The news of Durant's season reimbursement is still burning, and the entire NBA is in chaos.
Currently in the entire Western Conference, the Los Angeles Lakers are ranked first with a record of 50 wins and 5 losses, and the Golden State Warriors are ranked second with a record of 45 wins and 10 losses. These two teams are ranked first and second. In terms of location, it is basically in the sky.
As for other teams, it's not that they don't care about their regular season results.
But because of some special considerations, these teams in the Western Conference are very tight-lipped and have no intention of chasing first and second place.
Therefore, the results are generally average.
This so-called special consideration is naturally considering whether to fall to the eighth-place Lakers in the Western Conference.
Even though the Lakers have a top record, fans of most teams in the Western Conference are calling for their teams to drop to eighth place and play the Lakers in the playoffs.
The Lakers' style of play makes them the best team to bully in the playoffs.
The Rockets even defeated the Lakers 2-1 this season.
In the playoffs, wouldn't the Rockets just play casually?
If the Lakers are defeated in the first round, then this division will be really good, directly avoiding the Warriors, the truly strongest team in the Western Conference.
Therefore, one of the wonders of the current Western Conference is that no one intends to avoid the Lakers, who are No. 1 in the Western Conference.
What everyone wants to avoid now is the second-place Warriors in the Western Conference.
This is actually understandable.
Therefore, the teams in the Western Conference are basically waiting and watching.
These strong teams are waiting to see what the future situation will be like in order to find a suitable ranking at the last moment.
For example, the Spurs are a very bad team, always hanging around in the fourth and fifth positions.
This actually belongs to Sima Zhao and everyone knows it.
How average is the Western Conference's ranking right now?
In addition to the first-ranked Lakers and second-ranked Warriors.
The remaining seven teams that can compete for the playoffs have a winning margin of no more than 4 games!
Ranked third are the Rockets, who just defeated the Lakers, overtaking the Spurs and ranked third in the Western Conference, with a record of 38 wins and 17 losses.
Ranked fourth are the Trail Blazers, who are ranked first in the Northwest Division with 36 wins and 19 losses.
Ranked fifth is the Spurs with 37 wins and 18 losses.
Ranked sixth is the Thunder, which currently has 36 wins and 19 losses.
As for seventh place, the Mavericks have 37 wins and 20 losses.
Ranked eighth is the Timberwolves with 35 wins and 20 losses.
Ranked ninth is the Grizzlies with 34 wins and 21 losses.
Looking at this ranking, it is not unfair to say that the Spurs are thieves, but everyone is a thieves.
The Mavericks have been holding on to the Spurs while also keeping an eye on the Timberwolves.
While the Thunder are staring at the Spurs, they are also staring at the Trail Blazers, who are No. 1 in the same conference.
The gap between everyone is not big, but just one acceleration can turn everything upside down.
At this stage, no one dared to run or rest. It was a very strange atmosphere.
Because, with seven people competing for six positions, even if you covet the eighth position in the Western Conference, you don't dare to lose randomly!
Therefore, things will become very interesting. You can't lose too much, and you can't win too much. This is such a terrible test of judgment and acting skills, and it makes everyone exhausted.
But, now that Durant is down, can the Thunder still enter the playoffs?
The Thunder's record is 36 wins and 19 losses, and the Grizzlies, ninth in the Western Conference, have a record of 34 wins and 21 losses, which is just 2 games behind.
Can the Thunder really sustain these two wins without Durant?
If the Thunder fall behind.
So if there are six teams competing for six positions, can those teams that play the Lakers be able to modify as much as they want, focus on the playoffs, and practice lineups and tactics in the regular season?
If you take into account the crazy competition of the Lakers in the regular season to break the 72-win record, it requires a lot of consumption, and many of the players on the Lakers are veterans. If it were you, would you choose the Lakers as your opponent? ?
A bunch of veterans are working hard in the regular season, plus Jokic is suspended and cannot play in the first round. Without a center, if your team still has a good center, would you want to choose the Lakers? beat?
San Antonio.
In the Spurs head coach's office, Popovich looked at the team's calendar in his hand in a daze.
Durant's injury really affected his whole body!
Without the threat of the Thunder, the Spurs can start playing directly.
"Eighth is our best position!"
After thinking about it again and again, Popovich said very seriously.
Next to him, Buford and Budenholzer had no objections.
Because they also feel that if the Spurs drop to eighth place and play the Lakers, it would be the best choice.
Avoiding the Warriors before the Western Conference Finals, and at the same time, playing the Lakers in the first round. If they can beat the Lakers, they can even wash away the shame of being beaten by the Lakers last season.
"Pop, the key question now is, do the Lakers really have no center?"
After Buford finished speaking, Popovich withdrew his gaze and looked at Budenholzer next to him.
"Mike, go and collect Yao's comeback timetable. At the same time, help me sort out the data and game performances of Barkley and Garnett this season."
