NBA: Starting with Jokic template

Chapter 242: 55 wins in the first half, all starters selected for the All-Star Game?

For the Knicks, who defeated the championship favorite Miami Heat last season.

Don’t say anything else.

Anthony, Stoudemire Jr., and JR, these three have strong scoring abilities.

Even though JR is not an All-Star and is just a sharp-tongued player, he is the best at explosive plays and you never know when he might score goals in a string.

If the opponent can score, they can also catch up.

They also had many feats in the game where they defeated their opponents with a single wave and won the game.

Woodson also had this consideration, thinking that the few players on the field could also match their opponents and score a few goals to tie the score, so he chose to continue watching the game and did not call for a timeout to interfere with the game.

But not calling a timeout this time was their most regrettable move in this game.

It was precisely because he wanted to wait a little longer that the team's score gap was quickly widened.

Anthony finally scored a goal.

Turning around, ten seconds later, Durant shot again from outside the three-point line against Anthony.

The Thunder made 3 of 4 shots in the first 4 minutes!
All three points!
Everyone's touch is visible to the naked eye.

Because of Woodson's cleverness, he did not call a timeout immediately and could only watch the Thunder's three-pointers rain down immediately.

It was three minutes later before the Knicks called a timeout.

At this time, the score had become 14:22.

The Thunder lead by 8 points.

It seems to start from this moment.

The outcome of the entire game was no longer in doubt.

Even if the Knicks adjusted their strategy.

It was only the first game of the regular season, but they started pressing forward and quickly rotating on defense, with the intensity that would be maintained until the playoffs.

But it was still difficult to stop the Thunder's three-point rain.

Often, the Knicks would run hard and create opportunities to score a goal.

Come to the Thunder.

One of the starting five will stand outside the three-point line, pick up the ball and shoot directly.

Then with a "swish" the ball fell into the basket.

The score difference widened by one point again.

The plot of the first two sections is a repetition of this.

After halftime, the Thunder were leading the Knicks by 17 points.

And their entire team has already made 20 three-pointers.

On the contrary, the Knicks team only made 7 three-pointers.

This is already a situation where the performance is better than usual.

During the halftime break, Anthony began to doubt his life again.

He doesn't understand.

This offseason, I have made enough efforts to improve my basketball skills.

But in the end, facing their former opponents, they were beaten even more miserably.

During the finals, they were able to fight back and forth with the opponent until the fourth quarter.

Now, the game collapses at halftime.

Chandler felt helpless as he looked at Anthony who was thinking with his head down.

He knew what Anthony was thinking.

But to be honest, the opponent played well enough in this game.

The only reason they were able to play last season was because the opponent's starting point guard, Westbrook, one of the Big Three, was injured and did not play.

This season, Westbrook was replaced by two three-point shooters, Thompson and Curry.

It's normal to be unable to defeat.

Coming to the second half.

The Knicks were unable to fight back in the third quarter.

The Thunder beat them 40:18.

Directly fell behind by 39 points.

Total collapse.

In the fourth quarter, both sides replaced their players with substitutes.

Play until the end of the game.

No one expected the game to end like this.

The Knicks got blown out.

Lost by 42 points in a single game.

And the main point of losing points is this.

The Thunder made the most three-pointers in a single game in history.

35 goals.

For comparison, the other team in this game is the Knicks.

Only 11 three-pointers were made in the entire game.

In the first game of the season, the Thunder team with a brand new lineup delivered a perfect performance.

Although their playing style has changed, their intensity has not declined at all.

In the first game, they used a historic three-point rain to shoot through the Knicks, who broke through the Eastern Conference and reached the finals last season, and defeated their opponents by 42 points.

In this game, Curry made 9 three-pointers and scored 3 points, shocking the entire league.

No one could have expected that this thin point guard, who had injured his ankle again last season, would play so well in his first game after being traded.

He even had a historically rare performance in his season debut.

He gave a slap in the face to those media who were not optimistic about him before the game.

Not only Curry, but others also performed extremely well.

