Pick Westbrook

Chapter 320 Sending You Home Fishing
Hornets regular starting lineup.

Thunder's starting lineup: point guard Derek Fisher, scoring post Thabo Sefolosha, small forward Durant, power forward Serge Ibaka and center Kendrick Perkins.

Game start.

Perkins jumped off the offensive ball and the Thunder attacked.

Fisher advanced with the ball and took the initiative to give the ball to Durant after halftime.

"This is the offense that the Thunder's starting lineup plays most of the time, put the basketball in Durant's hands, and then the opponent will execute the isolation."

"There is no excessive tactical coordination, and there are no other means of attack."

Du Feng has watched the videotape of most of the Thunder's games this season. In his opinion, the head coach of the Thunder, Scott Brooks, can hardly be regarded as a very good coach.

At least in terms of team performance, he didn't make the Thunder better.

Stevens had the same idea in his heart. He even thought that if he coached the Thunder and Durant, he would definitely achieve better results than Scott Brooks.

Li Lai smiled at this time, and took the initiative to talk about another responsibility that the head coach of the team should undertake.

"The Thunder are a talented team. Compared with other talented teams in the league in recent years, such as the Wizards or the Nuggets, they have grown much faster and are much stronger."

"At least, under Coach Scott Brooks and Kevin Durant, the Thunder made it to the playoffs, but the Wizards and Nuggets have yet to do so after announcing their rebuild."

"The Thunder players are not good boys. Although Durant has a gentle personality, he has not been idle from last year to this year. He has been clamoring to leave the team."

"But even so, the Thunder still have no conflicts in the locker room. Durant is still trying his best to win every game for the team. At the same time, he himself has a high probability of winning this year's scoring champion."

"Ibaka has an arrogant personality. He has been at odds with Durant since he came to the Thunder. He also has deep conflicts with his current teammate Reggie Jackson."

"Until now, Serge Ibaka has never high-fived Reggie Jackson on the court."

"But this is Ibaka, who ranked second on this year's DPOY list, beating Warcraft Howard."

"Not to mention Perkins, who is notoriously bad-tempered in the league, but he was once the strongest blue-collar player."

"Reggie Jackson is the 24th pick in the first round of this year. Regardless of his low pick, this player is not low-minded. He wants to be the leader of this team. No matter how bad he is, he will be the second leader."

"Don't underestimate Reggie Jackson, and don't think that he is too arrogant and has no boss's life to get the boss's illness. During the days when Durant and Jeff Green were both injured and absent at the beginning of the season, the rookie Reggie Jackson Averaged 20+8 per game, fully supporting the Thunder to move forward."

"If the Thunder were a team that completely rebuilt and didn't care about performance, Reggie Jackson might have played even more brilliantly."

Hearing this, Stevens couldn't help but change his mind, and was in awe of coach Scott Brooks.

A team with so many problems and so many troubles, he wondered how the other side screwed them together and went 30-31.

The Thunder's record is enough to rank seventh in the Eastern Division. If they hadn't met the Western Division with too much competition this season, how could they not make the playoffs.

Li Lai continued: "In terms of tactical ability, coach Brooks is naturally inferior to the old man Popovich, and he is also inferior to Rick Carlisle, the leading tactical master of the younger generation."

"But for so many outstanding young people to find their place in the team and maintain a united relationship with each other on the court, and these players have played their own style and characteristics one by one, Coach Brooks has contributed a lot. without."

"So, if you are not a champion coach, you are not a good coach?"

"At least in terms of the ability to train young players, Coach Brooks is not bad."

On the court, Durant singled out Carter.

Facing the defense of the former four major shooting guard Carter, Durant played very resolutely.

Continuously changing direction and dribbling in a large way, Durant suddenly accelerated and walked in the middle to pass Vince Carter's defense, and then joined the ball and went straight to the basket.

Jordan's supplementary defense was extremely in place, and he immediately came to the middle of the paint area to help defend Durant.

But what he never expected was that Durant didn't intend to layup or dunk, but came to pick a basket with a defender's iconic action near the penalty area.

Looking at Durant, who is tall, tall and extremely tall, Jordan completely gave up the idea of ​​taking off and blocking the shot, and could only watch the basketball hit the basket.

"His ability to combine the ball has also become very good."

Li Lai couldn't help but praise and said.

At first, Sam Presti hit Li Lai hard when he traded Westbrook, so every time Li Lai led the team to play against the Thunder, he was very focused.

For this reason, Li Lai also happened to witness Durant's growth in recent years.

From being not good at dribbling at the beginning and being easy to be intercepted, to his excellent dribbling ability in the back.

