warrior godfather

Chapter 183 Nobody Knows How to Guard Durant Better Than Me

The goal of the Thunder this season is also to point to the playoffs. Of course, Brooks will not sit back and watch the team fall into a disadvantage. During the break, he quickly made adjustments.

After the start of the second quarter, both sides replaced players on the bench, and Durant was replaced with 4 minutes left in the first quarter and returned to the court at this time.

The Thunder's starters have Westbrook and Durant as two strong points. Brooks deliberately split their playing time so that the team always has an attack point on the court.

Westbrook played the first quarter, but his performance was not good. Now Brooks gave Durant the ball and let him take on the important task of leading the team.

Durant also lived up to expectations. After playing, he made two consecutive mid-range pull-up jumpers after running without the ball, helping the team quickly chase points.

The Warriors' defensive system has been carefully tuned by Ron Adams. It focuses on multi-person oppressive defense in local areas. It is best at shrinking the inside and rotating pincers, which is very dependent on the team's discipline.

Moreover, apart from Butler, the Warriors lacked a good outside single-defense player. Reggie Williams, who came off the bench, was only average in defense. There was no way to face Durant, and he couldn't interfere with his shooting at all.

After 4 minutes in the second quarter, Durant scored 8 points in a row by using mid-range shots and swinging arm swings. He led the Thunder to beat the Warriors by 10:4, chasing the point difference to 37:39, only two points behind.

Zhang Yu could not help frowning as he watched Durant kill all directions from the sidelines. Today Durant seems to be extremely hot, with a very high shooting percentage. He is in a better state than the previous two games against the Warriors, no matter how he shoots.

A bad premonition rose in his heart, he won't be beaten by Durant tonight, right?
"Di-"

As Durant used a huge early change of direction to get rid of Reggie Williams and made a layup to help the Thunder tie the score, Zhang Yu called a timeout.

When Durant was off the court, he high-fived his teammates one by one, looking very excited. He felt that the basket was as wide as the sea, and tonight was destined to belong to him!
"Coach, I feel very good. The opponent can't defend me at all. I want to take more shots!" After Durant returned to the bench, he couldn't wait to volunteer.

Faced with Durant's request, Brooks naturally agreed:
"Okay, James, I will pass the ball to Kevin more later. Everyone will cover Kevin according to the established tactics and create opportunities for him to shoot...Kevin, you have unlimited firepower. You can choose what you think is suitable. Offensively, as long as you think it's a good opportunity."

Durant grinned and nodded excitedly. This is the way he likes to play.

Give him the ball, he will score, all the lights will shine on him, let him be the master of the game!
Soon, the timeout ended and players from the two teams returned to the field. Brooks sent back the starters, but left Harden on the field. Zhang Yu did not replace Varejao, but let Matthews and Butler partner up front.

The Warriors attacked, and Azubuike took Harden by force. Harden's defense seemed a little weak, and he failed to withstand Azubuike's impact. He rushed to the penalty area and succeeded in a layup.

At 39:41, the Warriors once again led by two points.

Brooks watched Azubuike score easily, couldn't help frowning, and shook his head.

This is the reason why the Thunder are sitting on top scorer Durant, but still have ups and downs, hovering on the edge of the playoffs. Their defense is really bad.

The few young players on the outside of the Thunder are all talented and talented on the offensive end, but they are lackluster on the defensive end. However, the center of the Thunder is borrowed from the unknown Krstic. The defense inside is very average. A breakthrough means that the team's defense is likely to end in failure.

But Brooks had no choice. Apart from Sefolosha, who was an elite defensive player, the Thunder’s four young players were all offensive.

He set his sights on Durant, a super scorer who has already shown his superstar demeanor.

The Thunder won the game not by defense, but by offense. As long as Kevin Durant is present, Brooks has the confidence to win every opponent!
In this attack, the Thunder still looked for Durant, who once again used Jeff Green's cover to receive the ball in the middle distance.

But what is different from before is that the Warriors changed their defensive strategy, and Butler and Matthews suddenly flanked Durant!

