basketball scientist

Chapter 482: Inside advantage?

At the end of the regular season, the results of various data lists are also released.Durant won the scoring title with an impressive output of 31.9 points per game. He won the scoring title 4 times in 4 years, tying Iverson. Today, Durant has the momentum in the position of "scorer" , enough to keep pace with Kobe.

DeAndre Jordan won the rebounding title with an average of 13.6 rebounds per game. Although the Cavaliers' overall record was poor, DeAndre Jordan still grew into the league's leading blue-collar insider. At the same time, because he was on a weak team, he would not be deliberately pursued by his opponents. By cutting, Jordan's weaknesses were hidden~

Paul leads the league in assists and steals with 10.6 assists and 2.5 steals per game.Although the "Hawks' Big Three" gathered in Brooklyn and "only" helped the Nets return to the third position in the Eastern Conference, Paul's personal performance was still impeccable. It can be said that it was his joining that lifted the Nets from He was pulled out of a dilapidated situation.The Nets management also stated that there is no need to be rational in renewing Paul's contract, and the team will offer Paul the maximum amount to renew his contract.

Davis, the thick-browed brother, has already won the block title in the second season of his career!Although Davis still encountered some doubts because of the team's tepid record, it has to be said that Davis, with his age advantage and impressive talent, is actually the player with the highest trade value in the league!

This is not disrespect for stars such as James, Durant, and Curry, but normal feedback from the market.Just like when Davis reaches his peak, his trade value may not be higher than the fledgling Doncic.

Harden leads the turnover list with 3.5 turnovers per game, but as the team's first ball handler, he ranks eighth in the assists list with 7.2 assists per game, and he also assumes a certain degree of offensive responsibilities. Ke Yan will not Mind too much.

On the 17th and 18th, each team rested to prepare for the playoffs. Ke Yan and the coaching staff worked overtime to determine the 13-man roster for the playoffs.

Center: Gobert, Dedmon.

Power forward: Harris, Thomas.

Small forward: Middleton, Covington, Mike Miller, Simmons.

Shooting guards: Harden, Stephenson.

Point guard: Curry, Blake, Seth Curry.

Chandler's injury has greatly weakened the depth of the Kings' inside lineup. The team only has four real inside players. This is the Kings' biggest weakness. It is also the reason why some media questioned whether they would be beaten by Griffin when they played against the Clippers in the first round. + The reason why Kanter was so bad; as for the wing position, the Kings mainly play "strength in numbers". Although the quality of the players is relatively average, there are all kinds of players, and Covington and Simmons have both improved. To the adaptability of the power forward position; the Kings' confidence in competing for the championship comes from their league's first backcourt. The performance of the 09 duo this season is quite explosive if you look at history.

key Especially the inside man who ranks among the top ten or even the top five in the league in singles ability, but he also belongs to the "black hole of ball rights" type. His ability to handle the ball when encountering a timely double team is relatively weak, and his defense is quite bad!Especially against pick-and-rolls, he can be called a defender's cash machine.

If Griffin + Kanter could defeat all the inside players in the league, the Clippers wouldn't just finish eighth in the Western Conference.

The first game between the two sides was held in Sacramento. There was no national live broadcast. Only CCTV broadcast the Kings game as usual.

It's a coincidence that Griffin, Curry, and Harden were the No. 09, No. 09, and No. 09 picks in the [-] draft respectively. They happened to be the three rookies with the highest achievements in [-]. This game can also be regarded as the [-] draft. A team-building activity among the All-Star rookies.

The warm-up before the game was very thorough. Reporters interviewed both sides. Ke Yan expressed enough respect for the Clippers and believed that Griffin had brought the team to the playoffs after four years of hard work. It was a performance of great perseverance and the character of an old-school star.

The Clippers are still in the aftermath of owner Sterling's "racial knight". Although the team is about to change ownership in the summer of 14, and Microsoft executive Ballmer is about to take over the team, as long as Sterling is nominally in control The whole team was very responsive from top to bottom.

Gobert and Kanter earned the ball and relied on their excellent jumping ability to pass the ball to Curry, who then handed the ball to Harden.

Harden brought the ball to the center in front of the three-point line, and after observing it, he passed it to Harris in the corner on the right. Harris leaned against Griffin and tried to pass the ball to Curry. Suddenly he turned around and pulled the ball. He rushed to the basket and missed the layup due to interference from Griffin behind him.

Gobert jumped up on the left side, grabbed the rebound before Kanter, and made a direct spike with both hands, 2-0.

No one expected that it was Gobert who scored the Kings' first goal in the playoffs this season.

When the Clippers attacked, Billups held the ball for half the game and passed it to Griffin with three passes and two leads. Griffin faced Harris in a single and dominated the court in speed, strength and explosiveness, directly passing the ball to Griffin. Harris flipped to the ground, attracted Gobert's defense and then passed the ball to Kanter. The Turk easily picked up the basket and scored!

In addition to range, Griffin almost completely surrounds Harris with all his attributes. This is the Clippers' most powerful matchup!

Curry held the ball past half court, faced Bledsoe's defense, and waved to Gobert, who immediately lifted it up to cover Curry.

Bledsoe subconsciously glanced back with his peripheral vision to confirm Gobert's position. Then, with this small distraction, Curry seized the opportunity and drove into the paint with the ball. Griffin actively To cover the defense, Dudley in the corner quickly moved into the penalty area to cover the basket!

