Start coaching the Thunder, starting with Westbrook

Chapter 101

"The Thunder were beaten 8-2 at the start. Durant missed two shots. Today's state is obviously not good. Coach Li immediately called a timeout and explained something."

Yoga laughed and said: "It can be clearly seen that although Li Sheng is the head coach for the first time, he is not stage fright at all. Facing the league's superstar Kevin Durant, he still looks very aura."

It sounds absurd, but Li Sheng was not overwhelmed in the slightest when facing Durant, a strong man over two meters tall, and even Durant seemed very obedient.

In the eyes of outsiders, this seems to have tamed them.

Of course, for coaches and players, it is not appropriate to use the word tame, it should be said that they can control the situation.

"The timeout is over and the game continues. It can be seen that Coach Li is obviously very dissatisfied with the previous performance of the Thunder. He directly took Perkins down, brought up Antetokounmpo, and Ibaka moved to the fifth position. Hey, is Antetokounmpo controlling the ball now?"

In the past four games, although Antetokounmpo has also served as an organizer, he is basically in the stage of substitute rotation. When Durant is on the court, he is usually the main attacker with the ball.

After all, he is also the Thunder's most stable offensive point with the ball.

But now seeing that the Pistons tended to target Durant, and Durant seemed to be in a normal state, Li Sheng simply pulled Durant out as a bait, and his position returned to the outside wing.

Antetokounmpo came up to the fourth position, and Reggie also replaced Ennis, so that the field became a lineup of five two-meter strikers, and all five of them can shoot three-pointers to open up space.

There are still three ball-holding points in this lineup, and Ennis can also perform singles.

Of course, this lineup must be focused on three-pointers, so the Pistons can't defend inside. At the same time, Jennings and Stuckey's outside defense is not very good.

Stucky's single defense is okay, but his chasing speed is not fast enough, and he can't catch up through the screen. In addition, he is not tall enough, so it is not easy to cause interference. Sefolosha found two waves of opportunities.

In the Thunder's previous style of play, shooters stood outside and waited for opportunities, but now under Li Sheng's arrangement, off-ball screens and running positions have been significantly increased, and they have begun to create opportunities for shooters.

Especially when Antetokounmpo is holding the ball, he is directly facing the opponent's inside line, which will allow the opponent's defensive attention to focus on the relatively empty inside line, but instead give the outside line a chance.

And Antetokounmpo will not let go of such an opportunity, whether it is Ennis or Sefolosha, basically everyone gets the ball, and even immediately makes a screen after passing the ball to block the defender and create shooting space. This is the Warriors' favorite style of play later.

Although such frequent running will inevitably consume physical strength, this is actually mutual.

I'm out of position, do you want to chase after me?

If you don't chase me, you will get a chance immediately. If you chase me, you will also consume energy, and compared to the active side of the offensive side, the passive consumption of defense may be greater.

Of course, after all, not everyone is the Splash Brothers, or Hamilton, and the shooter running around like this will definitely affect his projection state.

However, Li Sheng had already considered the possibility of missing the shot, so the moment the shooter took the shot, the remaining players on the Thunder's side had already locked their positions and aimed at the frontcourt board that popped out.

Those who get rebounds win the world, this is a classic Japanese line, but in fact, many games in the NBA can confirm this point.

Especially the frontcourt board, in the presence of a shooter, can have one more chance, which becomes more important at critical moments in the game.

What Li Sheng emphasized the most to them was the positioning of the rebounds, and the possibility of how to block and how to fight was taken into account.

The Thunder later had a "culture" of blocking the inside and passing the board, but in his team, anyone's first choice must be to block, and then judge the location to fight.

Of course, the priority for grabbing rebounds is Ibaka, Antetokounmpo, Gobert, and Robertson, because they have a strong ability to grab rebounds, which is also to give play to their advantages.

If Durant wants to collect rebounding data, the worst thing is to let him pick up a few more defensive rebounds. Anyway, data madmen like James and Westbrook do this.

