NBA: Duncan feels uneasy coaching Warriors

Chapter 131 Same record, McCollum's proof battle
It can be said that Gobert's debut disappointed the Thunder from the management to the fans.

Inside is not outside.

For example, Curry didn't feel good on the outside today, and he missed many shots, but he can still take a look.

In this game, it can be seen that Gobert's basic set is problematic.

In the Timberwolves, Gobert looked like a behemoth around the basket, able to finish efficiently around the basket.

But after coming to the Thunder, the connection between Gobert and his teammates was basically a mistake.

One or two mistakes can be forgiven, but if you can't catch the ball one after another, there is a problem.

Thunder coach Brooks also did not replace Gobert. After all, Gobert was the main combat power in exchange for Ibaka. The Thunder counted on Gobert to solve the weak link inside the Thunder.

The more you use Gobert, the more your shortcomings will be exposed.

After the game, a professional ball critic summarized Gobert's shortcomings on the court.

The first is that although Gobert is tall, his offensive skills are really rough, and all his points come from the simple way of tipping and lobs.

When I was in the Timberwolves, I thought Su Chen loved the lob, so I asked Gobert to use the lob to attack.

As a result, as far as this game is concerned, Gobert can hardly even catch the ball in the interior, and even if he catches it, he is reluctant to make moves.

The second is that Gobert's free throw percentage is still low.

When he was in the Timberwolves, Gobert's free throw percentage was not high, but most of them were empty catches before, so Gobert didn't go to the free throw line too many times.

In this game against the Warriors, Gobert was fouled many times, but his free throw percentage was around 60.00%.

The third is the issue of defense.

Gobert's selling point is defense, but as far as it looks now, Gobert's defense is also full of loopholes.

When Gobert was on the court, he almost only cared about offense at the basket. Facing mid-range shots and three-pointers, Gobert basically used his eyes to defend.

If he played against other teams, it wouldn't be so obvious.

But playing against a shooting team like the Warriors, Gobert's weakness is very obvious.

"Gobert is not good at defending shooting teams, including when the Timberwolves played against the Warriors. Su Chen knew this very well and didn't let Gobert play."

Ball critics also commented on Gobert later.

This is because of the first game of Gobert's Thunder career, he just made a brief comment, without digging too deeply into Gobert's shortcomings.

It wasn't just Gobert who was also criticized.

In this game, McCollum received even less attention than Gobert.

Because when he left the team for an interview, McCollum said that he would kick the Timberwolves out of the playoffs.

And Brooks is also very face-saving, and he directly gave McCollum the starter.

But McCollum, like Gobert, was timid.

McCollum's physical fitness is relatively mediocre, which makes him often unable to defend even if he tries hard on the defensive end.

At the same time, McCollum's organizational skills are relatively poor, and his selling point is shooting.

But McCollum's shooting stability and shot selection are still big problems.

When he was in the Timberwolves, he often made inefficient offensive data such as 20 points on 20 shots.

After arriving in the Thunder, McCollum no longer has the right to fire.

It's also a pick-and-roll shot, and it's obviously a better choice to hand it over to Durant. McCollum and Durant played together in the first few offenses and couldn't get any balls.

On the defensive end, without a group of high-quality strikers from the Timberwolves to help him make up for him, his weakness on the defensive end is also revealed.

Although McCollum scored 11 points in this game, he used 12 shots, which can be said to be quite inefficient.

If it wasn't for the trade he used Ibaka, Brooks wanted to replace him on the spot.

Such inefficiency can still give him a shot, purely because Westbrook did not play, allowing him to share some of the ball.

As for Curry, his shot selection is not bad. If he doesn't make a shot, it's a matter of feel.

So there are not many complaints about Curry.

three days later.

The Timberwolves played a game on the second day, and the Thunder went through two more games in these three days.

For the Timberwolves, they easily defeated the Pelicans.

In today's Pelicans, Brother Nongmei is still growing up, and his scoring is at the same level as Ryan Anderson.

