rpbooks Chapter 840 Lost on the bench
Chapter 840 Lost on the bench
Chapter 840 Lost on the bench
From the moment players from both sides came out on the field, there was no quiet time at Staples Arena.
Since the announcement of the new season's schedule, everyone has been looking forward to the arrival of this game.Staples was full of seats, and the enthusiastic audience had poured into the arena more than an hour before the start of the game. Two or three sat together, discussing the upcoming game and the two teams that were fighting.
Staples is really one of the most special arenas in the NBA.It is also the home court of two teams and has a very strong basketball heritage.No one knows why the Clippers moved the team to Los Angeles, but the treatment they enjoyed in this city was much worse than that of the Lakers.This can be seen from this game.Although tonight's Staples belongs to the home court of the Clippers, most of the audience at the scene are Lakers fans.Wearing the Lakers' purple and gold jerseys, these people seem to be declaring the city to each other.
In a sense, in Los Angeles, there is only one team.The Clippers are just a passerby boarding in Los Angeles.Even if the Lakers fell into a trough in the past few years, and the Clippers once became a championship-level team, this has never changed.However, this season, the Clippers once again challenged the Lakers.
When the players entered the field to warm up, the starting lineups of both sides were announced.
For the Lakers, they played 46 regular-season games on behalf of the Lakers last season, and point guard Rajon Rondo, who started 29 of them, did not appear on the roster.In fact, there was news before the game that Rondo would miss the game because of a calf injury.Rondo's absence left the Lakers without a point guard in their starting lineup.However, judging from Vogel's starting lineup, James has shouldered the team's ball possession responsibilities.Thinking about it, Vogel hopes that this arrangement can help James find a familiar rhythm of the game and offensive mode faster.The remaining four starters are no surprises, namely Bradley, Danny Green, Davis and McGee.
With such a lineup, the offensive and defensive strength of the Lakers inside has a huge advantage when they start against the Clippers. McGee has excellent athletic ability and blocking ability, while Anthony Davis can use the The defensive area covers beyond the three-point line.What is certain is that the pressure on James' defense will be reduced a lot.
On the Clippers side, there are also players missing due to injuries.The absence of Paul George has weakened the Clippers' offensive and defensive strength on the front line.The starting list sent by Rivers is Zubac, Patterson, Leonard, Shamet and Beverly.Compared with the previous preseason, Rivers made some adjustments to the starting lineup.However, although he has made changes, he still can't change the Clippers' weakness in interior duels.Both Zubac and Patterson are offensive players, and both of them have natural shortcomings on the defensive end.Patterson is a space-type No. 4, and his speed, height, and ability to block shots all have obvious shortcomings.Zubac, on the other hand, is an inside player with a traditional ball-handling style. He cannot protect rebounds and the basket well. At the same time, it is difficult for Zubac to defend beyond the three-point line.
As far as everyone saw before the game, the Lakers are undoubtedly the side that is more likely to win the game.With James' tandem, the three insiders of the Lakers can sink the Clippers.But the result of the game was just the opposite, and the Clippers won.
When the game started, the Lakers took the lead.With the outstanding performance of McGee, Davis and Danny Green, the Lakers played a 13:2 offensive wave and took the lead.Under the tenacious counterattack of Leonard and the substitute duo Lu Wei and Harrell, the Clippers chased the score to 22:25 at the end of the first quarter.In the second quarter, the Clippers and Lakers switched roles.They played a wave of 11:0 when they came up, and they overtook the score in an instant.Although Bradley and Davis scored points one after another on the Lakers side, the Clippers' offensive has not weakened.In the end, the Clippers entered the second half with an 8-point advantage.
Easy side to fight again, the Clippers' offensive continues unabated.Leonard scored consecutive points, Patterson hit a three-pointer, and the Clippers quickly expanded their advantage to 12 points.At this time, Danny Green stepped forward. He scored two three-pointers in a row and led the Lakers to a 15-0 lead.Subsequently, the Clippers' Green used a three-pointer to help the Clippers equalize the score 85:85.In the last quarter, the two sides played very anxiously.The tied score lasted until the first 4 minutes of the game.At the critical moment, Lu Wei and Harrell scored consecutively, maintaining the Clippers' advantage until the end of the game.
The loss of the Lakers is unacceptable to Los Angeles fans, but in the eyes of people in the circle, it is not particularly surprising.Former NBA legend Barkley said when looking forward to the opening game of the Los Angeles Derby that the Lakers may lose in the opening game, and they are unable to compete with the Clippers' bench.
Although Barkley's mouth is unreliable, his eyesight is still good.The reason why the Lakers lost this game was the great performance of the Clippers' strong bench players.
In this game, the Clippers' substitute players scored 60 points together. Among them, Louis Williams and Harrell, who are called the second general by the fans, performed very well. Still fierce.
In contrast to the Lakers, all the substitute players scored 17 points together.Howard, in this game, it can be seen that he was not in style back then, the position was not good, the rebound was blocked for the second offense, and he was able to cope with the power and move down slowly, which exposed Harrell's weakness; Can't make a three-pointer; Cook is an important rotation pitcher, and he was very accurate in the preseason. In this game, he received two consecutive open three-pointers and failed to score.Dudley's performance is not bad, but there is no good opportunity. After all, his independent offense is not strong.
In addition to the substitute players, the poor performance of others is also a very important reason.Except for Danny Green and Davis, the efficiency of the Lakers is positive, and the others are all negative.In the first game, Pope, who scored 0 points and 5 fouls, was indeed too hip.James, who organized and scored together, still has more than enough energy, too many turnovers in the game, many unreasonable passes, low outside shooting percentage, and lack of aggressiveness in playing...
After this game, Vogel's coaching ability was also questioned.He was too stubborn in the use of personnel, so that the offensive coordination and tactics the Lakers wanted were not played out.Especially in the final chasing stage, there was no cooperation, only playing personal hero goals, and failing to score for several consecutive rounds, which became the last straw that overwhelmed the camel of the Lakers.
(End of this chapter)