Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 1048 - 597 Tonight the Clippers are a

Chapter 1048: Chapter 597: Tonight, the Clippers are a Complete Team_2 Chapter 1048: Chapter 597: Tonight, the Clippers are a Complete Team_2 Antetokounmpo excitedly shouted, “Ubuntu!!!”

Yu Fei was already immune to Rivers’ motivational tactics. He and Yao Ming had been through a lot, and their mentality and emotions were very stable. In this respect, they were indeed approaching a middle-aged mindset.

But seeing the young guys on the team getting stirred up by Rivers’ few words, you have to admit, the pig-headed coach has everything it takes to be a coach, except for coaching-related professional skills.

“Tonight, you just need to do two things,” Yu Fei said to Thompson, “move around and shoot.”

Thompson said, “I might take 30 shots.”

“As long as you don’t die from exhaustion, I have no objection to 40 shots,” Yu Fei gave Thompson the confidence to shoot without restraint.

In fact, just looking at the number of shots, Thompson was already the Clippers’ second option.

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Aside from Yu Fei, Thompson was the only one on the Clippers averaging more than 16 shots per game.

In terms of offensive role, Thompson’s priority on the Clippers was very high, he just lacked one thing, and that was confidence.

This kind of confidence can’t just be spoken about.

Many young people are confident they can challenge the world, but under heavy pressure, many crumble due to a lack of experience in handling stress.

Thompson had collapsed once during the playoffs last year.

The outcome of that was his old team treating him like a stray dog and shipping him off to the Clippers.

Throughout this season, Thompson’s performance has been extremely stable.

Stability is a good sign, nothing is more important than “stability” for a shooter.

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But to become a star shooter, stability alone is not enough.

How did Reggie Miller become famous as a shooter? New Yorkers know best: it’s those moments of explosive scoring, the moments that deal a killing blow. Such experiences can change a person’s aura, transforming confidence from baseless nothingness into a somehow tangible force on the court.

Yu Fei could feel the energy in Thompson that had been suppressed for too long, ready to burst at any moment.

But this energy didn’t surge from the start.

At least by the end of the first quarter, the Golden State Warriors wouldn’t regret trading Thompson.

Thompson’s performance was average, with no signs of vengeance against his former team.

The turning point of the game came in the second quarter.

Rivers substituted Jokić for Yao Ming, with no changes to other positions.

On the Warriors side, Lillard was fierce in offense, and although Leonard wasn’t as offensive as expected, his stifling defense forced Yu Fei to focus even more.

However, the Warriors’ weakness in the paint continued to exist. Even after acquiring Griffin, he didn’t have a significant advantage playing at the center position.

The young Big Three needed space, but since trading Thompson, the Warriors hadn’t found a suitable shooter. Veterans like Joe Johnson preferred one-on-one plays instead, and it was unrealistic to expect him to transform into a shooter who could stretch the floor.

Thus, the Warriors Team involuntarily became a squad of isolationists.

Isolation is the offensive style on the basketball court that best showcases an individual player’s strength, a moment to “show off muscles.” For those teams that lack “muscles,” the Warriors can often defeat them easily. But the Clippers’ muscle content was in no way inferior to the Warriors’.

Under Yu Fei’s tight defense, Leonard’s attempt at a Jordan-style rhythm offense was severely disrupted due to insufficient basic skills.

His offense failed, Jokić grabbed the defensive rebound and quickly tossed it to Thompson in the frontcourt, who hit a trailing three-pointer.

The Warriors had not yet realized that a stunning solo scoring performance was about to unfold.

Next, Johnson challenged Antetokounmpo and found his shot swatted away by his long arm.

Another fast break, and Thompson hit yet another trailing three-pointer.

Lillard exerted himself, taking on Jokić one-on-one, barely breaking the stalemate with a mid-range shot, but the score had widened to 6-2.

The Clippers quickly pushed the pace, Jokić unexpectedly accelerated the offense, transforming what should have been a set play into a fast break. Yu Fei made a precise pass, assisting Thompson for an alley-oop finish.

“Klay Thompson has scored 8 points in a row!”

Lillard once again responds with a one-on-one play.

Afterward, Yu Fei handled the ball, called for a pick-and-roll with Jokić, and then passed the ball back to Jokić. Jokić seemed to be aiming for the basket but instead sent a clever assist to Thompson, who hit another three-pointer. At this point, the Warriors’ response was weak, while the Clippers were just getting started.

The Warriors attempted a three-pointer but missed, and even though they retreated quickly, they couldn’t truly limit the Clippers’ offense.

Thompson circled around the baseline screens set by Jokić and Yu Fei, received a pass from Antetokounmpo, turned and hit a three-pointer; Jokić set a screen, Yu Fei passed, Thompson scored with a jump shot; Jokić held the ball up high, shielded with his body and assisted Thompson, who slipped underneath to complete a layup; the Warriors aggressively attempted and missed another three-pointer, Yu Fei grabbed the rebound, quickly transitioned, passed the ball, and Thompson hit another chase-down three.

“Klay Thompson has scored 20 points in a row!”

“It seems like he wants to tell Golden State that they made a huge mistake!”

The Warriors Team called for a timeout, but what could a timeout change?

Thompson’s scoring was different from those stars who rely on one-on-one plays when they are hot. During his consecutive scoring, his ball possession time didn’t even exceed 30 seconds.

It was Yu Fei’s passes, Jokić’s picks and plays, along with Antetokounmpo and others’ relentless movement, that created these opportunities for him.

This was Jokić’s highlight moment, but wasn’t it also the pinnacle of team basketball?