The second round opponent unexpectedly turned into the Clippers, and Griffin was injured and absent, so the Kings adjusted their defensive strategy.

Su Yang held the coaching staff for a meeting and studied the Clippers lineup a little, and found that Griffin did not have a qualified power forward substitute. Only Jeff Green, who was traded in the mid-season, could barely use it, while Green couldn't defend Antetokounmpo or Cousins.

"Damn..."

Su Yang was a little surprised. In the past, the Clippers' reflection was mainly because they did not have qualified forwards, but they didn't think so serious. Rivers has done what he has done in the past few years as the president of basketball operations, and why did he stock up on a bunch of guards and three consecutive taverns?

Think about it again, in the absence of a qualified forward, Rivers would have to give his own son Rivers Jr. three years of high salary!

It can only be said that Paul met someone wrong.

When he first named the name to cooperate with the black champion Rivers, who had a very good reputation in the league, he was delayed in his peak period.

If Nowitzki is considering that he wants to cooperate with Rondo by name, then the fact that he is a designated teammate is really a bit of a mess.

Anyway, the saying "I want to play gg with Domineering" didn't get any good results in the end. I really have to believe in evil.

"So, who will the Clippers arrange for the starting fourth position?"

Assistant coach Mike Brown asked, and Assistant coaches McMillan and Dee Brown each expressed their opinions, believing that only Green is suitable.

Su Yang chuckled: "You may not guess what Coach Rivers thinks, what if he chooses a three-guard lineup?"

"The Clippers with the three defenders can't play..."

"The Clippers' three defenders are equal to surrender..."

"Rivers won't be that stupid..."

Su Yang was not worried, and wanted to walk and watch.

As the Clippers reversed the Rockets and advanced to the second round, the matchups of the four groups and eight teams in the eastern and western semi-finals were confirmed.

In the East, after being scored three consecutive games by the Hornets, Batum returned and finally advanced 4-3, against the Raptors, who also narrowly defeated the Pacers 4-3. The Hawks defeated the Bulls who were absent from Noah and Butler, against the Cavaliers who swept the Pistons.

In the West, except for the Kings and the Clippers, another group of duels is the Warriors fighting the Spurs, which is a Mars colliding with the Earth.

The Kings' first advantage in the regular season is revealed, and they don't need to spend money with strong teams in the second round, saving energy and reducing risks.

Regarding the second round of the Kings against the Clippers, ESPN also organized experts to give predictions, but this time the differences were particularly big.

More than 14 people are still optimistic about the King's advancement, but there are various small-point predictions from 4 to 0 to 4 to 3.

The main thing is that I don’t know if Griffin will make a comeback midway through the series and what effect will be, the Clippers have not yet confirmed it.

Anyway, the Clippers like to shoot smoke when the injury of the star, and Griffin's left leg quadriceps were partly torn.

The outside world doesn't know how serious the part is.

On May 1st, the first game of the second round of the Kings and the Clippers playoffs started at the Golden One Arena in Sas City.

The Clippers started, Paul, Redick, Rivers, Jeff Green, and Jordan Jr., and played a three-guard lineup on the spot.

Green also has a starter, and Su Yang and the assistant coaches each guessed halfway. No one really can guess Rivers's idea.

Amid the cheers of the whole audience, the Clippers won the jump ball, started with the first attack of the five-for-one formation, and Jordan Jr. set up a wall to cover Paul.

George, who was responsible for defending Paul, decisively bypassed the cover and blocked the breakthrough according to Su Yang's arrangement, relaxing Paul's three-point shots. Paul really boldly combined the ball and shot, and the basketball immediately hit the iron, probably because Paul only hit 37 times.

George did not completely let Paul shoot, but also provided interference with his height, wingspan, and bounce speed.

Turning around, the King delayed the position and started. Cousins ​​used Antetokounmpo's cover to face Jeff Green in dislocation, successfully received a basketball pass from George, and directly sat down and played. Without any skills, he easily pushed it into the penalty area. Redick hurriedly double-teamed.

Cousins ​​ignored the double-team and turned around and took the jump and dunk. His weight advantage was too great, which made Green retreat repeatedly.

The Clippers' defensive end clearly wanted to force the Kings to make the ball in the inside through the outside line, and then use the three-guard rotation advantage to suppress the Kings' three-pointer. However, the first step was because the three-guard was too short and it was difficult to limit the pass, which made it much more difficult to come back.

