super small forward

Chapter 612 612. Battle Thunder

Liu Ren got an interesting discussion from Pelinka’s company documents received by the girl. Durant once asked Pelinka whether his commercial value would be affected if he joined the Warriors or the Clippers. Influence.

And Pelinka’s feedback is that not only will it not be affected, but both Oakland and Los Angeles are places of great commercial value. Needless to say, Los Angeles, San Francisco, where Oakland is located, ranks among the top five super metropolitan agglomerations in the United States. Only New York, The city circles of Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia can be said to be more prosperous than the San Francisco city circle. Durant can go to the Warriors or Clippers. The feedback given by Pelinka, who was still an agent at the time, is that the commercial value will increase significantly.

It is completely impossible for Durant to go to the Clippers. The Clippers already have Griffin, Paul, and Jordan with a maximum salary of more than 2000 million a year, plus a group of expensive and not so practical role players. It's almost breaking 8500 million. The total salary of players with skyrocketing contracts next season will reach 1000 million, and most of the urban Crawford's premium contracts of more than [-] million, no matter what, there is no way to trade them out to make room.

So Liu Ren came to the conclusion based on this document that Durant and Curry have an ulterior secret... no, it's a secret!
Then the current situation this season has become very interesting. The Lakers do not want to compete for the first place in the West, because the eighth place in the West is likely to be the Rockets, Grizzlies, Mavericks, and Pelicans. The teams in the Southwest Division have to compete with them for the No. [-] in the West. The Thunder and Clippers who are fourth and fifth are not easy to deal with.

The Thunder have always had a huge advantage over the Clippers, which is the small forward. No matter how many small forwards the Clippers change, no matter how famous they are, they will be useless when they reach the Clippers. The strongest point of the Clippers is Paul. Brook also has no advantage, so the Thunder basically played on the Clippers in the past few years.

In this way, if the Warriors maintain their ferocious momentum this year to the end, then the Thunder and the Warriors are very likely to meet in the second round, and one of Curry and Durant's teams is bound to lose.

Liu Ren found it interesting. If the Warriors lost to the Thunder, would Durant still choose to join a team that lost to them?It's really embarrassing to join!If the Thunder lose to the Warriors and Durant joins the Warriors, the impact will definitely be more brutal than when James joined the Heat.

As the boss of Curry and Durant's agency, Liu Ren doesn't think there is anything wrong with this. The giant effect brought by the two partners will definitely increase. Criticism also represents popularity. The more popular Durant and Curry are, the more popular they are. The bigger the endorsement contract, the more money Liu Ren can make.

Therefore, Liu Ren looked at this matter with the mentality of watching the excitement.

As for the possibility of the Warriors forming a super giant lineup that looks scary, Liu Ren said that he is not worried, but he is more excited. The stronger the opponent, the more challenging it will be.

Winning the championship is important, but what about other than winning the championship?Definitely defeating the strongest opponent.

Liu Ren never had the possibility of being famous in his previous life, but he still loves basketball. It is the kind of spiritual accomplishment after defeating an opponent, and defeating a stronger opponent is the best.

Now Liu Ren is not short of money, not short of popularity, and has won the championship. The next thing he wants to do most is to achieve the honor that others can't do, and defeat others who seem to be invincible.

Watching the fun is watching the fun, but the Thunder are really not the Warriors' opponents. Now the Warriors are in that almost invincible state. The Thunder are very good, but it is really nothing to face the Warriors who have won 25 consecutive victories. The way, from the beginning to the end of the game, the Warriors have been leading, did not give the Thunder a chance.

This game... the Lakers felt that it was a waste of time to watch it, and it had no reference value at all. The only feeling is that the Warriors are really strong. It has reached a point where it is difficult to break in the future.

The Warriors have been crazy year after year for two consecutive years, not at all worse than the momentum of the Lakers' rise from the shadow of the failure of the Big Four in the previous two years.

