For Min Congda's refusal, as early as Popovich's expectations, Popovich still recognized the team-building idea of the most bizarre general manager in the league.

The team builds and cultivates a very stable core lineup, tinkers on top of that, and easily does not move this core base.

It's just that Min Congda's basic plate is getting bigger and bigger, and after winning the championship, the whole team is basically the basic plate immediately, and he doesn't want to move.

Popovich came over tonight, mainly to say hello first, if Min Congda wanted, George could come to sign first and then trade, the Clippers gave George a long-term contract, and the Spurs gave some chips and draft picks in exchange, so that the Clippers would not lose a quality player in vain.

However, it seems that Min Congda wants to keep George, and Popovich is not worried about this, he thinks that don't look at Min Congda's hard mouth now, and when George opens his mouth in the summer, the Clippers may not necessarily have the money to keep George.

After all, the Clippers' salary has exploded, and they are still facing contract extensions from Milicic and Bonner in the summer of '14.

George's bird rights will occupy space, and the Clippers will not have room to renew Milicic or Bonner, if they can't get George, it will be good for the Spurs to bring Bonner or Milicic over.

Popovich also has an alternate target, that is, PJ Tucker, whose contract expires in 14 years, and a fringe player like Tucker, who has strong ability but not enough playing time, has enough accolades as a role player, and he can leave the Clippers to play more minutes and earn more money.

The Spurs will also reach out to Tucker's agent privately to get ready for the summer.

Of course, the most fundamental goal hidden in Popovich's heart is Leonard.

If the Clippers have to renew George's contract this summer, it means that in the summer of '15, the Clippers will definitely not have room to acquire Leonard, because they still have a Butler to renew, and it is extremely difficult to have both.

At that time, the Spurs have a chance to get Leonard in the summer of '15, or in the 14-15 season, they will get Leonard in advance through a trade.

Because if Leonard doesn't get a contract extension commitment, the Spurs can communicate and give a better trade chip.

That way, the Clippers won't lose a good small forward in the summer of '15.

This is the choice that most normal team normal general managers, as well as normal players and agents will make.

For the sake of one's own future, for one's own interests, from one's own standpoint, to obtain the maximum benefits, this is understandable.

Therefore, Popovich did not expect to come over today and have a drink with Min Congda and watch a game to win George, which is impossible.

This is a long-term plan, and getting in touch with Min Congda is the first step, and as a team manager, if you want to trade with the other party, it is important for both parties to have a good relationship.

NBA trading is also sophisticated, not a little bit on 2K, the chips are in line with the rules, more reasonable, and people are willing to exchange with you.

Otherwise, the Celtics can't get Garnett, and the Lakers can't get Gasol, it's all the personal relationships behind it.

Min Congda now has the most abundant small forward resources in the league, and everyone is greedy, even if it is the opponent in the next round, Popovich has to take the opportunity to stammer.

Also, for Popovich, going to Stamps' VIP box to watch a game where the Lakers were beaten up in a tie-break was too enjoyable.

When Popovich was at the peak of his time with the Spurs, he was beaten in the playoffs at the Stamp Center.

The Lakers wore yellow T-shirts all night and trailed the Warriors by 12 points in the third quarter.

After the start of the fourth quarter, although the Lakers fought to catch up, the basket seemed to have put a lid on the Lakers players, and they couldn't shoot anything.

Later, the Warriors' defense was shrinking, frantically pinching, and giving the Lakers a chance to shoot outside, but the Lakers just couldn't shoot.

Popovich couldn't help but laugh out loud when he saw it, Phil Jackson used to use this trick in the playoffs to make people feel like the Lakers often used this strategy of putting one person to shoot and hitting the arrow, so that the opponent had no confidence.

Now it's okay, it's retribution, the Lakers themselves have repeatedly missed shots, and the point difference is getting bigger and bigger, and the Warriors players are more and more confident in playing, and the more accurate they are.

Lillard and Klay Thompson hit jumpers in quick succession, once stretching the gap to 20 points, and the Lakers completely collapsed at home.

After the game, the Lakers fans at the scene couldn't stand it anymore and left the court early, and some fans even played a sign on the sidelines "We miss you Kobe", we miss you Kobe.

