Start coaching the Thunder, starting with Westbrook

Chapter 135 Substitution and Tactical Adjustment

In the impression of many people, Curry was a glass man in the early stage of his career, which is actually somewhat of an impression.

He was able to play 70+ games steadily in the first two seasons. On the contrary, he was affected by injuries in the third season and only played more than 20 games.

Last season, he started 78 games and averaged 22 points per game. This score is not very high, but it also needs to be compared horizontally. At least in that season, he was able to rank seventh in the scoring list. The season's scoring leader Anthony and second-ranked Durant were only 28+.

So far this season, the Warriors have played 8 games, including not only the Clippers and Grizzlies, but also the defending champion Spurs, and there are two back-to-back games. Compared with the Thunder, the schedule is much more difficult.

The performance of the Warriors is not bad, the current 5 wins and 3 losses can be ranked fifth in the West.

And Curry is currently averaging 20 points per game, which can be regarded as a continuation of last season's performance, and it has rarely shrunk.

At the same time, his backcourt partner Thompson also evolved last season. He scored 82+ points in 16 games, and his three-point shooting percentage was over [-]%.

Since the start of this season, he has improved again. He has surpassed David Lee to become the team's second scorer, but he should still be worse than David Lee in terms of status.

At this time, Green hadn't grown up yet. He was serving as a substitute in the team, and the first brother was still the starter. The Warriors' starting five were Splash Brothers + First Brother + David Lee, and finally there was a dead man.

This lineup is relatively traditional, and it can be said that it has both inside and outside. David Lee was also a star player, and he can still contribute 18+9 data steadily.

The seat of the coach was still Mark Jackson, the coach who later stabbed Curry in the back, always thought he was robbed of the peach by Cole.

But just like Brooks felt wronged after get out of class, when your leadership performance does not meet the expectations set by the team itself, there is nothing to say about giving up on you when the management wants to change.

If Cole fails later, he can still satirize the management and Curry. The problem is that Cole succeeds, and Curry never said anything bad about him. It can only be said that some people always have something in their minds.

In fact, Mark Jackson was also very fierce when he was a player. Many people know that the five-second violation rule is related to Barkley's big butt. Mark Jackson actually also contributed.
And Mark Jackson not only has a butt as big as Barkley, but also has a big mouth. After retiring, he made a lot of sharp comments.

So before the start of the game, when he was interviewed by reporters, he didn't know whether it was a whim or some kind of stimulation. He actually told reporters that he wanted to teach the rookie a lesson and welcome him to the NBA, even ignoring the fact that Li Sheng won the championship with the Spurs last season and the current record this season is also quite magnificent.

Of course, as long as he said it, it's not surprising at all.

What is different from the coaches is that Curry and David Lee, the current leaders of the Warriors, are relatively humble. Thompson is relatively free in the interview. On the contrary, Bogou likes to talk nonsense to add drama to himself. Knowing what Mark Jackson said in the interview before the game, he echoed it.

Of course, the media provoked the rhythm over there. In order to increase the traffic, they naturally turned around and came to Li Sheng to provoke trouble.

Li Sheng seemed a little baffled by this, but he didn't want to take the limelight, so he kept a low profile.

The main reason is that although they won the last game and the team's momentum is booming, but after all, this is the first back-to-back game they have experienced, and it is still an away game. The player's state will definitely be affected, and he doesn't want to put too much pressure on the players for nothing.

Mark Jackson likes to create pressure on players and himself, that's his business, but Li Sheng knows when to be high-key and when to be low-key.

But obviously he still underestimated the ethics of the media, thinking that nothing would happen if he didn't speak?
Just put a photo of Li Sheng's expressionless face in the opening picture, and the news depends on editing, not just talking. Just put a photo of Li Sheng's expressionless face, and you can start to say that Li Sheng is not optimistic about the next game, and the Thunder may be in danger.

But that's all, Li Sheng just didn't want to engage in a scolding battle before the game, not to mention the general harmony with the Warriors this day.

