The Los Angeles Clippers, because of the addition of Paul, suddenly went from being the weakest team in the Western Conference to being a strong player in the Western Conference, but it was only a strong player.
There is still some gap between them and a truly top-tier team.
Because they have never touched the floor of the Western Conference Finals.
This also invisibly drags down the historical status of Chris Paul, the efficiency god.
However, the Lakers are not qualified to talk about it this season, because their record is so bad that it is hard to say whether they can even enter the playoffs. However, this game was still arranged to be broadcast live across the United States by ESPN. After all, these two teams
The team's "star flavor" is still very good, and it can be regarded as an "improving weight" in the ratings.
But only ESPN 2 will broadcast it, because ESPN 1 will broadcast the game between the Heat and the Thunder, which is generally considered to be a preview of this season's finals.
"Tonight's game is nothing for the Clippers, but for the Lakers, it is a life-and-death game." Host Jay Williams thought he was humorous: "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot.
, the next six or seven games should be life and death battles for the Los Angeles Lakers, right? Two gentlemen?"
The guests invited by ESPN tonight are Isiah Thomas and "Big Bird" Larry Bird.
The latter is a naked "Lake Black", so he said: "Of course, the Lakers' luxurious lineup has been like this this season. There is no one in the history of the league. But they always like to stack superstars, right?
"Huh?" Everyone thought Bird's ridicule of the Lakers was extremely normal, because he was a "red-rooted" Celtic, and even publicly stated that he hated yellow and purple. Therefore, the "Lake Black" factor,
Absolutely deep into the bone marrow.
The "Black and White Hegemony" in the 1980s was also the NBA's biggest gimmick at that time. When he said this, there was no problem at all.
Just like "Magic" Johnson also can't see the green, tit for tat, this has been a habit for many years.
Naturally, ESPN invited him here to do this.
It's a pity that Larry Bird forgot that when it comes to the accumulation of superstars and the gathering of superstars, Boston's history is not bad at all, and it is about the same as the Lakers. There is really nothing to be proud of. Isiah Thomas does not have such an obvious tendency.
Sex, just opened his mouth to analyze: "From the perspective of paper strength, the Lakers have the advantage, but from the perspective of real record, the Clippers have the advantage. I think there is not that big gap between the two teams. The Lakers have some disadvantages, but
There is still hope of victory.”
"Advantage? Their only advantage is the No. 2 position? Right?" Jay Williams interjected.
"Not really." Isiah Thomas said: "In fact, the Lakers also have an advantage inside, that is, Mike D'Antoni is not very good at using inside players, and the Lakers rely too much on Dwight Howard's low singles. I don't think this is a good thing.
Idea! Because from the big data point of view, Howard's efficiency in low post singles is...well, not very high. So I think it is better to let Howard come up with more pick-and-rolls, just like in Orlando. This strategy may be used
It will be better."
"It's not high? It's the bottom one, right?" Larry Bird was the "King of Pressing" during his playing days, so he spoke without mercy: "To be honest, I never thought he was the best player in the league.
The No. 1 center, the No. 1 center in the league, has been disconnected since Shaq and Yao. The current No. 1 center’s claims are forcibly misappropriated by the media and cannot be counted as a minority. "Larry Bird, a solid top ten in history
Player, so he had few scruples, but Thomas couldn't. The latter just smiled and changed the subject: "Anyway, I don't think Mike D'Antoni has found a way to use Howard and Gasol correctly, otherwise
The power of these twin towers alone is enough to ensure the Lakers are ranked among the top eight in the Western Conference."
"Mike D'Antoni is fine playing small ball, but if we really expect him to win the championship, the Lakers are definitely overthinking it. If I were the general manager of the Lakers, I would definitely choose Phil Jackson instead of Mike D'Antoni.
Although you also know that I personally don’t like Phil.” After hearing this, Jay Williams, who has always had no sense of presence, suddenly intervened: “I wonder how you two predicted the outcome of tonight’s game? It’s the Clippers.
Or the Clippers?"
He forced himself to use lame humor again.
Larry Bird's reply was very direct, saying: "Of course I support the Clippers. Please, when did I support the Lakers? You ask 'Magic' when did he support Boston? This is what every real K.