Curry controlled the changes in the Clippers' defensive formation while moving. When he saw Dudley shrinking to help defend, with a flick of his wrist, the basketball flew towards Middleton in the bottom corner.

Dudley quickly fought back, but his physical fitness was mediocre and he was unable to interfere with Middleton's shot. He watched the ball pass through the net. (5:2)

Looking back, the Clippers retaliated in kind. Bledsoe held the ball against Harden. The latter kept his distance and focused on preventing breakthroughs. Bledsoe feinted and then made a pull-up jumper and hit it with slight interference.

Curry dribbled the ball across half court to Harden. The latter received the ball on the right side and made a fake move to cut to the three-point line. He took three steps to pull the ball with Billups and forced a layup, causing the latter to foul.

Once upon a time, Billups was also known for his "high basketball IQ" and "good at drawing fouls". Now Harden responded directly.

Harden made two free throws. The Clippers attacked, Billups and Griffin played a pick-and-roll, and the ball was distributed in the middle. Griffin caught the ball at the free throw line and immediately took a shot, hitting a mid-range shot. (7:6)

When the Kings attacked, the ball was still handed to Harden. He slowly approached Billups with the ball and used the change of rhythm to make a disguised breakthrough and missed a layup. Gobert grabbed the offensive rebound again and the ball went out to the outside line for the first time!Curry opened Bledsoe's defense, broke into the penalty area and made a throw!

The Clippers chose to attack the Kings, and Griffin, Harden, and Curry all performed well.At the 7th minute of the first quarter, Ke Yan replaced Stephenson and Middleton. At the same time, the three ball holders took turns to attack the inside guarded by Kanter, maximizing the vulnerability of the Turks' poor switching ability.

Appearing on the court at the same time as Curry and Harden, Stephenson did not have much possession of the ball, but his performance was much more positive than in the regular season. The "junior brother" is very aware of his situation. Just playing well in the regular season may not necessarily win him an ideal contract. Only by performing in the playoffs can he truly become a "hot potato" in the free agent market.

The first quarter was spent in a dazzling confrontation between the two sides. In response to Kanter's point, the Kings used frequent pick-and-rolls to cause small and large attacks. They played very efficiently and ended the first quarter with a 40:34 lead.

After the short inter-section break, the battle resumed in the second quarter.The two teams still started to attack according to the tactics of the first quarter, which was also the most concise and effective way of playing. When the disadvantage was not big, neither Ke Yan nor Rivers would make rash changes.

Curry came off the court to rest, and Ke Yan chose Seth Curry to play.Seth Curry is the person who looks most like Curry in the league, not only in appearance, but also in shooting skills.Harden and Stephenson continued to play, and Ke Yan decisively increased the playing time of the main players in the playoffs.

In comparison, the Clippers' decline in strength was more obvious after Griffin left the game.The Clippers' bench mainly consists of watching Rivers and Crawford throw the ball around!

Just give it to Crawford, little Rivers. I really have to thank him for having a good father!It doesn't matter how bad you say he is. As a substitute, he defends hard, has outstanding physical fitness, and dares to play hard. These are all advantages; but his poor shooting ability in long-range shooting, stiff finishing skills at the basket, and stickiness to the ball. These are all obvious shortcomings; if Rivers' ball rights and opportunities were given to others, the Clippers' record might be better.

Not to mention how many players Rivers sent away in order to move his son's position.

The Kings easily opened the point difference to double digits, and also forced the Clippers to take Griffin in advance to stabilize the situation, but even so, the point difference always stayed at double digits.

The Clippers replaced all their main players on the court early, while the Kings rotated their lineups to deal with their opponents for a while.When Curry returned with full blood, he made a few adjustments and led the team to a small climax.

At the end of the second quarter, the Kings led the Clippers by 72 points, 56:16, winning by 10 points in a single quarter.

In the second half, Curry continued to use outside shooting to change the Clippers' defensive formation. He took the initiative to cover Middleton and ran from the left to the right corner. Griffin took the initiative to switch to the pick-and-roll, but Curry used the counterattack. After catching the ball, Curry turned around and shot, just like a sniper's "sniper throw", hitting accurately!

The fans in front of the TV might think it was luck, but in the actual matchup, Griffin's confidence was really shaken.At the moment of catching the ball, Curry had a variety of offensive options, but he chose to pursue the fastest shot. This in itself shows that he is confident in shooting such difficult three-pointers.

Curry hit three three-pointers in a single quarter. Compared with his 9-point output, what is more terrifying is his destruction of the Clippers' defensive system!Griffin must constantly cover the perimeter, leaving Kanter free to fight one against two or one against three inside.

The point difference is getting wider and wider. Experts who originally thought that the Clippers had an advantage inside and could compete with the Kings were speechless.

After three quarters, the Kings opened the point difference to 27 points. (104:77)

In the final quarter of the game, Ke Yan replaced the substitute players to finish the game, but did not let Curry, Harden and others relax in advance to prevent the Clippers from making a last ditch effort.

However, the development of the game went smoother than he expected. Griffin, who was frustrated, played 4 minutes and made 5 of 1 shots. He failed to help the Clippers narrow the point difference and was replaced by Rivers. This also showed that the Clippers The team surrendered, and Curry and Harden could finally laugh and play on the sidelines.

The final score was fixed at 129 to 107. The Kings defeated the Clippers in the first game and got off to a good start.