……

……

I have to say that the young players of the Lakers were a little stimulated by the Warriors.

The reputation of the Warriors this year is the same as that of the Lakers last year. They are invincible and rampant in the league, and their record is even better than that of the Lakers in the same period last season.

In fact, although the Lakers won 74 wins last season, their record is the same as this season so far. At this time last season, they were 24 wins and 3 losses. This year's schedule is a little easier. The Warriors changed to an interim coach Luke Walton, and they started with a 22-game winning streak.

The Warriors defeated the Thunder so easily, the Lakers players are naturally unwilling to lag behind the Warriors, they are very eager to beat the Thunder today, they do not want to continue to lose to the Warriors.

At 17 pm on the 6th, the Lakers came to the Ford Center Arena in Oklahoma City to challenge the Thunder, who played the second game of back-to-back games away.

Both the Thunder and the Lakers have a good relationship with the players. Durant is a member of Liu Ren’s company and admires Kobe very much. Westbrook is a kid in Los Angeles who grew up watching Kobe, so he has a good relationship with the Lakers players. , Although it seems that the Lakers have eliminated the playoffs in the past two years, this does not affect the relationship between the players. Kobe often gives Westbrook advice on playing.

However, Westbrook and Durant didn't have a particularly deep friendship with Liu Ren before, because they were indeed not that familiar, but now they can make friends.

Contrary to Liu Ren's expectations, Westbrook, who seems to be more unrestrained, is actually more shy, while Durant, who looks more like a migrant worker, is more talkative and lively.

After Liu Ren got acquainted with them for a while, Durant talked more: "Boss, when will you invite me to play in your arena? Now I'm a player under your command, so I can't treat you like this."

Liu Ren was a bit embarrassed. Except for the Clippers players, the top ten superstars in the league have basically invited him to his home, making his training hall a special event only for superstars to be invited. , but except for the Clippers who have not invited because of hostility, the other top ten players have not invited Durant and Westbrook, so it is indeed a bit embarrassing.

However, Liu Ren was really not familiar with the Thunder players before. Although the Thunder has always had a good record, they are the kind that their parents don’t love, and their grandma doesn’t love them. No matter how good the record is, the schedule is very strange. The Lakers will go to other cities for back-to-back immediately, or they will play other teams and come to Los Angeles back-to-back, or even have the Lakers and Clippers in several consecutive away games, but they don’t play consecutively, but come to Los Angeles , I went to other cities the next day, and then came to Los Angeles. I didn’t have any schedule privileges that a strong team should have, and I never missed back-to-back.

So Liu Ren has never established a friendly relationship with these two people, and it feels too strange to invite them to lunch when they are not familiar with each other.

Liu Ren's answer was quite face-saving, and he said in a joking tone: "Of course, I have wanted to invite you for a long time, and Russell is the same, but every time you come to Los Angeles to stay for a day, you leave, and you don't even invite me." You didn’t even give them a chance, Kevin, you sure didn’t expect that I would become your boss one day, so be careful if you don’t show face, I’ll put on shoes for you, and discuss with your management to get you to Minnesota.”

"NO! Boss, you can't do this! We are brothers! Hahahaha..." Durant laughed loudly, and joked with Liu Ren very cooperatively.

Although agents have the power to guide players where to go, there are agents like David Falk who manipulate players to go to those bad teams that are willing to give big contracts to get high signing fees from bad teams, but Liu Ren's agency has been known for its good reputation for more than two years. If David Falk had signed a group of talented young players like the Lakers, he would have made a fuss for the Lakers to trade and make a lot of money. Yes, and even if the players are sent to a bad team, there is no way to say anything, because David Falk did find them the team that can give them the biggest contract and make more money.

After the pre-match greetings and the Thunder's home pre-match activities, the players of the two teams stopped joking and friendly, and the game was about to start.

