The Warriors suddenly put on a small lineup at the end of the third quarter, and then in just three minutes, they beat the Clippers 11-4 to open up the difference again.

This wave of attacks came so quickly, the whole Warriors team completely opened, the space was huge, with James and Durant's connection as the central axis, the Warriors' formation was like a sharp blade, easily cutting through the Clippers' always tough defense.

In recent years, the Clippers have not been known for their high-intensity defense, but for their tenacity.

They have always adhered to a basic principle: it's okay to score goals, it's okay to score easily, it's inevitable to want to score, and if you want to score continuously, they won't give you that chance.

This season, with Min Congda's reasonable planning, the use of AI and computer technology, the Clippers' full-court suppressive defensive play is more obvious.

In terms of points conceded per game and opponents' shooting percentages per game, the Clippers are not the best in the league, or even only in the middle of the league.

But the players who have played the game know in their hearts that it is difficult to be smooth in the face of the Clippers' offense, and they will inevitably stumble, and there will always be people staring in front of them, and the whole court will be entangled from beginning to end, just not making you comfortable, and always maintaining a medium-intensity defense, and then watching the game, falling behind by five or six points, just can't catch up.

It's hard to turn the game around with a wave of offensive surge, and the Clippers have always been extremely good defensively.

Only tonight against the Warriors did things change.

The offensive firepower of the Warriors' lineup is too ferocious, spread out all over the court, and there are no dead ends in the whole court, giving full play to James' central command and breakthrough ability.

On the defensive end, Green, as a small man, lacks the ability to protect the basket, but at his height, he is already at the top level.

Gasol Jr., who had a hard top under the basket, although he didn't resist twice, was able not to suffer a big loss, and even successfully prevented Curry's breakthrough layup.

At the end of the third quarter, the Warriors led the Clippers by 15 points.

Just now, the Clippers' chasing points came to naught in an instant, and the Warriors entered the fourth quarter with an absolute advantage.

The Clippers and Min Congda face their biggest challenges of the season.

If the game continues like this in the third quarter, Min Congda's first defeat after taking office will come.

Min Congda doesn't care very much, it's normal to lose, there is no eternal winner.

It's just that the Western Conference finals are lost, and the situation is very unfavorable for the Clippers.

Min Congda expected the Warriors to use this five-small lineup before the game, and as early as when Kerr was coaching the Clippers, the two discussed the feasibility of a small lineup.

It was then that Min Congda became aware of Kerr's ambitions, and he was committed to building a sect in the league, surpassing his two teachers and building his own basketball empire.

At that time, Min Congda had a "killing" intention towards Cole, and finally sent him to the Cavaliers, so the two had a grudge and grudge, so they had to settle it on the court.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the Clippers responded with a lineup of one big and four small, with a lineup of Anthony Davis, Tucker, Leonard, Curry and Butler.

In terms of position, this lineup can fully cope with the Warriors' five-small, and Anthony Davis still has an advantage on the inside.

So at the beginning of the game, the Clippers fed the ball inside, trying to use Davis's point to penetrate the Warriors' three-second zone.

But Green actually withstood under the basket, successfully blocked Davis's strong attack one-on-one, and also won the backcourt rebound.

The Warriors counterattacked, James held the ball over half the court, and in the fully opened space environment, James went on a rampage like a tank, rushed under the basket and caused Tucker's foul.

Standing on the free throw line, James hit both free throws, and the difference has reached 17 points, and the game is extremely unfavorable to the Clippers.

It may not be difficult for the Clippers to be evenly matched, but it will be too difficult to catch up with the 17-point difference.

Although Anthony Davis has an absolute advantage in height, he is only in the third year after all, and he lacks interior experience.

And Davis's ability to play in the low post can only be said to be ordinary, without the ability of one person to chisel through the opponent's defense.

When Davis' second low post forced foul was made by Green, the Oracle Arena was completely boiling.

Green roared with his mouth wide open after being pulled up by his teammates, and the Clippers were a little overwhelmed.

Min Congda did not replace Davis and continued to let him on the court.

