The NBA regular season continues, the Clippers beat the Suns 131-122 today, the suspense is not big, the Clippers led by 15 points in the first quarter, and the Clippers still had the upper hand in the second quarter, the third quarter of the two sides went crazy against each other, the Clippers fell behind 37-40 in a single quarter, and the Suns chased to single digits in the final quarter, and once saw the hope of a reversal, but unfortunately Leonard and Harden were unreasonable, and the two took turns to help the Clippers lock in the win. In terms of statistics, Harden had 22 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists and 4 turnovers, Leonard had 30 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks and 2 turnovers, George had 33 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, and the Big Three alone combined to hit 85+20+17 and blow up the Suns.
Durant didn't play in this game because of right hamstring pain, and we didn't see who was stronger between the Clippers and the Suns when the lineup was healthy. After this battle, the Clippers have won 4 consecutive wins, with a current record of 21 wins and 12 losses, 2.0 wins behind the Nuggets in front, the Clippers can be said to be the most powerful team in the league at this stage, especially after Leonard's return, the Clippers have given us a trend of Western invincibility.
In fact, strictly speaking, the Suns and the Clippers have some similarities, and the Clippers' original ranking was not ideal, but as Harden gradually integrated, the Clippers began to exert their strength, climbing from 11th in the West to 4th. The Suns were also on a winning streak and had an upward trend in the rankings, but unfortunately they ran into the in-form Clippers.
Looking at this game, the biggest contributor to the Clippers' win is undoubtedly Harden, although George performed well in the first quarter, Leonard also went wild in the second quarter, but Pepper is inseparable from Harden's silent dedication, like the opening stage, Harden came up to assist Mann to hit a three-point shot, and then assisted George to score three points, and soon after, George hit a three-point shot, also from Harden's assist.
There was also a second quarter, and Harden fed Leonard again and fired from the outside. When the bearded man was on the floor at the time, Ka Pepper played too easily, on the contrary, once Harden went off the court, it was obvious that the Clippers offense dropped two notches, and Ka Jiao was playing uncomfortably, in the words of the commentator, the Clippers are now very dependent on Harden.
In the second half, Harden was not only playing, but also increasing his shooting options, because the Suns had been wrapping up Leonard, and Harden would naturally get open opportunities. For example, for a while, Harden first fed Leonard and hit three points, and then he made a jump shot + made fouls to continuously cut points, and at the end of the third quarter, Harden shot a three-point shot and hit it, which caused the Suns to lose some care on the defensive end and dare not target Leonard again.
The reason why we say why it is Wei Shao who plays the bench is because Harden is too dangerous on the outside and will not be empty like Wei Shao. The same was true in the final quarter, Harden assisted Powell to shoot three-pointers in a row, and at the critical moment, Harden stepped back and hit a three-point shot.
It is not difficult for the Clippers to win, the main point of attack must be Leonard, so what about Harden? The beard is of course mainly passing, and at the same time, on the offensive end, he must ensure at least 15 shots, constantly creating threats to the opponent, so that Leonard can get better shots. George is responsible for defending or assisting in scoring, and tries to dribble as little as possible, because when George attacks with the ball, it is often accompanied by a lot of turnovers.
As a result, the success rate of the offense is not high, so George just waits on the outside to catch the ball. Wei Shao's role is to play counterattacks or grab rebounds after he gets on the court. If the quad can do this, it will be difficult for the Clippers to lose. According to statistics, Harden's true shooting percentage is the first on the Clippers team.
Leonard was interviewed after the game, and the first thing he talked about was Harden, Leonard said: "Harden made my game a lot easier, gave me open opportunities, not only me, Harden raised the game as a team, he was like our leader, we just had to give him the ball and he would lead us to play the right way." "Leonard's meaning is easy to understand, and he thinks Harden has improved the Clippers in all aspects.
At the same time, Xiaoka said that he wanted to hand over the ball to Harden, and even gave him the privilege of leadership, it can be seen that Leonard likes to be teammates with Harden too much, and with a beard around him, Xiaoka is simply too happy. Later, when talking about his second quarter outburst, Leonard replied, "I just told myself to play a little harder, and then things went my way." ”
This wave of 4 consecutive wins has given the Clippers a chance to hit the top three in the West, in fact, looking at the entire West, it is really difficult to find a team that can threaten the Clippers, the Thunder is too young, it is difficult to make a difference in the playoffs, the Timberwolves have an excellent record and a good lineup, but the superstar is not as good as the Clippers, the Nuggets are the defending champions, and may be able to cause big trouble for the Clippers, as for other teams, the Suns are strong in offense and weak in defense, and whether the Lakers and Warriors can make the play-offs is a problem. The Clippers know very well that this year will be their best chance to win the championship, and in summary, the Clippers really don't have any opponents to worry about in the West, except for the Nuggets.