After Popovich finished speaking, Budenholzer took the order and left.
At this time, in fact, not only Popovich, but also many people are customizing some special information and data for the Lakers this season.
This caused many consulting companies in the NBA to suddenly have an explosion of business.
Of course, these teams that want to fall to the eighth position in the Western Conference now also need to see the face of the Thunder. Is the Thunder really useless without Durant.
For the Thunder, Durant is not just the boss of the team, Durant is also the cornerstone of the team, and the style of play revolves around Durant.
Therefore, Durant's season reimbursement is not only a sudden loss of a maximum salary, but also a complete change in the team's style of play.
Without Durant on defense, there will be no speed to assist defense, and there will be one less piece of assist defense.
Without Durant in the offense, the two monsters would not be able to take turns, and Westbrook would not be able to do it alone.
Without Durant, the Thunder's offensive and defensive system collapsed.
Therefore, these teams are also looking at the Thunder's record when customizing data and information.
In an away game against the Bobcats, the angry Westbrook made 27 shots in one game, 12 of 27, and a triple-double of 33 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. He led the Thunder to defeat the Bobcats in the Eastern Conference in an away game.
Playing against the weak Nuggets in the Western Conference at home, Westbrook scored 21 points and 17 assists, Carter had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Ibaka had 20 points and 8 blocks. The three led the team to defeat the Nuggets in three quarters and win again.
At home against the Pacers in the Eastern Conference, where Paul George broke his leg, Westbrook had another triple-double, Carter and Ibaka both had 20+ points again, and the Thunder once again defeated their opponents in three quarters.
After missing Durant, the Thunder seems to have no changes. It seems that they can still defeat their opponents easily?
However, these three teams are too weak, and soon the test of the Thunder will come.
In an away game against the Suns, a strong team in the Western Conference Lottery with 30 wins and 28 losses, Westbrook, who has been very angry after Durant was injured, shot 12 of 38 in this game, scoring 39 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists with a 31.6% shooting rate. , led the team to lose in overtime.
A super triple-double, leading the team to a loss. One person shot 9 in overtime, 1 of 9. After Durant was injured, no one could suppress Westbrook's desire, let alone the angry Westbrook.
At the end of the game, Carter glanced at Westbrook, who was pouting and looking angry and unwilling, and finally sighed and got into the tunnel.
Carter is Durant's calmer, Durant is Westbrook's calmer, but Carter is not Westbrook's calmer.
The Suns are considered a good team in the Western Conference, but this team cannot make the playoffs in the Western Conference.
Facing such a team and finally losing in this way, you can see where the upper limit of Westbrook's Thunder is.
As long as the Thunder stalls, the Thunder are likely to blow up under the leadership of Westbrook!
If you are killed by Westbrook, you are unlucky.
Westbrook probably killed himself in an explosion.
Then the Thunder played the Trail Blazers, a true Western Conference powerhouse, which was almost a reprint of the same script.
In the first three quarters, the Thunder even led by 11 points.
At that time, all the Trail Blazers fans felt that their team was finished.
Unexpectedly, in the fourth quarter, Westbrook suddenly went undercover for the Trail Blazers.
Westbrook made 14 of 32 in the entire game, scoring a super triple-double of 40 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Coupled with his good shooting percentage, he seemed to be amazing.
In fact, it was really amazing in three quarters, otherwise the Blazers would not have lost by 11 points in three quarters against the Trail Blazers in an away game.
The mighty Turtles were awesome for three quarters and almost killed the Blazers.
However, the Trail Blazers relied on Afflalo, Westbrook's senior at UCLA, to score 11 points during the fourth quarter rotation and persevere.
Then, Westbrook blew himself up!
Throughout the fourth quarter, after Westbrook came on the court, in just eight minutes, Westbrook made 4 of 13 shots and made 9 irons!
When Westbrook came on the court, the score was 97-87, a 10-point lead.
At the end of the game, the score was 114 to 117, and the Thunder lost by 3 points.
With 45 seconds left at the end and the two teams were 110-110, Westbrook made three consecutive iron attempts in just 45 seconds, dribbling the ball past halftime and then throwing it away. He had no patience at all.
At this point, the Western Conference teams that have been paying attention to the Thunder are finally relieved.
They feel the strength of the Thunder.
Unstable, just like Westbrook, the Thunder have now become an extremely inconsistent team.
Now the Thunder's style will be the same as Westbrook's style before.
Westbrook is an unstable player.
This is actually understandable.
Therefore, on March 1st, the Thunder went away and were about to challenge the Lakers, who were also not in very good shape recently.
Nash told fans in the Lakers community that the Lakers are about to get back on track. Even if Jokic is suspended, the Lakers will soon be back on the winning track and successfully break the Bulls' 72-win record.
After Nash's speech, the Lakers lost to the Rockets and even the Nets in the next game, only winning against the Jazz.
