The Wizards won the first game of the Finals too easily. Compared with the last bullet against the Heat, the intensity of both sides in the first game was only a little bit stronger than the regular season. Basically It was at the level of an ordinary playoff game, not even as intense as the conference finals.
Therefore, in the post-game interview, Thunder head coach Scott Brooks seemed very dissatisfied, "We did not give our opponents enough physical confrontation at all. This is the finals, not just playing house. Maybe we should show a little bit of the blood of men." , even if you can't guard the opponent, you can't let them score easily!"
The two core players, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, also said that they did not take the lead enough. They will definitely regain the mentality of the finals in the next game. The first game between the two sides was basically a test. Most fans also know that the second game will not be so easy.
Sure enough, in the second game of the Finals two days later, the Thunder showed a completely different state from the first game. Led by the Turtles Westbrook and Durant, the Thunder not only played on the offensive end In addition to the very fast pace, the actions on the defensive end were also much greater than in the first game.
Of course, there is a price to pay for defending desperately. For example, Serge Ibaka, who mainly defended Li Kaiming, repeatedly pulled Li Kaiming during the defense. The Thunder received good whistle treatment, but even so, the referee tonight could not see it. After going down, Ibaka was called for two fouls in a single quarter. This shocked Thunder coach Brooks and quickly replaced Ibaka.
Because after the first quarter, the Thunder attacked aggressively, but the Wizards were still playing tactics meticulously. After running out of the open space, Thompson and others on the outside didn't feel very good. Li Kaiming wanted to make a show, but was beaten by Naiba. Card was forced to stop it with a foul. Although he also made several free throws, after the first quarter, the Thunder still led by 4 points, 31 to 27.
In the first half of the second quarter, the Wizards still adopted the regular rotation. Li Kaiming and others went to rest for half a quarter, and let the substitute guards plus McGee and others come up to play. But tonight's Thunder seems to want to repeat the same pattern. In the Wizards' last game, it was clear that Westbrook and Durant almost played the entire first quarter, but they still didn't end the game in the second quarter. It seems that this lead is extremely important.
However, this did not attract Sanders' special attention, but it was just a matter of strategy throughout the game. Some people like to be the first to win, gain the advantage at the beginning, then use their momentum to suppress the opponent, and then persist throughout the game.
Some people like to use their strength late in the game, hide their strength a little in the early stage, and wait until the opponent is exhausted before coming out to harvest. Both strategies are very common. The main players' physical strength is limited, and it depends on how the coach allocates this limited physical strength. .
Westbrook and Durant naturally played well against the Wizards' bench. In less than half a quarter, Sanders had to call a timeout. The prerequisite for the late game was not to allow the point difference to be too big. , if it goes directly into garbage time, the players will have lost their momentum, and they will already have the idea of surrendering and preparing for the next game, and they will lay eggs.
So after calling a timeout, Li Kaiming and his five foreign players were brought onto the court, hoping to get the point difference back a little bit.
The Thunder team was also tough, especially Durant. When he was drinking water and panting on the bench, he gritted his teeth and applied to play again when he saw Li Kaiming playing again.
Brooks looked at his proud disciple, a touched look flashed in his eyes, and then patted Durant's shoulder with his hand, and then whispered some instructions.
The Thunder's lineup once again changed to the starting lineup. At this time, the score between the two sides was 39 to 47, and the Thunder led by 8 points. After coming up, the Wizards fired a baseline kick and handed it to Hinrich for halftime.
Li Kaiming plays the center position in this lineup, but the Thunder seem to have watched the video of the Eastern Conference Finals, and they also followed the same example by asking power forward Ibaka to face Li Kaiming, and the center to fight the aging Lewis. It happens to be able to protect the basket at any time.
After halftime, Hinrich waved to Li Kaiming, who went to pick and roll. The cooperation between Westbrook and Ibaka tonight was much more familiar than in the last game. After Ibaka reminded him, Wei Shao Shao chose to go around the screen, leaving Hinrich with a shooting opportunity from the outside.
This kind of opportunity would never be missed in the Wizards' tactics, so Hinrich directly aimed at the basket and fired after Li Kaiming's screen, but unfortunately he didn't hit.
Perkins under the basket protected the rebound and handed it to Westbrook. The latter stretched out his head, held his neck, dribbled the ball and started to rush forward. Defensive counterattack and transition to fast break are Westbrook's favorite offensive methods. It is also the offensive method that best displays his playing style.
Hinrich gritted his teeth and chased after him. Li Kaiming came to the penalty area early and was ready to protect the basket. Westbrook hesitated for a moment after reaching the three-point line, and then suddenly accelerated to get rid of Hinrich and went straight to the basket. .
Ibaka has already pulled out of the penalty area in order to move Li Kaiming away from the basket and clear space for Westbrook to break through.
Ibaka is still a bit of a mid-range threat. Li Kaiming moved slightly outside, and the rest of the Wizards also began to take turns to cover up defense. Leonard on the outside is definitely the one with the most outstanding defensive awareness. With a slight step, he Blocking Westbrook's breakthrough route.
