stadium ambition

Chapter 356 The playoffs are coming

After playing the Wizards, the Clippers flew straight to Memphis, preparing to challenge the Grizzlies away.

Market value In mid-March, there is only one month left before the playoffs. The final record of each team is basically clear, and the Grizzlies are ranked eighth in the West, four wins away from the Blazers who are temporarily ranked seventh, and they are very likely to become the Clippers. first round opponent.

With this in mind, the Clippers team decided that it was necessary to play a deterrent, so that the Grizzlies fear.

With this in mind, on the night of No. 14, after the Clippers started playing, they directly sent Randolph to lead the five small lineups.

With such a configuration, it is said that the offensive firepower is extremely strong. However, the Grizzlies' defensive system has been honed for more than half a season and has been upgraded to the level of the Bulls.

Fortunately, Tony Allen, as the starter, partnered with Conley to form the Grizzlies backcourt, with very little offensive firepower.

In this way, the two teams fought hard until the end of the fourth quarter, and the Clippers finally relied on Su Yang to break through and make a foul and win with free throws.

After the game, the team ended their five-game away schedule and set off for Los Angeles overnight.

On the plane, Jordan kept complaining, hoping not to play against the Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs. The reason was not because of fear, but because of the Grizzlies' style of play. Go kill the grizzly first.

Russell Barrett agreed with Jordan's complaints because he was quite uncomfortable being guarded by Tony Allen.

But the complaints belonged to the complaints, and everyone also felt that the first round against the Grizzlies was the most stable, because the Grizzlies' style of play was particularly rigid.

Back in Los Angeles, rested for two days, the Clippers played against the visiting Philadelphia 76ers at home.

Perhaps in order to keep their place in the playoffs, the 76ers started the game very fiercely. Holiday was called two fouls in a row, but did not reduce the defensive intensity against Su Yang, and Iguodala and Meeks were also very aggressive. , made George and Gordon very uncomfortable.

The Clippers chose to play steadily, and after a stalemate for three quarters, they suddenly increased their offensive and defensive strength while taking advantage of their more physical reserves.

The 76ers had difficulty adapting in a hurry, and were beaten 0-9. They called a timeout to try to adjust but did not reverse the situation.

In the end, the Clippers won 104 to 93, and the season's total record reached 61 wins and 8 losses.

After the game, the whole team got three days to rest, and the coaching staff began to make a plan for the end of the season.

Su Yang started the playoff mode in advance, suspended the negotiation of activities such as advertising endorsements, and prepared for the game with all his heart.

NO.19, the Clippers played against the Cleveland Cavaliers at home and won easily.

After a night of rest, the team faced the Suns back to back.

Nash opened the game in excellent form, not only using screens to break through and score consecutively, but also assisted his teammates to score many times.

Su Yang's performance did not drop, and the game reached the end of the first quarter, and the two sides fought to a tie.

Who ever thought that after the two teams came off the bench, the Suns Gortat and Dudley made a total of 10 of 6 shots, plus Hakeem Olajuwon made 4 of 3 shots alone, and the Clippers failed to respond. It was as many as 17 points behind.

The Clippers can only arrange the main players to appear in advance, but the Suns also followed up with the main players.

In this way, in the last three minutes of the game, the Clippers still failed to even out the point difference, and Nash made 13 of 8 shots and 12 assists. Flynn also hit a three-pointer at the buzzer at the critical moment.

In the end, the Clippers lost to the Suns 99-108 and suffered their ninth loss of the season.

The loss came as a surprise, but it also exposed the Clippers' problem, that is, the substitutes are relatively poor defensively. The reason is that the substitutes are almost all composed of veterans. Only Tucker can be regarded as a defensive champion, and the others rely more on experience.

The loss did not cause any impact. After all, continuous back-to-back battles consume a lot of energy.

After three days of rest, the Clippers played against the Wizards at home.

When Wall was interviewed, he emphasized that compared with the last match against Su Yang, there has been a substantial improvement.

When the game started, Wall insisted on being restricted by the Clippers' zone defense and scored 8 points on 4 of 9 shots, which is what he said.But Jordan Crawford, as a breakthrough short guard, was severely restricted by Gordon, making 6 of 0 shots in the first quarter.

However, with the efficient performance of UAE's 5-of-3 shooting and 2 steals, the Wizards only lost 12 points in the first quarter.

