start with scouting

Chapter 187 Higher, faster and stronger
After a day off, the day of Game [-] between the Thunder and the Lakers came, and tornadoes blew up in several places in Oklahoma City.

Su Yang rushed to the training base early and replayed the fourth game with the coaching staff as usual. After watching the video for about ten minutes, he was sure that there was only one problem, and that was how to ensure that Durant could still be able to play against the interference of small movements. Play normal level.

Compared with the time of the 07 draft, Durant has gained a lot of weight and his core strength has also been greatly strengthened. He is no longer the rookie in the Orlando joint training camp with zero bench press times of 84 kg. Sometimes he can even rely on his strength advantage to bully the defense. people.

But in this round of the series against the Lakers, the defender Durant directly encountered was Artest, who is one of the most powerful small forwards in the league today. Requires close shot defense.

The Thunder's offensive and defensive transitions are okay, and Durant can take advantage of the chaos to play, but when he is caught in a positional attack, after four games, no matter how clever the Thunder's running tactics are, as long as someone helps delay, Artest will always be able to catch up with Durant. rand.

Therefore, in the fourth game, Durant made 23 of 5 shots and scored 16 points by relying on free throws.

"From the statistical point of view, when he falls into a positional battle, the benefits of KD's off-ball running tactics are greatly reduced. This game needs to increase the proportion of his singles with the ball. For the same reason, Russell also needs to increase his singles with the ball. Proportion…"

During the discussion, Su Yang made a decisive decision.

He didn't want to learn the style of Steve Kerr. He had to face the crisis of elimination before letting Curry play the pick-and-roll with the ball.

By the fifth game of the series, neither the Lakers nor the Thunder had made any major strategic adjustments. The Lakers relied heavily on the Twin Towers and Kobe, while the Thunder relied heavily on overall rotation and quick counterattacks. Their weaknesses cannot be changed for the time being. It depends on who can control the details.

In addition to the overall rotation and quick counterattack, the Thunder can save a lot of trouble by playing more singles when they fall into a positional battle, such as those pulling and shoving when running without the ball and the impact of the meat shield. Reducing the penalty scale is good for their own performance. Impact.

Of course, that also requires higher player ability and mentality, especially in the first time in his career when facing a super big scene like Tianwangshan in the Western Conference finals of the playoffs. have.

"Once DK and Russell play singles, the Lakers will definitely break through slightly, forcing them to go inside..."

Su Yang laid out several strategies in detail, the core of which is to thread the needle. At the beginning of the game, he first found a way to help other Thunder players find their status, especially Ibaka and Sefoloza, let them involve in defense, and then let Durant and Westbrook find the status. Chance.

It is not necessary to play singles in every round. The ultimate goal is to improve the scoring efficiency. If there is an easy scoring opportunity, the natural priority is given.

The meeting ended at nine o'clock, and all Thunder generals had arrived. Su Yang went to the training ground to make arrangements first.

It took another three hours. The whole team mainly practiced how to help Durant better catch the ball in the singles area in the positional battle. Most of them were the tactics that were played in the regular season and even the first two games after the season. After a few runs, it was quite smooth. Very efficient.

The whole team had lunch together at the training base. Mullens and a few rookies were looking for a topic, and the referee was biased towards whistleblowing.

Seeing that Durant and the others were also joining the discussion, Su Yang directly changed the topic to avoid the team's dependence. Once the offense was frustrated, he would go to the referee to complain instead of thinking about how to play better, especially the small team. Fat Harden.

At 06:30 in the afternoon, all the fans in the Ford Center, with more than 9000 seats, were wearing blue T-shirts with the words 'Support the Thunder Together', followed the announcer to announce the rhythm, and cheered for every Thunder player who played.

Durant made a pre-match speech on behalf of the team, emphasizing that coaches such as Su Yang have found a more secure way to win.

Amidst the cheers of the audience, the Thunder won the opening jump ball.

Westbrook took the ball and ran to the frontcourt. After observing for a while, he pretended to pass the ball to Durant who came out of the screen. In fact, he cooperated with Durant to make a ghost screen and directly singled Fisher on the left wing. Long two points succeeded.

Perhaps the Lakers also feel that singles are very important, and they immediately created singles opportunities for Kobe on the right waist.

Kobe is very experienced. He turned his back to test the three threats of turning the basket.

Sefolosha was a little annoyed. Su Yang saw it and knew that he wanted to play a wonderful performance. He immediately took advantage of the free throw and beckoned Westbrook to the sidelines. It doesn't matter what form it is.

