I’m Really Playing Basketball

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As the first team to reach the conference finals, after reaching the Western Conference finals on May 11, Chen Xiao and the Warriors players all paid attention to the sixth game of the Western Semifinals between the Spurs and the Clippers on May 12 .

The Spurs and Clippers played in the Western Conference semifinals until Game 6, which is quite surprising.

The strength of the Spurs team has indeed declined after Maizi and Duncan retired, but the Spurs are still quite strong now.

Especially Leonard and Ron Howard striker combination, this season Ron Howard and Leonard were selected for the first and second team respectively.

Even if it weren't for the outstanding record of Green and the Bucks, the Defensive Player of the Year would probably be either Ron Howard or Leonard.

This season, Leonard became the core player of the team for the first time and contributed an average of 22.5 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block per game. The shooting percentage and three-point shooting percentage were 50% and 40% respectively. The performance can be said to be a top-level offensive and defensive integration.

And his master Ron Howard, the data is almost exactly the same as him. This season, Ron Howard can average 23 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 2.5 steals and 1 block per game, and the shooting rate and three-point shooting rate are also more than 50% and 40%. %.

Such two super wings, plus powerful veterans like Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Al Jefferson.

The current Spurs are indeed invincible in the entire West, except for the Warriors.

But this time in the Western Conference semifinals, the Spurs were greatly blocked by the Clippers.

The reason for being blocked was precisely because Duncan's departure caused the Spurs' interior defense to collapse. In the end, the Spurs' interior was blown up by the Clippers, led by Tyson Chandler and Stoudemire.

In this series, the Clippers can average 14 offensive rebounds per game, which is really deadly.

Therefore, before the start of G6, the big score between the Clippers and the Spurs was 3 to 2, and the lead was not the Spurs, but the Clippers.

The reason why the Clippers with an inside advantage can lead by a large score, of course, is not only the inside advantage.

On the perimeter, you also need to block the flanks led by Leonard and Ron Howard.

And did they block it?

blocked!

In the Western Conference semifinals, the Clippers' No. 2 Lance Stephenson and No. 3 Granger defended Ron Howard and Leonard very well.

Especially Granger, the matchup between Granger and Leonard, before the game, everyone was not optimistic about Granger, the old superstar.

But the final result was that Granger won, not because Granger was stronger than Leonard.

The main reason is that the Clippers have too much inside advantage. When Granger is defending Leonard, he is not afraid of being penetrated by Leonard, and Leonard is not the kind of explosive body that can excel in one step. In this case, if Leonard wants to play Granger, he can only use rhythm flow and play rhythm with Granger.

But who is Granger?

He is Jordan's apprentice and Chen Xiao's younger brother. When he was in the Bobcats, he practiced against people like Chen Xiao and Jordan who really mastered Joe's back. He would be afraid of Leonard's stuck Joe. Lean back?

Granger didn't take Leonard's fake moves at all. Leonard couldn't get in on the inside, and he couldn't make Granger sway through his dribbling and fake moves on the outside. Too strong, in the end, when Leonard hit Granger, he could only hit that kind of giant planet that was dry.

But the question is, Granger, is he short?

Of course not short, he is taller than Leonard, how do you say this?

Leonard shot 45% of his three-pointers in the regular season this season, but only 28% of his three-pointers in this series!

It is also true that Leonard's current stuck Joe Joe's back is almost at its peak. Even in the face of such a defense, he can still shoot 38% from the mid-range. Such a shooting rate is actually not low. .

However, in the same way, there is no persistence and no harm at critical times.

Because the Clippers are not afraid of this kind of mid-range hit rate at all, the Clippers are afraid of the combination of Leonard's three-pointer and super strong mid-range.

In the regular season, Leonard shot 50 percent from mid-range and 45 percent from three-point range, which is what kills.

But a Leonard who shoots only 38 percent from mid-range and 28 percent from 3-point range isn't a killer.

The Spurs also know this, so in G5, they let Leonard break through with the ball crazily, even if they knew that the Clippers had an inside advantage, they made a crazy breakthrough.

Does it work?

There must be. In the last game, Leonard shot 12 of 21. If you don't count the 1-for-4 three-pointer, Leonard's two-point shooting rate was 11 of 17, which is very high.

