One Thousand Six Hundred and Seventy-Eight. Who Will Defend Durant?
The Grizzlies had expected the Thunder to play in a tempo-depressing way. Seeing Adams follow Aldridge, Paul George signaled Randolph to go to the low post.
Randolph received the ball, turned around and took a step closer to Ibaka, slapped the ball, and made a floater...missed!
And Adams retreated very quickly, came in to clamp Randolph after he made a floater, two people in the inside line blocked Randolph, and Westbrook came in to grab the rebound... The Thunder's tacit cooperation in grabbing defensive rebounds after the opponent's shot was so tacit that it made the fans who watched the game from a "God's perspective" through TV, computer, or mobile phone screens brighten up.
This cooperation is really beautiful! With a player who has strong counterattack ability after grabbing the defensive rebound to promote the counterattack, it can definitely play a beautiful offense.
But just when Westbrook was about to grab the rebound, Westbrook felt a shock from behind, and that bad feeling immediately lingered in his mind...
"Bang"
Sun Ce pushed the ball back to the basket from behind Westbrook!
After landing, Sun Ce and Randolph who squeezed out of the opponent's twin towers shook hands.
The Thunder's defensive rebounding protection is really good, with three such tall frontcourt players blocking.
And Ibaka has changed his defensive style now. He is really a very good player who can reasonably adjust his playing style according to his own situation, and even change his defensive habits!
Unlike Howard, whose defense directly collapsed after his explosive power declined, Ibaka is indeed now without the first-level defense, and the second-level defense is enough. He can no longer rush back to the basket from the three-point line to block like before.
But Ibaka adjusted his defensive style and interfered with his opponents with his height and wingspan. Without the strong help defense as before, Ibaka made the defense more balanced. Although he no longer has the top defensive ability, he has both first-class single defense and help defense, but his wingspan advantage is very effective in defending Randolph's first shot.
As for defending Randolph's rush, the Thunder has an innate advantage in this regard. They are one of the best teams in defensive rebounding this season, and the action is called a swift one.
Fortunately, Sun Ce turned his back in time to shake off Durant's rush. Durant did not have much weight and confrontation advantage over Sun Ce. He did not expect that he would rush in directly from a long distance outside the 45-degree free throw line on the right. Aldridge, Klay Thompson, and Paul George had already retreated directly.
The defense of both teams was very targeted, but the other side had ways to deal with it, because both sides had superstars with strong personal abilities. The old three cores of the Thunder team have been re-adjusted by now,
The advantage of the Grizzlies to re-adjust first is not much.
In the starting stage of the two teams, the Grizzlies really did not take any advantage. Randolph was replaced after playing for more than 3 minutes.
It's not that Randolph played badly, but that he was too tired.
After the opponent corrected Andre Robertson, the defensive mobility of the starting lineup became stronger. Randolph did not shoot in singles and had no chance to pass the ball; if he shot, the opponent's ability to shrink and grab rebounds was very strong.
Durant also began to actively block Sun Ce from rushing for offensive rebounds, which greatly hindered the Grizzlies' offense. In the first three minutes, the Grizzlies did not have many good outside shooting opportunities. Sun Ce made a three-pointer but missed. He only relied on Randolph's singles, a foul caused by an offensive rebound, and Sun Ce's tip-in to get 6 points, and fell behind 6-10 at the start.
Entering the rotation time in advance, the Grizzlies did not hesitate at all and sent Sun Ce, Klay Thompson, Pierce, Aldridge, and Gobert to the court.
Durant looked at Gobert. This was the most annoying thing about the Grizzlies. Larry Sanders, Whiteside, and Gobert were all players that other teams did not want, but they all played well in the Grizzlies.
After the timeout, the Grizzlies attacked and played the frontcourt ball.
Pierce passed the ball to Sun Ce, indicating that Sun Ce or Aldridge should back up in the high post, and the other person should rush for the offensive rebound. Gobert also entered the low post area to prepare for the rush.
