On April 17, the NBA playoffs will officially start next week, and the Clippers have home-court advantage against the Mavericks. Because these two teams have a number of excellent singles, coupled with the close strength of the two teams, it is also regarded as the most anticipated matchup in the first round of the playoffs. However, for the Clippers, the biggest problem at the moment is the injury problem of Xiaoka, if he can return healthy, then the two sides will definitely give everyone a good round of games. When it comes to this round of matchups, the outside world believes that the key is defense, because the two offensive teams have stars in charge, and the offense will definitely not pull the hips, and whoever wants to go to the end will depend on who does a better job on the defensive end.
Today, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue also gave an interview about the first round of the playoffs against the Mavericks, saying that in this series, the team's guard Will Shao may have to defend Doncic, Irving, Gafford and Washington, just like Batum did back then. It is worth mentioning that in the first round of the series against the Mavericks in 2021, Tyronn Lue made adjustments in the G4 game, replacing the starting center Zubac with Batum and starting to play a small lineup, but this change of formation achieved good results, and finally the Clippers eliminated the Mavericks 4:3 after falling behind 1:2.
Now that Tyronn Lue has said so, there is no doubt that he will reuse Willis in the playoffs, make him the defensive core of the Clippers, and once again use the five small and infinite rotation defense. If Zubac and the rest of the big center lineup are targeted by the Mavericks, Tyronn Lue may follow the previous success story and let Wei Shao return to the starting lineup to replace Zubac and completely play a small lineup with the Mavericks. In fact, yesterday, Warriors center Dream gave the Clippers a trick on his podcast, pointing out the key to the Clippers' victory, saying that Wei Shao is the X factor of this series, and Tyronn Lue should let Wei Shao return to the starting line at certain moments in this round of games, and then lock Irving.
Combined with Tyronn Lue's statement and Dream Chasing's remarks, the two can be said to coincide with the Mavericks' defensive strategy, and Dream Chasing's support for the Clippers can be regarded as a success. I have to say that Dream Chaser sometimes has a big mouth, but this time it is quite reliable, Tyronn Lue sometimes likes to try the formation randomly, but the general direction of this defensive strategy is right. Wei Shao was known for his positivity and vitality in the past, but his defense was underestimated, especially since the Clippers will face Irving and Doncic, two super singles, and the guard line is easy to target only by Mann and Harden, so Wei Shao does have a place to play, and his vitality and defense can play a surprise effect.
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