This is the kind of adversity that every player has to go through.

Davis was not in the team when he won the championship in 12, and the championship in 13 and 14 was relatively easy overall.

He hasn't been through such a tough moment yet.

On the defensive end, the Clippers have no sense of defending the five small at all, whether it is one-on-one intensity or increasing the rotation speed, the five small can always find small gaps.

Even if there are no gaps, the Warriors have two hard solutions when their tactics don't work: Kevin Durant and LeBron James.

Superstar basketball and team basketball are well combined at this moment, with Kevin Durant receiving a pass from Green on offense and hitting a three-point shot!

The difference suddenly came to 20 points, and this exaggerated lead made the Clippers players a little confused.

In all these years, the team has not experienced such a big score deficit, such a desperate situation.

It's not that they haven't lost, but they haven't lost so badly, and they have been completely suppressed by the Warriors.

Min Congda called a timeout, his mind racing, and quickly came to the conclusion that he probably wouldn't be able to beat it tonight.

The Warriors' tactical play is insoluble for the Clippers tonight, with 10 minutes left, and if you want to turn the tide, the first step is to prevent it.

But the current state of the Warriors, their morale, 10 minutes can't turn things around, even if Curry and Harden score three points, it is difficult to estimate.

There may be miracles, but as a manager, praying for a miracle in a game is irresponsible.

Of course, it is irresponsible to give up just like that, not only can you not give up, but you must also make effective adjustments.

Because this is a series, not a regular season, after tonight, you have to play the Warriors in the next game, and you have to face the same tactics.

With 10 minutes left, even if you can't find a way to crack it, your morale must be restored.

As a result, Min Congda made lineup adjustments, replacing Anthony Davis and replacing James Harden.

"Harden, you're going to play the No. 5 position." Min Congda said to Harden.

"Huh? I'm going to play the number five position again? ”

Harden has also made cameo appearances as center before, and there is no way for anyone to make him fat.

"Any questions?"

"No problem."

Then Min Congda said: "There are still 10 minutes left, don't think too much, chase the score as much as possible." Defensively, take turns fouling James and sending him to the free throw line. On the offensive end, it's a quick one! ”

Min Congda set a foul tactic, and then arranged a few cross-cutting and three-point tactics.

Winning or losing one or two games is not so important, you have to think about the whole series from the big picture.

At the end of the timeout, Kerr saw Harden on the court, and he sighed in his heart, thinking that Smart is doing his best and wants to play five small?

Five is not so fun, and Harden is not qualified as a center.

"Smart, following someone else's path is not like your style."

Cole thought to himself with some pride, he knew that Min Congda had always been a maverick and had a lot of ideas.

Thinking that he could dominate him tactically, Kerr had an indescribable refreshment in his heart, perhaps even more so than winning this game.

After the timeout, the Clippers immediately played a match, Harden and Curry's blocking, Curry wiped under the basket and threw a high board, dodged Green's defense, and hit a two-point shot.

Then, the Warriors served, and Curry immediately fouled James, at which point the foul count had not yet reached the free throw count, but James already knew what was going on.

Curry, Leonard, and Harden fouled James in a row and sent James to the free throw line, James shook his head with a smile, and shouted at Min Congda on the sidelines: "Is this all you need?" ”

Then, James missed the first free throw.

The second free throw was still missed, and Leonard got the rebound.

The Clippers quickly advanced the counterattack, and Harden received the ball and feintmed, shook off Thompson and went to the basket for an easy layup.

The Clippers chased 4 points in a row, a 16-point difference, and the pressure came to James again.

He continued to send him to the free throw line, and this time the first free throw was in.

But the second penalty was still not scored......

Min Congda responded: "Looks like this is a good solution! ”

The Clippers had another chance to counterattack, Harden broke through the middle, and made a layup against Green!

In the case of falling behind by a large score, the Clippers players did not gamble on three points, but steadily played the success rate.

It's a pity that this goal didn't go in, Green's ability to protect the basket under the basket is really good.

