Paper Guiluo City | The Clippers have a detailed review of the season: It is no longer time to expect the Clippers to win the championship

Basketball in L.A

2024-05-12 19:11Posted in Jilin Sports Creators

(Text/Los Angeles Chuck Chuck)

1. Offseason, training camp and preseason

The Clippers kept the original lineup and only made a few small operations.

After cutting Eric Gordon's 2090w non-guaranteed contract, they saved 110 million. They then traded Kenyon Martin Jr. in two rotations, and picked Kobe Brown and Jordan Miller in the draft. Because Jordan Miller signed a two-way contract that doesn't occupy the roster, it's a one-out, two-in operation. The Clippers needed to cut one player to free up the 15-man roster, and in the end, Preston was waived for the "four-ball" Preston.

Marcus Morris's "wonderful" playoff performance became the last straw that crushed management, and if the Clippers hadn't canceled Brogdon's trade, Morris Jr. would have been with the Washington Wizards.

Morris Jr.'s relationship with the Clippers was delicate after the trade went bankrupt, and he just took photos on media day and left, without communicating with anyone. After entering the preseason, he began to cheat and used various reasons to keep himself out of the active roster, even in the regular season. At that time, little Morris wore casual clothes and sunglasses every day, and left after watching the game.

From the two words "defense" and "speed" that the coaching staff and players kept emphasizing in the offseason, it is not difficult to guess the Clippers' offensive and defensive system in the new season: defensive counterattack.

It's no longer possible for Morris Jr. to play for the Clippers, which completely dispels Tyronn Lue: "Resurrect, my love!" The idea has greatly benefited the Clippers' defensive counterattack system.

Batum's poor performance in the playoffs last season made Tyronn Lue no longer trust him, and Tyronn Lue finally remembered Covington, who he had been snubbed by for a long time, and he planned to implement a competitive system, with Batum, Mann, and Covington each starting in the preseason to make it easier to select the best.

2. Anti-Ship (10.26-10.30, Match 1-3, 2-1)

In the end, Mann stood out for his quick-break dynamism, ball propulsion and rim-attacking ability better than Batum and Covington, but suffered an ankle sprain before the opener. Covington became the starter.

The lineup of the starting four-collar defense + inner frame protection monster is full of expectations, the long arms of the forward group seem to be woven into a net, and their interception ability and encirclement ability make the defense of this anti-countership very strong in terms of appearance.

In the logic of "George leads the guard core, Covington leads the defense center core, Wei Shao defends the better offensive one of the other two outside lines, and Leonard defends the worse offensive one of the other two outside lines", Leonard enjoys the easiest defensive task. On the offensive end, he also tried to shoot more three-pointers, tried to make magic balls, and cut down on long two-point shots.

The Clippers' defensive offense and push counterattack also allowed Kajiaowei to get more easy ball opportunities, and positional battles increased the weight of elbow area card play.

Leonard and George don't have to constantly shoot 2-3 jumpers in positional battles. Wei Shao was also rewarded for fighting until the last minute in the 22-23 playoffs, and Wei Shao was rewarded with a more suitable tactical system, more consistent playing time, a more stable closing lineup position, and a giant-level rotation position. Unlike the titular "Big Four" after the Harden trade, this anti-countership team is the real three-man leader. Bone Hyland is also seen as the No. 1 development target, averaging 20+ minutes per game, enjoying the same Super 6 rotation status as Powell.

 And then the deal happened...

 3. Transition period (11.1-11.2, games 4-5, 1 win, 1 loss)

Batum, Covington, Morris Jr., and Kenyon Martin Jr. were involved in the trade as chips, and Mann was still recovering from injuries and was short of manpower. Tyronn Lue continued the "easy not to start" strategy against Powell, and Hyland was promoted to the starting lineup.

At this time, the Clippers still have the shadow of defending the anti-ship, but they have made enough preparations for Harden's debut: Pepper was pushed to the No. 3 and No. 4 positions, and the logic of defensive alignment has changed dramatically.

Leonard went from "the easiest" to the "hardest", and he played against Banchero and James in the transition period

With the No. 4 spot missing, George will be the second assistant behind Zubac on the defensive end.