Sun Ce and Pierce had the same idea. The opposing team's twin towers had good defense, and Durant was there. Except for Randolph, it was not easy for others, including Sun, to score in the interior. Instead of doing so, it was better to open the shooting area to the mid-range and long distance, so as to increase the probability of grabbing offensive rebounds.
We cannot stop competing with the Thunder for rebounds just because the Thunder defended the rebounds well. Creating trouble for the opponent in the opponent's strong areas is a very important part of the strategy.
Compared with Aldridge facing Ibaka, whose single defense has greatly improved this season, Sun Ce felt that his chances of success in singles were much greater.
Signaling his teammates to open up, Sun Ce dribbled against Durant at the top arc. The fans at the scene immediately cheered when they saw this scene. Sun Ce and Durant were directly facing each other!
Rational fans know that if you look at pure personal ability, Sun Ce is not necessarily better than the top players in the league, but basketball IQ, the suitability of teammates, the structure of the team lineup, team tactics... these are all factors that will affect a player's performance. Being able to seize these favorable conditions is also part of Sun Ce's strength.
This is also the reason why Sun Ce's games have high ratings. Games with suspense are the best to watch. Fans always feel that their opponents are not inferior to them, and that those superstars can be compared with him and are stronger than him. However, Sun Ce can always use various favorable factors to perform more exciting than usual when facing strong opponents.
Durant saw that Sun Ce was going to single him out, so he exhaled heavily and focused on defense.
Compared with the first four years when Sun Ce entered the NBA, Durant found that his advantage in defending Sun Ce was getting smaller and smaller since last season. Even when Sun Ce won two consecutive championships, Durant did a good job of restricting Sun Ce on the defensive end. Sun Ce rarely scored high points against the Thunder team. He organized the team's offense well and grabbed a lot of rebounds. But since last season, Sun Ce can also score high points against the Thunder team. The reason is that he is not so good at defense.
Just when Durant was concentrating on defending Sun Ce's sudden three-pointer, Sun Ce moved and broke through!
Durant quickly moved sideways, but was blocked by Gobert!
Adams, who has outstanding physical fitness, quickly made up for the defense. Sun Ce broke through to the mid-range. Adams retreated desperately, and Sun Ce really couldn't break through.
So, Sun Ce took a step towards Adams within the free throw line on the right side of the three-second zone. Adams lowered his center of gravity and was ready to move to both sides at any time to prevent Sun Ce from turning around, and was prepared to be fouled by Sun Ce. His defensive awareness was very good.
Sun Ce turned around after leaning for a while, but it was not a turnaround breakout, but a turnaround jump shot!
Durant followed the pick-and-roll and cut into Gobert to the inside. Although Gobert's movements were slow, he had to defend against him. There was a tall player in the inside. Ibaka originally let go of Aldridge to block Sun Ce's breakthrough to the inside. Seeing Sun Ce's turnaround jump shot, he immediately rushed over.
However, Ibaka is no longer the same as he used to be. His single defense has improved, and his help defense has directly changed from the best defensive player level to the ordinary first-class level. He watched Sun Ce successfully turn around and jump shot...
"Ball pick and roll expert level 5 is triggered, and the host's mid-range shooting within 5 seconds after this pick and roll is improved by two small levels..."
"Turning jump shot king level 2 (Jordan) is triggered, and the host's jump height during this turning jump shot is increased to A-..."
The mid-range shot on the right side of the three-second zone is improved from S-level to S+ level. After Sun Ce shot, he turned around and retreated. When the two inside players of the Thunder turned their heads, they saw Sun Ce's mid-range shot hit!
If it was the previous Ibaka, Sun Ce's play like this would be equivalent to giving the rebound to the opponent, but now it is different. Sun Ce made good use of Ibaka's help defense speed, which is not as fast as before, and decisively picked and rolled jump shots.
Attack and defense transition, the Thunder attack.
Westbrook has no idea what to do with Sun Ce's physique at the point guard position. He seems to feel the helplessness of those top point guards who faced Magic Johnson in the 1980s.
