NBA: Starting with Jokic template

Chapter 190 Defense VS Defense, System Tasks Come Again

Game start!
Lin Chuan jumped high and won the first ball of the game for the team.

Durant received the basketball and immediately started to advance. After some flexible operations outside the three-point line, he broke into the inside and made a light layup despite the help of Duncan in the inside.

There was a burst of cheers at the scene.

The Spurs were not to be outdone. When it was their turn to attack, Tony Parker responded with a mid-range shot.

Back to the Thunder's possession, Durant wanted to attack again, and started a three-threat as soon as he received the ball.

Leonard's big hand almost stole the ball from Durant, and he continued to interfere, forcing Durant to force a shot.

Watching the basketball fly out, Lin Chuan could tell from Durant's shot that the ball had an 80% chance of not going in, so he wanted to fight for the frontcourt rebound.

Just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly found a solid body blocking him from jumping.

The basketball hit the rim and bounced back. Lin Chuan was unable to exert any strength and could only watch as the basketball was snatched away by Duncan in front of him.

Then going to the frontcourt, Duncan started to back-up against Lin Chuan and successfully scored a hook shot near the paint area.

"He is worthy of being the No. 1 power forward in history. Look at his current prediction and defense. Even though they have deteriorated a lot compared to his peak period, he still made players of Lin Chuan's level suffer."

In the broadcast room, Mike Breen praised Duncan's performance.

On the court, the Spurs seemed to be in high spirits today.

In the following round, Leonard once again defended Durant's one-on-one play, and Lin Chuan was blocked by several Spurs players in the frontcourt and was unable to grab offensive rebounds.

The game continued, and the scene that the fans expected, that the Thunder would lead the Spurs by a large margin, did not happen.

The first half of the game is over.

The score on the field was 49:37.

The Spurs led by twelve points.

So far, for the Thunder, Durant has taken 11 shots and hit 3 balls, scoring only 10 points. He was completely locked up by Leonard and scored the same as Lin Chuan, who only took 6 shots and hit 4 balls.

It seemed that Lin Chuan's performance was acceptable as he scored 6 points with 4 of 10 shots, but, Lin Chuan only grabbed three rebounds as a whole.

It's very different from his usual self.

Entering the intermission, Mike Breen couldn't help but exclaimed,
"I didn't expect Duncan to perform so well today."

My partner also agreed.
"That's right. Just looking at the performance in the first half, Duncan obviously outplayed Lin Chuan. He scored 9 points and 7 rebounds in 5 minutes in the first quarter, 19 points and 17 rebounds in 8 minutes in the first half, and limited Lin Chuan to only three rebounds, which is much worse than his average level. If the Thunder don't make adjustments later, they will probably lose this game."

Mike Breen looked at the scene on the field and said,

"Although it's a bit early to say this now, I have to say that judging from the current situation, the Spurs are likely to break the Thunder's unbeaten streak and take a 1-0 lead away from home!"

........................

"Are you not feeling well? It seems like you and Kevin are not behaving normally."

In the locker room, Brooks looked at Lin Chuan with some concern. If Lin Chuan didn't perform as expected today, he wouldn't be sure of beating the Spurs.

Especially when Durant currently seems to be in poor form.

Lin Chuan shook his head gently.

He didn't think he was in a bad state today.

On the contrary, with the data panel, he has been in very stable condition for more than a year, and today's hit rate also shows that there is no problem with his touch.

Durant on the side suddenly spoke up, his tone full of self-blame,

"I didn't play very well today, I'm sorry."

Brooks shook his head.

"The opponent has obviously studied you, Kevin. The Spurs' small forward has a very high level of defense. You underestimated him."

Durant nodded.
"I underestimated him at the beginning, but after missing two shots, I realized that his defense was not low. However, he was still able to disrupt me later. I didn't play well today."

"And it's not just his problem."

Brooks continued,

"That small forward, Kawhi Leonard, has a pretty good defensive level. Even if you get rid of him, there's still a second layer of defense in the paint led by Duncan. You can only try more mid-range shots, Kevin."

"Take a break first, everyone. I'll adjust your play for the second half when we come back."

Some of the others went to the toilet, some chose to eat to replenish their energy, only Lin Chuan was still sitting on the chair, looking into the distance through the door of the locker room.

