start with scouting

Chapter 240 Siege Durant

Fans and the media reacted differently to Su Yang taking the initiative to take responsibility, but the general opinion is that he indulged his players too much.Some people also said that although he wanted to let the players relax and help them bear the pressure, he was too unconventional and easily aroused disgust.

Su Yang didn't bother to respond, as long as the team can win.

After two days of rest, the Thunder faced the Grizzlies for the first time this season.

Su Yang rushed to the training base early and held a meeting with the scouting department as usual to discuss how to arrange offense and defense.

Blatche, the scouting director, spoke first, mentioning that the Grizzlies have the slowest pace in the league, the fewest three-point shots in the league, and fourth in the league in offensive rebounds.Assistant coach Snyder then spoke, mentioning that the Grizzlies like to use big men to cover for air cuts to attack the basket.

For about 10 minutes, the scouts and assistants listed the offensive and defensive characteristics of the Grizzlies in detail, and gave specific suggestions one after another.

Su Yang nodded while listening, and finally said: "If you want to beat the Grizzlies, play according to the conventional thinking. Even if you win, it will consume a lot of money. I want to try some unconventional thinking. For example, start with the difference in scoring between their starting lineup and the bench lineup. ..."

Judging from the scouting report, the Grizzlies averaged 102 points per game last season, of which the starting five scored about 84 points, which means that the Grizzlies averaged about 18 points per game off the bench, and Sam Young, as the sixth man, Averaged 7.4 points per game.

The gap between the starters and the substitutes is so large that the Grizzlies gritted their teeth in a single game and let the main players play a few more minutes. No matter which team can fight, but extended to the entire season, the Grizzlies can only get 40 wins. Can't make the playoffs in the West.

Then this season, the Grizzlies pace has become slower, scoring has become less, and the proportion of starting points has continued to increase.

"I plan to let KD start the game, then replace the game early to rest, and then match the second team with the Grizzlies second team. As long as there is no Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph blocking the paint area, KD will use the cover to move. Easy…"

The Grizzlies' defensive strengths are that the black and white bears are tall and generous, and they are good at delaying players who run through screens, especially those running through the paint. The two often delay to help Conley and others keep catching up.

The Thunder often start with a five-out formation. It is easier to face the Grizzlies, but with the Grizzlies Tony Allen and Gay, it is difficult to occupy as much advantage as other opponents. Su Yang thought about it and decided to try to attack The Grizzlies' weak second unit.

For other teams whose starters are much better than their substitutes, because of the running-in problem between the starters and the substitutes, it is easy to do so without gain. For example, the Lakers arranged for Kobe to cooperate with Farmar + Brown for a long time, and Kobe was likely to be double-teamed. .

But the Thunder is different. The bench lineup is too strong, and it may be easier to evenly distribute the firepower against the Grizzlies.

"I think it's okay..." Assistant coach Mark took the lead in expressing his support for Su Yang's decision, and others followed suit.

Defensive strategy is determined immediately. Crazy blockage of the paint area is the basis. Prioritize interference with Gasol and Randolph to receive the ball, then double-team Gasol and Randolph for singles, and then shrink and expand rounds, using long arms Legs, pinched two points and three points longer.

After the meeting, Su Yang found Durant on the court and explained in detail the arrangement for the evening and why.

Durant has no objection. The whole team trains according to the offensive and defensive strategies, which are mostly around the front defense to catch the ball and attack in the area.

In a blink of an eye, at seven o'clock in the afternoon, the game officially started.

The Thunder strictly implemented the offensive and defensive strategy at the beginning, playing an 11-4 offensive wave, but with 6 minutes left in the first quarter, Su Yang followed the plan, removed Durant, who made 4 of 3 shots, and placed Barnes in advance. , Actively weaken the strength.

Gay took the opportunity to score 4 points in a row, and Randolph also scored 4 points in a row because it became easier to catch the ball.

With more than two minutes left in the first quarter, Randolph and Tony Allen went off the field, and the Grizzlies sent Sam Young and Darrell Arthur.

