super heavy artillery

Chapter 886 The Strong Enemy Attacks
An Luo scored 13 three-pointers in a single game and scored 64 points. The heat continued for a long time. The Thunder seemed to be in the same state as An Luo, and began to improve their record crazily this month.

In fact, since they returned to No. [-] in the Western Conference, they have maintained a rhythm of triumphant progress.Of course, they were not able to shake off the Lakers and Nuggets behind them.The difference in wins between the three teams has always remained between half and one game. Once someone loses a game or two and the other team wins the game, the ranking of the top three in the West will change immediately. .

These three teams can be regarded as the first echelon of the Western Conference and the first echelon of the entire league.However, what is different this season from before is that the Bucks in the East have always maintained a sufficient lead to sit firmly on the league's first throne.After playing the longest winning streak of the season at 18, they are now entering a new one.Antetokounmpo will play amazing all-around data every night, and his personal ability and team leadership ability have finally been fully released this season.

The time has come to mid-November, which means that the regular season of this season is close to halfway.Many teams have begun to officially prepare for the playoffs; many teams are still hovering on the edge of the playoffs, and have not found their best form; some teams have fallen behind and went straight to the lottery.

Prior to this, the Thunder easily defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn Nets on the road, and narrowly beat the Houston Rockets led by Harden at home.Unfortunately, their winning streak was ended in Philadelphia.

The Cavaliers have completely turned into an eastern belly.Even if the lineup they have now and the lineup that reached the Finals two years ago seem to be missing only one LeBron James.But what is missing is the most important part.

In fact, the Cavaliers have been participating in most of the seasons as the East's big belly, except for the two periods when they had LeBron James for a few years.It's no wonder they are, after all, in a small city like Cleveland, being able to have James for more than ten years is already God's special care.Now the Cavaliers are waiting for the arrival of the next James.But this day, I don't know how many years it will be.

The Nets finally officially announced Durant's injury, which is not the kind of huge injury that can affect his career, but he must rest for several months to ensure that he will fully recover before appearing in the game.It can be seen that the Nets have indeed shown enough patience and generosity in dealing with Durant.Of course, they got Irving and Durant this season just to get results.This is a test of Irving's ability to lead the team. As long as he can lead the Nets to the playoffs, when Durant returns from injury, the Nets may still do something.

But unfortunately, the Nets' record is not outstanding.Although they are now ranked seventh in the Eastern Conference, the teams behind them have been eyeing them all the time, and they will be squeezed out of the playoffs if they don't pay attention.

The Rockets can be said to be the most unpopular Western Conference team in recent seasons.Since getting Chris Paul, their lineup has been at the championship level, but they have never been able to cross the threshold of the Western Conference semifinals.He fell at the feet of the Warriors the year before, and was sent out by the Thunder the year after.In several summers, the Houstonians have been preparing to send veteran Chris Paul away, but the latter's huge contract has discouraged many teams.This season, Houston basically has no hope.Although they are still ranked fifth in the Western Conference, they really have no advantage over the previous teams.

It can be seen from this game against the Thunder that the Rockets have been able to maintain a balance with the Thunder for a long time, but when the Thunder improved their defense and An Luo began to take over the offense, they couldn't stand it anymore.

The loss to the 76ers really made the Thunder feel powerless.The initiative of the game was firmly held by the opponent from the very beginning, and the 76ers' strong starting lineup made An Luo feel powerless.

整场比赛下来，76人7人得分上双，先发五虎中，恩比德21分9篮板8助攻、霍福德16分4篮板4助攻、哈里斯18分6篮板4助攻、理查德森21分2篮板2助攻、本西蒙斯17分15篮板8助攻。

In fact, when evaluating the league's strongest starting lineup this season, the 76ers are the well-deserved first sequence.If it weren't for their bench to hold back, the Eastern Conference this season will definitely not be dominated by the Bucks.But this can't be helped, the 76ers have invested too much resources in the starting lineup, and when they want to strengthen later, they don't have the ability!
However, in this game, the 76ers' substitute players performed quite well.Trey Burke and Korkmaz became surprise players. The two jointly contributed 28 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in the case that the playing time was not too long, which not only gave the starting lineup enough rest Time, and even played a little advantage when the two sides rotated the lineup.

After playing these few games, the West ushered in a heavyweight game.The two warring parties are the first Thunder in the West and the second Lakers in the West.This game is not only a confrontation between two top teams in the Western Conference, but also determines who will lead the Western Conference next.

There is no doubt that such a game must be broadcast live across the United States.In the days before the game, the entire NBA circle became extremely lively.Everyone was discussing what the outcome of the match between these two teams would be, and a huge wave was directly caused on various forums and portal websites.As with all either-or things, the entire fan base split into three collectives.Those who are optimistic about the Lakers, those who support the Thunder, and those who just watch the excitement and eat melons.

In addition to the people who eat melons, the supporters of the two teams are citing classics online and fighting with each other, and they will not give in to each other.It felt like a big show, before the main character came on stage, the supporting actors were already playing quite lively!

This situation did not surprise everyone.For teams at the level of the Thunder and the Lakers, the attention itself is extremely high, and the fan base is also large.Now that the two teams have come together, it would be nice not to fight!

