NBA: I am the card dealer

Chapter 396 Opponent in the finals!

The praise for Xue Liancheng has been overwhelming.

"Yahoo Sports" directly reported that Xue Liancheng led the Knicks to return to the finals stage after 27 years with the title "The New King is Coming".

27 years!

A full 27 years.

Such a long span of time is enough to turn a green young man into a greasy uncle.

In other words, he is the uncle.

They are so excited to witness the Knicks reaching the Finals again at this age.

Therefore, there is no doubt about Xue Liancheng's greatness.

It is precisely because of his arrival that the Knicks can return to the center of the league stage after 27 years with this top team in the league.

In addition, last season, under his leadership, the Heat successfully reached the championship and his personal influence has reached the point where no one can compete.

The battle for the number one player in the league will have to start again.

If the Warriors win the championship, there is a high probability that Curry will gain momentum.

Bogut had 15 points and 14 rebounds, Green had 11 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists. Speights had 14 points. Although Iguodala and Livingston did not score in double figures, they performed well.

The Warriors returned to their home court and finally defended Oracle Arena 120:111 after four quarters of hard work.

When there is a drought, they die of drought; when there is a flood, they die of waterlogging.

If the Thunder reaches the finals and finally defeats the Knicks to reach the top, then Durant will have the strength and qualifications to compete with Xue Liancheng.

But it’s hard to beat four hands with two fists!

After all, Curry's intimidation is there, and he still creates a lot of space for his teammates.

And the war in the west is still raging.

There is even a trend of unique gear.

of course.

Once he is not accurate, Curry will do great harm to the team.

This is the current momentum, and the final result still depends on the finals.

Just like James.

Because his biggest competitor, LeBron James, has been killed by him for two consecutive years.

Once the Warriors win the final championship, Xue Liancheng will face the same dilemma as James last season.

Everything has not been settled yet, and the throne of the league's number one player is still hanging in the balance.

Even if Curry's statistics and honors are slightly inferior, Xue Liancheng's desire to become the league's number one is not convincing.

Because in a duel with a direct competitor, you lost. You said you were the number one in the league. Who would trust you?

Westbrook was also very violent. He only hit 28 goals in 11 shots, and his shooting rate was slightly better than Durant.

Curry's condition improved, and he made 20 of 9 overall shots, 8 of 3 three-pointers, and 10 of 10 free throws. He finally scored 31 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, becoming the biggest contributor to the team's victory.

of course.

As for the Thunder.

Thompson made 21 of 8 shots and 9 of 2 three-pointers. He was in a more average state. He also scored 10 points with 9 of 27 free throws.

At this time, no one except Xue Liancheng dared to take the position of the number one player in the league.

In this game, my schoolbag was really smoking.

But the Warriors' other role players performed quite well.

But at this point in the series, Curry's disadvantage of being unstable has begun to show up.

He had 31 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, plus 5 steals, but he made as many as 7 turnovers, which was a mixed success.

But this does not prevent Xue Liancheng from flourishing.

Durant took 31 crazy shots, but only hit 12 goals, 11 of 3 three-pointers, and 13 of 13 free throws. He scored a total of 40 points, plus 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Except for his poor shooting percentage, he was almost useless in other aspects. Picky.

Whiteside made 10 of 5 shots and had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The regular season MVP lost, and the scoring champion lost, but in the direct dialogue in the finals, Curry once defeated Xue Liancheng.

Every other day.

Because of the statistics, Durant has four scoring titles, and his scoring ability is the best in the league. He is known as an indiscriminate singles player, and his strength is unquestionable.

and so……

After losing to the Heat and Xue Liancheng last season, his status as the number one player in the league was already shaky because everyone refused to accept you.

Speaking of honors, after Durant wins, he will have a championship and a high probability of a Finals MVP. In addition to the original regular season MVP in 14, he is not necessarily inferior to Xue Liancheng.

