Pick Westbrook

Chapter 411 You have to be so hard too
5 month 8 day.

Game [-] of the second round of the Western Conference continues.

The Pelicans host the Warriors.

At the beginning of the game, the Warriors played an extremely efficient performance as soon as they came up.

And what is abnormal is that Durant made the main attack at the beginning, which is a huge difference from the previous game.

Li Lai frowned, a little worried about this change in style of play.

He designed Curry's inside double-team when running without the ball, and at the same time cut off his connection with Klay Thompson, and the Splash Brothers' power was greatly reduced.

Li Lai is well aware of the explosive scoring power of the Splash Brothers, and this is what he prepared for before the start of the series.

But now, Kerr has clearly learned from the last game, allowing Curry to become a spot-up shooter to open the space, while designing some tactics for cutting and driving to the basket.

The main point of attack became Durant.

Durant singles Jimmy Butler.

Holding the ball from the outside, he made a large frontal change of direction and easily swayed Jimmy Butler, followed by a very light mid-range shot.

Swish!
The basketball hits steadily.

"This is already the third consecutive singles Durant has found Jimmy Butler, and he succeeded twice."

Kenny Smith couldn't help sighing.

"In this round of the series, there are four players with outstanding mid-range singles ability, Paul, Leonard, Jimmy Butler and Durant."

"A player who is good at this kind of technique can always give you a very stable feeling when he plays on the court, especially at critical moments."

"However, the singles methods of the four are not the same. Paul is good at playing small and big. Leonard is proficient in singles and is called Kobe's disciple. Jimmy Butler likes to borrow a lot of pick-and-rolls before singles. The most important thing is that he has a temperament of singles. , This is something that none of the previous three people possess.”

"As for Durant, his singles are like the 35-second man he used to be."

Barkley nodded, and Durant did give him the same feeling.

Tracy McGrady was also so arrogant when he was playing on the court. How about shooting in front of you?Anyway, you can't overwhelm me, and whether you can get in or not is entirely up to me.

And now Durant feels smoother than Tracy McGrady back then.

"So how to defend Durant is definitely a problem that the Pelicans need to solve urgently."

This is because the Pelicans have the best forward defense and the best perimeter defense in the league, so they are qualified to think about this issue.

In addition, most teams in the league have only one option when defending Durant's offense, and they are resigned to fate.

Swish!
The crisp sound on the court sounded again, and Durant singled Jimmy Butler hit another hit. This is already his third goal in 4 singles.

Some are murderous!

Jimmy Butler put his hands on his hips helplessly, his face full of helplessness.

His talent is too far behind Durant, no matter how hard he tries, he can't interfere with the opponent's shooting point.

Leonard looked towards his coach's bench, and Li Lai knew that the opponent was asking him if he could double-team Durant in order to relieve Jimmy Butler's defensive pressure.

Li Lai shook his head, indicating to continue to implement the defensive strategy arranged before the game.

At the same time, in the next dead ball session, Li Lai won Jimmy Butler and Chris Paul in advance, and took Beverly and JR Smith.

Beverly's defense against Durant consumes energy. This is a strategy that the Pelicans have been implementing in the last game.

Because of Durant's early effort in this game, Li Lai could only take Beverly in advance.

But at this moment, the Warriors suddenly changed their style of play, with Curry holding the ball for the main attack, and Durant making transitional passes and attracting defensive attention.

Curry made two consecutive singles and JR Smith hit a three-pointer, shaking his head and directly stopping the Pelicans.

At the end of the single quarter, the Pelicans fell behind by 26:35.

"Great offense! Great play! Warriors come back strong after losing last game."

“杜兰特一人扛起了整个勇士队的进攻，单节8投6中，罚球2中2，15分3篮板的表现。”

Kenny Smith couldn't help but said: "From now on, the most appreciated offensive collection in the league should be Durant!"

Barkley did not speak, he was not questioning Kenny Smith's conclusion, in fact Durant has been in the discussion of the second man in the league this season.

It is because of his offense.

Durant's offensive ability is so terrifying that throughout the season, Curry, the team leader originally set by the Warriors, took the limelight away.

Fortunately, Curry cultivated an excellent team spirit and leadership style during his time with the Bucks. Not only did he not care about Durant stealing his limelight, but he often played for Durant in games where the opponent felt good. .

Barkley questioned that the Warriors did not allow Durant and Curry to rest for 1 minute in the first quarter. How did they keep up with the Pelicans' offense in the second quarter?

The second quarter started soon.

Durant still walked to the court, and Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green all came off the court to rest.