The Clippers' defensive alignment logic has become "Westbrook leads the defensive guard core, Leonard leads the defensive center core, George defends the better offensive one of the remaining two outside lines, and Hyland defends the worse offensive one of the remaining two outside lines"

George has expressed his opinion on this: "I know who I am and what I am in the league. I had this mindset after losing a guy like Robert Covington. Someone has to stand up and have something to offer...... That's not much obedience...... It's about how we're going to win the game. ”

In the absence of multiple rotations, the Clippers won the Magic and battled the Lakers to overtime, at which point the Clippers looked promising.

Big 4 - 5 consecutive defeats (11.7-11.15, game 6-10 of the season, 0-5)

Harden made his debut against the Knicks, Mann hadn't returned at the time, and Tyronn Lue had no reason to drop Willis off the bench without trying, so Willis was still in the starting lineup.

Since the deal was completed in the middle of the season, the Clippers didn't have time to practice, and the offseason practice was largely scrapped. The re-establishment of the offensive and defensive system, the cultivation of the tacit understanding of the players, and the experiment of the rotation mode, all of these can only be trained and re-run-in by competition.

Leonard said in an interview at the time: "After the bootcamp, we knew our role. We lost those guys and brought in two new guys. It's different. ”

In the early stages of the run-in, Tyronn Lue arranged a lot of elbow area cards in order to integrate more ball handlers into the game.

In the starting stages, Westbrook was nominally a point guard, but in reality his task was to carry the ball through the half. The real commander, Harden, would zip up the baseline and then deal the cards in the elbow zone.

At that time, Harden did not have a strong desire to attack, was too humble, and had no chemical reaction with the center, as if suffering from "Embiid sequelae", Zubac passed a large number of high-level hits to the ground, Zubac was completely unable to deal with the pass after receiving it, and it was often a mistake; George was out of shape after four days off; Leonard's defensive end is huge, and the tactical position of positional warfare is not guaranteed; incompatibility between multiple rotations on the team, such as Westbrook and Tucker, Harden and Hyland; Plumlee's injury forced him to a small lineup in the transition section and was unable to block the attack; Hyland overstepped his authority and beat indiscriminately; Mann returned and couldn't score.

All the bad things came together, and they became the joke of the whole league.

Although Mann ushered in a comeback during this period, Hyland also suffered a DNP. But the Clippers still haven't stopped their decline, and the Clippers have suffered a five-game losing streak after the Harden trade.

5. Gradual improvement (11.18-12.1, Race 11-18, 5-3)

Harden's 3+1 kill from the Rockets ended the Clippers' five-game losing streak.

With Wei Shao on the bench, there is no longer a need for the starters to run a large number of unchanged and rigid formulaic elbow area cards, and more simple and efficient blocking and dismantling offenses can be played; Signing Theis, there is no need to use Tucker's small lineup to play 5 and Diabate, who obviously has no rotation level, and the transition can play a serious blocking and pick-and-roll offense; DNP Tucker, using the younger and more energetic Kobe Brown; Core condition is picking up. Thanks to a series of factors, they finally tasted victory.

Although they still lost to some strong opponents, the Clippers are slowly getting better.

6. "Northern Expedition" (12.3-2.15, 19-53, 28-7)

George kicked off a nine-game winning streak with the Warriors in Leonard's absence, losing to the Thunder and Celtics, and then went on a six-1 losing streak on seven consecutive road trips, with a 28-7 record during the Northern Expedition.

The Clippers have a better offensive order, their core form has reached the peak of the season, and the projection status of the whole team has exploded.

During this period, the Clippers also dug up Coffey, and after Tucker Bryant Brown Coffey set things right, the Clippers finally identified a backup forward. Coffey maintained an astonishing shooting grasp during the Northern Expedition. In '24, Mann's projection has also pulled back dramatically.

The rotation of the core has also been adjusted: try to stagger the playing time of Wei Shao Harden, and there are a few games that only let Wei Shao eat the rotation time behind Harden. Harden began to bring a rotation lineup at the beginning of the 2.4th quarter, and Harden is also used to leading the team in the 2.4th quarter this season and playing a wave of main offense. Leonard returned to the more familiar 1.3 quarter rotation mode.

