NBA: Starting with Jokic template

Chapter 182: The Unaware Victims: Los Angeles Clippers (6k)
Brooks fell into deep frustration.

As the team coach, he had no say in any player changes and could only passively accept them.
Although he felt painful after losing Harden during the offseason, his rapid progress in the regular season this season, with a record of 74 wins and 8 losses, gradually diluted his frustration of losing his beloved disciple.

He always knew that Lin Chuan's contract would expire during the offseason.

But Brooks has been turning a blind eye to these things. He just wants to wait until this season is over, preferably to win consecutive championships, and then think about these things in the beautiful summer.

In his heart, he always assumed that if they won consecutive championships, Lin Chuan would definitely choose to sign a contract during the offseason, so that the team could compete for a dynasty.

But just now, after talking with Presti, I realized that young players always have their own ideas.

I think it makes sense.

Playing basketball, Lin Chuan saved the team that was on the brink of the cliff with his own efforts in the second year. He broke many records this season. Anyone with a discerning eye can see how good his level is.

There is no player in the league who can match his level, so it is really difficult for him to be the second in command.

It seems that we can only deal with it according to Presti's idea.

Thinking of Westbrook's performance over the years, Brooks fell into deep guilt.

Finally, even if it is for him, we have to work hard this season and win the championship as a farewell gift.

…………

"Fuck, why is the training so intense today?"

Durant lay on the ground with one hand covering his eyes to protect them from the overhead arena lights.

Although there are still two days before the competition, there is no need to make today's training so intense. I just did physical training for an hour.

Then there was another long period of specialized basketball training.

This training session was more intense than usual. After the match, everyone else left, but Brooks arranged for two people to stay behind and let him and Durant continue training. They only ended the training when they were almost vomiting from exhaustion.

"What's wrong with the coach today? He just disappeared for a while, and he's training so hard when he came back."

"Who knows, but it's finally over."

Lin Chuan also sweated a lot and sat against the basketball hoop, breathing heavily.

This training is almost more tiring than playing overtime in the regular season.

Even though he didn't mind training, he couldn't help feeling physically and mentally exhausted.

Brooks stood on the sidelines with a serious look on his face.

What happened just now has been lingering in his mind.

Back at the training ground, he couldn't help but ask the two men to practice harder.

They didn't know that it was because of their own reasons that Westbrook was traded after the management weighed the pros and cons. Brooks wanted them to train more on the court and use physical pain to replace the pain they didn't know.

He walked up to the two of them, looked down at them and said,

"I'm doing this for your own good. Westbrook is injured, and now it's just the two of you left. In the next games, you'll have to play for 42 or 43 minutes in every game. I'm going to train you up in the training ground so you can hold up in the game."

They both made an OK gesture to show their understanding.

Looking at the two exhausted people, Brooks sighed.

Next season, their good brother will be traded, and I don’t know what these two will think.

"Play well in the game. The sooner you finish this round, the more time you will have to rest."

"By the way, remember to pack it up when you leave."

When they reached the gate, Brooks suddenly turned around and said something to the two of them before leaving.

Durant, lying on the ground, couldn't help but yell.

"The coach really treats us like cleaners."

Lin Chuan smiled, stood up and walked to Durant and pulled him up.

"Stop complaining. The other staff members have also gone off work. If it's not just the two of us who are cleaning up, do we have to ask the coach to do it?"

Durant was somewhat helpless, and followed Lin Chuan to put all kinds of training supplies in the venue back to the equipment room.

Half an hour later, the two finally finished cleaning up with their tired bodies.

Durant rested on the cushion, looked at Lin Chuan, and suddenly said,

"I don't know how the team will clear space to give you a maximum salary."

Lin Chuan shook his head.
"That's what management has to think about, we have nothing to worry about."

"When we bring a group of minimum-salary players, will we still have this kind of dominance?"

Durant chuckled.

"Of course, we can rule the entire league together."

Lin Chuan was speechless.

"But I always had a feeling you would switch teams."

