I'm sorry for the Clippers, Harden took the initiative after the game, and Leonard made it clear

In an NBA game that ended today, the Clippers lost to the Cavaliers 108-118, the process of ups and downs, the first quarter of the Clippers trailed by 3 points, the second quarter of the two sides were inseparable, the third quarter of the Cavaliers had the upper hand, the Clippers offensive end relied on Leonard's hard support, the Clippers worked hard to fight back in the last quarter, but the Cavaliers firmly controlled the situation on the court, the Clippers could only accept the fate of losing. In terms of statistics, Leonard scored 30 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, George had 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers, Harden had 11 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists and 3 turnovers, Wei Shao had 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 turnovers, Powell had 18 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, and Coffey had 13 points.

The top four in the West all have games today, with the Timberwolves and Nuggets winning, the Clippers and the Thunder losing, and the top four in the West are also stuck in a big brawl mode, and the rankings are changing every day. In fact, in the long run, the 3rd and 4th in the West are the most ideal positions for the Clippers, because if the Lakers can make the playoffs, then the ranking will most likely be 7th or 8th in the West, which means that the first two in the West may touch the Lakers in the first round, the Clippers' shortcomings lie in the inside, it is not easy to play when they meet the Lakers, even if they can win, they will lose two layers of skin, the Lakers are strong inside, and the city derby is all home advantage, in summary, the Clippers do not need to hit the top two in the West, and stabilize the 3rd or 4th.

You have to find the reason for losing, looking at the whole court, the Clippers mainly exposed three problems, first of all, the interior frame protection ability is too poor, the Clippers lack a blue-collar interior line, Plumlee can't prevent the Cavaliers twin towers at all, and he can't grab rebounds, the Clippers have 5 fewer frontcourt boards than the Cavaliers, Allen's data is 20 points, 17 rebounds and 3 assists, the Clippers have nothing to do with him, including the previous loss to the Timberwolves, the Clippers were also blown up inside, Gobert and Towns were crazy at that time, even if Zubac came back, he couldn't solve the problem, his frame protection ability was not much better, so we said that the Clippers had better not touch the Lakers in the first round, and the thick eyebrows really couldn't be guarded, of course, only if the Lakers can make the playoffs.

Secondly, Harden and George did not play well, and throughout the first half, Harden gave us the feeling that he was absent-minded, and there were 8-second violations on the dribble, and he was not active enough on the offensive end and played hesitantly. In the second half, Harden was still not resolute enough, although he hit a three-point shot, but he seriously lacked aggressiveness, and then on the defensive end, Harden couldn't prevent Mitchell and was beaten several, for example, there was a round in the third quarter, Mitchell broke through to the basket, Harden couldn't keep up, and could only watch Mitchell score, Mitchell's full-court statistics were 28 points, 4 rebounds and 12 assists. This game reminded Harden that once George doesn't feel good, then he can't just think about passing, and if Harden doesn't attack, the Clippers will all point to the small card, hoping that Brother Deng can reflect on it.

George is in a slump all over the court, shooting 3 of 11, 0 of 5 three-pointers, so iron that I can't see it, the current George is really unpredictable, he throws smoothly, the Clippers often win big, and if George falls into iron mode, then it will be difficult for the Clippers to win, it turns out that the Clippers are the most stable or Leonard, and only small cards can play tough battles, Harden and George will more or less have a time to dig holes, and this will be a hidden danger in the playoffs, for Harden, he should show aggression at the beginning and find his touch as soon as possible, otherwise Harden does not attack, and the game behind the Clippers will be difficult to play, unless George breaks out。 The final reason for the loss was that Tyronn Lue was sometimes too obsessed with the five-man lineup, letting Leonard play the No. 5 position, and in addition, Harden and Westbrook had to try to avoid being on the court for long periods of time.

Harden was interviewed after the game, and the bearded man first talked about his performance, saying: "It's frustrating to lose, I want to apologize to the team and my teammates, my job is to make it easier for my teammates, I'm going to attract the defense by breaking through and create opportunities for my teammates, the responsibility for this loss is on me, I didn't play aggressively, which made our game struggle," Harden's meaning is very understandable, he is apologizing to the team, thinking that the reason why the Clippers lost the game was that he was not aggressive enough, and he did not create scoring opportunities for his teammates through breakthroughs. Later, Harden also said, "The Cavaliers gave us a punch at the beginning of the game, and we didn't play Clippers-style basketball. ”

Or as mentioned earlier, we don't have to worry about Leonard's state, whether Harden attacks or not depends on George's state, when George is hot, Harden can focus on the organization, and if George is super ghostly, then Harden should increase his aggressiveness, otherwise the Clippers will play very hard with Leonard alone. In addition, Leonard was also interviewed, and the small card praised the Cavaliers, saying: "It was a great win for the Cavaliers, starting with Mitchell, they all played great, we just need to keep the confidence and keep shooting, because we know the ball is going to go in, we got the open space we wanted, so we will continue to shoot in the future," Leonard is making it clear, this loss will only boost the confidence of the Clippers, I hope George can find his touch as soon as possible, the Clippers' next opponents are the Wizards and the Pistons, and there should be no suspense in winning.