Start coaching the Thunder, starting with Westbrook

Chapter 227 The Last 1 Minutes
This lineup has achieved good results, at least it stabilized the situation and did not allow the Spurs to take this opportunity to open the score.

It even narrowed the point difference a little bit. Westbrook used Gobert to block people and force Baynes, attracted the defense and passed it to Ibaka. After Ibaka made a mid-range shot, the Thunder were only 1 point away.

However, the Spurs mainly played Ginobili, who is in good shape today, and forced a three-pointer from the top of the arc to hit a three-pointer.

Li Sheng made a gesture on the sidelines at this time. Westbrook saw it and nodded to show that he understood.

In fact, most teams will have their own tactical arrangements. Even when Brooks was coaching before, it doesn't mean that they all rely on the double and junior. At least other teammates still need to cooperate.

And now he barely squeezed Westbrook, the "thorny head", into the team, so after Westbrook handed the ball from the wing to Gobert, who was hard carrying Splitter to catch the ball, he immediately ran around the screen, and the other side was also running outside the screen.

Gobert's vision advantage was undoubtedly revealed at this time. He didn't choose to give it rashly, because there were risks, and finally gave it to Ennis. Ennis broke through with the ball and caused a foul on Ginobili.

Then Ginobili made another breakthrough, turned around and Westbrook also avoided the defense and scored under the basket.

Now Westbrook still relies on his body to play more, but with such a physical condition, it is indeed inevitable that people will become lazy.

Li Sheng "cares" about shooting. He may have spent a lot of effort, but Li Sheng can't control him everything, so he is negligent in other aspects.

Now when I am in good health, I can still withstand it, especially in strong confrontation shots, and I can still guarantee a certain efficiency. When my physical fitness declines in the future, my technical disadvantages will show up.

However, if you can improve your shooting a little at this time, it should still be useful by then.

Duncan also returned to the court at this time, received a pass from the basket and hit a layup. Westbrook also assisted Gobert for a dunk on the Thunder side.

The referee didn't blow the whistle rashly anymore. First, there was no suitable opportunity. Second, the Spurs were still ahead after all.

The Spurs' pass was kicked out of bounds to form a dead ball. At this time, there were still 6 minutes in the game. After thinking about it, Li Sheng did not let Durant play at this time, but replaced Robertson and Antetokounmpo. In this way, except for Durant, the starting lineup is complete again, and Antetokounmpo can temporarily replace Durant.

This lineup has also been practiced, and the best effect is the three-point connection between Westbrook, Antetokounmpo and Gobert, interspersed with Ibaka and Robertson's mutual cover moves.

Soon after Westbrook scored a goal, the Thunder defended against the Spurs' next attack. As soon as Westbrook started running fast, Green made a tactical foul.

During this period of time, Westbrook's efficiency is very high. In addition to his personal status, the cooperation of teammates with him is also the key.

Li Sheng always felt that Westbrook in the MVP season was holding back a lot of energy, and when he lost his energy in the playoffs, he felt that he had nothing.

And if his impact is used well, it can still be effective. The key is that he can't always let the ball in his hands. In fact, Westbrook is quite suitable for playing off the ball, but it is not the 3D type of outside shooting point guard.

At this point, Li Sheng is referring to Payton Jr., who will help the Warriors win the championship in the future. He has a guard body and a forward style of play. Li Sheng thinks that the two can have similarities, and Westbrook can also go in his direction.

It is said that Westbrook is "James among guards", and the two are indeed very similar. James can also play off the ball. His cooperation with Wade in the Heat is a must.

But the key issue is that in the previous life, the Thunder never had an organizer who could share the power of double and short balls. Later, Durant left and Pickled Pepper came, and Pickled Pepper didn't work either.

Looking at the team behind George and Leonard, there is also a lack of an organizer. As a result, the two of them were not able to exert the effect of 1+1 greater than 2.

This point is not the same as the Heat's James Way. Both of them can attack and defend well, and they can organize and lead the team separately.

Looking back, the referee finally couldn't hold back to do things. Westbrook, who performed well during this period, was also targeted by them, although this time they also blamed Westbrook for being cheap.

In this regard, Westbrook and Curry are a bit similar-how come the similarities are their shortcomings?

Knowing that the referee will stare at him, he still often pays for an unnecessary foul because he wants to grab the ball from above.

Although it was just an ordinary foul, it had already reached the cumulative number of fouls, which means that as long as there is a foul next, it will directly send the opponent to the free throw line.

Li Sheng couldn't say anything, he could only tell them on the sidelines not to reach out easily, and not to give the referee a chance.

This was said very loudly, and the referee was still nearby, of course he heard it, but he glanced at him and pretended not to hear it.

Now Li Sheng is also a special case in the league. Others are the main players. The Thunder's coach has received more attention. On the one hand, this is because Li Sheng wants to make the outside public opinion more concentrated on himself, so that the players can avoid interference.

After all, a young coach with an image like Li Sheng is unprecedented in the decades of NBA history, and he has a solid record as a guarantee, not just an "idol school".

If he led the team to the best record in the rookie season, and then won the championship directly, then Li Sheng would naturally attract the attention of the world without even being pushed by the league.

Another reason is that Li Sheng is backed by the huge market on the other side. Since Dayao, Huaguo players have not lived up to expectations. Including Kong Kongyi and others, none of them can gain a foothold in the league.

Later, a "Linsanity" came out, but after two years, it has disappeared from everyone.

This situation is not conducive to the further promotion of the league. Although the fan market over there is not small, who would think that they can earn more money?

In particular, the NBA officials will negotiate a new broadcast contract with them in the future. The benefits brought by Li Sheng must also be included in this, and his attractiveness to the market there must also be taken into consideration, so the NBA president does not mind giving him more attention and publicity to make him more famous.

