After the Clippers' coaching staff spoke with the players, there were some subtle changes in the atmosphere within the Clippers.

There is an instability in the team, because the playing time is not only a symbol of the status of the team, but also directly affects their real interests.

If you play less minutes, the stats won't work, and the next thing will definitely affect your next contract.

Therefore, a stable team will definitely be reasonably allocated and compromised in terms of playing time.

Everyone was happy with the result, some were willing to sacrifice, some were willing to be substitutes, and some were willing to give up the ball.

In this way, the team can be twisted into a rope and the team can work together to win one victory after another.

And once everyone is not satisfied with the allocation of playing time, there is emotion in their hearts, and the players have a problem with each other, the game will not be good.

Originally, the order in the Clippers was very stable, Baron Davis was the locker room boss, and Randolph and Carman were the mainstays.

Thornton is currently the most reliable No. 3 on the Clippers team, and there is no one to replace him.

Bench Curry as the sixth man, with Marcus Camby on the inside, should be said to be in order.

But Min Congda proposed to increase the playing time of the bench, especially Curry.

Since Baron Davis is unwilling, Dunleavy can only take Gordon to reduce Gordon's playing time and leave more playing opportunities for Curry.

There is also the inside, Randolph and Carman's positions are very solid, and if Jordan Jr. wants to play more, Camby's playing time is bound to decrease.

When it came time to play in Dunleavy training, the players started to complain.

There were some signs of discord in the team, but they did not show it for the time being.

On December 2, the Clippers faced the Houston Rockets at home in their first game of December.

The match was 85% occupied, with more than 16,000 spectators in attendance.

The Clippers' stellar performance in November has revived interest in the team among Los Angeles fans.

According to the data, this season's season ticket sales of the Clippers have reached the same level as last season and are about to surpass.

This made Min Congda very anxious, he thought to himself: "The season has been played for a month, what season tickets do you buy?" Why bother. ”

For every little increase in box office revenue, the team's market value will increase a little bit at the end of the season.

And the box office revenue per game is still increasing the cash flow of the Clippers, which will make the team's business more and more improved.

Previously, Min Congda wanted to use the method of opening a restaurant to consume the team's liquidity and increase the team's debt.

In the past two days, the bank's loan line has been approved, and only $500,000 has been approved for the Clippers.

Min Congda took a look, does it only cost so much money to open a restaurant in Stamp Center?

Rosser told Min Congda that 500,000 was already a lot, after all, he opened a store in Stamps.

If you are in other places in Los Angeles, the rent is lower and the decoration is more ordinary, you can get it for only 200,000 yuan.

500,000 is indeed a lot for opening a store, but for the whole Clippers team, this debt is simply drizzle.

The box office revenue of a game covers all the loans, no wonder the bank approves the money so happily.

In line with the principle of accumulation to the last straw of the camel, Min Congda doesn't care.

Ada's uncle would have messed up the restaurant anyway, and he would have thrown $500,000 into it.

Counting the interest, and the money that may be thrown into it in the future, the loss may reach 1 million.

So during this time, Min Congda redirected his energy to the team's performance on the field.

He hopes that his "everybody's ball" strategy will disrupt the current stability of the Clippers.

The season is long, and once the team is in instability, the results will drop dramatically.

Sure enough, in this game against the Rockets, the Clippers were in trouble.

Yao Ming of the Rockets is still absent due to injury, and the team that also reached the Western Conference semifinals and the Lakers in seven games last year has passed a summer.

Yao Ming was reimbursed, Atai ran away, Maddie left, and all that was left was a group of unknown small characters.

But it's such a bunch of small characters, but the combat effectiveness is very strong.

In last year's playoffs, when Yao Ming was reimbursed in the third game, the Rockets fought with the Lakers to tie seven.

Willpower, combat effectiveness can be seen.

In the absence of a core star, the Rockets really have the ball for everyone.

Ariza, Landry, Brooks, Lowry, Scola, Battier......

It's all good role players, and none of them can be the core.

But these people are pinched together, and they are united in their hearts, and they are fighting soundly.

Prior to this game against the Clippers, they had a 9-8 record and sat in eighth place in the West.

Right behind the Clippers, struggling on the brink of the playoffs.

Judging from the lineup, the Clippers are obviously better than the Rockets on paper.

But if you analyze it carefully, you will find that the Rockets lineup actually has an advantage over the Clippers.

The first thing that went wrong was the point guard.

Baron Davis is naturally far more famous than the Rockets' little black bean Brooks.

Fame for fame, and Brooks has been in great form this season.

Little Black Bean is short and flexible, fast, and has strong projection ability, which is the kind of point guard that the Clippers are most afraid of.

Then at the power forward position, Luis Scola has a strong offensive ability in the low post.

His footsteps in the low post can be counted in NBA history.

Against Randolph, he will not suffer a loss in attack.

Then the number three, Battier, Ariza, functional 3-and-D player.

The individual ability is not strong, and the attack with the ball is flawed, but he does not possess the ball.

And the defense is very strong, and the Rockets' No. 3 defense was arguably the strongest in the league last season.

Artest Gabatier and LeBron James are all in pain.

The Clippers' real strength is at center and shooting guard.

The Rockets' center can only use a dwarf like Chuck Hayes

He has a low chassis and good defense, but his height is only 198 after all, and protecting the basket is a big problem.

And at the shooting guard position, the Rockets use Ariza as the second position, wanting to develop his ball-handling offense.

It doesn't seem to be successful at the moment, Ariza has limited talent, it would be nice to be able to do 3-and-D well, and it would be a disaster to let him attack with the ball.

If the Clippers focus on using Carman and Gordon well, they will have an advantage in playing with the Rockets.

But when the game started, the Clippers players couldn't get into the groove for a long time.

Gordon was substituted midway through the first quarter, with Curry on the floor.

Carman was replaced by Jordan Jr. at the end of the first quarter, and the two had different rotation times and usuals.

Curry and Jordan Jr. didn't get used to it for a while, and they were beaten by the Rockets for a while, and the game fell into disadvantage all of a sudden.

Then in the second quarter, Gordon didn't replace Curry until the end of the second quarter, and his form was no longer available.

The Clippers trailed the Rockets by 10 points at 45-55 at halftime, and their outside line was completely dumb.

Worse came in the third quarter, when Gordon landed on a driving layup and sprained his ankle.

With the support of the team doctor, he limped off the field and could not return to this game.

Curry came on in place of Gordon for the rest of the game, and he slowly regained his groove on offense.

At the end of the third quarter, he led the team to set off a wave of counterattacks, chasing the score to 79:83, only 4 points away.

But Curry's flaws on the defensive end made it impossible for him to defend Brooks, who was surprisingly efficient in this game.

He shot 9 of 11 from the field, made 3 of 4 three-pointers, and scored 22 points without relying on free throws.

In the fourth quarter, he led the Rockets to play a classic wave, an 11-0 offensive climax, and laid the victory in one fell swoop.

In the end, 100-90, they easily defeated the Clippers at home, narrowing the gap between the Clippers in the rankings.

The Clippers not only lost a game, but also lost a player.

What's more, because of the adjustment of rotation time, the players feel unaccustomed.

Previously established stable, good chemical reactions are in danger of being destroyed.

(End of chapter)