radicalducati Chapter 63: The Jazz players are disheartened, while the Warriors' stars shine!
Chapter 63: The Jazz players are disheartened, while the Warriors' stars shine!
In the live broadcast room, it wasn't just one or two people who noticed the Jazz's offensive slump.
Putting everything else aside, the Jazz didn't even score 40 points in the first half, which shows just how bad their offense was.
During halftime, the commentators continued to compare data and analyze tactics regarding the performances of both sides in the first half.
Kerr's masterful defensive matchup arrangement in this game naturally became a key focus in their analysis of the game's tactics.
Wang Meng carefully analyzed Kerr's strategy by watching frame-by-frame replays of the Warriors' first defensive possession of the game on the screen.
He didn't have the ability to analyze Cole's true intentions when he saw the positional changes, but he was quite good at making some analysis and explanations after the round ended.
"As you can see, Kerr's thinking is actually very simple."
"It's about protecting Curry's one-on-one defensive weakness and preventing the Jazz's offensive players from finding a way to score on him."
"However, this is easier said than done, and not every team can learn it."
"At the very least, the other four players must be competent defensively, and their defensive positions must be able to cover at least three positions, so that we can switch on defense without any worries."
"So our little Lee is also an indispensable part of Kerr's defensive strategy. After all, before he was brought in, among the few players the Warriors had left who could still play in the rotation, Poole's defense was hard to describe, and Looney didn't have much ability to switch to defend the perimeter."
"Without the addition of our defensive anchor, Lee, Kerr's switch-everything defense would be nothing but empty talk."
"Kerr clearly understands the strengths and weaknesses of each player on his roster and knows that this defensive strategy will only be effective with the starting five, so he barely rested the starters today. This is quite unusual for Kerr, who usually likes to rotate players on a clock."
"It seems Kerr doesn't want things to drag on and wants to capitalize on home-court advantage in this game to achieve a Cinderella story!"
After explaining the breakdown, Wang Meng handed the conversation over to the other two.
"Teacher Yang, Instructor Wang."
"Given the current situation on the court, do you think the Jazz still have a chance to force a Game 7 and avoid being upset by the Warriors today? If so, what adjustments do they need to make in the second half?"
Yang Yi nodded affirmatively: "There are no weak teams in the playoffs, especially since the Jazz were the top seed in the Western Conference during the regular season. We should definitely believe that they can make some effective adjustments in the second half."
Wang Shipeng shook his head: "I think it's unlikely. Sneijder didn't respond effectively to Cole's tactical changes in the first half. Will he suddenly have a breakthrough after halftime?"
"And don't forget, the Warriors weren't shooting well in the first half either. If they had been shooting more accurately, the game might have been over by now."
"So the Jazz's only hope for a comeback is that someone can suddenly explode in the second half, whether it's Mitchell, Conley, or Clarkson, and score 20 or 30 points in the first half. At the same time, they also have to hope that the Warriors maintain their poor shooting in the first half so that they can catch up."
"Otherwise..."
"Today, we may very well witness the birth of the sixth 'Black Eight' miracle in NBA history!"
……
In the first half, Li Xingchen had already made four out of seven shots, scoring ten points.
Curry scored 12 points and Wiggins scored 8 points, but they both took more shots than Li Xingchen, so their overall efficiency was actually quite average.
However, we can't entirely blame them. The main reason is that Kerr played the starting lineup for the full duration today, and everyone barely got any rest. So it's normal that their offensive efficiency declined.
This is also the main reason why the Warriors, despite having completely shut down the Jazz's offense in the first half, were unable to turn the game around.
However, as long as the defensive performance in the first half can be maintained, winning this game will definitely be a sure thing!
The Jazz tipped off in the second half.
At halftime, everyone was a little nervous, wondering if the Jazz would come up with any new offensive ideas in the second half to break down their switch-everything defense.
As it turned out, they were overthinking it.
In the second half, the Jazz's offense remained constipated, showing no signs of improvement.
To be frank, it's not really the head coach's fault for not making adjustments; the main issue is that the team's roster level wasn't high enough to compete for the championship.
If even Mitchell, the team's offensive core, plays hesitantly and without any dominance when facing a three-man rotation of Green, Wiggins, and Li Xingchen on defense, how can we expect the head coach to open up the team's offense through lineup and tactics?
There are five players on the opposing team, and I can't beat three of them.
Such a team leader is indeed incapable of leading the team to victory.
However, it's not entirely true that the Jazz made no adjustments whatsoever.
Their adjustment was to reduce Mitchell's ball possession as much as possible, leverage the team's advantage of having multiple ball-handlers, and allow the ball to be passed around more frequently.