The referees serve the league, and of course they know who the league wants to support. Anyway, they also know that Li Sheng is not targeting them.

However, Westbrook is not currently troubled by fouls, and after all, he is one of the league's super giants and famous figures, and they are not easy to target.

Anyway, there are other rookies in this lineup who can make decisions. It’s just that the Spurs were a bit disappointed during this period, and they didn’t seize the opportunity they provided to widen the point difference. After more than four minutes, Li Sheng replaced Durant on the field, which indicated that the game had entered the decisive stage.

At this time, the score came to 89:92, and the Thunder was temporarily behind by three points, and this time it was still the Thunder's possession of the ball.

Durant singled out Leonard and scored a goal. Leonard raised his hand to signal that he had fouled, but the referee didn't blow it.

Durant spread his hands and frowned in confusion, but retreated first.

Durant received the ball from the flank and faced Durant again. They had a lot of matchups in this game. Green restricted Durant more effectively, but they had to switch defenses when Durant was looking for a cover.

On the Thunder side, Robertson wanted to greet Parker, and it was impossible for Westbrook to defend Leonard, so Durant came over to match up.

At the critical moment, the Spurs actually set up a "one big and four small" lineup. Only Duncan was inside, and Leonard was on the wing at the fourth position, pulling out to shoot or looking for one-on-one singles.

Durant's confrontation is almost impossible, and Ibaka's speed is not good. It is best to limit his Antetokounmpo from the court. It is difficult for the Thunder to defend Leonard's heads-up.

But Leonard didn't feel good today, the ball missed due to interference, and the referee almost blew his whistle, but after taking a look at Durant, he chose to let him go.

After all, he made six fouls once again, and it would be a bit too much to directly blow off the star on the opposite side at a time like this.

The key point is that Durant is not as frizzy and prone to fouls as Howard, and he is also familiar with some of Leonard's habits in defense. It is not so easy to trick him into fouling.

However, the Thunder missed the next attack. The Spurs counterattacked. Leonard received a pass from Ginobili and dunked successfully this time. The point difference was still three points.

After that, the two sides continued to play a wave of rhythm. When there was more than one minute left in the time, the Thunder approached another point. At this time, Popovich called a timeout.

In addition to adjusting tactics, this timeout is also to let the players rest. Duncan has played 34 minutes today. Although he rested for two days before, he has been fighting hard against Gobert, Perkins, Ibaka and even Antetokounmpo. With no one else in the paint who can help him share the pressure, his consumption is very high.

Especially today when Green and Leonard are not in good condition, Ginobili has to stand up and take on more shots. At this time, Green and Leonard, who are relatively young among the five players on the field, can still withstand it. The three veterans of GDP are panting and blushing.

On the Thunder's side, Durant, who controls playing time, is still alive and well. Today's foul and early exit is a bit of a blessing in disguise. At this time, he is the main player with the best physical strength.

Don't worry about Westbrook. This is the master who can dunk dunks in double overtime. Ibaka is not easy, and Gobert is a rookie. He played 32 minutes in this game. Li Sheng took a look at him and decided to replace Antetokounmpo with better physical strength.

Another reason is that the opponent is likely to choose to kill the inside line in the back. Antetokounmpo is more mobile, and Ibaka and Ibaka can complement each other. After all, Li Sheng is still a little afraid of the Spurs' pass ball.

In the end, the two sides formed a lineup. The Thunder had Dewey, Ibaka, Antetokounmpo, and Robertson. In this lineup, except for Robertson, everyone was strong on the offensive end, and everyone on the defensive side was not weak. Anyway, they would not become the opponent's breakthrough.

The Spurs did not make any substitutions. They were still Parker, Ginobili, Green, Leonard, and Duncan. This was their consistent winning lineup. Occasionally, when something needed to be changed, Diaw or Belinelli might be brought up, but they were afraid that their defense would not match up.

In fact, their lineup also has such a defensive weakness as Parker, so Durant found a chance to play in a misplaced single.

Leonard next to him let go to help defend, and Durant immediately passed to Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo turned around and wiped away Manu Ginobili who was pressing up, and then hit Westbrook who was running.

Duncan didn't dare to stretch out his hand casually at this time, and he couldn't hope that the referee would not blow it.

Fortunately, Parker finally scored a goal before, but then Parker missed. In the last 20 seconds, Green had to step forward and make another tactical foul.

But the Spurs have also accumulated a number of times, so this time Westbrook was directly sent to the free throw line.

Westbrook has scored 13 points so far in the fourth quarter, and has scored 30 points in this game. He also scored 9 rebounds and 10 assists. A triple-double is likely.

Today Durant was trapped for a foul, but Westbrook and Antetokounmpo both stood up, otherwise it would be really difficult to deal with the 8 people on the opposite side.

However, there was a problem with Westbrook's free throw at the critical moment. He only made one of the two free throws.

The two teams drew again, but the Spurs still had another chance in more than 20 seconds. Popovich did not call a timeout, intending to let the players on the field solve it by themselves. Anyway, as long as they press down and don't leave too much time for the Thunder to attack, their chances of winning are still greater.

At least it can enter overtime, so the pressure on the players will be relatively small.

At this time, Uduka came up to Li Sheng's ear and asked, "Li, should we foul first?"

Li Sheng frowned and thought for a while, but still shook his head and said, "Don't worry, just wait..."

Popovich chooses to trust the players, and of course Li Sheng also trusts his players, not to mention that anything can happen on the field, if a timeout or a foul is called at this time, it might blow up his mentality instead.

Even if they can't defend this time, they will at least have another chance to attack. For a few seconds, they can also exercise the players' big hearts.

What's more, their chances of defending are not small, because the opponent's physical strength has also dropped drastically at this time.

(End of this chapter)