NBA Legends Manager

Chapter 384 Wake up, change tactics!
This year's Christmas game, the Pelicans will play away against the Thunder!

The previous winning streak of the Pelicans was ended by the Thunder, so the players in this game are holding back their energy and want to win!

Of course, the Thunder also need this victory very much. Since the start of the game, the Thunder have played very well. Both offensively and defensively, the team's current record is second only to the Pelicans, temporarily ranking second in the Western Conference, and only 3 wins behind the Pelicans. The Thunder understands very well that home court advantage is a must if they want to beat the Pelicans in the playoffs. Every time they reached tiebreakers before, they ended up losing because of home court advantage. Therefore, today's game must be won!
So this game is obviously a playoff-strength game.

Before the game, public opinion was almost one-sided. Except for the Thunder fans, almost all fans believed that the Pelicans would win, but Presti did not dare to underestimate the opponent. He knew the potential of the Thunder players too well. Back then, only Westbrook, Durant, and Ibaka could push the 73-win Warriors to a desperate situation!

Thunder starting: Westbrook, Matthews, Durant, Ibaka, Jordan Jr.

Pelicans starting lineup: Curry, Thompson, Paul George, Green, Davis

Obviously, both sides valued this game very much today, because both sides set up a net against each other's trump cards: the Thunder launched a pick-and-roll against Curry, squeezed hard to chase Curry through the screen, and Jordan shrank and squatted to guard the penalty area;
The Pelicans mainly play Curry/Paul George + Davis to instigate a high pick-and-roll. Curry uses a single block to attack the basket to challenge Jordan or feed the cake to end with Davis;The Thunder focused on singles, with Ibaka and Westbrook mid-range singles, supplemented by Jr. Jordan's low position to force Gobert by force. Of course, this tactic did not succeed, and Jr. Jordan's ability to finish at the basket was urgent!
首个暂停之际，雷霆7-6领先鹈鹕1分。雷霆9中3，爵士8中3，鹈鹕得分全部集中在禁区！

Seeing this intensity, Presti remembered the tough defense of the Thunder in the 15-16 season, which really forced the Warriors to have no choice!

After the timeout, Presti took the lead in changing the lineup, setting up a four-shot small ball formation: Davis + Jimmy Butler + Curry + Thompson + Paul George. The Pelicans mainly play Curry + Davis in the middle of the pick-and-roll.

The Thunder launched a high pick-and-roll with Westbrook/Harden+Jr. Jordan, creating a single-handed ball-handler from a distance, supplemented by Jordan's low-post single-handed play to attract help defense linkage and peripheral Ibaka to grab an open three-pointer. The Thunder actually blasted a 9-0 attack wave!
The Thunder's mid-range tonight surprised Presti a little. Serge Ibaka and Westbrook didn't have many mid-range games at the same time. The Thunder's home court applauded instantly, and Presti could only call a timeout.

Presti changed tactics and used Paul George as the point forward. The Pelicans launched an offense with Paul George + Davis high-position pick-and-roll. Paul George made a sudden point linkage with Thompson, Curry finished with a three-pointer from the outside, and Davis went down to attack the basket. , Paul George connected the whole team with 8 assists in the first quarter! !
首节战罢，雷霆凭借威少和伊巴卡的出色的中距离手感，领先鹈鹕1分。雷霆命中率达到40.9%，三分球7中1；而鹈鹕命中率却只有39.1%，三分球10中2！鹈鹕禁区得分16-9雷霆，保罗乔治2分2篮板4助攻！

Looking at the shooting percentage in the first quarter, Presti felt a little uncertain. Tonight, under the high-intensity defense of the Thunder, he felt cold. If this continues, it will be difficult tonight.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Adams + Collison + Durant + Jeremy Lamb + Harden VS Gobert + David West + Jimmy Butler + Bradley + Livingston.

The Thunder's main player Harden + Adams launched a high pick-and-roll, Durant used the off-ball screen to cut out the ball and made a long-range shot to end; the Pelicans second team used Jimmy Butler to instigate the pick-and-roll to sort out the offense!
But the whole team felt very bad tonight, with 5 of 0 shots and 4 turnovers. Even the most stable David West didn't score at the basket, and made a mistake when he was double-teamed!The Pelicans fell into a 3-minute scoring drought, and the Thunder itself is a team that catches mistakes and counterattacks. Of course, they will not miss these opportunities and pull the score to 7 points in one fell swoop!
Presti had no choice but to switch the home team back. Tonight’s starters and substitutes feel very average, but this also reminds Presti that although this year’s Thunder is not as good as last year’s lineup, it’s clear that this year’s player level has improved, and the defense is much stronger than before, especially Westbrook. He used to defend the weak side and defend off the ball very poorly, but today he didn’t lose his position!
The same Thunder also changed the main force back. The Thunder used Westbrook to score in series, supplemented by Ibacara to open up space to shoot mid-range; the Pelicans singled out Curry on the strong side, and used the personal threat of holding the ball to attract help defenses.
Afterwards, the Thunder used Westbrook and Durant to take turns holding the ball to create a one-on-one match. Harden grabbed a three-pointer and Ibaka went down to attack the basket;
The Pelicans led the pick-and-roll offense with Curry and Paul George on the strong side. Paul George singled out the kill, and Curry and Thompson's weak side started a second time to support the linkage shooter group to grab three points!But obviously Presti made a mistake in this tactic. He didn't expect that in the second quarter, the touch still didn't recover.

At halftime, the Thunder had led the Pelicans by 13 points!At the end of the half, the Thunder's shooting percentage had risen to 45.5%, 11 of 2 three-pointers; the Pelicans F's shooting percentage was even lower, only 33.3%, and 24 of 5 three-pointers.

