The Clippers switched to small-ball tactics, and Rivers wanted to bet on three points.

The Knicks were the opposite, they replaced Jefferson, Bosh, small forward Parsons, scoring guard Leonard, and point guard Zhou Xuan. Four big belts and one small, try to hit the basket every round.

Battier and Barnes made cameo appearances at the No. 4 position, and they did a good job of interfering with their shots, but they couldn't make up for their strength deficiencies, and their ability to control rebounds was poor. Barnes still made up for it, and Battier couldn't grab it directly.

Known as a softie, Bosh helped his teammates cover off the ball on the flanks and then cut inside, while Jefferson stayed low and ready to attack. Zhou Xuan does not rely on blocking and dismantling, and controls the ball in the periphery.

The weaknesses of the two Clippers stars have been exploited, Zhou Xuan is much taller than Paul, and his vision will not be affected, and as soon as he sees his toes, the ball will be sent out of Paul's head.

Griffin has power, bounces, and no reach, which makes it difficult for him to block his opponent on the front. Jefferson received the basketball, turned and threw from close range, and Griffin was hard to block.

Bosh's air cut advantage is more obvious, and Barnes's 201CM height defense is too reluctant. The soft egg turned into a tough guy, scored three times in the low post, missed a shot, and Jefferson also grabbed the rebound from the other side and scored a rebound.

The Clippers didn't open the perimeter, Crawford didn't stop, and Paul was lost. The lack of Finals experience began to emerge from the stars, who were too eager to play.

The Knicks switched defenses aggressively, allowing opponents to shoot almost always in the presence of interference. During this period, they relaxed their defense against Griffin, and the main three-point defense, Griffin had two beautiful open dunks, but the score fell behind even more.

This is a simple account, Griffin made 10 shots in a single quarter but only scored 20 points, even if the 80% shooting rate, the Clippers want to overtake, and it will take more than ten rounds to play this point.

With this calculation, you can understand why the league is now scarce, even if it is a star inside, scoring is not their key task, but defense. This year, the team didn't win by playing low.

The most popular insiders are people like Ibaka and Bosh. can shoot, can withdraw the air, change the defense quickly, can block, can interfere with the shot, do these well, even if they can't carry people, they can get a high salary.

The Clippers realized this, and after Griffin hit six straight shots, he began pulling out to cover his teammates and then rushed to grab the rebound. Unfortunately, the Knicks are defending three-pointers, and Jefferson's rebounding ability on the inside is not inferior to Griffin, and the Clippers are still 15 points behind in the last two minutes and can't catch up.

The Knicks won the game 101-84 in the final game.

Zhou Xuan didn't score much, only 12 points, but handed out 22 assists and 3 steals. Jefferson chipped in 24 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks. In the first half, Bosh, who was sleepwalking, relied on his excellent play in the second half to score 18 points and 7 rebounds. Parsons, Bledsoe and Matthews also scored in double figures.

On the Clippers' side, Griffin had a game-high 40 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, Paul had 14 points and 17 assists, and Crawford also scored 18 points.

Jordan Jr. had 8 points and 11 rebounds, and his free throws were too bad and his playing time was shortened.

Barnes was even worse, shooting 0-of-6, scoring no points and grabbing five rebounds.

At the press conference, Rivers was unconvinced. "I think the Knicks won a little bit unscrupulously, and our players played well, but they fell into the calculations," he said. A lot of their deliberate fouls are just free throws, and I think that's unfair. ”

Rivers was in a bad mood because of the loss, and he spoke a little brainlessly, as if he had never cut Howard when he played magic with the Celtics.

The NBA can't foul a non-player in the last two minutes, so the shark slashing tactic doesn't work in the last two minutes, and FIBA doesn't have that rule, and the NBA is already protecting those who won't make free throws.

The shark cutting tactic does not violate sportsmanship at all, but only affects the spectacle and takes advantage of the opponent's shortcomings. Is it fair to score two points directly? That's how the rough guys are happy.

D'Antoni laughed: "Obviously, we are better than the Clippers and we are all ready to lift another championship." ”

The reporter asked: "What do you think is the key to winning?" ”

D'Antoni said: "Team, we played very teamwork under Zhou Xuan's tandem. ”

The reporter asked Zhou Xuan: "How do you think you play?" How did you feel about this series against Paul? ”

"I'm very happy with today's performance, I don't have any special feelings, this is the fourth year in a row that I have played in the finals, I won't be too excited or slack off because of a win, and then we have to stay focused."

"What do you think of your opponent?"

Zhou Xuan smiled: "The Clippers have the strength, and it's not luck to reach the Finals, but unfortunately, we are a better team." ”

The reporter said, "I mean to comment on Paul, you're all point guards. ”

The reporter hopes to hear the disparaging words from Zhou Xuan's mouth, and then the news can add fuel and vinegar. Zhou Xuan would not belittle the other party after winning, he thought about it and said lightly: "He can shoot and assist, he is very comprehensive." We're a style of defender and I'm playing better than him and hopefully keep it up. ”

From beginning to end, Zhou Xuan didn't say anything bad about Paul, which made the reporter very helpless. Compared with stars like Zhou Xuan, who are difficult to speak, they prefer the kind of idiots who speak and do things without going through their brains and making a lot of nonsense, such as Ellis, Nick Young, McGee, etc., who are more likely to create topics or contradictions.