Redick really can't interfere with George's messing to Antetokounmpo or Cousins. Paul can barely interfere, and the consumption is quite large.

The Clippers' defensive end did not meet expectations, and Rivers made decisive adjustments to remind the wall to interfere with and hold the ball to put pressure on the ball.

But it's useless.

The difference in weight and strength is too big, so Cousins ​​is very excited when he encounters confrontation and succeeds one after another.

After seven or eight rounds, the Kings kept attacking the inside. Rivers saw the defense but didn't expect it, so he simply put it on the wrong side and emphasized the offense.

However, the Clippers' three-guard lineup does have a mobility advantage against other teams, but there is no advantage against the Kings.

Antetokounmpo, George, and Covington, all three of them are super strong players in the defense, and Curry is not a joke to steal.

After the first quarter, the Kings led 34 to 19.

For the Clippers' 19 points, Paul scored 10 points, which made Paul spend a lot of energy at the beginning.

Immediately following the second quarter, Rivers sent his capable player Crawford to attack and chase points.

Anyway, Rivers likes to win games in an unexpected way, starting from leading the unpopular lineup to ranking ninth in the Eastern Conference to coaching Leonard, his love for substitutes and the best sixth man is far superior to other coaches.

Long before the game started, Rivers emphasized in an interview, saying: "The best sixth man this season should be Jamal Crawford. I know Isaiah Thomas deserves this award, but I think Crawford is more qualified..."

Su Yang had already made arrangements for such adjustments.

Turner directly guarded the defense, and Covington played continuously to assist in defense. When encountering pick-and-roll, he would defend three or two locally, and the pressure was full.

After the half-quarter game, Crawford only scored 4 points.

Two of them were free throws.

Crawford's head was buzzing, and his performance was OK, but it was because he did not encounter the pressure of defensiveness at the starting level.

Crawford did not open it, and Rivers placed his hopes on his champion veteran Pierce, probably because Pierce had awesome performance per game in the Wizards last season and a highlight moment of winning the Raptors.

However, the tactics designed by the Clippers around Pierce are the tactics of the Celtic era, and Su Yang has explained them in detail.

The Kings' players heard calluses in their ears.

What slice, what horn     chest, as soon as the Clippers were used, Grant and others blocked the tactical running position in advance. However, unlike the Kings, the Clippers have long focused on dynamic offensive systems. Facing tactical running, Paul was on the court and could only do it recklessly.

After the same half-quarter game, Pierce scored only 4 points, including three points from fouls, which was true that the referee was biased.

On the Kings side, Thomas Jr. was determined to justify himself, and used the help of screening to break through continuously, and led the Clippers substitute center Cole Aldridge to rush hard, making all kinds of tough layups, not afraid of confrontation at all, and seemed to have intentions to not shoot, and to demonstrate his strength in confrontation.

You go back and forth, and the half-time game is over.

Although Paul continued to perform well, the Kings still expanded their lead to 20 points, and the game showed a crushing momentum.

Come back from halftime.

Rivers, who was unwilling to accept, adjusted the lineup, gave up the three defenders, and changed to Green and matched Bamott, starting with defense.

Perhaps after Thibodeau was laid off, he had a special exchange with his former boss Rivers. The Clippers adopted a large number of local three-defense and two-defense strategies in the second half, without any concealing their desire to limit Curry, suppress the King's offensive rhythm, and fight to the death.

Su Yang did not hesitate either.

Learn Cole's ideas on the spot, let Curry cover George, and easily crack the Clippers' local three defenses and ice.

There is no way. When Su Yang usually encounters such a black and hard guard, he is reluctant to let Curry cover it, which is too much consumption.

But Redick is white and soft, so he absolutely arranged it!

After eight rounds of confrontation, the Clippers had no temper and the score difference could not be narrowed. They entered the fourth quarter and the pitching was over halfway through and the pitching was abandoned.

After the game, the Kings defeated the Clippers 115-95, and led 1-0 in the second round of the playoffs.

After the game, ESPN analyzed the game process of the two teams. Stephen Smith commented: "Rivers was like wearing only a pair of XXXL swimming trunks standing in front of Su Yang, and wrote his thoughts on his chest. If Griffin could not return, the Clippers had no chance of winning..."
Chapter completed!