Start coaching the Thunder, starting with Westbrook

Chapter 127 Three Points Can Really Kill People

After returning from this timeout, Li Sheng did not choose to make any major changes.

Sometimes there is no need to go first every time. Now they are playing well on the court, so it is okay to let them continue to play like this. After all, the lead is still so big, and it is good to let Durant have more rest time.

However, he still made a substitution adjustment, bringing up Ibaka first, and then Antetokounmpo returned to the third position.

The main thing is to strengthen the inside defense, Antetokounmpo obviously can't stand Griffin anymore.

Rookies should indeed accumulate more defensive experience, but it is obviously not good to keep him in the position when he knows that he will always be deflated. This is not how to train rookies.

Antetokounmpo may not necessarily be beaten to lose confidence in the end, but if the matchup data is not good, it is easy to be rhythmized by outside public opinion, which will also be a huge pressure for him.

For a rookie, you have to praise and protect, and you have to have a degree. It's not good to blindly lean on either side.

Although Ibaka can't stop Griffin in the low post, and he is not good at low post defense, but he at least has experience, and the defensive effect will be better than Antetokounmpo.

It is impossible for Griffin to play too comfortably all the time, and it may become a hidden danger after a long time.

In addition, Brother Antetokounmpo can be liberated in this way, and he can help prevent interference at any time by his side.

The advantage of the long arms at this time is reflected. It can not only be ready to intercept the pass at any time, but also cover the sight of the opposing player.

In particular, Barnes is a lot shorter than him, and he is not the short and stocky type. In confrontation, he will not crush him like the previous Josh. What's more, he runs more without the ball, and he didn't have much ability to hold the ball when he was young.

If he attacks independently, then Brother Antetokounmpo will have fun.

On the other side, Redick can run out of opportunities, but the Thunder's blocking is also very effective. This is a defensive method that Li Sheng emphasized during training.

When defending, it is very difficult for shooters who run without the ball, because they can not only run by themselves, but also set up screens with teammates. You may be able to bypass one screen but not be able to bypass the second one, and you may not be able to keep up with the reverse run.

But the ball can be defensive to a certain extent. Although the ball must move faster than people, and the trajectory may be more unpredictable, at least it always needs to stop.

For example, when Griffin is facing Ibaka in the low post and seems to be about to break through the ball-holding frame, Antetokounmpo in the right corner gradually approaches this side to help defend, and at the same time stretches out his long arms to block the pass. Sefolosha, who is diagonally above Griffin, is also preparing to block his pass.

Lamb, who is defensively weak, is caught in the middle, so that his problems will not be highlighted too much.

The positions of several people are aimed at Griffin's passing route. Once he chooses to pass, they can find a way to intercept. In this case, he can either play alone and attract Antetokounmpo to defend, and then he can only move to Barnes.

And if Griffin wants to pass to others, he can only choose to drop the ball. This method is difficult for teammates to receive the ball comfortably and at the same time directly form an offensive opportunity. In this way, when they adjust, the Thunder's defensive players will be in place again.

This will make Griffin feel very uncomfortable. He can only be forced to play singles, but Antetokounmpo just interferes and does not form a double-team with Ibaka.

In fact, Li Sheng has always felt that players like Griffin and Cousins ​​have a certain talent for organization and support. It is only because of the team and the coach that they have not been able to make good use of their talent in this aspect.

This kind of inside line with the ability to attack in the low post is actually quite suitable for the triangle offense.

Of course, they are not without weaknesses, not to mention Cousins' joke of "the number one center below the brain". Griffin's athletic talent is amazing, but the static talent of the body is a bit urgent, especially the "T-Rex" that fans have been ridiculing. It is famous for its short hands.

In fact, his wingspan can only be regarded as the wingspan of a normal person, but the problem is that as an NBA player, there are not many who can be called a normal person here. His physical fitness has already stretched a lot beyond the average person, and the normal person's wingspan seems to be problematic here.

Although this can't prevent him from becoming a super popular star in the league, it will restrict him from going further. Maybe this is why he fell so quickly after a serious injury and his athletic ability dropped. After all, he didn't rely entirely on his talent.

If he can further develop his organizational ability in the Clippers, it may be another result. It is a pity that Paul is here. Unless the team with Paul is established like Harden, it will be difficult for Griffin or Booker to make any improvement in organization.

So these two people are also very consistent in fear of double-teaming, and after they are double-teamed, their teammates may not be able to grasp the opportunity given to them.

Barnes is obviously not in a good state today. He tried to miss a shot before, but this time after receiving a pass from Griffin, he adjusted and missed a shot. Although this is also related to Antetokounmpo's quick return to defend against interference.

But this time Griffin pressed Ibaka to take off and click in the basketball that popped out.

It's only the second quarter, so how can you play in the second half and the fourth quarter?
At that time, do we expect Paul, Jordan, or Keliu to stand up?

Facts have proved that most of the time they can't stand up in tough battles.

But at the same time, if he doesn't do this, it seems that he may not have to play in the fourth quarter. After all, although the Thunder's state has declined a little, they can still maintain a balance with the Clippers.

This is also mainly because their three-point shooting has dropped, and after three consecutive missed shots, Li Sheng asked the players to be steady again, don't rush to shoot as soon as the opportunity comes up, and choose to play as close to the basket as possible.

For tactical running positions like theirs, the Clippers' staffing can't keep up. The chances of going inside are obviously more certain than those outside. It's just that this requires more patient running tactics.

Many times in the NBA, there are not many players who can seriously run tactics. Most teams play the old three, pick-and-roll breakouts, cover the shooter without the ball, or directly play one-on-one.

The Thunder did the same thing in the past, and the current Clippers are actually similar. Even with Paul as the commander on the court, their style of play is actually quite monotonous. From another perspective, it is still Paul's problem.

