The Thunder's current record is 42 wins and 12 servers, beating the Spurs and ranking first in the Western Conference.
It's just that the NBA schedule has entered February, and every team will inevitably have some injuries, and the same is true for the Thunder. Their second coach Westbrook is on the injured list, and the second coach only has another Durant. rand.
However, the Thunder team with only one Durant was also very scary in the regular season. This season, Durant is averaging 32 points per game, which can be said to be full of firepower. And Durant also showed the ability of a superstar. Last month, Durant led the team to defeat the Rockets, the Warriors, the Trail Blazers, and the Spurs, and then went to Miami to win three games. Giant, many people now feel that the only thing missing from Durant is a championship ring. The moment he gets the championship ring, he can surpass James and become the number one player in the league.
…
Durant stood on the court, looking at Zhang Guan not far away, and felt a sense of nervousness in his heart.
"I'm actually starting to get nervous!" Durant took a deep breath and calmed down. Before, whether he was playing against the Spurs or the Heat, Durant didn't feel nervous. But now that he is leading the team to play against the Lakers, who are second to last in the Western Conference, his heart is like thousands of horses galloping, and it is difficult to calm down.
"Zhang Guan, I have to face Zhang Guan again!" Durant couldn't help but think of the defeat in the Men's Basketball World Championships four years ago. It was the most difficult game Durant had ever played, and it was also his impression. The deepest defeat.
"This time, I will never lose!" Durant snorted. The next moment, Ibaka's jump ball was lost to Kaman, and the Lakers had already started their first offense.
"Defend Zhang Guan!" Durant focused his attention on Zhang Guan, but unexpectedly the ball was passed to Kaman. Then Kaman assisted Marshall and made an open three-pointer.
"Give me the ball!" Durant shouted at Ibaka. Ibaka hesitated and eventually gave the ball to Durant instead of Reggie Jackson.
Then, Durant struck once.
The Lakers grabbed the rebound and the ball went into Zhang Guan's hands, and Zhang Guan immediately started to charge.
"Zhang Guan's fast break!" Durant's heart tightened, and he rushed towards Zhang Guan without hesitation.
At this moment, Zhang Guan attracted three Thunder defensive players, including Durant.
"Block his layup route!" Durant shouted, raising his hands to block the shot.
At this moment, Zhang Guan flicked his wrist and passed the ball to Marshall who was following up. Marshall made an open shot and scored two points.
Durant didn't believe in evil and took the initiative to ask for the ball again. Facing Wesley Johnson's defense, he made a three-point jumper.
Blacksmith times two!
After Zhang Guan got the ball, he quickly counterattacked again, and Marshall also followed up. This time the Thunder learned their lesson and assigned people to defend Marshall. However, Zhang Guan used a layup to get a foul and then made an extra free throw.
Durant made his third attack and finally hit two points. Then Marshall missed a three-pointer, but the ball landed right in front of Zhang Guan. Zhang Guan picked up a rebound and hit another mid-range shot.
Ibaka missed a shot, Jordan Hill's layup was blocked, Wesley Johnson grabbed the ball and passed it to Zhang Guan, who scored two points with another mid-range jumper.
The Thunder called a short timeout, Staples Center was filled with jubilation, and the 11-2 start was imaginable for many people. But no one could have guessed before the game that it was the Lakers who scored 11 points, while the Thunder only scored 2 points!
"What's going on? Is this really the Thunder? Aren't they number one in the Western Conference? Why are they being beaten by the Lakers right from the start!"
"The Lakers' shooting percentage was too high, but the Thunder kept hitting the ball, hitting 1 of 4 in the beginning, and Durant even missed two goals."
"To be honest, the timing of Durant's three shots was not very good. Even the shot he made had a lot of luck involved. When Durant opened the game today, he seemed too eager to score. !”
Many discerning people can see that today's Durant played very unreasonably at the beginning. He looked like a newcomer who was eager to express himself, not the usual superstar-level Durant.
After the timeout, Marshall was replaced by Blake after making two consecutive mistakes, and Zhang Guan also started scoring mode.
Reggie Jackson, who was marking Zhang Guan at first, was then continuously penetrated by Zhang Guan. Not only did he think it was irrational, he was charged with two fouls, and he quickly came off the court to rest.
After all, Reggie Jackson is only a third-year student now, and because of Westbrook's injury, he was promoted to the starting position. It is inevitable that his self-confidence will be inflated, but Zhang Guan gave him a lesson.
As a last resort, the Thunder had to switch to Sefolosha to defend Zhang Guan.
Sefolosha is known for his strong defense, and he has also been on the NBA defensive second team. Back then, Sefolosha was able to put Harden on the bench. The big reason was because Sefolosha's defense was good enough.
Sefolosha's defense is much better than Reggie Jackson's. He is a strong individual defender with height, wingspan and speed. Close defense is very oppressive and the bottom plate is very stable. This kind of defense is especially aimed at those physically strong attackers. In this season, Leonard of the Spurs, Wade of the Heat, and Harden of the Rockets are all here. Sefolosha has had his share of losses.
