2023-04-17 04:13:01
Looking back at the predictions of the Clippers and the Suns series, as expected, Kawhi Leonard continued his fiery touch and turned into a ruthless scoring machine. The first win! The most surprising thing is that his best place is not the offensive end, but the hard-working defense, reminiscent of the old Patrick Beverley.
Allow me to say something first! Russell Westbrook, my defensive superman!
Looking back at the predictions of the Clippers and the Suns series, as expected, Kawhi Leonard continued to feel hot, turned into a ruthless scoring machine, outperformed the former God of Death Kevin Durant, and Westbrook really played a very important X-Factor, grabbing the first place for the Clippers. One win! The most surprising thing is that his best place is not the offensive end, but the hard-working defense, reminiscent of the old Patrick Beverley.
Head coach Ty Lue said after the game that he told Westbrook during the game, don’t be discouraged by missing shots, you can help the team far more than create shots.
Westbrook made 3 of 19 shots in the game, with a sluggish shooting rate in the Super League. He was shot many times. He only hit 1 goal in 6 shots from the three-point line, and only contributed 9 points. In the third quarter, the Clippers faced a 15-0 counterattack against the Suns. Westbrook was obviously the target of public criticism. Fortunately, he saved his reputation by defending him and became a key player in Game 1! The consecutive offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter, the key hot pot in the last wave, and the defense after Kevin Durant after the pick-and-roll in the first quarter, 5 offensive rebounds, 3 hot pots, and 2 steals in the first game, these defensive energy and hard work Strength, really priceless.
It was Leonard’s job to make up for the lack of Westbrook’s offensive end. He scored a game-high 38 points in more than 42 minutes. Devin Booker’s scoring momentum, here I also have to praise Westbrook, his ability to hold the ball can share the organizational work that Leonard is not good at, and when the Suns need to spend a lot of resources to guard Leonard, the Clippers can also fire a little bit because of Westbrook , creating space for Eric Gordon and other players to step up.
Going back to the early stage of the game, the effect of the Clippers’ intentional shooting of Torrey Craig was not significant, allowing him to hit 9 goals in 12 shots, but it is still a strategy worth continuing to practice. Instead of allowing Durant or Booker to have an easy shot environment, let They execute more Tough Shots and hand over the ball to Craig, who is the least good at offense on the court. It is relatively impossible to see him score more than 20 points in a row, and even if it happens, the lethality is the lowest.
The Suns’ slow start gave the Clippers “Defender Hai” a rare offensive advantage throughout the season. Ty Lue didn’t use Robert Covington and Marcus Morris Sr in the whole game, but directly used 4 guards in the second quarter. The reason why the Suns don’t have a substantial size advantage is that Durant’s destructive power can’t be offset by Leonard today. , and Booker is not the type of swingman who takes the initiative to hold the ball. This is a pain point for the Suns in 2021. Even Ivica Zubac and Mason Plumlee can defend Deandre Ayton competently, so that most of his shots are in the middle distance Zone, away from the most core penalty area, the Clippers have minimized the damage on the defensive end. In the end, there was a huge gap in the strength of the bench, which allowed the Clippers’ guard Hai to escape the sanctions on the defensive end.
When it was the turn of the substitutes in the second half of the first quarter, it was the best time for the Clippers to show their strength. They opened the score up to 16 points in one breath, which not only gave the main force more breathing room, but also threw all the pressure back to the Suns. Big Four. Even if Durant and Booker were still able to fire in the latter part of the second quarter, the speedboats with the lead, as long as they avoid stalling for a long time, they will have time to wait for an opportunity to adjust and find their pace again. The advantage of the bench is also reflected in the critical moment. The starting lineup did not perform well in this game. Ty Lue can dig a record on the bench. For example, Terance Mann replaced Nicolas Batum in the second half. Paul bought it cheap and made a credit.
Looking at the statistics, apart from Landry Shamet, the Suns can play more than 24 minutes, and no other substitute can support the scene for 10 minutes, resulting in Durant carrying 45 minutes, Booker 43 minutes, and veteran Chris Paul 39 minutes. Once the series is extended and the Suns cannot find a solution, this will be the advantage that the Clippers can amplify all the way to the final battle.
It is gratifying for the Clippers to win their first win, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. First of all, Durant and Booker are bound to rebound in offense, and Leonard may also be out of order. The point may not be to use Covington and other strikers to fight for defense, but to maintain higher-level firepower. Westbrook and Powell both have room for improvement, preferably Can counter the Sun’s physical disadvantage, attack Paul, Shamet and other short guards, and even use offense to consume Durant’s physical state.
In addition, the Clippers made 14 turnovers and gave the Suns 15 points. On the other hand, the Suns also made 10 turnovers, but the Clippers only scored 5 points. This should be where the Clippers need to play better than the Suns. Attacking points and playing fast tempo not only conforms to Westbrook’s offensive tempo, but also allows the Clippers, a group of guards with singles ability, to have room to play. Don’t just rely on Leonard’s positional and singles. In the end, there is no doubt that Westbrook has to play better. What the Clippers need is not just a defensive superman, but an MVP-level versatile guard.
There must be a fierce battle! The 2023 NBA playoffs are hot!
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