At the commentary desk, listening to the cheers and excitement of the audience, the two CCTV commentators were also full of pride.
The camera also kept focusing on Zhao Chen who was celebrating.
Zhao Chen is the core figure behind the Thunder's comeback momentum.
"Director Zhang, tell us why Zhao Chen's retreat is so difficult to guard against?" Yu Jia asked.
Since the regular season, Conley, Tony Allen, Randolph, Gasol and other Grizzlies players have all defended Zhao Chen one on one.
The Grizzlies have very strong defensive capabilities in almost every position, but almost every time, they were embarrassed by Zhao Chendu's unreasonable step-back three-pointers!
Before James Harden didn't use his step back, Zhao Chen took the first step and took the step back three-pointer to the extreme.
In the league now, Zhao Chen's step-back three-pointer in singles is a great skill.
After hearing this question, Zhang Weiping thought for a while.
As a commentator who specializes in studying Zhao Chen, Zhang Weiping has his own opinions on this aspect.
After a pause, Zhang Weiping said: "Speaking of this, we have to start with Zhao Chen's offensive method. Zhao Chen's biggest offensive threats are three, one is running three-pointers without the ball, and the other is handling after a breakthrough. The ball, the last one was a step-back three-pointer."
"Zhao Chen's offensive methods are very threatening. Zhao Chen's retreat can also be prevented at certain times. Like Battier before, he defended directly from behind, and then those players who can't focus on defense, these are all Specializing in guarding against Zhao Chen's retreat, that kind of defensive method can also have a certain effect, but the result of such defense is that Zhao Chen will clear the front in one step. After Zhao Chen breaks through, the threat becomes even greater. He can shoot and pass, directly disrupting the opponent's defensive system."
"Rather than having the defensive system destroyed, many times when arranging defensive tactics, the opposing coach would rather Zhao Chen shoot the difficult step-back three-pointer."
"Zhao Chen's step back doesn't look very fast, but Zhao Chen's core strength is sufficient and he has rhythm. Facing Grizzlies players, Zhao Chen can easily find the rhythm gap. When they jump up to interfere with Zhao Chen's By the time we retreated, it was already too late.”
Director Zhang very seriously explained to the fans the reason why Zhao Chen's retreat was unsolvable.
"In other words, if you raise your center of gravity when defending Zhao Chen, you may be able to limit his step-back three-pointers, but you can't prevent Zhao Chen from breaking through at all. If you defend Zhao Chen with a low center of gravity, you can limit his breakthrough , but there is no way to prevent his retreat three-pointer." Yu Jia understood.
"Yes, that's right." Director Zhang nodded.
It's just that the skill of stepping back and shooting the opponent in the face with a three-pointer is too impressive.
It seems that Zhao Chen's retreat step is incomprehensible, but in fact, it is Zhao Chen's combined offensive weapons that often confuse defenders.
Zhao Chen is not only capable of step-back three-pointers, but also mid-range, point-and-shoot, and even low-post singles after breaking through. Zhao Chen can do it all at his fingertips.
Zhao Chen can rank second in the scoring list. On another level, he is also one of the top offensive players in the NBA.
If Zhao Chen traveled back in time at the beginning of the season, it's hard to say whether Durant would be the scoring champion.
Brooks is well aware of Zhao Chen's detailed high-level data.
Zhao Chen averages 7 singles opportunities per game this season. Relying on singles, Zhao Chen can score 8.5 points per game, averaging 1.21 points per game in singles.
This kind of single scoring efficiency is already higher than Durant.
Brooks also knew that if Zhao Chen was given enough tactical support, it would not be too difficult for Zhao Chen to score 50 or even 60 points in an explosive manner.
Zhao Chen's scoring is somewhat different from Durant's.
Durant's scoring method consumes a lot of physical energy and makes it difficult to score super high scores, while Zhao Chen's method is usually simple and gorgeous, very labor-saving, and has many opportunities to score high scores. This also makes the two of them look completely different in terms of battery life. different.
Durant's physical talent is better, but Zhao Chen's technical use is more solid.
Brooks wouldn't be surprised if Zhao Chen becomes the league's scoring leader next season.
Pause back.
The Grizzlies began to attack Zhao Chen. They no longer cared whether Zhao Chen was a rookie or not. The threat Zhao Chen posed to them was too great.
In order to guard against Zhao Chen, they could only defend Durant alone.
Zhao Chen attracted the strongest defensive pressure from the Grizzlies, but Durant's feeling was average. He missed many goals in singles. It was obvious that even in single defense, the Grizzlies' defense made Durant uncomfortable.
The Grizzlies seem to be Durant's nightmare.
The pincer attack on Zhao Chen gave the Grizzlies a chance to breathe.
It's not that easy for the Thunder to easily close the game with a flurry in the second quarter.
The Grizzlies' offense still relies on the tremendous power of the Black and White Bears.
Although the Thunder have recruited Perkins and drafted Adams in recent seasons, Ibaka is also growing rapidly.
But these few of them still couldn't get enough of the black and white bears.
When Zhao Chen was flanked and Durant felt average, it was Westbrook who stepped up. Westbrook repeatedly hit zombie jumpers, ensuring that the Thunder maintained their lead until the end of the second quarter.
57 to 63.
In the Grizzlies game, such a score at halftime is already very high.
The Thunder entered the locker room with a 6-point advantage.
After Zhao Chen said hello to Enna, he followed Durant and Westbrook back to the locker room side by side.
The three of them were discussing how they handled the ball in several rounds in the first half. The Grizzlies' interior was very tricky, so tricky that the three of them had to work together to win the game.
When we came to the playoffs, we communicated with Durant.
Zhao Chen also understood why Durant often tolerated the occasional provocations from Westbrook and himself during the regular season.
Durant believes that he alone cannot succeed in the playoffs, and he must have helpers.
The fact is just as Zhao Chen judged.
If only Durant leads the team in this series, they may still lose.
Durant knows that Westbrook and Zhao Chen can pose a threat to his boss status, but he will not complain about those issues to the management and coaching staff or propose transactions.
After the failures of the past few years, Durant knew that Westbrook and Zhao Chen could help him.
Just like tonight, no matter how bad his touch is, he doesn't need to panic. The team doesn't just rely on him to win.
Durant likes to enjoy this feeling, and he doesn't want to have everything on his shoulders.
How comfortable it is to have All-Star teammates to help you play.
This is something Durant has understood since high school.
........
Back to the locker room.
Zhao Chen sat in front of the closet and kept drinking Gatorade.
Zhao Chen scored 28 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds in the first half, and his performance was very impressive.
The intensity of the regular season is completely different from that of the playoffs. Zhao Chen scored 28 points in the first half, which made Zhao Chen feel as if he had exhausted the same physical energy as scoring 40 points.
"Zhao, can you still hold on?" Coach Brooks asked.
After Zhao Chen broke out in the second quarter, he encountered a crazy flanking attack, which was a kind of struggle and consumption.
Seeing Zhao Chen panting, Brooks also felt a little distressed.
"No problem." Zhao Chen nodded.
It looks like it takes a lot of energy, but it actually doesn't have much impact. Now his physical fitness has caught up.