Back at the hotel, Rivers called a meeting with the coaching staff to work on what to do.

In addition to the players, the coaching staff also contributed to the success of the Clippers, and the head assistant coach was Kentry, the head coach of the Suns at the time.

The 58-year-old has more than 30 years of coaching experience in the NBA and the NCAA, and this is the third time Gentry has returned to the Clippers, having previously been an assistant coach with the Clippers in 1990-91 and head coach from 2000-2003, bringing the Suns to the Clippers.

Several of the other assistant coaches have worked with the Greenshirts and Rivers. Both Hill and Eastman have coached for more than 20 years, with the last 8-9 years in Boston assisting Rivers. Since 2009, defender Tyrone Lue has served as the head of player development and then as an assistant coach for the Green Shirts.

Rivers sighed: "In the next game, the Knicks will definitely use foul tactics against DeAndrew's free throws, do you think there is any way to crack it?" I want to hear everyone's opinions. ”

Hill smiled wryly: "I don't think there's any other way but to replace him as soon as the foul reaches 4 and don't let them take advantage of that." ”

Everyone else agreed. Rivers asked, "So who is the right one to use?" Glenn (Davis) is too slow, he is difficult to defend against the Knicks' offense, and if he is not used, Bosh may attack again, and has a clear height advantage. Danny (Granger) or Siddo (Tekoglu), who is better suited to the No.4 position? ”

TECHOGLOU, WHO IS 208CM TALL, JOINED THE CLIPPERS ON A FREE TRANSFER AND AVERAGED ONLY 3 POINTS 2 PER GAME. 3 rebounds, although he is past his prime, his three-point shooting rate is still as high as 44%, which is why the Clippers fancy him.

Granger is also 206CM tall, his shooting is inaccurate, and his defense is better than Turkoglou's, and Rivers hesitates about this question.

Gentry said: "I think I can let Hedo try, he is really poor in defense as a small forward, and it may be better to play in the No. 4 position against Bosh, Bosh's low-post offense mainly relies on shooting, he is very thin and can't eat hard with his body." I think I can reduce Sean [Battier's] playing time, he only has experience. ”

Rivers pondered for a moment and asked, "What about the outside line?" I want to play more small ball and get up to speed. What do you think about reducing Matt's playing time? His three-point shooting is average, and his role on the defensive end is not very large, and he is not the offensive core. ”

A game can expose a lot of problems, and Leonard's offense is less and more than that, and it doesn't seem to need a particularly strong player to mark.

"I gave Lance [Stephenson] a little bit more time because he was able to attack with the ball, he could make a stop-and-go jump shot and he had a good sense of passing," Gentry said. However, if he plays, it may not be possible to renew his contract in the summer. ”

Sometimes in order to renew role players at a low price, the coaching staff will depress the playing time of players, especially those who have a future and don't play a lot. That's why JR Smith hasn't been given a big contract for so many years.

Rivers asked Hill and Eastman for their opinions, and both felt that Stephenson could play a cameo role as a small forward, and his offense and defense were not weak.

I have to say that this is Stephenson's sadness, obviously capable, but because he can't shoot three-pointers, he is not suitable for the system, and his rookie contract is about to expire and has not been reused. Now in the finals, the coaches finally remembered him. Count jù others to take, and you will carry the black pot.

The Knicks also have one overlooked, and that's Xavier Henry. The coaching staff didn't think about Henry's goodness until they entered the playoffs and gave him some opportunities to show off, especially when he was playing off the bench, and he was better than Parsons. It's much faster.

When the coaching staff deliberated, Woodson suggested that Parsons reduce his playing time and let Henry play more, which would be conducive to renewing Parsons' contract with a low salary next year.

Parsons has contributed to the team's championship in the past two years, but in the NBA, favors are not worth business. The Knicks don't have the money to renew Perkins' contract with a high salary.

Zhou Xuan attended the meeting and raised objections on this issue.

"Chandler [Parsons] spoke to me about getting more minutes and he was worried about a contract extension. If Cowie and he can only keep one, I think it would be better to be generous and replace him. ”

"Swap away? His salary is only 1 million. D'Antoni shook his head.

"Isn't this year's rookie claimed to be strong? The Spurs did just that when they were dealing with George Hill, trading two people for the Bucks. It didn't affect Hill's future, but it also benefited from it, and we can follow suit. Otherwise, if he becomes a completely free man next year, Chandler may not renew his contract, and it is better to sell his personal favor and appear to be more humane to the management. What do you say, Chris? ”

Mullin smiled slightly. "I'm rooting for Stephen not to deliberately reduce anyone's playing time. When the season is over, I'll ask Chandler [Parsons] for his opinion. Now, we're going to make sure to defend our title! ”

Everyone else agreed.

Parsons, there's only so much I can do for you, and hopefully you'll be able to help the team as much as possible. Zhou Xuan thought to himself. He felt like he had done a good deed.