Three games, 1 win and 2 losses, and the win was against a not-so-strong team.
This whole thing is as embarrassing as Nash needs to be.
Now with 51 wins and 6 losses, the Lakers still have a chance to break the Bulls' record, but now more and more people are not optimistic about the Lakers.
Now, the Thunder and Lakers, two teams in poor condition, meet like this.
Therefore, it attracted the attention of the entire alliance.
"I have a hunch. I feel that if we don't play this game, the Lakers will collapse!"
James was excited.
He felt that his aim was not random, but that he had done research.
The recent games the Lakers lost were actually caused by Seth Curry being targeted and beaten.
And in the entire NBA, is there any defender more suitable to defeat Curry than Westbrook?
I have to say that James has really good vision.
In the focus game between the Lakers and Thunder, Westbrook challenged Seth Curry from the very beginning. In the first quarter, he made 5 of 8, 1 of 2 three-pointers, and 5 of 5 free throws. He scored 16 points in a single quarter. .
In addition, Carter also played against Seth Curry in the first quarter of this game. He made 3 of 4 in a single quarter, 3 of 3 three-pointers, and 2 of 2 free throws. He scored 11 points in a single quarter.
The Thunder scored 37 points in the first quarter. Relying on Wade's 5-for-9 performance and 10 points in a single quarter, after the first 10 minutes of the first quarter, the Lakers were already trailing 22 to 32 and 10 points behind. point.
But soon, Coach D did not replace Pierce in the regular rotation during the rotation period, but replaced him with Isaiah Canaan. This became the key.
In just two minutes, Kanan relied on Westbrook's defensive inattention and made 5 of 6 three-pointers. He scored 15 points in two minutes. In the end, he actually helped the Lakers win 34-37 at the end of the first quarter. , lost by 3 points.
This game was indeed quite lively.
The whole game was like a replica of the first quarter.
The two teams really played lively.
After four quarters, the two teams were tied 110-110. With 6 seconds left in the final game, the Lakers were 107-110 behind by 3 points. Wade made his first three-pointer in the game and his only shot. A three-pointer, with Carter hitting, pushed the Lakers into overtime.
Coach D did not let Kanaan and Seth Curry shoot three-pointers, but asked Wade to shoot three-pointers, which really shocked the world.
James in front of the TV was so angry that he wanted to smash the TV.
In this game, two unstable teams, the Lakers and Thunder, really made his heart explode!
Damn it, just when the Thunder were about to win, the Lakers exploded with a three-pointer, and when the Lakers were about to win, Westbrook exploded again.
Damn it, there is no such thing as bullying!
Maybe in this world, only Coach D has a smile on his face and is so calm, as if everything is as he expected.
But soon, overtime began.
The two teams are still inextricably tied.
The game went down to the final possession.
With 6 seconds left in the game, the Thunder had the ball, and the Lakers and Thunder were tied at 118-118.
"Get ready for the second overtime!"
Aunt Jenny, the chief teaching assistant, was sighing.
Du Kang didn't speak, but he didn't object either.
The simulation result of this game is that in the second overtime, the Lakers will win a big victory, but the Thunder will collapse in the second overtime!
"This time the Thunder's winning goal will be Westbrook, defend against Westbrook."
After Du Kang finished speaking, all the Lakers players took the order.
Carter served and Westbrook received the ball. Almost everyone in the Lakers turned to Westbrook!
And right now!
There was a burst of exclamation at the scene!
"Durant!!!"
Durant, who had just undergone surgery, appeared at Staples! ! !
The fans and the audience saw it.
All the players on the court, Westbrook, saw it! ! !
It won’t be a career reimbursement!
It will definitely not be a career reimbursement!
"KD! This is for You!!!"
Watching Westbrook stand up to Antetokounmpo's defense and shoot a zombie jumper two steps away from the three-point line, James in front of the TV was dumbfounded! ! !
James felt like his heart was exploding!
And watching the trajectory of the basketball thrown by Westbrook, Du Kang on the sidelines was also shocked!
This trajectory!
wrong!
At the same time, Durant, who had just appeared in the stands, had a smile on his haggard face.
A swipe!
The sound of basketball brushing the net is so crisp!
121 to 118!
The Thunder defeated the Lakers on the road!
In the game, he made 17 of 34 shots, 2 of 5 three-pointers, and 15 of 20 free throws. He scored 51 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists in the game, in addition to 3 steals.
Among them, 21 points were scored in the fourth quarter and overtime, and the Thunder scored all 11 points in overtime.
"KD! This is for You!!!"
The whole Staples is silent!
In everyone's ears, all they heard was Westbrook pouting and shouting at Durant!
Durant, who was laughing just now, was crying.
Du Kang, who was shocked just now, smiled.
Change your destiny against the will of heaven!
He is not the only one who has reversed the fate of system results!
Westbrook did it tonight!
(End of chapter)