Durant's sudden words made the atmosphere a little cold.

"Why do you think so?"

"Even an idiot can feel it. Isn't it ridiculous for the second-in-command of the third MVP to say that?"

Durant stared at Lin Chuan.

"If it were me, I would definitely be dissatisfied."

Lin Chuan smiled bitterly.
"I don't know either, but no matter what, we will definitely win the championship this season."

Durant smiled.

"Forget it. Talking about this now will only cause more trouble. Let's talk about it after the game."

Lin Chuan nodded.

Two days later.

It's still the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.

G2 between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Oklahoma City Thunder begins here.

Back on the field.

Griffin, who was selected into the best team, has forgotten the psychological trauma from the previous game.

He regained his confidence as the top pick.

"In this game, we must overcome this tough obstacle on the road. We must let the Thunder know that as a team in the upper half of the Western Conference, the Clippers are strong enough!"

Before the game, Paul, as the team leader, once again made a confident declaration.

"Then can Mr. Chris Paul please predict the outcome of this game?"

"Prediction?! My prediction is to win the game."

Paul raised a finger.
"We have to go back home with a 1-1 scoreline and lead them 3-1 at home."

Seeing how confident he was, the reporter couldn't help but take back the microphone and said,
"Let's hope that what Chris Paul said will come true."

On the other side, Lin Chuan put his hands on his hips and listened to the reporter's interview.

“So, Paul is very confident.”

The reporter nodded.

"Then we will crush him completely in this game and let him know that the Thunder team and Lin Chuan will always be his nemesis."

Lin Chuan said calmly.

The interviews before the game were quite confrontational, and already a lot of tension could be seen.

The audience at the scene was also looking forward to the game even more.

"2:0 them, Lin Chuan will have ten more caps!"

"Durant, score 50 points and blow them up!"

The players from both sides came on the field, the game was about to begin, and the fans on the sidelines were already cheering.

Lin Chuan slowly walked to the center circle and prepared for the jump ball.

G2's game is about to begin!
"Whoosh!"

The basketball was thrown into the air, and Lin Chuan immediately jumped up to grab the basketball.

The first attack was won by the Thunder again!!!

The Thunder attacked, and Lin Chuan ran faster, contrary to his usual behavior.

In the blink of an eye, Lin Chuan rushed into the inside.

Jordan didn't react in time. Lin Chuan, who had been slow in the previous games, suddenly became so fast that he stole the open space. The ball came to Lin Chuan, who received the basketball and dunked directly under the basket over Griffin who was rushing up to defend.

The team's first goal ended with a dunk, and it was even made by Lin Chuan. The atmosphere in the whole stadium was very lively for a while.

Griffin was still a little confused. He didn't expect to suffer such humiliation right at the start of the game.

In the past, he was always the one dunking on others, and it was rare for him to be blocked by others.

The Clippers organized an offense and Griffin wanted to dunk back.

But the Thunder were clearly in high spirits today.

Griffin was only halfway through his flight, and was supposed to fly into the air at the same time so that he could grab the basketball and dunk it into the basket, but he was blocked by Ibaka.

The Thunder then launched another fast break.

It ended with a fast break layup by Reggie Jackson.

Starting with a 4:0 lead, the Clippers had to stabilize and fight a positional battle.

Reggie Jackson, the player facing Paul, was not a defensive stalwart to him.

He hadn't spent much time paying attention to the person in front of him, but was thinking about how to play inside the three-point line after he passed him.

Facing Reggie, Paul didn't even call for a screen. He just tried to break through from the left side based on his own rhythm with two consecutive cross-legged shots.

There are Lin Chuan and Ibaka under the basket, but in this position, Jordan Jr. can just block Lin Chuan, and only Ibaka can catch up to defend.

In this case, I will just pull up and shoot at the elbow.

At this position, even if Ibaka jumped completely, he would still be just a little short of touching the ball.

After changing direction and breaking through Reggie, Paul had already rehearsed all the next moves in his mind.

