One Thousand Seven Hundred and Thirty-Nine. The Haunted Little Overlord

As Sun Ce analyzed, the Thunder are indeed prepared to rely on offense to drag the game, let Westbrook take a break, and when Westbrook comes back on, it basically means that Westbrook will play all the remaining time.

And if they want to drag it on, Westbrook, Andre Robertson, and Ibaka are still resting, and they can't rely on defense. They can only rely on Adams to protect the frame and block it. Nothing else can be done.

The Thunder will not fight the Grizzlies like last season. In terms of hard power, they are at a disadvantage, and this year's Grizzlies really make them feel that they are difficult to match, but tonight they have played an advantage, so naturally they have to play firmly in the direction of playing the advantage!

After DJ-Augustin pushed forward to the frontcourt, he did not pass the ball to Dion Waiters who was defended by Paul George, but passed it to Durant who was relying on Sun Ce!

Players and fans have different feelings about defense. This season, many fans have begun to feel that Sun Ce's one-on-one defense is getting better and better, but many fans pay attention to every game of Sun Ce, so they know Sun Ce's progress and know that Sun Ce gradually transforms what he learned in the summer into his own strength as the season progresses.

On the contrary, it is difficult for players to have a real understanding. They play at most four times in the regular season, and change opponents in each game. Not many players think how much he has improved on the defensive end. Of course, his ability to assist, supplement and switch defense is the best in the league, which is recognized.

However, Durant understands! He has studied Sun Ce for too long and knows Sun Ce's jaw-dropping improvement speed, but he did not refuse to play one-on-one, but actively wanted to play. Although he is prone to make decisions that make people feel that he is soft in some aspects, he is not afraid of anyone on the court!

Sun Ce was very excited to defend Durant's one-on-one, and tried very hard to judge Durant's pre-shooting action.

But he still didn't defend it!

Durant raised the ball and turned around without any extra movements. After receiving the ball, he turned around and shot a backward jump shot against Sun Ce's defense... hit!

35 to 31, the Thunder continued to maintain a 4-point lead!

Sun Ce had no way to stop Durant's singles with sufficient physical strength!

Since he couldn't defend, Sun Ce had no way to do it. It was just one ball. He had a plan in his mind, but now it was more important to play well on offense and not let the Thunder widen the gap in this transition period!

However, the goal was clear, but the result was not satisfactory. Sun Ce passed the ball to Aldridge, and Aldridge passed the ball to Gobert in the high and low position. Gobert's high-up shot was interfered by Adams!

Looking back,

Durant turned around again under Sun Ce's defense and cut into the basket. He received DJ-Augustin's lob and cut into the layup to score two points!

Durant scored 8 points, 37 to 31, and the Thunder expanded their lead to 6 points.

Just as the Thunder team was retreating quickly, Sun Ce saw the opponent rushing across the center line and made a timeout gesture to the referee. The referee whistled and the Grizzlies called for a 20-second timeout.

This made Adams, who was running back hard on the Thunder team, almost rush out. The bastard on the opposite side! Just call a timeout! Waiting for them to retreat to their full defense before calling a timeout, is this what a human being does?

Sun Ce returned to the bench, and Coach Hollins, who was sitting as steady as a mountain, stood up. He didn't want to make any adjustments now. This was the last game, and he wanted to win, but the focus was on the performance of the players. They had broken the historical record and had locked the ranking. If it wasn't for the playoffs, there was a possibility of playing against the Thunder, and Coach Hollins wanted to take a rest in the last game to face the fine.

But in terms of adjustments, Coach Hollins wanted to see what the regular lineup would do against the Thunder, so he was not prepared to call a timeout and let this lineup continue to play.

However, since Sun Ce called a timeout, it must be adjusted, and Coach Hollins also saw something, that is, the triangle offense is really not as good as players with more stable scoring ability.

In terms of the stability of scoring ability, Durant is the most powerful player among the active players.

This is a flaw of the triangle offense. When their strongest scorer cannot score more than the opponent's singles player, it is not a particularly good tactic.

When the triangle offense is successful, the Zen Master has the best scorer in the world at that time.

Perhaps the triangle offense will become more and more applicable to their team in the future, because Sun Ce is still improving and getting stronger. This season, he has a 40% three-point shooting rate.

However, it seems that the triangle offense can only be used as a tactic against specific opponents, such as the Lakers and Thunder.

Now that he knows, Coach Hollins looked at Sun Ce who came back and raised his chin. Sun Ce said: "We double-team Durant to consume him and play run-and-gun!"

Coach Hollins quickly analyzed it and found that this is a good way to keep the score close! Durant has good physical strength, and he has a higher shooting rate than the open players when shooting against defense.

The opponent is in excellent condition and well prepared. If he can't defend, it's better to strengthen the offense!

Why do strong teams often play very intensely and both teams look very good, but when playing against weak teams, strong teams often appear to be in a slump? This is because of the importance they attach to each other. When playing against weak teams, sometimes they really cannot attach importance to each other, and they may not even formulate tactics specifically for the opponent. They just play the way they like, and usually they can win, but occasionally they may be upset.

…

After the timeout, Sun Ce, Klay Thompson, Carter, Richard Jefferson, and Yi Jianlian came on the court.

On the Thunder side, the Grizzlies called a timeout after just two offensives. It was not time for them to change players.