In Westbrook's view, players like Sun Ce enter the NBA to dominate the league! The rest of them can only work hard to become Bird, Moses Malone, and another dazzling figure of this era.
As for becoming Jordan to end Sun Ce's rule... Jordan has to wait until Magic Johnson is over 30 and Bird is old, and Sun Ce will only turn 25 next month! Younger than Westbrook!
Pushing to the frontcourt, Westbrook looked at the inside combination of Aldridge and Gobert and felt a little bit explosive!
The inside combination of Aldridge and Randolph is okay in offense, but it is really not suitable for partners on the defensive end. At best, they will not drag their feet and cannot provide much help to the outside line.
But Aldridge and Gobert are different. The defense of this duo is very strong. With Klay Thompson's single defense and Sun Ce's help defense, it is too unfriendly for breakthrough players.
Westbrook broke into the inside, Gobert covered the layup space, and did not jump casually. With his height and wingspan, Westbrook felt that he would be interfered as long as he shot; Aldridge was between Ibaka and Westbrook who were running in the middle and long distance, and did not expand or double-team; Durant and Ibaka picked and rolled, and Sun Ce directly left Andre Robertson open to block Durant's receiving space; although Adams was stronger than Gobert, Gobert's size advantage was too great, and Gobert could interfere with the entire reasonable collision area with just a hand, and Westbrook could only pass to Andre Robertson who cut in from the left baseline.
Gobert moved two steps sideways to block Andre Robertson, and Andre Robertson made a strong shot. Gobert did not jump around, but raised his arms to interfere. Andre Robertson had good physical fitness, twisting his body in the air to avoid Gobert's raised arm and shot. At this time, Sun Ce had already retracted and slapped the ball down with a slap, and Gobert grabbed the defensive rebound!
Suffocating close defense!
When Andre Robertson received the pass, Durant and Ibaka were ready to retreat. When the ball reached Andre Robertson, he basically couldn't get out. This is a pure defensive forward with excellent physical fitness.
Unable to counterattack, Sun Ce received the pass from Gobert and advanced to the frontcourt. He saw that Klay Thompson was being guarded by Westbrook and Andre Robertson. These two had good athletic ability and defensive awareness. Westbrook was the best defensive player in college, and Andre Robertson started by relying on defense. Now Pierce is more using experience to help the team. His role in regular time is very general. Sun Ce is still ready to continue singles.
However, when Sun Ce wanted to pick and roll this time, Ibaka came out behind Gobert, so Sun Ce did not break in after the pick and roll, but pulled away and passed the ball to Aldridge, who singled out Adams.
Aldridge received the ball and cut to the baseline, and shot a mid-range shot... and it went in!
Adams felt that he was too miserable. There were three tall guys in the frontcourt, and the opponent's two superstars caught him alone!
The TV commentator praised the Grizzlies' choice. Although Adams is talented and improving quickly, he is still the weakest defensive link in the Thunder's frontcourt trio. It's okay to defend the basket, but if Randolph is the main attacker and Aldridge is the main defender, it's OK. It's very easy for Sun Ce and Aldridge to single out Adams, which is much more difficult than Ibaka who has become better at single defense.
During the period before the official timeout, the Grizzlies played a wave of 9 to 3. After Klay Thompson received a three-pointer from Sun Ce and met Andre Robertson's double-team pass, the Thunder called a timeout!
The first quarter lasted 5 minutes and 47 seconds, 15 to 13, and the Grizzlies overtook by two points and entered the official timeout!
...
It really depends on personal ability!
The Grizzlies played a simple and rough style, relying on the personal abilities of Sun Ce and Aldridge. Sun Ce's mid-range shots were accurate no matter whether they were on the left or right side of the three-second zone after the pick-and-roll, and the opponent dared not let go, which helped Aldridge create a good scoring opportunity.
Sun Ce made a mid-range shot and passed it to Klay Thompson for a three-pointer. Aldridge made a mid-range shot and made two free throws after a foul. He scored 8 points in 2 minutes and 6 seconds and stopped the Thunder.
However, the Grizzlies have two mid-range singles masters, and the Thunder also have them!
