long season, for a team like the Clippers with an aging core, Wei Shao's vitality is crucial in many times, and his performance, whether good or bad, in the market, the Clippers can no longer find a player with an annual salary of less than $4 million, but can achieve the semi-giant effect of Wei Shao.
Plumlee, Mann, Coffey, Powell, Theis, the key rotation players of the Clippers, their performances are also worthy of their respective contracts. All five players scored in double figures, combined for 58 points, and they made a total of 32 shots, hitting 22 of them, and the efficiency reached the top level, almost in the open space. Who says a team with multiple giants can't have squad depth? The Clippers are the best example, they not only have a strong core lineup, but also a good role lineup, don't forget, Zubac is not on the board yet, the next thing the Clippers should pay attention to is injuries, as well as the adjustment of the state of players approaching the playoffs, this season Wei Shao, Harden, George do have a chance to hit the first championship trophy of their careers.