Legendary basketball manager

At the same time, Thunder coach Brooks also made substitution adjustments.

He replaced Perkins with Harden and also played the lineup.

But otherwise, Brooks kept all of his starters.

At this time, the Thunder's lineup is: Westbrook, Harden, Sefolosha, Durant, Ibaka.

Su Qun sighed immediately after seeing this lineup: "Aren't the four core players going to rest? It seems that the Thunder is going to fight for their lives today..."

Yang Jian shook his head: "Young teams must have the courage to break the boat. Since the lineup is not as thick as the Rockets, they must make up for it with physical fitness. This game is a good one to watch!"

The game continues.

McGrady held the ball at the top of the arc and raised his hand to signal Tucker to step forward to pick and roll.

Tucker quickly stepped up and set up a screen on t-mac's right hand side.

The defensive Harden noticed Tucker's position from the corner of his eye, adjusted his position very vigilantly, and was ready to squeeze through the screen at any time.

Soon, Maddie moved.

I saw him step forward with his right foot, making a gesture to bypass the screen.

But at the next moment, McGrady made a small change in advance and dribbled the ball back to the left.

However, it was such a simple and small change of direction that caught Harden off guard, directly lost his center of gravity, and almost fell to the ground.

After getting rid of the defense, McGrady then took a step to the left, then took off and shot...

Durant, who came out of the chase, struggled to take off and block the shot.

Because he rushed so hard, he even hit McGrady directly.

But even so, Durant still couldn't prevent t-mac from completing the shot.

In the end, both of them fell to the ground.

"Beep!"

The referee also blew his whistle at this time.

Tracy McGrady and Durant sat side by side, watching the basketball fly to the hoop together.

The ball bounces high off the back of the rim, then slowly falls...

"Shu~"

There is a certain element of luck in this three-pointer, but no matter what, the goal is still scored!

Three points scored, but also a penalty...

This is a chance to hit four points!

This ball is very important to the Rockets, so after the ball was scored, there was thunderous applause in the Toyota Center Arena.

But Maddie was very calm.

He smiled slightly, and after being supported by his teammates, he pulled Durant up as well.

Durant looked annoyed.

Generally in the game, he is the one who throws such a difficult ball over the opponent's head.

Now that the "perpetrator" has become a victim, KD feels somewhat uncomfortable.

Then McGrady walked to the free throw line and the audience started chanting mvp.

t-mac took a deep breath and hit the extra penalty steadily.

At 29:24, the point difference was close to 5 points in an instant!

Offensive and defensive transition, Westbrook passed the half court with the ball, then handed the ball to Harden.

Durant also dropped to the bottom corner, acting as a shooter.

Obviously, the two of them are planning to support Harden during this time.

In this way, Harden's ball-holding characteristics can be brought into play, and they can also reduce physical energy consumption.

Harden lowered his center of gravity and observed the Rockets' defense while dribbling.

Soon, Ibaka stepped up and set up cover for him.

With the pick-and-roll, Harden got rid of George's defense, but Ben Wallace quickly posted up and was very aggressive.

But the bearded golfer was unhurried, while protecting the ball, he waited for Ibaka who was going down.

Then, Harden flicked his right wrist, made a one-handed pass, and passed the ball from Tucker's feet to Ibaka.

This pass is with a strong spin.

Therefore, before hitting the ground, it is almost flying close to the ground, and only bounces high after hitting the ground.

It is very difficult for defensive players to lower their waists to intercept in a short period of time, even as strong as Ben Wallace.

After Ibaka got the ball, the front was empty.

He jumped high and dunked with both hands!

31: 24.

Harden's organizational skills were fully reflected in this round!

Rocket attack.

McGrady, who organized the offense at the top of the arc, suddenly picked up his speed and passed Harden's defense in one step.

After reaching the penalty area, the Thunder generals had to shrink their defense.

McGrady waved his hand and passed the ball to the right corner.

The speed of this pass is not fast, but at this moment, there is no one in the right corner!

Fortunately, at the next moment, Danny Green arrived before the ball flew out of bounds.

After holding the ball firmly, Green stretched his bow and shot an arrow, and made a three-pointer...

This is another open shot with a radius of three meters that is unguarded.

For a 3D like Green, this is almost an opportunity to hold the board.

However, after the basketball crossed a beautiful arc, it slammed hard on the back edge of the basket, and the strike went wide.

[Good opportunity, I can fight back again! ]

Ibaka leaps high, ready to receive the rebound, and at the same time begins to look for the pass from the corner of his eye.

