Five Hundred and Fifty-Four. Westbrook’s Darkest Night

Sun Ce grabbed the rebound and immediately counterattacked!

Westbrook and Sun Ce were stuck trying to grab the rebound and failed to win. They were a little confused, but they reacted quickly and immediately stuck to Sun Ce, delaying Sun Ce's fast break.

It’s not just Sun Ce. The opponent’s lineup with one large and four small retreated very quickly and failed to counterattack. Sun Ce was not in a hurry to release the ball and waited for his teammates to get into position. Except for Randolph, these teammates really didn’t have much to hold the ball. Points are available.

After protecting the ball and waiting for his teammates to get into position, Sun Ce discovered that the one guarding him had indeed become Durant.

Durant took a big step inside the three-point line and concentrated on guarding Sun Ce.

If it were anyone else, he would choose to rest on the defensive end and save his energy for the offensive end.

But Sun Ce... had a sense of deja vu that he wanted to steal his third brother, and last year's All-Star canvassing incident... this hatred will last forever!

Sun Ce waited for Randolph to position himself inside and lobbed the ball to Randolph on the left side of the top arc.

Sun Ce's offensive strategy began to be implemented.

When Randolph pressed Muhammad and ran inside, Durant did not let go of Sun Ce to flank. Sun Ce was moving from the top arc to the bottom line on the right, one step away from the free throw line, pulling the upper line. Open, Durant would rather his teammates inside were abused than let go of Sun Ce. Today, the mid-range shot was very good overall. In less than one quarter, he has already scored two mid-range shots, and now he has 6 points.

On Randolph's side, he pushed Muhammad back and took a step back. Muhammad turned left and faced the basket. At this time, Westbrook, who had been staying in the mid-range without guarding, stepped up to attack, trying to interfere with Lando. Husband's shot, and...grab the rebound for Randolph's missed layup.

At this time Tony Allen rushed inside!

Westbrook double-teamed, and Tony Allen had a chance to hit the basket directly. Randolph distributed the ball, and Tony Allen caught the ball and hit a layup.

Tony Allen didn't expect to score two points so easily. When Durant guarded him, he was still between him and the basket, and he would use various conditions to block the gap between him and the ball carrier when he was flanking. There was a passing space between them, but Westbrook didn't care about this at all!

18 to 15, the Grizzlies lead the Thunder by 3 points!

This was so satisfying for Randolph. He didn't expect that he would be able to support Brook, a small defender, to help defend. Sun Ce was really right!

What Sun Ce used was the best way to deal with the Thunder in the future when Westbrook and Paul George partnered up.

In the first round of the 2018-19 playoffs in the original time and space, whoever Westbrook was guarding would look for opportunities to cut in. It was a surprise that Aminu, Maurice Harkless and C-McCollum were compared to the routine. In total, they scored more than 10 points!

The offensive level of Aminu and Maurice Harkless is similar to that of Tony Allen. Their career regular season scores are about the same. They actually averaged 10+ points per game in the playoffs against a defense-based team like the Thunder. .

Under Sun Ce's instructions, the Grizzlies offense also began to take advantage of this.

Compared with the first half of the first quarter, which was basically dominated by Randolph and the ball, Sun Ce used counterattacks and did not make any counterattacks. Generally speaking, it depends on the step; in the second half of the first quarter, the Grizzlies played very well. Very targeted!

Since the overall offense is really not good, the Grizzlies only have a big framework on the offensive end most of the time. However, at this stage, the strategic tendency is obvious. When offensive assistant David Fizdale saw this style of play, how could he not recognize the players from his home team? Which point was used? During the timeout, he began to arrange his movements in more detail. Replacing Yi Jianlian could open up the space better and allow players facing Westbrook to have clearer cutting or shooting routes.

Keep Brook guarding Tony Allen, and Tony Allen will cut in. Westbrook is very strong, and Tony Allen is even stronger! Tony Allen's offensive ability is indeed not very good, but the Thunder are too weak inside. On the defensive end, Westbrook only focuses on the basket. How can he stop Tony Allen when he rushes directly into the paint?

When the Thunder changed defenders and used Harden, who was currently weak in defensive ability but very active and stronger in confrontation, to guard Tony Allen, Paul George pulled out to shoot three-pointers from the outside...not accurate, but there were many opportunities. !