If he really wins the game in the end, he is not without temper, that Mark is waiting to be slapped in the face.

Adelman has a lot to say on this point...

In fact, Li Sheng already has the idea of ​​​​playing against the Warriors, similar to the Clippers, and he is also making a fuss about the core players.

Although the Warriors have not yet completely revolved around the engine of Curry, and there is no so-called "curry has gravity", after trading away Alice, the core of this Warriors team is undoubtedly this thin point guard who is about to shine.

What's different from dealing with Paul is that you can't double-team against Paul, otherwise it will be his most comfortable style of play. He can really pass the ball to kill you.

And facing Curry, you have to double-team. Although Curry can pass the ball and organize, the Warriors are obviously just in their infancy in using his off-ball containment power, and he is still relatively jerky when facing double-teams.

Of course, it is impossible to completely restrict Curry by doing this, but if it is difficult for him to perform, the Warriors may not be able to win easily even if they want to win. After all, no one else has the ability to kill the Thunder.

Tang Shen does have this threat, but he is still in the growth stage.

In fact, this season Thompson has begun to show his talents. He has scored 30+ games in three games and averaged 19.6 points per game.

But relatively speaking, after seeing his statistics in the opening season, Li Sheng felt that it did not match his impression of Tieguanyin, because sometimes his low scores may be due to the small number of shots, and even less than ten times twice.

The scores of the two teams were also extremely low in that game. The Warriors lost by two points 74:76. Those who didn't know thought they had returned to the so-called iron-blooded defensive era.

However, Curry was absent in that game and lost a core player. For the Warriors, it must still have an impact.

As for the Spurs, it is not uncommon for it to score low-scoring games, and it can also pull the opponent to the same level and then defeat the opponent. Otherwise, how could it play "the ugliest finals" with the Pistons.

Later, the Buddha, who took on more offensive responsibilities, appeared to be more ups and downs than the current Thompson, and he was no different from those ghostly shooters.

It's just that he is very accurate when he is accurate, and he is even very stable. He can shoot in any way, and his explosive scoring power can be found in history. After all, not everyone can score 37 points in a single quarter, 29 points in 60 minutes in three quarters, and 14 three-pointers in a single game.

But when he was cheating, he was also very cheating. Even in the playoffs, except for 19 years, in fact, his cheating and accuracy were basically [-]-[-].

So if Curry Thompson exploded after being held down, and encountered the first version of "Buddha's Light", then there is really no way but to admit that it is unlucky.

This is what was scary about the Warriors later on. What was really scary was after Durant joined.

The offensive power of the "Three Tsunami Brothers" overflowed, so that Green's offensive role was greatly shortened and eventually even degraded.

At least Green hasn't grown up yet, and the Splash Brothers are still progressing. The Warriors are not as strong as they will be in the future, so even if the Thunder loses Westbrook, Li Sheng feels that there is nothing he can't fight.

Mark Jackson, among other things, his training and use of the Splash Brothers is still in place. The two have grown into a well-known backcourt duo in the league under his hands. The arrival of Cole brought Green up to form the "Iron Triangle".

In terms of defense, although there are two weaknesses that can be targeted in the starting lineup, he still does a good job; but his offensive tactics are also similar to those before the Thunder, a bit monotonous, and not as much as Cole later.

Either David Lee was singles inside, or Curry used a screen in the half court or directly threw it, and then there was a pick-and-roll or something. Thompson also came out to catch the ball around the screen, a typical off-ball shooter.

This doesn't seem to be a big problem, and it can be regarded as bringing out the characteristics of the players, but obviously they haven't given full play to their advantages.

The space brought by the Splash Brothers has not been well utilized. In fact, it still depends on Chuanqie at this point.

Although the pass-and-cut tactics were thoroughly studied by the league later, and Cole also likes to cling to players when they degenerate, which is criticized, but in most of the regular season, this tactic is effective when it is not targeted.