However, as the Spurs' most accurate 3-pointer and one of the most stable outside shooters, if you make a breakthrough like this, it's basically equivalent to the Spurs giving up their perimeter offense.

The Clippers' defense is too good to defend, just shrink it directly.

So, in the last game, the Clippers grabbed 58 rebounds, while the Spurs only had 36 rebounds.

In the end, the Spurs obviously had a higher hit rate in G5, but they still lost to the Clippers by 5 points.

Leonard couldn't beat Granger on the perimeter, forcing him to play the breakthrough he wasn't good at, compressing the Spurs' offensive space.

As for Roger, facing Finson, although not as miserable as Leonard, it wasn't too good either.

Finsen's defense is very tough, he has a lot of small moves, and he is very excited and indomitable. Many people who play against Luo Ge will always have problems with their mentality after being deceived by Luo Ge's high golf quotient and high IQ, but Finsen has a little mentality. The problem is not visible.

This made Luo Ge also never break through and break Finsen's defense.

In the case of being blown up by the Clippers in the interior, the two explosion points on the outside cannot be exploded. Do you think the Spurs are uncomfortable?

G6, the Spurs who were forced into a corner, failed to gain momentum and even collapsed at the beginning.

Popovich also knows that it is not good to play the inside line like G6, so this game, let the Spurs try more on the outside.

But as soon as it came up, facing Granger's defense, Leonard went 0 for 3 three-pointers, and the Spurs team went 0 for 8 three-pointers, which was too embarrassing.

After the first half, the Spurs, who were operating outside, made 14 of 44 shots in the first half, with a shooting rate of only 32%, while the opposing Clippers had a 46% hit rate. At the end of the half, the Spurs were 32 to 32 on the road. 55 trailed by 23 points.

As far as this difference is concerned, everyone knows that the Spurs are over.

In the end, the Spurs lost 100-115 on the road.

This game can be said to be the epitome of the entire series, because the two Clippers, Tyson Chandler and Stoudemire, were firmly suppressed inside. The Spurs really couldn't open the offense and defense.

If you want to say that the two leaders of the Spurs, Leonard and Roger, are not doing well, that's not much.

For the entire series, Leonard averaged 23 points per game on 48% shooting, while Ron Howard averaged 26 points per game on 51% shooting. This performance is actually worthy of their position.

However, everyone who watched the game knew that because the inside line was completely lost and their three-pointers were blocked, their scores could not affect the situation of the Spurs' collapse and collapse.

If it wasn't for each of the two breaking out, in fact, the Spurs might not have won a game in this series.

The Clippers' advantage over the Spurs in this series is much greater than the 4-2 margin.

Just like Game 6, without Leonard and Roggo, the Spurs would collapse.

After the series ended, the 67-win Spurs were eliminated from the semifinals, which made the entire NBA see the importance of Duncan to the Spurs.

Even if Duncan is a 40-year-old, the Spurs with him and without him are completely different.

Without Duncan, the Spurs' offense and defense simply can't stand.

Although Leonard and Ron Howard are also strong, they are actually more killers. The top killers at both ends of the offense and defense are not the kind of pillars that can make the team stand forever and not collapse.

After losing Duncan, the Spurs were hurt.

In short, in any case, in the Western Conference semifinals, the Spurs were eliminated 4-2, and the Clippers reached the Western Conference finals for the first time in team history. This is also the first time that Chris Xiaopao has touched the floor of the Western Conference Finals. After leaving Chen Xiao, Xiaopao led the team to the Western Conference Finals for the first time.

Therefore, the victory of this series is too important for Xiaopao.

In this series, Xiaopao's performance is indeed remarkable, averaging 24 points, 11.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game. The assists and steals are the most in the team, and the score is second only to Xiao Siquan who averaged 28 points per game. Team second.

More importantly, under his defense, Spurs guard Tony Parker did not explode in this series, and after Parker came off, he also mainly guarded Ginobili. This series of small guns averaged 42 points per game. Minutes, it can be said that it is really hard.

With the efforts of Xiaopao, Parker averaged 10.5 points per game in this series, while Ginobili averaged 6.8 points per game, both of which were sluggish.