At this time, the Clippers' defense is still in the past, and the logic of defensive alignment is: "Mann leads the defensive guard core, Leonard leads the defensive center core, George defends the other two outside lines with better offense/ball handling ability, Harden defends the other two outside lines with poor offense/ball handling ability, center to center." ”

Leonard, who has a better confrontation, is more like a number four on the single defensive end, and George, who is stronger in the help defense, is more like a number four on the help defensive end.

Mann's starting phase grappling consumes the opponent's primary ball carrier; At some point in the second half, Leonard will directly pinch the opponent's ace ball carrier; Harden also contributed the value of the top defensive forward, occasionally playing against Randle, Aaron Gordon, Myers Bridges and other No. 4 positions, and also played a good cutting performance; George also put in a great defensive performance as the second rim protector behind Zubac; Needless to say, Zubac has also been very good this season when he has played against the interior core. During this time, Tyronn Lue also expanded the variety of Zubac's defensive strategies, and tried more to get Zubac out to pinch and force delay the opposing ball handler.

Each of them made varying degrees of sacrifice: Leonard's single defense mission came to the highest level of the Clippers' career, and he had to often lead the defense heavy forward, doing more dirty work; George reduced his ball-handling roles, did more off-ball initiations, and did his best on the defensive end; Harden had team-high playing minutes, cut down on shots, and those cuts proved that he really wanted to contribute on the defensive end; Wei went to the bench less, played less playing time, played less ball-holding scenes, and had a lot more off-ball cuts, and desperately bit on the defensive end.

They may not really care about these sacrifices, because they have only one goal, and that is to win.

Branch: Wei Zhongfeng (during the "Northern Expedition")

In the middle and late stages of the Northern Expedition, Zubac suffered a recurrence of an old injury in his right calf. Plumlee made the leap from third center to starting center, but the level of his and Theis' meant that Tyronn Lue couldn't get them into the closing lineup every game.

So in the game against the Nets on January 22, Wei Center was born. The center's debut helped the team go on a 22-0 offensive run and help the team turn the Nets around. Claxton was even more impressive on both ends of the floor.

In the seven-game winning streak against the Hawks on the 6th, the center reappeared, providing cover and fast-break value on the offensive end, and directly opposite Okongu on the defensive end.

Zubac's injury gave Tyronn Lue the opportunity to experiment, and before Tyronn Lue developed a new version of the small lineup, it was actually rare to have a small lineup, but since Zubac developed a new version of the small lineup during the injury period, Tyronn Lue has significantly increased the frequency of small lineups.

7. Post-All-Star Slump (2.23-4.15, Game 54-82, 15-14)

After the All-Star slump, the core must be to blame. The team's shooting touch dropped, and the defense collapsed directly.

Plumlee's apparent drop in competition after returning from injury led to Tyronn Lue not being able to use him in the second half on many occasions.

Wei Shao's injury made the Clippers even worse, Wei Shao's injury period, Hyland played a few reasonable games after the prototype was ugly, and Tyronn Lue did not dare to use Hyland in the few games near Wei Shao's comeback, but let Coffey take on some ball-holding work and tactical initiation in the transition section.

Not long after Wei Shao's return, Leonard also suffered an injury. I thought it was just a small injury to recuperate for the playoffs, but I didn't expect it......

VIII. Playoffs (4.22-5.4, G1-G6, 2-4)

Leonard isn't recuperating for the playoffs with a minor injury, he's really bothered by a knee injury. Leonard, who was listed as doubtful on the G1 injury list, later announced that he would not play in G1.

G1 Zubac started the game with an advantage on the offensive end, but Gafford was quickly substituted for a foul and Lively came on to reveal the poor quality of the screen. Mann did the best in front of the board and three-point response, and also showed a defensive performance that he had not shown in the regular season, which interfered with Doncic a lot and allowed Zubac to sink more comfortably.

Harden and George reported a "I'm the boss if the boss isn't there, I'm the boss" mentality. Harden's athletic condition has improved significantly since he got the rest, and his stair climbing training has made him break through faster and have more strength on his legs. Although George was a little uncomfortable defended by Jones and Washington, he was still able to hit some difficult goals.

