NBA: The God of Basketball Begins with Precise Scoring

Chapter 77 Kerr's abstract matchup change leads to Clippers losing their first offensive posses

The Clippers did not change their offensive strategy, still relying on Leonard and George as their dual cores to drive the offense.

Point guard Reggie Jackson is responsible for dribbling the ball up to half-court. Leonard calls for the ball inside the three-point line to start his offensive play, deciding whether to finish himself or pass to his teammates George or Batum on either side, depending on the defensive situation.

However, he was still taken aback when he saw his opponent.

It's Draymond Green?

Who did Wiggins guard?

Kawhi Leonard turned his head and saw that Li Xingchen was covering Reggie on both sides of the perimeter, while Wiggins was marking George.

No, that's not the point.

The key point is, Draymond Green came to guard him, so who was guarding Batum, who is 2.03 meters tall?

Leonard shifted his gaze to the bottom right corner.

It's Stephen Curry!

What kind of bizarre defensive matchup is the Warriors using?

Why would they send their point guard, who is only 1.88 meters tall, to guard a power forward who is over 2 meters tall?

Not only were the Clippers players and head coach Tyronn Lue dumbfounded, but the commentators and fans in the live broadcast room were also stunned.

"Seriously, did Kerr lose his mind during halftime? Is this kind of defensive matchup even conceived by a human being?"

"I guess it's because Wiggins didn't seem to be doing a good job limiting Kawhi. Wiggins definitely had a disadvantage in physical confrontations against Kawhi. I feel like he's better suited to defending the point guard and shooting guard positions, or a lighter small forward position."

"You can't just swap them like that. How are you going to compensate for that 15-centimeter height difference? They could easily pull you up for a jump shot. Did Kerr buy the ball?"

"Dude, is it possible that Batum is an off-ball three-point shooter and not good at pull-up jumpers? Let's wait and see!"

Fans were surprised by Kerr's baffling move, and most of them didn't understand it.

As for the Clippers players on the court, although they couldn't immediately grasp Kerr's intentions, they all knew very well that the opponent was no pushover, so they didn't let their guard down.

The offensive tactics are still functioning normally.

Kawhi was the first person to feel bad.

Compared to Wiggins, Draymond Green is far superior in terms of physical strength.

Moreover, his defense was extremely aggressive, and the referee's calls in this game were very lenient, which allowed him to use his body without restraint.

Wiggins' defense simply involves spreading his arms to cover his opponent, increasing his focus to guard against any potential drives and shots.

Draymond Green's defense is such that every second he's either cutting the ball or preparing to do so. Even if you don't intend to start an attack, his defensive pressure never stops.

Simply put, when facing Wiggins' defense, Leonard at most felt that it was impenetrable and difficult to break through.

On the other hand, Draymond Green's defense created a sense of pressure that could lead to him losing the ball at any moment!

It's absolutely terrifying.

Kawhi Leonard was under pressure and became somewhat flustered, so he had no choice but to pass the ball back to the outside.

Reggie Jackson has outstanding wingspan and weight for the point guard position, so he is generally not at a disadvantage in passing and physical contact on both ends of the court.

Unfortunately, he encountered Li Xingchen, who mainly plays the second position.

That slight advantage in physique simply doesn't exist.

Li Xingchen immediately recognized Kawhi Leonard's pass and reached out to catch it.

Fortunately, Reggie reacted quickly and lunged out to disrupt Li Xingchen's stealing position, so the basketball was ultimately only cut out of bounds by Li Xingchen.

Although the Clippers still had possession of the ball, the expressions on the faces of all their players began to turn serious.

Kerr's defensive tactical change seems a bit off.

It looks harmless, even a bit abstract, but the results seem to be surprisingly good!

The Clippers reorganized their offense, but after the ball spun around in the hands of their three main ball handlers, no opportunity arose.

Reggie Jackson would be outmatched by Li Xingchen. Even Mitchell was made to question his existence by Li Xingchen's defense, let alone a small role player.

Paul George also had a tough time against Wiggins because he is a forward with the size to swing to the shooting guard position to play against Li Xingchen. He has a great advantage in both height and wingspan, and can even pull up for a jump shot when he can't break through.

But against Wiggins, his size advantage disappears.

In terms of speed, Wiggins won't let him gain any advantage.

At most, George still has an edge over Wiggins in physical confrontations.

The problem is that George, as a swingman who mainly relies on off-ball offense on the perimeter, is not the type of player who can overpower opponents through physical contact.

That slight advantage in the confrontation was actually of little use to him.

The player most affected was Kawhi Leonard.

This kind of confrontation doesn't seem to be the first time it's happened, and it probably won't be the last.

Perhaps, Kawhi Leonard will also have a chance to go toe-to-toe with Draymond Green.

But it definitely won't be today.

The referees were too lenient today. Draymond Green's defensive pressure even made Kawhi Leonard feel suffocated. He felt that he could make a mistake and be dispossessed at any time, so he didn't even dare to continue holding the ball.

After going around in circles, with more than half of the offensive time gone but still unable to create any offensive opportunities, the Clippers finally started to get anxious.

George thought about it calmly, and realized that the current situation didn't seem quite right.

The Warriors changed their defensive matchups, seemingly upgrading the defense from point guard to small forward. Of course, there must be positions where the defense is downgraded!

He really shouldn't be spinning in circles anymore; he should pass the ball to Batum.

You're facing Stephen Curry, the Warriors' defensive weak point. What are you waiting for if you don't go and head-to-head with him and destroy him?

However, Batum, who suddenly received the ball in the right corner, looked at Curry, who was standing in front of him with his hand outstretched and a cautious expression, and was equally bewildered.

Are you kidding me, you pickled pepper brothers?

I don't have an open shot opportunity here, why did you pass it to me?

Am I supposed to force a shot against the defense?

Oh right, the coach seems to have mentioned that.

As an outside shooter responsible for creating space on offense, you must be decisive when an open shot comes up.

If you don't have a chance to shoot or miss your opportunity, don't waste time; you must quickly pass the ball to another teammate who has a chance.

After all, the opportunity to make a move is fleeting.

Batum glanced around the court and immediately spotted Morris standing in the bottom corner on the other side.

Rooney was still responsible for guarding Morris, but instead of standing in front of Morris, Rooney huddled under the basket to protect the rim.

In other words, Morris is currently in a very open position in the bottom corner.

If we don't pass the ball to him now, when will we?

Passing the ball directly from one corner to the other is quite risky, but fortunately Batum has a good passing foundation and often acts as the team's setter, so it wasn't a difficult task for him.

Upon receiving the pass, Rooney symbolically lunged out to cover.

Of course, the effect of such a temporary outside-to-inside defensive effort is probably negligible.

Therefore, Morris essentially took a wide-open three-pointer from the corner.

bang-

That was the crisp sound of hammering.

Rooney casually grabbed the rebound.

The Clippers' first offensive possession of the second half ended inexplicably with Morris missing a three-pointer.

However, many astute observers have already discerned the brilliance of Cole's seemingly "abstract" defensive matchup in the second half through Morris's missed shot!

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I'm too busy with work to update today, but I'll try to update more tomorrow!