Coach: Coaching the Grizzlies at the beginning, playing the bantam

Chapter 181 Halfway through the season: mixed joys and sorrows; the championship is confusing?
On the 18th, the Sonics played at home against their old rival Orlando Magic in last year's Finals.

Durant's full firepower this time, took up the banner of offense, and confronted "half man, half god" Vince Carter, scored 34 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals, and his shooting percentage exceeded 50%.

Carter also played very well in this game. Facing the defense of rookie Budinger, he made 21 of 10 shots, 6 of 2 three-pointers, 8 of 7 free throws, scored 29 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

“魔兽”霍华德18投9中，罚球12中5，得到23分14篮板2助攻3盖帽。

就连去年总决赛日常拉胯的刘易斯都贡献18分5篮板1抢断，三分球7投3中。

Several core members of the Magic team have handed over good personal data, but the Sonics still won the victory with the overall performance of 6 players scoring in double figures, beating the Magic 112 to 106.

小加索尔11分7篮板3助攻1盖帽，大肉盾杰罗姆-詹姆斯替补登场也交出6分9篮板2盖帽，对付霍华德终于起到了作用。

魔术输球的主要原因还是伤愈复出的主力控卫尼尔森发挥失常，12投3中，只拿下7分2篮板3助攻，还有全场最高的5次失误。

夏天刚刚签下的自由人马特-巴恩斯替补登场只打了11分钟，3投0中，得到0分1篮板1抢断。

The Magic signed Barnes in the summer to strengthen the front line and defend Durant. As a result, Barnes did have two brushes on the defensive end, but his offensive efficiency was too poor, and his shooting dropped by not a tiny bit. The hit rate is less than 30%, which is embarrassing.

After this game, the Magic has a record of 15 wins and 10 losses, which is worse than the Sonics, and ranks fourth behind the Cavaliers, Celtics and Eagles in the Eastern Conference.

The record of the two teams that met in the finals last season was unstable, which gave the outside world more talk, and also made the ownership of this year's championship confusing.

The biggest reason for the Magic’s poor start record is that Carter has been unable to integrate into the Magic’s tactical system. As a guard who needs the ball in his hands, Carter is obviously not suitable for Stan Van Gundy’s “one star and four shots”. From 21 points last season to 16 points, data such as rebounds, assists, steals and blocks have all declined to varying degrees.

Coach Stan Van Gundy feels a headache about this and hopes that Carter can integrate into the system as soon as possible, but it will take time for a star like Carter to let go of his pride, and it is difficult to solve the problem in a short time.

On the 20th, the Sonics defeated the Bucks at home 105 to 94.

Budinger became the hero of the victory, scored 27 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, and beat the former "Old Deer King" Michael Reid. The latter only scored 7 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist, and his shooting percentage was less than 40%. .

The starting center Gasol Jr. was also very tough. One-on-one against Bogut caused the opponent to leave the field with six fouls. He played 32 minutes and scored 18 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. In contrast, Bogut only had 7 points and 8 Rebound, swallowed his sixth personal foul with more than 4 minutes left in the final quarter.

On the 21st, the Sonics defeated the Kings back-to-back at home.

Power forward Boozer made his comeback this time. Against the old supersonic player Carl Landry, he surrendered 13 points, 6 rebounds and 1 steal in limited playing time. He made 8 of 5 shots and 4 of 3 free throws. He recovered well.

After a day off, the Sonics defeated the Nets 101 to 84 and became the fifth team in the league to achieve 20 wins.

The Nets' starting power forward, Yi Jianlian, played an eye-catching performance and started a confrontation with Boozer at the mid-range position. He surrendered 16 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists. After leaving the Bucks, his tactical status has improved a lot.

On the 25th, the Sonics participated in the Christmas game again, beating the No. 104 Lakers in the Western Conference 102 to [-] at home.

When I saw Pau Gasol again, he had already put on the purple and gold jersey. Lu Yong stood on the sidelines and chatted with him for a while, and found that Gasol was in a good mood. After joining the Lakers, he was obviously much happier. This is probably the player The reason for pursuing the market and record.

Anyway, it's all about making money wherever they play. If there is a choice, the stars naturally want to go to a team that makes them happy.

This Christmas game was very exciting. The score was stalemate until the last minute of the final quarter to decide the winner. With the difficult goals of Durant and "Martial Saint" Jackson, the Supersonics got through at home and were lucky enough to defeat Top of the West.

The Sonics got three days off after the Christmas game.

In the last game in December, the Sonics lost to the Celtics 12 to 97, ending their five-game winning streak.

To make matters worse, Jackson was crushed to the knee by Green Army point guard Rondo when he fell to the ground to catch the ball. The severe pain forced Jackson to leave the field with the help of the staff.

After the game, Jackson's left knee cruciate ligament was checked by the team doctor, and he had to rest for at least three months.

Meniscus and ligaments are the knee injuries that basketball players are most likely to experience. This kind of injury is not a minor injury. Even if there is no tear, it must be treated seriously to avoid aggravating the condition due to confrontation.

"Martial Saint" Jackson's injury gave Lu Yong a headache for a while. Originally, Boozer returned from injury, and Noah and Batum are about to usher in their comeback debut. The Supersonic lineup is about to be neat.But at this juncture, Jackson was injured again. The Supersonics really have a bad year this year, and they are back home.

When he learned that he needed to recuperate for three months, Jackson came to Lu Yong on crutches. "Sorry, coach. I may need to rest for a while, but don't worry, I will definitely come back in the playoffs and I won't let you down."

Lu Yong squeezed out a smile and patted Jackson on the shoulder. "What nonsense are you talking about, take a good rest, and you have to listen to the team doctor for your comeback. You don't have to worry about the game."

Lu Yong really feels a headache right now, but he can't make fun of Jackson's career, he can only think about it in the long run.

Without Jackson, the Sonics can use Dragic and Beverly as the starting No. [-]. The two complement each other with offense and defense, but they are definitely not as easy to use as Jackson, and the outside offense has been weakened.

Entering January, Noah and Batum came back one after another, perfecting the depth of the Sonics lineup.

With the stable output of Durant, Budinger and Boozer, the Sonics are still very competitive in the West, but the perimeter is a bit weaker, and most of the starting point guards use Dragic, who is strong offensively and weak defensively.

"Martial Saint" Jackson's injury also allowed Beverly to get more performance opportunities on the bench. "Hei Bei"'s various statistics have improved during this period, averaging 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals per game The stats are not eye-catching, but the defensive oppression it brings to the opponent is very strong.

Lu Yong often left Beverly on the field in the final quarter to "bite" the opponent's core guards, and his main focus was to get people mentality.

The Sonics did not suffer any injuries throughout January. Except for the normal rotation, the attendance rate of the core players was not bad, with a record of 11 wins and 4 losses.

随着超音速客场险胜热火，球队战绩也来到了32胜12负，仅次于35胜10负的湖人、33胜11负的小牛，排名西部第三。

In early February, under the leadership of Durant, the Sonics made great strides. They once overtook the Mavericks with their winning streak and returned to second place, chasing the Lakers.

The team is picking up momentum, but Lu Yong is not happy, because he knows that Jackson's injury has had a profound impact on the Sonics. If this lineup is used in the playoffs, it will not be easy to play against either the Mavericks or the Lakers. He wants to defend the championship this year. Not easy.

(End of this chapter)