roccoschili Chapter 871
Chapter 871
Chapter 871
The Thunder defended the Warriors Curry and Green's pick-and-roll in the form of pincers.If Green goes down, Xie Kai will fill in and let Iguodala go.
For the Warriors, Green passed the ball to Brother Yi smoothly, but the latter missed 3 points!
Xie Kai closed the board, pushed forward by himself, faced the defense of the first brother, and asked Robertson and himself to pick and roll.He did it because Curry was guarding Roberson.
Because of the Thunder's change of formation, Westbrook, who was previously defended by Curry, was handed over to Clay, and he went to face Robertson, who had the worst outside offense.
It's not the first time Cole has done this. He did it in the Western Conference Finals last season and also in the Finals.In the finals of last season, it was not Curry who defended Cavaliers point guard Irving, but Clay.
JR, who has a relatively poor offense, let Curry defend, which is a way for the Warriors to protect him.
The Warriors' strategy is to delay.They don't want to flank Xie Kai, at least not yet.The two teams are too familiar, and the Warriors are also very familiar with Xie Kai. Flanking him is actually the same as flanking James, that is, being shot by other players who are vacant.This season, Robertson's outside shooting has improved too much, and they are unwilling to let him develop his touch at the beginning.
The advantage of the delay is that you won't be caught by a misplaced defense, you don't have to worry about Curry being forced in front of Xie Kai, and you don't have to worry about completely emptying the screener.
But the shortcomings are also obvious. This kind of compromise defensive method requires a very tacit cooperation on the defensive end. If there is a little confusion, it is easy for the opponent to seize the opportunity to beat him.
The tacit understanding between Curry and the first brother was perfect, and the screen effect did not come out. Xie Kai lobbed the ball to the duck in the low position.
Duck hit Green again, but Green resisted stubbornly, but this time it was gone, and the rebound was taken by Clay.
The Warriors attacked here, Westbrook chased Curry desperately, Robertson chased Clay desperately, and switched defenses on every cover.Duck also participated in the line defense, relying on the weak side and two wings to make up for the penalty area, and selectively emptied Iguodala's 3-pointers.
At the beginning, neither side was outwardly opened.Robertson didn't get enough open shots, and he wasn't as sure when he was half-open.Iguodala is similar. He is not a shooter in the first place, but also because the opponent frequently empties him from the outside. He has no choice but to shoot.His strengths are defense and organization.
The opening score was very low, reminiscent of G7 in last year's finals.In that game, neither team scored more than 2 points.In this round of the series, although the offensive efficiency of the two teams has declined compared to the first and second rounds, it has never been as low as this one.
Obviously, everyone played a small lineup, almost always switching defenses every screen, fighting one-on-one, and the superstars who just started didn't feel very good, so they didn't score high.
Halfway through the first quarter, the Thunder did not replace Xie Kai and Paojiao as usual. Obviously, their rotation for this game has been adjusted.
Wang Meng asked: "Mr. Su, why do you think the Thunder didn't replace Xie Kai and Paul George? It stands to reason that they don't have the pressure to score now?"
Su Qun said: "I think Xie Kai will play a lot of time in this game."
"Is he not going to lead the second team?" Wang Meng asked back.
Su Qun shook his head: "He will still lead the second team, and there is no news before the game that the Thunder will adjust the rotation order. Most likely, Xie Kai will play a little longer. In this round of the series, his average playing time In fact, the time has not exceeded 2 minutes. In fact, we know that his physical fitness to play more than 40 minutes is completely fine."
Su Qun's guess was actually right. Before the game, Donovan asked Xie Kai if he could bear playing for more than 42 minutes.
Xie Kai only said one word: "Yes!"
In the NBA playoffs, especially in the key games, it is not a novel concept to kill the main players. As long as you are a superstar, you will have to bear the pressure of increasing playing time.
Even Curry and Durant, who are not physically good, have a high probability of playing more than 40 minutes on this occasion.Because there is no way, if you don’t fight, you will go home and go fishing.
The Thunder took a slight lead in the first quarter, and the game was cut into pieces, with many fouls and turnovers.
At 7 minutes into the first quarter, Duck accumulated his second personal foul and was replaced by teammate Tai Gipson.
The Thunder's strategy has not changed, unlimited defense + partial flanking, giving you a one-on-one chance to fight one-on-one, not giving pass cuts and 3 points, allowing you to play singles and break through.
The Warriors also have unlimited switch defenses + inside assist defense. The defensive strategies of the two teams are very similar, except that one focuses on saving 3-pointers, and the other focuses on protecting the inside.
Westbrook played the entire first quarter, while Xie Kai and Paojiao took a break with 2 minutes and 32 seconds left in the first quarter.
It was McDermott who replaced Xie Kai, and Jeremy Grant replaced Pickle.
Wang Meng exclaimed: "McDermott is in the rotation!"
Su Qun nodded and said: "It seems that Donovan chose McDermott between Abrines and McDermott. It is impossible for Kanter to play in this round of the series until a special time." Yes. Everyone is fighting the small lineup to the end."
After Xie Kai and Pickled Pepper were off the court, the Warriors began to pinch Westbrook.And McDermott, who just came up, was out of battle for a long time. When there was no chance, he made 2 of 0 shots and had no gains.
The Warriors took the opportunity to catch up with the score and overtook the score at the end of the first quarter.
At the end of the first quarter, the Thunder at home fell behind by 20:22.
The game was a bit anxious, and the two sides fought hard.The Thunder fans in the stands were still quite nervous.This kind of anxious game is really exhausting. They know very well that both sides have already been bayoneted.
Xie Kai's performance in the first quarter was average, scoring 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.He doesn't have a lot of deliberate offense, but today at least from the first quarter, his shooting touch is very average.
In the second quarter of the game, the Thunder's lineup was Xie Kai, McDermott, Pickle, Grant and Gibson.
The Warriors' lineup is Livingston, Clay, Clark, Green and David West.
There are 8 players on both sides in rotation, both are small lineups, and there are no big men over 210cm tall on the court.
Wang Meng sighed: "The trend of the league is the small lineup. Looking at both sides, the big men are sitting off the court, and the front line and guards who can shoot are all on the court."
Su Qun nodded and said: "The wave of small ball frenzy led by the Warriors also shows how hard it is for big men without shooting ability to survive on the court when 3-pointers and transition offenses are becoming more and more mainstream. "
(End of this chapter)