After coming back in the second quarter, after the bench period, Tang Tian adjusted the lineup in a targeted manner, replacing Brown with Dior, increasing the flexibility on the court, and Westbrook, who performed poorly, was also replaced by Harden in the second quarter.

Ibaka's muscle-building effect is obvious, and Bogut is not an offensive interior lineman, he guards the basket alone.

And the interior line formed by him and Dio did not suffer very much in the position after the change of defense, and the Warriors' offense was quickly suppressed.

Durant continued to maintain ferocious firepower on the offensive end, and the Warriors had no one to stop him.

The Thunder beat the Warriors 30-12 in the second quarter and completely turned the momentum back.

108-87, with Durant's season-high performance of 37 points, the Thunder finally defeated the Warriors on the road and won the 13th victory of the season.

In addition to Durant, Harden played 37 minutes off the bench, scoring a second-high 22 points and 6 assists, and his performance was also quite eye-catching.

Ibaka's outstanding performance of 10 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks shows that he is ready to meet the challenge of the center position.

It's just that Westbrook was a little inapplicable in the first game of the change of play, playing 25 minutes, scoring only 12 points and 3 assists on 4-of-15 shooting, as well as as as 4 turnovers.

Such a performance naturally can't escape the questioning of reporters after the game.

"Westbrook's playing time in this game is a season-low game, does that mean Harden will replace him as the team's new starter?"

"The combination of Kidd and Harden is significantly better, will Westbrook play better with the second team?"

"Westbrook's role is clearly not good for Westbrook from holding the ball to playing without the ball, is the team ready to trade him away?"

……

'I've said it a million times that Russell is one of the core of the team and we're trying to find a new place in the team and it's going to take a process, but the coaching staff's confidence in him will never change. Tang Tian didn't answer much.

After the press conference, Tang Tian and Stevens left the venue and prepared to return to the hotel.

"Don, isn't this a little unfair to Russell and make him change the style of play that he has insisted on for so many years?" Listening to the media's questioning, Stevens couldn't help but speak.

"There will be labor pains to change, but if you don't change, this labor pain will be even greater, and I believe he can do it." Tang Tian said affirmatively.

After listening to Westbrook's past stories, he has a lot of faith in Westbrook.

Stevens originally wanted to say whether he wanted to try to let Westbrook lead the second team, but seeing Tang Tian's confident expression, he didn't speak again.

The two men crossed the aisle and prepared to leave the arena.

But just then, they heard a muffled noise coming from the other side of the playing field.

Generally, after the end of the game, the site needs to be cleaned up, and the subsequent floor dismantling and other work, this process will last one or two hours.

But at this time, it is strange to have the sound of playing, after all, the players have long since left, and the staff is generally not allowed to play there on match days.

The two of them walked out from the passage on the second floor, and when they went out, they happened to be in the audience seat on the second floor.

At this moment, they saw a figure on the court running along the three-point line to train for three points.

A slightly stiff posture, a jersey that looked like it had been soaked in water, and a face covered with sweat.

It turned out to be Westbrook.

He didn't look like he was back in the dressing room with his team-mates after the game, but instead started training straight away from home.

Stevens picked up his watch at this time and looked at it, it had been an hour and a half from the end of the game to the end of the press conference, and it seemed that Westbrook had been practicing here for an hour and a half.

Tang Tian saw this, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"I believe it now, too." Stevens put down his hand and turned to Tang Tian and said.

The Thunder's game continues, and their performance is not much different from before.

Westbrook's progress and adaptability have been much slower than expected, and his three-point range remains shaky.

The outside world's evaluation of him is getting worse and worse.

"Look at Westbrook off the ball! He became unable to play, and that stiff three-point watch was disgusting! ”

"He's a third-rate point guard right now, and the Thunder didn't trade him for the worst decision!"

"It turns out that Elvin Johnson and Oscar Robertson are incompatible, and Tang Tian's decision is really a failure!"

……

However, no matter what the outside world says, the positioning of Westbrook by the Thunder coaching staff has not changed, and even his playing time is going back little by little.

Tang Tian knew very well that change was a gradual accumulation process, and Westbrook's talent determined that he would not change too quickly, but continuous accumulation would definitely explode at some point.

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, it has come to Christmas in the new year.

The next day of the Thunder team, Tang Tian gave the players a day off and asked them to go back to celebrate the holiday with their families early.

Tang Tian did not spend Christmas in Russia this time, but went back to Cleveland with Hathaway and Swift.

The statues outside the Quick Loan Arena were finally finished, and there was a ribbon-cutting ceremony before Christmas, so Tang Tian naturally had to go to the scene on such a day.

Therefore, they spent Christmas directly in Cleveland this time.

The Cavaliers currently have the same record as the Heat, as they have the second-highest head-to-head record in the East.

While supporting the team, the fans also have more respect for Tang Tian, after all, the team of this team is all built by Tang Tian.

Because of this, on the day of the ribbon-cutting ceremony, many fans came to the scene.

The cutting ceremony was a success, and there was an endless stream of fans who came to take pictures of the statue.

On the 6th Christmas after the crossing in Cleveland, Hathaway and Swift were still in Cleveland, and Tang Tian had already taken the flight back to Oklahoma City the next morning.

The Thunder's Christmas game is at home, and their opponent is the Miami Heat.

The Heat now have 2 fewer wins than the Thunder, but that's more because of the run-in at the beginning of the season, with the run-in complete, they just played a wave of the league's longest 10-game winning streak, and they are naturally bound to win a key game like the Christmas game.

The clash between the two championship favorites naturally attracted the attention of all fans in the league.

And in addition to the two teams themselves, the re-encounter between James and Tang Tian is also the focus of everyone's attention.

James returned to the Heat, and revenge on the knight was originally the best script, but Tang Tian's journey to the west changed the object, and now the object he needs revenge naturally becomes thunder.