Chapter 784 [Nothing Can Be Done, Defending Champion]
Many Chinese fans supported the Nets to win the championship in the finals, hoping that Yao Ming would get a fifth championship ring, so that his historical status would be higher, and no one would say that Dwight Howard was the active No. 1 center.
It's a pity that Yao Ming's offense in this series is acceptable, and the defensive end is the team's weakness.
On the 11th, the two sides fought the third battle in Brooklyn.
The battle was even more tragic than the last game, and the Nets fell behind by a large score at halftime, digging a big hole for themselves.
In order to fight against the Clippers, Stevens changed the rotation time of the players, let Yao Ming rest after half a quarter, and wanted him to play in the second quarter with a bench offense and attack the basket.
Stevens was right, except for Chandler, it would be difficult for anyone else to defend Yao Ming and interfere with his shot. But Yang Rui immediately made an adjustment, replacing Chandler with a rest, and Danny Green was also off the court.
In the second quarter, the Nets sent Nash, Bogans, Joe Johnson, Lewis, and Yao Ming, all of whom could shoot three-pointers to open up space.
The Clippers brought in Curry, Danny Green, Parsons, Gay, and Chandler, and the defense was not bad and the counterattack was fast.
Parsons played forward, Chandler covered on the side, and the trio pulled away from the outside looking for an opportunity, with Gay and Chandler cutting in at any moment.
Then, the "Splash Brothers" appeared, Curry and Danny Green hit five three-pointers in a row, and the Nets were "muted" at home.
The two of them have this style, once they find their touch, it is difficult to be interrupted, and they still go in the same way when they catch the ball.
Curry played just 25 minutes and finished with 26 points, four rebounds and three assists on 9-of-17 shooting, 6-of-10 three-pointers and 2-of-2 free throws.
Green played 30 minutes and finished with 27 points and four rebounds on 9-of-15 shooting, 7-of-9 three-pointers and 2-of-2 free throws.
The two of them made 13 three-pointers, more than the entire Nets team, and with the play of other players, the Clippers shot 21 of 41 three-pointers, shooting more than half of the range, which was more accurate than a two-point shot. How is this game played?
The Clippers won 123-87 to give them a 3-0 overall lead.
Paul was defended by the Nets in this game, scoring only 14 points, 8 assists and 2 steals, and Griffin's performance was also average, with 14 points and 12 rebounds on 5-of-11 shooting and 2-of-2 free throws.
After this game, the only suspense in the Finals is who will win the MVP for the Clippers.
Basketball experts and online fans are discussing that Curry and Paul have the most hope, and Danny Green has become the big dark horse, and there is also hope, although he has a single role, but this time the Finals shooting is too accurate.
ESPN expert Nicholas said: "Now the Nets are definitely aware of Danny Green's threat and will guard him closely, but it is too late. He was a key factor in the Clippers' easy three-game win. ”
During the break, Yao Ming gave an exclusive interview to the Chinese media, he said: "The Clippers are very strong, but no one wants their team to be swept, we have to try to play better in the next game, now all I have to do is have a good rest." ”
Yao Ming is very depressed, he defends without the ball and covers, the guard catches and shoots very badly, he is only 33 years old, his athleticism has declined a lot, he is unwilling, but he is really powerless.
In fact, Yang Rui was surprised by Yao Ming's state, he did so well, he could shoot three points, he could respond to high positions, and now he is a hot center, and he can also enter the best lineup.
In Yang Rui's previous life, the 33-year-old Yao Ming had retired and returned to China, and formed the Big Three with Cui Chengguo and Hanazawa Coriander.
The fourth game continued to be played in Brooklyn, and the Nets' home whistle advantage became greater, and when they encountered a side no-ball screen, the Nets' outside players could directly use their hands to dial the screener and speed up the defense, which was difficult for ordinary fans to see.
In the restricted area, the Nets also have more fierce confrontations, Griffin and Chandler are difficult to score in the air, and after misalignment, the Nets players will use small movements to reduce their speed and make them unable to rush. Once the inside line can't catch the ball after blocking and dismantling, the big man of the Nets has time to return to the defense.
The referee blew loose penalties on the defensive end, making the Nets' defense stronger. It's a game where you can't see anything wrong if you don't watch the live stream and just look at the stats, because the two teams have about the same number of fouls in the game, but in reality, the Clippers players have more turnovers under the fierce confrontation, and some of those mistakes should be whistled as fouls.
This is exactly the cleverness of the referee, it can't be said that the black whistle, but the same body contact and the same confrontation, the scale of blowing penalties on both sides is different. The Clippers can't say that the referees blow indiscriminately, after all, their defense is not ice and jade, and even Paul, Chandler, Tony Allen and others have more small moves.
At the beginning of the last quarter, Yang Rui saw it, and when the camera showed him, Cole, and Tyrone Lu, the three of them sat on the sidelines, talking and laughing. Since the league has a heart for it, let's see you in Los Angeles.
The Nets also played well on offense, blossoming with more points, with five players scoring double-doubles and winning 114-100.
Yao Ming, DeLong, and Joe Johnson were highlight, all cutting 20+, and they deserved this victory.
However, such an intervention will not bring the Clippers down, but will only allow the Clippers to earn one more game at home.
Die-hard fans are even happier, the atmosphere is completely different between the Clippers winning the championship on the road and winning the championship at home, and they want to participate in the celebration and take more photos than to participate in the parade where countless people are there in the stadium two days later, and the distance is far away, and they can't see the stars a few times.
The Nets just look scary in the lineup, and there are still a lot of weaknesses in the real fight, such as Yao Ming's inability to defend himself, and the instability of the outside players.
The mentality of the Nets players is incomparable with the Clippers players, except for the Trident, the role players dare not play at critical moments, so there are traces to limit the Nets' offense. Even if it's a trident, not every game is good.
The Clippers stars didn't play well in every game, but they had more people who dared to take responsibility and had more confidence, all of which were the confidence they developed in the Finals last season.
In the first four games, Paul didn't score much, playing at a familiar pace, assisting his teammates, and in the fifth game he finally felt hot and began to exert his power.
Paul knew that his teammates were better at three-pointers, so he rarely shot three-pointers, mainly breakaways and mid-range shots, and was a one-step pull-up jump shot after misplacing past the opposing big man.
In this way, Paul has two options, both jump shots, or to attract defensive points to teammates, a team is indispensable to break through experts, only continuous breakthroughs, in order to lead to the opponent's formation changes, tear the defense, assist teammates to shoot three points more comfortably.
In the first few games, Paul broke through mostly, shot less, and started passing the ball after two missed shots, his steady style of play, even if he was in average condition, could not shoot too much, and the shooting rate was low.
Today, Paul hit a series of mid-range shots and went crazy, shooting 10-of-14 from the field, 1-of-2 three-pointers, 7-of-8 from the free-throw line, scoring 28 points, 1 rebound, 11 assists, 2 steals, and only two turnovers.
Deron Williams, who was the core of the perimeter in key games, was under too much psychological pressure and played a poor performance, shooting 4-of-13, 0-of-4 from three-point range, and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line, scoring only 12 points and 8 assists.
When DeLong needed to step up in the last quarter, he didn't dare to shoot, and after breaking through the bag, he gave it to his teammates, watching his teammates play, and there were very few runs.
Curry blasted Nash again, shooting 8-of-15, 6-of-10 from three-point range and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line to finish with 24 points and five assists.
Green shot 6-of-12 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range to finish with 15 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Two of his caps were given to Delon, which was very morale-boosting.
Parsons, Griffin, and Gay also scored double-doubles, and the Clippers won 125-102 and successfully defended the title with a total score of 4-1!