NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 554 Rockets Goodbye

At halftime, the Clippers were already leading by 10 points!

The Rockets fans at the stadium could feel the strength of the opposing small lineup; this high-intensity pressure throughout the game made them feel breathless.

Throughout the first half, Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, the pick-and-roll duo who had helped the Clippers play exceptionally well in the regular season, didn't get a single second of playing time. They sat on the bench with sullen faces the whole time, without even giving their teammates a token clap.

The Clippers really had the guts to ruthlessly bench these two key reserve players; Budenholzer certainly showed courage.

You have to understand, when Doc Rivers was the Clippers coach, he didn't have this kind of boldness. His philosophy was "open and transparent management"—if the enemy doesn't move, I don't move; if the enemy moves, I don't move either. Basically, like a turtle, I just don't move... Go ahead and bite me if you dare!

To put it nicely, it's about "remaining unchanged amidst constant change," but if you never change, people will start targeting you. Take the most famous "King of Being Reversed" in the league, for example; he's all about using the same strategy to the death, and he's fed up with motivational platitudes.

D'Antoni isn't exactly fond of making changes, and the small-ball lineup with Tucker at center is already the biggest adjustment he's made. This makes his rotations shorter, meaning that players on the court have to endure 40 minutes of high-intensity play.

The second half didn't present many surprises. The Rockets had their cards on the table: Harden and 58 were limited by the Clippers' outside shooting, making it difficult for the Rockets to perform offensively.

The Clippers' switch-everything defense and their forwards didn't really limit the Harden-Paul duo, but rather the Rockets' role players.

In reality, the Harden-Paul duo can still score with their individual abilities, but role players don't have that same level of individual skill. Harden is relatively good, but even he can't single-handedly dominate the opponent against such strong perimeter defense. As for players like Tucker and Shumpert, to put it nicely, they are defensive stalwarts; to put it bluntly, they are offensive black holes, dragging the team down on offense.

Ultimately, the Clippers defeated the Rockets by 23 points on the road, avenging their previous blowout loss to the Rockets.

23 points! The Clippers won this game by 23 points, coincidentally the same number as their previous loss to the Rockets. Looking at the game's flow and result, the Clippers' adjustments were extremely successful; with both sides having made adjustments, they secured this crucial victory.

The Clippers defeated the Rockets in Game 4, bringing the series score to 3-1. They will now return home for Game 5, giving them a strong chance to close out the series on their home turf.

贾飞本场比赛打了39分钟，砍下全场最高的45分，外加18个篮板7次助攻3个抢断2个盖帽。

Jia Fei's 18 rebounds set a new playoff single-game rebounding record (his previous high was 17). Playing center in this game, he truly anchored the team's interior, showcasing his versatility and significant defensive impact.

After the game, all the hype surrounding the Rockets' potential comeback against the Clippers vanished instantly. The Rockets are certainly not out of the playoffs yet, but the chances of them repeating their 1-3 series comeback in the playoffs are extremely slim. After all, the opposing coach isn't Doc Rivers now, the star player from the team they were defeated by back then is now on their side, and Jia Fei has never experienced a playoff series being reversed after leading 3-1 in his career.

The visiting team's locker room was lively after the game, with Clippers players and coaches in high spirits, as it was a crucial and remarkable victory.

The only unhappy ones were Lou Williams and Harrell, who left the locker room early, not wanting to stay a minute longer.

Jia Fei wouldn't allow the team to change its rotation just to appease Lou Williams and Harrell, letting them dominate the second unit like before. The team's victory is the most important thing; he wouldn't sacrifice victory or a championship to appease emotions.

On May 8th, Game 5 of the Clippers vs. Rockets series took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The Clippers were naturally hoping to end the series in this game, and Jia Fei had specially invited Lin Ning to attend. This season, the Clippers have won every game Lin Ning has attended at Staples Center.

The Clippers' chances of ending the series lie in the Rockets having exhausted all their options. Everyone's pulling out all the stops; it's all about how they perform on the court.

Jia Fei, whose performance is consistently solid, is the source of the Clippers' confidence in advancing. On the Rockets' side, Harden has a history of underperforming in the playoffs. As for 58, his performance has always been consistently solid, but his consistency mainly lies in playmaking; his offense hasn't been as strong in recent years. However, with everyone playing small lineups and employing switch-everything defenses, what the Rockets need is precisely an unstoppable offense.

The Rockets did not change their lineup in this game, while the Clippers continued with the starting lineup from the previous game.

While Rockets fans were pinning their hopes on Harden to save the team, he inexplicably slipped up in this game... It's unclear whether it was a problem with his form or if he couldn't resist going out and having fun in Los Angeles last night, but the reality is that he slipped up, and it was a complete disaster.

The Clippers didn't expect to win this game so easily. They thought they were in for a tough battle, but it turned out that Jia Fei clocked out after three quarters.

This isn't the first time Harden has experienced a slump for no apparent reason; it can be traced back to his time with the Thunder, when he had a similar inexplicable slump during the Finals.

What's interesting about this match is that neither Lou Williams nor Montrezl Harrell played in regulation time, yet they weren't DNP'd because they entered the game during garbage time...

For Lou Williams and Harrell, it's really better to completely DNP them than to let them play garbage time; they really can't afford to lose face like that.

Coach Butden also has his reasons. If they aren't allowed to play during garbage time, they might get even angrier and blame the coach, thinking, "Don't they even deserve to play during garbage time?"

The Clippers swept the Rockets 4-1, advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the third consecutive season!

After Jia Fei joined the team, the Clippers reached the Western Conference Finals for three consecutive seasons, a feat they had never achieved before. The improvement he brought to the team was truly enormous.

As a counterexample, there's 58. During his many years with the Clippers, he never reached the Western Conference Finals. His closest attempt ended in a comeback loss to the Rockets, making him a laughingstock of the league that summer. Now he's gone to the Rockets, who are also struggling to reach the Western Conference Finals, while his former team continues to break records, constantly slapping him in the face.

Of course, 58 isn't that bad either; the blame lies with Jia Fei for being too strong! Being compared to Jia Fei is already a great honor; most people don't have that qualification!

From this perspective, it seems like 58 didn't lose at all; they've won so many times they're practically swarming the winners!