So……

The most obvious place that reflects his personal dominance is the data. Whether it is the first round, the second round, or the current Eastern Conference finals, his personal data are terrifying.

The combination of the two can be regarded as directly crowning the crown of the league's number one person on Xue Liancheng's head.

This may be the best helper around Shuang Shao.

Another one who scored in double figures was Morrow who came off the bench and scored 4 points on 4-for-10.

Other than that, only Adams is worth mentioning, scoring 6 points on 4-of-8 shooting and 10 rebounds.

Others can only say a few words.

In terms of lineup depth and team play issues, the Thunder appear to be very cumbersome.

Basically, they just relied on the two young men to swing back and forth, and the rest of the people almost became close spectators, standing there and watching the whole game.

As for the Warriors, except for the performance of the Splash Brothers, everyone else is playing a fast whirlwind, unlimited defense changes, passing and cutting cooperation, and they all play very well.

This is the difference.

But no matter what, this is a superstar stage, and with the Thunder leading by a huge score of 3:2, almost % of people are optimistic that the Thunder will defeat the Warriors and return to the finals stage.

Even among these nine people, Tyronn Lue and the Knicks players are included.

Tyronn Lue has even arranged a drill for the Thunder's two young men.

The Knicks players also talked about their next opponent during breaks in training, and they were basically optimistic about the Thunder.

Seeing that Xue Liancheng remained silent and did not participate in the discussion, Feng Lai asked curiously, "Xue, who do you think our next opponent will be?"

Xue Liancheng asked calmly: "What do you think?"

Feng Lai did not hesitate: "It should be Thunder."

Xue Liancheng smiled, "But I think it will be the Golden State Warriors."

Don't ask why...

Because of the historical trajectory, the Warriors completed a bloody comeback after falling behind 1:3, which directly caused Durant's mentality to collapse, thus triggering a series of major earthquakes in the league.

Despite the flapping of his butterfly wings, the personnel of the Thunder and Warriors have not changed much, and it is very likely that they will be aligned.

of course.

Nothing is absolute.

The Thunder lost Ibaka, but added Whiteside. The two have completely different effects on the Thunder.

Therefore, it is not impossible that the result will be biased in the end.

After all, there have been some changes on both sides, it just depends on whether the butterfly's wings are flapping powerfully enough.

As soon as this bold prediction came out, everyone looked over. Oladipo was the first to look in disbelief, "Xue, how can you be optimistic about the Warriors? They are 1:3 behind. They defended their home court today, which is considered the last one." Now, back to Oklahoma City in the next game, they won't have any chance, and I believe in Westbrook and Durant, they have the ability to end the series in three games."

Obviously.

Oladipo still has great trust in MVP-level Durant and Westbrook, and their achievements have long been recognized by people.

No one could imagine that the Thunder would lose three games in a row with a 3:1 lead.

After all, Westbrook and Durant are both MVP-level superstars! How could they let something like this happen?

This is how the general public thinks.

Xue Liancheng: "They are indeed very strong, but in terms of scoring explosiveness, I am more optimistic about Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Once their three-pointers are opened, they can kill the game in an instant, while the Thunder, on the contrary, their three-pointers It's very bad. The Warriors are constantly shrinking their defense, and their offense will become more difficult."

The reason why the Thunder were overturned was mainly because their three-point shooting was too poor and they couldn't open up any space at all!

Look at the Thunder's lineup.

First of all, Durant is not famous for his three-pointers. He scores high, mainly in indiscriminate singles. He is very skilled in singles, and three-pointers are only one of them, but it can only be said that he is okay and has three-point ability.

Then there is Westbrook. Needless to say, his career three-pointers have always been mediocre and he has no threat at all.

It can be said that Westbrook's spirit is commendable, his impact is at a historical level, and he is extremely enterprising. Even the zombie jump shot can be said to be his signature move. Any label is acceptable, but three-pointers are not included.

