unfinished glory

Chapter 265 Raiders
In the last game, the Thunder team was stimulated by Li Chongxiao's trophy. They played a bit frivolously. They started too hard and exhausted their physical strength, which led to the final loss.

This time they learned their lesson and played much more steadily.

The Gasol brothers' national teammate Ibaka successfully jumped the ball, and the Thunder took the lead in attacking.Westbrook organized, instead of diving into the Grizzlies' inside line, he handed the ball to Durant and asked the elder brother to take the first shot.

Facing Battier's defense, Durant took a step inside the three-point line and scored a jumper.In the next few offenses, they relied on pick-and-rolls and played more efficiently. In the first quarter, they made 8 of 6 shots and scored 12 points.

Li Chongxiao did not defend Durant at the beginning of the game, but chose to respond with offense, scoring 13 points on 10 of 24 shots.If the Thunder don't defend well, I'm afraid it will be another high-scoring game, and it may even score 60 points.

When many fans watch the game, they always feel that high scores are piled up with the number of shots.Of course, it is correct in theory, but not to mention whether you can make a shot, first of all, you have to be able to take so many shots.

Shooting in a game is not on the practice field. Shooting 40 times is the same as playing.This kind of shooting under high-intensity confrontation consumes physical strength every time he takes a shot. There is no inhuman physical strength. It is a joke to claim that he can take 40 shots.

Better than McGrady, in the game with a career-high 62 points, he only made 6 of 1 shots in the fourth quarter and missed 4 free throws. After the game, he even bluntly said that he was exhausted.

And how many shots did he make in this game? 37 times.

Sometimes it is not something you can shoot if you want to. When you encounter a strong defensive player, it is difficult to shoot.Refer to Chamberlain's defense of Bellamy and Magician, which makes people unable to make shots and avoid being blocked.

Li Chongxiao is also known as an attacker's nightmare. He limits the opponent's singles hit rate to 20%, a very terrifying statistic.

Kobe's hit rate against him was less than four layers, and James was just over 40%. Some very young players didn't even have a chance to shoot.

Just like Harden in these two games, once he fell into Li Chongxiao's defense, he couldn't break free.In the first quarter, he and Li Chongxiao faced each other for 6 minutes without taking a single shot.

During the break between festivals, Harden drank a sports drink, panting constantly, and his face was very ugly.

Thunder coach Brooks comforted him in the past, but did not make any tactical adjustments.Harden being defended by Li Chongxiao is better than being defended by Durant. Sacrificing a sixth man in exchange for the liberation of the core of the team is a big profit.

The game was tied at 31 in the first quarter. At the beginning of the second quarter, Li Chongxiao sat on the sidelines. Harden finally got a chance to play. Facing the defense of rookie Thompson, he scored the first point with a mid-range shot.

Then he assisted Westbrook for a layup.

The Thunder's three offensive players can have two on the court at the same time, keeping the team's offensive firepower.

They even have a fourth giant, Ibaka. Although the offensive end is average, the defense is a titan. He won the block leader this season, and he ranked third in the selection of the best defensive player and entered the best defense line-up.

In contrast, the Grizzlies' second lineup has no one who can initiate an impact. Most of the time, Gasol or Conley can only play with a substitute lineup, which is more than stable and not aggressive enough.

The sixth man of most teams will be an offensive player, because what most teams need is to bite the score in the bench time, not to prevent the opponent from scoring.

Defense is a systemic matter that requires a long-term tacit understanding. It cannot be done by substitute players who come and go in good and bad conditions.

The Thunder were scoring and the Grizzlies couldn't respond, so they used the bench time to get some leads.

When all the main players came on the field, the two teams were in an offensive stalemate again.

The game entered the second half, and Li Chongxiao began to defend Durant.Durant's shooting rate is like a diver, bouncing in the air, and then plummeting.

But it's like whack-a-mole, hit this, and then that comes out.Durant is silent, Westbrook and Harden are active again.

Battier and Conley have good defense, but not enough defense to prevent opponents from scoring.The offensive side is always active, and the defensive side is always passive.

After the third quarter, the Thunder won by 10 points.

By the fourth quarter, Durant got used to Li Chongxiao's defense, coupled with the big meat shield Perkins' pick-and-roll, he finally found some touch.

This made the Grizzlies' perimeter defense even more uncomfortable. There was no collapse, but it failed to shrink the score.Although Li Chongxiao's two consecutive three-pointers scared Brooks into a cold sweat, the Thunder still took a 5-point lead to get through.

……

The loss at home made the Grizzlies reflect a lot. On the defensive end, they can do this to the same extent, and it is unlikely to go further.

And when it comes to defense, they don't necessarily have an advantage over the Thunder.The opponent's Perkins big meat shield and Ibaka's block king are even better than the Gasol brothers.

As for the outside line, the Thunder's three juniors may not have enough defensive experience, but they are young, able to run, have high physical fitness, and are full of vitality.Battier was dragged enough in the last game.

Realizing that defense alone can't break opponents, the Grizzlies decided to find a way first on offense.

As the loser, they took the lead in the away game and took Thompson, who had a stronger offense, as the starter.

Li Chongxiao scored 12 points in five consecutive hits in the opening game, which suddenly made the Thunder nervous, fearing that he might run away and widen the point difference.The Grizzlies will be determined to defend a 10-point advantage, and the Thunder will find it very troublesome if they want to break through.

So they stepped up their defense against Li Chongxiao, changing from a normal two-team to three people chasing and intercepting.

At this time, Thompson's role was revealed. Taking advantage of Li Chongxiao's restraint, he fired three shots in a row in the first quarter, and three three-pointers stunned the Thunder.

Compared with Battier, Thompson has a larger area of ​​activity, and the Thunder have to allocate some energy to deal with it.This gives the Grizzlies more room to attack.

This change is not temporary, and it is also reflected in the fact that after Li Chongxiao left the field, there are players who can act as offensive arrows.Thompson is not very skilled in singles, and he can achieve good results in the face of Harden's poor defense.

Sometimes a small change can indeed bring unexpected results.Just liberating some ball rights to go out, it made the whole situation active.

Since the Thunder did not dare to relax their defense against Li Chongxiao, the Gasol brothers benefited the most in this situation. The two cooperated with each other and jointly scored 47 points.

Li Chongxiao's 42 points are acceptable to the Thunder, but the offensive explosion of the Grizzlies caught the Thunder by surprise.Their on-the-spot response was not so fast, and their tactics were slow and slow, and they lost their first game at home.

With a big score of 2:1, the Grizzlies took the lead again.

(End of this chapter)