But when facing some abnormally accurate pitchers, they don't even have the chance to physically compete with you. They just raise their hands and shoot, and the shot can still go in. Sefolosha can't do it. For example, when they played against the Warriors before, Curry and Thompson simply Flossa was not guarded, Curry scored 37 points on the Thunder, and Thompson also scored 26 points. Fortunately, Durant broke out with 54 points, which allowed the Thunder to finally win the game.
When Zhang Guan saw Sefolosha coming to defend him, he simply caught the ball and shot.
"Hey, Zhang Guan voted, he really dared to vote!"
"Hey, you can really get in!"
CCTV's commentator kept repeating these two sentences.
Looking at this scene, the Thunder coach frowned. At this time, there was no one else in the Thunder team who could restrict Zhang Guan.
In addition to Reggie Jackson and Sefolosha, the Thunder's two backup guards are Jeremy Lamb and "Old Fish" Fisher. Lamb's thin figure means that the defense does not need to count on him too much. As for Fisher, he is already 40 years old and has a defensive vulnerability on the court. Even a young defender can bully him.
The current Thunder still miss Westbrook very much. If there was Westbrook's iron-blooded defense, Zhang Guan might not score so easily.
However, the Thunder can't restrain Zhang Guan, and the Lakers can't restrain Durant, and even Reggie Jackson and Ibaka can't restrain him. After all, there are no players on the current Lakers team who can defend at all. It's just that the two of them don't have many shooting opportunities, and the Thunder's main ball rights are still concentrated in Durant's hands.
Durant took a total of 16 shots in the first half, but only hit 5 goals, with a shooting percentage of only 30%. It can be said to be pitifully low. It was precisely because of Durant's sluggish performance that the Thunder ended the first half. At that time, they were still 9 points behind, and the score between the two sides was 54 to 45.
In the second half, Durant finally gradually regained some touch. Although the three-pointer was still hard to hit, his mid-range shots were very accurate.
The Lakers' defense against Durant is also symbolic. D'Antoni originally relied on bombardment, and his requirements for defense are not that strong. Moreover, D'Antoni currently has no one who can defend him. In addition, Durant originally I can't guard him, so I might as well stop guarding him and let Durant shoot!
As he was playing, Durant was also shooting high, and when Durant was shooting high, it was difficult for other Thunder players to have a chance to take action.
The game turned into a shooting contest between Zhang Guan and Durant.
"Durant, mid-range shot, the ball goes in!"
"Zhang Guan made an emergency stop jumper, it's done!"
"Durant tries a three-pointer, good shot!"
"Zhang Guan made a long-range three-pointer!"
The cheers at the scene grew louder and louder, and the scores of both sides also increased alternately. The scene was so lively. But the score difference of about 10 points never widened.
As for the players of the two teams, they didn't have much possession of the ball anyway, so they simply started to follow their respective bosses and start running back and forth.
Although they were running back and forth, the players didn't dare to complain at all, because they were the boss of the team!
Needless to say, Zhang Guan has his fame and strength, and he is also the team's small boss. The players dare not offend him and cannot afford to offend him. As for Durant, he is also famous and powerful, and he is the star of the Thunder. How dare the younger brothers displease the boss. Since the boss wants to take action, then give the ball to the boss and let him shoot!
If you analyze it calmly, the Thunder will definitely suffer in this situation. As for the Lakers, those who followed the return were Sacre, Marshall, Sean Williams, and Wesley Johnson. They were all men with basic salaries, such as Jordan Hill and Blake, who are close to the middle class. Those with an annual salary are considered to be rich.
As for the Thunder, those who followed the return are Ibaka and Perkins. Ibaka gets more than 12 million US dollars a year, which is equivalent to a star contract, and Perkins's annual salary is more than 8 million. , half higher than the middle class. Even Sefolosha can earn 4 million a year, which is as much as the Lakers' four minimum-salary men.
In the NBA, how much money you get basically represents how capable you are. But now, it is also meaningless to follow the boss back and forth. The Lakers are a group of men with basic salaries, while the Thunder are quasi-stars. This is like Tian Ji's horse racing. The Lakers use inferior horses to wear down the physical strength of Thunder's superior horses.
However, after Durant's hand became smoother, his scoring ability was really strong. When he came off the court to rest at the end of the third quarter, he had scored more than 30 points.
"Durant must have scored 40 points again today!"
"I think 45 points is possible!"
"But look, the Thunder are still 11 points behind!"
Everyone looked at the scoreboard. At this time, the score between the two sides was 85 to 74, and the Thunder were still lagging behind.
"Is it possible that the Lakers are going to win this game again?"
The first chapter is delivered, thanks to Thai Old Man Zhang, Red Wenwu, Dragon Walking in the Sky, Defeat You, Duocai Ni, xsf9800, luoke000, Lao Guo003, l Lao Amu, Bubble 2016, Dongfang Yiying for the reward!
(End of chapter)