The strongest unicorn in basketball

Chapter 189
The Thunder can be called the biggest winner of the season.

Except for the most improved player to Ryan Anderson and the best rookie to Kyrie Irving, several other important awards belong to the Thunder.

Not only that, but also the best team. Durant was selected for the first team, Westbrook was selected for the second team, and Li Pu was selected for the third team. some comfort.

In addition, there is also the best defensive team. Ibaka and Li Pu were both successfully selected for the first team of the best defensive team.

The only pity is Jimmy Butler.

Because he came to a championship team, and his strength was too poor, resulting in very little playing time and lack of exercise, so he was not selected for the best rookie team.

But overall, the morale of the Thunder team is still very high. They have a perfect regular season experience, with almost all records, honors, and statistics.

From a perfect season, the only difference now is the damn championship!

In this way, with the belief of winning and high fighting spirit, they ushered in the challenge of the Memphis Grizzlies at the team's home court on the evening of May 5th.

After receiving the ball, Li Pu feinted twice and then turned around to hook.

Marc Gasol didn't hesitate, he judged Li Pu's shot position in advance, and immediately reached out to interfere.

This European great pyrenes not only has a height of 216cm, but also has a wingspan of 230cm. His static talent is absolutely outstanding!
Unfortunately, even with such a talent, it is still not as good as Li Pu.

Little Gasol reached out to the highest point, and there was still a distance of nearly 20cm from Li Pu's release point.

"Duang!"

It's a pity that the goal was not scored!

Li Pu wanted to grab a rebound, but was stuck behind Gasol Jr., and finally could only watch Randolph accept the rebound.

"This guy! The defense is really good!" Li Pu not only sighed a little.

In the eyes of ordinary fans, they may not think that Gasol's defense is so good.

The size and strength may be good, but the lateral movement speed is slow, and the bounce is not good enough to complete the earth-shattering blocks like Li Pu and Ibaka.

However, in Li Pu's view, Gasol's defense is much better than expected.

This guy really uses his brain to play!
Take the ball just now as an example, the stance, the timing of the interference, and the subsequent rebound block, every movement was done perfectly, so that Li Pu couldn't find any problems.

Although he failed to block Li Pu, he managed to interfere with Li Pu.

Maybe he didn't block shots, and the rebounds weren't his, but he made the Thunder's offense fail through a series of operations.

This is what the data can't reflect, the true value of Gasol Jr. on the court.

Because the Thunder retreated quickly, the Grizzlies did not force a counterattack, but fell into position.

The Grizzlies' starters tonight are: Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol.

It can be seen that the starting lineup of the Grizzlies has both offense and defense, there are many scoring points, and there are many people who can handle the ball!
After Conley brought the ball to the frontcourt, he waited until Gasol came to the top of the arc and handed the ball to Gasol.

Gasol's role on the court is not limited to the defensive end.

He may not be particularly good at any skill, but he can do everything.

He can post up, hook, shoot and pass.

Because of his shooting distance to the three-point line, his high support is very dangerous.

In this area, he can pass the ball hand-to-hand, pass inside, break through with the ball, or directly shoot three-pointers.

Li Pu is not afraid of Gasol's singles, but he is afraid of his tactics.

After all, he is only one person, and it is impossible to guard everyone.

When Gasol got the ball, the rest of the Grizzlies began to run tactics.

First, Conley ran behind Gasol Jr., and it seemed that the two had exchanged hands.

However, when the two staggered, they found that Conley had no ball in his hand.

But it was Li Pu's brilliant effort that Gasol suddenly turned around and broke through.

But Xiao Jia's speed could not be Li Pu's opponent. In just two steps, Li Pu stood in front of Xiao Jia again, blocking his way. Xinke DPOY is not in vain!

Although Xiaojia was forced to stop, he didn't panic, but suddenly passed the ball and put the ball straight to the basket.

Li Pu turned his head and saw Guy sneaking in from the baseline, got the ball and flew for a dunk.

Although Ibaka tried his best to make up for the defense, it was still a step late after all.

Gay's body is really good, he is tall, has big steps, and bounces well, so he completed the slam dunk with the fastest speed.

With Gay's slam dunk, Brooks requested a timeout.

At this time, the game has progressed to the second half of the second quarter, the score was 51:36, and the Thunder trailed by 15 points.

No one could have predicted this score before the start of the game!
One side is the Thunder, which swept the opponents and ranked first in the league, and the other is the Grizzlies, who narrowly won the tiebreaker in a bloody battle. Everyone believes that the Grizzlies may cause trouble for the Thunder, but it should not be a big problem.

Even at the beginning of the first quarter, when the Thunder failed to score in various ways, the Grizzlies seized the opportunity and gradually expanded the score. People still think that the Thunder took too long a break and took a long break.

However, what they don't know is that on the one hand, the Thunder are still looking for status, and on the other hand, because the Grizzlies' defense is very good, they don't give the Thunder a chance to find status.

Soon after halftime, the Thunder barely recovered the point difference to 11 points.

During the halftime break, Brooks expressed his dissatisfaction with the state of the players, turned on the hair dryer in the locker room, and sprayed on the Thunder players.

Not to mention, the players still eat this way. After the start of the second half, the players' condition really improved.

First, Durant hit a mid-range shot against Gay, and then Westbrook caused a foul by Randolph when he broke through for a layup.

The Thunder scored 4 points in a row and were about to start.

At this moment, OJ Mayo, who came off the bench, hit a three-pointer, which made the Thunder team's momentum of improvement, and fell silent again.

The 08 No. 16 player's career was not smooth, but he performed very well in this game tonight, scoring [-] points in the first half alone.

It seems that his talent is still there.

After that, the Thunder had many chances to rise, but whenever the momentum was about to rise, someone from the Grizzlies would stand up.

It could be Mayo, it could be Conley, it could be Gasol Jr., it could be Zach Randolph who was out of shape all night.

Randolph has been underperforming this season due to injuries.

Even tonight, the score has not been in double figures.

But it was such a "black bear" who, at the most critical moment, singled Ibaka with his back and made a crucial goal.

In the end, after the Thunder repeatedly chased points to no avail, time gradually came to an end.

As the referee blew the whistle to end the game, 104:101, the Grizzlies narrowly beat the Thunder by three points and won their first victory in the second round.

(End of this chapter)