One Thousand Nine Hundred and Twenty-Three. The Internal Strife of the Thunder 3
The Grizzlies are much stronger than people expected!
The Warriors played against the Spurs, although it can't be said that the game was very difficult, but at least there was a back-and-forth.
The Grizzlies played against the Thunder, just like playing!
Anyone who knows a little bit about basketball can see that the Thunder was not well prepared, while the Grizzlies were more fully prepared.
More importantly, the Thunder played well at the beginning, but because the Thunder coach Billy Donovan's command ability was really poor, he would occasionally have a flash of inspiration and make good responses under heavy pressure, but most of the time it was a pit.
It's not that Billy Donovan is so bad, he has a certain level. When coaching the regular season, he can play the strength of the whole team in most games and suppress the opponent with strength.
But when it comes to playing against strong teams, it's not good enough. If the opponent's head coach is also a mediocre head coach, it's okay, but as long as the opponent's head coach can be called excellent, Billy Donovan will be played.
For example, tonight, Sun Ce changed his style of play several times on the court. When the Grizzlies had an advantage, Donovan was at a loss every time.
So, after the game, Thunder coach Donovan was whipped by fans again.
Why again? After the Thunder was eliminated last year, Donovan was also whipped...
There are two young players + Ibaka + Adams, and some coaches drool over the Thunder, but the Thunder boss didn't know why he chose to give Donovan a long contract. It was originally a short-term temporary coaching contract, but last summer, the Thunder and Donovan renewed their contract for 5 years, which will expire in 2020.
And the salary is not low, 30 million for 5 years. In comparison, the contract renewed by Grizzlies coach Huo Tu in 2012 was 4 years and 32 million, and Rivers' contract with the Nets was 4 years and 40 million.
Some fans joked that Donovan was not fired because he blocked the bullet for the Thunder boss, otherwise it would make no sense. Although Donovan is not bad, he is definitely not worthy of the Thunder's lineup.
A superstar, with a new head coach, will most likely still play well.
A head coach, who has a superstar coached by an ordinary player, will most likely not coach well.
But this does not mean that the head coach is not important. Under the same conditions, the importance of a top head coach and a superstar in a team is the same.
The Thunder is not much weaker than the Grizzlies in terms of lineup, at least not by more than 30 points. The Grizzlies are just a little stronger, and the Thunder have a chance to win.
But the coaching staffs of the two teams are too different! This is a consistent evaluation by public opinion.
However, the most discussed is Sun Ce, who scored 41 points, 10 rebounds and 17 assists in 34 minutes of playing time!
Sun Ce played well and could lead his teammates. His teammates were led, and Sun Ce played better... This is a terrifying virtuous cycle. No matter how many times the fans have seen it, they will be shocked by Sun Ce's talent in this regard!
After Sun Ce scored 19 points in the first quarter, the Grizzlies played at their best and played against the Thunder!
…
The first game between the Grizzlies and the Thunder brought a huge impact to the other teams in the second round.
The team that received the biggest direct impact was naturally another series in the West.
On the next day, the morning of May 3, the two teams that were preparing for the game were discussing the game between the Grizzlies and the Thunder last night.
After a discussion, the Warriors players were in a heavy mood. Iguodala saw that the situation was not right and said, "In fact, I don't think the Grizzlies are that much stronger than the Thunder. The main reason is that the lord was in too good a state last night. He scored 19 points in the first quarter. He could attract the defensive attention of at least two people when he got the ball."
"That's right, that state is too rare. That bastard made 7 of 8 shots in the first quarter. Anyone would be defeated by him." Curry didn't want to say anything good about Sun Ce.
Just when Iguodala and Curry were about to successfully characterize the Grizzlies' victory over the Thunder as an unexpected situation where Sun Ce was in good shape, Harden suddenly popped up and said, "Does San Ge have a bad state in the playoffs?"
"..."
"..."
Curry and Iguodala looked at each other speechlessly, and both saw the thoughts revealed in each other's eyes-beat him!