Seeing this, Su Yang replaced Durant and Green, removed Chandler and Barnes, and asked Ibaka to play center.

Gasol has become much worse than before because he is wary of Ibaka's long-range shots, the paint area and delays, and the protection of the basket.The Thunder's five-out formation further expanded, and Durant used various screens to intersperse back and forth, throwing Gay away at will.

In more than two minutes, the Thunder played a 14-3 attack wave, which made the Grizzlies dizzy and the defensive formation was in chaos.

At the end of the first quarter, Grizzlies coach Hollins sent 198 cm Vasquez as point guard.

Su Yang simultaneously dispatched Livingston with a height of 201 centimeters, together with Harden, Durant, Green, and Jordan Jr., with an average height of more than [-] meters, playing a fast-paced offensive and defensive lineup, not only fierce offensive firepower, but also full of defensive aggression .

The Grizzlies' Vasquez, Sam Young, Gay, Darrell Arthur, and Randolph suffered a tragic explosion.

From the end of the first quarter to the second quarter with 9 minutes left, about 3 minutes, the Thunder blasted another wave of 11 to 2.

Grizzlies coach Hollins couldn't bear it, and arranged for Gasol Jr., who had not yet had enough rest, to play in advance.

It's a pity that the Grizzlies' operations didn't help. The slow pace and three-point loss made it difficult for them to quickly narrow the point difference.

After halftime, the Thunder team returned to the locker room. Su Yang encouraged everyone to do a good job, and hoped to continue in the second half, because according to the current record of the Grizzlies, they are very likely to be the opponents in the first round of the playoffs, and they must be defeated. The Grizzlies line of defense.

The whole team returned to the court with Su Yang's order. In the third quarter, they just passed the defense and only allowed the black and white bears to take a total of 4 shots.

The game reached the middle of the fourth quarter, and it was already garbage time.Su Yang withdrew the main force early, let Cole Aldridge practice his hands more, and asked Morris Peterson to play more shots, trying to get back a better bargaining chip during the transaction, after all, several million.

At the end of the game, the Thunder beat the Grizzlies 119 to 104, scored 78 points in total on the bench, and Durant scored 36 points.

Regarding Su Yang's excellent operation, reporter Windhorst tweeted: "Just now, a head coach in my Western Conference talked about Su Yang's arrangement of Durant as a fake starter. He expressed his envy. Because the Thunder lineup is too strong, they can easily match and formulate many styles of play, and effectively deal with any other team in the league, the Thunder management should be awarded..."

When Su Yang saw the tweet, he thought that Thunderbolt's management could be praised. It's really a big change in the world.

Fans are curious to discuss which Western Conference coach it is.

Who would have thought that as the discussion progressed, the focus would change.

Many fans believe that Su Yang deliberately let Durant serve as a fake starter against the Grizzlies' weak defensive second team, so as to help Durant score more points more efficiently and facilitate Durant's more powerful impact on the MVP, which is cheating .

There was a similar question before, but it didn't cause so much discussion, but this time it was a bit unexpected.

Mostly because of Windhorst's tweet, people once again realized how strong the Thunder is, which attracted people's envy and hatred.

ESPN sees that there is heat to do, and launched a voting statistics on Twitter, allowing fans to choose whether Durant is cheating.

The voting lasted for 24 hours in total, a total of 89032 users participated, and 87.21% of them considered cheating.

Fans of some MVP contenders, such as Rose, LeBron, and even Howard and Kobe, tweeted a lot to mock Durant, emphasizing that their idol has never done anything to help the team win by focusing on the opponent's bench.

For a while, the reputation of Durant competing for the MVP became quite bad, and some people found his past tweets calling fans poor, discriminating against homosexuality, disrespecting women, etc. Things got out of hand, like To fully encircle Durant.

Durant was directly confused, and asked Su Yang on the phone how to deal with it, and whether it was necessary to hire a crisis publicist.

Su Yang felt a little annoyed. He just wanted to win the game more easily. How could he be a fake starter and do so many nonsense.

After a little thought, he told Durant: "Let's start on the court first, and try to convince them as soon as possible..."

(End of this chapter)