.............
Although he scored first, Zhao Chen was not careless in the face of the Thunder.
The Thunder gave the Lakers their first defeat of the playoffs, and then they needed a buzzer beater to defeat them in the last game.
This is enough to show that the Thunder have the strength to continue to beat the Lakers.
The Thunder's current lineup is more balanced offensively and defensively than two years ago, and their players have also made great progress.
There are top players in the league on both offense and defense.
What makes the Lakers stronger than them is still the depth of the lineup and Zhao Chen. There is no obvious advantage compared to other points.
If Westbrook and Durant are in explosive form again tonight, the Lakers will still be in big trouble.
Thunder offense.
Westbrook and Ibaka's pick-and-roll cooperation.
Zhao Chen chose to go around the screen, but Ah Lian failed to keep up with Ibaka's rhythm.
Westbrook sent an alley ball to Ibaka, and Ibaka directly received the basketball in the air and dunked it.
"frame!"
2 to 2.
Compared with floor-level players like Jokic and UAE, Ibaka is a talented player who can fly into the sky and escape from the ground.
Obviously, the Thunder still choose to attack the Lakers' inside.
Although the UAE has made great progress, it is still lagging behind in such a high-level confrontation.
These are gaps in talent that cannot be made up for.
Westbrook high-fived Ibaka in celebration without any expression on his face.
Today, Westbrook's eyes are very solemn.
"Today's matchup between Zhao Chen and Westbrook will be very exciting. The two often compete against each other on the court, and they know each other very well."
"If it's one-on-one, there is no doubt that Zhao Chen has strong offensive and defensive capabilities, but when Westbrook is rational, he will use the pick-and-roll to deal with Zhao Chen. As long as he is not directly confronting Zhao Chen, Westbrook has an advantage over anyone."
"The same goes for Kevin Durant. This is why the Thunder were able to defeat the Lakers. They have two real superstars, and the Lakers currently only have Zhao Chen. Rose's condition has declined, and Jokic is only To be considered an All-Star, Kobe is too old and Booker is too young..."
"That said, the number of superstars is the key to beating the Lakers."
"That's it for now."
"Isn't this nonsense? I also hope that my starting five are all superstars, so I can definitely beat the Lakers."
"Hahaha."
Barkley and Smith both joked.
Both of them continued to heat up the topic, trying to make the fans in front of the TV feel the intense atmosphere.
Zhao Chen dribbled the ball to the frontcourt.
Zhao Chen really wanted to improve his rhythm, but now in the playoffs, Zhao Chen feels the fatigue of his teammates.
This kind of fatigue is the cumulative result of many games, so we can't start hastily.
Facing Robertson's defense, Zhao Chen still changed directions and continued to pass him. When Ibaka and Adams were assisting in defense, Zhao Chen distributed the ball to Covington in the bottom corner.
There was an empty basket in front of Covington, so he raised his hand and shot.
The ballistics are pretty good, but they're not that interesting.
"frame!!"
The basketball hit the rim and bounced high.
The opportunity came up, but I didn't take it.
Ah Lian rushed for the rebound, but was firmly blocked by Adams.
Westbrook jumped up and collected the rebound.
Covington's role is 3D. When he is in an open position, he must take action. This is also what he has to do on the court, otherwise Zhao Chen will face more and more flanking attacks.
Westbrook did not rush to increase the pace with the Lakers.
The previous games have also shown that if you improve your rhythm with the Lakers, you will have a high probability of losing.
The Lakers have many players with independent offensive capabilities, and the Thunder are not easy to defend.
Westbrook dribbles forward.
Zhao Chen and Covington switched defenses, and Zhao Chen went to face Durant.
Durant is very smart. When he saw Zhao Chen coming, he immediately stopped asking for the ball.
Durant took the initiative to pick and roll Westbrook.
After the pick-and-roll, Zhao Chen switched to guard Westbrook, and Durant continued to face Covington.
Westbrook gave the ball to Durant and then opened up the space.
"KD, don't be a coward." Zhao Chen shouted at Durant.
Durant took the ball without looking at Zhao Chen. In order to win, he became more cowardly.
"Made, you're a coward." Zhao Chen cursed in Chinese when Durant didn't reply.
"Haha, Durant doesn't dare to play Zhao Chen alone."
"Durant, who is known as a scoring machine, actually has a defense that he doesn't dare to play."
"Durant is probably still thinking about how the ball was intercepted in the last game."
"There is no way, Zhao Chen is not only the MVP, he is also the best defensive player."
"Durant has no choice but to give in in order to win."
"Zhao Chen's trouble now is that not many players dare to play him one-on-one."
"There's nothing I can do about it, Zhao Chen's reaction is so quick."
There happened to be a radio next to Zhao Chen. Although the scene was noisy, Zhao Chen's words were also heard by the fans in front of the TV.
Fans are making fun of Durant.
On the court, Durant faced Covington. After dribbling continuously, he chose to dribble and shoot a jumper from the top of the arc outside the three-point line!
Covington's defense was in place, but it didn't interfere too much with Durant.
"Uh-huh!"
5 to 2.
"Durant is always very relaxed when facing other players."
"Durant's matchups are like mismatches."
Barkley and Smith complimented Durant.
After scoring the goal, Durant rushed towards Zhao Chen: "You can't guard me."
"Come on, one on one, I'll kill you." Zhao Chen immediately threatened Durant.
Durant pretended not to hear, turned around and ran back.
Facing Zhao Chen's toughness, Durant did seem a little scared.
Durant was not stimulated by Zhao Chen, which made Zhao Chen frown. Indeed, Durant's offensive talent was outstanding. Apart from him, the Lakers had no other player who could guard him. Not even Kobe.
Kobe may have had a chance when he was young, but now, Kobe is too slow.
Zhao Chen did not complain about Covington, but encouraged him a little: "Keep playing like this, don't lose confidence, give me the ball later, and I will hit him back."
Covington nodded gratefully.
As the boss, Zhao Chen can help his younger brother stand out.
Lakers offense.
Zhao Chen dribbled the ball across the frontcourt and threw it to Jokic, then ran to the right side and stood more than one meter outside the three-point line.
Jokic directed his teammates to move and position.
He tried to cut inside, but there was no direct attack opportunity. Jokic gave the ball to Covington, and Covington returned the ball to Zhao Chen.
As soon as Zhao Chen got the ball, Robertson's defense became tense.
Robertson was passed twice by Zhao Chen just now, and he slightly widened the distance with this ball.
Although this distance is small, Zhao Chen thinks it is enough.
Zhao Chen didn't dribble, he just took the ball and pulled it out.
The pull-up jump shot is a relatively rarely used offensive method by Zhao Chen because the rhythm is not easy to control.
But it doesn't mean that Zhao Chen can't.
The opponent will not give space for Zhao Chen to pull out.
Robertson was a little scared by Zhao Chen's sudden attack, so he gave Zhao Chen space to attack.
Zhao Chen's shot was very fast. When Robertson rushed over, Zhao Chen had already completed the shot.
Bend the bow and nock an arrow, and shoot out the three-point arrow!
"Uh-huh!"
An arrow to the heart!
5 to 5.
Zhao Chen immediately responded to Durant's three-pointer!
