Chapter 552: Classic matchup

Neither Li Liang nor Leonard were initially recognized as genius forwards.
Especially Li Liang, a second-round final show, is a miracle to this day.
Leonard is much better than Lee, but the 15th pick is already out of the lottery show, and his performance this year has been much better than many of the players in front of him.
For example, Derek Williams, who was drafted by the Timberwolves at the top of the list, was sent to the King by the Timberwolves in November 13 and returned to Ba Mote.
Another example is the Morris brothers in front of Leonard. The strength is there, and the potential is far worse than that of Leonard.
But it was such a talent that was not obvious in the rookie period, and the offensive shooting and facial expressions were as stiff as players, in Li Liang's eyes, but one of the league's most difficult small forwards to deal with.
Of course, the first difficult one is James, Durant and Anthony are also difficult to deal with, but the two men's defense Li Liang is not very afraid.
Leonard was a strong shield, and it was no easy task to puncture him.
Li Liang believed that he was not a sharp knife or a sledgehammer. He was a longbow. What he wanted to do was not to pierce the shield, but to go round and take the Spurs straight.
In the first quarter, every shot of Li Liang used running and cooperation to get rid of Leonard, or got a second rebound to attack and score points.
As long as the battle is held one-on-one, Li Liang will not attack.
To force an attack, Li Liang can throw a three-pointer, but it is not the right time.
At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers 28:24, leading the Spurs by 4 points.
But at the beginning of the second quarter, Mills hit a three-pointer on the right 45 degrees, chasing the point difference to only 1 point.
Immediately afterwards, Odom was blown with a cover foul during the attack, and the situation suddenly turned against the Clippers.
It was Ginobili who made Odom the foul.
Then, the Spurs cooperated through a series of outside ball transmissions. Dior caught the ball in the middle to find a gap, dribble the ball and hit the basket. A light shot hit two points and the Spurs overtook!
The speed of this counterattack is really fast. Only one minute from the second quarter, the advantage established by the Clippers in the first quarter no longer exists.
Soon, Griffin went down after double-screening with Odom in the middle and took Crawford's pass. A back turned to the basket and faced Duncan's left hand.
However, the Clippers defensive end revealed a loophole, Ginobili high-passed a pass to the basket, Dior received the ball easily layup.
The Spurs' bench is not much better in tactical coordination, offensive firepower and main lineup.
And Popovich also put Duncan on the field, so that the team's defense has a basic guarantee.
Then, Crawford missed a mid-range jumper after the pick and roll.
The Spurs counterattacked and Duncan beat Griffin with a low post.
But the ball was hit by the Clippers players, the Spurs' possession.
At this time, the Clippers are Griffin, Odom and Hollins on the court. Without Jordan and Li Liang, the Clippers' defensive level is straight down.
The basket was penetrated and the backcourt rebounds were not well protected.
After going out of bounds, Rivers immediately replaced Jordan, and replaced Hollins.
But the Spurs, through skillful outside coordination, still allowed Ginobili to find a gap at 45 degrees on the left and then hit a three-pointer!
At 30:34, the Spurs passed 4 points!
"I said, turn round and round, why don't you listen?"
Li Liang criticized Rivers on the bench.
Rivers changed his defensive strategy in the second quarter. He no longer engaged in a full rotation, but focused on pressing the ball holder. The result was the Spurs.
In fact, Rivers has no choice. The replacement lineup, Odom, Griffin, such as rotation on the field, most of them will be penetrated by the Spurs.
But the facts also prove that without full rotation, the Spurs' transfer ball can always find a space, which is very scary in the playoffs.
In modern NBA basketball, it is not easy to find open spaces for players through offensive conduction tactics.
For many tactics, it is already very good to find one-on-one heads-up space for the star. One pass can mobilize a defensive gap of 0.1 seconds to allow the ball to make an offensive move, which is very good.
It is not a high school basketball game or a 50-year-old NBA that wants to spread a large space in the position offensive. Now the stadium is crowded, the players are of excellent physical quality, and the space is rare.
This year's Spurs have repeatedly been able to pass vacancies, allowing players to shoot in a comfortable state.
The Spurs hit the Clippers with a 10:2 offensive climax and directly stopped the Clippers.
Rivers humbly accepted Li Liang's criticism, then put Li Liang on the court and replaced Griffin.
After Li Liang's debut, the Clippers' offense improved immediately. He caught the ball in the middle and used a fake to shake Dior. After scoring the basket, he passed the cricket and passed the ball to the little Jordan.
Jordan layup was pulled down by Split and fouled to the foul line.
Jordan Jr. made a free throw and Popovich immediately replaced Leonard.
One of two free throws, and then the Spurs are not so smooth on offense.
The Clippers firmly blocked the loopholes, changed defenses, and did not easily trap or defensive positions.