Thompson, Durant and Lin Chuan also made 7, 5 and 4 three-pointers respectively.

Thompson is also a new player.

Given his rookie status and off-ball three-point shooter.

There aren't many scenes in this scene.

There were only a few attempts to catch the ball.

But he also seized the few opportunities he had.

Such performance completely dispelled the rumors in the media who were pessimistic about the Thunder team before the game.

After the game, facing the media interview, Anthony was sad and pessimistic.

"Maybe we can't compete with the Thunder anymore. We lost by 40 points in three quarters. I don't know how we can win against them. You know, this is still the regular season. I don't think they have used their full strength."

"I personally think that they have already secured the championship this season, and the rest of us are just here to run with them."

This statement caused a sensation.

No one expected that Anthony, who was ranked second in MVP last season and was considered to be among the top three in the league at the start of this season, would simply announce his defeat after just one game against the Thunder.

This also led to a wave of criticism online, with people calling him a coward.

Some people think he was afraid of the first game. You have to know that the two teams are in different divisions and have to play two games in a season. The next time they will play at home, there is still a chance to tie the game at one.

Not to mention what the record would be like if they advance all the way to the finals and face the Thunder again, but there is still a possibility of a tie in the regular season.

But there was no trace of competitive spirit in Anthony's words, as if he had been completely crushed by the Thunder.

It seems that they are ready to admit defeat in advance.

This also made countless fans disgusted, and Anthony's own fans were the most hurt.

They never imagined that the star player they supported would be such a guy who gave up easily.

Faced with overwhelming attacks and abuse online.

Anthony did not refute anything. He looked like he had accepted his fate and was ready to let the other party scold him as he pleased.

A few days later.

When he was invited to participate in a program on his day off, he said when the host asked him about this matter face to face,

"I don't think there's anything wrong with what I said in the first game of the season. Based on the one game between me and them, I think the championship race this season can be concluded. There's nothing to argue about."

"Cameron, we've only played five games. Isn't it too early to draw a conclusion?"

The host was a little puzzled. After all, the gap in strength between NBA teams would not be that exaggerated.

It's not the case that we think it's a big deal just because a team has just been formed.

Even the Thunder, which won 74 games in the regular season last season, had to fight the Spurs until the seventh game in the Western Conference Finals before defeating their opponent, didn't they?
But Anthony just shook his head, was silent for a moment and then said,
"Forget it. I don't have anything else to explain to you. I'll just say one last thing. The Thunder have already been crowned the champions this season. If you don't believe me, just wait and see. In a month at most, you'll understand why I say that."

After the interview program was released, Anthony received more abuse and humiliation.

He said that he completely surrendered to the Thunder after playing against them a few times.

Some fans even said,

"Anthony, no wonder you're nicknamed Melon, you're really soft and easily defeated by your opponents. Since you're sure they'll win the championship, why don't you ask the manager to trade you, or wait until your contract ends and join them at a minimum salary, praying that they'll agree to take you with them so you can win a championship."

"Indeed, the Knicks lost their first game against the Thunder after five games. They are now 4-1 and he is still so depressed. In my opinion, the Knicks should just give up. Anthony has given up on the game anyway. They should just give up and pick a No. pick to be the core. As for Anthony? Since he thinks the Thunder are so strong, just trade him! Useless coward!"

Seeing these words, Anthony just smiled bitterly and said nothing.

In last season's finals, he witnessed the Thunder's powerful strength.

Even if a major starting player is injured and unable to play, they can still easily sweep them.

This season, they got an All-Star point guard and one of the league's top shooters, and the effect was outstanding, winning by 40 points in a clean manner.

From then on, he knew that the opponent was invincible.

So he never refuted the comments online.

They are right.

I was indeed defeated by the Thunder.

At this moment he was not in a hurry at all.

Because he knew that time would prove everything.

A month later.

The top-ranked team in the Eastern Conference.

That is his Knicks team, which is now 10 wins and 2 losses.

It looks good, and the net score is 8.3 points, second highest in the league.

