Chapter 413: How exciting the Western Conference finals are
The Chesapeake Energy Arena is in a huge momentum, and fans here would never have thought that they could watch the nBa Western Conference Finals at their doorstep.
However, the relocation of Seattle Sound and the rapid rise of the Thunder made the dreams of Ox City fans come true. At this moment, the Thunder not only stood on the stage of the Western Conference Finals, but also beat the Trail Blazers with a strong attack at the beginning of the game with an 8-to-o small**.
After Durant made a three-pointer, the young Oklahoma lord seemed to say something to Angel. Angel also responded with a smile, and then went out the baseline ball.
"Did KD have a quarrel with Ansheng?" In the noisy stadium, fans and commentators couldn't hear the conversation between the players on the court. Most of the time, they had heard lip shapes to judge the information about the communication between the two players. But today, no matter how you look at it, Durant and Anjie's lip shapes didn't seem to be swearing. So various explanations also appeared overwhelmingly.
"It seems that An's old habit has not changed. Even when facing his former teammate KD, his mouth is not idle."
"Durant may have been resentful of Ann's departure. Could it be his demonstration against Ann just now?"
"KD just said hello to his old friend, that's all. If you care about this, we might as well care about the game itself." In the end, Mike Bolling, an experienced commentator from ESPN, explained the correct answer, but fans like to believe in which script, Mike Bolling can't guarantee it.
Just as the commentators from various TV stations were still discussing the conversation between Angel and Durant just now, the Trail Blazers were already attacking slowly.
This team wearing a black jersey seemed to be possessed by the Spurs. They did not mention it and did not get on the ball quickly. The positional battle, these guys came from the beginning with the determination to fight the positional battle.
It may be a bit inaccurate to say that the Trail Blazers are like the Spurs. Because they had just defeated the Spurs, the "original" just a few days ago.
Felton shouted a few times, made a few gestures, and then passed the basketball out, and the Trail Blazers' offensive tactics were instantly unfolded.
Inside, that is the hardest part of the Thunder's defensive end. But for the Trail Blazers, the inside is also their safest scoring choice. Let the sharpest spear fight against the strongest shield, and the result will definitely be a loss-winning. In order to increase efficiency to the highest level, Ricard's method is to use the outside to attract Morris or Ibaka's defense, and then pass the ball to allow Angel and Aldridge to get more opportunities.
So Gerald Wallace made a tough breakthrough. As the pioneer of this offense, although Gerald Wallace did not have to take on the scoring task, his responsibilities were also quite large.
Whether the tactics were successfully implemented depends entirely on "Elvis"'s strong outbreak!
Although Durant's defense is not as good as the other four Trail Blazers, it is definitely not bad. He has been stuck in Gerald Wallace's breakthrough route, leaving Gerald Wallace in a very uncomfortable state.
However, once again, just when the Thunder once again thought their defense was about to succeed, a pick-and-roll broke all the balance.
"kd! Be careful!" Seifrosa's roar came into Durant's ears with a sound of 340 meters per second. Durant reacted quickly and immediately turned his head. However, just as his colleague who turned his head, Durant had already hit Anjie solidly!
"Another pick-and-roll that suddenly pulled out! This time, the pick-and-roll still grasps the timing of the pick-and-roll. It not only preserves suddenness, but also does not constitute a foul. This guy's ability to read games is just as good as a point guard!" Only An Jie can win a lot of money with just one pick-and-roll, and this league may only be able to do it.
Durant was blocked by Angela who suddenly appeared, which naturally allowed Gerald Wallace to easily break into the inside.
Morris had to drop Anjie and stand at the basket with his arms open. Just looking at the Damanniu's formation was enough to be deterred.
"It has been successfully attracted to the defense, now!" Gerald Wallace held up the basketball, as if he was about to make a layup by a master. Even when Durant's attention was attracted, Wallace suddenly turned around and passed the ball back to Anjie, who had just picked and rolled it for him and was still at mid-range.
"I expected it!" Durant kept a fuss. He didn't believe that Anjie would stand foolishly after pick-and-roll. Every move of this guy was purposeful! Even if Anjie stood foolishly, it was purposeful!
Durant guessed correctly. Angel stood at the middle distance in order to catch Gerald Wallace's pass. Durant turned around with the basketball movement trajectory, without thinking, and jumped and blocked it.
"An's shooting point is very high! Like his compatriot Yao, he is a very outstanding big shot player. They know how to use their advantages. However, Durant's height and wingspan are also not bad. Durant is only a little short of blocking this goal!" Although he did not complete the blocking, Durant's peak repair defense must have interfered with Anjie's shooting rhythm.
Can they score? Can the Trail Blazers score their first goal in this game?
Just when all Oklahoma fans were looking forward to it, Anjie still gave them a reassurance.
After three rounds on the inside of the basket, the basketball fell into the net! This guy was never ruthless in the Chesapeake Energy Arena!
