On the morning of December 5, 2014, Westbrook came out of the hotel early, came to the FedEx arena at half past seven, and looked at the huge LED screen above the gate of the Grizzlies arena that was marked 22-0 no matter how the content was switched, Westbrook felt a little suffocated......

What kind of terrible state is it that has allowed the Grizzlies to win all the way to now?

If it weren't for the fact that he just saw the Heat's 30-game winning streak two years ago, Rao would have been as confident as he was, and he would have been intimidated by the Grizzlies' opening 22-game winning streak.

Yesterday they Thunder came to Memphis, and the media was already warming up for this game.

There are a lot to watch in this game, and on the front line, there are Paul George and Durant competing for the best team.

Sun Ce and James must occupy two positions, almost certainly the forward position, the league will always put Sun Ce in the forward position, and some fans joke that it is okay if he does not list a separate position for him.

Although Paul George's statistics this season are not particularly good, after all, he controls his shooting power in the fourth place on the team, averaging only 10.2 shots per game, but 5.5 rebounds and 7.6 assists are excellent, the key is a good record!

Compared with Klay Thompson and Aldridge, Paul George, who averages 14.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 2 steals per game, is more likely to be selected to the best team. Durant's defensive efficiency of 4.4 so far this season is very good, and he helps the team limit opponents to 105 points per 100 possessions, which is similar to Klay Thompson, who is a defensive master on the edge of the second defense.

But Paul George's defensive efficiency is 6.2, limiting opponents to 100 points per 100 possessions, which is the first position at forward this season, better than Anthony Davis and Leonard, both of whom have 102 points.

The best defensive team only looks at defense, but the best team is comprehensive, and offense, defense, and record are all considered.

There is also the duel between Aldridge and Ibaka, who in previous seasons was the hottest power forward, with strong defense, accurate mid-range shooting, and top-level offensive and defensive performances without possession, which any team wants.

Aldridge, on the other hand, has always been depressed, and he has to complain to the media that he is obviously better than Ibaka, Pau Gasol, and Bosh Why didn't he choose him, and then the head coaches of each team found that Aldridge was so good, and he was selected as an All-Star for the first time in his sixth year in his career at the beginning of the shortened season.

Ibaka has declined a lot on the defensive end this season due to his athleticism, but the offensive end has gotten better, and he used to focus on cutting and shooting from the spot, but after he clearly felt his athleticism decline in the summer, he began to adjust his play, and the Thunder helped him find Radmanovic to teach him skiing...... No, teach him to run, and this season his points per game average soared to a career high, averaging 18.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2 blocks per game.

The duel between these two people is also very interesting, they are both mid-pitch masters, and they are both perfect three-masters.

The biggest attraction is the duel between the two active players in the three super triple-double kings.

Westbrook VS Sun Ce!

In the eyes of most fans, Westbrook is obviously a superstar than Durant.

Even, in terms of popularity alone, Durant and Harden are not as high as Westbrook, many people think that Durant's temperament is not good enough, and they think that Harden's playing style is more one-sided, while Westbrook has both ornamentation, star temperament, and data performance.

Westbrook has played 22 games this season, averaging 21.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 10.41 assists and 1.5 steals per game, playing more than a quarter of the games.

And Sun Ce, after the start of this season, his personal performance is very good, although the data is much worse than the same period last season, averaging 29.227 points per game, 11.5 boards, 5.5 assists, 2.68 blocks and 2.5 steals, but the shooting rate is still 52 percent, the three-point shooting rate is 41 percent, and the free throw shooting rate is 81 percent, all of which are career highs.

The team's record continues to break all-time records, with the Bulls and Celtics holding the all-time best start of 20-2 to the game, and Sun Ce was already regarded as the MVP favorite by the end of his first game month.

At this start, even if it is the MVP of Lian Zhuang, Sun Ce's opening performance is enough.

What fans want to see most is the duel between Sun Ce and Westbrook.

Sun Ce's triple-doubles this season are far less than the number of games he played in the same number last season, with four triple-doubles, the second-highest in the league, but far worse than Westbrook's nine triple-doubles in 22 games.

Coming to Memphis again, and playing against Sun Ce again, Westbrook feels that he is about to have a shadow, he played an MVP-level performance last season and averaged a triple-double per game, who knew that Sun Ce actually got an even more terrifying average triple-double per game, which is simply unreasonable.

This season, Westbrook is back and ready to continue to average a triple-double per game, with Durant here, a good organization of offense plus more passes, 10+ assists are easy to get, rebounding, Adams is in a better position, and Ibaka is now focused on the card position because of impaired athleticism.

There was no problem scoring, and Westbrook felt he was more than capable of competing for the scoring title.

However, when Westbrook wanted to compete with Sun Ce again, Sun Ce no longer played triple-doubles.

However, last season, Sun Ce had a wave of consecutive triple-doubles that set a new record, and he overtook it all of a sudden, with the Grizzlies' style of play, Sun Ce is not without the opportunity to continue to get a lot of triple-doubles, and fans hope to see two triple-doubles in a single season with thirty or forty triple-doubles again.

