After beating the Sacramento Kings, the Clippers are on an impressive 11-game winning streak.

They are starting to get hot in the league, and in the past two seasons, although they have been strong, they have always felt like a "pseudo-strong team".

Because in the playoffs, they were swept for two consecutive seasons and did not show too much competitiveness.

In the regular season, their fast-paced, offensive-leaning style of play was considered unsuitable for the playoffs.

At the beginning of the season, the Clippers continued their style of play from last season, and their points per game average soared all the way to the top spot in the league.

After losing to the Magic and the Heat in succession, it was considered that he still couldn't wrestle with the strong team because there was no defense.

With this streak, the changes in the Clippers are obvious.

They are averaging fewer points per game and are no longer as desperate as they used to be to push fast counter-attacks at all costs.

Paul began to consciously control the tempo and give the ball to Li Liang to organize when needed.

Li Liang's current organizational ability, he will not pass for a long time.

He only has basic short passes, ground passes and the ability to use his space to open up and give his teammates better one-on-one attacking space.

Overall, the Clippers have become more layered on the offensive end, no longer blindly playing fast, and no longer overly reliant on Paul.

Rivers, as a master of chicken soup, began to consciously downplay the question of who is the leader of Li Liang Paul in the team after a period of coaching.

It's simply a double-headed system, whoever comes feels like they will fight, and the disputes between the two are getting fewer and fewer.

As for Griffin, he has completely become a three-in-command, and is willing to lead the second lineup.

In addition to the offense, the biggest change for the Clippers is defense, which must be thanked to Mike Brown.

After beating the Kings to win 11 in a row, Los Angeles media published articles to recognize the changes that Mike Brown brought to the Clippers after coming to the Clippers.

Mike Brown, who was about to be hacked into carbon in the Lakers, suddenly became the darling of the Los Angeles media again, and almost became synonymous with "turning stones into gold".

In the face of such praise, Mike Brown is as steady as a mountain and does not say anything.

After all, he has been up and down in the alliance for many years, and he has seen a lot of praise, whether he is wearing a high hat or falling into a well, he can deal with it calmly.

Now as the assistant coach of the Clippers, he has another important job to deal with, and that is about the team's recruitment.

At present, the Clippers' player recruitment power is mainly in the hands of Doug Rivers.

Like head coach Negro before them, the Clippers like to add the position of head coach and head player, and even general manager, to one person.

From a management and talent selection point of view, this is more efficient, the head coach wants whom, the main boss nods and agrees, and that player can be introduced into the team.

And it doesn't have to be like some teams, the general manager wants the people the head coach doesn't like, and the head coach wants the people, but the general manager can't get them.

Of course, there are certainly downsides to being too centralized, especially since Rivers doesn't have the experience of bringing in players before.

At present, the Clippers are all doing well, with a good record and lineup, but Rivers must think long-term.

The NBA has a very long schedule, and this is just the beginning.

Paul's injury is a wake-up call for the team to be aware of the injury problems of the main players.

The good news for the Clippers is that Bledsoe is on the verge of a comeback, and Paul will have a reliable backup at that point.

The bad news, at least in Rivers' eyes, is that the Clippers have never been able to find a reliable replacement for Li Liang.

Although Griffin is now in the second team, he will take Li Liang's place to lead the team when Li Liang is off.

But there is indeed no player who is Li Liang's B choice.

If Li Liang is absent, the current lineup system of the Clippers will not even be able to find a spare tire.

Of course, Rivers didn't know that Li Liang was wearing so much ugly equipment, as long as he didn't get beaten, the chance of injury was very low.

Besides, he's only in his second year, and it's a time when a player is at his healthiest, and worrying about his injury is unfounded.

But it can't be helped, the Clippers have a fan owner, and they always want to get some operation.

Bauer agreed that it was really not possible to have a substitute for Li Liang in the team, and he had to get a shadow warrior for Li Liang.

Coincidentally, Lamar Odom, the Clippers' former veteran, said he wanted to return to the Clippers during this time.

In the summer, the Clippers were ready to renew Odom's contract, but Odom was missing out on the Clippers again for two reasons.

One is, of course, because of the arrival of Li Liang, so that the Clippers have no mind to negotiate with Odom again.

