$1,680. I Have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
During the past offseason, the Thunder's signings, tactical changes, and playing time changes can be said to be very successful.
The addition of Dion Waiters and Morrow has given the Thunder a sixth man with strong singles ability and a top shooter on the bench, making the Thunder's offense more diverse.
The tactical changes on the defensive end are mainly the positioning strategy of collectively grabbing defensive rebounds, which allows the Thunder to get the league's highest average of 36.5 defensive rebounds per game, which is more than the Grizzlies' average of 35.5 defensive rebounds per game. The Grizzlies rely on more offensive rebounds to rank first in the average rebounding list with an average of 47 rebounds per game, and they only have 0.5 more rebounds per game than the Thunder.
Being able to defend so many defensive rebounds means that the Thunder's defensive success rate is very high!
The arrangement of playing time is the most critical, allowing Durant to go all out during his playing time, allowing the Thunder to maintain a very good offensive success rate in their very traditional slow-paced offense and defense.
These changes are not aimed at other teams, but at the Spurs and Grizzlies, two teams that played briskly last season. The most important one is the Grizzlies, who lost more than they won in the past few years.
From most of the first half, the Thunder's changes were successful. They were in a very unfavorable situation most of the time when they played against the Grizzlies before. Tonight, they played well. In the case of a tie in the first 18 minutes, they relied on Durant's rest for almost 9 minutes in the first half to have plenty of energy. They led the Grizzlies by two points at halftime.
However, Durant felt that the most critical part of their changes had lost its effect!
Durant was not able to really relieve physical exhaustion by resting for 9 minutes in the first half, that is, 17 minutes of game time + timeouts, dead ball time, and intermission time.
This was an unexpected situation. If it was last season, the Grizzlies could limit him except Tony Allen, and other people including Paul George could not limit him too much. In that case, he could rest for so long in the first half, and he could maintain his state for a longer time in the second half.
This is the most important part of their three changes.
However, their changes became useless because of Sun Ce's improvement in single defense!
The Grizzlies became stronger as a whole, and the Thunder also became stronger. If Durant's reduced playing time can really help him relieve his physical exhaustion, the Thunder has a high probability of defeating the Grizzlies in a decisive game. Even if it is a 7-game 4-win system, the Thunder has the hope of winning the series.
But just because of Sun Ce alone,
the improvement brought by their changes was offset.
This gave Durant, who was not very strong in mentality and even had a fragile heart, a great sense of frustration.
Back in the second half, at the beginning of the third quarter, the Grizzlies sent out a combination of Sun Ce, Klay Thompson, Paul George, Richard Jefferson, and Yi Jianlian to fight for offense.
On the Thunder side, Reggie Jackson, Morrow, Lamb, Durant, and Ibaka played.
Thunder coach Scott Brooks predicted the Grizzlies' rotation very well this time. It was obvious that the Grizzlies were going to use an offensive lineup in the third quarter.
Durant and Ibaka rested for 8-9 minutes each in the first half. It is normal for the two to play 38 to 40 minutes against opponents like the Grizzlies. The two have played less time in most games this season compared to last season, in order to reduce consumption in normal games, so that they can play more time when they encounter strong opponents.
It is more difficult to defend the Grizzlies' lineup. Although it is not very useful in the playoffs, it is really strong in the regular season. Last season, it relied on this combination to rush to the fourth place in the West. Therefore, the Thunder must also replace the best shooting lineup. When Morrow and Lamb can open up space, use the personal abilities of Durant, Reggie Jackson and Ibaka to compete with the Grizzlies.
Durant also worked hard. In the first half of the third quarter, Sun Ce of the Grizzlies didn't care about his physical strength and rushed wildly tonight. In more than 8 minutes, he scored 11 points and 3 assists, helping the Grizzlies get 22 points. Durant also led the team to hold on. He scored 10 points personally, helping the team get 21 points in 8 minutes. The Thunder still led the Grizzlies by 1 point with 76 to 75.
