Reborn NBA's Strongest Talent

Chapter 331 331. News of Another Comeback
On March 3, the Thunder played against the Raptors at home.

The Raptors traded Leonard this season, coupled with the already reasonable lineup and the iron-blooded military discipline that has been tempered, the Raptors continue to be the overlord in the East. This should be the Raptors' brightest era.

The top spot in the Eastern Conference for another year is actually not all due to Leonard.

The growth of Siakam and Van Vleet has increased the Raptors' scoring points, made up for Lowry's unsteady firepower, and also brought a strong impact ability.

Van Fleet was nicknamed Van Jordan by Huaxia fans.

Leonard's rotation plan not only reduced his appearance, but also reduced a lot of performance.

With Leonard's ability, he could have competed with other stars in the MVP rankings, but the low appearance rate made all the media not interested in him.

If Leonard can keep playing as much as possible, with the No. 25 record in the Eastern Conference and Leonard's 9+[-] data, he can enter the rankings.

You must know that the honor Leonard lacks the most at present is the MVP.

He has won the championship, FMVP, and DPOY.

Today, Leonard was absent again. Leonard did not participate in 40% of the Raptors' away games, and today is no exception.

The Raptors have become a civilian team without Leonard. Even if Lowry was an All-Star this year, he is not a player who can lead the team to victory by himself.

The Thunder are least afraid of civilian teams.

The defensive ability of the Thunder's players is not bad. After Robertson's comeback, the defense has become even stronger. Allen's basket protection, Grant's hard work, Robertson's single defense, Rose's experience, and the presence of Li Cha and Adams.

If the opponent has a player with super individual strength, relying on individual tearing up the defense can also cause headaches for the Thunder. If it is a civilian team, it will really be difficult to climb out of the pit.

The Raptors fell into the Thunder's defensive cage and struggled.

Lowry often misses three-pointers in hard-fought battles. Van Vleet's attempt to break through Li Cha or Robertson is simply a dream come true.

Gasol no longer has the ability to score, and he mainly uses his support ability. Ibaka has a mid-range shot, but it is a pity that he does not have the ball.

The Thunder played a very good game against the Raptors. Li Cha seemed to enter no man's land, scoring like chopping melons and vegetables.

Anthony can also play very well in front of the inside line who is also very slow, and he has a bit of the style of the year.

Taking care of Rose got a lot of assists.

Under the performance of the Thunder's three All-Stars, they easily defeated the Raptors.

108:125，李茶28投18中拿到43分5篮板3助攻。

Anthony scored 18 points and 6 rebounds, and Rose also scored 15 points and 7 assists.

The victory over the Raptors gave Li Cha a shot in the arm. If he can make it to the finals, he may encounter the Raptors where Leonard is, and winning the opponent in the regular season will undoubtedly give him a psychological advantage.

Of course, this premise is to reach the finals, and the Thunder has lost more than wins recently, and the Thunder is about to be squeezed out of the top eight.

Let's talk about the playoffs first.

On the 22nd, the Thunder played an away game against the Raptors. The two teams played consecutively, which was simply to let the two sides get to know each other quickly.

Leonard played, this one.

And the main defense is Li Cha.

It is estimated that players who are known for their defense will want to try Li Cha's offensive ability. If he can defend the second highest scorer in a single game in history, his reputation will not be great.

Even if Leonard is already a well-known defender, it would be itchy.

Leonard has long arms and big hands, coupled with super concentration, the defense is indeed a master level.

Leonard, who has no expression on the court, stable movements and strict standards, and is nicknamed a robot by everyone, also shows his calmness and solid foundation on the court.

Leonard restrained Li Cha very well. Compared with Li Cha's usual performance, the Thunder's poor scoring ability was even worse.

The Raptors' offense is also flawed. Leonard's stability is not easy to burst into high scores, and the weaknesses of other players are also very obvious. Unless the hand feels explosive, it is difficult for the Raptors' offense to appear one-sided.

The Thunder also constantly seized the shortcomings of their opponents and played good-looking games.

It's just that both teams are very resilient teams. With Leonard, the Raptors have obviously become another team, plus home court advantage.

In the end, the Thunder lost 106:109 to the Raptors.

李茶27投12中只拿到30分3篮板4助攻，被伦纳德限制得命中率低了很多。

But it can also be seen that Leonard's defense against Li Cha can't make Li Cha completely lose his offensive ability. Li Cha is still improving. If we can meet in another month, Leonard may not be able to suppress Li Cha.

And facing No. [-] in the Eastern Conference, the Thunder's performance is still remarkable.

