You should cross the mountains like a brave man

Chapter 678 A special liking
Before Kobe's comeback, the duel between Weixia and Durant may be the focus of most attention since the start of the new season.

The only thing that can surpass the topic of this battle is the duel between the 12ers and the Heat in early December and the first meeting between the Heat and the Thunder in the Christmas game.

Over the past few years, the Thunder have been trying to get rid of a certain label on their body: youth has no limits.

Everyone admits that they are very young and have unlimited possibilities. If Harden hadn't been sent away, if Harden hadn't performed beyond expectations in the new team, the Thunder would not have received so much criticism, but now, it is different.

Harden, who has left Durant and Westbrook, seems to have the potential to become a superstar, but the Thunder failed to reach the finals in 2013 and meet the Heat.

In addition, Russell Westbrook's injury made the Thunder need to be in single-core mode for a long time in the new season.

From 2011 to the present, Durant has been voted second in the MVP vote for two consecutive years.He lost to Wei Xia and James respectively.

In the playoffs last season, Westbrook suffered an injury and was reimbursed for the season. The Thunder were held down by the Grizzlies and lost in the semifinals.

Prior to this, Durant had no chance, nor was it necessary, to take charge of the team's offense alone.With Westbrook's organization, he can be a scorer with peace of mind.With his usual modest attitude⑴, he has no chance, and no reason, to become a data collector.

Without Westbrook, Durant can take over the game at any time and has unlimited firepower. If he can still play as good as last season, the judges can't find a reason not to vote for him with his MVP for two consecutive years.

Now he has the opportunity, and it is necessary, to control everything in his own right.

If some fans remember that the highest score in his career so far was created in the 2009-10 season, they will understand: He has continued to grow in the past three years, but because of Westbrook's existence, he has never had the need or opportunity to show all this.

In the preseason, he scored 21+9+12 in one game and 23 points in 36 minutes in one game. It was more like he was testing his role, found the rhythm, and then roared out in one breath.

Westbrook's absence for most of the regular season will give fans the honor to see what Kevin Durant really looks like today.

Chesapeake Energy Arena

Wei Xia saw Durant wearing a white jersey and extended his hand friendly: "I heard that you trained hard in the summer. I hope to see the results of your special training today."

Durant said confidently: "You will never be disappointed."

Looking at his physique alone, he is not much stronger than when he was a rookie, but the size of his muscles and core strength are vastly different.

Wei Xia still remembers the first time he played against Durant. The methods used to deal with him that day are no longer effective.

Just like Wei Xia, Durant's progress can also be called rapid.

The two sides exchanged and greeted briefly, and each retreated to their own venues to warm up.

"Boss, are you familiar with KD?" Cousins ​​asked.

Wei Xia said, "It's a friend."

Cousins ​​has the feeling of what kind of people make friends with, and Durant has a bad impression of Cousins.During his rookie season, when he played against the Thunder for the first time, he was slammed by the opponent: "I feel sad for the slum breath on your body."

Perhaps this is called like attracts like?Wei Xia has never spoken as badly as Durant, but he likes to say the most sad words in the most gentle tone.

In the jump ball stage, Cousins ​​​​and Ibaka.

Ibaka's bouncing speed is extremely good, far better than Cousins, but the timing of the jump ball was not well grasped, and Cousins ​​dialed the ball.

At the beginning, the 76ers accelerated the pace.

Holiday dribbled the ball quickly, breaking the Thunder's perimeter defense was just the starting point of the offense, and the help defense that came later became an opportunity for him to pass the ball.

Hayward interspersed with running positions, and outside the three-point line at a 45-degree angle on the right, he caught the ball and shot.

3 is better than 0
Durant ran at a normal speed, and Wei Xia quickly posted it.

According to the normal matchup, the 76ers should let Hayward defend him.

As a result, it was Wei Xia who was in charge of taking care of Durant.

Because Hayward's single defense is too reluctant to defend Durant, and his speed is too slow.

Wei Xia's size was shrouded by Durant.

It is difficult for any wing to gain an advantage in length and height when it comes to Durant.Against Durant, Weixia's approach is only three points.

Force, squeeze, entangle.

Force him to the left, squeeze his center of gravity, wrap his body.Lasts the entire game.

"You are using too much force!" Durant shouted with a heavy breath.

"Does this make you feel bad?"

"If you last the full court."

Originally, Wei Xia didn't know what to do in his heart, but what he said undoubtedly had the effect of injecting a booster.

Compared with endurance, Wei Xia is not afraid of anyone, even if he is the one who consumes more.If he loses to his opponent in stamina, it will not only be a disservice to himself, but also the talent of John Havlicek.