In the end, Dior misplaced Jordan on the left side, dribbling the back a few times without squeezing in. He could only turn over and walk out. A difficult back jumper did not make a jump.
In fact, as long as it is not the position of Duncan playing Crawford, the Clippers' other players have the ability to defend, regardless of the small defense or the big defense.
Li Liang grabbed a backboard and the Clippers' counterattack came.
Li Liang passed the ball to Paul, Paul and Li Liang pick and roll after halftime.
The Spurs continued to double-match Li Liang, and Paul pulled a jumper from the top of the arc to score two points.
Paul's mid-range, if the Spurs do not pay attention, it can also kill.
Popovich sat on the bench and looked down at the tactical cards, shaking his head slightly.
The Spurs are strong, but from the Spurs' point of view, the Clippers are also terrible.
The Clippers without Li Liang were already a strong team with a full lineup, but the middle class signed an MVP?
Popovich wants such a good thing.
A Li Liang is a perfect fit with the Clippers in position and play style.
It is enough to deal with Li Liangpopovich alone, and the Clippers also have a Chris Paul at the peak and Griffin.
Defensive Clippers, it is definitely a hoist, it can't do everything.
After the Clippers changed their defensive strategy, the Spurs' passing fluency immediately fell.
But Leonard got a one-on-one singles chance on the wing. After pushing Barnes back, he made a jump shot and scored two points.
The Spurs continued to lead.
After that, Li Liang passed the ball, the Spurs got a chance to counterattack, and Dior missed a three-pointer.
Li Liang scored a rebound in the backcourt and launched a counterattack. He and Barnes made a collision pass with a wall and made a three-point shot on the right 45 degrees!
Leonard couldn't get a second defense, watching Li Liang hit a three-pointer and tied again!
Leonard was still expressionless, but in his mind he had repeatedly reminded himself, "Don't care about Barnes, don't care about Barnes, guard Bruce, guard Bruce."
Leonard's goal is purely defensive instinct to pounce on the free Barnes, otherwise Li Liang will not give room.
Li Liang has hit 6 of 6 so far and has not missed.
But immediately, the Spurs Bellinelli received a wide range of transfers from Dior, and after swinging away Barnes, he made a three-pointer shot on the right and regained his advantage.
The offense on both sides was opened, and no one wanted to easily kill the opponent.
Li Liang didn't think about easily killing the Spurs. He was worried that his teammates thought he could easily kill the Spurs.
The first two rounds of the Clippers were still too easy to play, especially when opening the Trailblazer and playing.
It is not a good thing to play too easily in the semifinals.
I had been doing Beijing rolls and Shanghai rolls all the time, but I didn't feel good after finishing them. As a result, I immediately came to Qidong rolls and Huanggang rolls, which made my mentality explode.
In comparison, when the Spurs played the Warriors in the semifinals, the team's potential was inspired.
The Warriors were unexpectedly strong, allowing the Spurs to go all out, and the result was better and better.
After Bellinelli hit a three-pointer, the Clippers wasted another chance on offense. Paul's layup knocked Parker down and was fouled offensively.
But Paul immediately succeeded in stealing on the defensive end.
Bellinelli was covered by a small Jordan under the basket and wanted to pass to the bottom corner. As a result, there was no gap and it passed to Paul.
The Clippers counterattacked, and Odom received Paul's pass from the middle. The layup was blocked by Duncan.
Duncan's defense under the rim is really a matter of course.
After that, the Spurs scored points through a very clever layup. Leonard made a high drop to Split. After Split received the ball, a ground pass was passed to Duncan on the other side. Duncan made a layup with ease.
The Spurs have extended their lead to 5 points, and their defense has become more solid and their offense has become more and more fluent.
Li Liang immediately stood up to break this trend.
Li Liang was on the line and Paul quickly picked and picked up. Immediately after receiving the ball, a concealed pass was given to Xiao Jordan. Xiao Jordan successfully dunked his hands!
Also caused Leonard's foul ~EbookFREE.me~Jordan made a free throw line, but unfortunately missed the free throw.
But Li Liang set the rebound and Paul took the ball and passed it back to Li Liang.
At the moment Li Liang received the ball, the Spurs players thought he was going to shoot. As a result, Li Liang once again passed the ball to the inside, and Jordan dunked again!
Two offenses were deducted in one attack, and Jordan was very happy.
The Spurs players are not happy.
The two sides entered an official timeout. At this time, the second quarter was a half. The two sides became 40:41, and the Clippers were one point behind the Spurs.
Reggie Miller, a commentator on the sidelines, said, "This may be the game with the highest level of confrontation so far in the playoffs. I believe that this round of the series may become a classic matchup, just like the Pacers in 1998. Same for the bulls."
Miller did not forget to blow himself and the Pacers, you did not win in 1998!