1
The Clippers lost to the Pelicans, and the situation in the West became more and more delicate, simply put, the whole body was involved, and no one in the 4-11 dared to lose easily. Now is the broadcast time of the situation in the Western Shura Field:
The Warriors will then play against the Nuggets, Thunder, Kings, and Blazers, and if the Warriors win all 4 games, the Warriors can get 45 wins. Since the Suns have to play the Nuggets, Lakers, and Clippers in the last 3 games, they are not fully sure of all 3 games, and if they lose all 3 games, the Suns will lose the 4th home-court advantage in the West at most. This means that the Warriors don't lose and the Suns can't lock in 4th place in the West early. However, the initiative is in the Suns, and even if the Warriors don't lose, as long as the Suns win 5-3, they still hold 4th. The 4th position of the Sun is probably stable;
Since the Warriors have not tied the top of the ranking against anyone, the Clippers, Lakers, Pelicans, and Timberwolves behind them all have a theoretical possibility of entering the top 6, which makes the Warriors dare not lose easily. Since there are still games between the Lakers and Clippers, it is impossible for the Lakers and Clippers to have 44 wins. Then, in the case of the Pelicans not winning all, the Warriors still have the margin of error of losing one game;
If the Clippers lose to the Lakers, and the Warriors win 3~4 games, and the Lakers win all, then the Clippers will go to the play-offs;
If the Clippers win the Lakers and Blazers, even if they lose to the Suns, they will hold the Lakers steady. But this does not mean that the Clippers must keep the top 6, in addition to the Warriors may win 3~4 games, the Pelicans will win 4-3 in the future, and the Timberwolves will win 4-4, and you can also squeeze the Clippers down. If neither the Pelicans nor the Timberwolves can complete this indicator, such as the Pelicans losing to the Grizzlies and Kings, the Timberwolves losing to the Nets, and the Clippers successfully winning the Lakers and Blazers, then in the final round, the Clippers can play the Warriors and lose to the Suns to send the Warriors 5th;
If the Lakers lose to the Clippers, the Lakers still have the possibility of 43 wins, and with the same 43 wins, the Warriors will go to the playoffs. But if the Lakers lose to the Clippers and then lose to the Suns, and the Pelicans and Timberwolves lose at least 2 and 1 game, at this time, the Warriors can lose to the Blazers with 43 wins in the final round, and send the Clippers with the same 43 wins to the Suns;
Still, acting is difficult for both the Clippers and the Warriors. After all, there is no benefit for the Suns to actively win the Clippers to play the Warriors, and the Blazers will not easily let the Warriors succeed;
If the Lakers win the Clippers, it does not mean that the Lakers are stable in the top 6, except for the Warriors they can't control, the Clippers win the Blazers and the Suns still have 43 wins, and the Lakers will be behind the Clippers if they win 4 in 5 and 4. So, the way for the Lakers to secure a top 6 is to win all;
If the Lakers win all and the Warriors don't, then the Lakers will play the Suns;
If the Lakers beat the Rockets, Jazz, and Clippers in a row, and the Warriors lost to the Nuggets and Thunder at the same time, and the Pelicans and Timberwolves also lost, then the Lakers can lose to the Suns or Jazz (only 1 game can be lost), so the probability of being 6th is greater. In this case, the Clippers dare not lose to the Suns in the final round to send the Lakers 5th, because in this way, they may fall to the playoffs, and the Clippers must fight the Suns to 5th;
If the Lakers lose to the Clippers, they need to hope that the Warriors lose 2 games, the Pelicans and Timberwolves lose at least 1, and then fight all the other games themselves. This will avoid the play-offs and place 6th;
Pretty dizzy, right?
Streaming:
Everyone dares not lose easily, the game is critical, and the Lakers Clippers are particularly critical. After this time, the situation began to become clear, the fight should continue to fight, and the performance can be prepared.
2
Let's talk about two words.
How did the Clippers lose this game?
In terms of the whole game, Wei Shao and Brother Kazi played very well, the Clippers lacked George and Gordon's two key cards, the Pelicans have been in great form recently, Ingram and Murphy have played well, or play at home, the Clippers have not played, it is not unusual.
However, some of the fourth quarter of this game is worth observing.
In the fourth quarter, Wei Shao played full, 1 of 5, 3 assists and 1 turnover, and his performance was not as good as in the first three quarters. Wei Shao did not go up most of the rounds, and some transfer balls were more reasonable, and even took the initiative to reduce speed to play in positional attacks, which was calmer.
But Wei Shao's speed reduction also has the problem of slow speed, he lacks reliable close-rim finishing means, and when he does not speed up, he does not pose much threat to a center like Varan who has no mobility but has a height. This was one reason the Clippers were passive in the opening stages of the fourth quarter.
After that, Brother Kazi and Yingge returned to the field one after another, and the two middle-distance gods entered the performance moment, Kazi scored more, and the comprehensive performance, Yingge prevailed.
