As the season draws to a close, it's time for the chickens to replay the game for all the fans and friends.
Today we talk about the Los Angeles derby, the focus of all attention.
When I saw the Clippers' first defensive round, the first reaction in my mind: Bass, you boy, learn to swing the Ecstasy.
In yesterday's interview, Tyronn Lue said: "Tomorrow Zubac will defend Anthony Davis..." The result was a move to "pretend to be a ghost" and confuse the opponent. Of course, this is a joke, look at the first round:
The Clippers' core defense points are 3:
The first 4/5 position is misplaced defense, i.e. Leonard against Davis, Zubac against Vanderbilt; and changing defenses after encountering cover; After meeting Davis in the low position, he resolutely pinched it.
Dislocation is not a new thing. In yesterday's Celtics game against the 76ers, the Celtics started with Gwe's misplaced way against Embiid and Horford defended Tucker. For example, in the 76ers vs Bucks, there was Embiid vs Alphabet Brother, Tucker guarding Lopez.
It can be said that the 4/5 dislocation defense principle is a first-hand strategy that many teams will use; It is also a sign of targeted deployment before the game.
This type of change usually occurs in two situations:
The first is that the opponent's No. 5 position is a space-type bottom corner three-point inside line, and the No. 5 position of the opponent is a large weight squat pit type inside line. Therefore, the first hand is misplaced to achieve the effect of using the more flexible No. 4 position to save more three-pointers.
The second is the opponent's No. 5 position is an individual offensive interior lineman, while the No. 4 position is a weak offensive player. Therefore, through the more defensive ability of 4 to match 5, and 5 against 4 "right but not defense", appear in more auxiliary defense positions.
Obviously, the Lakers fall into the second scenario. In this way, the first leading effect of such a defense was produced: Zubac "right but not defending" Vanderbilt, Leonard chassis and defense are more aggressive, first give enough confrontation; Zubac waited for the opportunity to move, ready to strike.
In addition, it is the strategy of unlimited defense change except Zubac after covering the upper line.
This defensive form is so common that we won't say more. This first round of the opening game is a very good example, the Lakers want to play a set Russell and thick eyebrows to block step by step; Leonard switched to Russell and directly disassembled the Lakers' first attack.
And this is why we can see a lot of local scenes of Powell defending Davis, but also because of the change of defense. Then except for the position of the free throw line in the middle of the field where it is difficult to deploy Zubac's pinch shot, no matter who changes to Davis at any other time; As long as Davis wants to fight, Zubac will use the first-hand misalignment principle to "right but not guard", and keep pinching.
In addition, it is the strategy of unlimited defense change except Zubac after covering the upper line.
This defensive form is so common that we won't say more. This first round of the opening game is a very good example, the Lakers want to play a set Russell and thick eyebrows to block step by step; Leonard switched to Russell and directly disassembled the Lakers' first attack.
And this is why we can see a lot of local scenes of Powell defending Davis, but also because of the change of defense. Then except for the position of the free throw line in the middle of the field where it is difficult to deploy Zubac's pinch shot, no matter who changes to Davis at any other time; As long as Davis wants to fight, Zubac will use the first-hand misalignment principle to "right but not guard", and keep pinching.
Looking at the picture above, this is a defensive effect under the principle of 4/5 first-hand misalignment.
Leonard against Davis, Gordon guarding James, this is the initial match. The Lakers wanted to play a block between James and Thick Eyebrows, and the Clippers immediately switched defenses; It became Leonard guarding James, Gordon defending Davis, who used to go around the front. The Lakers wanted to catch the misalignment, and Zubac quickly let go of Vanderbilt to come and pinch it.
After pressing the ball, the Clippers' defensive rotation was back in place. The capture is that Davis's ability to get a little direct opportunity when encountering a strong pressure defense and a tall and strong pinch is weak; More is ChuanAn Global. And Anglobal needs two-point delivery, which gives the defense time to rotate.
But this will bring a problem on the surface.
Leonard went straight to Davis and Zubac pinched on one side. Gordon or someone else switched to Davis, Zubac pinch on one side, and Leonard was usually switched to the upper line to defend. There is also Davis in the defensive frame pictured above.
As a result, not only Vanderbilt has always been able to be in an undefended position, but also in a completely unmanned position or with its card position are absolutely disadvantageous players. This brings the Lakers' front court board with many openings (the first point is also obtained).
In the Clippers' lineup, playing No. 4 and No. 5, and the two most outstanding in rebounding ability, they can't get stuck Vanderbilt.
Of course, there can't be a perfect defensive strategy on the basketball court. In the process of mobilizing some resources, more local prevention and less prevention will inevitably bring about different forms in other regions. For the Clippers, obviously, pinching Davis is more protection than the backcourt board.
Under the Clippers' very good start and extremely targeted defensive strategy, it also caused the Lakers to start offensively blocked.
And from this, it is deduced that once the Clippers cause the Lakers to barely attack and protect the rebound, they will crazy push and convert, throw three points, add the number of rounds, and seize the advantage of waiting for work. Among them, it also includes Wei Shao's wave of almost nothing.