Anyway, seeing Westbrook's data this season, Big O's historical status in the eyes of the media and fans has once again declined, and Westbrook's goal this season is to average triple-doubles per game back-to-back!

On top of that, the more important goal is the overall championship.

After Westbrook stopped for more than ten minutes, the sky began to drizzle, and there were many rainy days in the fall and winter here in Memphis, but the Grizzlies security guard still went out with the umbrellas prepared by the team and handed them to the visiting star.

Westbrook was distracted until the security guard walked up to him, was silent for a moment, took the umbrella, said thank you, and turned to walk to the sewer...... No, it's the way back to the hotel.

……

The Thunder team attaches great importance to this game, and the Grizzlies also attach importance to it, the other party "lets" in the previous game against the Spurs, that's just that the Spurs don't want to fight so hard at the beginning of the season, it's not necessary for them, the Spurs don't care so much about the ups and downs of the regular season, anyway, Duncan still has a double-team performance after playing seventeen or eighteen years, and there is no need to fight with others in the regular season, even if they are strong rivals, they also know how to adjust in the playoffs.

The Thunder are different, they are not a successful team like the Spurs, they desperately need to prove that they have enough to beat the championship favorites, they have been together for too long, but they have been losing in the playoffs against the championship favorites, and their combinations are almost finished.

Therefore, every time the Thunder team faces the championship favorites, they will play hard, and they have won more in the regular season in recent years when they meet the teams with the highest probability of competing for the championship...... Except for the Grizzlies.

Since the start of the 09-10 season, the two teams have met 18 times in the regular season in the past five seasons, with the Thunder winning 5-13!

Even in the 09-10 season when the Lakers defended the title, the Thunder defeated the Lakers twice in the regular season, and in the past few years, the Lakers have Paul and James joined the strong situation, and the Thunder not only did not fall behind in the regular season against the Lakers, but defeated the Lakers in the regular season.

Play the Spurs, play the Bulls, play the Heat...... The Thunder also rarely have a regular season disadvantage.

The Thunder haven't proven themselves in the playoffs, no way, they have always met the final championship in the playoffs in recent years, but in the regular season, they still want to build confidence when they play each other first, otherwise the playoffs will be even worse.

But against the Grizzlies, how they play and how they lose, they finally win once, and then they have to lose two or three times.

For the Thunder three young people who have entered their prime, the Grizzlies are also very jealous.

In the morning playroom, Coach Hollins emphasized that Durant, Westbrook, and Ibaka are all in their prime, and Adams has also made great progress in his sophomore year, averaging 3.5 offensive rebounds per game to rank second in the league, higher than Jordan Jr., and second only to Drummond's 4.4 offensive rebounds per game and 6.8 rebounds per game...... This one is more distinctive.

And the point guard they traded for Dion Waiters greatly improved their scoring ability at the shooting guard position, allowing them to have a good bench when Andre Roberson rested.

Their poor results at the beginning of the season were mainly due to the pain caused by the adjustment of form and Ibaka's style of play, but as their form picked up and the run-in with Ibaka, who began to change their style of play, they began to improve.

The most important thing is Durant and Westbrook, both of whom are 26 years old and are beginning to enter their prime!

Sun Ce watched Durant average 28.5 points per game with a career-high 53 percent shooting rate, which was the second time in Durant's career that he shot more than 50 percent, but the number of shots was the lowest since his rookie year at 17.5 per game!

The reason is simple, Scott Brooks finally got the hang of it after Durant missed half of the season last season due to an injury and Ibaka overmatched in the playoffs and suffered a fall injury that led to a decline in athleticism, and controlled Durant's playing time to about 35 minutes, allowing Durant to play the best efficiency of his career.

Westbrook also got better after Durant's efficiency improved, and of course, his personal ability improved, with a shooting rate of 46 percent, the highest in his career!

……

After a day of preparation, at 6:40 p.m., Sun Ce, who had finished warming up, entered the court with his teammates.

"Durant S, Westbrook S, Robertson B- Defensive A+, Ibaka A, Adams B+, Waiters B, Morrow B+...... The Sea King with a beard is a bit powerful, and he is B+ in the second grade......

It was time to get Morrow back last year......"

Sun Ce looked at the performance of Anthony Morrow, an old teammate who was signed by the Thunder for three years, this season, and he was simply outstanding, ranking first in the league in 47 percent three-point shooting, averaging 2.2 shots per game!

However, their No. 1 target last year was not a regular three-point shooter, they had enough outside trio, and they also signed Blake, who was not so great but had a solid three-point shot in 11 games this season, shot 40 percent from the field, and also had the ability to pass.

Sun Ce was analyzing the lineup on the opposite side, and it was a pity that some players couldn't get it back.

And Durant, who is looking at the Grizzlies lineup on the other side, really wants to play.

Looking at the five starters opposite, is there still Tianli? Is there still a law?

On the bench sat Yi Jianlian and Larry Sanders, two players with a quasi-10 million annual salary, and a bunch of substitutes...... It's too much!

