A crushing defeat in the tiebreak! Where did this Clippers lose?

First look at a data. In the first six games of this round of series, the two teams' leading time comparison: the Clippers 139 minutes and 48 seconds, and the Nuggets 139 minutes and 07 seconds. In the first six games of the

series, the two teams each won one game, and the other four games were all the last minute. Three of them had the final score difference of no more than 3 points, and one was Gordon's most extreme buzzer-beating final kill in history. After the

G6 game, Jokic commented on this round of the game: "The Clippers and the Nuggets are the best match in the first round. If you like basketball and are real fans rather than fake fans, then this is the game you should watch."

Jokic said right. The first six games of this round were really exciting. It was also because the two teams were evenly matched, so there was more expectations for the tiebreak battle. Fans were waiting for a classic game comparable to the Clippers and Spurs G7 ten years ago.

However, I really didn't expect that the tiebreak was such a tragedy.

The Clippers were still 5 points ahead in the first quarter, but they couldn't keep up with the rhythm in the first half of the second quarter. They were beaten 37-21 in a single quarter, and completely collapsed in the third quarter. They were beaten 35-19 in a single quarter, and were 27 points behind at the end of the third quarter.

Until now, there may be fans who have fantasies about the Clippers. After all, G4 and they also slid the 22-point difference in the last quarter. However, in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets had another 10-2 wave, and the score difference reached the largest 35 points. No matter how unrealistic the fantasy was, they were shattered at this moment.

This key tiebreaker was achieved, and Harden lived up to expectations.

played for 35 minutes in the game, made 2 of 8 shots, 1 of 4 three-pointers, and only scored 7 points. Although 13 assists were dazzling enough, they only scored 7 points in the tiebreak battle, and had not scored a single point in the third quarter for 12 minutes. I think not many people would be satisfied with such a Harden.

In this round of series, Harden scored 32 points and 11 assists in G1, G6 scored 28 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. None of the other five games scored more than 20 points. Among them, G5 Tianwangshan and G7 tiebreak games totaled 2 of 17 shots and only scored 18 points. The Clippers suffered a crushing defeat in both games.

Leonard performed well in the tiebreak match, shooting 6 of 13, 2 of 4 three-pointers, 8 of 9 free throws, scoring 22 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Although the positive and negative value is the lowest in the team, he can still be called the Clippers' best player in this game.

Looking back at this round of series, except for G2's outbreak of 15 of 19 shots and 39 points in a single game, Leonard scored 30+ in none of the other six games, and even only one of 25+. Considering that this is Leonard, who has been in the best form for half a season, he is much worse than himself six years ago in terms of dominance.

Zubac tried his best, with a double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds, and defended Jokic from 0 of 5 in the first quarter, only scored 16 points in the game. In the

series, Zubac averaged 17.4 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, shooting percentage 65.9%, efficient and stable output on the offensive end, and worked hard on the defensive end. Without him, the Clippers' interior would have been beaten by Jokic and could not hold on to the seventh game.

But the other core of the Clippers, Powell pulled a big shot, 4 of 11 shots, 0 of 3 three-pointers, scored 9 points, and had 3 fatal mistakes.

In this round of games, Powell's performance was completely different from home and away, with three games at home, averaging 22.0 points per game, shooting percentage of 57.5%, three-pointers 40.9%, and four games away, averaging 11.5 points per game, shooting percentage of 38.8%, and three-pointers 27.8%.

It is worth mentioning that Powell will be eligible for early renewal this summer, with a contract of 129 million in 4 years. Although he played close to the All-Star level at the age of 31, from the end of the season and the playoffs, Powell is really not worth it - White's contract is almost the same number, but White's high-end innings is far superior to Powell.

Of course, Ballmer is not short of money, but if the Clippers really give this contract, then without moving Harden and Leonard, they may face a huge crisis of aging in the next few years - next season, Harden is 36 years old, Leonard is 34 years old, Powell is 32 years old, Bogdan is 33 years old, and even Zubac and Jones will be 29 years old. Whether the core lineup will change is worth discussing in the offseason.

Summary of the Clippers this season, you can say how surprising they are from predicting 35 wins to final 50 wins, but as a team that played the championship-level performance at the end of the regular season, it is really unbelievable that the tiebreak is so successful.

The most explosive thing is Tyron Lu. The tiebreak in this game happened to be Tyron Lu's 48th birthday. After the game, he said: "I haven't thought about the offseason yet. To be honest, all I think of is the Thunder."

In fact, if the core is not moved, there are not many places to operate during the offseason, but if it is necessary to operate, Tyron Lu's position may be very dangerous. His ability is, and 50 wins in the regular season will also be credited. However, the playoffs are too slow. Even if it is replaced by Brian Shaw, the results of the Clippers this season will be different.

I can only say that the Clippers still have a lot of work to do this summer. Do you need to change the coach? Should we inject more young and energetic players into the team lineup? Do you want to renew Powell early? Do you even want to replace the core of Harden and Leonard?

Since taking over the Clippers, Ballmer has been very concerned about this Clippers. He has spent a lot of money to spend, build a big stadium and form a expensive lineup. He also paid out of his own pocket to cheer on the away game in the tiebreak. He deserved more victory, but this Clippers were eliminated in the first round for three consecutive years. Look at the age of the core members, maybe it is time for a big change.