Durant was not particularly good on the defensive end before, but last season he was able to defend most players in the same position alone, and even James had to hit a few more shots for a layup under his defense .

And in this season, Durant's ability to combine people and balls, especially in the combination of breaking through the basket, has been considered top-notch in the league. So far, an invincible Durant on the offensive end has almost been produced.

"Of course, Durant is still a bit short in the ability to break double teams. If he can solve this problem, then Durant will be the second strongest star in the league."

In this game, Li Lai's tactic to defend Durant was also a double-team defense, which was aimed at Durant's weak ability to break double-teams.

"Let Vince Carter and Leonard double-team the defense."

"With Durant's current offensive ability, it is absolutely impossible for him to play one-on-one on the court."

Hornets attack.

Paul and Jordan played a high pick-and-roll, and the two then played an alley-oop coordination tactic.

Perkins was completely transferred out by Paul. Fisher, who is very experienced on the court, knows exactly what Paul will do and what tactics the Hornets will play, but he just has no way to take Jordan.

Whether it's restricting Jordan's movement or defending the opponent's pick-and-roll, Fisher is far from his peak self.

"There is a reason why the Lakers chose to trade Fisher in such an important season. He is 36 years old."

"Whether it is physical strength, defense or offensive ability, Fisher has declined seriously this season."

Du Feng found Fisher's average data this season.

The opponent played 43 games with the Lakers, averaging only 5 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists per game.

In the Thunder's 18 games, Fisher's average per game has dropped to 4 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist.

"Shooting percentage, turnovers, defensive opponents' shooting efficiency. All the data are proving that Fisher's physical function has declined too seriously."

"That's why Fisher coming to the Thunder didn't help their record in the slightest."

Switch offense.

Durant once again played singles with the ball, but this time Leonard rushed up ahead of time to execute double-team tactics.

Kenny Smith said: "In the Hornets' defensive system, Leonard is a very important player."

"Whether it's double-teaming the outside line or helping to defend the inside line, he basically executes it."

"And this kind of tactical execution has also made this year's rookie ranked fifth on the DPOY list."

"This is a very remarkable achievement. You must know that Jordan, who is also good at defense in the Hornets, is only ranked 10th on the DPOY list."

Faced with such a defense, Durant still wanted to try to complete the offense, but the experienced Vince Carter wisely chose to take a step back on the left side to block Durant's breakthrough route.

And Leonard chose to defend Durant closely on the right side.

In this way, whether Durant chooses to break through or shoot, both of them can effectively limit each other.

Barkley couldn't help but praised and said: "Leonard has a long arm so he defends Durant's shooting. Vince Carter's footsteps are slow so he chooses to take a step back to defend the breakthrough."

"The Hornets are worthy of being a strong defensive team in the league this season. They have always done a good job in some defensive details and skills."

Kenny Smith nodded in satisfaction, and at the same time talked about some ranking matters.

"The current overall defensive efficiency of the Hornets has ranked fourth in the league, and they deserve to be ranked first in steals per game."

"Paul, Leonard, Beverly, Butler, all four are masters of steals on the court."

Facing the almost suffocating defense of Leonard and Vince Carter, Durant was forced to hand over the ball.

Thabo Sefolosha got a chance to make a three-point shot and tried to shoot decisively, but unfortunately he didn't seize this opportunity.

Duang!

Perkins and Ibaka actively rushed inside to grab offensive rebounds.

The Thunder averaged 44 rebounds per game this season, including 11 offensive rebounds. They are among the top in the league in terms of offensive rebounds.

boom!
Jordan jumped up high and took off the rebound, then slammed it on his hand and made a loud noise. At the same time, he stared at Perkins and Ibaka fiercely, as if warning them: I am here Don't try to grab offensive rebounds.

Thunder coach.

Coach Scott Brooks noticed the details of the rebound just now.

Jordan is very experienced with his back to Perkins, because Perkins is 208cm short, as long as he is blocked by Jordan, he has no chance to fight for offensive rebounds.

And Ibaka's point is the key. The veteran Lewis has always stuck in front of Ibaka and has been prepared to prevent him from rushing to the basket in advance.

What surprised Brooks was that Lewis was not good at defense throughout his career, but he was able to complete this defensive task so firmly and efficiently.

After seeing this scene, Brooks admired the preparations made by the Hornets coaching staff more and more before the game.

"The Thunder are a team that's particularly good at grabbing the offensive rebound, and the Hornets sensed that and limited Ibaka and Perkins' offensive rebounds very well."

"Durant is an indiscriminate master of offensive singles with the ball, so they prepared double-team tactics in advance. As long as Durant shows his desire to attack at the beginning, there will be endless double-teams immediately. .”