But fortunately, there are only 5 players on the court, and in terms of the strongest lineup, their Thunder team is not false, and in the case that the main team needs more playing time, the overall strength of their Thunder team will not be too weak.

Durant feels that he is now saddled with a mission - to take out this evil big demon king!

Looking at Sun Ce, Durant seemed to see the figure of the big demon who had covered the evil hand in the basketball field.

Sun Ce waited until the cheerleading performance was over and was about to rub magnesium powder, and the system prompt came!

"The battle for the top scorer is reigniting.

Scoring is the most important indicator in basketball, and the goal of the host is to become the hegemon of the basketball world, and the scoring champion is indispensable.

The host is opposed to Kevin Durant, who has the most consistent scoring and very strong scoring ability in the league today, and will have a long-term battle for the scoring title.

A-Rank Exclusive Challenge Event: The Epic Score Champion has been triggered. ”

"Epic Scoring Champion (A):

Goal 1: Score at least 39 points in tonight's game against the Thunder and increase the host's career regular-season total to at least 10,000 points.

Goal 2: Become the seventh player in NBA history to win at least three scoring titles before Kevin Durant.

Event Rewards: Complete Goal 1 and reward a B-level raffle card, complete Goal 2, Kevin Durant's current season star experience card.

Failure penalty: Failure to complete goal 1, how many points away from the host 39 points, how many games will enter the shooting hand cold state; If goal 2 is not completed, a star experience card for a player who has won the top scorer will be deducted from the host's current possession or future retribution.

Complete the Triple Scoring Champion achievement in a row, and this event will open up subsequent events. ”

……

At 6:58 p.m., Sun Ce walked onto the court with his starting teammates, and tonight the Grizzlies played with all their main force, Blake and Stoudemire did not enter the activation list, and Sun Ce, Klay Thompson, Paul George, Randolph, and Aldridge appeared in the starting lineup.

On the Thunder's side, Westbrook, Andre Robson, Durant, Ibaka, and Adams came on the starting lineup.

Originally, Sun Ce was not interested in scoring champions this season, and it didn't matter if he was overtaken or his average points per game fell, but now, ...... Gotta fight!

He is 39 points short of the total score and will become the fifth player in NBA history after James, Kobe, Durant, and Anthony to score more than 10,000 points before the age of 25, but he doesn't care very much, he can definitely do it, and there is still a full month before the age of 25.

But you have to score at least 39 points tonight, otherwise there will be problems in the next few games...... If it's usually when he doesn't fight for a winning streak, he feels cold in his hand, and it's not that he hasn't been cold before, but now he's hitting 25 consecutive wins.

Then it has to be done, but the team wants to win, now he doesn't have to score high points, sometimes he is willing to score in single digits to win, but tonight he must score 39 points, otherwise it will be difficult to play the Knicks later, which means that the difficulty of tonight's game will also increase!

At 7 o'clock sharp, the much-anticipated battle began, with the referee blowing the whistle to start the game and throwing the ball into the air, and Adams beat Aldridge to win the jump ball.

Seeing this scene, Yimu Hualian on the sidelines suddenly felt very proud, thinking that when he played the starting game last season, the team's jump ball winning rate was more than 70%!

The Thunder attacked first, and Westbrook slowly advanced to the frontcourt, waiting for his teammates to run, seize the opportunity, and face Paul George's defense, accelerating and strong penetration.

The league's strongest confrontation in the straight line acceleration ability, Westbrook was stunned to complete the acceleration with Paul George, who was pasted up, and left behind Paul George, who was in a passive state of defensive acceleration in the retreat.

Sun Ce has long been ready to make up the defense, Westbrook is also very familiar with Sun Ce's defense, and his teammates already know how to run, Andre Robertson, who was released by Sun Ce, cut in, Westbrook divided the ball at the first time, but not Andre Roberson who attracted Aldridge to the right sideline of the three-second zone to defend, but Adams who cut in after Aldridge moved to the right side of the three-second zone!

Adams scored two points with an easy pie.

Among the players who have averaged more than 5 points per game this season, three players have a shooting percentage of more than 60%, Jordan Jr., McGee and Adams!

The main means of scoring for all three is to eat cakes.

The offense and defense switched, seeing that the Thunder team retreated quickly, Sun Ce was not in a hurry, picked up the ball and sent it to Paul George.

There was no way to do this ball just now, the defense was as strong as Paul George, and it was no problem to break through in the face of Westbrook.

No one can prevent this!

Westbrook can get so many assists, not by sticking the ball, there are more players sticking to the ball, but there are only a few players who can average 10+ assists per game.

Awareness of breakthrough timing, breakthrough ability, and ability to score from close range and under the basket based on teammates' running positions...... These Westbrooks are top-notch!

When it came to the Grizzlies' offense, the Thunder pressed the pace very slowly!

This season, the Thunder are one of the lowest scoring teams in the league, averaging 104.5 points per game, which is lower than the league average of 105.5 points per game, conceding 98 points per game, one of the slowest teams in the league, and one of the few teams that can keep opponents under 100 points!