The Lakers' opponent in the Western Conference Finals was the Thunder, who swept the Spurs without Paul 4-0 in the Western Conference semifinals and successfully reached the Western Conference Finals. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Westbrook's career exploded this season, replacing Durant in the Thunder's dominant position, and although the two are still friendly on the surface, according to insiders, the two have become close to each other. If the Thunder can't win a championship in this year's playoffs, Durant will have a good chance of leaving.

In fact, Dewey's inability to get along with each other is not entirely Wei Shao's fault.

You know, to survive in this alliance, you can only maintain your position if you keep getting stronger. As a young man, Wei Shao has always worked very hard, and he has been improving his personal standard for two consecutive seasons. In this way, he has become one of the best players in the league, and many people even consider him to be the second best player in the league after James.

And what about Durant, on the other hand? Although he has been the league's best scorer since a few years ago, Durant has not improved for several years in a row, but has regressed a little. Therefore, being replaced by Wei Shao in the team is also a big reason for him.

Now, Westbrook and Durant have not torn their faces for the common goal of winning the championship. However, now that we meet the Lakers, the voices supporting the Thunder's promotion are not very dense.

"Without Kobe, the probability of both teams advancing should be 5:5.

But if Kobe Bryant can come back during the period, the probability of the Lakers advancing is definitely higher than that of the Thunder. ”

This is the most frequent opinion from the outside world, that is, in the eyes of most people, the strength of the Lakers' team is stronger than the Thunder team with only Dewey and two less. However, as far as the current situation is concerned, the Lakers do not have an absolute advantage, after all, Kobe's comeback is still far away.

For the Lakers, the issue of the No. 1 position will become a big problem. And many people feel that if Chu Xuan doesn't have any good ideas, Westbrook will play a very amazing performance in this round of the series, and he will undoubtedly become a key figure in whether the Thunder team can advance.

After all, Kobe Bryant is not there, and Wei Shao is in full swing, which will be an opportunity for the Thunder.

A lot of people are excited to see what this series will look like, but will the Lakers be able to make it to the Finals?

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On the evening of May 17, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the first game of the series was held as scheduled.

The Thunder team is aggressive, and although the game has not yet started, people can already feel the strong self-confidence emanating from the Thunder players. It seems that playing a young team like the Thunder is definitely not particularly easy for the Lakers.

On the big screen, the starting candidates arranged by the two sides today are being introduced.

On the Lakers' side, Antetokounmpo, LaVine, Noll, Gasol and Whiteside.

On the Thunder's side, it is Westbrook, Lamb, Durant, Perry Jones, and Ibaka.

The Thunder are definitely the most magical team in the league. Because since 07, the Thunder has been selecting the most potential rookie for many years in a row, and the Thunder has successfully risen to become the youngest and most talented team in the league. As it turns out, the Thunder are always able to develop rookies who become star players. However, the Thunder have not been able to keep everyone, so the Thunder have not been able to successfully experience the feeling of winning the championship.

And this season, the Thunder still haven't changed much. Outside of Dewey's two youngsters, Lamb and Ibaka are still consistent starters, while the other starter is unstable. Also changed many times...... And in this year's playoffs, Brooks has been using Perry Jones.

Perry Jones was a very well-known player in high school and college, when Jones was called the next Maddy, and when he entered the draft after college, the template was Kevin Durant. Jones, however, was only 28th in the overall pick, and the reason for that was that he didn't improve much in his sophomore season compared to his freshman year. And he also has some injury risks. At that time in the draft, Jones was a very special player. A lot of teams are afraid to pick him, but at the same time they're afraid to miss him. It was such a conflicting player who ended up joining the Thunder with a very low pick.

Many believe that Jones should take the opportunity to learn from Durant, so as to quickly realize his talent and establish himself in the league. However, in the first season of his career, Jones was completely unable to show his offensive ability. He's more often used by Brooks as a projection power forward who can open up space.

It was only in the second season that Jones slowly found his senses, he continued to draw nutrients from this league, and thus improved quite quickly, he was the main backup forward for the Thunder, and he still got plenty of playing time. And when Durant wasn't there, Jones even served as a starter.

This season, Jones has finally had a new lease of life, and while it turns out that he can't live up to his talent of being Maddy and being Durant, he has found his way to play. Jones gained weight, and he made a complete transition to a No. 4 position, playing in the style of a power forward that relied on shooting ability. Jones played as a starting power forward this season, averaging 9.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. He shot 41.7 percent from three-point range. When Jones is on the floor, he can make Westbrook's breakthrough much easier. Therefore, coach Brooks has also maintained his trust and importance in him.

Jones is a very special player in the Thunder lineup, and he has also successfully appeared in Chu Xuan's consideration, because Jones has every chance of becoming the X-factor.

Therefore, Chu Xuan will not ignore him, because if the Lakers want to win, he can't completely focus on Durant and Westbrook.

"The game started and the players on both sides were already jumping the ball. Jumping balls on both sides, Hassan Whiteside and Sergi Ibaka...... It was the Lakers who got the ball......"

There was a fierce shouting from the audience, and the home players began to cheer.

Everybody was standing up to watch the game, which is a phenomenon that is common to many teams where the fans sit down to watch the first goal after the home team has scored the first goal.

The Lakers' first ball, Antetokounmpo held the ball, with the advantage of height, Antetokounmpo completely ignored Westbrook in front of him, directly a high lob ball, and easily gave the ball to Whiteside.

And Whiteside took the ball, and the other four Lakers players immediately pulled outside the three-point line, and the Thunder's defense immediately expanded. After all, all four Lakers players have strong shooting ability, and the Thunder will not give them a chance to shoot.

Only Whiteside and Serge Ibaka were left in the box, and Whiteside didn't hesitate at all, although his back-to-back technique was very rough. However, this shot was strong against Ibaka, and Whiteside still managed to throw the ball into the basket with the advantage of height and arm length.

"2:0, the Lakers scored their first goal!" (To be continued.) )