Westbrook took the lead, changed sides to the Thunder's attack, and directly raised his hand to call for 23 low-post singles tactics.

The basketball was transmitted along the three-point line. Sefolosha held the ball high at 45 degrees, and was about to pass it to Durant who was on the right waist with the help of a screen, but he caught a glimpse of Gasol shrinking from the paint in advance, obviously to help Artest delays Durant.

In an instant, Sefoloza turned and threw the ball to the top of the arc, and Ibaka caught the ball and shot, two long and hollow into the net.

The two teams switched offense and defense, Artest took the ball from the left wing, first pretended to pass to the top of the arc, and then pretended to pass to the waist, but actually passed the ball to Kobe in the corner on the same side, and then rushed up quickly to form a double screen with Bynum , and Kobe catches the ball around the screen and makes a mid-range shot.

The basketball crashed into the net, and the two teams were temporarily tied. Between you and me, the score has never been opened.

Seeing that Durant and Westbrook's occasional singles results are not bad, Su Yang does not take the initiative to change players and adjust, and waits patiently.

Phil Jackson also maintains the "everything is under control" personality, sits firmly on the bench, and even closes his eyes to rest.

Until the last 3 minutes of the first quarter, the two teams took advantage of the official timeout to make adjustments, and the situation finally changed. The Lakers took a five-point lead by relying on Artest's three-pointer that almost violated the timeout second and Bynum's random two-pointer. Advantage.

The five-point lead was maintained at the end of the first quarter. After the second quarter, Harden accidentally hit the iron continuously, causing the Lakers to extend their lead to ten points. Harden made a mid-range shot.

Su Yang could see clearly off the court. After Harden missed the first two shots, his mentality collapsed a bit.

Maybe the big scene was too tense.

After thinking about it again and again, he did not withdraw Harden, but sent Durant in advance to help attract firepower and maintain the situation.

After halftime, the Thunder trailed the Lakers by 46 points 56 to 10, and the atmosphere in the locker room was a little tense.

Harden, who made [-] of [-] shots, was the most embarrassing. Su Yang praised Harden for causing Kobe to foul very well. He also arranged pick-and-roll tactics around Harden, reminding Jordan that he needs to actively observe Harden's dynamics during the substitute stage, and his words are full of trust. .

As for being very behind, Su Yang mentioned casually, pointing out that Artest and Bynum were lucky, not a defensive error.

After the game started in the third quarter, the two teams scored back and forth, and the situation was just like the first quarter.

But compared to the first quarter, the Thunder team's extremely fast rotation made it difficult for Bynum and others to score. The Lakers relied on Kobe to play for 12 minutes, and made 7 of 5 shots and 7 free throws to stabilize the situation. Let Kobe waste a lot of energy.

The Thunder entered the fourth quarter with 8 points behind. Harden, who was encouraged, faced the same defensive strategy in the second quarter, scored five goals in a row, and led the team to a wave of 12 to 5, forcing Kobe, who had not yet fully rested, to advance Back on the pitch.

Su Yang sent Durant and Westbrook at the same time, and replaced Chandler with Ibaka, offering five decisive battles.

Faced with the Lakers shrinking inside, Ibaka, Green, and Harden stretched space. Durant and Westbrook took turns to single out, making the Lakers completely unstoppable. When the Lakers attacked, the Thunder five directly double-teamed Kobe. , three high-speed rotations.

In a few minutes, the Thunder abruptly overwhelmed the Lakers, and the Lakers decisively resorted to foul tactics to forcefully contain the offensive.

Fortunately, Su Yang had already made arrangements. Facing the Lakers' big moves and fouls, Durant and the others neither responded impulsively nor complained to the referee. Instead, Su Yang yelled at the referee and received two verbal warnings. , plus a technical foul.

But that didn't affect the overall situation. The Thunder finally defeated the Lakers 113 to 104, leading the series 3 to 2.

In the whole game, Durant and Westbrook scored 68 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists, while Kobe scored 38 points.

After the game, ESPN published news with the word Past in the title, indicating that the Lakers are in the past tense.

Well-known commentator Bill Simmons tweeted: "Although the Lakers have Bynum and Gasol, as well as the invincible Kobe, the Thunder are taller, faster and stronger overall. Thinking of the Thunder defeating the Spurs in the first round, I boldly predict , Since Jordan retired, only the Lakers, Spurs and Mavericks in the West have reached the finals, and this year is officially over."

(End of this chapter)