G2 Leonard is making a comeback. Zubac quickly made two fouls, and the Clippers were forced to take Plumlee, who doesn't have the level of playoff rotation. The Mavericks showed a stronger interior strength while returning to the position to save three-point shooting speed, Plumlee couldn't get up to finish the defender under the basket, Mann refused to shoot the half-vacancy, the performance of the two on the offensive end was in the hands of the Mavericks' defensive strategy, and the offensive end of the Clippers became extremely sluggish because of these two people.

The Clippers obviously wanted to choke Doncic's offense in the second half, Leonard took over + Zubac defended the pick-and-roll and delayed/pinched shot, and the bottom corner assistant defender took over the center down. In the rotation, the Clippers gradually got closer to the score by taking Wei Shao in advance, relying on a more aggressive defensive strategy + speeding up and pushing more conversions + more ball-handlers. In the fourth quarter, both sides were playing roll call tactics, and the Clippers' offensive success rate was not as good as that of the Mavericks, and they lost the game.

G3 Leonard was in poor physical and competitive condition, playing only 24 minutes and making four turnovers. George was plagued by foul plays, playing just 30 minutes of the game and was very sluggish on the offensive end. The lack of protection for Harden on the defensive end led to Harden switching heavily to the ball-carrier. Zubac was also very negative defensively in the opening stages.

G4 Leonard is out. At the beginning of this game, he did not play a single match. Harden and George reported the mentality of "if the boss is not there, I am the boss". George took the lead in the first quarter and came back in the second quarter to score another 10 points. In the second half, he played straight to the full, did not stop for a minute to show his determination, and also hit the key three points. Harden exerted his strength in the second quarter, passed almost all defenders in one step in the fourth quarter, and scored consecutive throws to close the game, playing the peak afterimage.

G5 Harden George was not in good shape in the first quarter, the Mavericks didn't open a three-point shot, and the Clippers relied on Zubac and Mann to bite the score. At halftime, Tyronn Lue took on Willis and Plumlee, and lost by six points in about 2 minutes. In the second half, the Clippers' momentum of chasing points was extinguished by Plumlee's 3+1 to Josh Green. Tyronn Lue tried Tucker in the second half, which was kind of a foreshadowing for the G6 Tucker start. Of course, you can blame Harden and George's performance, but before you blame Harden George, you have to think about how the Clippers are qualified to stand on the stage of Kings Mountain.

G6 Tyronn Lue is a dead horse and a live horse doctor takes Tucker as the starter. In the second half, Tucker still insisted on starting the game, resulting in a nine-point loss at the beginning of the third quarter, burying all the points caught up in the second quarter. The better five-man duo of Harden, Powell, Mann, George, and Zubac didn't get enough time together. Zubac played too long in the first half and was physically exhausted in the second half, and was blocked by Gafford who dominated the series himself. The small lineup of Tucker and Wei Shao playing center in the back is also a helpless move for Zubac who needs to rest and does not dare to go to Plumlee.

9. Final Summary

It's a good word to describe the Clippers' season. They have suffered five consecutive defeats and have hit rock bottom. Silently adjust when people think they're done. After an adjustment period, he set sail again, and once climbed to the first position in the west. After the All-Star break, they were in the doldrums for a while. In the playoffs, Leonard, like last season, played only two games and never played again. The play of Harden and George put the Clippers on the stage of King Mountain, but the Clippers were ultimately out.

The space carrier, which had gone all the way north, eventually sank to the bottom of the sea.

The Clippers are like a gambler who has already raised his bets, and there is no way back. They have already renewed their contract with Leonard, so they can only bite the bullet.

George and Westbrook have player options, and Harden becomes a full free agent, and they are at a fork in the road. What will they think if they are a year older? Will they stay in their hometown and continue to fight, or will they choose to leave it at that? Will they still believe Leonard's knees?

Clippers fans can certainly continue to numb themselves with the rhetoric of "It's hard to win a series when you're missing the best players" and "If we're healthy..." But how long are you going to lie to yourself?

The Clippers have been hit by injuries for four of their five years. Even though Leonard tried to reduce the load on his knees as much as possible this season by losing weight, he still collapsed at the end of the season. Leonard's knee injury is not optimistic, his knee can no longer support long-term high-intensity fighting, and it seems that the management will have to manage Leonard's injury next season.

They may never be able to wait for the year when Leonard is healthy......

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