So after talking about the general defensive strategy of the Clippers in the opening game, I also want to mention another very interesting counterpoint: Batum defensive Russell.
Batum defended very well this game. Russell prefers absolute speed guards to skillful guards and the type who "hides" some defense in layups. Although Batum has a disadvantage in speed, he defends well with his long arms and experience; The impression that clearly gave the opportunity was that a right-wing cover was slow to make a three-point swoop.
Of course, this is the effect of one-on-one defense, and the author wants to talk more about the impact of the entire offensive and defensive counterpoint.
You can see the picture above, which is a successful shot of Russell challenging Zubac after using Gabriel's cover. But this is the first time that Russell has played this advantageous No. 1/5 blocking and dismantling cooperation under this rough statistics, and he still seized the opportunity under the temporary alignment of the Clippers in the conversion. And this shot takes place in the middle of the second section.
In other words, since it was not Zubac guarding Davis at the beginning, it led to the "No. 1 playing Zuba scene" disappeared after the No. 1/5 block that many teams liked to catch. Of course, Vanderbilt can also be promoted to block, but this is not the Lakers' regular offensive routine; Nor was it really used after big deals.
In fact, in the first offense of the second half of the Lakers, they caught a shot of Vanderbilt trying to hit Zubac misplaced after he was raised to Russell to block. That is, the only point we mentioned above that the Clippers do not change. Obviously, the coaching staff is aware of this problem.
But Russell made a three-no-stick throw. After all, this set of blocking and dismantling combinations from Russell and Vanderbilt is rarely used; The actual chemistry and effects are hard to say can be established right away during the game.
Let's talk about the Lakers again, still talking about defense first:
The Lakers' defensive strategy against Leonard was simple at the beginning, Vanderbilt took the first shot to the original position, and then encountered cover and then retreated. That is, the so-called counterpoint + grabbing cover + sinking.
Then obviously, under such a strategy, the advantage is not to call other remaining defensive resources, as far as possible to ensure the situation of "1 defense 1", to avoid other teammates to open. The downside is that when Zubatz can hand over high-quality cover, Vanderbilt is slow to grab cover, and Naked is the mid-range area that Leonard is best at.
This was highlighted fairly well when Vanderbilt was in position, with the impression that Leonard scored two in the opening game, Vanderbilt interfered with one and choked one.
This is under the influence of Vanderbilt, who has more defensive ability + better reach.
But when it comes to the rotation phase and Hachimura comes up against Leonard, such a defensive strategy is disastrous. Let's look at the picture above, as in the previous shot, it is still a Spanish block with a ball block + 1 guard pulled out, and the Lakers' defensive strategy remains unchanged.
But with a higher blocking position and a weakened defensive ability, Leonard was able to enter the core offensive area so easily without any interference or influence, almost sending two points for nothing. This also makes it play well in the opening game.
Of course, at this stage, there were some episodes in the Clippers' game.
It's still the Leonard we are talking about, but Vanderbilt is down, and Hachimura is replaced by the right stage. As mentioned above, Leonard can do what he needs when the Lakers' strategy remains the same, but the quality changes greatly.
But interestingly, the Clippers made a mistake at this point. Powell made two grudging 1-on-1s in a row, and Wilson also played 2 reluctant 1-on-1s in a row, while the Lakers seized the opportunity of the Clippers to "give up the maximum advantage point four times in a row, and the rest of the players attacked by mistake" to blast 15-2 in one fell swoop to overtake the score (26-25).
And the extremely easy goal of Leonard that we put above is to regain the ball after the score was overtaken, and no longer turn back the first goal of the run. That is to say, although the Clippers almost completely suppressed, some details are not perfect enough.
So let's go back to the Lakers' defensive strategy:
From the manager's point of view, his predictions and pre-match judgments are both known and unknown. What is known are samples of recent opponents' matches, the way of rotation, the state of the players, etc. What is unknown is the actual feel of the players and the opponent's changes in the actual game.
In other words, the Lakers started with the original alignment + sinking, and there is no problem in not opening the idea of the feel of players other than Leonard. But with Leonard already showing good hands at the beginning and Hachimura's play, whether to continue the strategy; This could be a potential problem.
These are what is known in the game. And the unknown content may be Wei Shao's explosive start, 3 of 2 three-pointers; With the Lakers already wanting to cut Leonard off from other teammates as much as possible. The Clippers still shot 7-of-9 three-pointers through conversion. This is unexpected.
And similar mistakes, the Lakers in the closing stages of the second quarter; That is, the stage of Leonard's re-outbreak, once again appeared.
This time, it's about Troy Brown.
The Lakers returned to the court at 3:10 in the final quarter, changing the way Leonard was defended; From the original sinking to the form of thick eyebrows meeting cover, he stepped forward to pinch and force Leonard to take the ball. This method worked well in the first few rounds (Brown match) used.