However, for Parker, 34, and Ginobili, 39, the responsibility and burden of the Spurs can't really be placed on them.

Let's just say, the two of them did not retire or leave with their big brother Duncan last year, and they have done their best.

What's more, this time in the playoffs they faced their mentor, father, Doc Reeves.

Well, although it can't be said that it can't be done, Rivers is indeed very familiar with and understands his two sons.

In short, I originally thought that the Warriors and the Spurs would meet in the Western Conference finals. I thought that the Clippers’ spoiler made the Spurs actually out in the Western Conference semifinals.

In the end, the Western Conference finals turned into a California Derby between the Warriors and the Clippers.

This really caught a lot of people off guard.

And on the other side to the east.

There was also a chill.

In the two semifinals of the Eastern Conference, the Bucks, who were the No. 1 in the Eastern Conference, played against the Raptors, who were No. 4 in the Eastern Conference. There were no upsets in this group. In the first round, the Pacers led by Love and Beasley broke out in cold sweat. The Deer team, in the Eastern Conference semifinals, successfully eliminated the Raptors led by Milicic with a large score of 4-1.

Milicic, the actual number one center in the league, is indeed one of the best centers to break through the top five. However, the current Bucks' top five is really not short at all.

After Antetokounmpo, the Bucks' three-point line, except for Dream Chaser Green, is a little shorter, Durant is 2.10 meters, Antetokounmpo is 2.11 meters, they are really fast , but if you want to treat them as small, then you must be wrong.

Let's just put it this way, the current Bucks have the advantage of the five minors, but because the staffing is too strong, they have made up for the shortcomings of the five minors.

Therefore, even if the Raptors have Milicic, the most powerful center for breaking the five minors, it still seems that they have no chance.

In the East, the real upsets came from the Cavaliers and Bobcats.

Before the start of this round of confrontation, in fact, most experts and the media are more optimistic about the Cavaliers who reached the finals last season.

The current Cavaliers have Oden and James, the strongest inside team, and Danny Green, Matthews, Conley and other excellent role players on the outside.

In addition, the Bobcats did have some crotch in the playoffs in the first two seasons. Therefore, many experts believe that the Cavaliers should be able to win this Eastern Conference semifinals. It may be difficult, but they should be able to win.

However, the final result was quite unexpected. The Bobcats defeated the Cavaliers 4-2.

The Cavaliers not only suffered from the perimeter of Jimmy Butler, DeRozan and Rose.

The inside line, facing the Bobcats Cousins, Horford, Roy Hibbert, David West, Tobys Harris inside line group, is also at a disadvantage.

Especially Horford, Horford can pass the ball, can support, he came to the Bobcats this season, as if to get through the Bobcats' inside and outside attack.

Let's just put it this way, the former Bobcats, after Chen Xiao left, Cousins ​​on the inside and Ross on the outside, all fought their own way.

When Rose is at his best, he needs the ball.

And Cousins ​​needs to hold the ball when he's at his best.

Although the two have strong personal abilities, they always feel that something is missing.

The arrival of Horford changed all that.

Cousins ​​and Horford both have range, pass, and pull out, and on the perimeter, there is Rose, perhaps the most powerful player in the NBA right now.

And what about James and Oden?

This is the strongest insider in the NBA, UU reading www. uukanshu.com This series can be said to be described by internal and external failures.

This cannot be changed by the personal abilities of Oden and James. In terms of the system, the Cavaliers will collapse. James Oden's personal abilities and Carlisle's coaching abilities cannot solve this problem.

It can only be said that for a basketball game, there is a lot of space, and it is really too strong with a group of people who can smash and attack.

That's it for the Bobcats, Cousins, Horford, Butler, DeRozan, Rose, Kemba Walker, Tobias Harris, Roy, Thomas Jr., Roy Hibbert, David West...these, All are attackable.

The Cavaliers, the strongest traditional team, can be said to have been killed by the mad Bobcats.

So far, all the teams in the Eastern and Western Regional Finals have been born.

In the west, the Warriors led by Chen Xiao will face the Clippers led by Xiaopao.

In the East, the Bucks led by Curry Durant will face the Bobcats led by Ross Cousins.

War is imminent.