CCTV commentary desk.

Su Qun said: "It can be seen that the head coach of the Warriors Cole regards tonight's game as a game that has to be won."

"That's right, if the Pelicans win again tonight, the big score will become 2:0. They will face a lot of pressure on the Warriors, who were not favored before the game or are newly formed this season. "

"So for tonight's game, Durant will definitely play a lot of time."

Yu Jia also discovered some details on the court and said.

"Coach Li Lai really knows Stephen Curry too well. He knows how to limit the opponent. At the same time, the Pelicans are the team with the strongest perimeter defense in the league, so it is difficult for Curry to play a smooth offense in the game."

"But Durant is different. He is an offensive master with and without the ball, and his singles ability is extremely incomprehensible. This cannot be restricted by defensive tactics and defensive strong players."

"What can be seen so far is that the Pelicans have been deliberately consuming Durant's physical strength. If the series stretches far, this is not good news for Durant and the Warriors."

on the field.

Jimmy Butler and Paul, who left the field early, came on, along with Diaw, Vince Carter and Oden.

As soon as Paul came up, he hit consecutive singles and Warriors center Festus Ezeri made a mid-range shot.

Paul's excellent performance also narrowed the point difference to less than 5 points.

Festus Ezeri has a standard center body, is a good frame protector and a stable finisher at the basket, and is very similar to Jordan in this feature.

Of course, Jordan's physical talent is even better.

Festus Ezeli is also good at defense and is a tall defensive center, but because of a knee injury when he was young, his lateral movement speed and defense switching speed on the court have dropped sharply.

Therefore, when facing Paul's pick-and-roll, Festus Ezeri, who was originally a big center, fell into a disadvantage, and it was even more difficult to keep up with the opponent due to his own physical reasons.

The singles played by the Warriors during the first quarter are now returned by the Pelicans.

Durant was still unconvinced and prepared to fight back on the ball-holding end, while Jimmy Butler got Li Lai's advice after he left the field.

"It's not easy to defend Durant. When he feels the touch, it's hard for anyone to defend."

"What we can do is to consume Durant's physical strength as much as possible and reduce his shooting stability."

After returning to the court, Jimmy Butler gave Durant a lot of physical confrontation, and even paid two fouls for it.

But the effect is also very good. Durant, who has been fighting continuously without rest, missed two consecutive singles, and the Pelicans took advantage of the situation to launch a counterattack.

Paul passed the ball quickly, and veteran Vince Carter played very well tonight. In the second quarter, two lob dunks came, and then another three-pointer overtook the score.

Cole urgently called a timeout, took Durant, and took all the main players of the team including Curry.

At the end of the half, the two teams tied at 60:60.

Second half of the game.

Klay Thompson made a sudden effort and hit two three-pointers against Leonard's defense.

These two magic balls stopped the Pelicans again. Li Lai walked near the center line and was furious, wishing to give that guy Klay Thompson a hammer.

"When the Warriors are in trouble, you stand up, what do you want to do?"

Li Lai, who had been restricting Klay Thompson's performance, signaled Leonard to keep marking him and not to leave the opponent no matter what happened.

The Pelicans then started Anthony Davis' singles with the ball in the paint.

Before the singles, Li Lai set up a screen around the weak side, so that Paul, who was very accurate in three-pointers, was on the same side as Anthony Davis.

Once his offense is blocked, Thick Eyebrow can pass the ball to Paul to reorganize immediately.

Swish!
The thick eyebrows did not give the boss Paul a chance to reorganize, and he scored tough against Draymond Green's defense.

Draymond Green was obviously a little angry and slapped the basketball that scored after being blown away by thick eyebrows in two consecutive games.

As a result, the situation became turbulent, and a very unfriendly scene occurred on the court.

In the next round, the Pelicans attacked, still arranged thick eyebrows to force Draymond Green's singles in the low post inside.

But this time, when the thick eyebrow retreated and jumped up to shoot, Draymond Green on the defensive end jumped up high. Draymond Green, who knew that it was impossible to block the thick eyebrow shot, used a very strange defense posture.

The body took off on the spot, and the right foot was raised high, directly between the feet of the thick eyebrows.

boom!
Hey~
There was a painful sound on the court, the basketball hit the net, and the thick eyebrow fell to the ground, curled up and twitched.

Jimmy Butler, who was also on the court, reacted immediately, rushed directly to Draymond Green, and cursed.

"That's why you were the 35th overall pick in the second round, and Thick Eyebrow was the No. [-] pick."

