In the first half, Thomas didn't go to the outside to shoot at all, which was Karl's tactical arrangement. The emptiness of the 76ers inside is a well-known thing, since the four centers have aged, there are few strong interior lines left in the league, and there are Duncan, Garnett and O'Neal in the West, but there is basically no such talent in the East, just look at the comparison of the interior strength of the East and West during the All-Star Game, even a defensive center like Mutombo can be selected as the starter, so what is impossible?

However, in the second half, Thomas also did not plan to shoot from the outside, he has fallen in love with the feeling of hand-to-hand fighting on the inside, and Carl wants him to continue to score on the inside, and the outside is better left to Ray Allen. Although Thomas still has a lot of complaints about Karl's distrust of his outside shooting, he is still happy to continue to be the main firepower of the team.

Brown was also jealous of Thomas' play in the first half, so he wanted to be able to limit him somewhat, at least not to make his scoring look that simple. So in the second half, he unexpectedly put Hill on the field, and the main task was to defend, and he didn't believe that Thomas could continue to score points under the double of Mutombo and Hill.

Although there is a price to pay for this with reduced firepower from the outside, it is worth it as long as it can contain Thomas. Besides, Hill is not completely unable to score, his mid-range jumper is still a little accurate, and the second offense under the basket is also good, but in the task given to him by Brown, scoring is just the icing on the cake, and defense is the top priority.

But what Brown didn't expect was that neither Hill nor Mutombo could restrain Thomas. As early as the Villanova era, he developed the ability to play a high post, and although his current position is to lead the low post, he can still find the gap on the outside in time and pass the ball out, after all, the Bucks are in a 4-3 numerical advantage outside the basket.

No matter how much the 76ers defend, they always miss one, and Thomas always finds the one who is in the open spot. Although he no longer has room to score, his assists are flying, which has greatly revitalized the Bucks' offense. You must know that their routine before was Thomas inside singles, and the others could only be spectators.

Seeing that the Bucks' outside shooting was about to take off, Brown had no choice but to replace Hill with Lewis again, who came off the court with a frustrated face, believing that he had failed to defend Thomas. Brown patted him on the shoulder and smiled and said: "Teylon, don't worry too much, it's not your fault, Thomas is really strong, we can't guard against his passes." Instead of letting him ignite his teammates' touches, it is better to continue to let him score under the basket himself, so that at least it is better to defend. ”

Without Hill, Thomas was active again, and he couldn't help but be inactive, and after Lewis came on the court, the Bucks' defensive holes in the mid-range and outside the three-point line were filled, and Thomas's passing route to the outside was basically cut off, and he could only attack with the ball again. What's more, he still has enough stamina to perform a very physically demanding singles.

Seeing Thomas so brave, Bucks fans erupted in tsunami-like cheers every time he received the ball, and even some people began to shout "MVP" sporadically, which Thomas never enjoyed. With the encouragement of the fans, Thomas even used eighteen martial arts on the inside, and Mutombo suddenly felt a lot of pressure.

Fortunately, the 76ers' outside shooting was not affected in any way, and they maintained a high level of shooting percentage amid the wave of calls from the home fans, which did not allow the Bucks to tie the score. Still, the Bucks put a lot of pressure on the 76ers, with the margin hovering around five points and could be equalized at any moment.

This time it was Iverson who stepped up, but instead of shooting from the outside, he kept rushing to the basket in order to cause Thomas a personal foul. Thomas didn't put much effort on the defensive end in the first half, which also led to his only two individual fouls now, and in Iverson's opinion, it would be great if Thomas could be taken off the court. Even if you can't get him out of the game with a full foul, it would be nice to let him play on both ends of the floor.

Because Carl insisted on using a lineup of one big and four small, Thomas was the last barrier under the Bucks' basket, and Iverson's breakthrough caused him a lot of trouble. Although Thomas defended well, he was fouled twice in three minutes and had to go off the court in the face of the deliberate targeting of a top breakaway player like Iverson. As a player with four fouls, staying on the court is undoubtedly leaving a hole for the opponent to target.

In the remaining five minutes of the third quarter, the Bucks were opened up by the 76ers without Thomas, and Carl knew that replacing Thomas would bring a big difference to the team's offense, but in order to ensure that he could continue to stay on the court in the decisive moment, Carl had to suppress his inner power and press Thomas to the bench.

Less than 2 minutes into the fourth quarter, Karl quickly replaced Thomas on the court, and if he didn't play, the difference between the two sides would have stretched to more than 15 points. It's a pity that no matter how brave Thomas is, he can't help the team win the game, and the three-point shot that the 76ers focus on is an extra point bonus after all, and there is no advantage in the basket offense when the shooting percentage is about the same.

Although the Bucks eventually lost the game and the score became 1-3, Thomas showed his strength, slashing a big double-double of 32 points and 22 rebounds throughout the game, while also dishing out 7 assists and 2 blocks, and it can be said that he played very well on both offensive and defensive ends. While he hasn't played outside the three-point line, his stats and shooting percentage have proven that he can be called one of the top power forwards in the East and even the league.

However, Thomas still regretted that he couldn't help his team win, and in his opinion, as long as he didn't win the game, there was nothing to be excited about with a big double-double. After the game, he even just nodded with Chang Wei and left the player tunnel, looking at his distant back, Chang Wei smiled, Thomas is just limited by the overall strength of the team, although the Bucks are indeed the strongest side in the East now, but they have not been able to give full play to his strength.

Although the team lost, he won personally, and if he continues to maintain this level, then the next contract may still be a maximum salary, you must know that there are not many such interior players in the league.