The best teammates in the NBA

Chapter 128 - Trajectory of History - Three Whistles of Thunder
There are no underdogs in NBA teams, and most NBA team coaches also eat dry food, and the old coach Larry Brown has more dry food in his stomach.

In the new season, center Tyson Chandler, who was traded from the New Orleans Hornets, was absent due to injury. Coach Larry Brown recently put veteran center Nazr Mohamed in the starting lineup.

After studying the Thunder's lineup with the coaching staff, Larry Brown came up with a bold idea!

With more than 7 minutes left in the first quarter, the old coach replaced the starting center Muhammad with the 198cm guard Stephen Graham.

At this time, the Charlotte Bobcats' field lineup, Dior, was at the center position. Except for Felton, a small guard, the other four players on the field were all about two meters tall.

In this world, perhaps because of the butterfly effect triggered by Li Ze, many teams in the league have begun to imitate the Thunder's tactics.

These days, it is difficult to find star inside players, but there are still quite a few guards and strikers around 2 meters.

The teams have also taken a look at it. Before meeting the inside twin towers, the basic game is gone, but as long as the lineup is reduced and the outside feels better, they may be able to kill you. Anyway, losing is normal, winning blood, how? It's all right.

After the Bobcats became a five-small lineup, Diaw opened up completely. He used his big butt to beat Jeff Green constantly in the low post, and used his flexible steps on the outside to pass hand to hand. strange.

What left everyone in the Thunder team speechless was that Diaw could still control the ball and send out an assist or an indirect assist from time to time. Krstic couldn't keep up with the opponent at all, and was restrained to death.

Coach Brooks saw that there was a big problem with the defense. At 6 minutes and 12 seconds, he immediately requested a timeout. The offense was fine, but he could not accept such a defense.

"Guys, played very well, Kostic, you go off the court to rest first, pay attention to the opponent's screen after Ibaka comes on the court, the defense must follow up, Kayce, Kevin, Russell, increase some attacks on the basket. "

Krstic was very depressed. In the first few minutes of the game, it was rare for the Thunder to have an inside advantage. He ended several offenses and the effect was very good. He scored all of them, but he was powerless on the defensive end. Can't keep up.

After returning from the timeout, the Thunder replaced their own small lineup. Although the strikers were the main players, the Thunder's average height was higher.

"It seems that we have also made some lineup adjustments and replaced Ibaka, who has been performing well recently. The five players on the field are all rookies. This is a rare scene in the league."

The commentator Twain exaggeratedly sighed about the Thunder's lineup.

After the Charlotte Bobcats lineup was adjusted, the pick-and-roll defense was switched directly. Turtle only played two high-position pick-and-roll tactics in the opening game, and there were no good opportunities later.

The Thunder's attack after a timeout, just after halftime, Guigui passed the ball to Li Ze beside him, and at the same time made a tactical gesture to signal his teammates to open up the offensive space.

Ibaka mentioned that after the pick-and-roll from the three-point line, Li Ze broke through with his left hand. Facing Dior, who was switching defenses, he dribbled the ball behind his left hand and quickly changed direction with his crotch. Dior's defensive center of gravity suddenly shifted to the left.

But what Li Ze was waiting for was this moment. He made a quick crotch change again, accelerated in a straight line with the ball in his right hand, easily broke through the opponent's defense, and continuously dribbled the ball from the crotch, causing the audience to gasp in amazement.

"Oh!!"

After being shaken, Diaw quickly pursued and defended. He also knew that it would be difficult for his teammates to shrink and help the defense. The Thunder team's style of play was to clear the paint, and he had to rely on himself at this time.

Li Ze felt that Dior was still struggling to catch up behind him, and suddenly slowed down while walking, leaned on the opponent, picked up the basket lightly with his right hand, and shouted at the same time:
"My bowl!"

"Swish." The ball went into the whistle.

"Come on! He ran into it by himself, and I didn't move, sir. The loud noise does not mean that I fouled!"

Seeing Li Ze showing off his muscles to the audience with a smile on his face, Dior was so angry that he immediately went to the referee and kept explaining. Unfortunately, the line referee indicated that he saw the ball very clearly and still upheld the original verdict.

Li Ze walked to the free throw line, took a deep breath, and made the free throw steadily. The home whistle must be used well.

Seeing that the Thunder team's lineup is rapidly shrinking, the Bobcats also shifted their offensive focus to the outside. Stephen Jackson, who just came to the team not long ago, tried to solve the problem with his own offense.

