NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 563 Strong teams with strong outside shooting have no chance of winning.

VanVleet is about the same height as Lowry, so if they both play together, it means one of them will have to guard Jia Fei, which is a huge mismatch. Even though they are both big, strong guards, facing such a large height difference, their presence on the court means giving up on guarding the opponent's shot.

Therefore, the Raptors opted to double-team and then use rotations to help out, limiting the opponent's outside shooting.

The Raptors' strategy had some effect, causing the Clippers' offense to stagnate. Meanwhile, the Raptors narrowed the gap by using pick-and-rolls followed by isolation plays from Durant and the relentless drives of VanVleet and Lowry.

The Clippers also made adjustments, replacing Beverley and Olynyk with Bridges and Dillon.

The five-forward lineup is back on stage!

The Clippers used a five-forward lineup to counter the Raptors' strategy of playing Ibaka at center. This was because when the Raptors used Ibaka at center, they also employed a five-forward lineup.

In fact, while the Clippers appear to be targeting Ibaka, they're actually targeting Faker. With five forwards – Jia Fei, Paul George, Bridges, Dillon, and Jeff Green – which one does Faker want to take on one-on-one? Just now, Faker could pick-and-roll and take on the slow Olynyk, or even the 185cm Beverley, using his height and size to overpower him. Even if Beverley is incredibly tenacious, he'd still be completely subdued.

The Clippers dared to use a five-forward lineup, and a five-forward lineup without an inside player, and continued to have Jia Fei play center, because they were confident that the Raptors' lineup lacked strong inside scoring ability.

Even at his peak (with the Thunder), Ibaka's primary offensive weapon was catch-and-shoot jumpers followed by easy baskets; he lacked the ability to post up or drive to the basket. Now, as he gets older, he increasingly relies solely on catch-and-shoot, becoming a representative of the stretch big man.

Ibaka is being questioned not only for his length but also for his age. According to his registered age, he's a 90s baby, but many question whether he's actually over 30. Judging from his physique and athleticism, he should be older than Durant. It's worth noting that the ages of players in Africa are often a mystery, unlike the age-changing practices in China; their age calculations are very chaotic. In Mutombo's hometown, cutting down a tree each year counts as one year. What if there's a year without cutting down a tree? Or a year with one tree cut down and one planted?

Even Jia Fei's younger sister couldn't beat him in the low position, let alone Ibaka. Ibaka has no advantage over Jia Fei except for being taller and having a longer penis.

“Teacher Su, Ibaka can’t beat Jia Fei!” Wang Zixing said.

Su Qun nodded: "That's for sure. Ibaka is a blue-collar center with little offensive ability. Gasol just tried to score against Jia Fei, but he couldn't. The Raptors don't have any centers who can beat Jia Fei, but you can't blame them for that; their main offensive threats are on the perimeter."

With the Clippers' five forwards on the court, their defensive advantage immediately became apparent, stabilizing the score difference and bringing the final score to 23-28 at the end of the first quarter!

According to statistics, the Clippers' current lineup with the highest plus-minus is this five-forward lineup. In this lineup, Jia Fei plays point guard on offense and center on defense, combining the attributes of a five-forward and implementing unlimited switching on defense, making him very strong on both offense and defense.

Experts have previously discussed this lineup, unanimously agreeing that breaking its defense requires a dominant center—not necessarily as strong as Shaquille O'Neal, but someone like Embiid—and a sufficient number of shooters to create space and exploit the interior advantage. As for relying on perimeter shooting to break through the defense, that's extremely difficult. This lineup's perimeter defense is too good, combining strength, speed, height, physicality, and resilience; you won't find another team in the league with such a lineup. Even the Warriors' Splash Brothers were out of commission; which other team possesses such a roster?

To limit this lineup's offense, some prerequisites are needed. First, you can't have a center who can't switch on defense; otherwise, this lineup is completely unstoppable unless the opponent's shooting is completely off. Second, you need to double-team Jia Fei, then have someone who can one-on-one guard Paul George, and then hope that the other three players are off their shooting touch. Because Jia Fei can't guard anyone one-on-one, you can only double-team him, and to guard Paul George requires a high level of skill; at the very least, you need someone of Ariza or Tucker's caliber, and even then, it's not guaranteed.

The Raptors' small lineup has enough speed for double-teaming and rotation, and can switch on defense indefinitely, but the problem is that Lowry and VanVleet are too short. They can withstand the Clippers' role players' attacks in the low post, but they can't interfere with the opponent's shots.

This is the defensive weakness of shorter players. You can develop great strength, a big butt, and play on the wing, even holding your own against some big men in the low post. But your short stature and short wingspan limit your defensive range. This isn't something you can train to improve. This is why many teams choose players with less technical skill but great physical size; they believe physical talent can't be developed, while technique can.

Just like Ibaka, you can't train to achieve his length, but you have the opportunity to train to achieve Kato Taka's technique.

Back to the game, the Clippers used a 9-man rotation, while the Raptors' second unit fielded VanVleet, McCaw, Ibaka, and Powell, also using a 9-man rotation.

The Raptors' second unit is strong, so Coach Budenholzer doesn't dare let Jia Fei rest for too long. VanVleet is too fierce; when his three-point shooting touch comes on, it's like Lillard has been possessed by a schoolboy—he's capable of anything.

The Clippers take VanVleet's defense very seriously. They assign Bridges and Beverley to guard him, preventing him from getting easy three-point opportunities. They switch on him when he sets a pick-and-roll, forcing him to drive to the basket.

VanVleet's physical attributes are average. His greatest strength is shooting, but his ability to penetrate is limited by his height and athleticism, resulting in a relatively low finishing efficiency.

Powell is also a tough guy, somewhat similar to the Rockets' round-faced Harden. He's not tall, but he can drive and shoot, and his defense is particularly tough, making him very useful.

The Raptors' problem is that while they appear to be a strong interior team, their offense, whether initiating or finishing, relies heavily on their perimeter players. The Clippers, on the other hand, have the league's best perimeter defense; they aren't afraid of strong perimeter teams. The only teams that can truly make them pay are strong interior teams. However, it's clear that in the playoffs, they've faced a string of strong perimeter teams.

At halftime, the score was 49-58, a difference of 9 points.

The point difference wasn't huge, but throughout the game, the Clippers consistently dominated the Raptors and even had some leeway. The Raptors' strongest performers in the East, VanVleet and Anthony Davis, were somewhat contained by the Clippers, resulting in a lackluster performance.