NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 629 No need to defend against the turtle's long-range shots

Game 1 of the Clippers-Rockets series will be held on September 5 at the bubble.

Jia Fei and the coaching staff have been watching Rockets game tapes for the past two days to analyze the team. Although the two teams have faced each other in the playoffs before, the situation is different now. The Clippers may still be the same Clippers, but the Rockets are different...

The Rockets were previously known as the "CP3-CP3 Rockets," with Harden and 58 as their two engines. However, 58 has now been traded to the Thunder in exchange for triple-double king Westbrook, and the Rockets have entered the "post-Thunder duo" era.

While Westbrook certainly outperforms 58 in scoring, rebounding, and assists, they are not in the same league when it comes to cunning, playmaking, and shooting.

After the arrival of the "Turtle" (a nickname for a player), his shooting was particularly inconsistent, especially his three-point shooting. In order to maximize his role, the team traded away "The King of the Lob" Capela and switched to a small-ball lineup.

Unlike the Warriors and Clippers' small lineups, the Rockets' small lineup is truly small. Only Covington is over 2 meters tall in the starting lineup, making it a genuinely small lineup.

It's well known that small lineups have far greater defensive problems than offensive ones. In fact, small lineups don't have major offensive issues; five small guards can still put on a great offense. However, it's very difficult for five small guards to put on a great defense. They'll likely be at a disadvantage on rebounds, and rim protection will be extremely challenging.

One major reason why basketball hasn't become the world's number one sport is that it requires a certain level of player talent. You can't predict the position of a 1.8-meter-tall soccer player on the court; they can play forward, midfielder, guard, or even goalkeeper. However, a player of that height in professional basketball can only play guard, and even then, he's an easy target for defensive strategies.

Someone of Mei's height could be a football king on the field, but on the basketball court, he wouldn't even qualify to be thrashed by his nephew, Anshan Paul. Forget being thrashed by them, he wouldn't even make the school team.

This is why many NCAA players with strong immediate impact are considered to lack potential due to their average physical attributes and are not favored in the draft, while those with outstanding physical attributes but no outstanding performance before are called "rough gems" and become high draft picks.

Because there is an ironclad rule that supports all of this: technique can be trained, awareness can be trained, but height and wingspan cannot be trained.

On September 3, Coach Buden went to Jia Fei's room to discuss the series against the Rockets.

Jia Fei was not surprised by Coach Buden's arrival; in fact, the two had communicated before the previous series.

"Jia, I'd like to hear your opinion!" Coach Buden said earnestly.

Jia Fei smiled slightly, looked at Coach Buden, and did not answer directly: "Coach, you should know the opponent's main lineup in the last round, right?"

Coach Buden nodded.

“They’re using a small lineup, so we’re using a small lineup too!” Jia Fei said.

"You mean you'd go straight for a small lineup?" Coach Buden asked.

Jia Fei smiled and nodded slightly.

Buden nodded, understanding Jia Fei's meaning. The small lineup is the Clippers' trump card, usually used in crucial games, but using it directly against the Rockets means a direct showdown, just like when the two teams met in the playoffs last time.

Using a regular lineup against the Rockets' small lineup is not easy. First, it's difficult to defend their pick-and-roll, and the speed of their recovery defense is insufficient. Once double-teamed, the speed of rotation is also quite limited. The best approach is to use a small lineup against a small lineup.

Compared to the Rockets' small lineup, the Clippers' small lineup is not small at all. They just don't have a true small lineup center. They could even get rid of Beverley and play a lineup of five forwards who are over two meters tall.

"When playing a small lineup, we mainly use a switch-everything defense, Ja, what do you think?" Coach Buden asked.

Jia Fei nodded, then shook his head.

Coach Buden looked at him with a questioning gaze.

Jia Fei explained in detail: "We double-teamed James Harden and used unlimited switching on the other three players."

"The other three? Then who's the last one? Who is the last one?" Coach Buden had more and more questions in his mind.

Jia Fei smiled and said, "The other one is Russell Westbrook!"

"Russell Westbrook?" Coach Buden was very curious. He found it hard to believe. Russell Westbrook, as the Rockets' current number two player, should be their primary defensive target. Why weren't they using a switch-everything defense against him? Were they going to double-team him? But Jia Fei clearly said that the only one they were double-teaming was Harden!

Jia Fei noticed Coach Buden's expression. Just as he had imagined, the coach was still reluctant to believe that defending Westbrook wouldn't require a superstar-level approach. Westbrook didn't have many options in half-court offense these days; all they needed to do was defend his drives and passes. If he wanted to shoot threes, so be it; if he wanted to pull up for a mid-range jumper, so be it. Even if he managed to shut them down with his shots, that was one thing, but the problem was that he simply couldn't shut them down with his shooting—Jia Fei was absolutely certain of that.

“That’s him, Coach. We don’t need to double-team him. On the contrary, when we double-team Harden, if he’s standing in the corner or outside the three-point line, don’t rotate over to him. Let him shoot, and just be ready to grab the rebound. Don’t rush out to defend his mid-range and long-range shots. Let him shoot. When he sets a screen, go around the screen. When defending his drive, don’t switch or double-team him.” Jia Fei’s confident expression made Coach Buden believe him.

It's no secret that Westbrook's three-point shooting is inaccurate, but he is, after all, the league's triple-double king and an MVP-caliber superstar. Can we really use this kind of defensive strategy to defend a superstar who is not at his peak but is at the tail end of his peak?

This would be very risky; if Westbrook goes on a shooting spree, the Clippers' defense will be severely punished. However, Jia Fei's point seems valid; if they absolutely had to let one player go, letting either Tucker or Westbrook go would indeed be a more reasonable choice.

Coach Buden hesitated for a moment, but his instinctive trust in Jia Fei prevented him from hesitating for long.

"Let's do it your way!" Coach Buden made up his mind.

Jia Fei's smile deepened. Coach Buden was indeed a good person in this respect; he listened to advice and remained humble even after becoming the league's best coach and a championship-winning coach. That was something Pighead would never learn…

The other matchup in the West was Lakers vs. Nuggets, so all four of the top teams in the West advanced in the first round without any upsets.

On September 5th, the Clippers will face the Rockets in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.

This match was broadcast live on Tencent, with commentators Wang Zixing and guest Su Qun providing commentary.

"Mr. Su, the Clippers and the Rockets have met again in the playoffs. Who do you think will advance this time?" Wang Zixing asked.