On December 30, the Clippers returned to Los Angeles to host the Utah Jazz.

This is the second time the two teams have met in three days.

In the last game in Salt Lake City, the Clippers won quite hard.

In the final stages of the game, the Clippers relied on their hard power to snuff out the Jazz's hopes of a comeback in the cradle.

This situation is quite bad for the Clippers, and if a team in the process of rebuilding like the Jazz is struggling, it means that there is something wrong with the team's form.

If there is a problem, you have to find a way to solve it.

Before the game began, the TV host introduced the starters of both sides and found that the Clippers had made adjustments from the previous game.

James Harden didn't appear in the starting lineup, he didn't have injuries, he just sat on the bench.

The Clippers' starting five became Gasol Jr., Randolph, Leonard, George plus Curry.

Mike Malone, as assistant coach, sat on the bench before the game began, next to Harden.

He doesn't know how Tyronn Lue persuaded Harden, but it's not a simple thing anyway, which is enough to show that Tyronn Lue has a high prestige within the Clippers.

In fact, Malone is purely thinking too much, which has nothing to do with Tyronn Lue's prestige, first of all, his relationship with Harden is very good, and Tyronn Lue has established a very "close" connection with Harden when he first came to the team.

Secondly, Harden's personality is different from many black stars, he does not have that kind of paranoia and arrogance, and is even a little too mild, and even a little unenterprising.

Let him play the starter, he must have no opinion, let him play the substitute sixth man, he thought to himself that the salary is the same anyway, what if the starter does not start?

In the Clippers, he and Curry are known as double stars, but he knows that Curry is the biggest star of the Clippers and the heart of Manager Smart.

Harden is tantamount to stealing the scene with Curry, and he also renewed his contract with a high salary this summer, only a little worse than Curry, and he is already very satisfied.

As a substitute, he is also the sixth man, and he is still the main player of the team, and he does this kind of work in the Thunder, nothing.

Min Congda didn't expect before the game to start that the Clippers would change the starter and Harden would sit on the bench.

He thought to himself, "Whose idea was this?" Could it be Marlon's? Not bad, yes, as soon as I came, I came up with an idea and let Harden play as a substitute, which was a beautiful idea. But Leonard and George were on the floor at the same time, and the offensive organization was compromised. The most important thing is that Curry has increased the pressure on the ball, and his power without the ball is not as strong as before, fool. ”

Min Congda's idea is the opposite of Mike Malone.

In fact, the two have the same idea, but the focus is different.

Min's focus is on thinking that Harden will be on the bench and the Clippers' offense will be affected.

Mike Malone's focus is on thinking the Clippers' defense can be strengthened this way.

In fact, it is the same meaning, and the two people have different points of concern.

After the start of the game between the two sides, the two sides played quite anxiously in the first quarter.

Clippers players have become accustomed to fast offense with large space and wide range.

Harden, Curry, and Gasol Jr. are on the court, and the ball runs smoothly and quickly.

Now there are only Curry and Gasol Jr., which is actually enough, but not used to it.

Especially when the ball is given to George or Leonard, the two of them have to pause more or less.

These two guys, the passing talent is really average, and they lack enough vision and passing imagination.

As a result, the two sides tied at 25-24 in the first quarter, and the Clippers led the Jazz by one point.

Harden came on midway through the first quarter, replacing Curry, and Harden was the main player on the court.

To be honest, after getting used to matching Curry, without Curry's off-ball pull, he is really a little unaccustomed.

And Curry was also a little unaccustomed to holding the ball a lot in the first quarter, and there was no one to share the ball-handling task.

Mike Malone was also anxious as he watched the game, and felt that there was something wrong with his suggestion?

Actually, it's fine, but it's normal for the players to feel uncomfortable in the first game of the adjustment.

The bigger disadvantage is that the Clippers players are still trying to solve problems on offense and don't put more effort into the defensive end to achieve a balance.

Of course, the Clippers outperformed the Jazz individually, and they relied on a wave of offensive surges in the second quarter to build a 10-point lead.

During the five minutes that Curry and Harden were on the same stage, they unleashed a whirlwind of offense, destroying the Jazz's defense with a series of fast shots and three-pointers.

However, the Jazz team has always been known for its tenacity, strong teamwork, and a low-key and pragmatic team culture.

