NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 485 First Loss in the Playoffs

Even the usually arrogant and boastful Steve Kerr on the Warriors' coaching bench was no longer the confident and domineering figure he once was. He frowned, and his heart began to race with tension.

Even in last season's Finals, he hadn't been this nervous. And this season, starting from the semifinals, this was the second time he'd felt this tension. They almost lost in the last round, only narrowly escaping in a Game 7. Facing the Clippers this time was also difficult; their five-outside lineup was truly a nightmare for any conventional lineup, and their perimeter defense was incredibly strong, their defensive strengths specifically targeting the Warriors' offensive core, the Splash Brothers.

Fortunately, the Warriors still have a trump card: the Durant version of the "Death Lineup".

Back then, Barnes' version of the "Death Lineup" lost to the Hawks' five-outside lineup with its infinite switching defense and the Cavaliers' ultimate running man's godlike isolation and infinite switching defense. But Durant's addition seemed to fill the last gap in this lineup.

Durant possesses the league's top-tier one-on-one ability, capable of scoring in isolation without any disadvantage. Moreover, he can create space by shooting off the ball and accelerate the pace of the game. He can play in both small and large lineups, making him a formidable weapon in modern basketball.

Replacing Barnes with Durant not only gives the Warriors an ultimate offensive weapon, but also provides a huge boost on the defensive end. It's well known that while Barnes is a solid defender and an excellent forward, his actual height is only around 2 meters, while Durant is a true center—211cm tall.

Durant may be thin, but he's incredibly tall! Not only does he have the height of a center, but his long arms make him an excellent rim protector when helping on the paint. He has the speed of a wing player and the height of a center. Green excels at high-post defense, and he's a rim protector. This solves the Warriors' interior defense problem with their small lineup. Their small lineup isn't short overall either: Curry at 191cm, Klay and Green at 201cm, Iguodala at 198cm, and Durant at 211cm.

A true small-ball lineup like the Rockets' would be one where the 198cm tall Tucker plays center.

Why did the Rockets lose? The "Moreyball" strategy was part of the reason, but another part was that the roster was too small, they played too aggressively, and D'Antoni used a short rotation, which pushed several players too hard. By the end, they were exhausted and injuries started to occur, leading to the loss.

Small guys going to guard the inside, switching on defense endlessly without resting—even a donkey in a production team wouldn't be used like that!

Playing under D'Antoni, as long as you have the ability, you don't need to worry about not getting enough playing time; he'll make sure you don't have time to rest...

The same applies to Thibodeau...

After the game started, the Warriors launched a furious offensive. The Clippers' strategy was still mainly to defend the Splash Brothers. Iguodala and Green could shoot or attack as they pleased, but those two couldn't kill anyone. The Warriors' killers were those three.

The Warriors sped up their offense, determined to increase the pace. Whoever grabbed the defensive rebound would launch a fast break, taking advantage of the Clippers' unstable footing.

On the defensive end, the Warriors insisted on switching on defense and double-teamed Jia Fei in advance to force him to pass the ball.

The Clippers' other players' offensive efficiency dropped due to the opponent's excellent rotation and stretch defense. Paul George also had a poor shooting night, appearing somewhat out of sorts against Durant's defense.

With the Clippers playing a small-ball lineup, the threat of Olynyk's pick-and-roll has decreased. Green's strong ability to defend pick-and-rolls and his high mobility have limited the Clippers' five-outside lineup.

The Clippers' defense also had problems. In half-court sets, they were okay; they would consciously leave Iguodala and Green open to focus on limiting the opponent's Splash Brothers. However, when the opponent sped up, Olynyk couldn't keep up with the pace, and he was always outnumbered when defending transitions, making him appear very passive.

It was clear that the Warriors had a well-thought-out game plan. Their strategy during transition periods was specifically to attack Lou Williams and Carrell, relentlessly exploiting these two defensive weaknesses.

In this game, the Warriors only used Looney as their center, and he only played for 10 minutes. Both McGee and Zaza were firmly kept on the bench.

The advantage of shortening the rotation and reducing the use of the center is that the Warriors' offensive spacing has improved, and their slightly weaker rebounding has not cost them a lot.

The Clippers were suppressed on both ends of the court. During the game, Harrell was also ejected by the referee for a physical altercation with Green.

The Clippers suffered a crushing 99-114 defeat to the Warriors on the road, marking their first loss in the playoffs this season!

Apart from Jia Fei, no other Clippers player scored more than 20 points, and the team committed a staggering 18 turnovers, which allowed their opponents to score 27 points...

The series score is now 1-2. Although the Warriors are still behind, this big win has given them enough confidence.

The pressure is now on the Clippers. Their opponents have revealed their trump card—the "Death Lineup." It's no secret, but so far, no team has managed to break down this lineup in the playoffs. Whether the Clippers can become the first is a question everyone is eagerly anticipating.

The visiting team's locker room was quiet after the game, with the Clippers players' faces filled with frustration. They had been on a winning streak since the start of the playoffs until tonight, never having been dominated by their opponents from start to finish like this.

Jia Fei wasn't as frustrated as his teammates; this was within his expectations. What was slightly surprising was that the opponent would so completely abandon the center position. He had thought that with their small-ball lineup, they would play more center positions during transition periods to give their starters more rest time, but he hadn't expected the opponent to go all out with a short rotation.

However, this is not entirely outside the scope of his predictions. The "death lineup" of five small players is a desperate lineup, and the Warriors cannot afford to lose this game. This method is enough to show that in Kerr's eyes, this Clippers team is a real threat to them.

Jia Fei smiled inwardly. Now it was their turn to make adjustments. Let's see how the Clippers' new lineup performs!

The game sparked much discussion, with many now believing the Warriors were finished and the Clippers were out of the running. In just one game, these same people went from pessimistic about the Warriors to pessimistic about the Clippers; their vacillation is remarkably fickle.

That evening, Jia Fei received a text message from Coach Buden.

The text message was very simple, containing only one sentence: "Use the new lineup?"

Jia Fei only uttered one word—"Yes!"

Everyone is speculating about how the Clippers will adjust their lineup. So far this season, the Clippers have never proactively changed their starting lineup. During the regular season, some starters started due to injuries or rest, but they have never actively changed their lineup when they have a full roster.

Everyone is predicting that Jia Fei, Paul George, Beverley, and Gallinari will almost certainly not fall out of the starting lineup, so if the starting lineup is to be adjusted, the most likely candidate is Olynyk.