He only grabbed one rebound in the first quarter and only three rebounds in the first half, mainly because he was restricted by Duncan.

I still underestimated him a little...

Lin Chuan thought about Duncan, whose hair had turned a little gray.

Even though he was much heavier than Lin Chuan, Duncan remained calm and tried his best to resist Lin Chuan.

Several early blocking attempts made it impossible for him to exert any strength to grab rebounds.

I didn’t expect that at an age close to retirement, he still has such strong defensive abilities.

Even though he couldn't jump much anymore, he was still extremely focused on the game and every ball, rarely leaving any loopholes for Lin Chuan.

Such willpower made Lin Chuan a little amazed.

but……

Lin Chuan has never been a player who retreats when faced with difficulties.

The better Duncan is at predicting and grabbing rebounds in advance, the more interested he is in fighting with Duncan.

"Ding! Temporary mission triggered: Defense VS Defense!"

"Mission Requirement I: Grab 20 rebounds in this game."

"Mission Requirement II: Grab 5 offensive rebounds in this game."

"Mission Reward: Defensive Rebounds +2, Offensive Rebounds +3."

Exactly!

The system and Lin Chuan seemed to be in tune with each other. Just when Lin Chuan made up his mind, the temporary task was released at the right time.

Considering that Lin Chuan only grabbed 3 rebounds and 0 offensive rebounds in the first half, completing this task seemed a fantasy.

Not to mention, although Lin Chuan's defensive rebounds value is 97, his offensive rebounds value is only 74, so it is really difficult to grab 5 offensive rebounds.

However, for Lin Chuan, there is nothing that is impossible.

On the basketball court, everything is possible!
Just 20 rebounds!

At this time, Brooks also arranged the tactics, the halftime break was over, and the second half of the game was about to begin.

Lin Chuan stood up and walked towards the court. His eyes were fixed on his opponent, Tim Duncan, and he adjusted his game state.

In the second half, according to Brooks' request, the priority was to restore Durant's touch.

Durant has always been a special attack player against the Spurs.

Once his touch is restored and he scores consecutive goals from mid-range, it will become very difficult for the Spurs to play against him.

The Thunder don't need to exhaust themselves to fight a defensive battle with them.

On the court, in the Spurs' first offensive round, Tony Parker took a mid-range shot, but was blocked by Lin Chuan, and then he grabbed the rebound and launched an attack. Lin Chuan passed the ball to Durant again and ran forward to set a screen.

Durant took one step to the three-point line and jumped up to shoot.

The ball went into the net easily.

On the next ball, after Lin Chuan protected the rebound again, Durant converted a three-pointer and scored again, narrowing the score difference to 7 points and directly stopping the Spurs.

On the sidelines, Brooks secretly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled as he watched Durant score two consecutive goals.

"Two more times and they won't be able to restrain me."

Durant was also much happier. If he continued playing like this, he could atone for his poor performance in the first half and lead the team to win the game.

Lin Chuan also glanced at Durant who was pumping his fist in celebration.

If he can maintain this state, he doesn't need to worry about offense, just do a good job of defense.

It is also convenient to complete the task.

Just when Lin Chuan was ready to just grab rebounds and defend, the adjusted Spurs team once again announced that Lin Chuan was going to make a mistake.

After Durant bypassed Lin Chuan's screen, the man with the ditch hairdo that made him annoyed suddenly appeared in front of him again.

Kawhi Leonard.

Got around the cover so quickly?
Before Durant could be shocked, Leonard's hand had already stabbed directly into Durant's right hand like a dagger and intercepted the ball.

Not knowing whether his style of play was countered by the Spurs, Durant decided to try again.

This time, although he got rid of Leonard, just as he entered the three-point line, Durant had not stopped to prepare for the shot, and Duncan had already defended him and interfered with the shot again.

Because Duncan pulled out of the restricted area to defend Durant, Lin Chuan found the right spot for the basketball to land and grabbed the ball.

The next moment, before Lin Chuan could jump up to attack again, Duncan once again pressed against his side, leaving him no room to jump.

Lin Chuan took the ball back into his arms, and in the extremely bloated and narrow penalty area, he passed the ball backwards from the other side of his body.

With a no-look pass, the ball was passed to Durant at the free throw line again.