Although the Thunder's offense is not easy to defend, from Westbrook to Jeff Green, there are four outside players who can play in isolation, and except for Westbrook, the other three can catch and shoot... Westbrook receives the ball and is open. He can also shoot, but he is accurate... His mind is not on scoring!

At the end of the first quarter, the Thunder trailed the Grizzlies by 5 points, 24 to 29!

Westbrook's breakthrough is very important for the Thunder, but after getting 3 assists in a single quarter, Westbrook gave the ball to Harden. Harden's current breakthrough is difficult to play Westbrook's role.

Randolph had 4 assists in a single quarter!

Westbrook had 5 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists in the first half of the quarter. However, after the first quarter was full, he still had 5 points and only 2 rebounds and 3 assists!

Because of Westbrook's inexplicable obsession with rebounding, the Thunder only scored 11 points in the second half of the first quarter, while the Grizzlies scored 15 points!

With 6 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in a single quarter, Sun Ce's scoring and assist numbers did not increase, but his rebounds crushed Westbrook.

Westbrook couldn't grab offensive rebounds or defensive rebounds from Sun Ce. Sun Ce knew that the opponent wanted to brush up the statistics, so when he grabbed the offensive rebounds, he would rather not grab them himself than let Westbrook grab them.

Durant is not very interested in preventing Sun Ce from rebounding, mainly because he does not want Sun Ce to score and assist.

In this quarter of the game, Thunder coach Brooks didn't know why his team's defense was like this, because Westbrook looked very active. If he didn't take the initiative to take advantage of this, it would be difficult to see any changes in him.

Because after the start of this season, Westbrook has been very active in all aspects. Seeing Westbrook average at least 18 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists per game, it further strengthened the Thunder management team that Westbrook is the most talented person. That player’s thoughts.

Obviously Westbrook was very active in flanking and Durant was very active in guarding Sun Ce. In the second half of the first quarter, the Thunder limited Sun Ce and Randolph, two players who combined to score 10 points in the first half of the first quarter, to only one score in the second half. At 5 points, Sun Ce scored two points and Randolph scored three points.

Moreover, their own offensive performance was okay. Harden unexpectedly got the ball, distributed the ball in a timely manner, and played reasonably. His ability was not good but his teammates were friendly, and the overall rhythm seemed good.

But why are we 5 points behind?

…

In the second quarter, Conley took the field with a lineup of Paul George, Moreau, Battier, and Gasol.

Sun Ce, Tony Allen, and Randolph were replaced to rest.

For the Thunder, Durant was replaced to rest, Westbrook and Harden continued to play, Jeff Green returned to the small forward position, and the inside combination of Ibaka and Kostic reappeared.

During the inter-quarter break, after half a quarter, David Fizdale became more targeted at Sun Ce's attack on the Thunder's defensive problems.

An NBA coach, even if he is the worst assistant on the weakest team, always has a strong point in terms of tactical knowledge or adaptability.

David Fizdale couldn't know what Westbrook wanted to do by seeing Westbrook's defensive and offensive positions like Sun Ce did, but after Sun Ce revealed this to him, he quickly formulated a plan A better tactic than Sun Ce. The adjustments during the timeout in the second half of the first quarter were only temporary adjustments. The tactical preparations during the breaks between quarters were more complete!

In addition, Sun Ce consciously told his teammates to prevent Westbrook from grabbing rebounds, making Westbrook's game even more difficult!

Scores and assists are both on the rise. As a point guard with a high concentration of ball rights, Westbrook has good physical fitness and generally good skills. It is not difficult to score. Just shoot more. His teammates are good at shooting, so getting assists is not a big problem. , he averaged at least 4 assists per game directly from Durant.

But rebounds!

Seeing Sun Ce, Westbrook really wanted to get a triple-double to prove himself. He liked Sun Ce's style of play very much, and then he liked Sun Ce as a player, but... he is a standard American, and he "admired" him when he saw him. The target of Sun Ce desperately wanted to defeat Sun Ce in this aspect.

But Sun Ce had 5 rebounds in the first quarter, and Westbrook grabbed them for a long time. At the end of the half, he only had 3 rebounds!

And... because of his inexplicable enthusiasm, the Thunder trailed the Grizzlies by 13 points 44-57 at halftime!

Total defeat!

Why does Westbrook feel that this night is particularly dark?

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