People always miss it after they have lost it.

In fact, if you change Kobe, you may lose even worse, and you will be eliminated 2:4.

The Warriors showed a very strong fighting force.

Especially Lillard, who is only 2 years old, although his average points per game and shooting percentage are average, it is very uncomfortable to be suppressed by Paul.

However, in the crucial fourth game, Lillard beat the Lakers with three points from a long distance, and tied the big score at 2:2, otherwise it would be difficult for the Warriors to have a chance to turn the tables after falling behind 1:3.

The tactics that Mark Jackson created to coach Curry in the first place shined just as brightly on Lillard.

In this game, Paul injured the palm of his hand, and Lillard was given more room to play, scoring 27 points in a single game, shooting 4 of 8 from three-point range, and Klay Thompson with 5 of 9 three-pointers, killing a river of blood at the Staples Center.

Joe Johnson's limpy mid-range singles, ineffective three-point shot like Iguodala's six-vein sword (not tonight), and Paul's stroke-like left hand left left the Lakers looking aged and embarrassed, and they eventually lost the tiebreaker at home with a 97-110, 13-point deficit.

By the end of the game, the fans had already left, and the stands seemed to be dysentery.

The fans' disappointment is palpable, but victory and defeat are commonplace, and fans have nothing to say, and the Lakers' season is over.

Popovich drank the last drop of the bottle, expressing contentment, physical and mental fulfillment.

At parting, Popovich shook Min Congda's hand and said, "Looking forward to tomorrow's fight with the Clippers, I will start at this moment, we are enemies." ”

Min Congda just nodded, didn't reply, and watched Popovich leave, and Lao Deng on the side asked: "This hateful old guy, come over to eat and drink, why don't you scold him." ”

Min Congda shook his head and said, "I don't take him and Spurs seriously. But the Warriors will be the bigger threat. ”

For the opponent who doesn't look at him, Min Congda doesn't bother to respond, just like an ant shouting at an elephant and waving its claws, will the elephant take care of him?

And the threat of the Warriors is indeed visible to the naked eye, from their system to the style of play, they are all aimed at the Clippers.

Lillard showed a lot of offensive threat in his sophomore year, and Thompson's three-point shot was ridiculously accurate.

The most important point is that Min Congda can feel that people like Lillard and Thompson are new players in the NBA.

Their style of play, their technical characteristics, and their technical style are very different from those of the older generation of players.

The typical comparison is the Lakers' Paul and Joe Johnson, although in terms of overall strength, Paul and Joe Johnson are stronger than Lillard and Thompson, but the Lakers have never played the Warriors.

The old style of play and technical characteristics are gradually falling behind and being eliminated in the high-intensity, high-intensity playoff competition.

The current trend is to simplify the style of holding the ball and emphasize efficiency in attack, and maybe you can win the opponent with a lot of experience and subtlety in a certain game.

But there are seven games in the series, what about the next one? What's next?

Once the opponent finds the rhythm of the game and throws the feeling, it is unstoppable.

In that sense, the Warriors feel like the Clippers were back then.

This is how the Clippers killed the Spurs in the 2011 season.

For such a threat, Min Congda naturally sees it, they are much more terrible than any spurs.

And the most terrifying thing is that Lillard, plus Thompson's salary, is only $6 million.

This means that the Warriors will have a huge amount of room to maneuver in the offseason to acquire more and better resources.

However, this season, the Warriors should not be able to become a climate, and it is estimated that they will stop in the second round.

In the second round, the Warriors will play the Thunder, and it is estimated that it will be difficult to play.

However, this year's Thunder is not as strong as it seems.

Min Congda and Thunder have dealt with each other a lot, and the biggest feeling that Thunder gives him is that he is strong on the outside and strong on the inside.

The talent is very high, very sharp, but the thickness is insufficient, especially after the absence of Harden.

If it's a life-and-death game, the Thunder may go all the way to the end.

However, in consecutive series, the Thunder's margin for error is not very good, and it is always a little worse than those strong teams in history that finally won the championship.

Either there is a lack of a miracle on the bench, or the core player drops the chain at a critical moment, in short, he is a breath away.

