Versatile Point Forward

Chapter 357
The second game of the series just started, and the main players of their respective teams stood up. Durant naturally took on the heavy responsibility of the team's scoring. Soaring, the possession and distribution of the ball are all handed over to the old Miller to execute.

Both McMillan and Brooks sat firmly on the Diaoyutai, but their expressions were equally dignified. They both knew that although Durant and Ye Feng didn't seem to be facing each other, they were the key players in deciding the outcome of the game.The confrontation between the two sides is inevitable. Whoever wins the duel will be more likely to lead the team to victory. Brooks has great confidence in Durant, but why is McMillan worried about Ye Feng?
But no matter how confident they are, they still show respect for their opponents, which is the root cause of their solemn faces.

At this moment, there are two players who feel the most aggrieved on the court, Cunningham and Harden.Relatively speaking, Cunningham is better. He was trained by the Blazers as a 3D player. In the first game, he teamed up with Ye Feng to defend against Durant, which virtually gave him confidence.Although Durant scored consecutively on his head, Cunningham still quickly posted it every time he held the ball, just to prevent Durant from scoring comfortably, and his enthusiasm was quite high.

On the other hand, Harden has a more obvious disadvantage in height. The reason why Brooks let him defend Ye Feng instead of Sefolosha is largely due to his thick body, hoping that he can strengthen his physical confrontation Create pressure on Ye Feng.But for a long time, Harden's defense has not been considered very good, and it is even difficult to reach the passing line. It's not that he doesn't have the physical fitness to become a defensive gate, but that he doesn't have the kind of ruthlessness to bite opponents crazily.

This caused Ye Feng to be much more relaxed than Durant, repeatedly hitting shots under Harden's defense.Sefolosha didn't dare to help defend either. He was entangled with Matthews. In the previous playoffs, Matthews was quite bright in both offense and defense. The Blazers were a very threatening point on the outside, and Sefolosha didn't dare to risk leaving Matthews short to double-team Ye Feng with Harden.

The only thing he can do is to switch defenses with Harden after Ye Feng and Matthews pick and roll, which can also bring some pressure to Ye Feng.But in fact, his defense didn't play a big role. If he pushed too hard, Ye Feng would pass the ball to drive other teammates, so the Thunder's defense would be torn apart.

Ye Feng and Durant refused to give in to each other, and each took the team's first four shots, but the results were completely different.Under Cunningham's full interference, Durant accidentally hit two irons, while Ye Feng calmly made a shot on Harden's head. In fact, the scoring ability of the two is not far behind, but they are not afraid of God. The same opponents are afraid of teammates like pigs. It is obvious that Harden's defense is much worse than Cunningham's. This is why Ye Feng hit all 4 shots as soon as he came on the court.

Durant was very anxious in his heart, but the more anxious he was, the more he wanted to hit the shot as soon as possible, which invisibly separated himself from his teammates, making every Thunder attack look like a one-on-five situation.Ye Feng was different. After he scored consecutively, he began to focus on creating opportunities for his teammates. Harden couldn't prevent his breakthrough at all. Once he broke into the inside, the other players of the Blazers would undoubtedly get good shots.

Brooks used Durant to play the fourth position is indeed a stroke of genius, and quickly let Durant get rid of the dilemma of constantly encountering double-teams on the outside in the last game.But Cunningham's defensive enthusiasm was far beyond his expectations. Although Durant continued to score under his defense, Cunningham interfered with him everywhere, and he was completely indifferent to Cunningham. Like Ye Feng was as easy and freehand as he was against Harden.

In desperation, Brooks instructed Sefolosha to switch defenses with Harden, let the Swiss compete with Ye Feng, and then Harden went to match Matthews.However, this is also a dose of poison, and the problem still lies with Harden. Sefolosha is about the same height as Ye Feng, and can barely affect Ye Feng's offense, but Matthews became active again when facing Harden. Break through with the ball to attract the defense, and then distribute the ball to teammates to score.

Seeing the point difference gradually widen, Brooks also has a headache. Harden is obviously the type who focuses more on offense than defense. He is a defensive weakness on the court. The key is that he cannot be replaced. He has no cards to play. .In the second round, Cook performed well, but his touch in the last game was very cold. The occasional few minutes of this game did not make any contribution. It's useless.

Seeing that the point difference reached double digits, someone from the Thunder stood up again. This player was none other than Westbrook.As the second head of the team, when Durant can't open a breakthrough, he must stand up to help the team, and he is also the team's point guard, the possession of the ball is in his hands, he is fully capable There is also a chance to make full use of this power of his own, and he can even not distribute it to Durant.

Westbrook is called a point guard. In fact, his desire to score is very strong, and his physical fitness is extremely strong. Once he goes berserk, the old Miller cannot stop him.When he decided to let go and attack wildly, a big hole was ripped open in the Blazers' perimeter defense. He continuously broke through the attacking frame and scored the ball, helping the team quickly narrow the point difference to single digits, and faintly chased. flat trend.

McMillan quickly replaced Mills and replaced Miller as the team's point guard. Although Mills' physical fitness was not as good as Westbrook's, he was at least much better than Miller. As long as he could slow down the opponent's pace, the Blazers' inside to be able to react.

Westbrook's strong suddenness made Cunningham have to return to the inside to help defend frequently. In fact, this time is a great opportunity to pass the ball to Durant, but Westbrook is passionate and just wants to lead the team on his own. Get out of the woods and completely ignore Durant's gesture from the perimeter asking for the ball.In fact, even if he saw it, he might not necessarily score the ball. For him, the Thunder's performance in the past few seasons was really bad. He would rather score by himself than transfer the ball.

However, as the nominal center and only frame protector of the Blazers, Aldridge's performance is disappointing. He has always been afraid of such a rampant small guard, and he dare not step forward to take the initiative to fight with his body. The next is also useless for Westbrook.It was under Westbrook's consecutive scoring that the Thunder chased the score to 49 to 52 at the end of the halftime, with only a 3-point gap.

(End of this chapter)