Durant was caught off guard, took the ball and swayed from side to side, barely evading the pressure of the two, and threw the ball to Jeff Green who was emptied in a panic, but he had already killed it in the oblique stab of Curry, who was watching eagerly. Blocked the ball, took a hard shot, and rushed to the frontcourt!

In an instant, the Warriors turned from defense to offense. Curry came to the penalty area of ​​the Thunder team. He turned his head slightly, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw no one behind him. He slowed down and came to the basket. Push hard, kick the ground hard with your left foot, smash the ball with your right hand, and smash the ball into the basket!

"Slam dunk from Curry! This is Curry's first dunk in the NBA. To be honest, this dunk seemed a bit forced, but it still aroused cheers from the Oracle Center." Mike Breen said.

Jeff Van Gundy laughed:
"I don't know why, but I always felt that Curry was going to dunk... His dunk was really a bit reluctant this time."

Messages in the Sina live broadcast room were brushed up:

"666, Curry can actually dunk, I thought he, like Nash, couldn't dunk at all!"

"Fuck, after more than 40 games, Curry finally dunked. Isn't his physical talent the worst in the history list?"

"Thanks to Durant for passing the ball, half of the credit for this ball goes to Durant, hahaha."

There were also cheers in the Oracle Arena. Although Curry's dunk was indeed a bit reluctant, the Warriors fans didn't pick it up. They had seen more explosive dunks before, but the Warriors' record was a mess. Curry gave the Warriors Brought the victory, his dunk no matter how hard it is, it is also a dunk for the Warriors fans!

Even Curry himself played back with his head in disbelief, as if he hadn't thought that he dunked just now. The funny expression appeared on the big screen in midair, causing another burst of laughter.

Zhang Yu also applauded on the sidelines, smiled slightly, but turned to Durant.

His timeout was not for nothing. In his previous life, Zhang Yu watched the 2016 Western Conference Finals between the Warriors and the Thunder, and watched the Warriors complete a super comeback from a 1:3 deficit. No one knows better than him How to guard against Durant.

Durant's scoring ability is indeed strong, and he will evolve into a super scorer in NBA history in the future, but he is just a scorer.

Durant has never been a playmaker. Throughout his entire career, he averaged only 4.1 assists per game and 3.1 turnovers per game. His ability to drive his teammates is very average. In fact, it is very poor, and the ability to break double teams is not strong.

And that was Durant who later won the MVP. Now Durant is mainly off the ball, averaging only 2.8 assists per game, but 2.1 turnovers. Zhang Yu made Butler and Matthews feel at ease. He flanks, and the rest are responsible for the follow-up rotation, without worrying about Durant passing the ball to drive his teammates.

The ball just now is a clear proof that Durant's vision is narrow and he only saw Jeff Green in the open position. This is a trap set by the Warriors. Curry has been waiting for the opportunity and finally successfully steals Durant. Special pass, fast break and easy dunk.

Looking back, Durant didn't believe in evil. This time he asked for the ball directly from outside the three-point line and wanted to play alone. Butler and Azubuike double-teamed him without hesitation and forced him to take the ball. Watching the defense, he made a dry draw, but was interfered by Butler, and the basketball went out of the frame.

Chandler easily protected the rebound and passed it to Curry. Curry slammed the ball forward. Azubuike, who was on a fast break, received the ball and hit a layup against Durant. Durant Special waved a pair of long arms, but they were useless, and did not interfere with Azubuike's layup.

39: 43.

The noise at the Oracle Center got louder, as Jeff Van Gundy said:
"The Warriors flanked KD, and the Thunder failed two consecutive attacks. I think they should change their offensive strategy. KD's performance in the face of flanking is obviously not good enough."

Brooks sensed this too, yelling at Durant:

"Kevin, play off the ball more and don't give them a chance to double-team you!"

After Durant heard it, he nodded reluctantly. He felt very good tonight, and he was ready to kill the Quartet, but the opponent double-teamed him very annoyingly, which made Durant I'm in a bad mood.