"Snapped!"

what!
Paul's left hand was still dribbling forward, but then, the sudden feeling of air made him react in 0.1 seconds, and the basketball in his hand was snatched away!

How can it be!

Paul looked behind him in disbelief, but only saw Reggie's back as he was about to rush to the center line.

"Shh!"

Reggie made a layup.

Paul couldn't believe that he was actually intercepted by this backup point guard.

Reggie stole the ball from the league's best point guard, but his expression didn't change much.

At this moment, he seemed to be holding his breath.

Before the game, Brooks assigned tasks to everyone.

We must beat the Clippers by a large margin in this game, otherwise we will have to practice more after the game.

Just like what Durant and Lin Chuan did before the game.

Durant also asked what score was considered a big score, but Coach Brooks said with a serious expression and even some anger that everything was decided by him, so why ask so many questions.

Durant himself was shocked and had to give up.

Although I don’t know why Coach Brooks, who has always been very gentle and friendly to the players, suddenly became so unkind and turned into a tough coach.

But Reggie didn't dare ask.

Just by looking at Coach Brooks's appearance, one could tell that he was in a bad mood, and he didn't dare to offend him.

After all, he secretly asked Durant after the meeting, and was shocked to learn that they had practiced for two or three more hours that day.

Let’s see who has the energy to practice for that long after the competition.

In order to save himself some trouble, he must do his best to perform at his best.

Even if his opponent is Chris Paul, he is not afraid!
Paul is not as scary as the coach!

With a 6:0 lead at the start, the Clippers immediately called a timeout.

After returning from the timeout, the Clippers' self-adjustments were effective.

As soon as he came back, Redick made an open three-pointer.

Durant's dribbling was then intercepted by Barnes, and the Clippers seized the opportunity to score another goal, bringing the score to 6:5.

Watching Barnes score, Durant turned his head and glanced at Brooks who was crossing his arms.

He stared at Durant with a bad look on his face.

Said something to Durant.

Although he didn't hear clearly, he understood the lip reading.

"Want to practice more?"

Durant couldn't help but shiver.

Shit, we can’t fight like this anymore.

Durant wants the ball in the frontcourt.

Matt Barnes, who was defending him, made a big move. As soon as Durant received the ball, he stuck close to him and reached for the basketball with his two powerful hands.

"What's wrong? I didn't expect MVP to be a coward. He was shaking with fear after losing the ball. Do you want to go home and find your mother for milk?"

Durant turned sideways and held the basketball high, listening to Barnes' trash talk with a smirk on his face, and couldn't help but curl his lips.

Turn around, pull up, and shoot three-pointer!

"Shh!"

The basketball hit the bull's eye!

9:5! ! !

Durant landed, stared at Barnes, and said with disdain,
"Idiot, do you really think it's your fault? A role player averaging only 10 points per game has so much to say."

Barnes was furious after being slapped in the face by Durant, but he had no chance to fight back.

A role player has no right to choose to play against Durant alone.

Not to mention that he doesn't have that ability at all.

Paul initiated the attack with the ball. This time, he kept himself steady and was not intercepted again. He made a quick stop jump shot at the free throw line and scored two points to narrow the score.

In the next ball, Lin Chuan held the ball in a high position, Durant quickly stepped forward to receive the ball, and Barnes followed closely to defend.

Seeing Durant catch the ball, Barnes immediately chased him and Jordan Jr. also came forward to assist.

But the moment Durant received the ball and made a layup, the two were dumbfounded.

"Where's the ball?!"

There is clearly nothing in Durant's hands!
So, the hand-to-hand pass just now was fake, and the ball is still in Lin Chuan's hands!
This thought flashed through Barnes' mind, and his peripheral vision glanced at Lin Chuan in a high position.

At this time, Lin Chuan put the basketball behind his head and prepared to shoot in a strange posture.

The movement was like a catapult coming to life.

Lin Chuan lifted the basketball high above his head, then moved his wrist and the basketball flew out.

"Shh!"