Fortunately, as soon as Harden appeared, his teammates knew that the strongest player in the team was going to say something that made people want to beat people, so they dispersed directly. Even though they knew deep down that the guy was so strong that he could be described as terrifying and his state was very strange, as long as they didn't listen or think about it, they would not have additional negative emotions.
They chose to believe that the Grizzlies had such a crushing performance only because of Sun Ce's outbreak.
On the other side, at the visiting team's training ground, Duncan listened to his teammates discussing Sun Ce's performance last night, and his heart was calm instead.
He also watched the Grizzlies' game last night, and his intuitive feeling...the strongest player in the league he met in his rookie season might not be as strong as Sun Ce this season.
But so what?
It has nothing to do with his fashion godfather.
Of course, if he can play against the Grizzlies and Sun Ce again this season, Duncan will feel very happy. That is the happiest thing for a basketball player - playing against the strongest player in history.
But now, Duncan's attention is on Curry, Harden, and the Warriors.
The strength of this team exceeded his expectations!
He thought that the Warriors were at best as strong as the Heat in the 12-13 season, and the Heat also won 70 games that year.
But when it came to the playoffs, Duncan discovered that this team might indeed be the most unlucky team in the regular season in NBA history as the media and fans said.
Duncan really didn't expect that he would be able to survive until another super team appeared in the last year of his career.
Duncan couldn't help but laugh silently when he thought about his partnership with Sun Ce, Kejan and the current playoff showdown with the Warriors over the years.
Other Spurs players who were discussing the Grizzlies and Sun Ce accidentally saw Duncan smiling and instantly felt a chill coming from behind.
Silver hair, short inches, and a messy white beard... Coupled with that magical smile, the teammates of the Fashion Godfather instantly forgot the huge sensory impact and pressure the Grizzlies brought to them...
…
Home team practice facility at FedEx Center in Memphis.
It was an easy win last night and the emotions in training today were higher than ever.
David West sat down with Mo Williams and Sessions again to talk about Sun Ce and the team they were playing in the playoffs with for the first time.
As for why there are no other teammates chatting with them, the main reason is that they can't chat together!
After the game last night, when the two big players David West and Randolph were chatting after taking a shower and doing physical therapy, David West sighed: "The performance of the third brother was really terrible. I didn't." To think we could win so easily.”
David West will never forget Randolph's expression and response when he heard this last night...
Randolph gave David West a strange look at that time and responded: "Is it scary? Yes, the third brother is in good condition, but his performance is so-so. It's all because the Thunder team didn't play as they should." Performance, otherwise the third brother could have played better. It’s such a waste of such a good state... But it doesn’t matter, there are still many games.”
When he heard this, David West didn't know how to reply.
Not only David West, but also the two rotating point guards Mo Williams and Sessions don't know how to communicate with these teammates.
Shouldn't Sun Ce's performance be shocking? Shouldn't you be excited? Shouldn't you feel lucky?
However, the feeling this brings to these teammates is not a negative emotion, but a positive emotion - Sun Ce had a 40+ triple-double last night! 40+ triple-double in the playoffs for the 8th time in his career! His teammates actually felt that such a performance was a waste of Sun Ce's good form. How terrible would it be for Sun Ce to reach the extreme?
Suddenly, the three teammates thought of Sun Ce's 60 points in a single playoff game that shocked the world in last year's playoffs.
Think about it, Sun Ce also had 3 50+ triple-doubles in the playoffs... Not to mention Sessions, David West and Mo Williams have also partnered with superstars and been selected to the All-NBA Team themselves. The veteran of the star suddenly felt as if he had never seen the world before, and he made a fuss when he saw a 40+ triple-double once...
…
After a day of training, Sun Ce returned home at 5 pm. After practicing the Nash training method, he had dinner and prepared to watch the second game of the series between the Warriors and the Spurs.
