super heavy artillery

Chapter 646

Chapter 646

The Warriors eliminated the Nuggets, which did not surprise everyone.In fact, few people are optimistic about the Nuggets.Even the Thunder have always regarded the Warriors as their opponents in the Western Conference Finals.

Therefore, when they ended the series with the Rockets, Donovan began to prepare for the Western Conference Finals-studying how to deal with the Warriors.

For the Warriors, players like Donovan and An Luo are all too familiar!Especially in these two seasons, the lineups of the Thunder and Warriors have not changed much.

However, the situation this year is not the same as last year.

Compared with last year, the Thunder's defensive ability has dropped a lot.Last year, they lost two games in the entire playoffs. Before the Western Conference Finals, they swept their opponents in two consecutive rounds and maintained a complete victory.Super defensive ability played a key role.

This year, the Thunder have lost two games.The problem in these two games was precisely on the defensive end.Without Robertson, the defensive core, the Thunder couldn't limit the opponent's scoring very well.The striker combination of Paul George and Grant will not have any problems against ordinary teams, but it will have problems against the Warriors.If it weren't for Green's poor performance on the offensive end, the situation facing the Thunder would be even worse.

Last season, the Thunder achieved the goal of limiting the Warriors' three outside scorers through unlimited double-teaming.Robertson can be pulled out to help Paul George, Anlo and Westbrook at any time.This season, Donovan doesn't have the confidence to defend the entire perimeter offense.They can only limit part of it.

Judging from the current situation, Durant is unstoppable.Fortunately, the Thunder also has a very good defensive Paul George, who can limit Durant.Relatively speaking, the effect against Thompson is even better.Since entering the playoffs, most of the games the Warriors have lost, Thompson has not played very well.With An Luo's marking, coupled with Grant's assisting defense, it is still no problem to limit a Thompson.

In addition to the extremely strong outside players on both sides, the performance of the inside players on both sides is also crucial to the game.However, this season's Thunder and Warriors have some problems at this point.The reimbursement of Cousins, coupled with the departure of McGee and Pachulia, made the Warriors' inside line very weak.Now they only have Rooney and Bogut, who hasn't played an NBA game for a long time.Cousins' injury and retirement, too many things have changed.The Thunder are also annoyed, they originally had enough reserves in the paint.Adams in the main lineup has both offense and defense.Kanter and Noelle in the rotation lineup, one can attack and the other is good at defense.With this kind of configuration, no matter which team the Thunder face, they will not fall behind.But now, Adams is injured.Although his injury is not serious, after a week of recuperation, he should be able to play.But Donovan certainly wouldn't let Adams take the risk.Kanter and Noelle are bound to take on more burdens.As for whether it can withstand it, it can only wait for the competition to test.

The combat effectiveness of the Thunder's offensive end has no effect.Compared with last year, Westbrook has further delegated power. Not only did it not reduce the Thunder's offensive firepower, but it improved because the ball was concentrated on An Luo and Paul George.

Generally speaking, compared with the same period last year, the combat effectiveness of both sides has been somewhat affected.No matter who finally rushes out of the West, they will not be able to directly harvest the championship like last year!None of the teams in the East is easy to match.

However, the Eastern Conference semifinals are not over yet.The Bucks and the Celtics, the Raptors and the 76ers have all reached the tiebreaker, which is far more intense than the West.At this time, no one can say that the two teams will win in the end.

The Celtics are somewhat surprising, their performance in the regular season is not very good.In fact, their roster depth is among the highest in the league.It's just that if they are not twisted into a single rope, they will not be able to exert their due combat effectiveness.Unexpectedly, it came out in the playoffs.They only lost one game in the first round, and then they had a six-game tie with the Eastern Conference's No. [-] Bucks.They are very hopeful that the next game will eliminate Antetokounmpo's team.It would be interesting if that were the case.You know, this guy is most likely to win the MVP of this season's regular season.

As for the other two teams, the Raptors and 76ers played until the tiebreaker, which is expected.After all, the strength of the two teams is equal, and there is no shortage of players who can fight tough battles.However, Leonard and the Raptors are more optimistic.After all, a player who has played in the finals and won the FMVP is more capable of displaying his strength at such a critical moment. The biggest problem for the 76ers is Butler.This guy is tough enough and reliable at critical moments, but his temper is inconsistent, and it is difficult to be perfectly compatible with the "two emperors".

No matter which team rushes out of the East, it is a strong opponent for the Thunder who want to defend their title.Of course, this is a problem that the Thunder can only face after passing the barrier of the Warriors.

In the first few days before the start of the Western Conference Finals, all Thunder players gathered together and conducted targeted training under Donovan's arrangement.

Others, such as An Luo, Westbrook and Paul George, are doing regular training.But for Grant and Noelle, there are more things to do.They need to get familiar with what they have to do in the game as soon as possible.Grant is already familiar with it, and Donovan is more likely to let him cultivate a tacit understanding with players like An Luo.As for Noelle, there are more things to adapt to.He and Grant had similar circumstances, they were all temporary replacements.And his situation is even more urgent. Robertson was injured during the regular season, and Grant still has time to adapt slowly.But now that Adams is injured, Noelle must hurry.

Noelle adapted quite quickly. Although he couldn't make up for Adams' role in the team, Noelle also has his own advantages.Excellent athletic ability, coupled with that eye-catching ability to block shots, Noelle's deterrence at the basket is even stronger than Adams' three-pointer.

As the saying goes, defense wins championships.The Thunder is a team that has won championships, and Donovan naturally understands this.That's why he used Noelle instead of Kanter, who is more offensive.What's more, the Thunder does not lack players who can score.

While the Thunder players are working hard, the Warriors in Oakland are doing the same thing.Like Donovan, Kerr is also worried about the upcoming Western Conference Finals.No one has the determination to win!

(End of this chapter)