NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 641 Taking Beverly

Both teams had clear offensive strategies. The Nuggets focused on Jokic and Murray's pick-and-roll, while the Clippers initiated their offense with pick-and-rolls involving Jia Fei and George.

Jokic's pick-and-roll is a huge threat. While Murray's passing ability isn't top-tier among point guards, his ball-handling and offensive skills are among the best for a point guard, at least in the playoffs. He can pull up for a three-pointer, pull up for a mid-range jumper after a pick-and-roll, or drive directly to the basket. Jokic's screen quality as a center is exceptional, thanks to his large frame and bulky build. Besides screen quality, Jokic is incredibly intelligent and has an exceptional ball-handling ability. His high-post playmaking is currently the best among centers in the league, and you can't completely leave him open, because he'll punish you with outside shots.

Beverley is good at squeezing through screens, but because Jokic is so big, he often can't get through.

Once Beverley couldn't get past him, Olynyk didn't dare switch on defense, and Murray punished him several times. Combined with Murray's one-on-one attacks on Beverley, the Clippers weren't subjected to Jokic's relentless punishment in the first quarter, but instead were dominated by Murray's individual scoring.

Fortunately, the Clippers' offense was effective, so the score difference was not significant.

The Clippers' defense being breached was something Coach Buden and his coaching staff hadn't expected. Defensive stalwart Beverley was completely unable to contain Murray, much to Coach Buden's surprise.

There is indeed a difference in height and weight between the two, but Beverley is no stranger to guarding heavy guards like him. He even switched to guard Durant before, and although he couldn't stop him, it's not like he can't guard him. But he didn't expect to be at such a disadvantage in this matchup; his aggressive, dog-like defense seemed ineffective.

In fact, in the previous series, Beverley didn't have many good solutions against Westbrook's post-up game. If Westbrook's shooting hadn't been so poor and he hadn't been so prone to getting carried away, Beverley's relentless harassment would have had very limited effect in limiting him.

Ultimately, it's about physical dominance. Heavyweight guards overwhelming smaller guards is all too common in the NBA. It's a law of the jungle; if your body can't keep up, you get eaten. There's no logic to it.

The Nuggets' roster arrangement is to have Murray lead the second unit, which also includes "Pull-up" Porter Jr., "dribbling center" Plumlee, Craig, and Monte Morris.

The Clippers also used a 9-man rotation in this game, with the four substitutes being Kyle Anderson, Brunson, Dillon, and Bridges.

The Clippers have a small lineup, but although the Nuggets have Plumlee as a center, he doesn't have much inside scoring ability except for his love of dribbling. So the Clippers don't use their role center Hartenstein unless Olynyk gets into foul trouble.

The second units on both sides played evenly, and at the end of the first quarter, the Clippers trailed by 3 points, 30-27.

Rest during the holiday.

"Mr. Yang, the Clippers are currently behind. Where do you think the problem lies?" Wang Meng asked.

Yang Yi smacked his lips and said, "The Nuggets are tall! Not only are Jokic and Murray tall, but their substitute Plumlee is tall, and Porter Jr. is tall too. The Clippers are at a disadvantage due to their height and need to make adjustments in their matchups, otherwise the game will be difficult."

At the start of the second quarter, the score difference between the two teams remained close. When both starting lineups returned, the same problem persisted: the Clippers couldn't defend Yom Kroos' pick-and-roll, and Beverley couldn't defend Murray.

Fortunately, the Clippers' offense was still very effective, with Jia Fei and Paul George combining for 30 points in the first half, helping the team stay close in the score.

The Clippers trailed by 4 points at halftime, with the score at 60:56!

This is the Clippers' worst half so far in the playoffs. They also trailed in a quarter in the last round against the Rockets, but this is the first time they've trailed at halftime.

Intermission.

At the start of the third quarter, the Clippers' starting lineup had changed.

With Beverley gone, Dillon took his place in the starting lineup.

In other words, Jia Fei will be the Clippers' point guard in the second half!

Jia Fei played center in the previous series, but in this series he's been playing point guard since the first game. This role change is something most people wouldn't expect, but it really happened...

Everyone says that Running Man can play positions 1 through 5, but he doesn't actually play center much. When he plays center, he just stands at the center position and doesn't play defense at all. He actually plays on the perimeter the whole time.

Jia Fei did indeed play center in the previous round. Although he didn't play center in this round, he has clearly played all five positions on the court in the playoffs, which shows that he is quite versatile.

All-around ability has never been Jia Fei's label, but he does possess it. He never boasts that he can play all five positions, but he has indeed played them all. In this respect, neither Running Man nor Hardcore can match him.

"Mr. Yang, look, Beverley didn't start in the second half!" Wang Meng said with delight.

"This is a good adjustment. In the first half, Beverley was outmaneuvered by Murray and his pick-and-roll defense was also poor. Coach Budenholzer really has guts. Taking Beverley out and putting Dillon in at this point increases the team's defensive presence and height, which is a good thing." Yang Yi nodded in agreement.

"In that case, Jia Fei will have to play point guard. Mr. Yang, do you think that will increase his burden?" Wang Meng asked.

“No, although Beverley is nominally the point guard, he is actually only responsible for dribbling the ball across half-court. The actual organizer of this team is Jia Fei,” Yang Yi said.

The Clippers took the first possession. Jia Fei brought the ball over and, facing Harris's defense, passed it to Olynyk in the high post.

Olynyk and Paul George hand the ball to each other, and the latter dribbles forward and passes to Jia Fei, who is cutting in from the baseline!

Jia Fei received the ball, changed direction and cut in. Facing Mildred's help defense, he made a layup, switching hands in mid-air to score the ball off the backboard!

60:58, a difference of 2 points!

Murray brought the ball over, and Dillon led the defense across the entire court.

Dillon is physically strong, though not particularly fast, but Murray isn't a guard who relies on speed either.

Obviously, it won't be easy for Murray to play Dillon like he did against Beverley in the first half. Dillon is too strong, aggressive, plays fiercely, and constantly trash-talks.

It was the classic Yomk and Murray pick-and-roll. Murray brought the ball over and aimed for a mid-range shot to punish Dillon, but he missed!

Jia Fei leaped to grab the rebound and immediately accelerated the pace to launch a transition.

He crossed over Harris while moving, drove straight to the basket, and ignored his former teammate Mills' help defense, scoring a layup!

The score is tied at 60!

Murray brought the ball over and passed it to Jokic.

Jokic dominated Olynyk in the low post, using all sorts of footwork and a soft hook shot to score!

62:60, the Nuggets have taken the lead again!

There was no applause from the audience, but it was clear that the competition between the two sides had reached a fever pitch.

Jia Fei brought the ball over, and Olynyk came over to screen!

After a screen, Jia Fei quickly took a three-pointer!

Before Jokic could even react, Jia Fei had already fired a three-pointer!

Enter the network immediately!

62-63, the Clippers continue their comeback!