Start coaching the Thunder, starting with Westbrook

Chapter 107

The home players appeared one after another under the introduction of DJ, and at the same time the starting list of the Wizards also came out.

The Wizards once became a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference under the leadership of No. 0 Agent Arenas. They made it to the playoffs for three consecutive years and also entered the second round.

However, with the onslaught of injuries, the Wizards gradually sank, and the era of belly fat began. It was not until John Wall was selected with the No. 10 pick in [-] that he saw some hope.

In 11, they selected Bradley Beal with the No. [-] pick. Although the record was not good last season, Wall's growth and Bill's potential were surprising.

They're off to a good start this season, especially since Wall and Beal can finally be called true duos in the backcourt.

There are also Nene and Okafor on the inside, and the joining of Ariza has also strengthened their striker strength. At least the cards of this starting lineup are very promising, and the results are also good.

Wall is one of the rare point guards in the new generation who can achieve both offense and defense. Except for the flaws in shooting, he can be said to be a perfect point guard.

His growth and maturity is the key to the resurgence of the Wizards. Originally, this game was a focus battle between him and Westbrook, the eastern and western star point guards, but because of Westbrook's absence, it was a little less exciting.

In fact, the Wizards still have a No. [-] pick in this year's draft. They selected Otto Porter Jr., who is swinging in the forward position. Unfortunately, Porter has not had many opportunities to play.

Just like the Thunder, if Westbrook hadn't been injured, Antetokounmpo would not have gotten so many opportunities to hold the ball at the beginning.

The Thunder are still in the regular starting lineup, and the key to victory naturally lies in Durant. After all, the backcourt is definitely no match for him, and the inside line is generally at a disadvantage—mainly because Perkins is rotten now.

It was okay to say that during the team training and preseason games before, when the regular season started, Perkins began to suffer. Currently, he averaged only 3 points and 4 rebounds per game, and his shooting percentage was only in the early [-]s.

If it weren't for the fact that he has a certain effect in defending in the pit, Li Sheng doesn't even plan to use him at all, at least Gobert's effect is much better than him.

However, Gobert is still a rookie after all. Rookie big centers are easy to be targeted by military training, especially the opponent's defenders are so good at breaking through.

Ten players from both sides stood on the court and got ready. After the referee blew the whistle, they began to scramble for the ball. Okafor easily jumped the ball successfully.

Perkins doesn’t even have the idea of ​​jumping now. Li Sheng’s arrangement for him to jump the ball actually gave up on this point. The Thunder players retreated in an instant and quickly settled down. They were defending a two-three defense.

The Wizards' offense is driven by the breakthrough of the guard. Of course, the inside also has a certain offensive ability, but the first offense must be handed over to Wall.

Facing Sefolosha, while holding the ball on the right wing to observe, he beckoned for Okafor to come up and make a pick and roll for him.

The pick-and-roll is an effective means of offense. No matter how powerful a guard breaks through, he is definitely more willing to choose an easier approach, let alone a calm point guard like Wall.

Because the Wizards' offense revolves around Wall, their offensive center of gravity began to tilt to the right at this time, and Bill and Ariza also began to move to this side in order to better catch the ball.

The Thunder naturally also moved to the right side. Perkins continued to squat while watching Nene. Ibaka switched positions with him and quickly followed Okafor. Then when Okafor blocked Sefolosha, Ibaka quickly switched to Wall.

Facing the big man inside, Wall chose to dribble and play. No matter how flexible Ibaka is, he is a big man over two meters after all.

Durant on the side also chose to come up to defend. Wall made a back pass to Ariza who was in the bottom corner.

Ariza only came to the Wizards last season. After joining the team, his performance has been getting better and better, and his state has continued into the new season. In the current few games, he has made 43% of his three-pointers and averaged 2.4 per game. This is already the data of a top pitcher.

He can't put the bottom corner, but Durant's choice can't be wrong. After all, if he doesn't come to make up the defense, Wall can go up by himself, and it is difficult for Ibaka to guard him.

In fact, the difficult point of the Wizards' lineup is that Wall's breakthrough is difficult to prevent, and his points after the breakthrough are even more difficult to defend.

Bill and Ariza both have three-pointers, and Okafor and Nene can also shoot in the middle. As long as Wall attracts the defense to play, they will not let go of open shots.

It was the Thunder's turn to attack, and Durant singled Ariza with the ball on the weak side. At this time, it was the Wizards' turn to feel embarrassed.

Ariza is indeed a good 3D player, but he obviously can't guard against Durant, not to mention Durant, who has been in a hot state since the start of the game, directly scored two points directly on his head, Ariza seemed helpless.

Randy Whitman on the sidelines was indifferent. He accompanied the Wizards all the way through the trough. This season, it feels that the team can finally see the hope of the playoffs. He cherishes every game.

Before the game, he carefully studied the Thunder's recent games and found that the Thunder is very good at using Durant's offensive deterrence as bait.

Sometimes the first step is to create singles opportunities for Durant. If the opponent does not double-team or assist in the defense, Durant may have to overwhelm him from the beginning.

In the past, the Thunder's five opponents were not completely killed by Durant. Some of them hesitated to double-team or not, and lost before they could react.

So Whitman decided on a strategy from the beginning of this game. He just didn't include Durant and let him play alone, even if he could really kill people, but the Wizards are not the teams before.

We can't guard you Durant, can you guard our Wall again?
Wall is very smart, he is a person who can directly be the commander on the field.

Facing the Thunder's second- and third-tier defenses, he obviously immediately thought that the outside three-pointer is the easiest and most direct way to break through the defense, and his favorite is to break through the outside line. Bill and Ariza just need to do the task of catching and shooting.

Next, he began to direct his teammates to move. Bill can attack with the ball by himself, but with Wall in the team, his main style of play is catch and shoot and air cuts.

Nene and Okafor set a screen for the two on both sides, allowing them to run out of open opportunities. Both Reggie and Durant couldn't catch up. In the end, Wall chose Bill, who had a better grasp, and Bill also hit a three-pointer.

"Oh, another three-pointer! The Wizards seem to be in good shape at the beginning of the game today, and the three-pointer went straight away!"

(End of this chapter)