NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 544 The Spurs with their big lineup

Coach Buden devised a game strategy and briefly discussed it with the players after training.

Most of the Clippers' players participated in last season's playoffs, so their experience goes without saying; they have more than enough, so there's no need to worry too much.

In Jia Fei's view, sometimes there's no need to overemphasize to his teammates not to underestimate the opponent; they're all adults and understand these things. What he needs to do is lead by example, fight seriously, and his teammates will be inspired.

On the evening of April 13, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

While the series against the Spurs wasn't as exciting as the ones against the Warriors and Rockets, it was still a playoff series. The Clippers were undefeated at home during the regular season, so fans were hoping they could replicate that in the playoffs. Tickets for Games 1 and 2 were being resold at very high prices, but that didn't dampen the fans' enthusiasm for watching the games.

The Los Angeles basketball market this season is arguably the best in its history.

The Clippers and Spurs are old rivals, with no secrets between them, and the relationship between their head coaches is also quite special. The general consensus was that the Clippers would win and advance to the second round.

Since the Lakers failed to make the playoffs, the Clippers became the sole playoff contender in Los Angeles. Lakers fans who want to watch the playoffs at home have no other choice but to watch the Clippers, or wait until next year to see if there will be another chance.

The match was a practice session before the game, which was broadcast live on Tencent, with commentators Wang Zixing and guest Su Qun providing commentary.

"Professor Su, the playoffs have started. Fans are saying that Jia Fei's Clippers will easily eliminate the Spurs in this series. What do you think, Professor Su?" Wang Zixing asked.

As usual, Su Qun adjusted his glasses and said slowly, "If the Clippers hadn't encountered injury problems, I also think they had a high chance of beating the Spurs. There is a clear gap in strength between the two teams, so talking about tactics at this point is not very meaningful."

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced.

The Clippers' starting lineup for the home game is as follows: Center - Olynyk, Power Forward - Gallinari, Small Forward - Paul George, Shooting Guard - Jia Fei, Point Guard - Beverley.

The Spurs' starting lineup for the away game is: Center - Poeltl, Power Forward - Aldridge, Small Forward - DeMar DeRozan, Shooting Guard - Bryn Forbes, Point Guard - Mills.

Unlike their regular season matchups, the Spurs used a big lineup with two big men in this game. Both Poeltl and Aldridge are 7-foot giants, instead of the "one big man and four small men" lineup with Aldridge at center that they used before.

As expected of Zhuge Weiqi, he actually used a large lineup to deal with them!

Jia Fei inwardly sighed, thinking that Popovich might be trying to compensate for the Clippers' lack of perimeter strength with their interior advantage, specifically targeting the Clippers' lack of height and sufficient defensive capabilities in the paint. It was indeed quite a targeted approach.

But how effective it will be, we can't say for sure yet.

Olynyk and Poeltl are preparing for the jump ball near the center circle; the game is about to begin.

Poeltl was born in Vienna, Austria. He didn't study music but instead played basketball. He joined the University of Utah in 2014 and entered the NBA through the draft in 2016, where he was a lottery pick (9th overall in the first round).

He stands at an astonishing 216cm, which is quite tall in today's league where small-ball lineups are prevalent. As a big man, he possesses excellent mobility. Last season, he averaged 6.9 points and 4.8 rebounds off the bench for the Raptors, making him a more blue-collar center.

He was traded to the Spurs as part of the deal to acquire Kawhi Leonard and received coaching from Gregg Popovich.

The jump ball began, and Poeltl easily beat Olynyk, giving the Spurs possession for the first possession.

Mills dribbles the ball across half-court.

Beverley really lashed out at Mills, just like he did at guards like Curry and Lillard. In terms of attitude, he deserves full marks.

Mills dribbled over and passed the ball to DeRozan.

DeRozan dribbles the ball against George, uses a screen from Poeltl to get to the free-throw line, and passes to Poeltl on the roll!

Poeltl received the ball, turned, and was about to dunk over Olynyk, but he dunked onto the rim!

Jia Feifei grabbed the rebound, brought the ball over, faced Forbes, dribbled with a crossover step, accelerated towards the basket, and suddenly stopped and pulled the ball between his legs...

Forbes lost his balance and fell to the ground, eliciting gasps of surprise from the fans in the stadium!

However, Jia Fei's open pull-up jumper missed, which was quite surprising!

Jia Fei chuckled to himself. Sometimes even seasoned hunters make mistakes; one has to get used to it.

Aldridge grabs the rebound, and the Spurs attack.

The Spurs' offensive pace isn't fast; even Mills isn't a player like Westbrook who aggressively pushes the fast break. After the players settle into their half-court sets, they lob the ball to Aldridge in the low post.

Aldridge is 211cm tall, while Gallinari, who defends him, is 208cm tall. The difference shouldn't be that big, but Aldridge's offense mainly consists of jump shots, specifically straight-arm jump shots, which Gallinari can't interfere with at all.

And so, Aldridge caught the ball, turned around, and took a jump shot, but it missed!

However, Poeltl grabbed the offensive rebound and scored a strong basket under the rim, giving his team the first point!

The Clippers were on offense, and Paul George drove into the paint for a layup, but his shot was blocked by Jakob Poeltl!

Poeltl's presence on the field was overwhelming!

"Poeltl played those two shots really well!" Wang Zixing exclaimed.

Su Qun nodded: "Popovich started him because he knew the Clippers' interior height was insufficient."

The Spurs continued their offensive onslaught, with Aldridge relentlessly attacking the defense. This time, he made a jump shot, making it 4-0!

Beverley dribbled the ball over and passed it to Jia Fei.

Jia Fei has the ball, and Olynyk comes out to screen!

The opposing team immediately double-teamed Jia Fei, who then passed the ball to Olynyk, who was in an open position!

Olynyk misses a three-pointer!

Poeltl grabs another rebound!

On the other hand, Aldridge scored on Gallinari, drawing a foul from the latter.

The Spurs' interior players were incredibly dominant from the start, one on offense and one on defense, performing flawlessly in rim protection, rebounding, and strong drives.

With Aldridge making both free throws, the Spurs had a dream start, going up 6-0.

The Clippers fans at the stadium weren't worried, and Lin Ning was one of them. They had absolute confidence in their home team's strength. They were especially confident in Jia Fei; this man wasn't so easily defeated.

Clippers on offense, Jia Fei drives and passes to Paul George in the corner!

Pickled peppers missed a 3-pointer!

DeRozan grabbed the rebound, brought the ball over, mismatched against Beverley, and after a series of spin moves and fakes, made a jump shot and scored, making the score 8-0!

For the Clippers, Coach Buden called a timeout!

The timeout is over and the game continues.

Beverley dribbled the ball over and passed it to Jia Fei.

Jia Fei didn't ask for a pick-and-roll; he dribbled the ball and went one-on-one against Forbes!

Jia Fei held the ball in his left hand, slowly and leisurely. Suddenly, he took a dragging step and instantly crossed over to his right hand, then accelerated, shaking off his opponent. Facing Aldridge who came to help defend, he directly chose to pull up for a jump shot!

The ball went in perfectly!