Sun Ce received the serve and pushed forward. Durant was guarding the top arc. Seeing the opponent's lineup, Durant knew that the opponent wanted to rely on offense to keep the score close. This was in line with Durant's wishes. If he really had to deal with the Grizzlies' defense, he would still be under pressure, but it would not matter if he attacked. He had never expected to defeat the Grizzlies with a few touches. That was too difficult. The opponent changed to an offensive lineup, and their offensive pressure became less, and they could score more easily. Even if the opponent scored fiercely, they just had to maintain the lead and wait for Westbrook and Ibaka to come back.

Sun Ce came to the top arc, and Yi Jianlian came up to screen for Sun Ce. After Sun Ce screened and rolled, he broke through to the mid-range. Dion Waiters had already made up for it and double-teamed Sun Ce with Carl Landry who was defending the pick-and-roll.

Sun Ce passed the ball to Yi Jianlian who was on the left side of the three-second zone. Yi Jianlian did not stop the ball after receiving it, and passed it to Carter from the mid-range on the right baseline. Carter received the ball and shot... hit!

Even the Thunder thought that Sun Ce's decision to pass the ball was great. When Durant encountered Yi Jianlian's pick-and-roll, he already knew that Dion Waiters would double-team Sun Ce, and was ready to defend Carter, but Sun Ce passed the ball to Yi Jianlian, and Durant immediately took it back. Dion West saw Carter running inside the three-point line and thought that Carter was going to attack the basket for an alley-oop. When Sun Ce passed the ball, Waiters stepped back two steps and stepped on the right sideline of the three-second zone to wait for Carter to cut in for confrontation.

But Carter stopped at the baseline and shot from the mid-range. The Thunder could not interfere with this position, and Carter's comprehensive shooting ability played a role at this time.

The reason why mid-range shots are difficult to defend is that whether it is cutting in, close-range singles, or even receiving the ball for a three-pointer, it can be changed to a mid-range shot at any time.

But mid-range shooting is also the most difficult to practice. With Carter, Pierce and Livingston, many people think that the Grizzlies are too lucky. For example, Durant, who relies on Sun Ce in the frontcourt, would not be afraid of any team if he had these three veterans.

Durant suppressed his envy, jealousy and hatred, calmed down, relied on Sun Ce to ask for the ball, and took advantage of his sufficient physical strength to make more shots to ensure the offensive stability of the team, defend the opponent as much as possible, and create a greater lead. Only then can he hold on to the score when his physical strength declines and Westbrook has not yet played. Moreover, if he plays well, he can also increase his restraint in this regard!

DJ-Augustin naturally passed the top arc to Durant, but just when Durant received the ball, Yi Jianlian double-teamed him!

Richard Jefferson received the ball under the basket and went around to defend Adams to receive the ball, but he couldn't stop it. However, Durant did not choose the most secure basket, but passed it to Landry on the left side of the three-second zone for a mid-range shot!

Sure enough, as Durant expected, Sun Ce went to the basket to defend the moment he raised the ball and made a pass, and Landry received the ball and made a mid-range shot!

Sun Ce made a misjudgment because he did not trigger the advanced effect "Siege" of "Food Cutoff". He did not expect the opponent to be so afraid of him defending the basket.

But it is not important. What is important is that Durant did not continue to score!

It was the Grizzlies' turn to attack again. After Sun Ce and Yi Jianlian made a pick-and-roll, they cut to the mid-range and made a lateral step to get up and jump shot. Adams and Dion Waiters were shaken away, but the action was beautiful and the shot did not go in!

Just when Carl Landry received the rebound from Richard Jefferson under the basket, a blue-haired monster knocked him off balance and pushed the ball back into the basket!

Yi Jianlian's tip-in! Helped the Grizzlies to keep the score close at 35 to 39!

It was difficult for the Thunder to defend the Grizzlies, but the Grizzlies' lineup was full of loopholes on the defensive end. They failed to defend the Thunder in the next few rounds, but although it was difficult, the Thunder still had a chance!

At 4 minutes and 47 seconds, the Thunder relied on Klay Thompson's three-pointer and Sun Ce's missed layup to score 4-0, widening the gap to 8 points, and they still had the ball!

It was the Thunder's turn to attack again. Durant continued to go to the high post to ask for the ball. He hadn't had a chance to shoot for several minutes, but he got 3 assists during this period!

Seeing that the Grizzlies had a tendency to shrink and defend Carl Landry, Durant chose to hang under the basket this time!

Sun Ce originally wanted to defend Carl Landry, who made 3 mid-range shots, but this time the system prompt came!

Sun Ce, who quickly shrank to the left side of the three-second zone, quickly stretched out his hand to the left and swung it hard... just in the passing route of Durant and Adams to knock the ball away!

Richard Jefferson, who failed to get around, quickly grabbed the ball and passed it to Carter, who pushed forward to counterattack!

Klay Thompson had a good sense of counterattack and immediately ran down the sideline. Yi Jianlian also ran down the middle. The three of them attracted the defense. When Sun Ce followed to the top arc, Carter, who was flying on both wings, passed the ball in time. Sun Ce received the ball at the top arc and finally had another chance to shoot. He caught the ball and shot a three-pointer...hit!

44 to 49, relying on Sun Ce's steal and counterattack three-pointer, the Grizzlies survived another crisis!