This is the case with the big core of holding the ball. Paul is actually the same as Harden. Their characteristics and advantages are holding the ball and organizing everything. If you let them run without the ball, it will be self-defeating.

Looking at the current Spurs and the later Warriors, their core is able to play without the ball. Even Parker and Ginobili, they don't all need to have the ball in their hands to be effective, and they can even handle the ball at every point on the court.

The finals of this season in the original time and space are a good example. The 14-year champion Spurs played as if one person was divided into five players. Everyone seemed to share the same brain and cooperated with the flow of water. Often people arrive at the ball, the ball arrives at people's shots, or the ball is played or there is a chance to attack directly.

That's why they were able to play a super high offensive efficiency in this finals, and there was even a magical and weird thing that "the Spurs' shooting percentage dropped to 70%".

This finals has basically become a one-sided slap, and the Heat have no power to fight back. It is the Spurs who have improved, and they have regressed.

But in fact, in the two-year finals, it seems that the Spurs should be better in terms of strength. It's just that their rookies lack experience and veterans lack physical strength, so the Heat dragged on to win at the end, which is a bit of luck.

So the importance of Ray Allen's three-pointer is indeed there. Looking at Durant's lore later, you can appreciate the rarity of this three-pointer-especially if the goal is only two points, it will be lost directly.

Superstars have the bottom line, and role players have raised their upper limit. There is nothing to argue about in itself, otherwise the championship teams would not need to strengthen every year.

And if the team's super giants can take the initiative to do the dirty work, it can also serve as a good example for other players on the team.

So far this season, Durant's role on the defensive end has improved significantly. This is due to Li Sheng's arrangements for him. The use time has been reduced, and the offensive scenes have been reduced. Except for his own shot rights, he can ensure that his stamina bar continues in other aspects, which allows him to freely transfer part of his energy to defense.

In fact, Durant and Westbrook are not non-defensive, including the current Westbrook only occasionally, not to the extent that they often subconsciously give up defense in order to brush up data. Durant has always wanted to work hard to defend.

After all, what he wants is to be on par with Kobe and James, and those two are considered to be both offensive and defensive.

Although everyone subconsciously thinks that Durant's defense is okay, he has not been recognized by the outside world. After all, he has never even touched the edge of the second defense.

Everyone only said that he was a big killer on the offensive end, and never said that he was a combination of offense and defense.

Part of the reason is Durant's lack of physical strength to attack after playing late, and another part of the reason is defense. He is not a physical monster like Kobe and James, nor is he like the team's Westbrook.

Now he is playing easily on the offensive end. Although the playing time does not seem to be reduced much, it is obviously much easier to play on the court than in the original time and space, and the efficiency is also higher. He currently maintains an overall shooting rate of 52%, which also allows him to spend more energy on the offensive end.

It is mainly because of the Thunder's new defensive system - in fact, it has not yet fully formed, but it has been able to switch defenses infinitely. He does not need to bear a lot of defensive pressure, as long as he becomes a part of the transition.

Just like after playing again in the second quarter, the time was 5 minutes and 37 seconds, the score was 45:62, the Clippers' offensive round, Paul came over to pick and roll with Griffin, and then the following changes, Durant blocked Dudley in time after switching defenses.

Dudley wanted to get rid of the entanglement, and Griffin also wanted to show the pass behind his head at this time, but Collison yelled, Durant immediately turned around to block the ball, and then immediately turned around and made a fast break.

The ball ended with a simple abuse of the basket, and the Thunder's lead came to 19 points.

This is also Griffin's second mistake in this game. Before, because he was the main attacker, he didn't make many mistakes. Now he wants to play tricks, and he is not concentrating, so he is given a chance.

Rivers immediately shouted loudly, he felt a little anxious.

However, Paul is very calm. In fact, Paul is also a very tempered person, but his playing style is still stable, so no matter how emotional he is, he may punch but not casually.

After replacing Paul, the Clippers' rhythm has actually stabilized a lot. At least the offense has returned to the previous level, and they don't have to rely on Griffin alone to support it. At the same time, Redick and others can also play.

In addition, the perimeter defense has been enhanced, so although it is difficult to chase points, the situation has stabilized.

In addition, the Thunder's offensive efficiency was too high in the past, and now it has dropped a bit normally, so the point difference was once recovered to 12 points.

Before the end of the half, with only 27 seconds left, Paul held the ball steadily and pressed the time, hoping to narrow the score to single digits before entering the second half.

Sefolosha stared at Paul while paying attention to the situation next to him, Reggie followed Redick and ran around the screen, Durant stared at Dudley in the right corner, and Jordan ran up to pick and roll with Paul.

In the last 6 seconds, Paul passed Perkins with bad luck, Sefolosha came to double-team, he immediately passed the ball to Jordan, Jordan took the ball and went down to the basket with two steps, Ibaka immediately let go of Griffin and came to help defend, and even missed his inevitable slam dunk.

The ball flew out and Durant jumped up and patted it into Reggie's hands. Durant ran forward immediately, and Reggie immediately threw him a few steps in front of him.

Paul punched his fist hard, but he still hurried forward. On the other side, Redick took a step faster, and finally caught up with Durant when he took a slow grip on the basketball.

In 2 seconds, Durant suddenly took a step and swayed Redick for a while, and ran down subconsciously, but he didn't expect Durant to take a step back and shot directly outside the three-point line.

Paul rushed over at this time, but it was already too late.

brush!
"Before the whistle sounded at the end of halftime, Durant hit this buzzer three-pointer and opened the score to 15 points again! At the end of halftime, the Thunder still maintained the lead in the away game."

(End of this chapter)