But in the last 4 minutes of the third quarter, the Thunder called a timeout and the two teams changed their regular lineups, and the Thunder had a big problem!
The combination of Westbrook, Andre Robertson, Durant, Ibaka, and Adams was beaten by the lineup of Sun Ce, Klay Thompson, Pierce, Randolph, and Larry Sanders on the Grizzlies!
Durant Liang Xu was defended by Sun Ce twice. The Grizzlies came back from the timeout and started with a 5-0 wave. Sun Ce scored a counterattack dunk and Klay Thompson scored a counterattack three-pointer.
80 to 76, after this wave of counterattack, the Grizzlies overtook the Thunder by 4 points!
In the two successful defenses, Sun Ce clearly felt that Durant, who had scored 29 points before the end of the third quarter, was exhausted and his shooting feeling seriously declined. He decisively retreated to help Klay Thompson and Randolph defend Westbrook's breakthrough, and also covered Andre Robertson's cut. Westbrook passed to Durant, and Durant missed the open three-pointer!
Sun Ce grabbed the defensive rebound and rushed to the frontcourt with a start that was unacceptable to the opponent. Just now, Klay Thompson hit a three-pointer, with an 80% probability of triggering the bonus of the splash on Sun Ce. Sun Ce chased after him. The three-pointer ignored the shooting impact of the emergency stop, and completed two three-pointers with Klay Thompson, leading to an 8-0 wave!
83 to 76, the Grizzlies led by 7 points, and the Thunder called timeout again!
But this timeout only strengthened their role on the defensive end, and the offensive end came to a standstill. During the timeout, the Grizzlies replaced Pierce with Tony Allen, along with the Splash Brothers, Larry Sanders and Lan Lan. Dorv's inside combination played a 2-1 score with the Thunder in the last two minutes or so. The Grizzlies only relied on Randolph's offensive rebound to get a foul and made two free throws. The Thunder There was only one free throw from Adams. After three quarters, the Grizzlies led the Thunder by 8 points 85 to 77!
…
Although Durant scored 29 points in three quarters and shot 11 of 18 from the field, Tony Allen and Sun Ce failed to defend Durant, but they did not allow Durant to get too many free throws, only 5 free throws. He made 4 free throws, 3 of which were fouls caused when Paul George was guarding him. The key is that Durant's shooting percentage went from 11 of 15 to 11 of 18 in the last 4 minutes of the third quarter. Durant's shot was 0 for 3!
Just like he did before this season, no matter how accurate he was when he was physically strong, once his physical strength dropped, he would hit less than 50% while shooting.
And this, in the opinion of the TV commentator, was the result of Sun Ce's defense, which offset the advantage Durant gave the Thunder in the 9-minute break in the first half!
Starting from the second half of the second quarter, although Durant shot accurately most of the time, shooting 3 of 5 in the second half of the second quarter, and even 4 of 5 in the first 8 minutes of the third quarter, once his physical strength declined, Durant lost his ability. Lant's shooting performance has a tendency to avalanche.
After entering the inter-section break, the ball boy who was instructed by Sun Ce during the timeout at 10 minutes and 16 seconds of the third quarter had already prepared the jersey for Sun Ce.
Ever since, Westbrook saw the scene he least wanted to see - Sun Ce changing jerseys on the spot!
Seeing a group of people surrounding Sun Ce, wiping sweat with towels, now even hot towels are ready, handing out jerseys... Westbrook's whole body feels bad.
He scored 15 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals in the three quarters. His performance was very good. Durant also played very well. However, their excellent physical distribution after adjusting and getting used to each other this season was broken by Sun Ce. !
As for Sun Ce... Looking at Sun Ce who was in high spirits after changing his jersey, as if the game had just begun, Westbrook felt a little bit of despair!
With 17 points in a single quarter, plus 17 points in the first half, Sun Ce scored 34 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks and 3 steals in 29 minutes after the three quarters.
This performance is terrible!