Facing Li Ze's defense, he simply turned forward and backward, trying to crush the breakthrough with his body. As a result, he couldn't get rid of Li Ze's entanglement during the march. In the end, he was interfered by Ibaka's help defense for the layup. .

"Shet! This ball is definitely a thug! The league always takes care of these rookies!"

After Stephen Jackson hit the iron, he returned to the defense and complained to the referee constantly. The offense was defended by the rookie, and he felt a little embarrassed.

"The Golden State Warriors traded you might be the right choice, you can consider retiring man."

Seeing Stephen Jackson who was defending him, Li Ze suddenly said something like a pig's heart, which broke the opponent's defense in an instant.

"Rookie, didn't anyone tell you not to provoke veterans in the league? You were still sucking when I was playing!"

Stephen Jackson immediately sprayed back. He really couldn't accept the Warriors trading him. He was only 31 years old and his ability was still there. He played a black-eight miracle with his brothers, but he was still traded.

"Put down your old-fashioned rules. The league doesn't take care of rookies. The referees only give preferential treatment to star players. You're out of date, so you don't have a whistle. Just accept it, man!"

Li Ze and Stephen Jackson stood in the bottom corner and shouted, but the Thunder's offense was not affected much.

Durant came out of the screen to catch the ball, facing Gerald Wallace's defense, after taking a big dribble, he stopped for a jumper at the elbow area on the right side of the free throw line, and easily scored the ball. The height advantage is too obvious.

The Bobcats attacked, and Stephen Jackson was obviously stimulated by Li Ze. After receiving the ball from the outside, facing Li Ze's defense, he dribbled the ball under his crotch and changed direction in front of his body.

In the end, he was rejected by Ibaka's big cap who came to assist in the defense. With the addition of the [Defensive Core] badge, Ibaka's defensive talent was activated in advance.

Defensive positioning is getting better and better, coupled with his own good athletic talent, as long as Li Ze does not lose too many defensive positions, Ibaka can easily block shots after assisting the defense.

"Fake!"

Seeing Li Ze receive the rebound and immediately launch a transition attack, Stephen Jackson cursed angrily and chased after him.

However, the Thunder's transition attack speed was too fast. Li Ze found the fast-moving tortoise with a pass. After receiving the ball, the latter first used his body to push away Felton's defense, rushed up in three strides, and easily staged a double-handed dunk. !

"Roar!"

Turtle, who had successfully dunked, yelled at Felton who was defending him, and at the same time pumped his fists excitedly, signaling that the atmosphere at the scene had become tense.

In the next two minutes or so, Stephen Jackson, who was already on top, perfectly interpreted what it means to play coldly and hard. Facing Li Ze's defense, he played with his back, broke through for a layup, and made a mid-range shot with an emergency stop.

"Thank you for the Christmas present, I love it!"

Li Ze saw Stephen Jackson lash out again, and laughed and joked again.

"Shet! Shut up, rookie!"

The first quarter of the game is coming to an end. Stephen Jackson has made 1 of 10 shots and no free throws.
Fortunately, other Bobcats players were quite efficient, otherwise the game would have been led by Stephen Jackson in one quarter, 24 to 26. In the first quarter, the small lineups of the two sides stabbed each other, and the Thunder led by two points.

Old coach Larry Brown feels that they have seized the weakness of the Thunder lineup.

So the rotation was shortened in the second quarter, and Ronald Murray replaced Raymond Felton, which was a point guard matchup and the others followed.

Coach Brooks replaced center Krstic, Sefoloza and Eric Maynor in the backcourt, Li Ze and Ibaka also continued to play.

This lineup has raised the height of the interior, trying to suppress the opponent on rebounds, and the defensive end relies on Ibaka's defense ability to make up for Krstic's lack of movement.

Stephen Jackson also calmed down completely after the intermission. After the start of the second quarter, he immediately concentrated all his energy on the defensive end and strengthened his defense against Li Ze.

After playing for more than 3 minutes, Li Ze felt something bad in his heart. He was too strong in this game. He made 3 of 1 shots in the first quarter. After the start of the second quarter, he missed all 2 shots. It was a good opportunity, but all the middle distances were inaccurate.

Fortunately, the Bobcats still guarded him strictly, allowing Li Ze to send out several exquisite assists, coupled with the high shooting percentage of his teammates, the score was still in an alternate lead.