But the next moment, he suddenly felt a shadow covering him in the sky.

Looking up, an explosive head was staring at the tiger, reaching for the backboard.

The explosive muscle lines on his arms are chilling.

This person is of course Ben Wallace!

Relying on his excellent bounce and speed, he actually took off the offensive rebound on Ibaka's head.

Afterwards, Big Ben took off for the second time, preparing to fry the basket with both hands...

Ibaka's bounce speed is also very fast, and his right hand is accurately pressed on the basketball.

Generally, if a player is pressed down like this during a dunk, he will probably stop eating.

But Ben Wallace is different. He actually wants to use brute force to dunk the ball into the basket.

During this process, the two inevitably had physical contact.

In the end, Ibaka was deducted "flying", but he still stubbornly rejected the ball.

Big Ben dunked the ball on the edge of the basket, and the basketball bounced high and flew directly to the half court.

In an instant, the other eight players on the field rushed to the logo area.

The Rockets have four 2-meter-high men with strong athletic ability, but it is the Thunder point guard Westbrook who grabs the ball first!

Relying on his amazing explosive power, Westbrook snatched the ball from the gap between George and Danny Green, and then went straight to the hinterland of the Rockets.

In this period, Westbrook, once he is one step ahead, it is basically impossible for his opponents to catch up!

Just when the fans were about to appreciate his violent abuse of the basket, Westbrook just made a superficial buckle.

At 33:24, the point difference came to 9 points again.

Seeing Westbrook's offensive choices, Su Qun couldn't help sighing: "Today's Westbrook, I think it can be described as a 'calm turtle'. He knows that today he is not here to perform dunks, but to win."

Yang Jian nodded: "Such an ordinary slam dunk is definitely not comparable to Westbrook's usual slam dunk, but it definitely saves a lot of energy. This is a wise choice."

............

At the same time, Shen Fei in the stands began to pay more and more attention to this match.

If the Rockets fell behind in the first quarter because of a bad hand feel, then from the second quarter, the Thunder's offensive and defensive efficiency really showed the possibility of challenging the Rockets.

"If this group of people hadn't been replaced with detonators, they might have made great achievements..."

Shen Fei also couldn't help admiring Thunder Thunder's third young master and Ibaka's talent.

When he played 2K games in his previous life, he also simulated the situation where the Thunder kept Harden several times.

And the results of these simulations, without exception, are that Thunder has established its own dynasty.

Although it's just a game, the potential of Thunder Thunder's three young masters can also be glimpsed from this point.

And in this time and space, the growth of these three people seems to be much faster than before.

............

The game continues.

McGrady gathered his teammates together and had some words of encouragement.

The teammates nodded one after another, and no one showed a frustrated expression on their faces.

Rocket attack.

Tracy McGrady holds the ball through half court and uses a screen at the top of the key to replace the opposing defender with Ibaka.

Facing this tall man who is good at blocking shots, t-mac lowered his center of gravity and accelerated to complete the breakthrough.

After getting to the inside, he faced Durant's defense and changed hands in the air for a layup.

33: 26!

After scoring the goal, the Rockets retreated quickly.

Ben Wallace yells, "Switch!"

Everyone immediately understood that the next step was to adopt an infinite defense strategy.

Soon, Westbrook ran over with the ball and handed the ball to Harden.

Harden lowers his center of gravity and dribbles slowly.

Ibaka quickly stepped up and set up cover again.

But this time, just as Harden bypassed the screen, Big Ben and McGrady switched defenses directly.

When Brother Deng saw that it was Ben Wallace defending himself, he immediately raised his hand to signal his teammates to pull away.

He then dribbles laterally to a 45-degree angle to the left, then swings into position and starts dribbling under the crotch.

In this period, Harden's dribbling rhythm is still far behind that of his peak period, but his aggressiveness is already very impressive.

Big Ben kept his center of gravity low and focused on defense.

But when Harden changed his rhythm and took a step back, he still failed to react in time.

Harden succeeded with one move and made a decisive three-pointer.

After the basketball left his fingertips, it spun at a high speed, drawing a beautiful arc in the air...

"Shu~"

Hollow into the network!

At 36:26, the point difference came to double digits.

Big Ben stood where he was, shaking his head helplessly.

In his day, players rarely used the step-back three.

I have never seen such a three-point retreat followed by a dribble under the crotch while staying in place like this.

[Get on the body, get closer. ]

Big Ben thought for a moment and came to this conclusion.

In the next round, Harden made a comeback.

