Watch the NBA | The Clippers' position was tight, but Harden and George held on

Quiet and easy to ink

2024-04-29 18:08Posted in Beijing basketball commentator, Tencent NBA writer

Mavericks VS Clippers

The leg injury has not healed, the sluggish Kazige is suspended, and the Clippers have removed the point of weakness on offense and defensive disaster in the last game, which is a good thing.

But removing one wrong answer doesn't mean it's all right, and the Clippers need to find their right answer. Lu put Coffey as the starter, this is the starting lineup of G1, Coffey contributed two fixed-point break-through back-to-back shots, counting his signature skills, the defensive end completed the scene step by step, and the overall qualification, but it was not the X-factor of this game.

Mann made three three-pointers and became an X-factor in G4, but still didn't decide the game.

There are three people who decide the game:

Harden, George, Kidd (and Kleber in front of him).

A reader privately messaged me in the background that some games can actually be analyzed without analysis, such as today's Clippers and Mavericks, Harden, George (and Powell also shot a difficult shot) Today's shooting is too exaggerated, and the difference between the two sides is mainly in the randomness of the shot.

He's right, the Clippers did win this game with exaggerated scoring ability, and you can't explain that kind of thing. Of course, this matter is also fair for both sides, the randomness of the half-shooter's shooting, this Clippers offset the Mavericks G2's Kleber and PJ Washington, and the exaggerated performance of the entire series of Ou Shenxian is also as good as today's Harden and George. In such a suffocating series, the more accurate side will inevitably take the initiative.

There are some similarities between this game and G1. After the game, Irving said that Leonard didn't play, and the Mavericks played differently, while Doncic G1 said after the game that they were prepared for the game with cards on the opposite side. It seems that without Leonard, the Lone Ranger can't grasp the point.

The Mavericks defend Harden and George, and generally do not form a special systematic approach, the basic principle is to give priority to protecting the basket, a large number of single defenses on the line, and the strategy is similar to that of the second leader of the general team. In the case of not playing, the Mavericks' resources to lead the defense of Harden and George are said to be sufficient, and there will still be a situation where Green leads George, and Irving prevents Harden but suffers a slight loss, and the dislocation of Doncic is also very simple, it can be seen that Kidd did not give Harden and George a separate study, but continued the team's general principle of protecting the defense and protecting the basket.

Kidd's selection can be described as decent, as there is a real possibility that Harden and George will not be able to hurt even against a single defense, which has appeared in their previous playoff resumes. George scored three points in this seam, and he could also shoot it close to his face, which is George's legendary performance, but if every goal is not scored, of course it is also George. Harden used a step-back three-point penalty to change defenses, and the Mavericks have given priority to shooting, which can still be scored, there is nothing to say.

The real controversy in this game for Kidd was the defensive set-up in the fourth quarter.

G3 Kidd has already won with a big lineup, why did G4 go back?

There is a change on Lue's side (or maybe because the card doesn't play, removing the unfavorable factor of rotation), the bottom corner defense is advanced, and the blocking and dismantling has just started, and the weak side of the Clippers has already shrunk.

The quality of the Clippers' defense basket is better than that of G3, and the Mavericks' finisher's offense naturally becomes more difficult, which makes it more challenging to respond to outside three-point shots. Kidd used a lot of the three-forward combination of Kleber + Washington + Jones Jr. in the fourth quarter, which was the closing lineup for their win over G2. Perhaps Kidd wanted to replicate the effect of G2, and Kleber did hit another crucial three-pointer.

However, there are still a few special cases for the G4.

First, Plumlee was in good shape, and he and Zubac combined for more than 10 minutes in the fourth quarter. Even if there is a situation where Doncic trains Zubac in the fourth quarter, Lue's choice is to use different lineups on offense and defense, and on the offensive end, he will stick to Zubac. The five small appeared for very little time, and Lu always placed the center in the dunk position, so that the Mavericks could not be too close to the basket when protecting the basket inside, and they were afraid of behind them;

Second, Doncic committed 5 fouls early in the fourth quarter and didn't dare to move at all in the last 5 minutes, and Harden will name him. And when Kleber is not in the basket position, he must have been pulled to the upper line for roll call;

Third, Harden completely dominated the Clippers' offense in the critical ball phase, and he has the ability to feed the open and the ability to throw, and he is a dangerous man in the near basket area.

As a result, Harden kept tearing up the line defense and went to the near basket to complete the throw.

There are three options to address Harden's throwing:

One is on Lively Player, who is more likely to have both interference throwing and impact air catch. Lively didn't have trouble with fouls, this one played well, and I didn't hear of any injuries;

The second is to risk closing the corner and stopping Harden near the free throw line. It's a little more difficult, because Harden could go on Powell's side and get the strong side to shrink and be punished;

The third is to believe that Harden will not advance.

Kidd chose to trust Harden and Kleber.

Bet on Kleber to fail, which is considered a hedge against G2.

Bet on this version of Harden to blow himself up, and to be honest, Kidd does have a chance.

But Harden punished him again.

G4 is a game where the Mavericks don't believe they're going to be by George Harden — just as they don't believe in G1 either. If G5 Kazi continues to rest, the Mavericks will have a chance to gamble again.

I also don't believe the Clippers can shoot 62.1 percent from three-point range, and Harden makes every throw.

But it's man-made, and the Clippers need them to do it again.

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