But Butler got the frontcourt rebound, grabbed it and passed the ball to Curry, Curry received the ball, made a three-point shot, and hit!

The Clippers went on a 7-1 run to narrow the deficit to 14 points.

Because of the foul tactics against James, only a little more than a minute passed.

Kerr saw that the situation was not good, and if he fouled again, even if James hit both free throws and the Clippers scored a three-pointer, it would be chasing points to narrow the gap.

The most important thing is that when Harden played, the Clippers space was completely opened, and four of the five had strong breakthrough ability.

At the same time, the continuous fouls also made Durant and Thompson unable to get a chance to shoot, and the feeling would cool down quickly.

So Cole immediately called a timeout and readjusted.

But after the timeout, the Clippers were still foul tactics, and PJ Tucker went up and hugged James.

There was a lot of boos, and the Clippers' style of play was a bit ugly.

But ugly is ugly, James stood on the free throw line and hit one of two free throws!

And it was the second free throw miss, and Leonard grabbed the backcourt rebound.

The Warriors have a problem with five small, and the frontcourt board is very poor.

If it's a tactic and the Warriors throw three-pointers from the outside, it's hard to say.

Because the three-point shot missed, the ball collapsed far away, and the five small ones had a chance to get a frontcourt rebound.

This kind of free throw misses, the ball will not collapse too far, and it is relatively easy for the defender to get a backcourt rebound.

Leonard grabbed the rebound and passed the ball to Harden, who passed the half court at a constant pace, facing Thompson, who was defending him, and made an acceleration to the basket!

Harden had the most time to rest in front of him, so he was quite fit, and getting to the basket caused a defensive foul on Thompson.

Thompson complained to the referee, and Kerr reminded Thompson to calm down, but Kerr wasn't calm either.

The situation is gradually improving for the Clippers, and Min Congda's move is really vicious, wiping out the offensive and defensive advantages of the five smalls.

Although he knew that this unconventional tactic would not last, with Harden hitting both free throws, the margin had narrowed to 12 points.

The point difference suddenly reached a point where it could be chased, the morale of the Clippers was gradually rising, and the king spirit of the championship was returned.

The Clippers didn't foul James anymore, normal offense and defense, Durant was caught on the outside, and the ball was distributed to James, or the bag.

Again, Lillard, one-on-one to play Curry, continuous dribbling to get rid of, unsuccessful, offensive time is about to expire and have to force a shot, the result is a three-way ......

With a 24-second violation, the Warriors were a little flustered.

And the Clippers seized the opportunity, Curry had a double cover on the outside, and Harden and Tucker came to an elevator door.

Received a pass from Butler and hit a three-point shot!

The difference is only 9 points!

Seeing that things weren't going well, Cole called another timeout.

The Clippers' morale was high, and Curry shook his head and high-fived his teammates in celebration.

With 6 minutes left before the end of the fourth quarter, 9 points can be chased back.

But Min Congda is very calm, he knows that the difference of 9 points is still too big.

And the Clippers haven't really found a way to deal with the five.

Even if Min Congda has it in his head, the player's state may not be able to play.

The Warriors came back from a timeout, and Durant received the ball in the low post and turned around and hit a jumper to stabilize his position.

Subsequently, the Warriors used a half-court press to defend and suddenly increased the defensive intensity.

However, this trick is of little use to the Clippers, who can control the ball except for Tucker in five points.

The three passes and two directors gave Tucker a good opportunity to cut the basket in the air, but unfortunately Tucker's layup was capped by James who came from behind!

But Butler picked up the rebound in the front court and made a rebound, and the difference was still 9 points.

The Clippers are clinging to the Warriors.

The game quickly presented a situation where no one could defend themselves.

The Warriors' five-small offensive is indeed efficient, but the Clippers' five-small offense is also extremely powerful.

The problem is that it's the Warriors who are leading and the Clippers who are in a hurry.

With one minute left in the game, Curry assisted Leonard on a three-point shot.

The score came to 109-104, and the Clippers trailed the Warriors by five points.