The Thunder attacked, through Krstic's destructive power in the low post. After several times of scoring and shooting, the outside line continued to transfer the ball. Li Ze once again got an open opportunity at 45 degrees to the right outside the three-point line. After receiving the pass, he immediately shot a jumper.

"Bang" hit an iron with anger.

Seeing that the backcourt rebound was successfully protected by the Bobcats, Li Ze quickly retreated, and at the same time he felt powerless to complain:

"It shouldn't be. Even if you're not in the shooting hot spot, without the [Hot Spot Hunter] bonus, you should be able to make an open three-pointer easily. Could it be that there is too much ball-handling training on Christmas, which makes this game feel so useless? Is it?"

"Kayce really had a problem with the feel of the game. He couldn't take a few good shots. Maybe he hasn't recovered from the Christmas break."

When the commentator Tewen saw Li Ze slamming the iron, he also complained helplessly.

The old coach Larry Brown laughed from the sidelines. After he and the coaching staff carefully studied Li Ze's shot position, he naturally made a targeted defensive arrangement in this game, trying to drive Li Ze to the right side. , not letting him catch the ball on the left.

As for Durant's defense, it is just the opposite of Li Ze. As the regular season continues, the strengths and weaknesses of the players will be fully exposed. The coaching staff of each team will continue to study the opponent's weaknesses and strive for every The victory of the game.

The reason why many teams now like the Twin Towers and super centers is because the big men can score more stably in the low post, and the closer they are to the basket, the higher their shooting percentage.

After more than 2 minutes in the second quarter, Li Ze scored 5 points, 0 rebounds and 4 assists. In addition to scoring and stretching the hips, the rebounds and assists still helped the team to bite the score. Coach Brooks saw that the situation was not good. Call out timeout.

"Kayce, adjust after the rest of the game, don't care about the shooting percentage, and still have to shoot decisively when opportunities arise."

"Russell, pay attention to the transfer of the ball after playing, control the mistakes, Kevin, play patiently on the offensive end, and try to attack the basket as much as possible."

Durant immediately nodded to show that he understood, and Li Ze finally got it. This made him breathe a sigh of relief, and the sense of urgency in his heart was reduced by half:
"As the boss of the team, I must stand up now, Kayce, strike iron with peace of mind!"

But sometimes it is so wonderful to hit the iron. After playing, Durant found that his touch is also declining. Although the left side is indeed not his shooting hot spot, but there is an open space, it should be easy to score.

The Thunder team attacked, and Durant, who came out of the screen, broke through quickly after receiving the ball. Facing the defense of Gerald Wallace, he dribbled the ball with his left hand behind his back, changed his rhythm, shook off the opponent's entanglement, and took advantage of the momentum to shoot a jumper .

"Bang" is a kind of iron.

"Shet! Is blacksmithing contagious?"

The chance to score easily was finally determined again, Durant cursed helplessly in his heart.

Fortunately, the tortoise and Sefoloza are still on the line, helping the team withstand the Bobcats' offense in the second half of the second quarter. Gerald Wallace broke out in this quarter, shooting 2 of 4 and making free throws. 4 of 2 and scored 2 points efficiently.

After halftime, the game was tied 50-50.

Coach Brooks felt a little helpless. The opportunities came up, but he just couldn't make the shots. Perhaps this was the disadvantage of the outside team. The offense relied too much on the player's long-range shooting touch.

"We played very well in the first half. We maintained this offensive rhythm and shot decisively when opportunities arose. Don't care about the shooting percentage and stick to our offensive strategy."

"We have to play tougher and attack the opponent's basket more in the second half. They lack big men who protect the frame. We need to complete the offense in the three-second zone more. Come on, boys!"

Both Li Ze and Durant were a little embarrassed sitting in their positions, especially Li Ze, who only scored one goal in the first half, which broke his record for the lowest score in the half.
Durant was angry with himself. He practiced hard every day during the Christmas holidays. As a result, his shooting percentage plummeted in this game.

"Kayce, Kevin, we haven't lost the game yet, it's just a strike, no big deal, honestly, we are all relieved to see your shooting percentage finally start to decline."

Nick Collison, as the big brother in the team, comforted the blacksmith duo.

"Yeah, I almost doubted my life, Kayce, do you know that you really put a lot of pressure on us, you have been playing an efficient game before, God, you are still a rookie!"

Kostic also immediately comforted Li Zelai.