Some retired celebrities have analyzed that Sun Ce is not as good as Klay Thompson and Curry in three-pointers, is not as good as Durant, Nowitzki, and Kobe in mid-range shooting, and is not as good as James, Ellis, Rose, and Westbrook in offense at the basket... But Sun Ce is top-notch in every aspect - in the eyes of others, the top level achieved by Sun Ce through skill bonuses is Sun Ce's personal ability.
Sun Ce like this, once COSCO has a shot, he is simply impossible to guard against!
The break between quarters passed quickly amidst Westbrook's somewhat flustered thoughts. On the Thunder side, Durant had to be replaced and rested for a few minutes. In view of the fact that Durant and Ibaka have been seriously injured in the past two seasons, Scott Brooks also changed his use of Durant. He still had to rest when he needed it. He learned from every experience. He replaced Westbrook with Morrow, Lamb, Perry Jones, and Iba. The combination of cards all have shooting abilities, allowing Westbrook to score points like James.
However, when Westbrook came on the court, he saw the combination of Sun Ce, Tony Allen, Klay Thompson, Paul George, and Gobert.
The Grizzlies simply didn't use the twin towers of Randolph and Aldridge and started to mess up!
After a season, Westbrook still feels a little nostalgic for seeing the classic hooligan combination of the Grizzlies' two consecutive championships again... What the hell!
How can we fight this!
…
Durant was replaced and rested, and he immediately clocked out. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, relying on the speed of Sun Ce and Paul George's defensive changes, relying on Tony Allen's close defense of Westbrook, and relying on Ke Leigh Thompson's pursuit of Morrow and relying on Gobert's protection under the basket, the Grizzlies allowed the Thunder to only score one sports goal in more than 5 minutes and only scored 5 points. That sports goal was still a defense. Sbrook made a three-pointer of his own.
The Thunder also made substitutions very quickly. Andre Robertson and Adams came on quickly. They faced off against the Grizzlies' defense. The Grizzlies only scored 8 points in more than 5 minutes, but this enough!
93 to 82, the Grizzlies' lead expanded to 11 points!
6 of these 8 points were scored by Sun Ce. Sun Ce relied on the physical potion to return to the physical state at the beginning of the game. He rushed like crazy. Although he only made 1 of 5 shots, he made 6 free throws and 4 of 6 free throws. He improved his statistics to 40 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks and 4 steals!
The 11-point difference is not that big, but it depends on who the opponent is. Tonight, the Thunder's opponent is the Grizzlies, who have regained their defensive status!
The most important thing is that Durant may have rested, but Ibaka, who played 34 minutes, is also tired. He just made two open shots!
In this situation, Scott Brooks did not let Durant play hard like he did in previous years. Instead, he replaced Durant and Ibaka to rest, and let Westbrook take Morrow, Lamb, and Perry. -The combination of Jones and Adams went up to try for a three-pointer.
Sun Ce feels that the Thunder’s substitutions are actually good in the long run. The health of Ibaka and Durant’s forward pair is more important to the Thunder than anything else. Westbrook can ensure the Thunder’s playoff chances. level, but Westbrook and Paul have similar functions and cannot play a decisive role in the outcome of the game.
But for tonight's game, the Thunder have already given up half of it. Now Scott Brooks' idea, from Sun Ce's point of view, is to bet on Westbrook's sudden points and the shooting touch and shooting touch of the Thunder's outside players. Adams' offensive rebound.
And their Grizzlies... Coach Hollins did not adjust to an offensive lineup because the Thunder might replace Durant, and continued to defend!
The combination of Sun Ce, Tony Allen, Klay Thompson, Randolph, and Larry Sanders came on the court to fight the defense to the end!
…
When the Grizzlies and Thunder tied 85 to 77 after three quarters, the fans in front of the TV, mobile phones, and computers thought that tonight would be another game. This season, both teams scored around 110 points. The score, even if Durant did not go to Westbrook with three pitchers and a tower, they still thought so. The TV commentators also predicted this. They felt that Durant would at least be there after the official timeout in the fourth quarter. Get on the field.