Although the pick-and-roll tactic is no longer as effective as it used to be, the screens still need to be set. At least the screens can force the Warriors to switch on defense, allowing Mitchell to guard Bazemore, which is more comfortable than him guarding Li Xingchen all the time.
On the other hand, if Li Xingchen can be switched to defend the forwards, his defensive effectiveness can be weakened to some extent.
Using this method, the Jazz can actually achieve a steady rise in points, although the pace of scoring is still somewhat slow.
If they can improve their offense slightly while still limiting the Warriors to under 50 points in the second half, they still have a chance to turn the tide.
However, just three minutes into the second half, the situation on the field changed dramatically once again.
While passing the ball around more can certainly break down the Warriors' defense to some extent, it also increases the possibility of turnovers.
In one offensive possession, Bojan's pass to Mitchell was anticipated by Wiggins, who reached out and cut the ball off course.
On the other side, Li Xingchen, who was matched up against Mitchell, would not miss such a good opportunity. He also intercepted the ball with quick eyes and hands and immediately launched a fast break after the interception!
Previously, it was often Li Xingchen who made defensive decisions and provided assistance, allowing teammates with height and wingspan like Wiggins to ultimately achieve steals or blocks.
This time, the tables finally turned. The ball that Mouth Bro tried to steal was instead given to Li Xingchen, who got the last chance to steal the ball and launch a fast break!
After losing possession, Mitchell naturally fought back to defend.
For some reason, even with his hands empty, he couldn't catch up with Li Xingchen, who was advancing with the ball, even after crossing half the court.
They seem to be working very hard, but it's as if they're not giving it their all.
Li Xingchen's focus was mainly on his own dribbling rhythm, and he didn't pay much attention to the defender's movements.
He knew that in these fast break possessions, the chances of the defender actually keeping up and creating effective interference were actually slim. More often than not, the offensive players were scaring themselves, disrupting the offensive rhythm and wasting the best opportunities.
So he didn't care whether Mitchell caught up or not, and pushed forward at his own pace to the three-point line in the frontcourt, raising his hand to shoot a three-pointer!
The hard training he did recently must have paid off. Before, Li Xingchen's shooting percentage for open three-pointers during fast breaks was probably only 50% or 60%.
If the pressure of a formal competition is taken into account, he feels that he might not even have a 40% chance of winning.
But now, having honed his skills through several playoff and crucial moments, he no longer feels pressured in those situations. Instead, he simply enjoys the excitement of the fans' cheers and the anticipation of scoring.
In addition, his hundreds of previous practice sessions of sudden stop and chase three-pointer had allowed him to firmly remember that mysterious feel for the ball.
Now, he has a success rate of at least 80% when he gets an open three-point opportunity during a fast break!
Advance, stop suddenly, raise your hand, flick your wrist.
The entire set of movements was fluid and seamless!
With a "whoosh," the basketball fell into the net.
The point difference widened further, reaching fifteen points.
It was supposed to be the Jazz's offensive possession, but a mistake allowed the opponent to score three points.
Such rounds are often the most demoralizing.
After Li Xingchen capitalized on a turnover to score a fast-break three-pointer, the Jazz's key players were visibly demoralized.
In high-intensity competitions like the playoffs, which demand exceptional physical fitness, explosiveness, and focus, a "discouraged" attitude can be fatal.
Specifically, this manifests as a significant decrease in the offensive team's desire to shoot, with many passes becoming ineffective, as the team simply tries to shift the blame to others.
On the defensive end, the speed of retreat and the discipline of rotations were significantly reduced, which naturally gave the Warriors more quality shooting opportunities.
In stark contrast, the Warriors' key players are naturally the best.
Starting with Li Xingchen's three-pointer, they seemed to see a glimmer of hope to win the game in one fell swoop, and they fought harder and harder.
Curry, Wiggins, and Bazemore all took advantage of the Jazz's defensive lapses to hit three-pointers, and even Green contributed a powerful dunk.
Even when Snyder called a timeout in the middle to boost morale and try to stop the Warriors' momentum, it was to no avail.
The two teams were no longer on the same level in terms of momentum and confidence. The Jazz players were all dejected, while the Warriors were a team full of stars, shining brightly.
The point difference was quickly widened to twenty-four points.
In another Warriors offensive possession, Curry and Li Xingchen executed a cross screen between the two guards, just like the first offensive play of the game.
Just like And One did back then, Li Xingchen once again gained space to shoot from the mid-range, but he did not intend to repeat the same method this time.
He wanted to use a different approach, a more impactful one, to completely crush the Jazz's already dwindling confidence.
So, facing Gobert guarding the paint, Li Xingchen chose to meet the challenge head-on, dribbling the ball a couple more steps inward before soaring into the sky!