NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 627 The Value of a Championship Won Through Defense

After the timeout, the game resumed.

The Trail Blazers' changes after the timeout were mainly on the offensive end; they didn't have many adjustments to make on the defensive end.

The starting three are defensive liability sieves, and the defense of the other two is only average. We're hoping these two can clean up their messes; we don't even have enough hands to handle them all.

In this situation, it would be a miracle if the defense was any good.

Moreover, the Clippers are not an ordinary team; they have a five-forward lineup with two star players, so their weaknesses are impossible to hide.

Fans who watch a lot of basketball should have this feeling: if a team has any defensive weaknesses, the opposing team will target them specifically in the playoffs. This is why there's a saying that all playoff matchups come down to matchups.

Aside from Curry's mediocre defense, the Warriors' "Death Lineup," comprised of four defensive stalwarts, couldn't contain Jia Fei. It's hard to imagine the Trail Blazers' paper-thin defense trying to limit him.

After the timeout, the Trail Blazers' offense could barely maintain an average level, but their defense was simply unreliable. It wasn't that they couldn't defend any of the players, but it wasn't far off either.

After three quarters, the Clippers had scored over 100 points, and the point difference had exceeded 25 points.

The final quarter was practically garbage time, with the Clippers' second and even third units dominating the game. The Trail Blazers only had a brief lead at the start, and afterwards, they couldn't even tie the game, let alone take the lead.

Ultimately, the Clippers easily defeated the Trail Blazers 101-133, securing their first win in the bubble playoffs.

Jia Fei played only three quarters, less than 30 minutes of playing time, yet he easily racked up a triple-double with 30 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. Playing in a game with this level of defensive intensity was incredibly easy for him. After the game, a reporter joked that Jia Fei hadn't even broken a sweat before the opponent collapsed…

The game ended with the Clippers leading 1-0.

After the game, the Clippers players returned to their dorms in the bubble. Life in the bubble was indeed monotonous; there was nowhere to have fun after the game, and even finding a place to get something good to eat was difficult.

But this kind of competition feels like a cup tournament, which isn't a big deal for disciplined players. Although the Clippers players are all young, their desire for the championship and prize money is still very strong, so they all follow the team's arrangements.

On August 21st, the Clippers faced the Trail Blazers in Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs. Although it was at the Clippers' home court, the entire team didn't feel any home-court advantage. However, for them, home-court advantage was irrelevant; they didn't need to rely on it against the Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers made a lineup change for this game!

Gabriel will not start in the last game, and Whiteside, who was a substitute center forward in the last game, will start!

Whiteside boasts impressive shot-blocking stats, but those familiar with him know his defense is actually quite weak. He's somewhat like Marcus Camby in his prime, sometimes playing defense for the sake of stats. However, compared to Camby, his defense is even worse. Defense can't always be judged solely on stats. Love's defensive rebounding is phenomenal, but his defense is utterly abysmal…

A prime example of the opposite is Tim Duncan, who never won the Defensive Player of the Year award in his career, yet everyone knows he was the defensive cornerstone of the Spurs dynasty. Conversely, Ben Wallace, who won four Defensive Player of the Year awards, was far less effective defensively than Duncan.

The Trail Blazers will inevitably have to change their lineup, but they don't have many options. The two guards and the crossfire are irreplaceable, so the only adjustments they can make are on the wings.

On the wing, Carmelo Anthony played very well in the last game. Even his defense, which has always been criticized, wasn't particularly bad. After all, it's not his fault that he couldn't stop JaVale James and Paul George. Even in his prime, he might not have been able to stop them. Moreover, in the entire league, it's very difficult to find a so-called defensive stalwart who can completely shut down these two players.

The Trail Blazers lack outstanding wing players, so Carmelo Anthony's starting position is, in a way, quite secure.

The Clippers didn't change their lineup; they maintained their five-outside formation to target the opposing center, a tactic that has proven effective time and again. Olynyk's presence made Nurkic's drop defense extremely risky, and having Whiteside as a substitute wouldn't solve the problem. Whiteside isn't like Davis; he's simply not good at help defense and sweeping plays.

After the game started, the Trail Blazers' backcourt duo played very aggressively. They constantly used high screens from their two big men to launch long-range shots.

The Clippers' strategy was clear: after Lillard and his team hit several three-pointers, they increased pressure on the perimeter, especially at the top of the key, using double-teams and rotations to deal with the Clippers' backcourt duo. They fully utilized the advantage of their excellent help defense on the wing.

The Trail Blazers responded quickly, using their big men to drive down the court and attack the Clippers' basket.

The Trail Blazers' offense was quite good, with both inside and outside players contributing. However, they had many problems on the defensive end. Whiteside's impact on the court was not as good as Gabriel's; he always left open players who wanted to shoot threes. His obsession with blocking shots was like Westbrook's obsession with triple-doubles.

With people obsessed with statistics around, your team's defense will never improve.

Whiteside wanted to wait for the other side to come up so he could block the shot, but the other side made a move from the outside, and he and the crossbowman could only watch helplessly.

The Clippers hit eight three-pointers in the first quarter and their transition game was incredibly fast, completely overwhelming the opponent's defense.

When it came to the rotation phase, the Clippers once again gained the upper hand. Brunson played like an All-Star, completely dominating the opposing team's second unit, led by Trent Jr.

The script of the game started to follow the same pattern as the first game. In the third quarter, the Trail Blazers narrowed the gap to 2 points thanks to Lillard's incredible three-pointer. At this moment, Jia Fei stepped up, hitting a series of unreasonable three-pointers and a 2+1 play, leading the team to a 10-0 run and taking the game in one fell swoop.

Ultimately, the Clippers defeated the Trail Blazers by a large margin, securing victory in Game 2.

The Clippers won two straight games, both by a large margin. The Trail Blazers' offense was really good in this game, with their star players exploding and role players hitting threes, but they still couldn't overcome their opponents. The opponent's offense was simply more potent!

At this point, almost no one believed the Trail Blazers could pull off such a dramatic comeback in the series. The saying "defense wins championships" continued to gain traction, and a team with absolutely no defense could never win a title. Lillard's offense in this game was phenomenal, scoring 42 points and hitting 7 three-pointers. He gave it his all against such a formidable perimeter defense.

If the Trail Blazers still can't win under these circumstances, they've basically lost their chance...

Even many Clippers haters are complaining that the Trail Blazers are so bad they should start preparing for next season...

Even the haters have given up; for the Trail Blazers, not being eliminated is no different from being eliminated.

On August 23rd, Game 3 of the Clippers vs. Trail Blazers series took place. This game was considered a do-or-die situation for the Trail Blazers, but everyone knew that the suspense of this series had actually been resolved after the previous game…