In the second quarter of the game, the UAE suddenly couldn't get the ball, and Crawford and others didn't open it. The Wizards only broke through with Wall alone, and the scoring efficiency became lower and lower. At the end of the half, they were far behind the Clippers. Up to 27 points.

But even then, the UAE still couldn't get the ball, and a group of outside players from the Wizards still threw it around.

As a compatriot of the United Arab Emirates, Su Yang was extremely unhappy about this. He also recalled that when the Bucks played the Rockets and the United Arab Emirates scored 12 points on 7 of 19 shots, Mo Williams and Reed did not pass the ball to the United Arab Emirates. , resolutely and fiercely.

The Wizards' weak defensive line couldn't stand Su Yang's impact at all, and lost 36 points after three quarters.

The fourth quarter became garbage time. Instead, the head coach of the Wizards let the UAE lead the team and yelled.

最终，快船127比99击败奇才，苏阳砍下39分17助攻13篮板。

In the post-match news interview, the reporter asked why they were able to defeat the Wizards. Su Yang bluntly said that the Clippers have a better coach who knows how to maximize the strengths of the players, but the Wizards obviously did not make the best use of them, and the offensive and defensive system needs to be upgraded.

Such remarks ignited discussions in the NBA circle, and Philip Sanders' coaching level became a hot topic of discussion.

Many people said that Su Yang's criticism is unreasonable, because the Wizards are rebuilding the team, and the purpose is to make the Wall Clippers grow.

Some people agree with Su Yang's point of view, thinking that Philip Sanders will only please capable veterans, has poor tactical adaptability, and it is difficult to achieve good results without a good point guard. He is extremely harsh on young players and will not mobilize the enthusiasm of the team.

Su Yang did not respond, but had dinner with Ah Lian to reminisce about the old days, and suggested that Ah Lian should take the initiative and be tough.

After two days of rest, the Clippers played against the Lakers at home, which once again sparked an upsurge of discussion across the United States.

At the last moment of the two teams, the Clippers won 112 to 104, and their record became 64 wins and 9 losses.

On the second day, the Clippers faced the Raptors back-to-back. The main force only played three quarters and led by as much as 26 points. In the fourth quarter, it became a special game for Brian Cook. The team helped him realize his wish of making 20 shots in a single game at the beginning of the season .

In the end, Cook made a total of 23 shots and scored 22 points. The Clippers narrowly won 114-108.

After playing the Raptors, the team got 4 days to rest, and the final ranking in the West became clearer.

Su Yang temporarily reduced the amount of training, began to reserve physical fitness, and watched more Lakers game videos by the way.

On the last day of March, the Clippers played against the Mavericks at home.

Surprisingly, Su Yang and Randolph were troubled by fouls, and the team eventually lost by 6 points.

For such a result, after many replays after the game, it was discovered that the Mavericks' defense power had been upgraded again.

After losing the game, the Clippers wanted to tie the Bulls' record, and there were seven games left, one of which could not be lost.

In order to achieve such a result, the whole team discussed for a long time and decided not to look at fate, but to seize the opportunity to create history.

On April 111nd, the Clippers played against the Suns and won 98-[-] in four quarters.

Afterwards, they flew back to Los Angeles overnight to face the Thunder back to back at home.

Due to the acquisition of Perkins in the trade, the Thunder's internal defensive strength has greatly increased, and it has become more difficult for the Clippers to break through. However, after losing Green, the Thunder has fewer substitutes and less flexible lineups. It all depends on Durant, Westbrook, and Harden. People hold on.

After four quarters, the Clippers won 98-92. Su Yang scored 26 points and 18 assists.

On the [-]th, the Clippers flew to Memphis to challenge the Grizzlies away. At the end of the game, Su Yang made a free throw to win.

In the following three consecutive games, they played against the Thunder, Mavericks, and Rockets one after another, all of which struggled to win.

NO.13, the Clippers returned to Los Angeles and faced the Trail Blazers in the last game of the season, hitting a record of 72 wins.

The game aroused great attention, the Blazers resisted tenaciously, and the Clippers finally narrowly won by 5 points, tying the Bulls record.

As a result, the Bulls officially tweeted their congratulations, and major media have carried out special reports.

But the Clippers team only celebrated briefly, and the focus quickly shifted to the Grizzlies, their opponents in the first round of the playoffs.

(End of this chapter)