"That's right! You're finally off the mark, Kayce. Every time I receive a pass from you, I'm afraid I'll miss it. After all, you can easily score the ball against the defense before. Seeing you strike iron makes me feel much better."

Sefolosha also said something excitedly.

"Kevin, sometimes I really wish you would go back to the state you were in the previous two seasons. At that time, you always hit the iron frequently. This season, I saw you easily scored 30 points per game and shot more than 5% from the field. I'm also under a lot of pressure, and I'm afraid it will hold you back."

Jeff Green also spoke his mind. He only needs to catch and shoot the ball in an open space outside the three-point line. As long as he misses the shot, he will feel a huge sense of guilt in his heart. comfortable.

"So do we, Shet! Especially this guy Kayce, who was so good in his rookie season, and we are worried every day in training!"

Li Ze heard his teammates in the locker room start to denounce him, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly:

"It seems that everyone is really screwed up!"

Durant also came back to his senses at this time, completely thinking about it, it was just a half-time strike, and he suddenly thought that he had other offensive methods:

"I have to show my foul-making skills, and make good use of the whistleblowing scale at home!"

After the start of the third quarter, both sides returned to the main lineup, and the old coach Larry Brown was no longer on the sidelines to direct. He sat back on the bench, took a tactical back easily, and looked at the field with a smile. situation.

During the intermission, head coach Larry Brown made some targeted defensive arrangements. In the first half, the Thunder's outside shooting percentage was just over [-]%. He believed that the balance of victory had slowly turned to his team up.

It's just that after more than 4 minutes of the game, the situation on the court was completely different from what he expected. Durant's hands were average, but he had returned to the free throw line for three consecutive times, and the Thunder still clung to the score.

The Bobcats attacked, and Gerald Wallace faced Durant's defense after receiving the ball. After three threats, he quickly released the ball with his left hand, carried Durant, and made a big leap directly into the penalty area. Durant took advantage of the situation and leaned up.

"squeak"

The referee blew the whistle and blew Durant's thug foul. Gerald Wallace smiled triumphantly, didn't he just make a foul, and he would do it, then stood on the free throw line and made two free throws.

But it didn't take him too long for the Thunder to attack. After Li Ze caught the ball at 45 degrees on the right outside the three-point line, he broke through with the ball in his right hand. Change direction in front of the body.

Stephen Jackson quickly adjusted his center of gravity and did not give Li Ze a chance to break through with his right hand, but he did not expect Li Ze to make a sharp turn after taking a step. After turning to the penalty area, facing Muhammad's defense, he directly picked the basket with his left hand.

"My bowl!"

"Swish." The ball went into the whistle.

Standing on the free throw line, Li Ze simply adjusted his breath and hit the extra penalty steadily. If his hands were not smooth, he would hit the basket more when he had the opportunity, not to mention that [Gap Hunter] also has a bonus effect of drawing fouls.

The old coach Larry Brown felt that something was wrong on the court, so he immediately requested a timeout, rearranged the defense, and kept emphasizing that fouls must be reduced and the Thunder should not frequently stand on the free throw line.

But after the timeout came back, the Bobcats' defense still had problems. Although the shooting percentage of the turtles began to decline in the third quarter, after the timeout came back, the turtles began to hit the basket frequently.

The five small lineups that the Bobcats changed after a timeout lacked the height of the inside line. As long as the tortoise rushed up, he would throw himself in the air, and then find the basket after the confrontation. Excellent athletic ability, let the tortoise finish easily.

In the third quarter, the game whistle sounded frequently, the game was blown to pieces, and the rhythm was played very slowly. In the end, the two sides tied at 3 in a single quarter.

After the start of the last quarter, the Bobcats also became ruthless on the defensive end, making all kinds of subtle tricks to prevent you from receiving the ball easily.

After playing for more than two minutes, neither side scored. Li Ze realized that the Thunder's tactics had begun to stagnate, and immediately began to back up to the right side of the paint to ask for the ball.

After receiving the lob pass from Guigui, he first leaned back, then shook his shoulders, made a feint, and quickly released the ball with his right hand, cutting in along the baseline.

Feeling that Stephen Jackson's defense is not out of position, he pulls his right hand back, then turns around and quickly joins the ball, making a fake shot. Seeing that the opponent is directly shot, Li Ze leans up and throws the ball casually.

"My bowl!"

"squeak"

Although the shot was far-fetched, the referee blew his whistle and called Stephen Jackson a shooting foul.