Same position, same moves...

But this time, Ben Wallace bullied himself, trying to disrupt Harden's rhythm with physical contact.

Such a change has an immediate effect.

Harden was forced to retreat step by step, and in the end he dribbled the ball to his feet in order to avoid Big Ben's ball.

The basketball rolls out of bounds, the Rockets have the ball!

"Beautiful defense! Big Ben's defensive awareness is really good. It's unrealistic for Harden to use the same move to beat him a second time."

Su Qun commented in a timely manner.

"After all, he is the winner of the best defensive player four times. Daben's on-the-spot adaptability is really strong."

Yang Jian agreed.

The game continues.

After successfully defending, the morale of the Rockets players has also been improved.

Attack round.

McGrady passes the ball to George.

Facing Harden's defense, Paojiao also put on a posture and played a crotch dribble.

His dribbling speed is not as fast as Harden's, but it is equally silky.

After some shaking, George suddenly pulled up and made a decisive shot in front of Harden...

"Shu~"

Basketball hit the net.

36: 28.

In the next round, Durant singled Danny Green and missed the shot.

Big Ben jumped high, took off the rebound, and handed the ball to McGrady immediately.

t-mac advances with the ball.

After halftime, he found Tucker who was open.

McGrady swung his hand and passed the ball accurately to the bottom corner.

Tucker raised his hand and scored a three-pointer...

bingo!

At 36:31, the point difference was quickly narrowed to 5 points.

Thunder coach Brooks on the sidelines frowned.

Just as he was still hesitating whether to call a timeout, Westbrook's passing intention was predicted by George.

Pickled pepper stepped forward, stretched out his right hand, and blocked the ball.

In an instant, Thunder's door opened wide, and there was a smooth road ahead of George.

Durant rushed to catch up and retreated at full speed.

But he has played for about 16 consecutive minutes at this time, and his physical fitness is naturally not as good as George, who is well rested.

After running a few steps, KD realized that it was impossible to catch up, so he simply stopped to save his energy.

George was reckless, kicking off with both feet...

"bang!"

A two-handed windmill dunk that shocked everyone, instantly made the Toyota Center Arena boil.

36: 33.

Thunder's lead has been close to nothing.

Brooks quickly signaled to the technical desk and requested a timeout.

............

On the Thunder's bench, Brooks looked at Dewey, who was panting heavily, and fell into deep thought.

It was clear that the duo needed a break.

But Brooks knows that once the two are replaced, the situation may be reversed by the Rockets in an instant.

But now the problem is...

Forcibly keeping Durant and Westbrook on the court, their efficiency will inevitably drop, and it will be difficult to maintain their advantage.

[If only someone from the bench could step up...]

Brooks thought to himself.

At this moment, Harden suddenly said: "Coach, let Kevin and Russell rest for a few minutes, I will lead the team."

After all, he looked at Brooks sincerely, hoping to get an affirmative answer.

The two of Dewey were taken aback when they heard the words, but they also acquiesced.

Athletes are very aware of their physical state.

They know that they really should take a break so that they can perform better in the following games.

"I promise, when Kevin and Russell come back, we will still be in the lead!"

Harden said solemnly.

As soon as this remark came out, Brooks showed a surprised expression.

In his eyes, Harden is still a big boy who loves to play, and sometimes even goes to the nightclub to have fun on the night before the game.

But now, like a man, he wants to carry the team on his shoulders.

"Since you said so, I will definitely believe you. James, then for the next period of time, it depends on your performance."

"Nick (Collison), Kendrick (Perkins), please help him."

Brooks thought for a moment, then finally nodded.

"give it to me!"

Harden nodded excitedly, his eyes full of fighting spirit.

The timeout ends and players from both teams return to the field.

Su Qun immediately explained after seeing the Thunder players on the field: "The Thunder are finally willing to let Durant and Westbrook go down for a rest! Then the core of their offense should be Harden."

Yang Jian added: "The current lineup of the Thunder is like this: Harden plays the [-]st position, partnering with Dai Quinn Cook in the backcourt. Cook is an excellent shooter, and his three-point shooting rate is as high as [-]% this season. "

"Sefolosha and veteran Nick Collison up front and Perkins in the box."

"This lineup has a balanced offensive and defensive lineup. Two guards are responsible for offense, and the other three are responsible for offense and defense. It is considered a clear division of labor."

Su Qun nodded: "But what kind of effect can be achieved, mainly depends on how Harden, who plays point guard, performs."

The two were talking, and the game restarted!