Forced to check in for three quarters! Xiaoka pursed his lips from the field + his eyes were heartless. 7 consecutive games of 20+ could not stop the first round of sadness

On May 4, the match between the Clippers and the Nuggets attracted much attention. However, the game ended with a 3-4 big defeat, breaking the hearts of countless Clippers fans. At the beginning of the game, the Clippers were in trouble. From the second quarter, the team was like a ship that lost its direction in the storm and began to collapse gradually. In the second quarter, the Clippers fell behind by a huge score difference of 21-37, as if the opponent suddenly opened an insurmountable gap. By the third quarter, the situation did not improve, but instead became worse. The score of 19-35 completely lost its competitiveness, as if it had fallen into a bottomless abyss. Under such a situation, Kawhi Leonard was helplessly forced to "check in in three quarters", and only scored 22 points and 5 rebounds in the game. In the final quarter, he could only watch the game helplessly off the court.

Clippers fans before the game showed their exciting performance in the 2019 Raptors vs. Philadelphia tiebreak. In that game, Xiao Ka arrived like a god of war, scoring 41 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals, and his performance exploded, making countless fans cheer for it. However, reality is cruelly placed before us. Xiao Ka's career tiebreaker matches, averaging only 21.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, shooting percentage of 43.3% and three-point shooting percentage of 25%. This set of data is like an insurmountable gap, standing in front of Xiaoka, and also implies the difficulty of this game. At the beginning of the game, Xiao Ka's performance was not ideal. In the first quarter, he made only 1 of 4 shots, 2 of 2 free throws, and only scored 4 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists. At this time, the Clippers' offense mainly relies on role players such as Powell, Jones, Bogdan, and Batum to support them. They are like a group of brave soldiers, fighting bravely on the battlefield and temporarily leading the Nuggets with tenacious defense. However, the Clippers' overall offensive firepower is obviously insufficient, just like an army with insufficient firepower, it is difficult to cause a fatal blow to their opponents. In the second session, Xiaoka finally found some of the touch. His first three-pointer was like a shooting star that lit the team's hope. However, the Nuggets' team blossomed in full swing, like a group of hungry beasts, frantically snatching scores. Xiao Ka made 3 of 5 shots in a single quarter, 1 of 1 of 3 points, 3 of 3 free throws, and scored 10 points, 1 rebound and 1 block. But he encountered trouble on the defensive end, and Gordon took fouls on both defenses. Fortunately, he did not commit a foul in the first quarter, and scored 14 points at the end of the half, becoming the only player in the Clippers to double the game in half, like a bright light in the darkness, bringing a glimmer of hope to the team.

The side changes again, and after Xiao Ka hits a three-pointer, the Clippers suddenly collapse. The Nuggets made a 0-15 attack wave, leading 23 points directly, and Tyron Lu had to call a timeout. After ATO, Harden was blocked and Kat made another mistake. The Clippers seemed to be in a quagmire and could not extricate themselves. After the third quarter, Leonard made 6 of 13 shots, 2 of 4 of 3-pointers, 8 of 9 free throws, and scored 22 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks, but the gap has widened to 27 points, like an insurmountable gap, making the Clippers' hopes of a comeback slim. In the last quarter of the 2nd team, the score difference between the two teams had widened to 33 points, and the game lost its suspense early. Leonard stared at the front with his eyes blank, as if he was thinking about something, and as if he was helpless about the situation in front of him. If the score difference has not been narrowed, he will not need to come back. Then, Leonard pursed his lips and showed a helpless look on his face. Tyron Lu replaced Kobe Brown, which indicates that the team has already claimed the loss by investing. In the end, Leonard made a 33-minute pass in the whole game, scoring 22 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks, and scored 20+ data in seven games, but such data seemed so pale and powerless in the face of a crushing defeat.

Looking back at this game, the Clippers' failure was caused by many reasons. From the offensive perspective, the team lacks stable scoring points at critical moments and relies too much on the performance of role players, while the performance of the main players at critical moments is not satisfactory. Although Xiao Ka worked hard, he was not very efficient when facing the Nuggets' defense. From the defensive end, the Clippers failed to make effective defensive adjustments in time when their opponents made attack waves, allowing the opponent to score easily. In addition, there are some problems with the team's tactical arrangements, and the coach's decisions at critical moments are also worth discussing.

For Xiaoka, this game was undoubtedly a heavy blow. He has always been the core of the team and shoulders the heavy responsibility of leading the team to victory. However, in this crucial game, he failed to lead the team to victory. But we should also see that Xiao Ka has also made efforts in this game, and his fighting spirit deserves our respect. He is like a lonely warrior, fighting bravely on the battlefield. Although he failed in the end, his spirit deserves our admiration.

For the Clippers, the failure of this game was also a profound lesson. The team needs to seriously reflect on their own problems, find out the shortcomings, and improve them. In future games, they need to strengthen cooperation on the offensive and defensive ends and improve tacit understanding among players. At the same time, coaches also need to formulate more reasonable tactics and make timely adjustments based on the opponent's situation. Although this game has ended, the thoughts it leaves us are far from over. Both the Clippers and Kat need to learn from this failure and cheer up again. In future games, can they adjust their state and regain the feeling of victory? Let's wait and see.