vrcanaries Chapter 693 5 Outer Formation Facing Retreating Defense
Chapter 693 5 Outer Formation Facing Retreating Defense
The Bucks rely heavily on Holiday and Middleton in their half-court offense, while Giannis lacks sufficient shooting threat and offensive skills, which makes him less noticeable in the half-court at times.
The Clippers' defensive strategy was to have Grant guard Brook Lopez, Jahlil Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kelly Marcelo Rex guard PJ Tucker, Kelly Olynyk guard Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George guard Khris Middleton, and Bridges guard Jrue Holiday.
Clearly, the reason Grant was matched up against Lopez is because when the Bucks are on offense, Lopez rarely goes inside; he keeps creating space for Giannis from beyond the three-point line.
Many teams defend this way, assigning their center to guard Giannis, which can help prevent him from driving in for a dunk and give him some shooting space.
Holiday passed the ball to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, facing a completely open Olynyk, pulled up for a jump shot!
His jump shot form is extremely awkward, and his accuracy is abysmal!
"Duang—" The crisp sound of hammering iron makes one feel as if they are in a blacksmith's shop.
Both being 7-foot-tall forwards, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant have a shooting difference that's equivalent to that of Khris Middleton...
After all, not everyone can have such excellent shooting touch while being 7 feet tall. That's why there aren't many players like that in the league so far. In the last 20 years, there have only been Nowitzki and Durant.
Shooting is also a talent. You don't really think Giannis can develop Durant's jump shot just by practicing, do you? Or do you think someone who's about 1.9 meters tall and looks like a primary school student with mediocre physical abilities can develop a shot like Curry?
From the moment Giannis Antetokounmpo chose to build muscle and become a muscular man, he was essentially doomed to never become a quality jump shooter. There aren't many muscular players who are also excellent shooters.
Jia Fei grabbed the rebound, brought the ball over, and Holiday came over to defend him.
The Bucks' defensive strategy focuses on protecting the paint, with Brook Lopez leading the defense, Giannis Antetokounmpo sweeping the area, and Jrue Holiday taking the lead in defense. Their paint protection is the best in the league this season.
However, their defensive retreat has a weakness: it makes them vulnerable to three-pointers, especially from the top of the key and the wings. If the opponent gets hot, they can't defend against it. Because they prioritize protecting the paint, not leaving the corners open will inevitably create open looks on the wings.
But this is also a selective defense. Against teams that are not good at three-pointers, this kind of defense is too reliable. They almost completely grab all the defensive rebounds, and when the fast break starts, Giannis takes off with his long legs and smashes the ball into the basket. The game is in their grasp.
The Bucks assigned Holiday to guard JaVale and PJ Tucker to guard Paul George, just like they did in the previous round against the Nets. PJ Tucker's role on the court was defense, doing the dirty work, and on offense, he would shoot corner threes.
The Bucks also assigned their power forward to guard the Clippers' center, with Giannis Antetokounmpo guarding Kelly Olynyk and Brook Lopez guarding Jerami Grant.
This means the Bucks were actually leaving Grant open, because Brook Lopez was basically holed up under the basket.
The Clippers are using a five-out lineup, and the Bucks need to play defensively, which naturally means leaving one player open. Grant, who has the lowest three-point shooting percentage among the Clippers' starting five, is the player the Bucks will choose to leave open.
Jia Fei dribbles the ball, uses a screen at the high post, and passes to Grant, who is open in the corner!
Grant got an open shot because Brook Lopez, who was guarding him, was in the paint!
But Grant missed his three-pointer!
Brook Lopez comfortably grabbed the rebound and immediately passed the ball to Giannis Antetokounmpo!
Giannis Antetokounmpo launched a furious attack, but the Clippers' strategy was to set up a wall to slow him down and then block the paint to prevent him from easily attacking the rim.
This is a strategy many teams use to defend Giannis Antetokounmpo. If Giannis really gets going, he's not easy to defend. He's too tall and too strong. Once he gets going, he's like a high-speed train with tremendous impact.
Giannis Antetokounmpo didn't just blindly drive to the basket; he passed the ball to right-wing player PJ Tucker.
Tucker misses a three-pointer!
But Giannis grabbed the offensive rebound! He charged forward with a powerful shot...
Jia Fei, who was defending Tucker, had already moved to the basket and was now playing with Paul George, creating a double-dragon situation!
Giannis Antetokounmpo got blocked!
Bridges gets the loose ball and passes it to Jia Fei!
Jia Fei quickly dribbled down the court, facing Holiday who was chasing him. He made an in-out pass behind his back while moving, and Brook Lopez had already returned to the basket!
Just when everyone thought Jia Fei was about to pass the ball again, his pass button suddenly malfunctioned...
Facing Da Luo, Jia Fei leaped up with tremendous force, displaying overwhelming power and dunking directly over the man!
my darling!
The rim shook violently, Jia Fei's eyes were murderous, and Da Luo looked completely deflated...
This shot instantly ignited the atmosphere at the scene. Who knew basketball could be played like this?
0-2, the Clippers score first!
Bucks are on offense. Middleton runs a pick-and-roll and passes to Giannis Antetokounmpo!
Giannis Antetokounmpo drives to the basket, gets blocked, then passes to P.J. Tucker in the corner!
Tucker didn't dare to shoot, so he passed to Holiday on the left wing.
Holiday faked a shot and drove in, but missed the jump shot!
Olynyk retrieved the rebound and handed it to Jia Fei to push forward.
Brook Lopez continued to retreat, and Jia Fei, using Grant's screen, stepped back and hit a three-pointer...
The ball went straight in!
0-5, the Clippers took the lead early on with 5 points from Jia Fei!
"Jia Fei played those two shots so hard, he wasn't afraid of Brook Lopez protecting the rim at all!" Wang Zixing said excitedly.
Su Qun nodded: "Everyone thought Jia Fei was going to pass to Grant in the corner, but he took the shot himself. This kind of feint makes it hard for the opponent to predict. Jia Fei really has a knack for it!"
During the Bucks' offense, Brook Lopez dropped to the low post to attack Grant, drew a foul on Grant with a hook shot, and went to the free-throw line. He made both free throws, helping the Bucks break their scoring drought.
This is acceptable to the Clippers. You can't limit Brook Lopez's three-pointers and also defend his low post unless you double-team him. Otherwise, you have to give him some individual isolation opportunities. It's impossible to defend the Big Three and limit the role players at the same time.
Defense requires making choices; the possibility of completely defending against everything is just a dream!
Jia Fei brought the ball over and passed it to Pao Jiao.
Paul George dribbled the ball against PJ Tucker with a series of smooth dribbles, when Jia Fei suddenly cut inside!
Paojiao passed the ball to Jia Fei!
Jia Fei cuts inside and jumps to pass to Grant in the bottom corner!
Another wide-open shot, Grant takes a three-pointer—finally, he gets it!
2-8, the Clippers hit a three-pointer first!
The Bucks' defensive strategy dictates that they will inevitably leave open three-pointers, while the Clippers' roster means they can't keep missing three-pointers.
This is why many people are more optimistic about the Clippers, because their five-forward lineup naturally counters the Bucks' defensive style.
Holiday dribbled over and passed to Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, facing Olynyk's retreat, opted not to take a jump shot and instead chose to drive to the basket!
The Clippers didn't double-team him; they waited until he got into the paint before instantly surrounding him!
Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped the ball!