When he was practicing the Nash training method, the second game of the series between the Bulls and the 76ers had already been played. The Bulls, taking advantage of their home court, won the game steadily, winning 113 to 98.
There was another game that was completely ignored yesterday. The Raptors were defeated by the Celtics 91-103 at home, but because of Sun Ce's performance and the Grizzlies' performance, no one noticed the Kyle team led by Thomas Jr. How good the special teams team was.
Under Sun Ce's dazzling light, all excellence is just a foil...
While Sun Ce was waiting for the series between the Warriors and the Spurs to start, he was enjoying a head massage from Zu Ge while listening to Zu Ge talk about today's news that praised his Sun.
"Brother, some people say that your performance in the regular season is not your best, but you are the strongest in the playoffs..."
"Some people say everyone else should give up the ball to you..."
"A reporter from T.N.T said that you are already greater than Jordan by winning the championship this time..."
"..."
"..."
Sun Ce listened to Zu Ge's words and was glad that he had not checked the website or social media since entering the new round of the series, otherwise he would have been affected to some extent.
Hearing these compliments from a third party gave me an unusual feeling.
The media's praise of him is now more exaggerated than before. It's not that he feels that he shouldn't be praised. He feels that he is being praised for granted, but this is a bit too much.
This kind of praise reminds Sun Ce of the Heat during the two consecutive championships in the original time and space, and James who returned to the Cavaliers to win the first championship... More importantly, James was the MVP of the Cavaliers for two consecutive years before winning the championship. .
Sun Ce used to complain that it was an American who could achieve his achievements, and he was already praised as surpassing Kobe Bryant with one championship, surpassing Jordan with two championships, and being unbeatable in the history of three championships.
Now this situation has actually happened!
Sun Ce told his confusion to Zu Ge, who was massaging his head, and Lily Collins, who was eating a banana. The two of them didn't think much about it at first. They were happy that their man was being praised and that was it.
In the minds of ordinary people, sports competition is still very pure. Compared with artists, although they are all public figures, they look much taller.
After thinking about it carefully, the two girls felt that it was indeed a bit strange.
Zugoose didn’t come up with anything, but Lily Collins knew more. After thinking about it for a while, she said: “The alliance is flattering you!”
"Hasn't the Alliance always taken good care of me?"
"It's different. In the past, the NBA only regarded you as the spokesperson for Chinese basketball. Now it's different. They probably regard you as the spokesperson for basketball."
"I know, because I have shaken Boss Joe's position in basketball history!"
"That's right. If the official doesn't make a statement to promote you as the basketball god of the new era, then aren't all other stars of this era trash? Only by deifying you can this era be deified, just like the four centers, the two evil spirits, and Barkley in the 1990s... Only when Jordan is deified can the superstars of that era become more dazzling and not be completely overshadowed by Jordan's brilliance."
"Because they are against God?"
After some exchanges, Sun Ce probably guessed what the league was thinking, and the deification movement began!
This was enough to excite Sun Ce, but after thinking of some things, Sun Ce calmed down.
The league has a deification movement, but he himself has to play the performance that the "basketball god" should have, otherwise, it will only become a joke!
What is the most sprayed and ridiculed place for James?
It's not that he doesn't have enough honors or that he's not strong enough. If you look at the honors, James, who currently has 1 championship, 1 FMVP, and 3 regular season MVPs, is worthy of the title of an era-level superstar and the second best player in the league.
The reason why James was criticized and ridiculed is that his personality collapsed!
KING, son of Akron, loyal... all these personalities he had when he was in the Cavaliers have collapsed, and these personalities accumulated super high popularity for James back then. Of course, it is also inseparable from James' own strong strength, but the strong support of the league and the media is the most critical.
He, Sun, is now beginning to be established by the media and the league as a new personality - the God of Basketball.
If there was no Jordan, Sun Ce would have no pressure at all now.
But Jordan, the basketball god of the last century, has won the scoring title 10 times, 7 consecutive scoring titles, 5 MVPs, VP...