It's a pity that no one thinks that the Thunder will meet the Raptors in the playoffs.

Because once they meet, it can only be said that the two teams met in the finals.

The ideal team for the finals now seems to be the Warriors and Celtics. The Lakers James does not get enough support. Maybe he can meet the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, but the winner will definitely not be the Lakers.

Last season, the Rockets and Anthony couldn't beat the Warriors. Judging from the regular season record this season, the Rockets are not as strong as last year, especially Paul's injuries have been repeated, and it is difficult to break out of the West in the playoffs.

After this game, the Thunder's record of 40 wins and 33 losses is not very good. There are still strong teams such as the Lakers, Rockets, and Bucks as opponents. The victory of every game is very important.

The Thunder are temporarily ranked sixth in the West.

Although it is sixth, it is not a steady entry into the playoffs.

The situation in the West this year is too chaotic.

The Thunder's record ranks fifth and fourth in the Eastern Conference.

Although the management doesn't care about the team's record, a few people do.

Li Cha is one of them, and the training has become more serious.

The other person is Westbrook.

Westbrook, who has been silent for a long time, appeared in the game against the Warriors. There is no plaster cast on his knee, and he seems to have no problem walking, but there is still no news about when he will come back.

But he showed up in the morning exercise.

"Russell! You're influencing me!" Li Cha didn't have a good expression.

He watched Westbrook put on his shoes fiercely.

Westbrook didn't come to the arena in his sportswear, he changed when he arrived.

"There's no one on the field, who's affecting you?" Westbrook didn't even look up, ignoring Li Cha.

"You can't just say you're coming back now, the team doctor hasn't approved it yet!" Li Cha didn't want to chat with Westbrook, so he sternly reprimanded Westbrook.

"I've already started recovery training at home, and now I'm just here to show you the results." Westbrook had already tied his shoelaces, stood up and kicked his legs, feeling his condition.

Did not dare to jump, just kicked out of thin air.

Li Cha frowned. Westbrook knew his condition, and he didn't look reckless and only wanted to come back.

But appearing in the morning training is to increase the pressure on the teammates.

"Brother Russell, you should listen to what Brother Li said." Allen walked up cautiously, trying to intervene.

After being glanced at by Westbrook, he immediately shrank into a quail and retreated.

"The current state of the team makes it difficult to enter the playoffs." Westbrook knew that Li Cha scored very well and the role players had no problems defending, but there was a certain degree of disconnection that made it difficult for the team to win.

This is the perspective of the point guard, the perspective of a player with a big picture.

Li Cha was silent, and he didn't win all the games he played with full firepower. The problem Westbrook raised was exactly the flaw of the Thunder at this time.

And Westbrook is an excellent candidate to make up for this defect, but if he makes a forced comeback, the consequences are not what Li Cha wants to see.

"Russell, I promise you that I will help the team reach the playoffs. You should wait until you fully recover before returning. I don't think there will be much time."

"Complete recovery? It's going to be next season, and I don't have the patience to wait until then!" Westbrook dribbled the ball beyond the three-point line, slightly bent his knees, and shot a three-pointer.

"Shua." A three-pointer was hit steadily.

Westbrook's three-pointers are not low in training, but they are always unsatisfactory in games. The main reason is that Westbrook's ability to control his muscles has declined significantly after physical exertion.

In the game, Westbrook will choose more breakthroughs and sprints. The muscles of the whole body are in a state of tension at any time, and the feel becomes very stiff. In training, Westbrook will not do his best to break through, and the feel can be guaranteed to be soft.

So I have seen Westbrook make all 10 three-pointers in the offseason, but in the game, Westbrook never hits more than 5 three-pointers in a single game.

And the three-pointer just now was to show Li Cha that his knees could support him to shoot.

There is no difficulty in bending knees and jumping.

Li Cha could only hold his forehead and was speechless. Westbrook was the boss of the team. No matter how crazy he was this season, it was impossible for him to shake this fact. At the same time, Westbrook was a very stubborn person, and it was almost impossible to persuade him.

"Then how long are you going to come back? At least the team will allow it, does Billy know?" Li Cha could only think of letting Donovan limit Westbrook.

"I haven't told the team yet." Westbrook scratched his head with an embarrassing expression...

Don't be cute on TND, your cute expression is too scary!

"I think it should be about a month to tell the team." Westbrook clapped his hands, pointed to the basketball slowly rolling on the floor, and asked Allen to help pick it up.

Allen patted his buttocks and ran up.

Forget that there are two rookies behind him.

One month, this time is more appropriate.

(End of this chapter)