The Thunder actually don't have many cards, but they are very good, but they are not at their best yet.
Durant, Westbrook, and Gordon are all still growing. If they play well, they will be outstanding, but if they go into headwinds, they will easily make mistakes.
In the first three games, the Thunder had always been relatively smooth. If they hadn't encountered the referee's home whistle in the final stage of the third game, they would have been smooth sailing and killed the Clippers.
Or like the Dallas Mavericks, even if the referee is at home, even if there is a headwind, with the support of tenacity and rich experience, these adverse factors can be eliminated invisible.
Durant encountered PJ Tucker's tough defense in the first quarter and was very unaccustomed to it.
It is really embarrassing to be locked up by an unknown person like Tucker.
But the more anxious you are and the more you want to regain the field, the easier it is to make mistakes on the offensive end.
Attack and defense are two different things. Attack requires calmness, while defense requires passion.
Most of the scoring masters, especially the shooting masters, are as smooth as a lake.
Passion is often released after hitting the ball. If you are angry before you even shoot, it will be difficult to shoot the ball well.
PJ Tucker didn't talk trash to Durant, he just followed him and followed him inseparably.
In the first quarter, Durant came off the court to rest, and Tucker also came off the court to rest. As soon as Durant came on the court, Tucker came on the court immediately.
I'm just targeting you.
Durant's offensive methods are very comprehensive. He is proficient in low post, face-to-face mid-range, and fadeaway jumpers.
Tucker's defense is very simple, just one word, pestering, pestering you all the time.
And Tucker was not discouraged at all. He made the shot when he made it. I was not discouraged and continued to defend the next shot.
His defensive willpower is as firm as a rock, which he earned during his wandering basketball career overseas.
It is not easy to have a stable basketball meal in Los Angeles. You must cherish it and play hard to be worthy of Mr. Smart's cultivation and fancy.
Tucker still remembers the despair he felt in the summer of 2009 after trying out with many teams to no avail.
He has already bought a ticket to Israel, ready to continue playing there and continue to improve himself and work hard to return to the United States.
As a result, a phone call came, saying that the Los Angeles Clippers had signed him, and instead of a 10-day short contract, they directly gave him a guaranteed contract.
Tucker still remembers the feeling of surviving a desperate situation.
He tells himself every day to work hard and play hard.
Go all out in every game and do whatever it takes to win for the team.
Tucker doesn't have many opportunities to play in the regular season, and his playing time in the playoffs is even less.
Facing the hard-won starting opportunity in this game, how could Tucker not seize it?
After Durant came back on the court in the second quarter, Tucker followed suit and continued to pester Durant.
He remained silent, did not engage in verbal disputes with Durant, did not talk trash, and just defended silently.
This kind of entanglement made Durant a little unable to hold back, so he chose to hold the ball and beat Tucker.
There was defensive interference from Matt Bonner inside.
Bonner replaced Gasol, but his ability to protect the basket was really poor.
Facing Durant's breakthrough, there is no way but to foul and send Durant to the free throw line.
Brooks doesn't quite understand why the Clippers replaced Gasol with Bonner.
Milicic's role in protecting the basket is much stronger than Bonner's.
And Milicic is not afraid of Perkins.
Perkins' poker face can scare others, but not Milicic.
The confrontation between the two inside is extremely fierce, and now Milicic won't let him go.
Durant made both free throws. In the second quarter, the Clippers led the Thunder by 34:33 by 1 point.
The two sides played very anxiously, and the offensive efficiency of both sides dropped compared with the previous three games.
At this time, during the offense, Curry and Bonner used high pick-and-rolls and broke through with the ball.
The Thunder's defense shrank, Curry immediately returned the ball to Bonner, and Bonner hit a three-pointer from the front!
At 37:33, the Clippers opened the score to 4 points.
Bonner can shoot three-pointers, and this time the Thunder's defense is in trouble.
Should we keep Perkins on the court?
Stay, he can't prevent him from getting out.
If I don’t stay, what should I do if I protect the basket inside?
And Perkins is severely lame offensively.
Bonner completely gave up on Perkins on defense.
He squats under the basket and his opponent rushes in to quickly protect the basket.
In this anxious game atmosphere, Westbrook chose a pull-up jumper and missed...
Bonner got the backcourt rebound, and the Clippers did not push for a counterattack, but slowed down the pace.
Continue to open up the space, this time it is Harden holding the ball and hitting the basket.
Bonner pulled away, and Perkins had to come over and guard Bonner.
As a result, the basket was empty, Harden broke through and succeeded in a layup.
At 39:33, the Thunder called a timeout.
The situation became very bad for the Thunder.
Durant is the core of the team's tactics, the basis of all Thunder tactics, and a figure who can provide the whole team with answers.
If a core player who can support the whole team's tactics is contained by a certain opponent's defensive figure in a game and is cashed out, this card will be very difficult to play.
It's like playing chess. If someone replaces your rook with a pawn, the move is a big mistake.
At this time, either the superstar himself steps forward to break the opponent's defense.
To force the opponent to use two or more people to deal with him.
Either the team adjusts its tactical strategy and uses other points to open up the situation.
The Thunder's second point is Westbrook, who was just selected as an All-Star this year.
He already has a very strong offensive ability, but can he take over Durant's burden and support the team's offense in the playoffs?
Brooks was ready to give it a try. After the timeout, the Thunder team used Westbrook as the starting point for tactics.
In the first round after the timeout, Westbrook broke through a pick-and-roll and rushed to the basket, dunking successfully!
The first step started so quickly that it was like a thunderbolt, and Curry had no way of guarding against it.
Without Gasol inside, it would be difficult to protect the basket with Bonner.
But then, Clippers perimeter Bonner hit a three-pointer again!
Then Westbrook quickly counterattacked and passed the ball.
In the Clippers position battle, Randolph succeeded in a low post.
Westbrook missed a strong three-point shot from the outside.
Randolph succeeded in the low post.
Westbrook passed the ball to Durant, and PJ Tucker successfully stole the ball.
In the counterattack, Curry hit another three-pointer!
The Clippers counterattacked with a 10:2 offensive, instantly widening the point difference to more than 10 points...
At the end of the first half, the Clippers led the Thunder by 9 points 55:46.
The Clippers had the best start to the first half since the series and the largest point difference.
By suffocating Durant on defense and shutting down Perkins on offense, the Clippers seemed to have found the password to deal with the Thunder.
From the first quarter, Min Congda remained silent, and he didn't eat much of the pizza Ada brought him.
At the end of the half, Min Congda suddenly asked Ada: "Ada, who asked us to adjust our Clippers' starting lineup? Why did Harden start?"
Ada said: "This...didn't you ask Mr. Smart to adjust this?"
"What? Did I ask you to adjust? It's impossible, isn't this the coach's job?"
"Yes, but this is what you asked Mr. Dunleavy and Mr. Cole to adjust at the coaching meeting. I was there at the time."
"Why didn't you stop me, Ada?"
"Are you kidding? Why should I stop you? Look at how effective this is...Mr. Smart, why are you crying?"
"Ah? Did I cry? Did I cry? No, no, you've seen it, I'm hungry. The pizza is cold, go and heat it up for me, and get a cup of coffee by the way, thank you."
(End of chapter)