"Oh! Look how wonderful this goal is! It directly demonstrates Lin Chuan's top-notch passing skills!"

Seeing this ball, Mike Breen immediately shouted.

As long as Durant can score this goal, it will definitely be one of the top ten goals of the day!

Can he do it!
next moment!
"Snapped!"

As soon as Durant raised his hand, the basketball was slapped down by Leonard behind him.

"Alas, it looks like Durant will be locked down by the rookie small forward on the opposite side today."

Seeing Durant's disappointing performance, Mike Breen couldn't help but complain during the live broadcast.

After scoring twice and missing twice after the timeout, Brooks realized that the Spurs had obviously found a way to limit Durant's performance.

Two minutes after the Spurs called a timeout, he decisively called a timeout.

Not only Brooks realized this, but Lin Chuan did too.

Seeing how fast Duncan, who is already 37 years old this year, was in defense, and how he didn't look like a player who was about to retire, he knew that this game would not end so easily.

"Let Lin Chuan take the lead. I'm not very accurate today. Don't let me waste this precious chance to attack."

Fortunately, Durant is not a player who gets easily carried away. After two consecutive offensive failures, he returned to the bench and immediately spoke up to delegate power.

It seems I still have to solve the problem.

Lin Chuan felt helpless.

He also has the task of grabbing rebounds.

So far, he has only grabbed 7 rebounds, including three in the first half, and still has 13 rebounds to go.

But for the team's victory, Lin Chuan decisively agreed. After all, at such a critical moment, no one was more qualified than him to take action.

"I agree. Of course, you need to find your form slowly. I will still give it to you if there is an opening."

Hearing Lin Chuan's words, Durant also nodded quickly.

"That's natural."

After the timeout, Durant decisively handed over the ball and passed it to Lin Chuan in the frontcourt.

In the frontcourt, Lin Chuan received the pass from Durant in the high position, faced with Duncan's defense, made a mid-range shot, and scored the ball over Duncan's head.

Then, in the next round, Duncan chose to post up.

After a few dribbles, Duncan successfully got to the basket.

At this time, he used the same trick again, suddenly turned around and came to the side of the basket, and hooked the shot again.

It is very difficult to interfere with this angle and arc, because the hook shot itself is sideways facing the basket, which will create a higher arc, causing the defender to jump higher than normal in order to interfere with the shot.

This also means that most hook shots depend more on the shooter's own feel than on the opponent's interference.

But who is Lin Chuan?

The blocking and interior defense have already been maxed out!
How can it be impossible to block a player who is not famous for his hook shot?
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Lin Chuan jumped high to shoot the ball with a very high hit rate, and hit it hard with his left hand, blocking the ball with a volleyball block to deny the goal!

"OK!!!!"

"Lin Chuan has to get serious!"

"Come on, Lin Chuan, defend our home court and kill them!!!"

"Come on! Win the game!!!"

"We are the defending champions! It's time for the old guys to step aside and make way!!!"

The fans on the sidelines also began to cheer.

The ball was hit out of bounds by his strong force. Lin Chuan looked at Duncan and saw his heart through Duncan's eyes.

Duncan seemed calm at this moment, but Lin Chuan could see that his desire to win the game was stronger than anyone else!

This is the inner workings of a man who has secured the No. 1 spot in history at the power forward position just a few years after his debut!

Even though he has already stepped down from the top, he has never given up and has been waiting for the day to reach the top again!
Looking at Duncan, staring into his eyes, Lin Chuan said, "I have received your will and determination for this game."

"Next, I will respond to you with the same level of willpower!"

"I will use all my strength to defeat you and make you admit defeat sincerely! Tim Duncan!"

At this moment, Lin Chuan's fighting spirit suddenly increased rapidly and vigorously!

Compared to before, it has increased fifty times!
With this momentum, nothing can defeat Lin Chuan!
Even though this momentum cannot be detected by the naked eye, Duncan in front of him immediately felt this momentum.

A slight fluctuation appeared on his calm face, and he became more serious.

Duncan rarely spoke.

"Let's fight and see who is more eager to win the game!"

Hearing Duncan's response, Lin Chuan also raised his lips and smiled, which seemed a bit ferocious in the eyes of outsiders.
"Ah, come on!"

(End of this chapter)