But there is no way, he knows that his passing ability is not good enough, if he wants to shoot, he can't give the opponent a chance to double-team him.

This time, Durant obediently ran without the ball. He hung up two screens in a row, and finally ran out of a gap, caught the ball and shot, and the mid-range shot went in.

41: 43.

Zhang Yu shook his head regretfully. The Warriors changed every screen, and the blocked people continued to chase, but in the end it was Krstic who screened for Durant, and Chandler tried his best to save it. He is a center forward, not as mobile as Durant, but still a little slower, Durant seized the opportunity and hit the shot.

This is Durant, with his height and long arms, Chandler can interfere with any other small forward.

But Zhang Yu's strategy is still effective. Under the crazy double-teaming of the Warriors, Dulan especially wants to attack with the ball. The shots were all made under very difficult circumstances.

……

"Di-"

In an attack by the Thunder, Durant received a pass from Harden while running without the ball, but Butler and Curry immediately pounced on Durant and pressed Durant. Durant did not make a phone call immediately , In a panic, he wanted to pass the ball to Harden who was emptied, but he made a mistake and threw the ball out of the court. The referee whistled and the Warriors had the ball.

On the sidelines, Zhang Yu took advantage of the dead ball and looked up at the big screen. At this time, the score was 53:60, the Warriors led by 7 points, and it was only 1 minute before the end of the second quarter.

Throughout the second quarter, Brooks did not change his strategy. The Thunder's offense still revolved around Durant. Can put treasure on Durant.

Although Durant faces the Warriors' strict defense, he attracts defensive attention and can also create opportunities for teammates.

But Brooks still overestimated Durant's ability. Under Zhang Yu's guidance, the Warriors attacked him very hard, and they almost used a four-pointer. But Durant is not Curry, and there is no "Du has gravity" .

In many cases, the Warriors' pincers will miss people. As long as the ball is passed, it will be an open opportunity, but Durant either can't see it, or can't see it, and these open positions will be quickly filled by the Warriors.

Durant has only two choices-pass the ball in a hurry, or stop the ball and wait for his teammates to come up to respond, and this can only make the Thunder's offense stagnate, or make a mistake and be counterattacked by the Warriors.

He scored a few goals by running without the ball, but it was difficult to score every time, and the point difference was gradually opened up by the Warriors.

After this mistake, the Warriors attacked, and Zhang Yu gestured to Curry, who was in possession of the ball, and Curry nodded in understanding.

He came to the top of the arc, instead of looking for Chandler to play a pick-and-roll, he beckoned to Butler.

Butler froze for a moment, then ran towards the top of the arc and set a cover for Curry.

This time Westbrook didn't try to squeeze through the screen, but chose to switch defenses.

Mike Brin said with some surprise:
"Butler made a screen for Curry and replaced Durant in front of him. What kind of tactic is this for the Warriors? Is Curry going to single Durant?"

Not only him, but Brooks is also puzzled. Although Durant is 2 meters, he has the mobility of a small forward and has a long wingspan. Curry wants to single Durant?
Soon, Curry's actions verified the speculation of the two. After Durant switched in front of him, he waved his teammates to disperse, showing a posture of going one-on-one with Durant.

Durant was already so angry at the Warriors' frenzied flanking attack that he had nowhere to vent his anger, and he was even more furious when he saw this. It's okay to double-team me when he is attacking, but he still treats me like a soft persimmon on the defensive end?

As soon as his brain became hot, he immediately started to fish for Curry's ball, but Curry's light back luck shook Durant's reckless press and rushed over from the right side of his body.

Durant turned around and wanted to keep up, but his center of gravity was too high, his turning speed was not fast enough, and he was a step slower. He could only watch Curry break through to the penalty area. board hit.

53: 62.

"Yes! Curry got rid of it beautifully and made a layup! In the direct dialogue at the second place, Curry was even better. It is worth mentioning that although Curry entered the NBA two years later than Durant, the two are At the same age, they are direct competitors!"

(End of this chapter)