NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 565 One Step Away from Retaining the Title

When the Clippers fielded their five-forward lineup, the Raptors' offense slowed down. Mismatches became harder to capitalize on, and in one-on-one situations, only Durant could guarantee a decent success rate; the others, including Siakam, couldn't guarantee a good shooting percentage.

VanVleet was heavily restricted in this game; the Clippers sometimes even double-teamed him to prevent him from playing comfortably.

The Raptors' second unit has several players who are relatively short, especially in the backcourt. Against a five-forward lineup, Jia Fei can easily spot the shorter players.

When he shoots over VanVleet and Powell, they have absolutely no answer.

You're all about big butts and muscular builds, right? I'm shooting a basketball over your head, what good are your muscles?

The final quarter was not much of a suspenseful game. The Raptors' scoring bursts mainly came from Durant and VanVleet. The former played fairly normally, but when the latter was shut down, their offense faltered.

To put it bluntly, the Clippers' perimeter defense is too outstanding. Teams that rely on perimeter offense will not have an easy time, including the Rockets, the Warriors, and the Raptors.

The Clippers defeated the Raptors 99-114 at home, winning Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

贾飞全场出战39分12秒，砍下全场最高的39分，外加10个篮板11次助攻4个抢断2个盖帽，用一个三双送给现场的球迷。

This victory gives Clippers fans confidence in their title defense; the Raptors aren't any better than the Warriors or Rockets. Durant's expressionless face proves he's a scorer, not a superstar leader who can drive the team. Essentially, Durant is the same as Durant, only slightly better defensively and slightly weaker offensively.

At the post-match press conference, a reporter asked Jia Fei if it was okay to dream about successfully defending his title. Jia Fei smiled and said, "We've only won one match. It's far too early to hold a celebration. Our opponent is very strong. We need to stay humble and continue to strive for victory one match at a time. We still need to win three more matches. It's too early to talk about that now!"

June 2th, Game 2 of the Grand Finals.

Both teams fielded the same starting lineups as in the previous game, with the Raptors making no changes even after their loss.

However, the Raptors made adjustments. In this game, they opted to double-team the ball handler. They double-teamed whoever Jia Fei ran a pick-and-roll with, and rotated the ball around when he passed it, selectively leaving Beverley and Olynyk open, but not Paul George and Gallinari.

This is essentially a gamble: betting that the rotation can keep up, and betting that Beverley and Olynyk won't be shooting well. This kind of gamble is very risky because it's very possible for the opposing role players to hit consecutive three-pointers and instantly blow you out.

For the Raptors, however, they didn't have a better option. In the last game, they tried to defend Jia Fei one-on-one, and he almost got a 40+ triple-double. This proved that even with the defensive combination of Green and Faceless, they couldn't contain him by one person. So, double-teaming became necessary. Moreover, it's not just that it's not easy to contain Jia Fei one-on-one; double-teaming also prevents Gasol from being heavily targeted by the opponent's pick-and-roll, which is also a strategy to protect him.

Facing a double team, Jia Fei passed the ball decisively and with ease. He seemed to have anticipated the double team, so he was very flexible when initiating pick-and-rolls, not necessarily setting a real screen, but sometimes faking one to catch the opponent off guard.

Beverley and Olynyk boldly took three-pointers whenever they had the chance, without hesitation.

On the defensive end, the Clippers also double-teamed. When the starting lineup was on the court, they would double-team Siakam and Evans, taking advantage of their slow passing speed to limit their one-on-one plays.

A comparison of Jia Fei's and Shuang Ka's ability to break through a pincer attack reveals the obvious difference in their abilities.

The Clippers' role players didn't have any explosive outside shooting in this game; they just played their usual game, but they still managed to defeat the Raptors.

With a 2-0 lead in the series, the Clippers have won two straight games and need only two more wins to successfully defend their title.

In the history of the NBA Finals, there have been instances of teams coming back from a 0-2 deficit to win. The most recent example is the Cavaliers' comeback against the Warriors in the 2016 Finals, and before that, the Heat's comeback against the Mavericks in the 2006 Finals.

However, considering the current matchups and rosters of the two teams, it will be extremely difficult for the Raptors to reverse the Clippers' fortunes.

It's clear that the best players from both teams are on the Clippers' roster. This means the Raptors need to rely more on teamwork, but the Clippers' roster structure is specifically designed to counter them. In this situation, for the Raptors to win, they need to be perfect themselves and for the opponent to make mistakes, which is inherently a very low probability.

June 5, Air Canada Centre, home of the Raptors.

In this game, the Raptors, who had lost two games in a row, made a lineup change!

Serge Ibaka replaced LaMarcus Cousins ​​in the starting lineup, becoming the Raptors' starting center for this game! All other players remain the same!

After weighing the pros and cons, the Raptors ultimately chose to proactively reduce their roster size to counter the opponent's small lineup.

But the Clippers weren't stupid. After Olynyk started and played for less than 4 minutes, they made a proactive adjustment, bringing in Dillon to play a small-ball lineup. They then quickly substituted Beverley with Bridges to play a five-forward lineup.

The Raptors fielded Gasol in their second unit, while the Clippers made a last-minute adjustment, allowing Olynyk to also play in their second unit.

Olynyk continues to torment his wife!

Coach Buden's timely response minimized the effectiveness of the Raptors' strategy.

In this game, the Raptors double-teamed Jia Fei again, but the Clippers' role players were not shooting well, making the opponent's strategy very effective.

The Raptors took the lead in the first half.

In the second half, the Clippers changed their strategy. Jia Fei reduced his ball handling and played more off-ball, reducing dribbling after receiving the ball on the move and taking quick shots.

This made the double-teaming strategy less effective, and Jia Fei showcased his off-the-ball skills, helping the team stay close in the score.

In the final quarter, the Clippers' role players finally found their rhythm, leading to a comeback victory and the win.

With a 3-0 lead, the Clippers are now one step away from successfully defending their title from the Raptors.

In the history of the NBA playoffs, no team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit to win. Theoretically, the Clippers have basically secured the 2018-19 NBA championship.

The Raptors fought hard throughout the game, but ultimately lost. This loss completely eliminated their chances of competing for the championship.

The main reason the Raptors were reversed was their inability to deal with Jia Fei and the opponent's small lineup; that was the fundamental reason.

The Raptors almost won this game, but the opposing role players eventually found their rhythm, which was just fate.