The starting lineup for the Lakers is Clarkson, Kobe, Liu Ren, Green, and Whiteside.

The Thunder started Westbrook Ibaka and Whiteside to the middle circle to jump the ball.

Whiteside lost the jump ball, he was embarrassed!Although Ibaka suffered an irreversible decline in explosive power due to his injury worsening due to his forced play after being injured in the playoffs two years ago, his bullet speed and jumping height did not decline much, but his explosive power and confrontation ability dropped a lot.

Ibaka gave the ball to Westbrook, and the Thunder went first.

After Westbrook advanced to the frontcourt, he continuously changed directions and passed Clarkson to the free throw line. When the Lakers focused on Westbrook, Durant used Westbrook to pick and roll to get an open opportunity. Brook passed back to Durant who came to the top arc.

Durant took the ball high and fast, the key is that it was accurate, and fell into the Lakers' basket with a slam.

Not to mention, although some fans complained that Westbrook was too sticky to the ball, took too many shots, and stole Durant's ball, Westbrook was really a perfect partner for Durant, because of his existence, Durant Only then will there be so many open opportunities and the efficiency will be so high.

It can be seen when Westbrook was reimbursed due to injury in the 2013 playoffs and when Durant led the team alone for most of the regular season in the 2013-2014 season. Without Westbrook, although Durant can still score, but The efficiency has dropped a lot, and it is difficult for the Thunder to even make it to the playoffs.

There is a saying that is good, Durant, a super scorer, raises the upper limit of a team, and Westbrook, an all-round point guard, guarantees the lower limit of the team. The combination of the two is perfect.

Just like people have been expecting James and Kobe to work together.

The Lakers attack.

The Lakers advance quickly, and most of the other teams advance quickly only at the guards, but the Lakers as a whole are very fast.

The Thunder just ran over, and the position was not completely settled. The Lakers caught up from behind and set up an offensive formation. Glinka took the position, and Clarkson had already passed the ball in from the outside.

It takes a long time for other teams to prepare for the low-post offense in the half court, but the low-post offense here by the Lakers can be used as a fast break.

Ibaka's speed has really dropped a lot. He just ran back to his home lane, and before he was out of breath, Green had already posted up for a back-up single.

The Lakers are playing in the transition period. Green hit Ibaka with an unsteady foothold, turned around and made a small throw, and scored the first goal for the Lakers.

The Thunder came over in the second round, and Westbrook came over with the ball. This time, Liu Ren went up to mark. He found that Clarkson, the poor version of Westbrook, really struggled against the real Westbrook.

Liu Renfang is different, his speed is not slower than Westbrook, and his strength and height are completely crushed.

Seeing this scene, Durant immediately ran out from the inside and made a screen for Westbrook.

The tacit understanding between Westbrook and Durant is really good. Westbrook seems to have expected that Durant will come up for the pick-and-roll. .

With perfect pick-and-roll cooperation, Liu Ren was blocked by Durant, and Westbrook went inside.

Behind Durant, Clarkson's attention was on Westbrook, and Liu Ren's attention was also on Westbrook. The two rushed over together, and Westbrook passed the ball back to Durant again.

Durant made a long shot from the three-point line.

Being beaten twice in a row by the same style of play made the Lakers feel a little uncomfortable and under a lot of psychological pressure. However, their psychological quality has grown the most in the past two years. After Durant scored a goal, Whiteside immediately picked up the ball and served it. The Lakers counterattacked directly.

This is the tactics prepared by the Lakers before the game. D'Antoni is indeed imitating the Warriors' tactics.

For one thing, the Warriors’ tactics are really good, otherwise they would not be able to win the first 26 consecutive victories in history, because their lineup is actually not better than the Cavaliers, Knicks, and Spurs. It is very advanced and the style of play that is most in line with the current trend. D'Antoni naturally wants to integrate into his own system.

