basketball talent system

Chapter 501 Runaway Westbrook and Grandmaster Ye Xuan

In the game against the Jazz, Ye Xuan also proved his strength. After only scoring 24 points in the first two quarters, he single-handedly scored 27 points in the third quarter. He played 31 minutes in the three quarters. A total of 51 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds were scored in the whole game. All the other teammates became supporting roles in this game, and this game also became Ye Xuan's opening of the Lakers team. An important footnote of the times.

But in the next game, the Lakers still didn't get the slightest respite, because they were about to win another powerful opponent, the Thunder.The Thunder had a chance to rewrite their own destiny.Although in the past six or seven years, they have always been a competitive team, and even reached the finals in 2012, but considering the overall strength of the team and the state of the field, in fact, last season was their best. winning time.

Under the coaching of coach Billy Donovan, the Thunder averaged 110.2 points per game and 113.1 points per 102.9 possessions last season, ranking second in the league in both statistics (you know who the first is).On the defensive end, although their points allowed per game (105.6) and points per [-] possessions ([-]) are only ranked in the middle of the league, thanks to the team's outstanding athletic talent, their rebounding efficiency is quite good.

The Thunder averaged 48.6 rebounds per game last season, including 13.1 offensive rebounds, both of which ranked first in the league.In addition, although their defensive data is not very good, it has something to do with the fact that the team has the fourth highest turnover rate in the league, leaving too many opportunities for opponents to score easily with fast breaks and counterattacks. 43.8% ranked No. 5) and three-point shooting (34.2% ranked No. 8), they are also doing well.In terms of penalty area defense, they averaged 5.9 blocks per game, ranking fourth in the league.

Because of these characteristics, when the playoffs came, the game was more focused and the offensive rhythm was dragged down, the Thunder's performance (especially on the defensive end) also rose to a new level.In the second round against the Spurs, they made their opponents look old, and in the conference finals against the Warriors, their impenetrable defense was even more suffocating, 3-1, and they were only one step away from returning to the finals.

However, it is regrettable that at the critical moment of life and death, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry stepped forward one after another and successfully played the role of savior, allowing the Warriors to escape from death.And the Thunder, because of this, suffered a sudden change from heaven to hell. The schoolbag Du who had been trained for 10 years suddenly defected to the enemy and went directly to the arms of the Warriors. The top ranks have fallen to the bottom. Although the outside world can be sure that Westbrook will be terrifying this season, everyone also put a question mark on whether the Thunder can enter the playoffs.

Sam Presti was a smart general manager, and yes, the Thunder lost James Harden and Kevin Durant under him, but it wasn't his fault.The crux of Harden's insistence on leaving is not the multi-million-dollar contract amount, but the status of the team and the room to play. After all, if he stayed at the beginning, I am afraid he would not be able to perform as he is today.

As for Durant, there is no other way. The Thunder are willing to meet all his needs, but the championship has to be won by the players themselves.Bogut said that he knew that KD would join the Warriors a long time ago. I think Presti was more or less mentally prepared, so before the draft, he had only one year left on his contract. The young guard Oladipo, who is all-around offensive and defensive, came, and at the same time, a No. 11 pick was also given.

With this pick, the Thunder selected Sabonis Jr. Although the young center is not as talented as his father, he is also a potential insider with comprehensive skills and a smart mind.Judging from the preseason situation, in the new season, he will beat his teammate Kanter and serve as the team's starting power forward.In addition, the Thunder exchanged two teams before the second round for French center Lovingi, signed the rookie Abrians selected in 2013 with a three-year contract, and veteran Price, all of which are good operations to supplement the depth of the team's lineup.Of course, the most important thing is that Westbrook is willing to complete the contract extension with the team ahead of schedule.This means that at least the Thunder don't have to completely break up the lineup and start from scratch.And this is already the biggest victory Presti can reap this summer.

As for the new season, Durant is gone, and now the Thunder has become Westbrook's team. He has the best physical fitness that is rare in history, and the same rare strong fighting spirit.He's on track to be the most dominant point guard in the league this season, and he's not only scoring on his own, but his playmaking ability has improved over time.As long as he's around, you can never take this team lightly.

Oladipo is an excellent shooting guard that the Thunder have never had in these years, and he not only has a good autonomous offensive ability, but also is full of aggressiveness on the defensive end.He and Westbrook may be the most athletic and oppressive backcourt duo in the league.In addition, the looks of the two are also very similar-if Westbrook is the Turtle, then Oladipo must also be another member of the sewer next door.

In the interior, Adams has shown gratifying progress. In the playoffs last season, he averaged 10.1 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, becoming the biggest surprise for the Thunder.It is precisely because of his rise that the team dared to send Ibaka away with confidence.In addition, this deal also allows Kanter to finally have the opportunity to display his offensive talents after signing the maximum salary.

However, in addition to this, in the West surrounded by strong enemies, the Thunder still cannot make people overly optimistic.They still don't have a solid answer at the three, with Kanter scoring and rebounding astonishingly efficiently but still the worst defender.Oladipo can provide some support for Westbrook, but do the two have some overlap in their technical styles?Is the team's bench depth still insufficient, especially after Payne's injury?All in all, it is obvious that a team without Durant will inevitably be greatly weakened.In the final result, regardless of whether they make it to the playoffs, the specific location should be near the door, either inside or outside the door.

And this contest with the Lakers happens to be a face-to-face contest with Ye Xuan, who is generally considered the strongest point guard in the league.Before the start of the game, Ye Xuan was going to greet Westbrook, but Westbrook is destined to rarely smile this season. He needs this kind of anger to give him strength, so Ye Xuan also relented from talking to Westbrook. Less thoughts of pleasantries.