For the players on both sides, though, the game wasn't particularly different.It's just one of 82 regular-season games.At most, they will compete for the No. [-] ranking in the Western Conference, but even if they lose, they won't care too much. After all, the season is still long, and one game can't decide anything.

The point where the Thunder have a slight advantage is that this game belongs to their home court.In the past few games, they have left Oklahoma twice, but this time they saved a lot of travel.

On the afternoon of the game, the Thunder players who had rested at home all day came to the training hall early, and under Donovan's arrangement, they conducted a series of recovery training.

Although it was only a regular season, the Thunder still wanted to win this game.After all, the last game against the 76ers was also at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, and the Thunder lost.

Of course, it doesn't mean that the game cannot be lost.Especially during the regular season, except for the encounter between life and death, except for the game that can determine the fate of the team, there is no other game that says that it is absolutely impossible to lose.But every team is unwilling to lose at home. The feeling of being defeated by an opponent under the witness of their own fans is really not good.What's more, the Thunder's loss against the 76ers was a bit ugly. If they lose this game again, the faces of the Thunder's generals will be even worse.

But if they can't afford to lose, it's not something the Thunder can decide unilaterally.The Lakers are not easy to deal with!Therefore, Donovan still made a lot of preparations before the start of the game.

The first thing the Thunder have to solve is how to break through the Lakers' defense.You know, in this season, the Lakers' defense is a headache for all 29 teams.

In fact, this season's NBA, whether it is the East or the West, does not lack teams with excellent defense.The defenses of the Clippers, Thunder, Jazz, Bucks, Celtics, and Heat are all quite outstanding.After all, there hasn't been a situation in which a hundred flowers bloom in this alliance for many years!Everyone has a chance, and those aspiring championship teams know very well that "defense wins championships."

But the Lakers are still one of the most distinctive defensive teams.Their interior defense is second to none in the league.The three big men, Davis, Howard and McGee, seamlessly connected in the game, enclosing the Lakers' penalty area like an iron bucket, and water can't get in.If most teams have not developed enough outside scoring methods, the Lakers' current record should not be worse than the Bucks.

In addition to excellent interior defense, the Lakers' perimeter is not inferior.The perimeter defense composed of James, Danny Green, Bradley, Rondo and Pope, etc., allows the Lakers to face most teams in the league. block each other.

Looking at all the players of the Lakers, a total of 5 players have been selected to the best defensive team.These 5 people are James, Davis, Howard, Rondo and Bradley. Among them, Howard is the only three-consecutive best defensive player in NBA history.Although not all players are at their peak, a lean camel is bigger than a horse and still has defensive skills and experience.

In contrast, the Thunder's defensive system is more flexible, but not as solid as the Lakers.The Thunder's ability to limit the opponent's offense well in the game depends on the players' active defense and rotation.It relies on cleverness, and the Lakers rely on their players' excellent defensive ability to head-to-head with their opponents.

But there is no doubt that the Lakers' defense is more reassuring.After the Thunder lost Paul George, their defensive deterrence has indeed dropped a bit.This is not something that the system and Robertson, who has returned from injury, can make up for it.In most games, the Thunder seem to win easily, but in fact this is caused by their strong offensive ability.In the real tug-of-war, Thunderclap is still relatively difficult to fight.Especially when encountering a solid defensive team, it is not easy for the Thunder to win the game.And there is no doubt that the Lakers are a fairly solid defensive team.

Donovan's starting point is still on his own offensive end.He knows that it is difficult to play an advantage by restricting James and Davis in the game.What's more, the other players of the Lakers are not fuel-efficient lights.Once the Thunder put too much defensive power on these two guys, the rest of the Lakers can easily step up and end the game.This is not the situation Donovan wants to see.He has the same idea as the head coaches of most NBA teams. He would rather be killed by the opponent's superstar than lose to those unknown people.

Thunder want to beat the Lakers, speed is a key issue.After all, judging from the Lakers' lineup, both McGee and Howard are relatively slow-moving.And it just so happens that the Thunder are the kind of team that can improve their speed. They are very good at playing fast-paced offense.Furthermore, compared with the Lakers, the Thunder are young, strong, and full of energy.However, the Lakers have many veterans, and the Lakers do not have an advantage in physical strength. As long as the Thunder speed up the pace, it will be difficult for the Lakers to keep up.

Once the game is brought into a more familiar rhythm by the Thunder, the Lakers will become passive.This time is the time to test Vogel's tactical ability.He can remove the big man, but that will lose the advantage of the interior defensive end.

I believe that such a situation will not be what Vogel wants to see.After all, there is no shortage of characters who can hit the penalty area in the Thunder lineup.Westbrook, Alexander, Gallinari and even An Luo are all players who can rush directly to the basket from outside the three-point line to cause damage.Without players like Howard and McGee to limit them, they might lose faster.

This can be regarded as a flaw in the staffing of the Lakers!However, even if they give up all reasonable tactics and only let James and Davis take turns to attack, it is enough for the Thunder to drink a pot.

Therefore, this game is really not a small test for the Thunder.But such a test is a process they must go through. If they want to defend the championship again, they must face one after another as powerful opponents as the Lakers.Only after defeating all powerful teams can one become the strongest.

Of course, for Lei Ting, everyone is full of confidence.Especially for those players who have been in the Thunder since last season, last season and season, the Thunder, as a championship team for two consecutive years, will not make them feel intimidated by a strong team.

(End of this chapter)