One Thousand Seven Hundred and Thirty-Eight. Little Overlord Has Endless Possibilities!

16 points in a single quarter, of which Sun Ce scored 13 points in the 5 minutes and 49 seconds in the second half of the first quarter, helping the Grizzlies to catch up to 29 to 33 at the end of the first quarter, only 4 points behind!

Of these 13 points, 4 points were scored by breakthrough singles, one was a strong three-pointer, and the remaining 6 points were dunks, and three of them were counterattack dunks after steals!

16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, and 3 steals!

During the first quarter, the fans always felt that the Thunder had the advantage, but after the first quarter, the big screen and live broadcast showed the data comparison of the two sides in the last 5 minutes and 49 seconds of the first quarter. The fans were surprised to find that the Grizzlies actually scored 19 to 17 in the second half of the first quarter, and actually had the advantage!

And this advantage was played by Sun Ce. 3 steals directly blocked the opponent's 3 attacks, and also converted into points for the Grizzlies!

Fans can easily understand that the Grizzlies narrowed the gap even though they did not have an advantage on the field, thanks to Sun Ce's three steals and the three-pointer at the buzzer!

And this is also the painful situation for the Thunder. They played so well, and it can be said that they played at a super high level of offense and defense, limiting the Grizzlies' players except Sun Ce to only 13 points in a single quarter.

But Sun Ce narrowed the gap to 4 points by stealing and the last three-pointer with only 7 points in the regular score!

If they were not still leading, the Thunder would have cursed.

But even with the leading advantage, the Thunder players still felt painful.

On the other hand, Sun Ce was very excited. Good data is not important. Winning the game is more important. Who would have thought that Paul George's open shots today were so average? Randolph played for half of the first quarter, and almost no singles in the second half, making it difficult to form effective damage. He couldn't spend all his energy in the first quarter, and he didn't play an advantage in the first half. The Grizzlies really played passively.

And they couldn't replace the combination of Randolph and Larry Sanders. When they were there, they did a good job defending the Thunder's three-pointers from the outside, but they didn't defend the mid-range and cut-ins well. It was unlikely that Aldridge and Gobert would defend better than Randolph and Larry Sanders in this situation.

So, it's not a bad thing to use this more mobile combination to make the Thunder consume more energy.

Fortunately, there were three steals!

And these three steals, Sun Ce felt as if he had a feeling of enlightenment!

Get "Food Cutoff" and "Siege", the advanced version of "Food Cutoff".

Sun Ce occasionally triggers these two skills. As time goes by, although the triggering probability is not high, the former has a 5% chance of predicting the passing target of all the opponents, and the latter has a 10% chance of predicting the passing target of the ball holder when he and his teammates double-team a certain opponent's ball holder, but the number of predictions has increased, and he can gradually predict the opponent's passing intention from some details without relying on skills.

Although the prediction is not as accurate as the "prediction" of the skill prompt, it is the key to his dominance in the steals list this season! He has really improved!

When learning defense with Payton and Jordan in the summer, he also learned some tips on steals... Over time, Sun Ce's steals are getting better and better. This time he did not act as the person who linked the defense, but defended the opponent's outside shooter. In this case, he had the opportunity that he did not usually have to focus on cutting off the passing route, and also caught the opponent off guard, getting 3 steals in a single quarter.

But this is not the most exciting part for Sun Ce. The most exciting thing is that at the end of this quarter, the system prompt popped up.

It's not a reminder of the event completion, but a reminder of the event progress!

"Flying Man Inheritor (*):

Goal 1: In a single season, the host averages at least 3 dunks per game. (The host has played 79 games, averaging 3.21 dunks per game, to be completed.)

Reward: Skill Card: Performance Level 1.

Goal 2: The host needs to break the historical record of 255 dunks in a single season held by Shaquille O'Neal since detailed dunk statistics were available. (The host's dunks this season: 254, to be completed)

Reward: Vince Carter Dunk Pack."

For this event, Sun Ce did not pay special attention to each goal itself, because he only needed to do one thing, which was to accumulate the total number of dunks. If Goal 2 could be completed, Goal 1 would definitely be completed. Sun Ce did this in the game, but he did not go out of his way to dunk because of this. He played well in the game and focused on winning. Anyway, this event was not over if it could not be completed this season.

Sun Ce originally thought that the two might be completed separately. Maybe the former has a chance, but the latter is difficult. In that case, Sun Ce doesn't care. There will be other opportunities to get the dunk package. It's good to get the skill.

But after dunking 3 times today, the system prompts that there is only one dunk left! In other words, as long as I dunk again tonight, I can complete this event!

The "Performance" skill is upgraded with the S-level dunk package. If Carter gets the dunk package together, it can be directly upgraded to level 2, and the bounce bonus when dunking without a blue will be higher!