Brother Kazi himself played well. Jones' defense is very good, this opponent is not good to play, but it is not impossible to play, after all, Brother Kazi has a power advantage, the key depends on how to play. In the next two rounds, both are the mid-range shots of Kazigo facing Jones' defense, what is the difference?
A low back-up jumper, a bukkake jumper from a low turn to the basket. are all medium distance, with the ability of Brother Kazi have the opportunity to enter, the difference is only in and out. But it is more obvious that the rhythm of the low recline is better, and the face basket bukkake captures a time difference and does not completely get rid of Jones' interference.
Carrying Jones away with strength can better reflect the advantages of Brother Kazi than relying on his height and arm stretch.
So why doesn't Brother Kazi go to the low position to carry every ball and play again?
Because of tiredness, consumption is large. Kazigo rarely plays like this this season, and this is another rare back-to-back game for Kazigo. The low position is not that you want to go, it takes time to be in the position, and it takes physical energy to catch the ball in the card position, and it is not necessarily available. It's not unusual for singles to be comfortable catching and playing in the dessert area every round, and it's a stubborn problem for the Clippers.
The alignment is not good to play, naturally to block and dismantle. Find a block for center cover, or find a small cover to name names. The Clippers' blocking and dismantling in the fourth quarter cannot be said to be good, because the people who attract the pinch to make decisions, the people who deal with 4-on-3, and the people who open up the space are all average, and even said, not doing well.
Let's look at a few rounds:
Brother Clip named Murphy, the Pelicans caught it, Brother Clip did not take the outside defense to give Mann the ball again, but chose to press Murphy inside and made a throw. This time the handling is decent, with the ability of Brother Kazi, throwing this kind of ball is acceptable. But from a Pelican perspective, giving this shot is acceptable;
Kazigo named CJ, the Pelicans delayed, Kazigo gave the ball to Powell, who broke through and was fouled by Nance Jr.;
Similar to the previous round, this time it was Mann who handled 4-on-3 and successfully gave the ball to Zubac, causing the Pelicans to foul and make 1 of 2 free throws.
In the next two rounds, Kazige's shot was still a decent evaluation. However, Wei Shao on the weak side is not a threat, and Ingram can support the basket defense. Powell and Mann want to bypass the defense of the two Pelicans players and connect with Zubac under the basket, which is not easy, and their near-basket finishing efficiency is also average. Both have room for improvement when it comes to playing cover man handling 4-on-3, and Powell is particularly poor.
The Clippers' final lineup can't be named, the space is not good, and the handling of cover people is not good. If the roles of Wei Shao and Powell are swapped, the effect may be better, but the Clippers can't achieve it, because the Pelicans' single defense weakness is not hidden in Wei Shao, Ingram vs. Wei Shao, can directly change the defense of Brother Card.
Why didn't the Clippers insist on playing No. 5?
I don't know. The likely reason is that the Clippers felt that the little Nance maneuvered well and was not so easy to find.
In turn, the Pelicans insisted on Ingram's blocking with the center. In the fourth quarter, Ingram shot 4-of-4 and had two rounds, and Kazigo and Wilson didn't squeeze cover, and Zubac/Plumli stepped up to interfere a step slower, giving the Warblers space to shoot. With two rounds to go, the Clippers defended in place, and the Yingge could still shoot - this is the key, and the Yingge's incomprehensible feel made the Clippers have to choose the pinch.
In other words, in the fourth quarter, the strategy of the two sides defending the opposing leader was similar, and the Pelicans responded better - the Warblers had a wonderful diagonal wide range of shots.
The shot of the broken clip is given to the nearest cover person, or directly to the weak side bottom corner, there is no absolute difference between good and bad, depending on the specific round of the offensive and defensive game. But if the main attacker has this kind of wide-range performance, it must be a plus. Because the Yingge played with the No. 5 block, the center was dispatched to the three-point line, which made Murphy, who hit the paint area from the weak side, encountered a worse defense than the Clippers' Mann and Powell.
So, where did the Clippers lose?
In terms of form, Yingge's feel in the fourth quarter leveled the gap between him and Kazige in the absolute threat of holding the ball, and when he could attract pinching shots, Yingge handled it well, and his teammates handled it well.
The Clippers' own problems are even bigger, the existing personnel, how the Clippers are matched are awkward. Zubac and Plumlee are not good at defending Ingram's blocking today, but the Clippers can't take out the center because the forward is not staffed, and the Pelicans are very aggressive, and the small lineup is likely to die faster. Lu finally put three defenders, and the center pulled out to pinch the shot, which must not be able to prevent the Pelicans from attacking the basket after the Yingge shot the ball. Lu is not stupid, he put these three guards, already the Clippers' current personnel, the best three on the offensive end, even so, the offense is still a mess - Brother Kazi breaks the pinch shot, Powell handles 4-on-3, Wei Shao plays the bottom corner of the no-ball station, let's not watch the game, just imagine that picture, the upper limit of this style of play is not high.
What to do about it?
Let's fight for it.