"...Jennings missed a three-pointer this time. Durant protected the rebound and pushed forward with the ball. The Pistons misfired continuously, and the Thunder returned 8-0 after a timeout. Looking at this wave of offense from the Thunder, Durant handed the ball to Antetokounmpo, who held the ball at the top of the arc, and faced Monroe.

"Ibaka came up and set a pick-and-roll for him. Monroe and Zhuang Shen all squeezed to the top of the arc. Ibaka went down. They didn't know which one to guard. At this time, Antetokounmpo made a direct shot from outside the three-point line-suddenly shot a cold arrow, and it hit! The Thunder pulled the point difference to five points, and the Pistons immediately called a timeout."

Li Sheng has been encouraging Antetokounmpo to take more shots from the outside. His current three-pointers are still not stable. The closer to the basket, the more accurate his shots are. Of course, the farther he is, the more inaccurate he is.

But this time he saw the opportunity and grabbed one. The Pistons' two insiders were taken away by Ibaka, and they were still crowded in the paint. There was no defense against him suddenly shooting a three-pointer.

It was only when I looked back that this guy was nicknamed "Little Durant", so he couldn't let it go.

This is actually the effect Li Sheng wants. It doesn't matter if you can't make a shot. You must dare to make a shot.

And if you really want to let go, I really dare to vote. If you invest more, your confidence will come up, and it will be easier to get in.

Antetokounmpo is now starting to play an important role in the team earlier than in the original time and space. Of course, at the same time, his growth must be much faster than the same period, at least there is no painful period of muscle gain.

Now that he has a certain degree of certainty in shooting, the offensive threat will definitely be greater, which increases his deterrence with the ball, at least the opponent dare not let him go easily.

Occasionally, he was punished for relaxing, and Cheeks finally couldn't sit still.

However, Li Sheng did not relax. During the timeout, he still told them to maintain the current rhythm, and at the same time began to adjust the lineup.

Of course, there will be targeted arrangements for the opponent's timeout, so make another first move.

Let Antetokounmpo come down first, Gobert comes up, and then returns to the previous style of play. The difference is that Gobert stays at the basket regardless of offense and defense, and is ready to receive Durant's pass at any time with his height and wingspan.

Because his one-handed passing can now serve as a perfect transfer station. One more person who can transfer the ball can enrich the team's tactics, especially at the basket.

Moreover, Ibaka, Ennis, and Sefolosha opened up the three-point line, and Durant can also shoot outside the three-point line. It is a bit magical. Howard has four shooters, but the penalty area is not so strong.

In this way, the running position was reduced, but the threat on the offensive end was played out instead, especially when the opponent's defensive center of gravity began to sink unconsciously to the low post, Ennis and Sefolosha on the flanks and top of the arc got another chance, and they firmly grasped it.

Durant's state is indeed not very good today. So far, he has only hit one three-pointer and one fast break dunk in 6 shots.

But his teammates all stood up and let him get a wave of assists.

After the first quarter, Durant had already scored 4 assists, and the Thunder made 6 three-pointers.

Despite a bad start, they ended the first quarter with a 31:27 lead.

Antetokounmpo and Gobert's performances are very impressive, and they are the major contributors to the overtake.

Yoga immediately said: "The Thunder didn't have any big signings this season, but they have brought in four rookies. These four have played well in the past four games. Antetokounmpo, Robertson and Gobert have all secured their positions in the rotation. Ennis also performed well today."

"Speaking of Brother Antetokounmpo, some fans who just heard it may feel strange about this name. In fact, this is the nickname that Coach Li told us in an interview before, because his name is too long and difficult to pronounce, and there are many letters. It is better to call it Brother Antetokounmpo, which is more friendly..."

Yang Jian said: "Yes, I think Li Sheng's explanation is very good. This nickname can also make people impressed by him. In addition, he is performing well now, and many Thunder fans like him very much."

(End of this chapter)