At the beginning of the game, as everyone expected, the point guards of the two teams fought together. Westbrook carried a pack of explosives to attack the inside of the Lakers, and constantly used his personal ability to score points in singles. And Ye Xuan did not show any weakness here, he also used his personal ability to constantly help the team protect their territory, double defense you come and I go, the statistics of the two protagonists are also rising slowly, When the first quarter lasted only 7 minutes, Ye Xuan had already scored 11 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds, while Westbrook was not far behind, with 13 points, 2 assists and 3 rebounds. , compared to Ye Xuan's data, it is not inferior in the slightest.

However, going it alone is not a long-term solution. After half a quarter of the game, the Lakers finally started to change their tactics. First, Ye Xuan used his breakthrough and foul-making ability to attract opponents. Come to double-team, and then start to help Gasol and others get some good shots. , not only Adams' three-pointers are almost useless, but Robertson's three-pointers have always been a stalk, and in fact, they are not very good at the position of power forward, so almost all offensive firepower is on Westbrook. Oladipo's body.

So when the first quarter lasted about 10 minutes, the Lakers had already established their own advantage. The team replaced Wade and other main players, and kept Ye Xuan on the court to lead the substitute team. Let's keep fighting for a while.And the Thunder obviously had the same idea, and kept Westbrook on the court. As a result, the fans of Staples were happy again, because Ye Xuan and Westbrook immediately started their own bullfighting again. career.

Westbrook used his speed and the skill of not slowing down and changing direction to force a breakthrough and then scored a two plus one, while Ye Xuan immediately pulled up a step away from the three-point line and returned the color with a three-pointer.After Westbrook grabbed the backcourt rebound, he made a one-stop layup, and Ye Xuan immediately used the pick-and-roll to make a European layup in front of Westbrook. The two of them were almost angry. If you enter a singles, I will return a singles immediately.

At the end of the first quarter, Ye Xuan's personal score also rose to 17 points, and Westbrook was even more unstoppable. He scored a super high score of 24 points in the first quarter, but the Lakers relied on the halfway point. A wave of teamwork at that time temporarily led the Thunder by 4 points.

After the start of the second quarter, the Lakers and Thunder replaced the leaders of the two teams at the same time, and replaced them with players who can also lead the bench. The Lakers replaced Wade, who is already 34 years old. The veteran, and the Thunder replaced the younger brother of the Turtles, No. [-] Oladipo of the Turtles.The offense of the two teams is also very good. The Lakers' bench lineup is relatively strong, while the Thunder's bench lineup looks relatively average, but when they actually fight, they are not bad. Of course, there are certain reasons for this and Kanter's sudden outstanding performance.

After a period of time in the second quarter, the two sides began to replace their main lineups one after another. The situation on the Thunder's side was basically that the turtles were fighting alone, while the Lakers' side started the wolf pack tactics. The tortoise's stamina was exhausted, and at the same time, it continued to attack from different points, which made the Thunder team only able to parry and had no chance to fight back.

In fact, Ye Xuan is very familiar with the current state of the Turtle. At that time, the pickled pepper suffered a serious injury and was almost reimbursed for the season. Isn't the Pacers team in that season the epitome of the current Thunder team?At that time, Ye Xuan also felt that he was making an enemy of the world. Almost every attack was done by himself, so the fight was extremely difficult. However, the current Lakers are a bit like the Cavaliers back then, constantly using their vitality to attack Eat away the strength of the opponent's boss, and then wait until the third and fourth quarters to directly take down the opponent in one fell swoop.

At this time, Ye Xuan was a bit like a Tai Chi master. Facing the runaway Wei Shao, he directly fought Tai Chi with him, while constantly using breakthroughs to consume Wei Shao's physical strength, and on the defensive end. At least he couldn't attack with all his strength, and Ye Xuan didn't choose to single out against Westbrook blindly, but began to pass the ball selectively. Of course, this is also because Ye Xuan himself has suffered the loss of Westbrook before. , Eat a sting and grow a wisdom.

But I have to say that although Westbrook, who is dominated by anger, is indeed a little brainless in fighting, his combat effectiveness is indeed quite terrifying. Although the offensive efficiency has decreased under Ye Xuan's defense, the 9 players who played in the second quarter In a few minutes, he still sent out 12 points and 4 assists. At the end of the half, Westbrook had already scored a terrifying score of 36 points, and the eyes of the outside world were instantly attracted by this game. It is also inevitable. After Durant left the Thunder, one of the biggest highlights of this season has become whether Westbrook can explode his full combat effectiveness, and then win the regular season MVP or average a triple-double. class record.

In this game, although they did not see signs of Westbrook's triple-double, this does not prevent everyone from seeing that Westbrook must make a breakthrough in scoring today.Although Ye Xuan is also doing his best to contain Westbrook, but Westbrook can be regarded as a coincidence now, directly using his violent state to help the team tightly bite the point difference, and did not draw the Lakers. Opportunity to score.

The second half of the game was still very tight, but at this time the Lakers besides Ye Xuan, Gasol also suddenly stood up, not only gave Westbrook a big cap on the defensive end, but also received a call from Ye Xuan on the offensive end. A wonderful pass, hit a chasing three-pointer, between an offense and a defense, instantly helped the Lakers expand the point difference to 7 points, Gasol also played very well in the next few minutes, while using himself The shooting range helped Ye Xuan create some room for breakthrough, while constantly helping Ye Xuan block people in high positions, the Thunder team was in a mess.

(End of this chapter)