The Big Four Clippers even lose to the Grizzlies! Harden's plus/minus of -28 is the worst on the team, and it's time for Coach Lu to get out of class?
On November 13, Beijing time, the Clippers lost 101-105 to the Grizzlies at home, losing to the bottom team in the league, suffering five consecutive defeats. Harden was not in good shape, playing 29 minutes, and was replaced in the last minute of the final quarter, he shot 4-of-12 from the field and 1-of-7 from three-point range, and only got 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, with a plus/minus of -28 and the worst on the team. It was Harden's Clippers home debut, but the home fans didn't cheer him on loudly during the pregame introduction, much to the surprise of Clippers reporters. The Clippers trailed by as many as 15 points, and they are more like Grizzlies than Grizzlies.
Harden's version of the Clippers is still not on track
The Grizzlies are the bottom team in the league, with a 1-8 record before facing the Clippers. Harden was widely expected to get his first win of the season in this game, but the game went unexpectedly again. The Clippers are still the Big Four starters, and the Grizzlies opened with a 7-0 run, leading the Clippers by 13 points at 33-20 in the first quarter. Tyronn Lue said before the game that he wanted Harden to be himself, but in front of the fans was a team that even the Grizzlies couldn't beat. Clippers reporter Farbod lamented: "The Clippers make the Grizzlies look like an elite-level team. ”
The Clippers' offense seemed rather sluggish, playing four guys most of the time. The defensive end was even more miserable, the Grizzlies made 7 of 9 three-pointers in the first quarter, and the problem of sending away Batum and Covington as a wing defensive titan began to become prominent, and the Clippers' outside defense ability dropped a notch. The Clippers took the lead in the second quarter, but to Harden's embarrassment, it was precisely his off-court period, with Willis and George working well together, and the Grizzlies' three-point lead also dropping. At halftime, the Clippers trailed by seven points, but Harden had a team-worst plus/minus of -19. The feeling on the field is that he and his new teammates are still not on the same channel, and the whole team has made a lot of mistakes.
The Clippers scored just 45 points in the first half and still had a poor offense against the understaffed Grizzlies. According to Shane Young, a data expert, the Clippers ended in turnovers in 22 percent of their first half and their offensive efficiency was just 89.8, and Harden's experiment didn't go well.
In the second half, the situation was similar, and the Clippers really played well when Wei Shao and George were on the court at the same time, and they once played an 11-0 climax to overtake the Grizzlies. Harden sat on the bench for most of the final quarter and did not replace Willis until the last minute or so, and the finishing lineup used by the Clippers was five small: Harden + Powell + George + Mann + Leonard. Harden went 1-of-3 from three-point range and still lost the game.
The Clippers' luxury debut has been disgusting
In the second quarter of the game, the second team led by Wei Shao George had caught up with the score and even overtaken. At this time, Coach Lu changed the starter back, and there were 3 turnovers in 1 minute, and the Clippers quickly fell behind again. When the Clippers reporter described the situation, some fans wrote in the comment section: "This starting lineup is really disgusting. ”
The current problem of the Clippers is not only the lack of tacit understanding between the Big Four and the monotonous style of play, but also the embarrassment of Zubac and the serious lack of depth at the center position. In this game, they allowed the Grizzlies, who are the second-to-last offensive efficiency in the league, to score 48 points inside, and in terms of secondary offensive scoring, the Grizzlies also had a clear advantage of 21-13. seems to have a big four, but the offense can't be opened, and the patience of both fans and the media will be exhausted. After all, this is already Game 4, and the opponent is the weakest Grizzlies.
Clippers reporter Tom Azarly wrote before the game: "Harden was introduced to fans for the first time at home, but surprisingly Clippers fans didn't cheer him on loudly. After all, the Clippers are on a losing streak since Harden joined, and fans can't be happy whether it's his responsibility or not. One fan even responded to Azarly: "I'm surprised they didn't boo him." ”
Is it time for Taryn Lue to get out of class?
The Clippers lost to the Grizzlies and suffered a five-game losing streak, Harden went 0-4 after playing, and Tyronn Lue was also the target of verbal criticism. The game against the Grizzlies has not yet been played, and the social media is already full of fan requests for "Fire ty lue", after all, holding the cards of the Big Four, but playing like this, even the Grizzlies at the bottom of the league can't win, and Lu's job is really dangerous.
The problem with the Clippers, in fact, Lu understands very well. Before the game, he said: "It's tough for us to lose players like Batum, Covington, Morris, Martin Jr. Because they are the glue that fits perfectly with the stars. Making this deal means that our stars have to do more dirty work. This sentence goes to the essence, but the problem is that it is not so easy to get the stars to do the dirty work, and it is easy to say that sacrifice is simple, but in reality it is difficult to fight defensively to grab the floor ball.
Lu said that the whole Clippers team is very serious now and has seen progress, but the frequency has not yet been unified. The question is how much patience do Clippers owner Ballmer and president Frank have?