Chapter 743: A Bright Spot in the Tragedy
Tragedy is a specific historical process, just analyzing the Clippers at this time, well...... It's still a tragedy.
Head coach Mike Dunleavy has been at the helm of the team for seven seasons, and the only record the coach has had during that time has been leading the Clippers to the playoffs in the 05-06 season.
It's the 09-10 season, and in a business league like the NBA, Dunleavy's position as head coach is already in jeopardy.
The coach is in danger of being laid off at any time, what about the core of the team?
Just as bad!
Al Thornton, who averaged 16.8 points per game last season, was once seen as a hope for the Clippers' revival.
However, Thornton's age injury of entering the league at the age of 24 has always made Clippers management worried, believing that his potential is limited and he cannot be the superstar that the team needs.
Coupled with the addition of Blake Griffin, the top pick of the season, the Clippers management completely abandoned the development of Thornton.
This time, coach and general manager Dunleavy has done quite tough, and even if Griffin is out for the season, he has not once again used Al Thorton as an alternate in the main team.
This season, Al Thorton's average playing time per game has been directly reduced by 10 minutes, and his average data per game has also been reduced from 16.8+5.2+1.8 to 10.7+3.8+1.2, completely reduced to a role player.
Of course, Thornton's downfall isn't just because the Clippers are preparing to develop Griffin, but more importantly, the Clippers' German center Chris Carman has played at the peak of his career this season after suffering an injury last season.
Carman's average data per game this season has reached 18.5+9.3+1.6, which is actually the first scoring point in the Clippers team.
This kind of performance directly occupies the position of the Clippers' starting center, and Dunleavy is bound to put Marcus Camby in the No. 4 position in order to balance the defense.
As a result, not only has Thorton's stats dropped significantly, but even DeAndre Jordan on the bench has to continue his journey as a substitute.
Jordan Jr. is about to start doubting life again.
From the small green house to the second round, from the expectation of the league's future top center to the 10,000-year substitute on the bench, Jordan Jr.'s counterattack is still far away.
Eric Gordon, who will later be known as Roundface by Celestial Empire fans, has stats that are roughly the same as his rookie season, and Byron Davis's stats are slightly better than last season, but he is already past his prime.
The only bright spot in the Clippers' starting lineup is that they traded Russell Butler from the New Orleans Hornets last summer with a future second-round pick.
The Clippers are used to tragedy, but the Hornets are obviously a bit nonsensical in this trade, and the loss of Russell Butler is equivalent to the loss of a qualified wing that averages 11+3 per game.
Well, trade veteran, so league newcomer Darren Collison barely went to play the No. 2 spot.
Chris Paul's '09-10 season was a disaster, the head coach was fired, he was injured, and the Western Conference floor seemed to be getting farther and farther away.
Returning to tonight's game, the Clippers fielded the starting lineup:
C Chris Karman
PF Marcus Camby
S.F. Russell Butler
SG Eric Gordon
PG Byron Davis
Erniu stood in the center circle and Karman jumped the ball, and the Celestial Empire took the lead in sending the ball to Dragic with stronger bounce speed.
The claw machine held the ball in the half, observed the situation on the field, and was embarrassed to run back and receive a pass from the claw machine on the flank.
Feint to shoot, after the round-faced Deng was shaken away, Embarrassment broke through with the ball and pulled out his hand at 10 feet.
"Bang!"
Didn't hit!
But under the basket, he threw himself and grabbed the rebound.
Carman and Camby swooped in at the same time, and in the face of the bag of two strong men on the inside, Embarrassment calmly sent the pass.
The weak side of the second cow received a second pass from the crotch of the embarrassment, and no one guarded it.
"Bang!"
With a powerful one-arm split, Erniu scored the first point of the night for the Eagles.
Davis possessed the ball over half court, and if it was at the peak of the beard, the claw machine would most likely be crushed to see the opponent go inside.
However, the current beard is not as good as it used to be.
Davis took the initiative to make a blocking gesture in the high position, and Camby and Carman raised the wall at the same time.
The bearded man chose Camby's side!
After shaking off the claw machine, the bearded man met the reinforcement of the lunar eclipse head-on.
Return!
With the 18-foot Camby receiving a pass from Davis, is the classic crooked handle going to appear?
No, Camby opted to pass the ball and the ball got to Carman.
Erniu was too close to the box and Carman shot from 16 feet......
"Brush!"
Hit!
Carman's long-range 2-point shooting rate is over 46% this season, which is quite threatening, and the two bulls are careless.
Both sides shot well at the front end of the first quarter, and the score was in an alternating upward process.
After an initial period of probing, the defensive intensity of both sides began to increase.
On the offensive end of the Hawks, the lunar eclipse was misplaced and cut the basket, and when Carman wanted to complete a dunk, Camby suddenly shot out from the weak side, and a big hat flew the ball out directly.
The Clippers possessed the ball, and the round-faced frontcourt was delayed by Salmons, but still made the move to the Hawks basket.
"Be careful!"
The bearded man screamed.
Finished!
The No. 88 jersey flew into the sky, followed by a big hat that covered the sky.
"Bang!", "Bang!"
No, after Erniu fanned the basketball with a big hat in his right hand, the ball hit the top edge of the rebound, and there was a very fast rebound......
As the defensive intensity increased, the scoring efficiency of both teams began to decline.
Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy is naturally the same poker face for 10,000 years.
Personally, his career has indeed entered an awkward period, and even with tonight's win over the Hawks, the Clippers will have a hard time getting out of the predicament.
Mike Woodson went from a calm smile at the start of the game to a serious one, the Clippers are not simple, they are not a team with a belly.
Although the tragedy of the curse still hangs over this team, this season's Clippers are not a team that is reckless, they have their own pursuit of the game, and they have their own plans for the future.
Fortunately, Woodson, who has won two COYs, is no longer Wu Xia Amon, and he has full confidence in the team lineup he has created single-handedly.
As the game entered the end of the first quarter, the Hawks significantly increased their offensive efficiency, Salmons ushered in more shots, and when the Clippers focused more defensive attention on Erniu and Misery, the Salmon on the perimeter had a chance.
Rassell Butler's defense is not bad, but he has spent too much energy in order to help defend against Embarrassment, after all, Roundface Deng's defense is equivalent to nothing.
Hit, hit, hit!
A wave of salmon rain opened the score in an instant.
At 23:33, the Hawks entered the second quarter with a 10-point lead.
Salmons led the Hawks to an 11-0 run, which instantly tilted the game to the Hawks' side.