Therefore, there is a peculiar phenomenon in the league, that is, players who have made a name for themselves in the Jazz, once they leave the Jazz and go to other teams, it is often difficult to reproduce the glory of the Jazz, let alone go further.

For example, the former Utah duo Delon Williams and Carlos Boozer were in their prime when they left the Jazz, but they didn't live up to expectations when they went to the Nets and Bulls.

This is enough to show that the team system and culture of a small city team like the Jazz have a strong bonus to the players.

If you leave this simple, rustic playing environment and go to a big city, you may get lost in it.

The Jazz fought back after trailing by 11 points at halftime at the start of the third quarter.

They struggled to play an effective offensive blaster against the Clippers, so they began to use the league's common "tangling" formula.

dragged the Clippers into the quagmire of chaos, using a series of means such as interior frontcourt rebounds, front line baskets and fouls.

At the same time, the guard line also began to bite Curry frantically, and Curry only had a stable ball-holding organization point on the court, and the Clippers' offense was greatly affected.

In the third quarter, the Jazz beat the Clippers to a 23-16, and the 16-point score also set the Clippers' lowest score in a single quarter this season.

The Jazz narrowed the deficit to four points, and they still had to play in the fourth quarter.

Clippers fans are expecting the Clippers to play a wave in the fourth quarter and take their opponents away at home.

But the offensive feeling of the players is difficult to explode all at once, and it needs to be foreshadowed and practiced in the previous game.

Especially for pitchers, if they can't shoot in the first and second quarters, it is quite difficult to suddenly turn around in the third and fourth quarters.

It's a good idea for Harden to play off the bench, but apparently the players aren't ready, and there are still problems with rotation, tactical routines, and the feel of the game.

At the critical moment in the fourth quarter, Tyronn Lue still used the safest way to give the ball to the Fat Man on the inside.

Lan Fatzi is worthy of being the mainstay of Min Congda's original contract renewal.

At the age of 32 this year, he has declined physically, but his offensive skills are becoming more and more refined and proficient.

At the critical moment, the low-post offense scored consecutive singles, and the Jazz either watched the ball go in or fouled the fat man to the free throw line.

Randolph has not let up on himself because of his declining tactical position in the team.

On the contrary, he persistently improved his skills, and compared with before the age of 30, his explosiveness has declined a lot (although it is not much).

But his skills are more slick and his physical distribution is better, scoring with the ball in key moments, grabbing a key rebound or two, and Randolph is definitely worthy of his salary.

And the Jazz reached a critical moment and lacked a decisive figure, and a breakaway close-range jumper from Gordon Hayward was intercepted directly from the air by Leonard.

The Clippers counterattacked, Curry assisted George, and forced a violent dunk in the case of a double interception! It also caused a foul on the opponent.

With George adding a free throw, the Clippers finally took a 97-91, six-point advantage and beat the Jazz in two straight games at home.

However, at the end of the game, the players' faces were not particularly good-looking, and they played two games in a row against the Jazz, winning and winning, but neither of them was pretty.

Far from the devastation of November's 15-game winning streak, the main team dug a pit for 30 minutes, threw the opponent down, and the substitute players came on the field to fill in the soil and let the opponent be completely buried.

Both of these games were quite constipated, one broke 100, the opponent also broke 100, and this time he simply didn't break 100.

Mike Malone watched the full game from the sidelines and followed the players back to the locker room after that.

He was quite apprehensive because he suggested that Harden play as the sixth man off the bench.

To be honest, an assistant coach just came to a team and asked a star to play as a substitute, which is quite offensive.

The only thing he is glad about is that the Clippers won tonight, and if there is a little accident at the last moment and the Jazz turn the tables, Malone will not have a good time.

For the coaching industry, the salary is high, the circle is small, and the substitutability is low, which is an advantage.

Disadvantages, high pressure, high elimination rate, and word of mouth is very important.

Once a coach has a bad reputation in the circle, it will be troublesome in the future.

Mike Malone regretted that he had made the suggestion of Harden as the sixth man too early yesterday.

However, he didn't expect that Tyronn Lue would agree directly, and then put Harden on the bench in the next day.

The efficiency is too high, and the atmosphere in the Clippers team feels very different from other teams.