Stephen Jackson has stopped talking trash at this time. He has already committed 5 fouls. At this time, he has to keep a low profile.

Standing on the free throw line, Li Ze took two shots of the ball, quickly adjusted his breathing, and made two free throws steadily.

In the Bobcats' offense, Diaw relied on his big butt to eat Jeff Green in the low post to help the team break the scoring shortage in the fourth quarter.

In the next game, Durant also took out his trump card. Facing Gerald Wallace's aggressive defense, he waited until the opponent's arm touched him and directly used a big loop.

"squeak"

The referee blew his whistle for a shooting foul on Gerald Wallace.

"This is not a shooting action at all. He was blatantly cheating for a foul. I just touched his arm lightly. Come on, this is definitely not a shooting foul!"

Gerald Wallace was very emotional and kept explaining his actions to the referee, but unfortunately, this did not change the result of the referee's penalty. Durant stood on the free throw line and made two free throws.

In the next 3 minutes or so, the Thunder relied on Li Ze, Guigui, and Durant to hit the basket continuously, break through and score goals, and always maintain a 2-point lead.

But when Durant made a big loop again and made another Stephen Jackson shooting foul, the old coach Larry Brown also broke the defense and directly yelled at the referee:

"This is not a shooting action at all, this is an insult to basketball, Shet! Your call completely ruined this game!"

When Stephen Jackson left the field with the sixth foul, he was very emotional, but seeing the head coach swearing at the referee, he immediately went over and pulled the old man back to the bench, but the referee still whistled a technical foul.

"Oh ah!"

The audience at the Ford Center began to boo loudly. Most of the home team fans naturally hoped that the referee's whistle would be biased towards them. As long as all free throws were scored, the Thunder would expand their lead.

Li Ze thought helplessly, this is returning to the track of history, it is estimated that after this game, Thunder Three Whistle will definitely become famous!
After Stephen Jackson was sent off, both offensive and defensive ends of the Bobcats were affected. In the subsequent games, Li Ze finally recovered his touch.

After receiving the ball at 45 degrees on the right side outside the three-point line, facing Gerald Wallace who was coming from the defense, after three threats, he put the ball with his right hand, changed direction under his crotch, and pretended to break through to the left.

After noticing the opponent's direction, he took a big step, dribbled the ball behind his left hand, and immediately stepped back to shoot a jumper.

"Shua" three-pointer hollow into the net.

"Ah! Oh!!"

The audience at the Ford Center erupted in huge cheers. This three-pointer was so timely!

Li Ze breathed a sigh of relief after scoring this goal. This game was really a match, but luckily he seized this opportunity.

This three-pointer also brought the Thunder's lead to 8 points. In the last few minutes of the fourth quarter, the Bobcats continued to attack and try to get back the score, but Durant's explosive power could always respond.

In the end, the game time ran out, 92 to 99, and the Thunder defeated the Charlotte Bobcats at home.

After the game, the Bobcats players walked directly to the player tunnel. When encountering such a home whistle, it's not appropriate to be a superficial brother!
The Oklahoma City fans in the Ford Center arena are in a state of jubilation. The fans' demands are not high. As long as they win, everyone is happy.

Li Ze and Durant didn't have much joy in winning. After all, they really didn't perform well in this game. If you have to describe this victory, the most appropriate way to describe it is "Xiangwei Chocolate"
Li Ze scored 17 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists. The statistics looked good, but he made 14 of 4 and 4 of 1 three-pointers. In fact, many of his points came from free throws.

Durant scored 26 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists, and made 14 of 14 free throws.

Back in the locker room, Durant leaned on his seat with a dejected expression, while applying ice, he thought in his heart annoyedly:
"It's a game like shit, obviously this is a good time to establish your position in the locker room, Kayce didn't feel good, stepped forward and led the team to victory, but in the end it was hard to win with the referee's whistle, Farke!"

"What's the matter, guys, we won! We're still No. [-] in the West, be happy, we're leaving for New York tomorrow, haha, I'm going to see Taylor!"

Since he was about to meet his idol soon, Guigui was extremely excited at this time, and showed off his graceful dancing posture in the dressing room.

Everyone in the Thunder team was also infected by the joy that Guigui gave, and gradually started talking and laughing. Although Li Ze was smiling, he secretly made up his mind:
"In the future, you can't be obsessed with ball control training, especially the combined practice of big ball and small ball. Women, it will really affect your shooting touch!"

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(End of this chapter)