In fact, if you just look at the lineup on paper, the Pelicans are not weak.

Brother Nongmei has grown to a 20+ inside line this season.

There are also Tyreke Evans, Holiday, Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu and other powerful players.

But this season's Pelicans can't even make it to the playoffs.

After defeating the Pelicans, the Timberwolves' record came to 25 wins and 7 losses.

The Thunder played two games.

First played the Trail Blazers, and then played a game against the Nets.

Blazers 98:95 Thunder.

After losing to the Warriors, the Thunder lost to the Trail Blazers.

Today's Trail Blazers have gotten better and better. They lost a lot of games that they shouldn't have lost at the beginning of the season, and now they are chasing the winning field strongly.

Especially the Warriors played the Thunder in the last game, which inspired the Blazers.

The Trail Blazers let Lillard do the pick-and-roll, and called Gobert a lot.

Today's Lillard is already an average 20+ guard per game, and his three-point shooting percentage has reached about 39%, which is three percentage points less than Curry this season.

He and Aldridge can bring the Blazers into the playoffs this season. Their offensive firepower is very scary.

And this Trailblazer helped the Thunder prove one more thing.

Not only will Gobert be used as a scope for outside shooters, but it will also be difficult to defend against low-post insiders with good skills.

Aldridge's low position is quite threatening. This season is Aldridge's peak season.

This game directly put Gobert into a very embarrassing situation.

Originally, he didn't have any skills in inside offense, and he was a buttery hand.

His defense, which he is best at, has not played a role.

What Gobert restrains the most is the kind of insider who eats the same pie as him, and the kind of outsider who has no skills and goes straight to break through.

McCollum played quite well this time, starting with Reggie playing, and his chances are much less this time.

After losing to the Trail Blazers, the Thunder's next opponent is the Nets.

Thunder 122:95 Nets.

Facing the Nets Thunder finally ushered in a big victory.

Lopez did not play in this game, and the Nets started with Old Pierce and Old Garnett.

Johnson doesn't feel much about wanting this game. The Nets are in a bad state this season.

In this game, Durant broke out, scored 36 points, and led the team to win the Nets.

This time Gobert faced the old Garnett, and finally showed his might.

Even when Garnett was at his peak, his low-post skills were not top-notch, let alone now that he is older.

Coach Brooks finally figured out a way to use Gobert this time.

That is to simply let Durant take a lot of shots that ignore the defense. Gobert's rebounding ability is not bad, so Gobert directly goes down to the rebound.

Give the ball to Durant again, or he plays second offense.

Relying on bullying the old Garnett, Gobert scored 18+13 data.

In addition, McCollum finally came to feel the touch today.

McCollum, who served as the sixth man on the bench, scored 25 points efficiently in today's game, and he is also responsible for the victory over the Nets.

After two games in front, McCollum finally got up this time.

After winning the Nets, the Thunder's victory came to 25 wins and 7 losses.

Exactly the same as the Timberwolves.

However, due to the Thunder's superior record against the Timberwolves, the Thunder is still second in the West, and the Timberwolves are still third in the West.

Interesting though.

The next game between the two sides will determine who is the real No. [-] in the Western Conference.

Because the next Timberwolves will be at home against the Thunder!

This is not just a ranking battle, but also a battle of grievances.

Ibaka, Gobert and other players all want to prove themselves against their old clubs.

Of course, it is McCollum who wants to prove himself the most.

McCollum, who scored 25 points efficiently in this game, is very inflated.

"I said, I would personally kick the Timberwolves out of the playoffs."

McCollum was interviewed after the game. When the reporter asked how he thought of the next game, McCollum said very confidently.

If he didn't score 25 points in this game, and he still took 13 shots efficiently, he would score 25 points.

He would not be so arrogant.

But now the Thunder itself is stronger, and he also knows that Westbrook will come back in the next game.

Now if he succeeds in spreading his word, it will be very beneficial to his fame growth.

In terms of status within the team, it can also go further.

He is not purely impulsive, he has a good plan.

(End of this chapter)