"You can only play with this kind of trick."

The sideline referee rushed over and quickly pushed the two away. Paul was anxious about Anthony Davis' injury and rushed over.

"Amei, what's wrong with your legs?"

With thick eyebrows and closed eyes, he shook his head again and again, and said, "The legs are fine, but the eggs hurt."

The New Orleans fans at the scene immediately burst into trash talk and dissatisfaction, and condemned the Warriors' Draymond Green hoarsely.

After reviewing the live replay, the three referees unanimously discussed and signaled.

"Draymond Green, Warriors #23, common foul."

Ok? !

Li Lai, who heard the verdict and punishment, couldn't sit still, and rushed to the three of them, blushing and roaring.

"You go up and get kicked, see if this is an ordinary foul."

"If it is, the Pelicans have 5 players on the field, and each of them can give you 6 hits!"

Hearing this, the three referees couldn't help clamping their legs at the same time, but the penalties they made would not be changed.

Stevens and Du Feng hurriedly pulled Li Lai, signaling the other party not to be angry, and it would be bad to pay a technical foul.

On the court, Anthony Davis slowly stood up.

He looked at Li Lai, who was looking at the coach's bench with concern, and shook his head. He patted his chest to indicate that he was fine.

Swish!
Add penalty and hit steadily!

In the next round, the Pelicans still arranged a thick-brow singles tactic in the interior, or singles Draymond Green.

A Kuding man, turned his back, stepped forward and leaned back
boom!
"I~"

On the live commentary stand, Kenny Smith and Barkley couldn't help but put their hands on their heads at the same time.

Draymond Green kicked Anthony Davis between the legs again with another high kick, and this time it was even stronger.

Nongmei couldn't even make a shot, and fell to the ground twitching.

Fans in New Orleans were so angry that they rushed down the court to fix Draymond Green. Fortunately, the Pelicans' security was excellent, which stopped the furious fans.

Jimmy Butler wanted to rush to teach Draymond Green, but was stopped by Curry and Klay Thompson.

The three of them refused to give in to each other.

"What the hell is this playing ball?"

"Don't be so excited Jimmy, Draymond is indeed playing, just not kicking."

"That's right, he just kicked two balls, he didn't do it on purpose."

Vince Carter was the first to stop Jimmy Butler, beckoning him to calm down.

"Don't touch Jimmy! If you do, you will be suspected of escalating the conflict, you may be sent off the field directly, and you will be punished after the game."

"That guy named Draymond Green just wants to see this scene."

"He's going to stir up our anger, make opponents lose their minds on the court, and the Warriors will benefit from it."

Chris Paul also stopped Jimmy Butler to persuade him.

If this was a regular season, Paul would definitely be the first to rush over and attack, but this is the playoffs, and it is a playoff trip that the entire Pelicans are very concerned about. They have more important goals .

Jimmy Butler finally calmed down under the persuasion of his teammates, he said while cursing and retreating.

"You will wait for labor and management in the regular season next season!"

At this time, both Barkley and Kenny Smith noticed Li Lai, who was on the sidelines with a deadly black face, and they remembered the Bucks team back then, the beast Artest.

Kenny Smith couldn't help but said: "Coach Li Lai, you are notoriously protective, Draymond Green, you still have to be careful."

A few minutes later, Li Lai finally waited for the referee's whistle.

Draymond Green, who kicked the egg again, was still sentenced to a common foul, which was also the opponent's fourth common foul of the game.

Du Feng was so angry that he was going crazy, and cursed: "Is this still an ordinary foul?! Damn it!"

Even Stevens, who has always been elegant, was flushed with anger, staring hard at Draymond Green on the court.

The referee also came over and explained to Li Lai: "The whistleblowing standard for this game has already set the tone, so we must follow the whistleblowing standard for the entire game."

"The first time was an ordinary foul, and of course the second time has to be."

Li Lai turned around with a smile and said, "The explanation makes sense, and I can understand it too."

The referee looked at Li Lai with a kind face, and couldn't help but wiped his eyes, thinking he was dazzled.

With the support of his teammates, Nongmei stood up, put his hands on his hips, and then he looked at Li Lai and continued to signal that he was fine, but... a little bit painful.

Nongmei executed free throws and made two free throws.

Li Lai still called a timeout, changed his thick eyebrows, and gently patted the opponent's shoulder and said.

"What happens on the court has to be solved on the court. This is the first lesson of the rookie season and the most important lesson."

"Remember thick eyebrows, you will have to be so tough in the future!"

(End of this chapter)