NBA: The God of Basketball Begins with Precise Scoring

Chapter 70: Kerr's Targeted Plans, Golden State Heads to Los Angeles!

Although the Clippers and Mavericks' decisive Game 7 has not yet taken place, after discussion, everyone unanimously decided to consider the Clippers, who have more experience and a more advantageous roster, as a potential opponent in the Western Conference semifinals.

For the next half day, the Warriors players and the coaching staff led by Kerr gathered in the conference room to review video footage and analyze tactics.

The video footage was naturally taken from precious footage that the Clippers had just captured in the first round of the playoffs this year.

On the one hand, the fresher the material analysis, the better, and the closer it is to the opponent's current lineup and tactics; on the other hand, watching the first round games can also provide an opportunity to see the performance of another potential opponent, the Mavericks.

Of course, the focus is still on studying the Clippers' roster and tactics.

After watching it, everyone on the Warriors team had only one feeling.

That is, the Clippers are incredibly strong!

Among fans, the Clippers are often mocked as "offseason champions" because they seem to make some very good signings every offseason, but their final season results are often disappointing.

However, this also proves that the Clippers' roster is indeed very strong on paper. As for why they fall in different places every year, it is mainly due to the impact of injuries. After all, both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, the two core players, are indeed a bit fragile.

Even in the previous season, the Clippers were eliminated in the Western Conference Finals because Kawhi Leonard was injured in the second round and missed the rest of the season.

If both sides have their full rosters, the outcome is truly uncertain.

Injuries are always part of the game. Excluding malicious injuries on the field, it is normal for a team to have injuries to some extent. No team is an exception.

It is precisely these unpredictable accidents that bring more unexpected possibilities to the world of the NBA.

Therefore, constantly bringing up injuries is meaningless and only makes people more likely to laugh at you. The only team more damaging than the "Golden State Wushu Team" and the "Los Angeles Referees Team" is the "Houston If Team".

However, no matter how many injuries the Clippers suffered in the previous life, it has nothing to do with the present.

At least for now, the Clippers' roster is basically complete, and their two core players, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, are not at risk of injury.

This means that the Clippers currently have the strength to contend for the championship, and it could even be said that they are the toughest opponent in the West.

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are, after all, far superior in star power to the Jazz's Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.

One of them was a core player of a championship team that had won two championships and two Finals MVPs, while the other was a perfect wing player who was good at both offense and defense and was an All-Star and All-NBA player for many consecutive years.

They are certainly not comparable to a third-year rookie like Mitchell or a player like Gobert who excels in only one area.

Moreover, there was some very bad news for Li Xingchen personally.

That means his defensive performance against the Clippers will definitely be much worse than when he plays against the Jazz.

The reason is simple: the Jazz's offense is orchestrated by their two guards, and Li Xingchen's current defensive abilities are specifically designed to counter guards.

The Clippers' offensive core lies in their two forwards. If Li Xingchen faces Paul George, firstly, he will not have the same physical advantage as he did when facing Mitchell in the first round; secondly, his passive ability to limit the shooting percentage of opposing guards is also likely to fail to be triggered.

After all, even though Paul George is a swingman and sometimes plays shooting guard when the team plays a small-ball lineup, he is still essentially a forward in terms of physique and playing style, and that doesn't change.

Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for Li Xingchen to completely shut down Paul George like he did with Mitchell in the first round.

If we can limit him to some extent and respond on the offensive end, and contribute at the same level as Paul George when facing him, that would be quite good.

The remaining question is whether Curry or Leonard, these two stars, will prevail.

It's quite a coincidence that Curry's last Finals appearance, the one in 2019 where he narrowly missed out on a three-peat, was due to Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson both getting injured during the series, leaving Curry to carry the team alone and ultimately resulting in their defeat.

And the player standing opposite him at that time, who won the championship trophy and the Finals MVP, was none other than Kawhi Leonard…

Now, two years later, the two have met again in the playoffs, which makes people sigh that everything seems to be the will of heaven.

Whether Curry can exact revenge on his former opponent will be a significant test of his mentality.

In addition, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue is also a coach who loves to use the small-ball lineup.

After the Clippers' starting center Serge Ibaka was sidelined for the season, he has been using a small-ball lineup, including in the first round of the playoffs.

Therefore, the Warriors' small-ball lineup's speed advantage and ability to switch on defense were no longer present when facing the Clippers.

In conclusion, this Clippers team is very difficult for the Warriors to beat at this stage. From roster depth, star power, tactical logic, and player skill characteristics, the Warriors basically have no advantage.

The only advantage the Warriors might have is that they have a few more days of rest and preparation time than the Clippers, who need to play a decisive Game 7 in the first round.

First, they can use this time to study more of the Clippers' commonly used tactics and try to find ways to counter them.

Secondly, a few extra days of rest will greatly help them recover their physical strength, which is crucial in the playoffs.

Many teams that were originally evenly matched have fallen behind in terms of physical condition because one side was dragged out of the series by one game in the previous round.

This disadvantage will become increasingly apparent as the competition progresses.

Therefore, the Warriors' current strategy is to develop some targeted strategies in advance, and then catch the Clippers off guard at their home court, hoping to steal a victory.

If the Warriors can hold on in just one of the next two home games in Golden State, they can drag the series into a pivotal Game 5, which will take at least six games to finish.

In this situation, the Clippers' physical disadvantage will be further exposed, while the Warriors, who have had a few more days of rest, are relatively less afraid of dragging out the schedule.

Therefore, if the series goes into the second half, the Warriors will have a much better chance of winning.

Of course, this is based on the premise that the Warriors are at a disadvantage. If the Warriors can defeat the Clippers head-on from the beginning, then of course it would be best to try for a sweep or a gentleman's sweep.

Never give the other party any chance, lest things get complicated.

Therefore, during the three-day rest period, Kerr did not arrange any other training for the players. Instead, he simply led them to analyze the Clippers' various lineup combinations and corresponding tactics, and to try, practice, and refine their countermeasures.

Tactical training requires very little physical exertion, so there is absolutely no need to worry about insufficient physical recovery due to training.

During this period, the Clippers indeed defeated the Mavericks in Game 7, securing the last ticket to the conference semifinals.

But while they were still basking in the joy of advancing in Game 7, Kerr had already devised a large number of targeted tactics to lure them into a trap.

All of these preparations will be revealed in the second round of the competition.

……

Time quickly passed, and it was June 7th.

Li Xingchen flew with the team to Los Angeles, the Clippers' home arena.

The Clippers had just played a crucial Game 7 the night before, so they're all probably resting and getting back into shape right now.

The Warriors, on the other hand, have already recovered to their peak condition and are ready to go.

This is the downside of the Clippers playing an extra game in the first round. Even though they have home-court advantage in the second round, they only have one day of rest, which is not enough for the players to fully recover to their peak condition. They will still be affected to some extent.

However, there's no other way. The Western Conference schedule is already behind the Eastern Conference schedule, so giving them one day of rest is the league's limit.

Staples Center, evening of June 8.

This is the shared home arena of the Lakers and Clippers, and one of the most well-known home arenas in the league.

The first game of the Western Conference semifinals between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers will soon begin here!

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Second update before 11 PM!