Junior Basketball says

Chapter 326
Xu Hao is looking forward to the match against Westbrook. In fact, Westbrook is the same. He has always been worried about the Thunder's loss in the last game of the regular season against the Timberwolves.In that game, Xu Hao won the data and even won the game. He scored 25 points, 9 rebounds and 13 assists in a quasi-triple double, while Westbrook only had 11 points and 4 assists.

But now is the more important playoffs, only one team can step on the stage of the Western Conference Finals, Westbrook is thinking of being able to step on Xu Hao, and help the Thunder eliminate the Timberwolves by the way, and maintain the hope of winning the championship hope.

But Brooks obviously didn't intend to let him compete with Xu Hao endlessly during the game. The day before the game, he called Westbrook into the office and said straight to the point: "Russell, I hope you can put more Focus on the defensive end, try to entangle Xu Hao, don't let him score easily, and the offensive task can be handed over to Kevin to complete."

Westbrook's face changed, and he laughed dryly: "Coach, I can't guard him, let me attack with the ball!"

Brooks didn't even look at him, and said lightly: "Don't give me sloppy eyes, I don't know you yet? Don't you just want to compete with him? If you can guard him and prevent him from scoring smoothly, then that's okay." You have the upper hand."

Westbrook wanted to say something more, but Brooks gave him a hard look, and he withered in an instant, and could only leave the office sullenly.Brooks knows his starting point guard very well. This is a point guard with a shooting guard heart. Going to the basket and scoring is his first priority on the court. It is more difficult for him to concentrate on defense than to kill him, but Brooks must do so. Do.

Although Xu Hao is only a second-year rookie, his strength has been recognized by the entire league. Many people think that he will quickly grow into the league's top point guard. If only Sefolosha is used to defend, Brooks is not at ease. .That's why he hopes that Westbrook will do more on the defensive end. His physical fitness determines that he is an excellent defender, but usually he usually uses his strong body as an offensive weapon, and rarely concentrates on defense. That's all.

Brooks usually likes to get along with the players in the locker room, and the relationship between the generals is very good, but when he gives instructions seriously, everyone will strictly abide by them.Although Westbrook really wanted to hold the ball and tear apart Xu Hao's defense, now that the head coach had given him a task, he had no choice but to accept it.

The next afternoon, the entire Timberwolves team came to the Thunder's home stadium, the Ford Center, ahead of schedule. They were shocked by the madness of the Oklahoma fans as soon as they arrived.Oklahoma is a small city, but there are no other American professional sports league teams in this city except the Thunder, so as long as you are a sports fan, you must be a supporter of the Thunder.

Along the way, everyone felt that the streets and alleys of the whole city had become a blue ocean, which was also the main color of the Thunder, as if the whole city was their supporters. I really didn’t know that in this small city of more than 60 people, Where are there so many fans.

In contrast, the Thunder fans are quite restrained, there is not much cursing except for boos, and the cheering cards that everyone carries are basically praises for the Thunder's third junior and other players, and they can deliberately mock and curse from afar visiting team.

This made many people breathe a sigh of relief. They didn't dare to play in a hostile atmosphere. God knows what would happen after the game if they won.However, this does not mean that the Thunder is easy to deal with. Xu Hao knows very well that the two teams will definitely become rivals in the future, and to be honest, the overall talent of the Timberwolves is not as good as that of their opponents.

McHale returned to his regular starting lineup for this game, knowing that the small lineup against the Spurs would no longer have any effect.Brooks did not make any adjustments, and the starting lineup of Westbrook, Sefolosha, Durant, Ibaka and Collison is still the same. Xu Hao's good brother Harden continues to serve as the team's number one substitute.

Before the game, McHale told Xu Hao to deal with Sefolosha. He believed that the Thunder would let the Swiss defender take on the heaviest defensive task.Xu Hao thought so too. After all, he is the Timberwolves' top outside scorer, and Sefolosha is the Thunder's strongest outside defender. Unless there is something wrong with the Thunder's head coach, he will definitely be allowed to counterpoint.

However, Xu Hao underestimated Brooks' guard against him. The Thunder not only let Sefolosha come up to defend, but also let Westbrook and him form a double team. The purpose is very clear, that is, to prevent Xu Hao from scoring easily.

This kind of treatment made Xu Hao frown. This is not a line of defense that can be easily torn apart.Sefolosha's physical condition is very good. He has both size and toughness, and he is keen on defense. In the game, he has a calm mind and can often judge the opponent's passing line, and is rarely deceived by the opponent's numerous fake moves. Down, both single defense and complementary defense are very powerful.

Westbrook's physical fitness is even stronger. He is extremely fast and explosive. Although he often makes some gambling steals, as a supplement to Sefolosha, he is still fully capable.The Thunder's starting backcourt combination built an impregnable wall in front of Xu Hao, and their mad dog-like close-fitting press made Xu Hao feel a headache.

Under such circumstances, Xu Hao not only couldn't score, he didn't even have the chance to organize an offense.Sefolosha was very accurate in judging his passing route. Xu Hao could only pass the ball to his teammates closer to the center line, and he had no choice but to start running empty-handed.The other outside players of the Timberwolves basically have no organizational skills. Love can only move to the top of the arc for flanking, which makes him feel very uncomfortable. He can indeed shoot three-pointers, but the shooting with the ball is much weaker than the catch-and-shoot .

Instead, the Thunder took the lead. When Westbrook concentrated on defense, the Thunder basically concentrated on Durant.The lanky small forward lived up to the trust of the coach and his teammates. He scored consecutive points from the first round of the Thunder's offense to help the team take the lead. Brewer was not enough for him.

The current situation of the Timberwolves makes Xu Hao very anxious. As long as a young team like the Thunder takes the lead, their morale will be boosted and they may show stronger strength.Now the Thunder's momentum is ready to rise. If the Timberwolves don't respond to this, it will be difficult to compete with the opponent in terms of morale. If that is the case, it will be even more difficult to win.

(End of this chapter)