With a 20-point difference, the Clippers chased down 5 points.

1 minute, 5 minutes is not easy to chase.

But for Min Congda, even if he loses, it doesn't matter much.

The Warriors wanted to establish a psychological advantage, but were easily cracked by a foul play.

Kerr called another timeout and came back to Durant.

The Clippers made a decisive wrap, Durant gave James, and James broke through the basket and caused a foul.

This time, James hit both free throws, a 7-point advantage, less than 1 minute.

From the outside, with Curry missing a three-pointer, Green grabbed the rebound in the backcourt.

The Clippers could only foul Green and send Green to the free-throw line.

At this point, the Clippers had little hope of winning the game.

In the third and fourth quarters, he was distracted, and was beaten twice by the opponent, and the score difference was too big.

After coming to his senses, there was not enough time, and if he played for another 3 minutes, the Clippers might have a chance to flip.

Unfortunately, it was too late, and Green also hit both free throws.

In the end, the Warriors won the first game of the Western Conference Finals with a 7-point advantage of 113:106 at home!

Kevin Durant scored a team-high 33 points, and James had 27 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists and a triple-double.

However, he made 5 of 10 free throws, which was really substandard, and it also caused the Clippers to set off a wave of counterattacks in the fourth quarter.

Curry and Harden, one with 32 points and the other with 31 points, both were in excellent form and completely dominated the Clippers' offense.

It's just not enough, it's not enough, especially when the Warriors opened the score, neither of them gave enough responses.

On the contrary, Kevin Durant, whenever the team's tactics fail, he can support the team with indiscriminate singles.

It can only be said that in terms of talent, Durant's ability is really historic, and Harden and Curry are slightly inferior.

In the past, the Clippers have done this the most in the past, and Zach Randolph has saved the team many times in crunch time.

But tonight, Randolph didn't get much playing time, because when he was there, the defense was too uncomfortable.

Min Congda pressed him to the bench and didn't let him go, in fact, there were some mistakes, and he could have given it a try.

Kerr had a feeling of raising his eyebrows at the end of the game, and he pursed his lips and took the initiative to shake Min Congda's hand in the midfield.

Min Congda ignored it, he patted Tyronn Lue on the shoulder and said, "Lu, you go and shake Steve's hand." ”

Coach Lu nodded, this is his biggest role tonight.

Seeing that Director Lu came over to shake hands with him, but Min Congda didn't come, although Cole was unhappy, but after thinking about it, he was making Smart uncomfortable, and he was in a much better mood in an instant.

He felt more and more that he was right to come up with five small tactics early, and that winning the first game was crucial and played a positive role in the situation in the seven-game game and the confidence of the players.

After returning to the locker room, everyone was in a good mood, and everyone's revenge had taken an important step.

But on the other side, in the locker room of the Clippers, the atmosphere is obviously much more dignified, the first game of the Western Conference finals was lost, and the whole was suppressed by the Warriors in the second half.

These facts fell like a dark cloud.

And crucially, this is the Clippers' first defeat since February.

It's been too long, too long since they've tasted defeat.

This is actually not good, lack of defeat, will make people lack reflection, easy to relax and paralyzed.

No matter how united and excellent they are, there will still be flaws and areas for improvement.

Everyone was silent, waiting for Min Congda to speak, after Min Congda became the head coach, he was much more terrible than when he was the general manager.

He will also get angry in the game, and once the cannon is fired, it makes people's scalp tingle, and he scolds people in a variety of ways, which is quite ferocious.

But this time Min Congda didn't say anything unpleasant, just said: "Everyone didn't play very well, the opponent was very strong, and it was different from the regular season." I still didn't do enough to prepare for the race. However, if we had played one more quarter, I think we would have won, wouldn't we? ”

Everyone nodded, if they fight for a while, the Clippers, who are getting better and better, can indeed win, and the momentum is being beaten back.

"So the next game is a continuation of tonight's game, everyone goes back to the hotel to have a good rest, relax, and forget about tonight's game."

"This series has just begun."

(End of chapter)