Therefore, it is not yet known who will die between the Thunder and the Warriors, so don't underestimate the seventh-ranked Warriors.

The next day, it was still the Staples Center, where the Western Conference semifinals between the Clippers and the Spurs began.

Both Popovich and Min Congda came to the sidelines from the VIP boxes, one on the bench and the other in the audience.

Compared with the indifference in the past, Min Congda participated in the team's pre-game tactical preparation meeting tonight, and with the lessons of the first round, the Clippers have become more cautious from the players to the coaching staff.

In series after series, coaches and players are growing, learning, learning and learning.

Min Congda did not give a strategy directly to Qiangang, but asked the coaching staff to discuss it together and formulate a plan to be safe.

Mike Malone was the leader of the plan, and he changed the conservative and defensive focus of the past to a more balanced tactical strategy.

Ma Long is not a person who takes the edge of the sword, his strategy has never been as sharp and ruthless as Min Congda, and he does not like to use some extreme lineups, he pursues the style of heavy sword without edge, big and skillful, steady and steady, and wins the opponent steadily.

Therefore, in terms of arrangement, the Clippers are still the combination of Gasol Jr., Randolph, Leonard, George and Curry.

Although it worked well with Anthony Davis in the first round, in Malone's opinion, this is not a regular routine, and it may be better to play a team like the Spurs.

Min Congda did not refute Malone's idea, the Spurs have always been known for their stability, so this series will use a more stable system to defeat the Spurs.

There is nothing more murderous than defeating a spur with a spur method.

However, in the first game, the Clippers did not play easily, and this year's Randolph obviously struggled a lot against Duncan Split, and there was no superstar momentum in the 11 playoffs.

On the one hand, Randolph's form has declined, Duncan has not been troubled by a leg injury, and Duncan, who is in good shape, is not a problem at all to prevent Randolph.

On the other hand, after 11 years of Black Eight, the Spurs are holding their breath and want to take revenge here on the Clippers.

In the first half, the Clippers trailed the Spurs by 10 points, and before halftime, Harden hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to narrow the gap to seven points.

At halftime, Ma Long was sweating profusely and wanted to make adjustments, but Min Congda said: "Hold on, we didn't play badly, we just didn't feel good, don't mess up and adjust." ”

With Min Congda's words, the whole Clippers team stabilized their position, and began to continue the dislocation offensive strategy in the third quarter, and the defensive end was also one-on-one.

Sure enough, in the third quarter, the Clippers set off a counterattack, and there was no rapid attack like a tide, but a steady and steady battle in the positional battle, and the dripping on the defensive end, slowly chasing back round by round.

After all, the Spurs are not able to do it, and many of the balls are not because the players are not good at playing, but because the ability is really out of reach.

The opportunity came out and the shot was missed, the defense was in place, and the opponent could still score.

Popovich originally wanted to catch the Clippers' mistakes, disrupt the rhythm, open up his players' state, and finally fish in troubled waters to steal a game.

Knowing that the Clippers are very stable, Randolph can't move, so he let Gasol Jr. eat low, and Harden and Curry take turns to use their personal ability to score points.

Like Lillard and Thompson, they are all stars of the new era, with fast and concise shots, crisp offense, and the Clippers easily equalized in the third quarter, and then overtook them.

By the fourth quarter, the Clippers had started the mud truck, and they couldn't stop you if they wanted to, and the positional offense played a feeling, the passing speed was extremely fast, the vacant shots were very resolute, and the players' singles ability was all star-level.

Popovich and the Spurs held out three and a half quarters, and finally couldn't hold on, and were beaten by the Clippers' solid offense and defense.

With two minutes left before the break, the Spurs trailed the Clippers by 10 points at 92-102.

It stands to reason that in 2 minutes, you can still chase after 10 points behind, and you can fight for it.

But Popovich actually replaced the main force and let Duncan, Ginobili and others go down, which can be regarded as giving up.

Because he knows that in this state, you can't win a three-point bet in the playoffs, and the Clippers are 10 points ahead because they only want to lead by 10 points, not just 10 points.

Forget it, surrender and lose half, let's fight again.

(End of chapter)