Durant has no chance to catch the ball. Although the Thunder's current master is not a superstar of Westbrook's level, he is also a ruthless person-Reggie Jackson, the 11th pick in 24. He was discovered by the Thunder after Seon lost his horse last season. It is like losing Jeff Green that indirectly gave Ibaka the soil to rise. After Westbrook was injured, he took on everything outside the Thunder, and he did well.

Moreover, his style is not unfamiliar to Thunder fans.

He seemed to be drawn in the image of Westbrook. As the main scorer on the bench, he was not very conspicuous. After entering the starting lineup, the similarities between him and Westbrook became obvious.When Westbrook returns, it will be the Thunder coaching staff who will be distressed. Unlike Martin and Harden, he can replace the Swiss with the starting pair at any time.If you insist on pairing him and Westbrook, one of them must accommodate the other party a little bit.

Now he is like another Westbrook calling the inside to play pick-and-rolls, bullying Thaddeus Young for his lack of height, lack of defensive pressure, and his pass to Ibaka is full of stability.

2 is better than 3
"I'm really worried about your future. What is it like to have two identical point guards starting at the same time?" Wei Xia asked worryingly.

Durant is less sensitive to the issue.

After all, neither Jackson nor Westbrook will be in his way.

In fact, Jackson's starter is better for him.Although Jackson followed Westbrook's model, he put Durant in his eyes and basically passed all the balls that should be passed.Westbrook, who has already established his status in the team, has the privilege of not putting anyone in his eyes when he is in the top.

There is only one boss on a team, and if that boss can't touch the ball when he needs it, then he is not worthy of the name.

Wei Xia's trash talk implied a lot, he didn't care, and the two sides fought a few rounds of failed attacks.

The Thunder's ball basically concentrated in Jackson's hands. At the beginning of the game, Durant was not active in running without the ball. In line with the fine tradition of letting his teammates drive first before I come, he calmly watched his teammates play garbage positions for two and a half minutes.

Jackson inherited Westbrook's bravery, but also has the latter's axis.

For example, if a tactic worked, he would repeat that tactic.

Ibaka made three consecutive shots and only scored the first goal.

The 76ers have much more offensive tricks than the Thunder. The first offense was Hayward's three-pointer, the second offense was to catch Cousins' hook, the third offense was Holiday's sudden rush to find a cap, the fourth offense was Holiday calling a pick-and-roll to pull the cap, and the fourth offense was the buzzer to pass the ball to Wesha to throw the pot.

And Wei Xia didn't even touch the ball.

"Beep!"

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the 76ers' offense is far more complicated than in the past.

This system from Villanova is not something that Holiday, a point guard with a guard heart and a forward brain, can control.

In the first 3 minutes, the 76ers scored 3 points and the Thunder scored 2 points.

The offensive performance of the two teams is not at all sorry for the attention of this round.

Wright realized the problem, letting Holiday go off and replace Nash was his way to solve the problem.

Durant is a spider and Wei Xia is an octopus.

In the semifinals of last season, the reason why the Thunder were taken by the Grizzlies was that Westbrook was reimbursed for the season, which made them lose a core, and the other was that Durant was restricted by Tony Allen.

Also a petite defender, Wei Xia's off-ball defense, strength and hardness are better than Allen.

The biggest question is, with Wei Xia's status, why should he drop everything and focus on defense like Tony Allen?
When Jackson put on a one-on-one posture, Wei Xia turned around and leaned his back on Durant with all his strength. The huge impact made him sit on the ground on the spot.

Due to the loss of the fulcrum, Wei Xia fell to the ground, but fortunately, Durant was his pad, so he was basically fine.

Jackson attacked with the ball, out of the range of change of direction that his relatives did not recognize.

If his opponent is Holiday, such a massive attack would be justifiable.

But now the person standing in front of him is Nash.

He immediately nailed Nash's center of gravity in place like a nail, and then, without taking the opponent's defense seriously, he made a very inefficient three-pointer and flew out in full view.

Wei Xia lay on Durant's body and sighed: "Do you have a soft spot for this kind of point guard with a relatively low BQ?"

Durant just wanted him to get off of him quickly, but Wei Xia was like a rocket launched, and Jackson made a fast break the moment he hit the three-pointer.

When Durant got up from the ground, Wei Xia had already run to the frontcourt, caught the ball with one hand, and dunked with a flat basket.

5 is better than 2
"Beep!"

After 3 minutes, there was an obvious problem with the Thunder's offense, and they had to call a timeout to readjust.

⑴ It may be difficult for new fans to imagine Durant's elegant, easy-going, modest and prudent image, but before he turned to the enemy, that was indeed what he showed to the outside world.

(End of this chapter)