With Jordan as a reference, if he, Sun, doesn't perform well, in this era of highly developed information and communication technology, he will definitely be criticized more miserably than before!
"Opportunities always come with risks. It's hard to get to where we are now. This is an opportunity for me, Old Sun, and I shouldn't be afraid of it. Of course, I have to work harder..."
Sun Ce himself didn't expect that he could deal with such a situation so calmly.
However, this is normal, because he knows that it was only after he played such an outstanding performance in the past few years that the league guided public opinion to start the god-making movement, rather than the league favoring him from the beginning.
After thinking about this, Sun Ce became more confident! He relied on his strength to make the NBA regard him as the god of contemporary basketball!
...
98 to 97...The Spurs are doing something! In the second away game, they narrowly defeated the Warriors 98 to 97 and snatched a home advantage!
Duncan was crazy like a teenager, playing for 39 minutes, scoring 17 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks. Together with Rondo, he led the Spurs to play super defense and dragged the Warriors into a defensive battle.
The most exciting part was the crucial duel between the two teams at the last moment. Harden made a layup, Rondo made a tip-in, and Curry made a three-pointer but unfortunately stepped on the line, scoring only two points, and was finally defeated by Ginobili's incredible mid-range shot.
You should know that Ginobili's mid-range shot is so bad. His career average score from mid-range is 1.8 points per game, and he makes less than 1 mid-range shot per game!
The Spurs won this game very thrillingly. If Curry's three-pointer had not stepped on the three-point line, it would have been difficult for the Spurs to enter overtime, because after the first three quarters of this game, the Spurs led by 12 points 77 to 65, but they were beaten 30 to 21 in the last quarter, and they obviously couldn't hold on.
Sun Ce was fascinated by this game... It was really amazing!
After a day of rest, on May 4, the second game of the series between the Grizzlies and the Thunder arrived.
In the second round, the game system before the schedule change was restored. There was a day of rest between the first and second games, two days of rest between the second and third games, two days of rest between the third and fourth games, and only one day of rest between the home and away games.
The first game to start tonight was the game between the Raptors and the Celtics. Tonight, the Raptors felt like they were fighting a desperate battle and played very hard. Lowry, DeMar Carroll, and DeRozan scored 20+, helping the Raptors win this home game 98-92, avoiding the miserable situation of 0-2 in the home game.
But even if the Raptors won, DeRozan was still sprayed... 20 points with 8 of 24 shots, this efficiency almost wasted the outstanding performance of Lowry who made 7 of 14 shots, Carroll who made 8 of 13 shots, and Gasol who scored 9 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks.
However, there are not many people who mock DeRozan now. The game between the Raptors and the Celtics is just an appetizer, and the next game is the focus of fans.
At 8pm, the Grizzlies played against the Thunder at home!
It seems that they haven't recovered from the last game yet. Durant and Westbrook performed very poorly tonight!
Westbrook shot 9 of 33 and missed 24 shots, and Durant shot 10 of 31 and missed 21 shots. The two brothers accounted for two-thirds of the Thunder's shots, but the number of goals they scored was less than half of the Thunder's goals!
Don’t look at Westbrook’s 28 points and Durant’s 29 points, but what makes the Thunder look like they still have a chance is Ibaka’s 24 points with 9 shots. If it weren’t for Ibaka attracting defensive firepower, the Thunder wouldn’t have been able to hold on for half the game!
Sun Ce didn’t take many shots tonight, and the opponent double-teamed him like crazy, but it also gave him the opportunity to pass the ball. Although Sun Ce only scored 19 points with 6 of 15 shots, he still had 14 rebounds, 11 assists and 4 steals!
Relying on Sun Ce’s 19 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 block and 4 steals, the Grizzlies beat the Thunder 108-91 and won the first two games of the series with a crushing advantage!
In this game, the focus was not Sun Ce, but the quarrel between Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka when they were replaced after entering garbage time...