After returning to the locker room, the players were in a bad mood, but there was no quarrel, but after the interview, there was a review.

On the whiteboard that was supposed to be painted by the head coach, Curry, Harden, Jr. and others, everyone came to express their opinions and opinions, pointing out some problems in the game.

There were arguments in some places, but the general atmosphere was friendly, and after the discussion, everyone took a shower and left happily.

The locker room is the most secret place for every team, and Malone had no idea that there was such an atmosphere in the Clippers.

You have to know that in many teams, the players cooperate well on the field, but off the field, in the dressing room, it can be very bad.

It's fine if the team wins, but if the game is lost, the dressing room is likely to explode.

Heated quarrels and cold wars with each other often ruin a team's fighting power.

Don't look at these black players, star-studded on the field, millionaires off the field, in fact, many of them are poor students with little culture and quality.

Character is good or bad for the time being, but many people's temper and personal quality are really worrisome, and they are often unstable time bombs in the locker room.

But the Clippers are different, Curry, George, and Gasol Jr., have complete and beautiful families, and their character qualities are very good.

Although Harden and Leonard are single parents, Harden's mother is strict with discipline, and Leonard has an uncle who is very attentive to him.

Butler didn't have a mom or dad, but he was helped by his friends, was extremely diligent on the team, and rarely made mistakes off the court.

There are no thorns on the bench left, and the only thorn Ricky Davis has long been playing with points and has become a veteran of the team as a ballast.

Mike Malone asked Tyronn Lue after everyone disbanded, "Tyronn, the atmosphere in the team is really good, it's the first time I've seen people so proactive in tactical discussions. ”

Tyronn Lue: "I told you, the Clippers have the idea that everyone has a ball, and the most important thing in our place is basketball, and everything else is just an accessory. ”

"When you play basketball well, it's time to come."

Tyronn Lew said philosophically.

It's not that Mike Malone doesn't understand this truth, he understands it, but it's too difficult and too difficult to achieve.

Because the NBA is a huge vanity fair, there are so many temptations, it is not easy to play basketball seriously.

How did the Clippers create such a team atmosphere?

Mike Malone was curious.

After this game, the Clippers rushed to Denver, the venue of the road game.

This schedule was difficult for the Clippers.

Salt Lake City and Denver are both plateaus that take a lot of physical toll on the players.

And after playing the Nuggets on January 1, they will go to Golden State to play the Warriors on January 2.

Away back-to-back, plateau battles, is a huge test of the players' physical fitness and energy.

However, the Clippers are in a phase of roster changes at this time, and the players have to adapt to the new starters and rotations.

As a result, in 2013, on the first day of the new year, the Clippers were beaten 101-89 by the Denver Nuggets on the road, losing to the Nuggets by 12 points on the road.

89 points is the Clippers' lowest score in a single game this season, and the 12-point margin is already the largest loss for the Clippers, and they suffered their first heavy defeat of the new season.

The Clippers players still had no relief from the frustration of the big loss, and the team immediately flew to Oakland to face the Warriors on the road on the 2nd night.

The Warriors, as a team that has been benchmarking the Clippers since the offseason and are bent on surpassing the Clippers, will certainly not let go of this good opportunity to beat the league's No. 1.

Young players such as Lillard, Thompson, and Barnes have shown great potential.

They are markedly different from the previous generation of NBA players, playing more concisely, shooting more powerfully, and shooting three-point shots unusually decisively.

With a grudge against the Clippers, Mark Jackson built the team according to his ideas, with Lillard as the core, attacking outside and defending inside, and improving the defensive intensity of the whole team, which has built the Warriors in a good way.

In this game, the Warriors' outside three-point explosion exploded, Lillard, Barnes, and Thompson scored more than 20 points, and the whole game scored 115 points.

In the end, they won 115-109, and the six-point advantage at Oracle Arena gave the Clippers a two-game losing streak.

It was also the Clippers' first losing streak this season.

The fans at Oracle Arena were cheering as the Clippers were beaten through by their three-point rain!

Mike Malone is really a little panicked this time, as soon as he came, the team came to a two-game losing streak, isn't that right?

Sure enough, when following the players back to the locker room, Ma Long saw Min Congda, who was standing in front of the whiteboard with a serious face.

He thought to himself, "It's over, I'm going to be criticized." ”

(End of chapter)