But then, Leonard found a way. First, change the offensive area and no longer launch blocking in the middle; Instead, after clearing one side, he forcibly developed it with his own physical advantages without the help of blocking and demolition. At this point, attract a thick eyebrow pinch, and turn the ball to the no-ball side twice to create two chances. After that, he used his height to directly force Brown from the outside and hit two three-pointers.
In this game, from the Lakers' defensive perspective, the better solution is that Vanderbilt should be on the same top and bottom as Leonard. Whether it's a pinch or a sink, Vanderbilt is ultimately the best player in the original opposition. The root of defensive intensity still depends on the strength of the alignment.
Or with Gabriel + thick eyebrows of twin towers, Gabriel defends Leonard.
Of course, Vanderbilt will be targeted on the offensive end, depending on whether the team wants to sharpen the defense or fight the offensive idea.
From this, let's talk about the Lakers' offensive end in the first half. There are three main aspects, LeBron, Schroeder and 3 guards.
From James's point of view, the author personally feels that his worst attack is the stage of leading the team alone in the second quarter; And the bad thing is the form and choice of attack. You know, due to George's absence, in fact, the Clippers have always used a 3-guard lineup in the rotation, and the defensive strategy is to change defenses after cover.
That said, while Mann did defend James well on the opposition. But James can also easily call blocks to replace defenders and make some more determined breakaway finishes. Even in the case of poor projection, the breakout can run into problems; It can also be disaligned and ended in the form of changing the defense and turning low.
But there was no such more targeted attack. Instead, Schroder became James' lead attacker, and he finished his offense poorly.
From the perspective of guards, the Lakers' front court lineup of James + Hachimura + Gabriel is still more disadvantaged in terms of footsteps when facing the Clippers' 3 guards. Then with George injured and knowing that the Clippers have a large number of 3 guards, the Lakers can actually use 3 guards to fight offense.
Finally, let's briefly talk about some changes in the second half and some inspiration from this game:
First of all, the Lakers' pinch strategy (Vanderbilt alignment) that continued into the second half from the latter part of the quarter did work well.
This type of pinch strategy is divided into two types, one is a direct pinch strike removed from the high gear; The specific form is that after Leonard asked Zubats to cover, the thick eyebrows mentioned that the high position directly pressed the ball with Vanderbilt.
the other is shown above, using between defenders and Leonard blocking; Since defenders may not be large enough, not strong enough to strike, and some experience in dealing with pinch shots or strong delays (mainly late in the final quarter), they cannot immediately force the ball from the top line.
At this point, it will evolve from a high-position pinching to a breakthrough path pinch. Usually it occurs near the free-throw line. Including some pinching strikes that thick eyebrows cannot be lifted up in time, it will also turn into a middle pincer strike. The core idea is the same, it is to leave the ball to others; Especially the players in the far bottom corner.
So such a defensive strategy, when the starting lineups of the two sides met, the Lakers still accounted for the upper points; At one point, he played a 19-3 climax, narrowing the gap to 8 points.
And the Clippers' second-half breaking point still occurred in the stage of three guards; Leonard's full play penetrates time into the 3-guard stage, and also maximizes the space effect under the use of pinching attacks.
But the lineup of the back 3 is a little different. For example, in the picture above, when Powell + Gordon + Mann was present, the Clippers suddenly changed their offensive form. Powell took the attack, and Leonard personally blocked the demolition as the initiator. And Powell got a lot of bargains when facing the Lakers non-3 guard + changing defense, facing players such as Hachimura Base.
The other set is a three-back lineup with Hyland Holland.
This set of 3-back game formats is actually no stranger. After Hylander regained time, it has happened more than once that Leonard + has a 3-guard configuration of Hyland, throwing crazy through the outside of star influence.
So the general review of the game we will talk about this, at the end of the article, the author wants to talk about the coach's coaching in this stage close to the playoffs.
Coaching is divided into two abilities, one is the ability to adjust before the game, and if it is implemented in the playoffs, it is the ability to adjust from field to field; Especially whether it can bounce back after a loss. The main reference sample for this ability is what we call "known" above.
Another ability is the ability to adjust between matches, which is specifically whether it can adapt to the state of the players on both sides and the opponent's moves in the course of the game; to correct your own race trajectory and some strategies that may be wrong in the pre-match deployment.
Once again, let's take Hamm's defensive strategy against Leonard today:
There is no problem with the way the game starts. In the unknown, we don't know exactly how the rest of the Clippers players will feel during the game. It could even be argued that with the Clippers being able to throw such a high three-point shooting percentage just by converting, not clamping may be a way to avoid a larger point gap. But when it comes to the specific rotation method, whether Vanderbilt is the same as the same as the bottom; Whether you know the back 3 and put the back 3 that you have used quite skillfully before, this is a matter of debatable.
Obviously, in this game, Lu has more time to prepare, and he also gave the Lakers a stick head-on at the beginning. Hamm also made subsequent adjustments to some issues, making the game suspense again. But in the end, Leonard's full play, the Clippers' 3-guard unleashed offense, and the Lakers' first half due to coaching decisions and James' poor form, became the winner.