The glorious tradition of the Celtics." Isiah Thomas said: "I also support the Clippers. The Lakers have a very good roster. Unfortunately, from the head coach to the players, there is no chemistry or cohesion. Such a ball
Even if the team is twice as strong on paper, it will still be difficult to be optimistic about it."
"Ha~ 2-0, the Lakers are probably on the ropes in this game. They have been defeated by their rivals in the same city many times this season. Is this a satire on Jerry Buss?" Jay Williams said.
: "I hope the Purple and Gold Army can work harder to prevent the game from entering garbage time too early!"
ESPN is addicted to hacking the Lakers this season. From the head coach to the stars, from the main players to the substitutes, from tactics to chemical reactions, there is nothing that ESPN can’t hack! This is except for the relationship with Buss and Kobe.
The gap is formed, and the Lakers are the "big traffic" this season, so as long as it is a report about the Lakers, even if the content of the article is nonsense, the number of reads is good. How can this make the people at ESPN unhappy and excited?
Therefore, it became more and more exciting.
The American media is different from the domestic media. Except for some major national events, almost all things can be subjective and personal. After all, this is also a way of embodying "freedom" and "human rights."
Needless to say, the Clippers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers for the first time this season. Needless to say, many players expressed their expectations for the playoffs and their yearning for the championship. As for the Lakers, few people mentioned it.
And. As if, deliberately indifferent, expressing a kind of contempt and contempt.
Moreover, the game slogan used by the Clippers this season also made Kobe very angry.
"What are we???"
"LAC!!!"
"What are we???"
"LAC!!!"
"What are we???"
"WE.ARE.LA!!!"
LAC is the abbreviation of Los Angeles Clippers, and LAL is the Lakers, but the last sentence, WE.ARE.LA, means "We are Los Angeles". The C is omitted directly, its ambition and its meaning
It's beyond words. And the phrase "WE.ARE.LA" has always been the Lakers' "exclusive game slogan" before. The Clippers have never had the confidence to shout it out. But since fans chanted loudly this season, gradually, the Clippers
The team was also influenced by it and began to use this cheering slogan.
However, it was the first time in decades that the Lakers publicly shouted before a game.
So all of a sudden, some Lakers fans at the scene were furious. In the end, a small-scale conflict brewed between the two sides. Fortunately, the security measures at the Staples Center were very appropriate, so it was controlled and eliminated soon.
Intangible. But because of this small incident, the entire Lakers team was in a depressed atmosphere, including No. 24, the "lifelong Laker" whose face turned dark and extremely gloomy.
Tang Qian doesn't quite understand how No. 24 feels now, but many years later, he will be able to empathize with it.
One person, one city, unchanged for twenty years, all the youth, all the greenery, all the blood, have stayed in this team. The sense of honor and sacredness cannot be compared to that of a "mercenary" who can do it overnight.
So in the first quarter, Kobe was on full fire, scoring 15 points in a single quarter. But this score was not terrible in the eyes of the Clippers, because under the leadership of Paul, the Clippers attacked in the first quarter.
He scored 38 points and scored more points, causing the Lakers' defense to completely fail. Howard's performance was also acceptable. He seems to have always had experience in dealing with DeAndre Jordan, and he has had a huge advantage in matchups throughout his career. "Warcraft"
They also scored 11 points in a single quarter, but the Lakers only scored 29 points in the end because the shooting touch of others was not good. Including Steve Nash, who is known for his stability, he only made 1 of 4 shots in the first quarter.
, just hit a three-pointer.
Gasol shot 0-for-4 from high-post jump shots. He seemed to have taken a lot of shots, but they were not his strengths. In addition, his shooting touch was not good tonight, so his shooting percentage was quite ugly.
The Lakers have not had a good way to deal with teams with strong athletic ability this season. The Clippers are now known as the "Lob City", so of course it goes without saying much about athletic ability. Just talking about Jordan's physical fitness, not
It must be far worse than Howard at his peak. Not to mention Griffin, Caron Butler, and Willie Green, all players with very good physical fitness.
In addition, they also have point guard guru Chris Paul to guide them, so in terms of athletic ability, they are only better than the Denverites.