The second is because Odom was riddled with negative news during this time, and he was deeply involved in negative news such as divorce, drunk driving, and drugs.

Since Ballmer had just bought the team, he didn't want Odom to affect the team's new vibe.

After that, Odom considered re-signing with the Lakers, but the current situation of the Lakers is not much better than Odom.

Overall, Odom still wants to return to the Clippers.

After all, Odom has been in the league since 1998, and although he has traveled many places, he has spent 12 of his 14 seasons in Los Angeles.

One of the times I went to Miami, I stayed in Miami quite well, after all, it is also a coastal city, you can eat and play.

Later, I went to Dallas once, but my reputation completely collapsed, and I couldn't adapt to the environment of a lone ranger at all, and finally went to Los Angeles with a lot of infamy.

For Odom, Los Angeles is his true home.

After Odom expressed his desire to come to the Clippers in the media, the Clippers are of course also considering whether to re-sign Odom.

At present, there is still a spot available in the Clippers, and it is not a problem to get Odom with a base salary.

That's why Ballmer asked Li Liang that day if he wanted Odom to come to the team.

Since Li Liang agreed, Bauer agreed that the signing could be considered.

After that, of course, it was the opinion of the coaching staff.

Rivers needs to be considered holistically, and Mike Brown's opinion is certainly important.

Mike Brown thought to himself, damn Li Liang agreed, can I still disagree?

But as an NBA professional coach and the winner of the best coach, you still have to show a little professionalism.

For this reason, Mike Brown pretended to talk about something in front of Rivers, and in the end it was the same as if he didn't say anything.

In the end, Rivers had to make up his mind.

Rivers decided to talk to Odom in person after the game with the Pacers.

……

After playing the Kings on the road, the Clippers ended their November game and entered December.

Throughout November, the Clippers had a proud record, and it can be said that this month's best in the West was between Leung Lee and Paul.

Of course, the Clippers' excellent results also have something to do with the schedule.

More than half of November's games were at home, rarely away, and there were no back-to-back away games.

It's a different story in December, when the Clippers have a long road trip to the East.

This will be a time to test the consistency and fighting power of the Clippers players.

And the first game in December was particularly eye-catching, the Clippers vs Pacers, because this is the top battle between the East and the West!

The Clippers' 15-2 record is good enough, but they're only in the first place in the West.

The first spot in the East is firmly held by the Indiana Pacers, who have a proud 15-1 record since the start of the season!

In the playoffs last season, the Pacers were arguably a surprise.

They eliminated the Knicks, cornered the Heat, and ended up with a missed move.

This season, the Pacers have gone one step further and become stronger than last year.

Since the Auburn Hills Palace incident ruined the Pacers' championship career, the Pacers have re-emerged in just a few years.

I have to say that people have to die more than people, and goods have to be thrown away.

The Pacers are also a small club, and they hardly sign any big-name stars except for the draft free market.

In this case, the Pacers have always been very competitive since the 90s.

One generation is not good, and it can be rebuilt quickly in a few years, which shows that this team has a strong ability to make blood and regenerate.

Although they are always one breath away from the championship, it's not that they are not good enough, but in a business league, it is really difficult for a small ball club to win the championship.

This year, the Pacers are quite ferocious, and they feel like they have something to do.

?? Therefore, this battle for the top spot in the east and west has attracted widespread attention.

The game was also scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time so that fans in the East could tune in to the live broadcast of the game in the evening.

Before the game, the Clippers announced the team's roster, and Paul was in the starting lineup, indicating that his hamstring strain is not a major problem.

And in this battle for the top spot in the East and West with the Pacers, Paul is definitely going to participate.

This is the time to test the team's fighting ability.

The game was broadcast live across the United States on Fox Television.

Rivers was interviewed before the game, mentioning Leung Lee and Paul George.

"Paul George has improved very quickly, he's grown into one of the best small forwards in the league, his defense, his shooting is awesome. But we have Bruce Lee, who many people may have forgotten, and he's only in second grade this year. ”

That's right, Li Liang is only in the second grade, not to mention that many people have forgotten, Rivers, you haven't remembered it either?

Have you trained Li Liang as a rookie?

Will you develop rookies?

Li Liang is still a kid in the NBA.