Winning more in the regular season is also good for the playoffs, so Li Sheng is actually borrowing part of it from the Thunder. Anyway, it is difficult to determine which kind of tactics the Thunder is playing.

On the contrary, it is the current Warriors-in Li Sheng's view, this game is a bit like the Thunder using the way the Warriors will fight in the future against the Warriors who are still a bit like the Thunder.

In addition to the tactical changes in today's game, Li Sheng also specially adjusted the starting lineup, bringing Robertson up and asking him to defend Curry.

Sefolosha is still more comprehensive offensively and defensively than Robertson, but his footsteps are not as fast as before, and the defense cannot completely cover the opponent.

Robertson's athletic ability is stronger. Facing Curry, he can make better use of his physical advantages. On the one hand, he can give enough confrontation.

Of course, Li Sheng also made a plan for the referee not to give face, so it would be a big deal to change Sefolosha back.

But considering Curry's inverted cone treatment, it should be fine.

In addition, with Perkins' body and state, he was rested in back-to-back games, and Gobert was also taken as the starter. Of course, the substitute rotation must be adjusted accordingly, and Fisher will also get a chance to play.

Fortunately, even if this was predicted before, the water cooler still has two center forwards, Thabeet and Orton, which can also be used in this game. It depends on the performance of the recent training game, so Orton has entered the roster for the game and may appear in rotation.

Both of them played in the garbage time of the previous game, but they didn't play much time and didn't show much. Today's talk mainly depends on whether Orton can play a part of Perkins' role. After all, the two types are quite similar.

Oracle Arena is also a well-known devil's home stadium in the league, especially now that the team is thriving, and the home team that got rid of the status of the belly certainly made the local supporters extremely excited.

In the later Datong Center, it was difficult to see such a unified scene of Oracle. Maybe it was because there were more rich people there, and they were more reluctant to let go?
Anyway, after introducing the home team and then the Thunder came out, Li Sheng heard deafening boos as soon as he came out, which made him wonder whether Curry had switched to the Thunder, or there was some deep hatred between the two teams.

But it can be seen that for the team's game today and the current number one in the Western Conference, no matter what their position is, the fans are full of expectations.

"...I hope that both sides can contribute a wonderful game for us today. Well, now we are going to prepare for the jump ball. Today, the Thunder replaced the rookie Gobert at the fifth position. This is also his first starting appearance this season, and he will also perform the jump ball."

This is the first jump ball in Gobert's NBA regular season career. Even if the summer league also skipped the ball before, it is still a bit different from this time.

And today's first start made him a little flattered, but also a little stressed.

I didn't pay attention when jumping the ball, and the jump was late, allowing Bogou to touch the ball first, and Curry got the basketball, so the Thunder quickly retreated and fell into position, and the Warriors also began to move forward.

When Li Sheng saw that Curry came up and made a three-pointer from the outside with the help of Bogou's screen, he immediately asked Gobert to switch defenses in time.

I have to say that Bogou's cover is really solid. Robertson actually thought of leaving some space in advance, but he was still blocked by him, and then it was delayed for maybe a second or two, and Curry shot directly.

An important feature of Curry's three-pointer that makes people defenseless is the fast rate of fire. As long as there is a little space, you can shoot directly.

So like Brother Nongmei, who has a big defensive mask and fast feet, and has overshadowed many three-point defenders, when facing Curry, he is beaten again and again, powerless every time.

Gobert certainly couldn't defend Curry when he switched defenses. The famous scene "court waltz" was him being teased, but Li Sheng didn't want him to be able to defend, but to delay or force Curry to break through.

There is Ibaka on the inside and Robertson next to him. They are all strong defensemen. Even if Curry succeeds in breaking through, he will face a more powerful defender immediately if he switches defenses.

Of course, he can also choose the mid-range shot. The reason why the mid-range shot will become a weapon in the playoffs is because it is always easy to expose such an area in this kind of defense.

(End of this chapter)