However, Tang Qian came on in the second quarter, which gave them a little trouble, especially since Griffin has not yet practiced mid-range shooting this season and is still a "jumping man". Their sports tactics were greatly curbed by the former. As for Jordan
?Please, he can beat Tang Qian alone? Isn't that just looking for abuse?
So with 5 rebounds and 3 blocks in a single quarter, coupled with countless powerful interferences under the basket, the Clippers' offense in this quarter was a mess. It wasn't that Chris Paul had a passing problem, Paul's passing was as accurate and timely as ever.
It was during the final inside finish that the Clippers players were interfered too much by Lakers No. 29, so the score never went up.
The Lakers led 28-20 in a single quarter, narrowing the score difference by 8 points.
57-58 at halftime, trailing by only one point and entering the Staples locker room.
In the second half, Howard was a bit "aware of shame but brave" and began to frequently succeed in low-post attacks. Just when he scored his eighth consecutive point, Chris Paul made a move. A vicious foul sent Howard directly to the free throw line.
In recent seasons, the head coach of the Clippers is not so much Vinny DeNagro as the head coach is Chris Paul, because LeBron James "achieved" Mike Brown and David Bu
After Larter, there was another person who made the head coach the "Chris Paul's chief assistant" in the media's mouth. He was the Clippers head coach Vinny DeNagro in the past few seasons.
In fact, some clues can be seen from his playing career. Vinnie Denagro is not tall, only 193cm, but he has always been a scoring defender in his career. This is consistent with Paul's "first in assists" and "passing".
"Ball first" seems to be a bit of a natural incompatibility. So when the Clippers were eliminated in the first round again this season, Vinny DeNagro also took the head coaching position and did not return to the NBA until at least five years later.
Rumors of coaching.
Howard was very successful in his free throws this time, making 2 of 2 free throws. However, after Paul's explanation, he committed the second inside foul, and Howard only made 1 of 2 free throws. Then Howard became more and more angry and became more and more angry.
The more you get angry, the Clippers will foul you hard inside and won't let you score a goal smoothly.
If you want to score, okay, I'll send you to a more comfortable and spacious free throw line, if you can score a free throw.
It is said to be a "shark-killing" tactic, but this tactic does not seem to have been greatly affected in O'Neal's career, because as O'Neal himself said, even if he is usually poor at free throws, the more critical the more important the time.
, the more accurate his free throws will be, the less likely the opponent's machinations will succeed. In fact, if you look at O'Neal's free throws at key moments in key games, they are often very impressive, so the "shark-killing" tactic has never been perfect for O'Neal.
The effect has been.
But it's different when it comes to Howard. It is said that Howard trains free throws and his shooting rate is as high as 80%, which is much better than O'Neal. But when it comes to games, he will lose his chain. And the most terrible thing is that the more critical moments he has
, the more free throws he missed, this also made the "shark-cutting tactic" really shine with infinite brilliance on him.
This was true in the last 2012-2013 season, and it is also true in this 2012-2013 season. There are always many shots of Lakers players stupidly watching "Warcraft" free throws during the offensive round. This is for the rhythm of the game, the smoothness of the game, and the competitive state of the body.
Undoubtedly, this is a huge negative impact. After the opponent stops "cutting Huo", the Lakers players' touch and competitive state often drop, and it is difficult to focus on the game again in an instant.
Not everyone can maintain Kobe's abnormal concentration. This is talent. Even if we look at NBA history, only Chicago's No. 23 can be on par with him. The rest are one or even several levels behind.
Sure enough, under Howard's free throws in the third quarter, the Lakers' offensive state was in tatters. 13 points in a single quarter is the best evidence. You must know that the Lakers are a team that can average 102 points per game this season.
13 points in the quarter was indeed too few. The Clippers took the opportunity to play a "wave", scoring another 35 points in a single quarter, and finally entered the fourth quarter with a 23-point lead, 93-70.
This huge lead also made the Clippers fans at Staples Center excited. "WE.ARE.LA" one after another echoed in the stadium filled with retired Lakers jerseys.
PS: There is one more chapter, you can read it again when you get up tomorrow ~ hoo hoo ~