An unguarded jump shot from mid-range or long-range went into the net easily without a doubt.

The Thunder once again widened the gap to 4 points.

Next, the Clippers, with Paul as the team's brain, played steadily and did not fall too far behind the Thunder, scoring 23 points in the first quarter.

The efficiency is good.

But as for the Thunder team, the whole team scored 32 points.

The score difference in the first quarter was extended to 9 points.

After Durant made the three-pointer, he continued to attack with the ball.

Not only did he force Barnes into two fouls, but he also forced the head coach to replace him.

Also got 16 points.

Accounted for half of the team's points.

Lin Chuan also scored 7 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

Looks ordinary.

But if he can get these kind of data in every quarter, it will be a triple-double after the game.

"Phew, that's about it."

Walking off the court, Durant breathed a sigh of relief.

I couldn't help but feel speechless.

It was just that the first ball was intercepted and a fast break was made. Why should the coach be so upset?

I've never seen him be so harsh before.

In the second quarter, the Thunder continued to fire at full force, and Lin Chuan, who had been resting as usual, also chose to come on the court at this time.

With him is Kevin Durant.

The two core players of the team showed no intention of taking a rest.

As soon as he came on, Lin Chuan received a pass from Durant at the basket and shot a ball against Odom on the spot.

Back to the other side, Durant interfered with Butler's offense again, and Lin Chuan made a layup in the frontcourt with a two-on-one situation.

For a while, the Clippers were beaten and the score difference instantly became 13 points.

The Clippers obviously didn't expect the Thunder to be so unsportsmanlike and didn't let their main players rest at all during the transition phase.

Prepare to use the main players against the substitutes in the second quarter to completely widen the score.

"Fuck, are these two ready to fight to the fullest?!"

Griffin sat on the sidelines, looking shocked.

"What the hell is this? It's so unfair for the main players to play as substitutes!!"

Paul was somewhat helpless, and asked head coach Vinny De Nagro with his head tilted,
"When will we be able to play?"

Before he finished speaking, Lin Chuan made a strong layup and caused Odom to foul.

Seeing the game entering the free throw period, De Nagro, who was questioned by Paul, breathed a sigh of relief.

This saves a pause.

Lin Chuan made the first free throw, and the Clippers decisively replaced their main players.

Griffin, Paul and Jordan Jr. appeared on the court again.

"Why are you trying to avoid peak travel times, Kevin?"

While Lin Chuan had not yet taken his second free throw, Paul adjusted his jersey and asked Durant, who was standing with his hands on his waist, with a helpless look on his face.

"It's the coach's decision, Chris. If we don't win this game by a large margin, we'll be in big trouble."

Durant looked toward the bench and rubbed his nose.

Paul looked at Durant, where Brooks was standing with his arms folded across his chest, staring at the court with a serious face.

Even though they were leading by more than 10 points, there was no change in his expression.

"Shit, then it all depends on our own abilities. We are also prepared to win 1:1 away from home."

Durant shrugged.

"Think about it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Chuan made his second free throw, and the score difference came to 15 points.

This is exactly what Brooks said before the game about the baseline for a big win.

Paul looked at the Thunder team retreating back to half court, and a hint of gloom appeared in his eyes.

What a disdainful tone that is, Kevin Durant.

Do you really think you're going to win?
Back to the Clippers offense.

Paul had the ball, and this time he chose to let Jordan come up to screen again. However, as soon as the screen was blocked and Reggie was still squeezing for the screen, he saw Paul directly raise his hand and shoot a three-pointer.

"Shh!"

The basketball hit the net.

Reggie dribbled across half court from the backcourt, and Paul quickly stepped up to defend him.

Reggie was startled by the sudden defense. Just as he was about to cross dribble and break through, Paul had predicted it in advance, accurately cut off the basketball, successfully stole the ball and rushed to the frontcourt.

Reggie wanted to make up for his mistake, but was instead defeated by Paul who was prepared and got a 2+1.

