Chapter Ninety-Seven: Home and Away Encounters with Thunder
The huge difference of 20 points was erased, which was a huge blow to the opponent's mentality, and at the same time, for the players of this team, the morale boost was also immeasurable, everyone became extremely excited, and everyone was still full of energy in the fourth quarter of the game.
This kind of powerful encouragement makes the Kings more and more courageous, every successful offense and defense, will make the Kings players on the bench excitedly wave towels and shout, on the other hand, the Clippers, the collapse of mentality and the fact that it is only the regular season, the Clippers do not have the determination to fight to the death, and soon showed a rout, and finally the Kings won the Clippers at the Staples Center Arena in one fell swoop, achieving a super reversal.
The first contributor to this reversal was Omi. Cosby, but all the teammates of the Kings played their part in it, and the Kings scored double-doubles in 7 players in the whole game, and everyone contributed their strength in the reversal of the back, and this game also showed everyone the resilience of the Kings!
The time in Los Angeles was undoubtedly a joy for the Kings, with consecutive victories over two Los Angeles teams, a super comeback, and a wave of six straight wins!
Next, the team will travel to Oklahoma for the final game of the three-game road trip against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and after this three-game road streak, the Kings will still face the Oklahoma City Thunder when they return to their home court.
The Thunder, who entered the playoffs last season with a fourth-place record in the West, fought until the Western Conference Finals, although they lost to the Dallas Mavericks, who eventually won the championship, but this playoff trip is enough to prove that the Thunder are strong now, and their super individual potential is gradually being realized into a performance of strength on the court.
Team leader Kevin. Durant had an MVP-caliber performance last season, and after being a two-time scoring champion, he finished fifth in the MVP poll last season, and now at the age of 24, he is definitely the league's top superstar.
Team 2 Leader Russell. Westbrook, who was named to the All-Star and All-Round Second Team last season, began to rise to the superstar level in his third season, and his physical prowess and confidence are the hallmarks of his invincibility on the court.
James, who entered the NBA in the same year as Tyrek, was the 09th class of the Warriors. Harden has only started five games in two seasons, but his talent is already known to the world, and he has all the potential to be an all-round super scorer, and he will have more opportunities in the Thunder's youth team this season, and he will surely grow into a top star in the future.
Sergi and Ibaka are not as dazzling as Durant, last season was his second season in the league, and he averaged 2.41 blocks per game in 27 minutes per game, and was an important force on the Thunder's interior line, and he was already a top interior defender at a young age.
Four young stars with both strength and potential, growing steadily one step at a time, the Thunder team that has entered the Western Conference Finals last season has only one goal this season, which is to aim for the championship!
Prior to this game against the Kings, the Thunder had played 7 games, and their 5-2 record can also show their strength, and currently except for the undefeated Sacramento Kings, the best record in the West is the Thunder.
However, looking at this league, the top two Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat in the East are both 6-1, and now only the Kings are still winning in the entire league, and the Kings are not afraid of the powerful Thunder.
The match between the two teams kicked off at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Butler returned to the starting line-up after coming off the bench in the last game, and while he didn't stand out in any way, his aggressive defensive attributes made it difficult for Westphall to let go. In the first seven games of his rookie season, Jimmy got a chance to play in every game and got a starting spot three times, which is more than enough for his 27th place in the first round and compared to the likes of Farid who joined the team at the same time as him.
After a wave of 6 consecutive wins, the Kings' main starting lineup is basically determined. Butler, Cuarón. Butler, West, Cousins, to attack and attack, to defend and defend, there are star cornerstones, and there are veterans to press the formation, although it cannot be said to be a first-class team, but no matter who you meet, you dare to break your wrists! At the same time, as young people such as Tyrek grow up, everyone believes that this Kings team will reach even greater heights!
The Thunder unsurprisingly posed Russell. Westbrook, Saab. Seflosha, Kevin. Durant, Serge. Ibaka, Kendrick. Perkins started this iron set.
The backcourt configuration of the two teams is extremely similar, with a young star point guard with scoring ability and an outside defender, except that Seflosha has a more consistent three-point shot than Jimmy. Compared with the strength of the No. 3 position, the MVP-level Durant is naturally Caron in the late stage of his career. Butler, however, in terms of the interior line, West and Cousins, the offensive and defensive interior combination, still greatly surpasses the Ibaka and Perkins pair of defensive interior in terms of comprehensive strength.
With the league's top superstar like Durant, plus James on the bench. A super sixth man like Harden, the Thunder's book strength is still stable over the Kings.
However, the game is not a game that can be won by anyone with strong book strength, and the Kings entered the groove early at the Chesapeake Energy Arena with the aftermath of a six-game winning streak, and Cousins, who was fouled out in the last game, took the lead. With the resentment of the last game, facing the meat shield center Perkins, Cousins used his soft touch to create damage from a long distance, Perkins is big enough and has a good defensive attitude, but his movement is too poor, and it is too difficult for Cousins to use a single defense to have long-range offensive ability. At the same time, once his interior partner Serge Ibaka comes up to help defend and gives West any gap, he will use his signature mid-range mid-range to smear the Thunder!
At the same time, Durant, the top scorer of the Thunder, also encountered targeted defensive treatment by the Kings, Jimmy and Culon, and the two Butlers of the Kings took turns marking Durant. Today's Caron. Butler is no longer the All-Star he used to be as he gets older and the cause of his injuries, what he has is a stable projection and tough defense, he only needs to be a fixed-point shooter on the offensive end, and he can carry explosives to make kills to Tyreck, and he focuses more on the defensive end. And Jimmy. Butler can only play the starting line because he can do one thing well, defense! Defend! Or defense!
The two Butlers take turns consuming Durant, and no matter how strong Durant's individual ability is, he will eventually feel the pressure......