However, this time Westbrook did not rush inside. When he saw Leonard coming to defend him, he jumped up directly, then twisted his whole body into a twist in the air, and passed the ball to Durant on the outside with both hands. Leonard's defense is almost instantaneous, but for Durant, his way of playing is to take action when the rhythm is up. It has nothing to do with whether there is a defender in front of him or who is defending.
After spending several seasons with his upright second brother, Durant has already become accustomed to the former's passing style. He is ready to shoot before catching the ball. Naturally, he will not be vague at this time, facing Renner. De will take action directly!
Swish! The basketball went hollow into the net, and Durant smiled at Westbrook.
39 to 50, the point difference has reached double digits. Sanders on the sidelines finally became a little less calm. He looked at Brooks on the other side of the court, and then turned to look at the court, with a trace of anxiety flashing in his eyes.
But soon, this anxiety was extinguished like a newly ignited fire, because after the Wizards dribbled the ball through half court, the guy wearing the No. 0 jersey had already come to the outside. Take the initiative to catch the ball.
Li Kaiming's highlights have definitely been watched no less than 10 times by NBA coaches, especially the head coach of the Thunder, who is the opponent in the finals. When Scott Brooks closes his eyes now, the Wizards No. 0 is in his mind. A dazzling goal.
Regarding this person, the Thunder's coaching staff and video analysts have held several closed-door meetings, but every time they have failed.
There is no other reason than this guy. With the support of modern camera technology and powerful data analysis technology, the Thunder coaching staff analyzed it for several days, and finally came to a desperate conclusion:
They couldn't find any offensive weaknesses in this guy!
How can it be! When Brooks and others learned of this conclusion, the first thing that came to their minds was disbelief!
How can there be people in this world who have no weaknesses at all? Even the so-called two players who are recognized as the most dominant players in history, Joe chooses Joe, and Joe chooses Sharks, each has its own shortcomings.
But now you tell me, a guy who has just entered his second year in the league has no weaknesses on the offensive end?
Brooks rationally believed that this statement was completely unacceptable, so he tried to let Ibaka defend alone in the first game. As expected, he was blown away and the team also lost decisively.
So in the second game he decided to try something new. In Brooks' view, data analysis is indeed important for basketball, but as a team coach, he cannot be superstitious about data analysis. After all, this game is played by people. It’s not like throwing a bunch of data in and getting a result.
"I'll keep harassing him, interrupting his thoughts and rhythm. If I can't prevent it, I'll foul him, and I'll foul him violently. It's best to make him angry, and even better if I can fight..."
Facing Li Kaiming dribbling the ball from the outside, Ibaka, who stepped on the three-point line and lowered his center of gravity, heard the coach's words before the game in his heart.
Li Kaiming on the opposite side started, and he dribbled closer to Ibaka. As the distance between the two gradually narrowed, Li Kaiming's dribbling frequency became faster and faster, until there was only about one meter left between the two. When facing the stern-looking Ibaka, Li Kaiming, who had also lowered his center of gravity, suddenly hesitated, dribbled with one hand, and assumed a forward posture to break through to the inside.
Ibaka's body shook, and his brain immediately predicted Li Kaiming's direction, and his feet were on the breakthrough route in advance.
"I've blocked you..." The corner of his mouth just rose with an arc representing victory, and then immediately dropped back.
Because after hesitating, the boy on the opposite side did not go inside as he expected, but directly pulled up on the spot and shot a three-pointer facing a wide open space of more than one meter!
This trick seems to have been seen on some guy with blurred eyes...
An elegant figure wearing the Magic's No. 1 jersey flashed through Ibaka's mind, but his feet kept rushing toward Li Kaiming.
"If you can't prevent it, you'll foul...it's best if you can fight..."
Ibaka thought of Brooks' words, and a fierce light flashed on his slightly lowered face. Since he can no longer guard against it, it's time to experience toughness!
He rushed over and made a defensive move, but he knocked over Li Kaiming who was in the air without braking at all. The latter landed heavily and made a dull sound when he hit the floor!
beep!
This level of confrontation was naturally a foul, and the referee on the scene naturally had to enforce the law impartially and whistled Ibaka for a defensive foul. However, what happened in the next moment caused the entire stadium to riot!
Li Kaiming, who was lying on the ground, was waiting for his teammates to come over and pull him up. Originally, this was an ordinary foul, but after the foul, Ibaka didn't think so. He silently muttered "tough" and "irritate him." Then he turned around and prepared to step over Li Kaiming!
Li Kaiming, who was originally in a good mood, immediately turned gloomy after seeing this scene. Before his teammates could come to pull him, he directly put his hands on the floor and kicked Ibaka in the leg. Interrupting the opponent's provocation, he stood up and rushed towards Ibaka.
Of course, after playing professional games for such a long time, Li Kaiming knew that some teams would specialize in this kind of thing, using an insignificant role on his side to replace the core of the opponent's team and play Tian Ji horse racing, so he This time I went there to reason with my rationale, and I wasn’t going to take action directly.
However, the referees on the scene didn't think so. After blowing the whistle several times in succession, several referees rushed up to stand between Li Kaiming and Ibaka.
Players from both sides immediately came over to maintain order, and the game was suspended.