The second is to use the Thunder to figure out a way to deal with the Warriors, because Bickerstaff has never been able to think of a way to deal with the Warriors, and there was no solution to this in Liu Ren's previous life. topic of.

The Lakers made a fast break, and Clarkson ran over and passed the ball to Liu Ren. When Liu Ren got the ball, Whiteside had already picked and rolled over. At this time, Liu Ren took the ball and moved sideways, and Whiteside moved toward Cut to the basket.

This is a fixed routine for the Lakers. Liu Ren took this opportunity to quickly pass the ball inward. The Lakers' tactics are clear. The Thunder's inside combination is really not bad. Adams, who defends Whiteside, is both fast and strong on the defensive end. And the footsteps, the bounce is a little bit worse, but the movement speed and confrontation are very strong, and it is not as dirty as 01:30.

Liu Ren passed the ball so directly, Adams pushed Whiteside and broke the ball.

Whiteside yelled for a foul, but the Thunder's home referee ignored it. Whiteside's complaint was invalid and he had to run back to defend.

Fortunately, it was Green who interfered with Adams' passing route, blocking the Thunder's opportunity for this fast break.

Westbrook received the ball and advanced to the frontcourt. Both Ibaka and Waiters pulled to the 45-degree angle and bottom corner on one side. Except for Adams, the Thunder's lineup has four players who can make three-pointers. Ibaka is the first That group of 3D players, but now Ibaka only has 3 and no D left.

On the other side, Westbrook and Durant continued to pick and roll.

Westbrook used the pick-and-roll to avoid Liu Ren's defense, but this time Liu Ren and Clarkson had a better understanding. The two immediately switched defenses, and Clarkson stood in front of Westbrook.

But Clarkson really can't guard against Westbrook!Westbrook got excited when he saw Clarkson, and immediately took a step forward to dribble the ball, then pretended to be strong but suddenly stepped back and got up to take a mid-range shot.

Westbrook's rhythm is well grasped. In the second step, Clarkson was completely swayed back again and again. Westbrook almost made an unguarded shot from the free throw line and made it easily.

The Thunder opened the game 7-2, leading the Lakers by 5 points.

In the face of the powerful offensive ability of Westbrook and Durant, the Lakers feel the pressure.

This time Liu Ren took the ball, and Liu Ren took the ball and chose to rush forward, easily crushing Dion Waiters into the three-second zone, and Ibaka and Durant directly came up to double-team.

At this time, Kobe, who had a low sense of presence recently, became free, Liu Ren immediately passed it to Kobe, and Kobe made an open shot!

In fact, although Kobe gave people the impression that it is not difficult to create difficult shots, all kinds of incredible shots, but in fact his open shots are very accurate, but there were basically no open shots before.

The Lakers chased the score to 4 to 7.

The Thunder came again, and Westbrook made a long pass to Ibaka.

Ibaka took the ball and was going to play a fast break, but Liu Ren stared at him from the sidelines to prevent him from playing fast. After reaching the three-point line, Ibaka held the ball up and returned the ball when Westbrook came over. Westbrook.

Westbrook broke through with the ball, and the Lakers' defense immediately surrounded Durant and Westbrook. Westbrook immediately sent the ball to Waiters, who was in the middle of the baseline.

Waiters is a great blacksmith. Liu Ren still remembers that he seemed to be famous for one goal against Waiters. That brutal block pushed Liu Ren into the sight of Lakers fans, and also promoted the Lakers management's attention list.

Waiters is indeed a little watery. The draft pick is so high, but his strength has not improved much. He averaged 15 points per game in his rookie year and sophomore year, which is basically the peak. After that, it got lower and lower, and his shooting percentage was also touching.

However, the Thunder overall felt very good today, and Waiters also made a mid-range shot, which helped the Thunder rewrite the score to 9 to 4, and the Thunder led the Lakers by 5 points.

The Thunder started fiercely, forcing the Lakers to call a timeout first.

(End of this chapter)