Start coaching the Thunder, starting with Westbrook

Chapter 168 The rhythm is out of order
The Warriors in the 15-16 season seemed to have overdrawn too much luck in the regular season, and then fell to the last step of the finals. The honor almost turned into a shame. The mention of "73 wins and runner-up" seems to be a mockery.

What kind of league black hands, post-match reports, and double-standard penalties, let’s not mention that Curry’s performance has indeed dropped a level from the regular season, let alone the previous playoffs.

This may be due to injuries or due to penalty factors, but it is also a fact that he played badly. Since he played out, there is no need to find other excuses. Isn't it just to fight back later?
For example, in the second season, after recruiting a defeated player, they defeated the so-called "strongest Cavaliers in history".

So, don't talk too much at any time, after all, life will teach you, too much is too late, you should leave more retreats for yourself and others.

It may also be this experience that made the Warriors not pay so much attention to the regular season record.

The Spurs have always been smarter in this regard. In fact, they have also been able to create better records. In the year when the Warriors won 73, the Spurs also won 65+ games, which is also a historical level.

This also shows how high the upper limit of the Shuangjun Thunder is.

Sometimes it’s really not good to deliberately pursue something, but when the Warriors reached that point, the outside world kept booing, which also put a little pressure on themselves.

Just like the current Thunder, they have only [-] consecutive victories and there is similar pressure.

But Li Sheng knows that they haven't reached their limit yet, so at least squeeze the limit again.

When the team history record is broken, the initiative will be in his own hands, and he can consider the right time to lose a game.

Of course, if he can win, Li Sheng is definitely willing to continue to win, but at that time, he will definitely not work hard for a winning streak.

But then the situation on the court changed suddenly, and the Spurs still followed their style. It's not that they can't play fast, but because the team has many veterans, they will choose to press more.

And the Thunder seems to be getting stuck in their rhythm slowly. Although they can be considered fast or slow this season, Antetokounmpo and Ennis can also play positions, but Jiang is still old and hot. In front of the old and hot Spurs, they are not enough to watch, and they are completely lacking in experience.

Of course Li Sheng also noticed this and frowned.

Then in the rotation, he chose to take Reggie up, and arranged for him to play a dozen more. This pirated Westbrook has been in good shape recently, so it should be able to play a role.

Sure enough, Reggie was effective as soon as he went up. He was very fast, but it was impossible for the Spurs to allow Parker to follow him. Once he broke through to the basket, no matter whether it was Duncan, Splitter, Dior, or Ayers, they couldn't keep up.

At the beginning of this season, the Spurs also played a lot of lineups with one big and four small, or simply small lineups. For example, Boris Diaw went to the fifth position and served as a supporting center.

Dior is not only the name of a fashion brand, but also the villain in JOJO. The Chinese of the full name is dirty. As a player, he is also a very special person.

Regarding Dior, it is estimated that many fans know a legend in the Suns. During training, wearing slippers and holding coffee, he broke Stoudemire’s record for walking in the garden. Whether this story is true or not, it is obviously in line with the impression left by him to the outside fans. He is casual, eclectic, and very talented.

Known as the "French magician", Diaw was a high-profile genius when he debuted. He shined in the Suns' running and bombing tactics. When he came to the Spurs, he was no longer at the peak of his body.

At the end of the first quarter, relying on the cooperation of Dior and Ginobili, the Spurs suppressed the wave of counterattacks set off by Reggie and kept their lead until the end.

If it weren't for Ginobili's misalignment from outside the three-point line and missed two shots, the Spurs could still widen the point difference.

In the end at 19:22, the Spurs temporarily led by three points, not by much, but a kind of suppression can be seen on the scene.

In fact, it can only be seen from the score that 22 points is considered a normal performance for the Spurs. After all, they are originally a slow-paced game, including Parker's fastness.

In fact, this game is also a good reference for the Thunder. It is the direction that Li Sheng needs to work hard. After all, he has always been deeply impressed by the Spurs in the 14 Finals and yearns for it. He also hopes that his team can play like that one day.

And less than 110 points is obviously an abnormal performance for the Thunder. According to their current offensive efficiency that is currently ranked among the top three in the league this season, they can average 25+ points per game, and they should average at least [-] points per quarter to be considered normal.

Li Sheng can even feel a kind of confusion in the hearts of players such as Antetokounmpo and Gobert who are now relying on rhythm to play. In fact, this is the state where the rhythm is controlled by the opponent without knowing it, but they can't think of a way.

At this time, as the head coach, he naturally has to stand up, or at least say something.

"It's better to strengthen the defense, we must work hard to cut off their connection, so that they can't play a good chance!"

During the timeout, Li Sheng emphasized the importance of defense again and again. Although it could be seen that offense was the reason why they were so far behind, he believed that the state of offense would be recovered sooner or later, and the way to recover was to rely on defense.

In fact, this is also something rooted in the bones of this Thunder team, because their staffing is actually mainly based on defensive players, whether it is Ibaka, Perkins, Sefolosha and others, or Gobert, Antetokounmpo and Robertson among the rookies.

They not only need to use defense to promote their counterattack, but also need defense to strengthen their confidence.

The Spurs' offense is not that strong. It can even be said that their efficiency in the finals has a lot to do with Duncan and other veterans holding their breath and playing their best form, and their opponents have indeed changed. But if their opponents are not the Heat, they may change if they are replaced by the Pacers.

Of course, the result should not change, because their strength after entering the state is indeed very strong.

However, the intermission was very short, and Li Sheng couldn't arrange too much. He had to restart the game soon. He just made some adjustments to the lineup.

On the Spurs side, Duncan was at the fifth position, Ayers was at the fourth position, and Green, Ginobili + second-year rookie point guard De Colo were on the outside.

(End of this chapter)