In the next 6 minutes after the 0:3, Paul continued to output and scored 7:3 again, chasing the score to 5 points. During this period, only Lin Chuan's 2+1 under the basket caused Jordan to help the team stop the bleeding, forcing Brooks to call a timeout to adjust.

Without the team's main point guard, it was still too difficult to face Paul.

Looking at the calm Brooks, the Thunder players were in a state of panic.

The next second, Brooks slowly opened his mouth and said,

"It seems like you all need some practice. Have you forgotten what I said before the game? If you can't win by a large margin, don't leave after the game. Stay in the gym and practice for another four hours."

Brooks spoke calmly, but his words hit everyone like a hammer in their ears.

4 hours!
After the game!
This is not to kill them!
Even Lin Chuan, who was usually emotionally stable, was frightened by Brooks in front of him and suddenly became nervous.

It seems that the first half was still too weak.

We'll have to increase our efforts later.

Lin Chuan said secretly in his heart.

On the other side, the Clippers seemed unaware that their opponents had inexplicably set a goal to win the game.

We can’t just win by a small score, we have to win by a big margin!

At this time, Paul and Griffin did not know that they were going to become victims of Brooks' words, and they were still drinking energy drinks and chatting.

For them, having just narrowed the score to 5 points, they have every chance of winning this game by slowly fighting a positional battle.

The pause ends.

Lin Chuan decisively took control of the ball, which made Paul, who was originally preparing to defend Reggie from the backcourt, stunned for a moment.

Unexpectedly, Reggie just made a mistake and he was not even allowed to control the ball.

Lin Chuan dribbled across half court and outside the three-point line, and opened fire before DeAndre Jordan could defend.

Three-pointer scored!

Paul immediately looked at Jordan standing in the paint with dissatisfaction.

"DeAndre! Are you a human stake? Get out of here!"

Jordan was a little helpless. He didn't expect Lin Chuan to be so decisive and take a three-pointer.

His desire to attack wasn't that strong in this game.

He took the basketball from Barnes who was serving the ball from the baseline with dissatisfaction, and was about to continue dribbling, but Reggie chose to press and almost caused him to make a mistake.

Paul had no choice but to jump up and pass the ball to Crawford on the other side.

Crawford received the ball and dribbled it around in a very gorgeous manner, but Robertson in front of him was unmoved. At the moment when Crawford was about to break through, he quickly shot out to steal the ball, went to the frontcourt and made another layup.

All the Thunder players suddenly stretched their offense and defense to their limit, and the Clippers were unable to cope for a while.

Even when the score was widened to double digits again, the Clippers called a timeout to adjust, but they were unable to change the situation after returning.

At the end of the first half, the Thunder led by 59 points, 46:13.

In the second half, the Thunder continued to increase their intensity and the score gap became even bigger.

Paul had the will but not the strength. He attacked the Thunder's defense again and again, but due to his size, he could only maintain a 50% hit rate on each shot.

Griffin, who is on the same team, was restricted by the double iron gates in the interior again after a period of strong performance in the first half and could not provide strong support to Paul.

After Lin Chuan and Ibaka increased their defensive efforts, he fell into a slump and became a pure fly-half. His scoring in the second half was not even as good as that of the team's best sixth man, Jamal Crawford.

With 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Paul dribbled past the defense and made a layup.

Looking at the bloody score difference of 1 points on the scoreboard, he showed an unwilling look in his eyes.

Until the last minute, the score difference was still 20+, and Paul had to grit his teeth and swallow the loss.

When the final whistle sounded, the score was fixed at 109:88. The Thunder won at home and they will go to Los Angeles with a 2:0 advantage.

本场比赛，林川32分16篮板8助攻1盖帽1抢断，杜兰特33分7篮板4助攻。

快船队方面，克里斯·保罗28分5篮板11助攻，格里芬17分7篮板2助攻，克劳福德18分2篮板2助攻。

Griffin, whose scoring was even lower than that of the sixth man, was the biggest reason why the Clippers lost the game by a large margin.

(End of this chapter)