In the second half, the Pelicans focused on strong-side pick-and-rolls, using the Thunder to pinch Curry and weak-side shrinks to help defend Davis, creating open three-point opportunities for shooters ambushing in the bottom corner.

And this tactic also played a role. When the Thunder began to flank Curry, Paul George was emptied and directly hit a three-pointer. In the next round, the Thunder did not dare to defend against Paul George, but they still flanked Curry, leaving Davis free.

On the defensive end, Westbrook put Westbrook in the middle distance. After missing a few shots this time, he chose to cooperate with Jordan. The high throw wanted to catch alleys, but Davis directly blocked him. Jordan wanted to attack Davis in the low post again, but was directly interfered out of bounds. , and the Thunder is obviously scoring shortage, can only rely on Westbrook's foul to barely get two points, the Pelicans responded with a 8-13 attack wave!

soon.The Pelicans used this tactic to force Durant to go to the penalty area to help defend. Soon Durant had 4 fouls on his back, and the Thunder could replace them for a rest, but the Thunder's double guards of Westbrook and Harden achieved a miraculous effect at this time!

The Pelicans used the pick-and-roll, but made several mistakes when they split the ball. Westbrook and Harden took advantage of the Pelicans' mistakes to push back quickly!Today, when the Pelicans faced two defenders with different styles, Westbrook and Harden, their defense was very uncoordinated, and the Thunder succeeded several times!

Westbrook was fast, and Harden's rhythm changed. During the retreat process, his teammates did not communicate well, which made Westbrook go in and make a successful layup. Harden retreated too far back, directly giving Harden shooting space, and Harden easily threw a three-pointer!
During this period of time, the Pelicans used Curry and Paul George to attack the basket with one-on-one blocks. Of course, the point difference was still barely maintained, but when these two breakthrough masters went down to rest, the Pelicans fell into a scoring drought, and the Pelicans' offensive firepower in the second team was unsustainable!
Especially Tonight's David West's basket was underwritten, and the external feel was not good. It was dumb and helpless. He could only rely on Jimmy Battler to impact the penalty area. Lvvinton was backward behind him, but the effect was average. In the Thunder, Harden continued to chase Bradley. Radley's hesitation, which directly led to Harden's offensive, ended 13 points ahead of Thunder in three quarters!
In the fourth quarter, the Thunder's touch finally went down. When the Pelicans were chasing points, Curry + Davis and Thompson launched a high pick-and-roll.
The Pelicans finally came back to chase points at this stage. Curry used the pick-and-roll to hit a three-pointer, then broke through to attract the help defense, and then scored an outside line. Thompson hit another three-pointer. At this stage, Curry scored 6 points, 3 assists and 1 steal to help the team chase points!
However, due to the previous defensive strength of the Thunder, the physical strength has declined, and both defense and offense are not as good as the previous three quarters. The Pelicans took this opportunity to retaliate to the 14-4 attack wave and narrow the point difference to 7 points!
In the decisive period, Presti boldly used Curry who feels the best tonight as the terminator for the rest of the period. He mainly played Curry and Davis pick-and-roll duo, and the others were responsible for opening up the space!

Curry used a single block to break through and kill and take over, and when he attracted the help defense to double-team, he released the ball again, allowing Paul George and Thompson on the outside to finish the shot, but at the last moment the Thunder used Durant as the main attacker.

But Westbrook and Harden took over the game at the last moment. In these few pinches, Westbrook and Harden all made shots!When the Pelicans attacked, the Thunder still resolutely double-teamed Curry. Paul George and Thompson failed to make a hit due to the interference of the Thunder's quick defense and supplementary defense.

整场比赛，雷霆最后的命中率45.6%，三分球20中7；而鹈鹕最后的命中率只有36.4%，三分球则是43中13。雷霆失误16次，其中鹈鹕抢断1则是2次。雷霆快攻得分15-8鹈鹕，另外雷霆禁区得分也是46-41高于鹈鹕！

After the game, people commented that this Christmas game was so exciting: the two teams’ game styles were extremely tough, and under the same level of defensive strength confrontation, the Thunder had an overall advantage in athletic ability; and the Pelicans tonight were obviously not normal Pelicans.

In addition, the Pelicans are actually taking the "three-core drive" route this season. Curry, Paul George, and Davis can all instigate pick-and-roll offenses, averaging 7.1, 4.3, and 1.4 assists per game. Of course, Davis is still immature.

In addition, the Pelicans averaged 40.0 three-pointers per game this season, ranking first in the league; after the pick-and-roll started, using Curry to single out opponents, Davis or Jimmy Butt or even Gobert’s strong side threat to create a lot of open three-point opportunities for the wings, Presti made the Pelicans a magic ball path in small balls.

Presti seriously reflected on today's game. This game is like the tie-break game between the Rockets and the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals of the 17-18 season in the previous life.

Therefore, the tactics of the Pelicans must be changed. Previously, Presti always believed that the team has so many three-pointers, even if they fail, they cannot all fail.

There is no doubt that the Thunder and Spurs will be the two biggest enemies of the Pelicans today. The Thunder is a team with a completely different style from the Pelicans. This season, the Thunder can average 12.4 offensive rebounds and 9.8 steals per game, ranking first in the league.

And the Thunder's fierce defense, defensive tactics and desperate Saburo-style game passion are definitely the Pelicans' biggest enemy in the playoffs. Especially this year, the Thunder has no injuries and is more threatening than the Spurs.

(End of this chapter)