In June of this year, Oklahoma City suddenly became crowded. Although summer is the peak tourist season, this situation was completely impossible to see in the past.

After all, this is not Los Angeles, and it's not a popular tourist destination like the "City of Angels."

It's not Boston, either, and it doesn't have as much of a strong historical heritage to attract visitors.

This is Oklahoma, a small city of just 540,000 that will most likely never be on your bucket list. For comparison, Los Angeles has almost 8 times the population of Oklahoma!

However, all this has changed because of the arrival of the NBA Finals. The battle of the finals has brought fanatical fans from all over the world to this once-little-known town.

Looking at the heated atmosphere of the Finals and the Oklahoma City, which has become crowded because of the Thunder, Scott. Brooks was still quite proud in his heart. Arguably, the Thunder even changed the earnings of the city of Oklahoma. During the finals, restaurants outside the Chesapeake Energy Arena were still full every day, even if the price tripled.

However, Scott. Brooks is not an ambassador for Oklahoma City. He's just a head coach, the head coach of the Thunder. So what he really cares about is not Oklahoma City's gains, but the Thunder's results!

The Thunder and their young junior returned to Oklahoma with a 1-1 aggregate score, and after losing Game 1 to the Pacers, the Thunder immediately pulled one back in Game 2.

In the second game, Durant once again showed his super talent for scoring, and this time, Brooks did not let Durant fight like crazy for another 46 minutes, but controlled Durant's playing time to 39 minutes. It also allowed Durant to hit two key shots in the final minute to help the Thunder win by five points.

With the same efficiency, why did Durant's high scoring in the first game go down to an empty cut, but the second game helped the team win?

There are three reasons for this.

First, Durant's scoring momentum was not interrupted as abruptly as it was before.

Second, after continuing his 11-of-11 shooting against the Spurs, Sergi was 11-of-11. Serge Ibaka scored 20 points with a sudden threat, which undoubtedly disrupted Henson's plans.

Third, and most importantly, Westbrook was extremely efficient in Game 2, scoring 25 points on 63 percent shooting. Henson can guarantee that Westbrook's entire career may not be able to play a few games like this.

Together, these three points allowed the young Thunder to escape death from the Consec Arena. For Brooks now, the initiative in the series is back in his hands!

There is now two pieces of good news for the Thunder. The first piece of good news is that Chris. Paul sprained his ankle in the second quarter yesterday and hasn't played since, which is why Westbrook has been so effective. And there are reports that Paul is likely to miss the next two games. There is no doubt that this is a welcome blow to Brooks!

The second piece of good news is that the Thunder are finally back at home, and three in a row!

Although the 2-3-2 format of the finals has been complained about for many years, the league still has not implemented the modification. Playing three home games in a row in a series is enough to change the course of the entire series. The team with the home advantage has become the underdog. Because most of these teams can't survive the torment of three consecutive away games.

With a 1-1 score back in Oklahoma to play three consecutive home games, Paul may still be absent, and Brooks has already begun to fantasize about lifting the O'Brien Cup at home!

Meanwhile, at a training base in Oklahoma, Henson didn't daydream like Brooks. He was in front of the team doctor, looking incredulously at the report handed to him.

"Recovery so fast?" Henson asked again, and he couldn't believe Paul was healed!

"I don't think it's reasonable, Henson. But that's just the way it is, and if you need it, Paul will be available for the next game. The team doctor shrugged his shoulders, the rumors circulating outside were not unfounded. Because when the team doctor gave Paul a preliminary assessment two days ago, Paul's injury was indeed not optimistic, and he had to miss at least one game.

Therefore, the two absences from the outside world are actually very reliable.

But after a re-examination today, the team doctor found that Paul had completely recovered. The speed of recovery was a day faster than he expected!

"I said, I feel good. So sir, I'll be able to play in the next game. "Paul is naturally very excited, a chance to win the championship is in front of him, and if he can't take it because of an injury, it will be too devastating.

"Hmm......" Henson looked at the report and nodded thoughtfully. He knew that it was the badges he had equipped that made Paul's recovery faster. But only Henson knows about this matter.

He didn't want everyone to know that Paul was okay, especially Brooks. Brooks is a coach who lacks on-court scheduling ability, and he is good at making plans before the game, and as for whether the Thunder can go as planned, this is beyond Brooks' ability.

So what if I could have made Brooks' plan go wrong from the start? Henson smiled, Oklahoma's three consecutive away games may not be as terrible as people think.

※※※

June 17, the third game day of the 2011-2012 NBA Finals. This afternoon, under the scorching sun, a crowd of fans gathered outside the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Thunder fans make up the majority, but there are also plenty of Pacers fans from Indianapolis, as well as neutral fans from elsewhere who are just watching the fun.

News trucks from a variety of countries and television stations filled the road outside the Chesapeake Energy Arena, and fans cheered at the cameras, spreading the excitement of the Finals to every corner of the planet that loves basketball.

To paraphrase a local Oklahoma reporter: "I've never seen Oklahoma so lively!" ”

At the same time, at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, reporters have begun to do their routine pre-match interviews. Several reporters stopped Henson in the tunnel and they all wanted to know that Chris Henson. How many games will Paul miss at all?

"I can't tell," Henson frowned, looking very solemn, "Chris's injury is not optimistic, he was only able to do some simple recovery training yesterday. I don't know when he'll be back in action, but I'm sure we're going to lose him today. ”

The reporters were in an uproar, and Henson's serious appearance didn't look like a joke! If Paul can't play, then Westbrook will be completely liberated. Look at how efficiently Westbrook played without Paul in the last game to see how much of an advantage the Thunder had.

And it's not just Westbrook, who, once they rush up, is bound to attract help defense. When the time comes, Sergi. Ibaka will also get a lot of chances to shoot as easily as he did in the previous game!

Because of various team building reasons, the Thunder's interior line is more about taking on defensive tasks and lacking offense. Even when Ibaka shot 11-of-11 against the Spurs, it was short-lived. So far in the playoffs, Ibaka's average points per game have not broken double digits. Perkins? Not to mention, Perkins has never been an interior player known for his scoring.

But if Paul is injured and Westbrook attracts the help defense, then Brooks could undoubtedly put on some of Ibaka's scoring duties. One more scoring point, and the Thunder's chances of winning will be even greater!

Paul's absence can be said to affect the whole body!

"So Coach Henson, do you think the Pacers will be able to safely get through the three road trips in Oklahoma?" The reporter continued to ask.

"I don't want to answer that question!" Henson pulled his face, looked a little angry, and turned away directly.

The reporters read a message from Henson's face - this "madman" has no self-confidence!

So before the game started, rumors about Paul's serious injury and the Pacers were in a quagmire immediately spread. Henson has to admire the strong timeliness of news in the Internet era, and in just ten minutes, he can let what he has just said burst into the ears of every fan.

Of course, Henson believes that the news must have reached Scott. Brooks' ears.

Two hours later, at 8 p.m. local time, the third match between the two sides officially kicked off. Before the start of the game, the live camera was given to Chris. Paul.

At this time, the Pacers' leading point guard was sitting next to Henson in a training uniform, and he just made a few random baskets when he was warming up. It looks like he really can't play.

When Perkins tossed the ball from Horford to Westbrook, Scott. Brooks suddenly had a feeling that he was winning!

And Henson. Joe, too, has officially begun to execute his winning plan......