Last year, the Thunder's name was still the Oklahoma Twins, and this year, the slogan shouted by the Thunder is "three less".

James Harden, a sophomore, is averaging 12.2 points, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game this season, becoming the most consistent firepower output point on the Thunder's bench.

And the Thunder's record has also improved significantly, especially after the trade of Perkins, the Thunder's structure is more reasonable, the interior is obviously stronger, and the overall strength of the team has also been further improved.

The Thunder are the well-deserved overlords of the Northwest Division.

Although the Kings are only fifth in the West this year, the Kings were champions last year, and beating the Kings is of great significance to the whole of Oklahoma.

Of course, it's different, because this is the second year in a row that the Thunder have met the Kings in the playoffs.

In last year's playoffs, the Thunder ranked seventh in the West, and finally in the playoffs, the Kings swept the Thunder 4-0, which taught them a vivid lesson and left an indelible impression on Durant's first playoff journey.

It can be said that this is a battle of revenge, and God has given Oklahoma a chance to take revenge with one arrow.

"We've improved, we'll never forget last year's bad game, and this year, we're going to give it our all and beat the Kings." Young leader Kevin Durant said in an interview that he has been waiting for this day for a long time, and the last game, completely without shadows, beat the Kings, just this year.

Although the Thunder team is ranked ahead of the Kings, it is because of the league rules that the top spot in the division cannot be lower than the top four, according to the record, the Kings have two more wins than the Thunder, so the first and second games of the two teams in the playoffs will be held in Sacramento, and the Kings will still have home court advantage.

The three young people came to Sacramento, which is also a small city and a small ball city, and the basketball atmosphere is extremely strong.

As the playoffs approached, the city was filled with a joyful and festive atmosphere, with Kings slogans and huge posters everywhere.

In the middle of the city, bustling shopping malls are rolling advertisements for the Kings playoffs, calling on citizens to cheer for the Kings.

In the Arco Arena, the Kings who won the championship last season appeared in the passageway, Wang Mingming held the championship trophy and other photos to form a photo wall, and the championship flag of the Kings team fluttered above the court.

As night fell, citizens flocked to the Kings' Arco Arena.

Oklahoma's young people have come to the scene to warm up, and after another year, they have become more mature and have no nervous looks on their faces.

The flames were blazing, and the passionate DJ sound resounded throughout the stadium.

TNT's famous female streamer Kristen Ledlow did not sit in the studio today, but came to the scene, where Ledlow interviewed some random citizens, most of whom were Kings players, and there were a few die-hard Thunder fans here and there.

"Yes, we came here from Oklahoma, we are Thunder fans, and the Thunder will win!"

The small group roared angrily, their faces painted with oil paint, and they were not in the slightest bit intimidated by the nearby Kings fans.

Internally, Wang Ming made the final tactical arrangements, and then asked the players to prepare for the game, and he got together with a few assistant coaches to discuss some things.

A few minutes later, the referee arrived inside the stadium.

"The two teams have met three times this season, with the Kings holding a 2-1 advantage, and counting the four games in last year's playoffs, the Kings have won six of the last seven games against the Thunder, which is almost overwhelming."

The host of the studio gave a brief explanation of the background of the two teams.

The referee stands in the center circle with the ball in his hand, and the starters of both sides stay on the field, and the start time of the game enters the countdown stage.

Basketball tossed.

Chandler and Ibaka are two monsters that leap at the same time, Chandler has the advantage in height, and Ibaka is a well-known bouncing expert in the league, and the two touch the basketball almost at the same time.

Chandler had a slight advantage and turned the ball back to the king's half.

Kidd took it with one hand, exchanged a crotch to the left hand, stretched out his right hand and began to command, and the game officially began!

Kings starters: Jason Kidd, DeMar DeRozan, Nicholas Batum, Al Jefferson and Tyson Chandler.

Thunder starters: Russell Westbrook, Saab Seforosa, Kevin Durant, Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins.

Saflosa was a championship member of the 76ers that year and spent four seasons on his rookie contract with the 76ers.

In the summer of '10, Saflotsa and the 76ers signed a five-year, $34 million contract extension, which can be regarded as a middle-class contract.

As a result, I didn't expect that the 76ers changed dramatically this season, Iverson lost his competitiveness, the team fell out of the top eight in the East, and the 76ers couldn't see the superstar appearance of Iguodala, and suddenly moved the idea of rebuilding.

So in the middle of the season, before the All-Star break, the 76ers, Celtics and Thunder made a three-way trade, and the Thunder sent their draft picks and Jeff Green to get Saflotsa and Perkins of the Celtics.

The return of Saflosa and Perkins is the reason why the Thunder have been able to stay among the top teams in the West on their off-duty schedules.

Saphorosa was also excited when he saw the young marshal of the year again, and talked a lot with Wang Ming before the game.

Including this time, he went all out to target the Kings' top scorer from the outside, a young sophomore, DeMar DeRozan.

Last year, the Thunder didn't have Saflosa on the lineup, and this year, DeRozan really felt the defensive pressure at a championship level.

"This guy ......." DeRozan secretly exerted his strength, quietly squeezed out a little space, turned around and ran.

After receiving Kidd's pass, as soon as he turned around, Saflotsa had already appeared in front of him like a shadow.

Saflosa doesn't steal either, and he doesn't have any aggressiveness, but he always follows DeRozan like his shadow.

This made DeRozan a little uncomfortable, and the triple threat took a step forward and leaned over to break through.

Safloza defended very well, and his big hand always covered DeRozan's face, and DeRozan threw the ball out with feeling.

The basketball slammed into the hoop with a bang and bounced.

Under the basket, four strong men were huddled in a heap.

The Thunder are also considered to have strong men, but the Kings' two interior players are more obsessed with rebounding, and with a light turn, Al Jefferson is in a good position.

"Mine!"

Ibaka jumped up from behind, beat Jefferson, and picked up the basketball with his right hand.

The basketball pulled back, and No. 35 rushed in, intercepted in the air with a long arm, and grabbed the backcourt rebound.

"The coach is right, the Kings will force the frontcourt to rebound." Kevin Durant's eyes flashed, and head coach Brooks' pre-game arrangement sounded in his mind, and he couldn't help but admire the head coach, this year's Thunder team has a good record, a good lineup, good player condition, and a good coach, there is no reason why he can't beat the Kings.