Then there is the defensive champion Robertson. Although he is a shooting guard, his three-point level is really...hard to describe.

Even worse than Westbrook.

Because the amount he cast was small, it was not very accurate.

The offensive end only has a piece of cake.

Then there are Whiteside, Adams, and Soft on the inside. The three of them basically have no three-point ability, or to be more precise, they don't even have a three-point threat.

Therefore, after the entire starting lineup, the Thunder's three-point ability is quite weak. If they really want to pick one person to represent the three-pointer, then perhaps Durant, the singles king who does not dominate the world with three-pointers, is the most suitable.

One can imagine how unbearable the Thunder's three-pointers were.

Then came the substitutes Dion Waiters, Randy Foye, Morrow and others. They have a certain three-point threat, but they are not very stable.

Therefore, in summary, you can understand why Westbrook and Durant have been fighting hard in the last two games.

<divclass="contentadv">Because they can only cast outside.

Cole has squeezed the lifeblood of the Thunder.

If the Thunder wants to break out of the tight encirclement, there is only one possibility. Durant and Westbrook both break out and steal the game with lightning speed. That is only possible.

But obviously, the Warriors are not fools.

Everyone knows that you are not good at three-pointers. Can you not shrink the defensive line so that you can't break through?

and so……

This is why he is not optimistic about the Thunder.

Oladipo: "But Durant and Westbrook are superstars, they can do anything."

Xue Liancheng opened his mouth, "..."

For a moment I didn't know what to say.

Are superstars omnipotent?

Not so!

If you are not good at three-pointers, or if your muscle lines are not smooth, you are destined to be unable to practice three-pointers. Wade and Westbrook are typical examples.

Although they are superstars, they are really bad at three-point shooting!

How can this be called omnipotent?

Therefore, superstars are not omnipotent. They are also human beings, they also have flaws, and they can also make iron.

If Durant and Westbrook can't break through, they can only take mid-range shots and high-post shots. It would be strange if their shooting percentages are high.

Once the two of them shut down, it would be natural for them to lose the game.

Oladipo obviously did not understand these things thoroughly and was still swearing, "I can't think of a reason why they can't break through."

Xue Liancheng smiled: "The result will be known soon."

And two days later.

The Thunder lost again at home 101:108, and the score became a 3:3 tie. Everyone was shocked.

The Knicks were in disbelief.

At this moment.

Feng Lai finally remembered Xue Liancheng who had unswervingly supported the Warriors, and praised Xue Liancheng, "Xue, you are so amazing. How did you know that the Warriors could reach this point?"

And at this time.

All the teammates looked at Xue Liancheng with admiration.

Especially Oladipo, he really wants to know the answer.

Xue Liancheng reiterated, "I've said it many times, the Thunder don't have three-pointers, they have no room to break through, and that's why they are bound to be eliminated."

Some of the data in the game actually illustrate a lot of problems.

杜兰特又一次疯狂出手31次，但这次只命中了10个球，三分也只有8中1，只得到29分7篮板3助攻。

Among them, he also made 10 of 8 free throws. Otherwise, Durant's data would only be even worse.

It's really...tragic.

They couldn't break in at all, they all floated outside and were constantly being flanked.

In this case, Durant really worked hard and shot an overall 32.3% shooting rate, which is not surprising.

Westbrook was not much better. He only hit 27 goals in 10 shots and scored 28 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists.

It looks like a gorgeous near-triple-double.

But his turnovers were still high, with a total of 5. At the same time, he made 5 of 0 three-pointers. He was completely the one who was left empty-handed.

It was also thanks to 10 free throws and 8 hits that he achieved such a score.

Westbrook's main offensive method is to play defensive counterattacks. Without this tactical arrangement, the Turtles might really be uglier than Durant.

of course.

In fact, it's not much better. The overall hit rate is 37%, and the efficiency is also hard to describe.

Then Whiteside, 10 of 5, scored another 13 points and 9 rebounds.