However, the Grizzlies once again gave the commentator a slap in the face. They didn’t care whether the face of the team’s meritorious coach Hubie Brown, who had just praised Sun Ce for a whole game, hurt... The score was 16 to 15 in a single quarter. After the game, the Grizzlies defeated the Thunder 101-92!
The Grizzlies, who have conceded an average of 105 points per game so far this season, once again played a very low-scoring game for them this season tonight.
The Grizzlies only scored 8 points in the first 5 minutes of the fourth quarter, and in the next 7 minutes, they only scored 8 points, but they successfully limited the Thunder's scoring to 15 points in a single quarter!
Durant is gone and even Ibaka has been replaced. No matter how powerful Westbrook's scoring is, he still has no stable scoring points. Morrow can shoot accurately, but it is not a stable scoring point. He does not have Durant and Ibaka. Baka has such a good ability to find opportunities, Klay Thompson guarded him tightly.
Westbrook's weakness in leading the team to defeat top teams on his own was once again exposed.
However, not many people think that Westbrook is not good. Every player has his own characteristics. There are very few cases where he is as versatile as Sun Ce. Even Jordan has switched to a puzzle style of play, which is similar to Du. After Lent's style of play, he and Pippen led his teammates to win the championship.
Players similar to Sun Ce are mostly unlucky. Two famous examples are Anfernee Hardaway and Tracy McGrady. These two did not have such a long peak period, and they are not as good teammates as Sun Ce, but The characteristics are relatively similar, but neither of them has ever been truly successful, so players like Sun Ce are special cases.
The core combination of Westbrook + Durant + Ibaka + Adams is already considered a perfect match, and they are playing really well this season.
But the better the Thunder have played after getting well adjusted this season, the more it highlights how well Sun Ce performed in tonight's game!
43 points, 17 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 blocks, 5 steals in a single game...and 5 fouls and 4 turnovers, an extraordinary 6 times 5!
Su Qun of the imperial court laughed and said that Sun Ce made one less mistake and he felt that he had committed obsessive-compulsive disorder. Sun Ce almost got the second "7 times 5" in his career.
So fierce! Such a performance occurred in 39 minutes of playing time. Although Sun Ce had a small number of blocks and steals, and the rebounds were obtained in the fourth quarter when Durant was not around, Sun Ce faced off against Durant in the second half of the second quarter and the third quarter. The defense is amazing!
Durant's shooting percentage is very high, but Sun Ce's attrition effect is something that no one else on the Grizzlies team can do, not even Tony Allen and Paul George, two players who have been selected for the first defense. arrive!
Combined with Sun Ce's one-on-one defense efficiency at the point guard position this season... Although he is not guarding the point guard most of the time, he is guarding role players in other positions, but this is how people evaluate it. A high-performance defense, with With such a defensive efficiency, his calls for the best defensive player skyrocketed overnight!
Of course, the most critical thing is the record. The Grizzlies started with a 23-game winning streak!
…
“Because the host has played 5 times 5 in a single game 7 times, breaking the historical record of 6 times 5 times 5 in a single game held by Hakeem Olajuwon, congratulations to the host for receiving the achievement reward: Hakeem Ola Zhu Wang’s 5 times 5 performance in a single game will be included in the random season star experience card chapter.”
After the game, Sun Ce failed to read several system prompts that appeared immediately. After such a popular game, he was surrounded by the media and asked questions for a long time. After dealing with it for a long time, he returned to the locker room to take a shower and quickly read it. The first The first is achievement reward.
Sun Ce remembers that the period when Olajuwon got 5 times 5 data was concentrated between the 86-87 season and the 93-94 season. This period was Olajuwon's peak period! It was the peak period of his five double-team appearances!
Looking at the two Big Dream cards in the prop space, Sun Ce fell into deep thought...
"What is this hinting at? Hinting that I, Old Sun, will get the blessing of a random legendary superstar and draw a center card after winning 25 consecutive games? No way! Big Dream can learn from him if he pays!"