Donovan has studied a lot of Lakers video, and he found that the Lakers' second team is the key period to open up the score.
If the Thunder wants to win the game, it is crucial to defend the second lineup.
Donovan didn't dare to play double-less at the same time, so he let Durant stay on the court to lead the team.
Donovan's timeout tactics are all full of tactics on how to deal with Zhao Chen, how to limit Zhao Chen's breakthrough, and how to limit Zhao Chen's long-range shots. These are things that every Thunder player has firmly memorized.
Defending Zhao Chen cannot rely on one person's efforts. Only the whole team's efforts can have a glimmer of hope.
All of Zhao Chen's movements and habits have been thoroughly studied by other teams. Which position he likes to shoot, which position he likes to break through and everything have been recorded.
Using technology to try to restrict Zhao Chen is Donovan trying a new idea.
The Thunder's second team is led by Durant, Waiters, Robertson, Ibaka, and Kanter.
The Lakers' second team is led by Zhao Chen, Rose, Booker, A-Lian, and Harrell.
The playoffs are about fighting for every minute, and no one will be careless when it comes to the second team.
"The Lakers have not gained a clear advantage at home. Let's see if their second team can be successful?"
"Zhao Chen playing the second team will make it difficult for the Thunder."
After returning from timeout.
Waiters carries the ball to the frontcourt.
Waiters is the main attacker of the Thunder's second team, averaging 10 points per game this season. It is already very good for him to perform like this when both teams have a lot of ball rights.
Waiters passed the ball to Durant, Kanter put on the screen, and Durant broke through.
Zhao Chen bypassed the screen and kept chasing Durant, leaving Durant unable to attack hard.
Durant passed the ball back to Robertson. Robertson had no offensive ability and would not shoot when faced with an open space. He transferred the ball to Waiters.
Waiters caught the ball and took one step to open Booker's defense, and shot a two-pointer from the high post!
The basketball draws a wonderful arc.
"Uh-huh!"
29 to 27.
Zhao Chen did not blame his teammates for defense. The Thunder's offensive ability is already very strong and there are many scoring points. It is difficult to completely limit them.
In the regular season, the Lakers won by high scoring and rarely defeated them through defense.
Lakers offense.
Rose pushed forward with the ball and made tactics after reaching the frontcourt.
Zhao Chen started his movement, first cutting inside, and then making a reverse run to get rid of Robertson.
Zhao Chen successfully received the ball from Rose outside the three-point line. Without any hesitation, he directly caught the ball and shot.
The Thunder switched to guarding Zhao Chen's Kanter, who was slightly slower and did not interfere with Zhao Chen too much.
Zhao Chen used standard shooter posture and hand shape to complete the shot!
The basketball shot out like an arrow piercing the clouds!
"Uh-huh!"
29 to 30.
The Lakers took the lead.
"Hey!" Robertson was also helpless.
Zhao Chen really has too many offensive methods.
Robertson worked very hard to defend Zhao Chen, but Zhao Chen still found many gaps.
Robertson just thought that Zhao Chen would cut in, but Zhao Chen made a reverse run and instantly seized the gap in the assist defense to complete the attack.
Thunder offense.
Waiters took the ball across half court and gave it to Durant.
Zhao Chen defended Durant alone, and Durant felt uncomfortable.
Although Durant is tall, he does not dare to face Zhao Chen's attack, because Zhao Chen's bullet speed is fast, his reaction is fast, and his wingspan is long, which is enough to interfere with him.
Durant continued to change directions to no avail and passed the ball back to Waiters.
Waiters received the ball unceremoniously, took a step forward, and faced Rose's step-back three-point jumper.
Waiters's style of play is indeed very sharp. He doesn't care whether he scores or not, he just throws it away first.
"Uh-huh!"
This ball was really thrown in by him.
After scoring the goal, Waiters shouted at Zhao Chen: "Your defense is too bad."
Zhao Chen ignored this guy.
32 to 30.
Donovan celebrated with a fist pump off the court. This was the offensive power of the second team he wanted to see, with others besides Durant and Westbrook stepping up to help the Thunder score.
Lakers offense.
Zhao Chen dribbled the ball to the frontcourt himself.
Facing Robertson's defense, Zhao Chen began to change direction after halftime.
Two meters outside the three-point line, he continuously changed directions and took a step back to open up the space with Robertson, and he simply shot a super long three-pointer!
Robertson defended, but Zhao Chen didn't even look at him, and hit the basket with a three-pointer from far away!
Fans at Staples Arena are no stranger to Zhao Chen's style of play. In the past two seasons, Zhao Chen has scored too many magical three-pointers like this.
The fans at Staples Arena started cheering and screaming. This was the way they liked to see Zhao Chen's willful three-point play.
Scott was calm and pretending on the sidelines. He was used to Zhao Chen suddenly pulling up and throwing the ball while dribbling.
Whether Zhao Chen can ignore the opponent's defense depends on his own sense of rhythm.
Super long three-pointer!
Gorgeous hit!
"Uh-huh!"
32 to 33.
Overtaking again.
Waiters thought Zhao Chen would hit him back, but he found that Zhao Chen treated him as air...
When Zhao Chen was with the Thunder, Waiters was not there, and Zhao Chen had no interest in quarreling with this guy.
As Zhao Chen hit a super long three-pointer, the cheers at the scene reached its climax.
Fans love to watch this kind of competition.
During the time of the second team, the two sides continued to compete. Waiters became the Thunder's surprise player. His performance blocked Zhao Chen's idea of opening the score.
Other Lakers players besides Zhao Chen did not have great touch. Whether it was Rose or Booker, they both felt average and failed to grasp several obvious opportunities.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was 40-40.
This round of the series had a super high score in the first quarter.
Zhao Chen scored 20 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds in a single quarter.
For the Thunder, Durant scored 10 points, Westbrook scored 12 points, and Waiters scored 9 points.
...
Rest between sessions.
Both head coaches were dissatisfied with their respective teams' performances.
What worries Scott is that the second unit, which was originally planned to have an advantage, did not gain advantage.
What Donovan is worried about is that Zhao Chen's performance is still not restricted, and Zhao Chen's scoring becomes more and more satisfactory.
The difference between Zhao Chen and other super giants is that he has great physical fitness and he can always continue his excellent performance throughout the game.
Then, before the rest of the Lakers broke out, they were fighting like this with the Thunder.
20 points in a single quarter means that Zhao Chen may be able to score 80 points tonight.
It’s not like the Thunder haven’t tried it.
Facing a ruthless person like Zhao Chen, if you encounter him in good condition, you can only consider yourself unlucky.
Zhao Chen wiped his sweat himself, he was very calm.
Almost everyone in the Thunder exploded, but only he exploded in the Lakers. The two teams were tied. As long as other Lakers players step up, this game will be easy to play.
The beginning of the second quarter.
On the Lakers side, Zhao Chen began to rest, while on the Thunder side, Westbrook was leading the team.
