NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 495 Running Man Mode

TT's jumping speed and agility are actually average. His strength lies in his incredible durability and strength, his ability to lower his center of gravity, and his excellent offensive rebounding instincts. Coupled with his tough playing style and clear role, he can switch on perimeter defense in this small-ball era, provide solid screens for his teammates, and is a master of offensive rebounding. Plus, his close relationship with the Running Man cast helped him secure a massive 5-year, $8000 million contract with 8 points and 8 rebounds per game.

TT and Love complement each other to some extent. TT excels at offensive rebounding, while Love excels at defensive rebounding. Therefore, although the Cavaliers' two big men are both short, their rebounding is quite good. TT can switch on defense, while Love is not good at switching, so TT has always been the one defending pick-and-rolls. TT can't shoot, but he is tough on screens and aggressive on the roll. Love's screen quality is low and he is not good at rolling, but he is good at spacing the floor for shooting. Therefore, the two can coexist.

However, both players share a common weakness: neither is adept at rim protection or help defense. Therefore, even when the Cavaliers play a high-powered lineup, their rim protection remains mediocre. The team's best shot blocker is the fast-paced player who doesn't put his hands on his hips and goes all out on defense.

At the start of the jump ball, TT's squatting technique proved effective, and the Cavaliers won the jump ball against Olynyk, gaining possession of the ball on their first offensive possession.

George Hill dribbles the ball across half-court.

George Hill visited China, and the Chinese fans affectionately called him "Jiao Zhixi," which was a Chinese name given to him. He liked it very much and even framed it.

Jiao Zhixi is a product of the Spurs, possessing solid fundamentals and a down-to-earth playing style. His long arms give him a significant advantage on defense. Among point guards in the league, his defense is exceptionally strong.

Many fans may have forgotten that the Spurs traded him for rookie Leonard back then.

Why aren't former Spurs players among the most popular groups in the league? Popovich is so great, shouldn't the players he coaches be incredibly talented?

The logic is sound; Popovich is a very capable coach, adept at unlocking players' potential and developing low-draft picks into excellent players. The problem is, he's exhausted all the potential he could unlock in his players, and once they move to other teams, there's little chance for them to improve significantly further.

But it's different for former Rockets players. The Rockets don't have Popovich, their player development system is chaotic, and the owner is stingy, so many good players have left over the years.

Therefore, the public's judgment is discerning; it is the Spurs' assistant coaches who are truly useful, not former Spurs players.

The Clippers' defensive strategy wasn't anything special; it was simply man-to-man defense based on position. Beverley guarded Jiao Zhixi, Jia Fei guarded JR Smith, Paul George guarded Running Man, Gallinari guarded Love, and Olynyk guarded Tristan Thompson.

Jiao Zhixi passed the ball to the Running Man who came out to receive it.

The Running Man player has the ball, and TT comes out to set a screen.

As the ball-handling core, Running Man runs a lot of pick-and-rolls. In regular situations, he won't choose to drive one-on-one; he'll run many pick-and-rolls. This is where he differs from Little Blacksmith. Little Blacksmith prefers one-on-one situations; as long as he's not double-teamed, he'll choose to go one-on-one against a single defender.

Pick and roll is indeed very suitable for the running man's technical characteristics. The running man's ability to pull up and shoot is average, so once he encounters a defender of a certain size, he can't get his speed up at the top of the key, and the threat of his breakthrough is greatly reduced. He has a lot of absolute speed, but his first step is actually average, which is of course related to his weight.

After a pick-and-roll, he has more room to maneuver and can choose from various offensive options depending on the opponent's defensive strategy. His strengths lie in his excellent court vision and ball-handling, making double-teaming him very risky. The Warriors often use a rotation strategy to wear him down and limit other players.

The Clippers did the same thing, having Paul George defend one-on-one, then helping him when he drove in, and then cutting off passing lanes.

When defending against the Clippers' pick-and-roll, the Clippers choose to switch.

The Running Man member faced Olynyk and showed off his dribbling skills with a crossover dribble while standing still.

Pickled peppers replaced with anti-TT.

This was a defensive strategy devised by Jia Fei and Coach Budenholzer. Double-teaming the "Running Man" (a nickname for a player who plays aggressively) carries significant risk. He's not Durant; he excels at passing and facilitating his teammates' progress. You can't just double-team him indiscriminately, otherwise he'll create opportunities for his teammates and then take over the game in crucial moments, which would be very troublesome. The Raptors failed because they chose to double-team the "Running Man," allowing their shooters to penetrate their defense.

However, there are prerequisites for defending against a runner in one-on-one situations: your team cannot have too many defensive lapses, otherwise his targeted tactics can be very effective.

The Clippers' starting five have no obvious defensive weaknesses. Four of the starters are over 2 meters tall, and even the shortest player, Beverley, is a fearless defensive fighter.

Therefore, the Clippers' roster is very suitable for replacing the running man.

The Warriors' lineup is also suitable for switching onto the Running Man, but since Curry, the Warriors' tactical core, is the weakest starter defensively, the Running Man will often target him, which is a weakness for them.

The Clippers' weakest defensive starter is Gallinari, but he's a solidly sized forward and not the type of player the Clippers like to bully. The Clippers are particularly good at mismatches against smaller players and pick-and-rolls against slow-moving big men.

Olynyk wasn't slow, and he chose to let the opponent shoot and then drive, luring the runners to one-on-one situations.

The Running Man player chose to go one-on-one, forcefully breaking through and passing to Love in the corner!

Love misses his three-pointer!

Jia Fei leaped and grabbed the rebound!

Jia Fei dribbled the ball forward, and he was being defended by JR!

JR defended very seriously, but there was a clear difference in speed and physical strength between the two. Jia Fei immediately made an in-out change of direction and charged in!

JR was out of position, and the Running Man team came over to help defend. Jia Fei, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, passed the ball to Pao Jiao, who was being defended by the Running Man team!

Paul George's jump shot goes in!

The Clippers scored first!

Jia Fei knows Running Man too well. In the playoffs, he'll be LeBron James at full strength. He won't be as passive on defense as he was in the regular season. The most obvious characteristic is that he will participate a lot in help defense, such as the well-known chase-down and block.

But there's a problem: the Running Man's help defense often leaves their own defenders open, and he's guarding All-Star forward Paul George. Can you just leave him like that?

The Cavaliers' starting lineup dictates that either Jia Fei or Paul George must defend one of them. Love's defense is weak and needs to be hidden. Therefore, it is most appropriate to have Love guard Gallinari. In this way, the strongest help defender, Gallinari, is firmly pinned to Paul George. Whenever Jia Fei helps defend, Paul George will have an opportunity.

This is the Cavaliers' dilemma: they can only defend one player on the wing, while the Clippers have two star players on the wing. The Rockets encountered a similar problem before; Ariza could only defend one player, and neither Harden nor James Harden could contain the other.

The best defender was Yu Zhouyong, but he was still singled out and destroyed by Jia Fei. At present, Jia Fei is simply impossible to defend against one-on-one.