NBA: Top 3D talents to start

Chapter 263 Victory in the First Battle
The Thunder's head star Westbrook has contributed a lot to being able to gain the lead so easily.

Although it has not yet reached the level of stretching the hips of the Lakers in the 2021-22 season, Westbrook's technical characteristics have led to the fact that once he enters the playoffs with strong defensive intensity and his breakthrough lethality is reduced, the threat level will start to be linear decline.

Lack of stable mid-range and long-range shooting ability, as a point guard in the new small ball era is a very fatal thing, especially the character of this point guard is quite paranoid. The character traits of Yamako.

Throughout the first quarter, Westbrook made 7 of 2 shots and scored 5 points with free throws, seriously disrupting the Thunder's offensive rhythm.

And because of Westbrook, both George and Anthony only got 4 shots.

Under the defense of Wang Feng, George made 4 of 2 shots and scored 4 points. Obviously, although George put down his harsh words before the start of the game, he wanted to compete with Wang Feng in the game, and if he won, he could become the boss of the Lakers. But when he came to the field, he did not continue to compete with Wang Feng. Several offenses were also achieved by running without the ball to the basket or attacking the frame with the help of teammates' pick-and-rolls.

This scene made Wang Feng's eyes flicker slightly.

It seems that George has no idea of ​​​​going to the Lakers.

In the summer of 17, George, who was still in the Pacers, was more inclined to the Lakers. However, the two teams disagreed on the details of the transaction. In the end, the Thunder team who bid for Oladipo + Sabonis made an interception halfway. Steal George.

But in another time and space, when the 17-18 season ended, George chose to renew his contract with the Thunder in the summer, and he didn't even meet with the Lakers management at all.

Now it seems that in this time and space, there are more No. [-] forwards like Wang Feng, and the record of the Lakers has also risen accordingly. It seems that George still has no special attraction.

Of course, what George has in mind will not be known until the end of the playoffs and the opening of the free market.

The focus right now is how to win the game.

In the first quarter against George, Wang Feng took 11 shots and hit 5 goals, including 2 three-pointers. Counting free throws, he scored a total of 15 points, 3 rebounds and 1 steal.

In addition to Wang Feng, Ingram and Lopez also scored and played well.

The Lakers scored 29 points in the first quarter, leading the Thunder by 6 points.

"Although the young players of the Lakers were a little nervous at the beginning, Wang Feng immediately took over the possession of the ball on the offensive end, taking all the points scored by the Lakers in the first few minutes, and quickly calmed down the teammates."

"On the Thunder side, Westbrook played very poorly. He missed many open shots from the outside, which greatly slowed down the Thunder's offensive rhythm. If Adams hadn't grabbed three offenses in the first quarter Rebounds, I'm afraid the point difference in the first quarter will go straight to double digits."

"Now we'll see if the Thunder can adjust in time in the second quarter."

……

Thunder coach Donovan apparently also discovered the problem, and used the rest time to rearrange tactics after the first quarter.

With the debut of the second quarter, the Thunder's offensive focus changed significantly, and the number of shots by George and Anthony began to increase.

George, in particular, frequently used off-ball pick-and-roll screens to separate Wang Feng from cutting in to the basket, forming a one-on-one situation with Lakers center Lopez, and he succeeded in singles again and again.

But in terms of offensive ability, George may not be ranked in the league at all. Many scoring masters Wang Feng has faced, including Harden and others, are far better than George.

But George can play off the ball, and he can also call his teammates to screen and separate Wang Feng.

This point is more troublesome. Wang Feng's main defensive badge, defensive shock and death coil are all badges for one-on-one defense of the ball holder. George runs without the ball and then cuts to the basket, separated by the Thunder player's pick-and-roll screen Wang Feng could only watch helplessly.

"Hey, Paul, aren't you going to take on me? That's how you do it? Run away from me?"

After a few rounds, Wang Feng said to George.

The latter shook his head and said, "This is a game, not a one-on-one duel. As long as I can score and help the team win, then I will be the winner."

The truth is this, but it is definitely not the case in front of the players who are directly facing each other, and even the reporters who watch the whole game.

They would say that George did not dare to face Wang Feng directly throughout the game, and he avoided Wang Feng throughout the game.

However, he is not the first core leader of the Thunder, but Westbrook. As the team's second leader, George's psychological burden is much smaller, and he does not need to compete with Wang Feng.

放开手脚的乔治第二节比赛8投5中，其中包括2记三分外加2次罚球，得到14分，安东尼则7投4中得到8分。

Relying on the performance of the two, the Thunder scored 28 points in the second quarter, but even so, the point difference was not shortened.

Because although Wang Feng can be avoided on the offensive end, the Thunder still cannot solve Wang Feng's problem on the defensive end.

In order to ensure George's offensive firepower, after the second quarter, the Thunder did not do anything at all, let Corey Brewer defend Wang Feng, and George was ready to cover and double-team on one side at any time.

Corey Brewer is a standard defensive player. He is 2 meters tall and mainly plays the position of shooting guard and small forward.

But even so, his and George's perimeter defensive capabilities are only imitating top and bottom. Of course, it is impossible to defend against Wang Feng, even if George is on the flank to help defend at any time.

In the second quarter of the game, Wang Feng's number of shots increased from 11 in the first quarter to 15, and he hit 8 goals. He scored 22 points in a single quarter, blowing up the Thunder's entire defense by himself.

At the end of halftime, Wang Feng has scored 37 points with amazing efficiency.

Relying on Wang Feng's superb performance, the Lakers still had a 55-point lead at 51:4 at halftime.

In the third quarter of the second half, Wang Feng did not play.

With a physical fitness of 92, he is doomed not to be able to play the whole game like James, and the large number of shots in the first half also consumed a lot of his physical fitness in advance.

In the third quarter without Wang Feng, the Thunder finally completely suppressed the Lakers, 29:21 in a single quarter, with a margin of 8 points, and entered the fourth quarter with a lead of 4 points.

But in the fourth quarter, Wang Feng, who had rested for the entire game, reappeared. In just 2 minutes of the game, he made two long three-pointers from the outside to catch up and overtake the score.

Throughout the fourth quarter, Wang Feng made 12 of 6 shots and scored another 14 points. He scored 51 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, helping the Lakers beat the Thunder 116:112 in their first game and win a good start.

(End of this chapter)