The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 487 Westbrook's troubles

On November 11, the Spurs played away against the Hornets.

The Hornets felt that the Pelicans' victory was a reference, and they looked desperate when they came up.

But in fact, there is still a gap in the strength of the Hornets. Howard has completely lost the fighting power at his peak in the interior.

The biggest problem of the Hornets is that their core Walker is not tall enough but lacks sufficient organizational skills, making it too easy to be targeted.

It is useless for the team to spend money. Without a suitable leader, it is difficult for them to go further.

As a result, the Spurs easily stopped the losing streak and beat the Hornets.

Back at home, the Spurs beat the Mavericks again. Now the Mavericks are almost completely targeted by the Spurs. It is really easy to win them.

Then came the team's final game in November, at home against the Grizzlies.

Grizzly Xia Tian did not move, and even released a little space.

Then, they were cursed by injuries again, leaving Gasol Jr. alone among the high-paid players.

Insufficient offensive power and insufficient defensive strength, the Grizzlies can't support this season.

They give young players a lot of opportunities, and rarely start to give up.

It didn't take much effort for the Spurs to win them. They took a little lead every quarter, and it was done easily.

This Grizzlies team is completely different from what they encountered in previous seasons. They changed their coaches and lost their fighting spirit, so naturally they couldn't cause trouble for their opponents.

In December, the team began to push the candidates for the first All-Star.

This All-Star Game will usher in major reforms. The previous east-west confrontation will be cancelled. Instead, the two captains of the All-Star Game will select players from among the All-Star players to form a team for confrontation.The two captains will be the players who received the most votes from fans in the East and West divisions.

As in the past, the selection process for the 24 All-Star players will not change, still 12 in the East and 12 in the West.The All-Star starters will still be voted by fans, media, and players, while the substitutes will be selected by coaches.The captains of the two teams will select their own players from the All-Star starters and All-Star substitutes.

Zhang Xiaotian's fans are gearing up, hoping to vote for a captain.

In December, the Spurs' first opponent was the Grizzlies. Parker chose to come back at this time, and Popovich gave Parker the starter.

Parker can only play for about ten minutes now. It can be seen that he is also trying his best to change, and wants to use his experience to do a good job of organizing, instead of rushing into battle at his peak.

How should I put it, it may be that I have rested for a long time, my shooting touch is not very good, I don’t have much playing time in other aspects, and my opponent is not strong, so I can’t tell it.

Of course, the Spurs still easily defeated their opponents, and the Grizzlies are really not good now.

On December 12, the Spurs played away against the Thunder, which was the first back-to-back game.

The Spurs let Parker rest in rotation. The work of defending Westbrook is too tiring, and Parker who has just returned will definitely not be able to do it.

Thunderclap is not injured or sick, but the record is not even 50% winning rate, which is also surprising.

However, the Thunder had an advantage in this start, because everyone in the Spurs came back and had enough manpower to rest, and Aldridge didn't play, so the Spurs' inside line was a little tight.

The team played one big and four small ones, mainly because Leonard hadn't recovered his full strength and was not so agile in the fourth position. He had already booked the qualification for the next round of rotation.

Only Zhang Xiaotian belongs to the tough type, and does not need the benefits of rotation for the time being.

The Thunder had an advantage at the start because of Westbrook and Adams.

When Anthony and Paul George were almost locked up, their offense was still good. It was because of the large number of players that the Thunder started really well, so people gossip about their poor performance.

Of course, their substitutes are really mediocre, and the team's tactics do not support the performance of rotation players. At that time, the Spurs will be chasing points back.

However, the Thunder urgently need a victory to boost their morale, and the main players played for a relatively long time. They still had an advantage in the score in the first half.

Leonard was still in the time limit, and Zhang Xiaotian often had to take the lead on both offense and defense alone, and the consumption was not ordinary, so Popovich didn't let him fight on it.

Murray performed well at this time. If he can practice his shooting well, this young man still has a future.

McGee, who got more playing time, committed too many fouls, and he is still not suitable for playing for too long.

At the end of the second quarter, the Thunder hit a three-pointer at the buzzer, extending the lead to 10 points, and the game suddenly became relatively difficult.

Leonard was also anxious and wanted to play for a few more minutes, but he didn't want to talk to the old man.

On the contrary, Zhang Xiaotian became more and more calm, "Thunder's style of play is three-pointed. As long as we stabilize in the third quarter, the form will change. We will definitely perform better in the second half."

The strategy for the second half, of course, is to defend Westbrook in a targeted manner. The defense should be slightly contracted, not giving Adams room to move, and inducing Westbrook to shoot outside.

The Spurs are still good in this regard, and can always make tactical fine-tuning according to the opponent's situation.

Unlike some teams, who play like that back and forth, they will be completely targeted when they encounter stronger opponents.

In the third quarter, the Spurs' two strategies were successful, and the Thunder's resilience was somewhat poor.

The Big Three did not unite well, and it can be seen that they are also trying to find a way, but the effect is not good.

After Westbrook and Adams were restricted, the Thunder's offense became extremely fragmented and unsmooth.

The Spurs have an excellent defensive system and a strong personal defense. Even if it is not their full strength, it is not easy for the Thunder, who are not even in the top eight, to easily fight.

The advantages accumulated by the Thunder in the first half were all wiped out in this quarter.

Zhang Xiaotian's words are right, Thunderclap is a three-pronged axe, when the Big Three have plenty of physical strength and feel good, even singles can give people a lot of pressure, but as long as there is a problem, it is difficult for them to have a good solution.

Whether it is organization-oriented or attack-oriented, and how should the organization be organized.

It wasn't long before the season started, but Westbrook was often troubled by these problems.

He is not used to the current style of play, and he doesn't mind making sacrifices for the team's victory, but he is also impatient, and if the effect is not good, he wants to rely on other means to solve the problem.

The Thunder's players are strong, but it's awkward to play together, and the rhythm is very problematic.

Donovan's methods are still a bit poor. Perhaps it would be better for the team to rebuild the Gemini in the summer. The distribution of the three giants' ball rights and their mutual characteristics and coordination problems gave him a headache.

Now that they are about to enter the fourth quarter, where life and death are divided, how to fight the Thunder needs to make a decisive decision.

(End of this chapter)