"The point is, the quality of the double-teaming is still very good."

"This is Li Lai, who overwhelmed Carlisle and was named the strongest head coach of the younger generation. His attitude towards the game is worth learning from every coach."

The first quarter ended quickly.

杜兰特整节比赛都被包夹得极为难受，但即便在这样的防守强度下他仍然打出了7投3中的表现，拿下了8分3篮板2助攻的数据。

The Hornets led 26:22.

The second game.

Hornets rotation: Beverly, JR Smith, Jimmy Butler, Diaw and Jason Smith.

Thunder rotation: Reggie Jackson, Eric Maynor, Daequan Cook, Nick Collison and Serge Ibaka.

"Reggie Jackson is an excellent combo guard, his breakthrough is extremely lethal, his first step starts quickly, and his change of direction breakthrough is extremely confusing."

"Although Reggie Jackson is just a rookie this year, he has always been very experienced in scoring easy layups in the face of extremely tough defenses."

"That's why the Thunder's coaching staff will move Ibaka to center at this time."

Stevens analyzed.

Because of Ibaka's excellent mobility and flexibility, when he and Reggie Jackson play together, they can greatly exploit the latter's breakthrough advantage.

Du Feng also analyzed and said: "But Reggie Jackson also has a big problem, that is, his offense requires a lot of ball possession and possession time to be effective."

"Reggie Jackson isn't a great off-ball player, which is why he's clamoring to be No. [-] or No. [-] on the Thunder."

Li Lai nodded. He naturally knew that Reggie Jackson had the potential to grow into a qualified starter in the future, but he was still not as good as the leader or second child of a team.

However, Reggie Jackson's playing style does require a lot of holding the ball, which also makes it difficult for him to get along with the core of a team for a long time.

Even if they are forcibly blended together, they will not perform very well, but will abolish Reggie Jackson.

"So his style of play is best suited to a sixth man on a team, holding the ball a lot on the bench, and anything other than that is not going to take full advantage of Reggie Jackson's ability."

Li Lai has no worries about defending Reggie Jackson tonight.

Under the guidance of Payton during this period, the defensive strength of each player of the Hornets has been greatly improved, especially Leonard, Jimmy Butler and Beverly.

Beverley is also the best at defending players like Reggie Jackson.

on the field.

Reggie Jackson used Ibaka's pick-and-roll to break through the basket, but he didn't expect that when he dribbled the ball with low hands, Beverly suddenly jumped up and fell to the ground, and directly blocked the ball from behind.

Reggie Jackson also fell to the ground to fight, but Beverly didn't give him any chance at all, and after stealing the ball, he decisively gave it to Jimmy Butler on the side.

Butler sped up and down, and none of the Thunder participated in the defense.

boom!
Butler scored with a one-handed dunk.

Reggie Jackson sat on the floor a little dissatisfied, Beverly got up and stretched out his hand friendly to pull him up.

Reggie Jackson stretched out his hand subconsciously, and Beverly immediately withdrew his hand and said without even looking at him.

"If the Thunder lose this game, they will almost miss the playoffs."

"Honey, I'll take you home fishing."

Reggie Jackson was so angry when he heard this, he got up straight away and wanted to start a fight with Beverly. Even though he was a rookie, his temper was incredible.

Fortunately, the referee was right next to the two of them, and the bad guy Beverly ran towards the referee after he finished talking trash, not giving Reggie Jackson a chance to be arrogant.

The latter was warned by the referee with a whistle instead, leaving a bad impression in this game.

Durant, who was on the bench next to him, heard this sentence clearly, and he knew that Beverly was not talking nonsense.

"With the current competitive pressure in the West, the No. 12 Thunder team has already lost the possibility of hitting the playoffs."

Durant couldn't help heaving a long sigh at this moment.

Jeff Green has been confirmed to miss the entire 2011-12 season because he was diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm and needed surgery.

Under such circumstances, the Thunder, which already have a poor record, are even less likely to hit the playoffs with Durant alone.

In addition, most of the Thunder are young rookies, and Reggie Jackson shouted every day to be the boss and jumped up and down in the locker room. For this reason, he had a conflict with Perkins.

Durant is very clear that he can't suppress these rookies now. Regardless of him being the league's scoring leader, as long as he doesn't lead the team to win the championship for a day, these rookies will not respect him for a day.

Thinking of this, Durant's eyes are firm at this moment, and he knows that it is time for him to make a change.

No matter how much Sam Presti tried to lobby him, Durant would never waver in his decision.

"I want to win a championship, I want to be the best player in the league, and I must join a strong team in the offseason."

(End of this chapter)