roccoschili Chapter 616 Defensive downshift
Chapter 616 Defensive downshift
Chapter 616 Defensive downshift
Two days later, the Thunder ushered in the first game since Roberson was absent.They host the visiting Golden State Warriors.
This is another focus battle that the entire league is paying attention to.For a long time, the Warriors and the Thunder have been regarded as the two teams most likely to advance to the Western Conference Finals this season.
However, both teams have been plagued by injuries recently.On the Thunder's side, there is one less Robertson; on the Warriors' side, Kevin Durant missed the game due to injury.And before that, Durant had already rested for a game.It is worth mentioning that every time the Warriors come to Oklahoma, Durant is the center of the topic.Where his career started, too many grievances and grievances have been left behind.But since Durant and Green had an unhappiness this season, those Oklahomans who had scolded Durant gave him the greatest support.After Robertson was injured, Durant was the first superstar to pray for him.
This time, although Durant was unable to play, he still came to the Chesapeake Energy Arena with the team to watch the game.When the director's camera hit him on the face intentionally or unintentionally, Durant finally heard the applause from Oklahoma. Although it was scattered, it was already commendable.
In this game, the Warriors performed very well.
Cousins has become the most important reinforcement for the Warriors this season. After a period of repetition, he has been in very good form recently.The Warriors are honing the combat effectiveness of their luxurious lineup.There is no question that they will be at their best once they make the playoffs.
Although Durant is missing, the Warriors played well with the Thunder in this game. Curry and Thompson hit three-pointers shortly after the opening.They are also quite strong on defense, which caused a lot of trouble for the Thunder.In the first 5 minutes of the game, the entire Thunder team except An Luo scored a three-pointer, and only Adams scored a goal after receiving a pass from Westbrook.They were hit by the Warriors with a 16:5 offensive climax.After that, the Thunder fell into a long journey of chasing points.
With Paul George's touch warming up, the Thunder played an offensive rhythm that they are very good at in the second quarter.But their defense did have a lot of problems, which could hardly limit the Warriors' passing and cutting cooperation and continuous pick-and-roll coverage.Grant has not adapted to the feeling of playing next to the Big Three.It's not the first time he's been promoted to the starting lineup, but this time, perhaps the task given to him by the Thunder is too heavy.
At the end of the first half, the Thunder still trailed the Warriors by 11 points.This point difference was once expanded by the Warriors to as many as 20 points, but it was shortened back under the output of An Luo and Paul George.But they can only do so much!
In the second half, the Warriors' touch began to decline.The Thunder finally seized the opportunity and evened the score in one go.However, Cole paused in time, interrupting the Thunder's offensive.After returning from the timeout, Curry made a super long three-pointer against Westbrook, announcing his return.As the Thunder's shooting percentage increased a lot in the second half, the two sides remained deadlocked until the second half of the last quarter.
The turning point of the game was a conflict.In the counterattack, Westbrook easily broke through the Warriors' unformed defense line, and rushed to the basket to face Green and was about to dunk.Of course Green didn't want to be dunked by the opponent, so he just slapped the two of them with the ball and pressed it down.This was naturally an undeserved foul. Westbrook grabbed Green's jersey as soon as he got up, and then the two began to spray each other.The good thing is that although the emotions of the two were very intense, neither of them made a move.In the end, one person got a technical foul, which calmed down the conflict this time.
After that, the Thunder's shooting percentage plummeted.Westbrook, in particular, hasn't gotten a single since.Although he tried to hit the iron a few times, he stopped shooting.But the situation of the game has already tilted in a direction that is not conducive to the Thunder.
In the end, the Thunder lost the game.This is the first time the Thunder has lost to the Warriors this season, and it is still a Warriors without Durant.Although the overall performance of the Thunder is very poor, it can still be seen that the collapse of the defensive system has given the Warriors too many opportunities.An Luo, Westbrook, and Paul George's defenses are not weak, but they lack a core axis.This can be seen from the matchup between Thompson and An Luo.When playing one-on-one with An Luo, Thompson only scored 6 points.But when the rest of the Warriors got involved in the offense, Thompson's scoring increased very quickly.
This kind of thing happened again in the subsequent game between the Thunder and the Heat.
On March 3, the Thunder played against the Heat at home.No. 18 in the West vs. No. [-] in the East, the Thunder have a very good chance of winning.But the Heat, hovering on the edge of the playoffs, broke out with extremely strong combat effectiveness.Especially Wade, his efficiency surpassed all the players on the field.That fiery state is not at all like a person who is about to retire after this season.
Westbrook was automatically suspended.His last technical foul was his 16th this season.Therefore, he can only watch from the sidelines.
Without the offensive engine of Westbrook, the Thunder fell into a cycle of singles between An Luo and Paul George.Of course, the two brothers are in good condition.At the beginning of the game, they teamed up to play a 15:0 offensive climax.In the first 5 minutes of the first quarter, the Heat got nothing.It didn't change until Wade and Dragic came on the bench.By the end of the first half, the Heat chased the score to 56:59.
In the third quarter, the Heat maintained their momentum.Wade and Dragic, the pair of backcourt double guns of the Heat a few years ago, stood up from the bench and used their breakthroughs and three-pointers to help the Heat one by one when the Thunder's shooting rate dropped. The point will overtake the score.By the end of the third quarter, the Heat had an 11-point lead over the Thunder.
In the last quarter, the Thunder played a very tenacious counterattack.With 1 minute and 52 seconds left in the game, An Luo made a three-pointer and chased the score to 107:110.But after that, it was Wade who used the cover of his teammates to get rid of An Luo, hit the basket and made a layup.Subsequently, Paul George caught the ball in the right corner and stepped on the line and made a mistake, which made the Thunder lose another chance to close the score.The Heat took advantage of the trend to expand the score to 7 points.
In the end, the Thunder lost the game.They were defeated by two veteran players on the bench!
After this game, the Thunder's record in March became 6 wins and 5 losses.This is the first time the Thunder has encountered such a situation, and it is also the first time that the Thunder have lost three games in a row.
(End of this chapter)