In the field of professional competitive sports, derby is definitely the most eye-catching game, and the competition between two teams from the same city not only represents their respective sports culture, but also a different kind of competitive charm. In the NBA league, Los Angeles as a metropolis as a basketball city with a very high reputation in the United States, there are also two NBA teams competing in this league, the Los Angeles Lakers and los Angeles Clippers, the two teams represent different basketball styles and different basketball trends.
Of course, the Lakers, as a traditional giant team in the history of the league, whether it is the honor or the number of fans, are showing the posture of crushing the Clippers, but the charm of basketball lies in this, and the seemingly weak team's bones of not accepting defeat allows them to go further. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, the Clippers could only serve as a foil for the Los Angeles Lakers, and the team hovered at the bottom of the league all year round, let alone the championship, that is, the threshold of the playoffs was far away.
But with the advent of the second decade of the twenty-first century, the team seems to have finally gained a chance to breathe in the bottom valley, and the arrival of the gold lord has given them the possibility of rising. First paul Griffin's empty city, and then the super-giant combination of George and Leonard, there may be a distance from the championship, but the distance with the Lakers is infinitely closer. Take this season, whether it is the record or the spirit of the team, the Clippers have left the Lakers far behind.
Tyrone. Lue, his fate seems to be the same as the Clippers, the player era, he has the same hairstyle as Iverson, but can only serve as a foil for Iverson's century span, the coaching era although he won the championship but everyone remembers his GIF and James's "this is for you" after the championship arrived. Always in the center of the whirlpool, but always not the protagonist, but can only be used as a foil around the protagonist, just like this, Tyrone. Lou and the Clippers met. In the Clippers, the same player with a green fate in supporting roles got a chance, he is Covington.
It's been nearly a decade since he entered the league, and Covington has a lot of labels on him, such as he is a veteran of the Rockets, and he played soy sauce on the Rockets in his rookie season. For example, he was an excellent bodyguard at the side of the 76-man Embiid the Great, and he once set off a monstrous wave in the east with the emperor. He also has the identity of an anti-brave shooter, and has played impressively in the playoffs wearing a Rockets shirt in the series against the Warriors.
In terms of technical characteristics on the field, his defense is excellent, one-on-one defense can be very good to death and wind around the opposing player, can also be defended from the first position to the fourth position, his speed and strength are outstanding, the defensive outside players can keep up with the footsteps of the other side, and the defensive inside players can also not be at an absolute disadvantage in the power competition. Coupled with the fact that he also has a precise three-pointer, has played more than 500 games in his career, and shoots 36% from three-point range, it is not an exaggeration to say that he is a first-class 3D player.
Unfortunately, he has spent most of his career in the background of being an opponent, seemingly unrelated to winning, and his defensive passion is also accompanied by gambling steals and blocks. Coupled with his current annual salary of more than $10 million, few title-contending teams were really willing to give him a chance until he met Tyrone. Lou, met the Clippers.
This season's Clippers can be described as a house leak overnight, the absence of two super giants allowed them to be excluded from the championship race early, but the little people except for these two did not give up at all. Just like Tyrone. Lou was very Iverson but was always ridiculed, just like Covington can defend and have offense but can't be valued by this league, the entire Clippers face doubts and look down, do not say much, with one victory after another big score reversal to find their original position and the team's self-confidence.
Against the defending champion Bucks, Covington exploded, scoring 43 points, including 11-of-18 three-pointers, destroying opponents in the way he was best at, and in fact he was only one step away from breaking the NBA single-game three-point record. The Clippers won the Bucks by 34 points and scored a high score of 153 points in a single game, you know, this is still a "tragedy" created by the absence of the team's top three scorers.
There are always people who say that Tyrone. Lou left James nothing but Tyrone. Lue has played with the Clippers this season much better than James led the Lakers. Some people always say that Covington is a blacksmith, and high shots can't be exchanged for high scores, but Covington silently cut 43 points. There are always people who say that the Clippers' rotation strategy will not be worth the loss, let alone to the playoffs, they can't even reach the ranks of the playoffs, but the Clippers have basically locked in the qualification for the playoffs. It's all here, so don't hide it anymore, let's shout out that sentence together, Clippers, championship.