Robertson scored 5 of 5 and scored 11 points.

Then it was blank again, no one scored in double figures.

The Thunder's overall three-point shooting percentage was only 13%, with a total of 23 shots and a total of 3 hits.

There is really no ability to open up space.

In this case, they were able to fight the Warriors until the last two minutes, which I have to say is simply a miracle.

To know.

The Warriors' overall shooting rate is 41.3%, which doesn't look very high, but their three-point shooting rate is a terrifying 47.7%!

A total of 44 shots were taken and 21 goals were made.

In other words, just relying on the three-point difference, the Warriors beat the Thunder by a full 18 points.

Under such circumstances, it is really rare to be able to play until the last moment, which shows that Westbrook and Durant are indeed strong and deserve the MVP level.

If this game were to be judged as the best, it would only be a desperate situation.

汤普森本场比赛31中14，三分18中11，疯狂地揽下41分。

When the time came to the last two minutes, the two sides were tied at 101:101. Thompson stepped up and hit a fatal three-pointer to complete the lead.

This tilted the balance of victory in the favor of the Warriors.

Without Thompson's three-pointer, it's really not certain who lives and who dies.

Curry's performance was average in this game. Although he scored 31 points, he made 22 of 9 shots and the overall shooting rate was only 40.9%.

It's just that he made 14 of 6 three-pointers and his three-point shooting percentage was 42.9%, which still contributed a lot to the team.

At least he gave his good brother Thompson enough support in terms of his three-point firepower.

In addition, he also scored 10 rebounds and 9 assists, which also gave the team great support in this regard.

Then there was Chasing Green, who made 10 of 4 shots and 5 of 2 three-pointers. He scored a total of 12 points, plus 12 rebounds and 6 assists, completing his task perfectly.

As for other role players, they are relatively satisfactory.

Amid the anticipation, the tiebreaker between the Thunder and the Warriors began.

The two sides entered into hand-to-hand combat from the beginning, and no one was favoring the other.

But during the game, the Thunder were always suppressed by the Warriors because the Warriors' morale increased.

They obviously played more excitedly, more calmly, and with more discipline.

The game entered the final three minutes.

As Curry sneaked out and hit a mid-range shot after receiving a pass from Barnes, the Warriors led the Thunder by 90 points at 79:11.

It seems that the overall situation has been decided.

Durant stood up, first hit a three-pointer, then went to the free throw line, and then succeeded from mid-range. He scored 7 points in a row, pushing the score to 86:90.

It seems that suspense has arisen again.

But as Curry made a three-point foul, he succeeded.

Everything is settled again.

In the end, the Warriors defeated the Thunder 96:88 at home at the Oracle Center and completed the final promotion.

Everyone watching the game was numb.

They never expected that the Thunder, which was leading 3:1, would not win a game in the end, and the Warriors completed the comeback.

Having two superstars in Westbrook and Durant doesn't seem to work either.

It is still hard to find a victory.

And this time.

Durant and Westbrook have undoubtedly been criticized.

They were even questioned as to whether they still had the ability to change the trend of the game, or whether they were the superstars that people recognized.

After all, in everyone's impression, superstars are omnipotent and can turn the tide.

The Thunder, with two superstars, actually lost completely in three games, which had to make them suspicious.

At this time, the entire Oracle Arena fell into a carnival.

Escape from death!

That kind of joy is unparalleled.

Another good thing is that they made it to the finals for the second consecutive year.

This means that they have formed a certain degree of dominance in the Western Conference and are once again qualified to compete for the championship, and they are still qualified. How could they be unhappy? Not excited?

All the Knicks watching the live TV looked at Xue Liancheng.

I'm crazy...

Making a prediction at 3:2, Xue Liancheng chose the Golden State Warriors without hesitation.

Great God!

Ok……

In one sentence, he is very accurate in judging people and problems.

Without three-point ability, it seems that it is really impossible to make it in this league.

This was their biggest realization at this time.