ebookland Chapter 479 Another 4-0
Chapter 479 Another 4-0
Allowing Gallinari to score 27 points is indeed a bit unreasonable, but the Trail Blazers had no other choice. Their limited defensive resources were already being used to defend Jia Fei and George, so it was impossible to cover everyone.
Aside from Jia Fei and Paul George, the Clippers' starting three aren't purely role players, especially Gallinari. Last season, he averaged 18 points per game, making him an excellent forward scorer, nicknamed "The Italian Cannon" by Chinese fans. You could say Gallinari is a high-scoring All-Star forward; give him enough touches, and he's capable of averaging 20 points per game.
The Clippers traded DeAndre Jordan in the offseason to acquire Danilo Gallinari, but he didn't show much impact in the regular season. At the time, some fans criticized the team for spending $2000 million a year on Gallinari, a player with strong offense but weak defense, just to get rid of Jordan; they argued that they would have been better off finding a physically imposing or 3-and-D player!
But in the playoffs, Gallinari stabbed the opponent in the weak spot on defense, proving his worth.
In the NBA, building up 3-and-D players alongside star players is politically correct. However, if these 3-and-D players have poor offensive capabilities, they can be targeted. On the other hand, forwards who can create their own offense and don't hinder the team defensively have higher matchup value in certain situations.
Defense determines a team's floor, while offense determines its ceiling!
Why do many people think that the DPOY award isn't that prestigious? Why is it that a player who is good at offense but not top-tier can easily get a max contract or a big deal, while a player who is good at defense but bad at offense finds it difficult to get a max contract or a big deal?
Ultimately, basketball is about putting the ball in the basket. Between a star player with top-notch defense and average offense, and a star player with average defense and top-notch offense, the latter is clearly more important, better, and more suitable to be the core of a team.
On May 1st, Game 2 of the Clippers vs. Trail Blazers series.
The starting lineup remained unchanged for this match.
However, the Trail Blazers made some strategic adjustments in this game. In response to the Clippers' previous game where Gallinari exploited a mismatch against CJ McCollum, they assigned Aminu to guard Gallinari and CJ to guard Paul George, keeping the rest of their defensive lineup unchanged.
CJ's defense against Paul George was a huge mistake, but the Trail Blazers implemented a double team. Whenever George got the ball and tried to score against CJ, they would double team him.
The reason the Trail Blazers didn't have CJ guard Jia Fei and then double-team him was that Paul George's passing ability was relatively average, while Jia Fei's ability to break double-teams was too strong, and double-teaming Jia Fei was riskier than double-teaming Paul George.
On the offensive end, the Trail Blazers, taking advantage of Lillard being double-teamed in the previous game, set up high double screens and combined them with Nurkic's ability to exploit localized power spikes after receiving the ball from Lillard's double-team.
The Trail Blazers' response was effective; they took the lead at one point thanks to their excellent shooting touch and the opponent's mistakes.
However, the Clippers also made adjustments. For example, they had Paul George play more off-ball, receiving the ball and quickly attacking to avoid being double-teamed. Jia Fei and Paul George would mostly stand on the same side, and if Paul George was double-teamed, the ball would be passed to Jia Fei, who would then handle the situation.
On the defensive end, we'll stick to locking down the two strikers and letting the others attack. Nuka, if you have the ball and want to attack or go one-on-one, OK, welcome, go ahead. Turner Aminu, if you want to attack, go ahead.
The Trail Blazers' dynamic duo was effectively shut down. Although Nurkic delivered a career-best performance, racking up 21 points and 11 rebounds for a 20+10 play, it wasn't enough to salvage the team's overall performance.
The Clippers are already leading the series 2-0, and everything is going smoothly. It seems like there's little doubt that they'll make it to the Western Conference Finals again after last year.
On May 4, the Clippers and Trail Blazers series moved to Rip City.
In this game, the Trail Blazers, who had lost two games in a row, finally made a lineup change!
They substituted Turner, who had played poorly in the two games in Los Angeles, with forward Hallex.
Harkless and Turner have completely different attributes. The former is a purer role player, taller and with a longer wingspan, but his advantages are not obvious.
But Harkless is not better than Bitner; he is just a purer role player whose only advantage is perhaps his three-point shooting.
To call Harkless a 3-and-D player is pure overthinking. Neither his three-point accuracy nor his volume is that of a competent open shooter; his defensive attributes are excellent, but his defensive awareness and efficiency are only average.
To be precise, Harkless is a 3-and-D player who needs to be simplified. When he performs well, he can reach the level of a competent 3-and-D player, but his performance is inconsistent.
As it turns out, hoping that Harley-Davidson could save this Trail Blazers team was wishful thinking...
The Clippers' strategy remains unchanged: limit your two star players, and as for the rest, it doesn't matter!
Harkless wants to score? If you're so good at one-on-one, then you're awesome. A three-pointer is an opportunity for you; if you're so capable, then shoot me dead.
The result was not much different from G2. Harkless was not the savior. With the two stars contained, the Trail Blazers' offense was completely shut down.
With the series score now 3-0, the Trail Blazers' chances of winning are essentially over, and they can start preparing for next season.
The only suspense in this Clippers-Trail Blazers series is whether a sweep will occur. As for a comeback, that's practically impossible even in a video game. The probability is too low… Everyone says records are broken by humans, but this record is indeed incredibly difficult to break…
On May 7th, Clippers vs. Trail Blazers series Game 4.
Without a comeback attempt, the Trail Blazers' morale plummeted, and the Clippers faced little resistance throughout the game, ultimately securing another victory on the road and sweeping their opponents 4-0 in the series. This marked their second consecutive series sweep, making them the first team to advance to the Western Conference Finals!
If the Clippers' record-breaking run to the Western Conference Finals last season had an element of luck, such as an opponent's key player being injured, then reaching the Western Conference Finals for two consecutive seasons cannot be explained by luck alone; it can only mean that this team is indeed very strong.
On the other side of the West, the Rockets and Warriors are locked in a close battle, currently tied 2-2, and will now face off in Game 5.
The Clippers are sitting back and watching the two teams fight. It would be best if these two teams went to a Game 7, which would wear them down and allow the Clippers to reap the benefits.
—That’s the advantage of being number one in the league! They not only enjoy home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, but they also have a more favorable schedule, playing the 8th seed in the first round and the winner of the 4th and 5th seed in the second round.
On May 9th, the pivotal Game 5 between the Rockets and Warriors took place.
Clippers head coach Mike Budenholzer invited Jia Fei to watch the game on TV together.
Before the match began, Coach Buden asked Jia Fei a question.
"Jia, which of these two teams do you think will win the series?" Coach Buden asked.
"Warrior!" Jia Fei's answer consisted of only two words.