NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 417 The Situation Changed in an Instant

Coach Li was hesitant to bench DeAndre Jordan, even though his protégé was constantly being exploited by opponents. His adjustment was to bench Wesley Johnson and bring in Redick, adding another shooter to prevent the team's offensive spacing from becoming too poor.

Redick's presence improved Jia Fei's offensive space, but their problem remained on the defensive end, with the opponent completely dominating DeAndre Jordan.

The Clippers' three major weaknesses combined, leading to a complete deficit in the game. Since entering the playoffs, this team hadn't lost a single game this season, boasting a five-game winning streak. This passive situation in this game is the first time they've faced such a predicament in this year's playoffs.

The Clippers were dominated from start to finish and ultimately lost the game.

After this game, the Clippers' undefeated playoff streak this season was broken, and the team's weaknesses were fully exposed. In fact, their weaknesses have always existed, but the Thunder couldn't pinpoint them. The Rockets' offensive opening moves are designed to target the Clippers; with Harden and 58 forming a "58 City" duo, the Clippers have become a broken ship.

The Clippers suffered a crushing defeat on the road, losing their chance for a six-game playoff winning streak and allowing their opponents to tie the series.

Although the Rockets only secured one home game, this victory gave them a glimmer of hope for advancing in the series. The Clippers only have Jia Fei (Jackson), Doc Rivers (LeBron James) is still a mess, and DeAndre Jordan, having been relentlessly dominated, is no longer suited for the top-tier competition in today's league.

The happiest person in this game was undoubtedly 58. With him on the court, the Rockets won by a large margin; without him, they narrowly lost. Those who previously belittled him, saying he was useless, were thoroughly proven wrong, and he was very happy to see that. Moreover, this wasn't even at 100% capacity; he felt the door to the Western Conference Finals was already open for him, and the Warriors were beckoning him.

The visiting team's locker room was eerily quiet after their defeat to the Rockets. This loss was undoubtedly a huge blow to the Clippers' morale. The process of losing this game was too agonizing; they were dominated from start to finish, and their opponent wasn't even the Warriors, who were at their peak.

Old Li appeared in the locker room and began to use his expertise, continuously pouring motivational words into the players. Regardless of what the players thought, or whether they had ever received such encouragement before, it did have some calming effect at that moment. At least, everyone's frustration subsided somewhat.

Jia Fei didn't say much. When it comes to psychological counseling, Lao Li is much better than him; he's a professional. As for tactics, it's meaningless for him to talk about them. This team has a fatal flaw, and it's unsolvable. In other words, as long as the opponent grasps it firmly, they can easily be defeated.

In this league, the Clippers' two most feared teams are both in the Western Conference. One is the Rockets, whom they are currently playing against, and the other is the Warriors, a team known for their dominance.

Both teams boast some of the league's best centers, and their small lineups balance mobility and shooting range, allowing them to double-team and rotate effectively. The former can target DeAndre Jordan, while the latter can target Jia Fei.

Jia Fei isn't afraid of double-teams, but his team is. If he's double-teamed, and the opponent's rotations are quick enough, their outside shooters won't be enough to beat them. DeAndre Jordan, as the team's second-best All-Star after Jia Fei, a former All-NBA First Team center, in his prime and injury-free, would absolutely not accept being benched or benched in crucial moments. This means that when he's on the court, opponents only need to target him, simplifying tactical development and reducing turnovers.

The changing times have shrunk the space for centers like DeAndre Jordan. Offensively, his lack of shooting range and rough technique aren't the most fatal flaws, because big men can roll to the basket and finish with alley-oops; four shooters can easily compensate for this. However, defensively, his inability to defend outfield, execute switches, delay plays poorly, and keep up in transition is a more serious problem.

The Clippers were able to sweep the Thunder because the Thunder's pick-and-roll didn't target DeAndre Jordan, Westbrook's shooting was too poor, and Aquaman was too slow on the cut. Add to that the Thunder's poor overall offensive spacing, and Jerry Westbrook's help defense was excellent. However, both the Rockets and the Warriors used a lineup with one inside and four outside players; the Warriors even frequently played a small-ball lineup with five outside players.

On the way out of Houston, the Clippers players weren't in high spirits. They weren't upset about the 1-1 series score, but the game itself was the problem. Game 2 of the series had been a huge blow to the players; they were completely shut down on both ends of the court. Could they really change everything back at home?

The Clippers don't have many tactical options. They can't play a small-ball lineup because they don't have a suitable center for it. DeAndre Jordan's presence forces them to play a larger lineup, and even then, they can't play ultra-fast-paced offense and defense.

The reason they were so dominant in the regular season was because opponents weren't targeting them so aggressively. Ignoring switching and delaying plays, DeAndre Jordan is one of the best defensive players among all drop-in centers in the NBA, and he's excellent at finishing plays, rarely making butterfingers. Unfortunately, in the playoffs, they faced an extreme team like the Rockets, a team whose offense is entirely initiated by their guards, a team where high pick-and-rolls are 90% of their tactics…

As long as DeAndre Jordan is on the court for even a second, the opponent will use pick-and-rolls to target him, constantly exposing this weakness...

Jia Fei was at a loss. He could certainly unleash his full power and fight back against the double team, but the team's biggest problem had never been offense, but defense. Defense was the foundation of this team, the key to their record-breaking performance. If they couldn't defend, it would be difficult to defeat their opponent through offense alone.

Back in Los Angeles, Art Mayork went to Jia Fei's house and talked about the game.

"Jia, do you think the coaching staff will change the formation?" Art Mayork asked.

Jia Fei nodded: "The formation might change!"

"Will De Andre be substituted?" Art Mayork continued to ask.

Jia Fei shook his head firmly: "Impossible. Even if Patrick is benched, he won't be benched. The most likely candidate to be benched is Wesley."

Jia Fei knows Lao Li quite well. Redick was Lao Li's former subordinate. If it weren't for the management wanting Jia Fei to play the shooting guard position, according to Lao Li's arrangement, Redick would have been the starting shooting guard this season.

Now the opportunity has come. The team has lost and needs to change its lineup. In addition, Wesley Johnson's poor performance has caused problems with the team's offensive spacing. Therefore, it is only natural to bring Redick back into the starting lineup.

Jia Fei had no objection to Redick returning to the starting lineup; without touching DeAndre Jordan, this was indeed the only possible adjustment. The pick-and-roll duo off the bench couldn't be changed; breaking them would disrupt team chemistry and cause problems for the second unit.