After the official timeout, the Grizzlies replaced Aldridge with Yi Jianlian to let Aldridge rest. The center position remained unchanged, still Gobert, and the backcourt became Sun Ce, Tony Allen, and Carter.
On the Thunder side, Durant did not leave for the time being, and Anthony Morrow was replaced at the shooting guard position, playing with Reggie Jackson, Ibaka, and Nick Collison.
After the timeout, Durant started the singles mode. Reggie Jackson, Morrow and Ibaka opened up the space, and Durant scored 6 points in a row!
Knowing that it was Durant's singles time after the official timeout in the first quarter, Tony Allen couldn't defend him!
What does the reduction in playing time mean to Durant? It means that he can play more aggressively and fearlessly on the offensive end, and can boldly use his most energetic moments.
Moreover, Durant has entered the golden period of his career this season, but Tony Allen is already 33 years old, and his defensive end has declined to a certain extent. The Grizzlies' just-made two-point lead was immediately overtaken.
At 9 minutes and 44 seconds in the first quarter, Durant passed the ball to Morrow for a three-pointer. The Thunder team had another climax during this period, 24 to 20, and the Thunder team once again took a 4-point lead!
On the contrary, Carter and Yi Jianlian of the Grizzlies had a bad three-point shooting tonight, Tony Allen had no offensive ability, and the defense was not good. The opponent scored 11 points in nearly 4 minutes, and the Grizzlies called a timeout!
Fortunately, after the timeout, Durant went down to rest, and the lineup of Livingston, Tony Allen, Pierce, Randolph, and Larry Sanders went up. They had a certain advantage when playing against the lineup of Reggie Jackson, Morrow, Dion Waiters, Ibaka, and Nick Collison. After the first quarter, the two teams tied 28.
In the first quarter, Sun Ce scored 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. He actually did a good job on the defensive end, but the opponent had Durant who could go all out regardless of his physical strength. He scored 12 points in a single quarter, which was really unstoppable.
Any team is blessed to have a player like Durant who can be both a top 3D shooter and a top singles player. Just like many fans now lament that if Kobe could join forces with James or Paul earlier and change his playing style earlier, such as when James wanted to go to the Lakers in 2010, the Lakers traded for Bynum, and Kobe, who was still at the end of his peak at the time, turned into a 3D shooter and a key ball singles player, the Grizzlies might not have won two consecutive championships.
After the start of the second quarter, the Grizzlies replaced Pierce with Paul George, and the other four players remained unchanged. The Thunder re-deployed Westbrook to compete with the combination of Dion Waiters, Morrow, Perry Jones, and Adams.
Halfway through the second quarter, the two teams tied at 38. During this period, both teams focused on defense. In terms of scoring, the Grizzlies relied on Livingston, Paul George, and Randolph to score singles, while the Thunder relied on Westbrook and Dion Waiters' scoring ability to keep the score close. However, the scores of both teams were not high, and both teams' lineups were focused on defense.
Although the combination of Randolph and Larry Sanders could not prevent Westbrook's breakthrough and pass, they could well prevent the opponent's cut-in. The three-man team on the outside switched defense actively, and Morrow and Perry Jones did not have many shooting opportunities. The Thunder's score in half a quarter was suppressed very low.
But the Thunder's combination of defense was also strong, and then Morrow was miserable. Livingston and Paul George played singles when they met him. Because the Grizzlies' lineup was fast, the Thunder was anxious to retreat, and without Durant and Ibaka, Livingston and Paul George often seized the opportunity to create mismatches.
Entering the second quarter, the official timeout, Sun Ce, who had rested for more than half a quarter, was ready to play. At the same time, Durant, who had also rested for more than half a quarter, was also going to play.
This was a headache for the Grizzlies. Durant, who was beginning to enter his peak period, was unstoppable!
Paul George, Klay Thompson, Tony Allen, and Pierce all tried, but none of them could defend!
Coach Hollins was having a headache. Seeing Sun Ce, who was shooting hot, and then looking at the opposing scoring champion, he had an idea...