Although the defense skill is useless, dunking without a blue is cool and also attracts him!

...

Putting away this extra excitement, Sun Ce refocused his attention on the game and played very hard!

However, the defensive method of defending the shooter + cutting off the passing route is not very costly for him.

If he is a defensive linker, he needs to fight against the breakthrough player, switch to the inside, switch to the opponent's open position... and occasionally defend the shooter, and occasionally cut off the passing route, which makes him play more easily.

Coach Hollins also discovered this in a discussion with defensive assistant coach Dave Joerger. This is an unexpected discovery, because they had not considered this before. The team's defensive system is built around Sun Ce's linking defense ability.

So tonight, Coach Hollins did not make any adjustments on the defensive end in the second half of the first quarter. He really wanted to win, but now that he has made an unexpected discovery, he will try more and see more possibilities for Sun Ce.

However, Sun Ce's 3 steals in a single quarter cannot explain too much. This can be regarded as Sun Ce's surprise attack on the opponent. The Grizzlies themselves did not expect Sun Ce to be so effective in defense, and the Thunder team did not expect it. If the opponent is prepared, it will definitely be difficult to have such a good effect.

But tonight, the effect is good!

Coach Hollins knows that Sun Ce has a strong "recovery ability", but Sun Ce also consumes energy quickly. Even if Sun Ce can "recover most of his energy" during the halftime break or the intermission, it still takes time. Sun Ce may experience a decline in energy during the game because he is too hard-working on both offense and defense.

If Sun Ce's continuity can be improved and coupled with Sun Ce's "recovery ability", Coach Hollins feels that he has a way to play Sun Ce again... No, there is a possibility of helping Sun Ce improve!

Then the team's defensive system needs to be adjusted...

Coach Hollins first keeps this idea in mind. This season cannot be changed for the time being. They need to play stably to appear in the best state of the team and impact the championship!

But they can continue to try in this game tonight, because Sun Ce has already hit the opponent by surprise, and it is the opponent who needs to respond. If the opponent's offensive performance declines because of this, it will be an opportunity for them, the Grizzlies!

...

After the intermission, the Thunder team's lineup of DJ-Augustin, Dion Waiters, Durant, Carl Landry, and Adams came on the court.

On the Grizzlies side, Sun Ce, Klay Thompson, Paul George, Aldridge, and Gobert played.

As coach Hollins observed, Sun Ce's consumption in the first quarter was far less than when he was playing hard. What he did was very simple. He couldn't get too many assists, so he played alone. If there was a counterattack opportunity, he would counterattack. On the defensive end, he was only responsible for defending the shooter and cutting off the route, which was more consuming than when he was playing hard, and his physical condition was much better than when he was playing hard in the second quarter.

On Paul George's side, due to his poor shooting feel, the task in the second quarter also became simple. He helped defend, opened up space if he could, reduced ball possession, and invested his physical strength on the defensive end.

Sun Ce waited for the serve and looked at the opposite lineup. Carl Landry, who was traded back from the Kings by the Thunder for Perry Jones during the All-Star Weekend, played 22 games with the Thunder, averaging 7.5 points and 4 rebounds per game, full of energy, active defense, and some mid-range shots.

In addition to DJ Augustin, who was traded for Reggie Jackson, these two players are definitely not as talented and potential as Reggie Jackson and Perry Jones, but they clearly understand that they are role players and will not get carried away. The Thunder's record after the All-Star Weekend can compete with the Spurs and Grizzlies because their substitute structure has become better.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Grizzlies attacked first. Sun Ce received the ball and advanced to the frontcourt. Looking at DJ Augustin defending Klay Thompson, Sun Ce asked Klay Thompson to pick and roll!

If calling out Curry will encounter the jump interference of the unicorn arm that Curry practiced when he was single, then playing DJ Augustin is simple. After the pick and roll, Sun Ce crushed DJ Augustin to the inside. Surprisingly, the opponent neither double-teamed nor expanded to block!

Sun Ce ignored DJ Augustin who was sticking to him with his fast speed and shot a mid-range shot on the right side of the three-second zone... hit!

Is this to cut off his chance of connecting the offense?

Sun Ce immediately discovered the opponent's idea. The opponent wanted to continue the defensive method in the first quarter!

And considering the current state of the Thunder, Sun Ce felt that the opponent's strategy was fine, but DJ-Augustin's defense was too bad. If Westbrook was there, this strategy would be very effective.

Sun Ce felt that he would encounter trouble. The opponent was maintaining the continuity of the strategy, which also meant that the opponent's offense would play harder in the future, and it also had the ability. If it goes as expected, Durant will start to take turns with Dion Waiters to play singles! Moreover, DJ-Augustin's defense is not good, but his open shots on the offensive end are very good, and his containment is extremely strong!