NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 477 The playoffs are all about matchups

In terms of the ability to shoot deep three-pointers from beyond the arc, only Lillard can rival Curry in the entire league. With this skill, opponents find it very difficult to defend, and even initiating pick-and-rolls from a high position poses a threat.

The starting lineups for both teams have been deployed, and the match is about to begin.

Olynyk and Nukaku are preparing for the jump ball near the center circle; the match is about to begin.

The jump ball began, and Olynyk unusually won the jump ball, giving the Clippers possession for the first possession.

Beverley dribbles the ball across half-court.

For the Trail Blazers, former second overall pick Evan Turner is guarding Jia Fei, forward Aminu is guarding Paul George, Lillard is guarding Beverley, and CJ is guarding Gallinari!

The reason for this defensive strategy is to hide both shooters. Both shooters have weaknesses in defense. Relatively speaking, CJ's defense is slightly better than the other two, but only slightly. CJ is only 190cm tall, which is enough to handle most shooting guards, but asking him to guard Jia Fei is practically giving him away.

Defending Paul George would be difficult, given the significant height difference and George's penchant for jump shots; a shorter player would offer little opportunity for interference. Therefore, after careful consideration, Coach Stotts decided to assign CJ McCollum to guard Gallinari. Although Gallinari plays the power forward position, he frequently plays off-ball, potentially reducing the pressure on defenders.

Beverley passed the ball to Jia Fei, who then faced Turner.

Turner, as the second overall pick, is undeniably gifted. He can handle the ball, plays excellent defense, and has outstanding passing vision. But why hasn't he truly lived up to expectations? Ultimately, it comes down to a lack of shooting ability. For an outside player to become a star, shooting ability is essential. Even stars like the "Running Man" who are constantly criticized for their shooting have a jump shot, and they've managed to develop it. Turner is the type who just can't develop it, and it seems unlikely he ever will.

In today's league, a perimeter player without a shooting ability will have significantly reduced value when handling the ball, no matter how strong their playmaking skills are. Not to mention that the Trail Blazers' ball possession is basically concentrated in the hands of their two backcourt players. Therefore, the functionality of role players becomes even more important. Turner is a player with star attributes and a playstyle, but as a 3-and-D player on the team, he may not necessarily be as useful as a true 3-and-D player.

Jia Fei dribbled the ball leisurely, and Turner didn't dare to rush forward to steal it. A man's reputation precedes him; Jia Fei's name was well-known, and aside from a few reckless youngsters, most NBA stars wouldn't dare to pressure him on defense.

Jia Fei lobbed the ball to Gallinari!

Gallinari received the ball with his back to goal, facing CJ McCollum, who was a head shorter than him, and sat back down.

Although CJ is short, he's not skinny; he has a sturdy butt like someone who's 58cm tall. Lowering his center of gravity makes him look like a big rock—hard to lift!

Gallinari really couldn't break through. Amid the cheers of the fans in the stadium, he felt embarrassed. After all, the team leader, Jia Fei, trusted him so much, letting him exploit mismatches against the opponent's smaller players and making him the main attacker from the start. Such treatment is not common.

Gallinari took a strong shot, a turnaround jumper, but it missed...

The ballista stood tall under the basket, securing the rebound.

Lillard leisurely dribbled the ball across half-court, with Beverley guarding him the entire court, sticking to him like a leech.

Lillard's dribbling is very skillful. He's naturally short; his official height is 191cm, but he looks noticeably shorter next to elementary school students and players like Beverley. His actual height is probably around 185cm, similar to Beverley's.

The crossbowman came over to set a high screen, and his screen was of very high quality, thanks to his large body and solid cover skills.

For the Clippers, Beverley and Olynyk double-teamed Lillard at the high post!

Double-teaming the ball handler is not a sophisticated or aggressive defensive strategy. The Heat used this tactic all the time, using fast rotations to force turnovers and then get the ball for fast breaks.

The Clippers' defensive strategy rarely involves double-teaming the ball handler, because if you double-team the ball handler and the opponent successfully passes the ball, it's easy to give them an open shot. They will sometimes have Beverley squeeze through the screen, and sometimes have Olynyk delay, depending on the characteristics of the opponent's ball handler. They don't often seriously double-team the ball handler.

Lillard passed the ball out to Aminu, who then passed it to Turner.

The Clippers rotated very quickly, but Turner still got a shooting opportunity.

Turner didn't shoot, and the defense immediately moved in.

Turner breaks through and passes to CJ on the other side!

CJ faced Jia Fei, received the ball, took a three-pointer after a triple threat, and swished it off the rim!

However, Nuka grabbed the offensive rebound and scored on the second-chance opportunity!

The Trail Blazers scored first!

Beverley dribbled the ball over and passed it to Jia Fei.

Jia Fei has the ball and continues to lob it to Gallinari!

Gallinari was very grateful for his boss's trust. He changed his strategy, received the ball, turned to face the basket, took a jab step, and suddenly pulled up for a shot over CJ's head...

CJ couldn't reach it, so he jumped symbolically, and the ball went into the basket!

2-2, both sides have scored!

The Trail Blazers are on offense, or Lillard is double-teamed!

Lillard passes the ball, Aminu misses a three-pointer!

Jia Fei grabbed the rebound and launched a fast break, delivering a bounce pass to Gallinari who was making a quick layup!

2-4, the Clippers scored 4 consecutive points and took the lead!

The Trail Blazers were on offense. Nurkic called for the ball in the low post, backed down Olynyk, who fell to the ground at the slightest touch, and Varejao stepped in...

"Beep beep beep—" The crossbow was blown into an offensive foul!

弩机很火大，想揍地板上的奥利尼克，可他脑海里闪过乐福那帅气的笑脸，什么脾气都没有了，吐槽了两句就回防了……

If I can't afford to offend them, can't I at least avoid them?

Olynyk's angelic smile made many people unable to believe that this guy actually had a devilish side.

The Clippers are on offense, and Jia Fei continues to pass to Gallinari.

Gallinari faked out CJ, then drove to the basket and scored!

2:6, all 6 of the Clippers' points came from Gallinari, leaving the fans in the arena in disbelief.

Trail Blazers head coach Stotts frowned on the sidelines. He had assigned CJ to guard Gallinari in an attempt to protect him, but he hadn't expected to escape Jia Fei's notice. The other man was exploiting that misalignment.

"Gallinari's attack is really impressive, he's scored three goals in a row!" Wang Meng exclaimed.

"It's mainly because Jia Fei made a good pass. That's what makes Jia Fei different from many other stars. He can read the game and choose the offensive approach based on the situation. Gallinari definitely had to take advantage of such a big mismatch against CJ!" Yang Yi explained.

The playoffs are all about matchups. If your shooting isn't good, I'll leave you open. If your defense isn't good, I'll keep attacking you until I hurt you!

The Trail Blazers were on offense, and this time Aminu was left wide open. He took a three-pointer but missed!

Turner fouled while grabbing the offensive rebound!