Chapter 204 Griffin's Great Ambition
On November 13, the Warriors flew to Los Angeles to challenge the Clippers away from home.
At this stage, the Clippers rank second to last in the Western Conference with 2 wins and 6 losses.
If there is still no improvement in the record in subsequent games, the Clippers management will re-set goals for this season, continue to work hard to obtain high draft picks, and at the same time cultivate new players.
Although the Clippers had a poor start, they did not gain nothing.
After the start of the new season, Blake Griffin returned from injury and averaged 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, performing as he should for the No. 1 pick.
Moreover, this guy performed many explosive dunks during the game, which was extremely eye-catching.
Not only did it steal some fans from the Lakers, it also restored the confidence of the Clippers management, making these guys firmly believe that last year's draft was absolutely correct.
At the same time, Kawhi Leonard, selected by the Clippers with the sixth overall pick in the first round this year, also brought surprises to the management.
Since the start of the game, Xiaoka has averaged 10.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game, which has already fulfilled part of his potential.
Although Leonard is still a little immature on the offensive end and needs a lot of time to improve, the Clippers management is not in a hurry. They value Leonard's potential very much. If the record is not good, there will be plenty of time to train new players.
In this game, the Clippers wanted to give up strategically. After all, they could not win no matter how hard they tried. They wanted to have enough energy to cope with the next back-to-back game.
But Griffin, the star player, quits. He competed with Sun Yi and Curry when he was in college. He was reimbursed last season and couldn't compete with each other. Now that they have finally met, he is unwilling to give up easily.
Seeing that the players in charge were so resolute, the Clippers management agreed and went all out to win this game.
If they can win an upset, it will be of great benefit to the Clippers.
At this stage, the Warriors are the only team in the league that has not lost a game, and is regarded as a favorite by other teams.
These teams all want to break the Warriors' unbeaten streak in order to gain fame and exposure.
The Warriors naturally know that they have been regarded as a thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh by other teams, so they are holding back their strength and are not afraid of any opponent's challenge.
Therefore, both sides will go all out to win and provide a wonderful game for the fans.
After the game started, the Clippers took the lead.
After Baron Davis cooperated with Griffin in the pick-and-roll, he assisted the latter to complete the alley-oop cooperation.
The Warriors were also unwilling to lag behind. After Curry made consecutive crossovers, he quickly dribbled away from Davis behind his back and hit his iconic three-point shot.
Immediately afterwards, Davis relied on his physical fitness to beat Curry, came to the area on the right side of the free throw line, and directly turned over and hit a jumper.
The Warriors quickly retaliated. After Sun Yi cooperated with Chandler in the pick-and-roll, he quickly entered the penalty area and jumped into the air to complete the tomahawk dunk.
Griffin, who rushed back to the penalty area to help defend, could only watch the ball and sigh.
It had only been a year, and he felt that the gap between himself and Sun Yi was getting wider and wider.
Not to mention in terms of strength, Griffin feels that he cannot complete the achievements and honors that Sun Yi accomplished in his rookie season last year.
"If I can't surpass this guy in terms of personal honors for the time being, then I'll start from other aspects. As long as I can win every time I play against the Warriors, wouldn't that mean I'm overpowering this hateful guy."
Griffin Angle cleverly thought of a way to defeat Sun Yi.
He has received news from the management and promised to find strong helpers for him.
When the time comes, the Clippers will transform into a galactic battleship, and they won't be able to manipulate Sun Yi however they want.
Thinking of the image of Sun Yi being pinned under him and unable to turn over, Griffin smiled stupidly and ran towards the frontcourt happily.
In this round, the Clippers failed to complete the pick-and-roll, and Davis could only use his body to beat Curry. Sun Yi, who was rushed to help defend, was rewarded with a hot pot set meal.
Ellis grabbed the out-of-control basketball, rushed into the Clippers' penalty area, and scored an easy layup.
After that, Griffin broke through the penalty area with the ball and was double-teamed by David Lee and Chandler. He failed to take off and barely completed the shot.
Sun Yi retreated to the basket to grab the rebound. After landing, he quickly turned around and sprinted forward to launch a defensive counterattack.
The Clippers players retreated quickly but in a disorganized manner.
Sun Yi accelerated and rushed into the three-point line, attracted the defense and then released the ball.
Curry, who was outside the three-point line on the left, received the pass and hit a chasing three-pointer.
Looking back, the experienced Davis stabilized the offensive rhythm and did not fall into the Warriors' rhythm.
As a former Warriors player, he knows that playing fast with the Warriors is undoubtedly courting death.
Coming outside the three-point line, Davis organized the team's offense and directed his teammates' movements.
DeAndre Jordan came up and set an off-ball screen for Griffin.
Shafen used the screen to cut towards the basket to attract the defense.
The real point of attack was Foye, who quickly ran out of the three-point line without the ball, received a pass from Davis, and hit a three-pointer.
The Warriors quickly served baseline balls and increased their offensive speed again.
After Curry dribbled the ball across half court, he immediately passed the ball to the right.
Sun Yi, who was on a fast break, received the pass and accelerated into the penalty area. After attracting the defense, he released the ball.
David Lee, who followed up, received the pass and slid under the basket like a loach, scoring an easy layup.
In the subsequent games, the Clippers declined and were unable to withstand the Warriors' fierce offensive firepower.
The Clippers have too few offensive points. After the Warriors guarded Griffin and Davis, the two offensive strengths, the Clippers' offense had problems and fell into paralysis.
Moreover, there is a certain gap in strength between the Clippers' bench and the Warriors' bench. They cannot narrow the point difference, but instead make it wider.
At the end of the half, the score on the big screen was 62 to 48. The Warriors led by 14 points entering the second half.
After the start of the third quarter, the Warriors took the lead, playing a tacit pass-and-cut coordination, as well as an "elevator door" tactic that frightened other teams.
Facing the Warriors' powerful firepower, the Clippers retreated steadily.
It was originally a dilapidated boat, but it was overwhelmed and sank under the ravages of strong winds and rain.
After three quarters, the Warriors already led by nearly 25 points.
The fourth quarter didn't last long and the game became garbage time.
In the end, the Warriors defeated the Clippers 123-95, winning their eighth consecutive victory.
After the game, Sun Yi took the initiative to exchange a few words with his junior brother Leonard.
"Kawhi, you limited me to only 20 points tonight. My defense has improved a lot, but my offense needs to be improved. Keep up the good work." Sun Yi patted Leonard on the shoulder and said.
"Senior Sun, thank you for your compliment. I will continue to work hard." Leonard replied calmly.
"If you don't have a training plan in the summer, you can call me to train with me. You can consider it."
After Sun Yi finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the player tunnel without waiting for Leonard to reply.
He knew that Xiaoka would not give up such an excellent opportunity easily.
"Senior Sun, don't think about it. I will definitely come to you for special training in the summer. Then don't think I'm stupid and drive me away." Leonard replied loudly with a stiff smile.
Sun Yi waved with his back to Xiaoka in reply, and then followed his teammates back to the locker room to join the team.
At the same time, Griffin felt very uncomfortable after seeing this scene.
This is blatantly trying to take advantage of him!
"As long as my lofty ambition is realized, this damn guy will only be pressed to the ground and rubbed, and he will never be able to cross the threshold of the Western Conference Finals."
Chapter completed!