They beat their opponents by double digits in almost every game.

Looks like he's another good candidate for the finals.

But Anthony was not happy at all.

It’s all because of the Thunder, currently the top team in the league.

The record at this time was 12 wins and 0 losses.

Haven't lost a single game since the start of the season.

The average net score per game also reached 21.3 points.

This means that every game they play is a super massacre with more than 20 points.

The Knicks' average net score per game looks high, but the gap between them and the first-placed Thunder is even larger than the gap between them and the 76ers, who rank th in the league.

This gap is like a natural chasm.

It's as if all 29 teams are still at the same level.

The Thunder have already crossed this level and reached the next level of league.

Seeing such a gap, many of the voices that previously mocked Anthony on the Internet gradually died down.

More and more people believe that Anthony may be right.

His vision as a professional player is very professional.

That’s why we can conclude that the Thunder will definitely win the championship in the new season after the first disastrous defeat.

The Knicks' own record also supports his point of view.

Even the Knicks, who hold the first place in the Eastern Conference and have only lost two games so far, lost to the Thunder by 42 points. Who can stop them?
After going undefeated in October, the Thunder didn't stop.

The team also maintained its winning streak in November and December.

Since the start of the season, they have once again won 36 consecutive games.

After breaking the regular season winning streak record last season and setting a new record of 35 consecutive wins, everyone thought that this record would remain sealed for at least half a century.

But no one could have imagined that less than half a year would pass.

After the start of the new season, the Thunder once again broke the record they set last season, easily refreshing and rewriting it.

At this point, the two biggest points are no longer about who can win the MVP in the regular season and who can make it to the next round.

Because at this time, the official MVP list released.

The last eight of the top ten often change repeatedly in ranking and players.

But only the first two have never changed.

Lin Chuan has always been first and Durant second.

Maintained from the first phase to now.

So, the most popular topic now is.

Who can defeat this Thunder team and break their winning streak?

In other words, how many games do they have to win before they start to get tired?
The question was quickly answered.

After they won their 40th game.

Back-to-back, and also the fourth game of a five-game road trip, facing the Bulls, who are currently ranked only fourth in the Eastern Conference this season.

Even when the main player Rose only made 27 of 11 shots, the game was lost because of a fatal mid-range shot by Rose with six seconds left.

It ended their 40-game winning streak.

But Lin Chuan did not feel too much regret.

Firstly, the Bulls are known as the winning streak killers and have broken the long winning streaks of countless teams. He is also mentally prepared when playing at the opponent's home game.

Secondly, the season is so long that it is impossible to win all the games. Losing a game occasionally can help everyone relax. Otherwise, carrying too much pressure will only make you more tired.

What's more, he only said at the beginning of the season that he wanted 80 wins, and did not say 82 wins and 0 losses, so losing one or two games is not a big deal.

After the Thunder lost the game, many teams realized that the Thunder are not invincible.

Their unbeaten record was forced to fall apart. In the following games, the Thunder's opponents were like chicken blood, and the intensity of every game was almost at the level of the playoffs.

But the Thunder never lost again.

Until the All-Star Weekend.

This is Lin Chuan's third season in the NBA.

This was also the second year that he won the title of vote king.

Not only that, in this season's Western Conference All-Stars.

In addition to himself, several other players from the Thunder were selected.

All five starting players were selected.

Lin Chuan, Durant and Curry all started.

Ibaka and Thompson were also selected into the Western Conference All-Star team as substitutes.

What surprised Lin Chuan was.

Good brothers Westbrook and Harden did not miss this All-Star Game and were selected into the reserve lineup.

Since then, several brothers from the Thunder team from the past to the present have reunited on the All-Star stage.

But this year, Lin Chuan did not sign up for the three-point contest.

As the champion of the previous session, Lin Chuan's obsession with this competition has dissipated.

It just so happened that Curry also wanted to participate in this competition, so he went with the flow and gave up registering, which also allowed the other party to realize his dream of winning the championship and get the championship he won.

(End of this chapter)