The combination of Harden, Cousins, Rondo and Gay doesn't have a perfect chemistry, but they can hold a place in the declining West by relying on their individual strengths. However, when they play against the Bucks in the upper East, it's a different story.

Let's not talk about anything else, Rondo, who is 1.85 meters tall, already has a big head when he sees Brother Alphabet, who is 2.11 meters tall, how can he prevent this thing?

Of course, the Kings are not really going to let Brother Alphabet bully Rondo, small forward Rudy. Guy and Rondo switched guards, but it was only a drop in the bucket.

Guy is not a good defender, although he has excellent physical fitness, and he is a first-class level among small forwards, but whether it is defensive attitude or defensive awareness, he can never be considered qualified, not to mention that he is still stronger than him in terms of height, weight, and strength.

What's more, Brother Alphabet is not the strongest person on the Bucks, Kevin. What should Durant do?

The Kings are responsible for defending Durant by Cowley. Stan, a first-year rookie rookie, averaged 7 points and 5 rebounds per game this season.

Wang Xiao has a little impression of this player, and his highest average in the future is 12.8 points and 7 rebounds per game.

Crawley. Stan is better defensively than offensively, and as a 2.13-meter-tall centre-forward, he has quick feet, can switch guards in the face of pick-and-rolls, and is also excellent at protecting the frame.

In this Kings team, he's the blue-collar guy on the inside who does the dirty work.

Letting him defend Durant is the most appropriate arrangement the Kings can make, but it is still far from enough for Durant.

In nine years in the league, Durant has faced a variety of powerful defenders, and a first-year rookie, no matter how aggressive he is defensively, cannot pose a threat to him.

As soon as the game began, the Bucks' side took over the offensive initiative.

The defensive intensity of the Kings is difficult to limit the scoring of the Bucks, and Durant, Antetokounmpo and others continue to rely on their individual ability to score offensively.

And Harden, the ace of the Kings side, has encountered minor trouble.

Thompson and Harden are also old acquaintances, although Thompson only came to the Wizards after Harden was traded by Wang Xiao, but as a scoring guard over the years, he and Harden have not played once or twice.

Thompson had to admit that Harden was a very strong player, with a cunning style of play with all-round skills, and he couldn't prevent death one-on-one, so Thompson simply let go of the defensive distance, prevented breakouts and shots, and let Harden project on the outside.

Over the years, the three-point shot has become one of Harden's main scoring methods, but his three-point shooting percentage has been inconsistent, hovering around 35%.

In comparison, James averaged 36% three-point shooting per game in the regular season this season, while Oladipo, a veteran of the Bucks and an extremely inconsistent three-point player, also shot close to this value.

Of course, the number of three-point shots per game between Oladipo and Harden is very different and cannot be compared, but this also shows that Harden's three-point shooting efficiency is not very high, and it is completely worth trying.

Thompson clearly got it right.

Harden didn't feel very good today, hitting a few step-back three-point shots in a row, and using the quick counterattack after grabbing the rebound, the Bucks extended the margin to more than double digits in one fell swoop.

The Kings called a timeout and then reintroduced and began to adjust their tactics, and Cousins began to touch the ball more and more, apparently trying to get on the inside.

If there is any obvious shortcoming in the Bucks' Death Five, it can only mention the interior defense.

Jokic is absolutely first-class in terms of offense and organization, but the defense is a bit insufficient, he basically can't defend against blocking and pick-and-roll tactics when he moves slowly, but in one-on-one defense, relying on the advantage of height and weight, Jokic can basically prevent most centers in the league.

Of course, this does not include Cousins.

In today's era when the league's top centers are withering, there are not many centers in the NBA with excellent offense, and the vast majority of them are blue-collar centers like Jordan Jr., Whiteside, and Drummond.

There is only one center in the center position this season who can average 20+10 per game, and that is Marcus. Cousins.

When Cousins began to take over the ball on the inside and make a strong attack, the pressure on Jokic immediately doubled.

Wang Xiao noticed the situation, but did not take any action.

Jokic is a rare encounter with a strong opponent, and it is necessary for him to feel and experience, after all, there are still a few strong interior centers in the league in the future.

For example, Anthony, the thick-eyed brother. Davis, another example is Wang Xiao's disciple, Hao Peng, who has a David Robinson growth template card.

Of course, the main reason for the laissez-faire is that the Bucks occupy the initiative in the game.

Even if Cousins has the upper hand in the heads-up with Jokic, his scoring efficiency is nowhere near as good as that of Durant and Antetokounmpo.

As a center who can get an average of 20+10 data per game, Cousins' shooting rate is not qualified, hovering around 45% all year round, and his career shooting rate is only 46.1%, which can be regarded as qualified among outside players, but not among interior players.

At the end of the day, the reason why the Kings can stand out in the West is because of James. Harden instead of Cousins, in another time and place, when Cousins led the team alone, the Kings never even made the playoffs, and Cousins only made his first playoff appearance in his career after joining the dynasty in the 18-19 season.

……

In the first game, there was no suspense, even though Cousins cut down 27 points and 11 rebounds in front of Jokic, the Kings still lost the game 99-113.

Harden was underpinned by Thompson throughout the game, playing erratically in the first half and returning to normal in the second half as he gradually regained his senses, but by then it was too late.

Throughout the game, Harden hit 7 of 19 shots, including 2 of 7 three-pointers, 5 of 12 two-pointers, and 10 of 11 free throws, scoring 26 points and 6 assists.

It's hard to get that kind of statistic against Thompson's high-intensity defense, but as the heart and leader of the Kings, it's obviously not enough.

This also directly led to the Kings being behind throughout this game, and there was no situation at all to set off a counterattack to chase points.

Although it was only the first game of the series, this game alone has already made many people see the difference in strength between the two teams.

As expected, the Kings will have a hard time competing with the Bucks, and this year's championship will be in the Milwaukee Bucks' pocket!