After Anjie scored, the reaction on the spot was very interesting. If Anjie scored at the aTT center or Staples Anjie, the one who greeted Anjie would definitely be a boo. However, in Oklahoma, at Anjie's former home court, half of the fans were still booing Anjie, but half of the fans gave Anjie applause.
During the retreat, An Jie pointed to the audience to express his gratitude. It was a very rare thing to receive applause in the away game of the playoffs. An Jie knew this and thanked those people from the bottom of his heart.
With a mid-range shot, the Trail Blazers finally broke the scoring drought and brought the Thunder's offense to a temporary end.
Afterwards, the Trail Blazers had obviously adapted to the rhythm of fighting with the Thunder. Westbrook's sudden addition could no longer allow him to complete the assault. Felton had already prepared for a long time, and the others behind Felton were also wary of Westbrook's unreasonable breakthrough. Finally, this time, the Trail Blazers pulled the Thunder into the positional battle.
However, positional battles are also Jeff Van Gundy's specialty. The Thunder is now such a balanced and all-around team, fast or slow, inside or outside.
Westbrook gave the ball directly to Durant, which was exactly the same as when Angel was still with the Thunder. After all, Westbrook is not a real organizer. Usually, the Thunder relies on a holistic approach to tear the opponent's defense in positional battles. Westbrook's organization could not allow him to complete the "one pass and kill" attack.
The basketball was handed by several people, but the Thunder still did not get a chance. Compared with the fast offensive and defensive transition and position defense, the Trail Blazers are best at.
Ricard kept yelling on the sidelines, reminding the players who were missing. His roar could make fans hear it clearly even in the noisy Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Time passed by minute by minute, but the Thunder still did not find a chance. Helplessly, the ball could only be returned to Westbrook's hands. Strong attack was the only way for the Thunder to do now.
Westbrook made a jump shot when he broke into the three-point line with Ibaka's pick-and-roll. When he reached the free throw line, he suddenly jumped and shot.
Westbrook's jumping height for this ball was very sufficient. Felton wanted to interfere, but it was a little short of a distance. Seeing this, Anjie suddenly turned his back to the basket and tried to get stuck first. He believed that the ball had a high chance of not hitting it!
Westbrook's shooting is still the same as before. After taking off, his whole body is tight and looks very powerful, but his movements are stiff.
A stiff shot will definitely not be able to get an excellent shooting rate. What's more, Westbrook is not a fixed-point shooting, but an emergency stop jump shot with a higher difficulty factor.
"Do!" The basket sounded crisply, like gunfire at the starting line. After An Jie heard this sound, he immediately jumped. In the crowd, An Jie's arm stood up high and became the focus of the entire three-second zone. Morris made up for some disadvantages in position and jumping timing with his bounce and bounce height, but this basketball was still first caught by An Jie!
Anjie's big hand was able to control the basketball in his hand when he was in the air. Morris planned to dial the basketball away, but failed.
After landing, Gerald Wallace rushed straight to the Thunder without thinking. Angel raised the ball and scared the Thunder players back to defend.
However, Anjie was just a fake pass, and he didn't plan to use a long pass to play a fast break. Gerald Wallace is not Westbrook, and Anjie's pass may not be able to receive it safely.
The reason Anjie did this was just to hope that the Thunder would retreat faster. In this way, he could hand the ball to Felton safely, and Felton could easily control the ball and advance.
This offense was scored by Gerald Wallace. This guy's active running finally gave him the opportunity. Perhaps in the previous series, Wallace was Ricard's last offensive choice, so it led to KD's defense against this guy is not too desperate.
Therefore, when Gerald Wallace found that he had the opportunity so easily, he was also very surprised. However, this guy had always been the core of the team before. The unexpected mood only lasted for a few seconds and disappeared without a trace. He immediately made a mid-range shot. Durant rushed to jump and blocked the block, but it was still the same as when he planned to block Anger just now, and was a little bit off the ball.
The basketball has once again become hollow, and the Trail Blazers have used their shooting to hit the Thunder's basket twice in a row.
In the subsequent games, the situation was gradually turned back by the Trail Blazers. But the Thunder's momentum was also not bad.
The fans of the Chesapeake Energy Arena were able to watch a wonderful showdown, with both sides attacking and defending each other and playing very lively. This is the real level of the Western Conference Finals.
The turning point of the game occurred in the middle of the first quarter. Van Gundy sent a strong second team composed of Fischer, Bledsoe, Batum, Daequen Cook and Nick Collison, and Ricard was struggling.
Fischer's sophistication allowed him to handle everything in an orderly manner. Bledso and Batum's scoring ability made Crawford and Contney Lee sighed. The score was finally slowly pulled apart, and the Thunder also gained a certain lead after a difficult confrontation. Collison and Cook could always do dirty and tiring work well.
An Jie was gritting his teeth below, but he held back. The guys who were still arrogant now, An Jie would make them very powerful sooner or later!
22-29, with the strength of the Thunder's second team's strong strength, the Thunder took a 7-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
The fierce competition was only one-quarter, and it was already unparalleled.
The assistant coach put the small stool on it, and Ricard sat on the small stool, surrounded by players.
Chapter completed!