Chapter 079: Thunder Momentum
After the away win over the Mavericks, the Knicks went on to win the game against the Nets, and the dismal opponent was so dismal that the Knicks couldn't bear to give it their all, and it only took three quarters for them to declare victory.
Of course, to New York's slight regret, the Knicks returned to the same old way in this game, the previous situation of the full outburst against the Mavericks was gone, and the Big Apple took over the game again, with 39 points, 4 assists and 8 rebounds, Li Chen defended the position of the leader in the scoring list as always.
Halfway through the game, the Big Apple is the only player in the league to average more than 35 points per game, and the highest among the others are Anthony and Durant, the former has successfully surpassed Durant's top spot with a recent 51 points against the Kings, and Melon is currently averaging 30.1 points per game, which is still a long way from the Big Apple's stats.
Russian City fans are not reconciled to Durant's overtaking, and after the Big Apple and Anthony have scored amazing high scores in a row, they can't wait to see Durant brush up on the next super stat, even if according to the grapevine, Durant and Westbrook have a dispute over ball ownership, but this does not prevent the people of Russia from expecting Adu.
What is surprising is that the Thunder's next opponent happens to be the Knicks, who have been in the limelight recently, and if Adu can score more individual points in the game than the Big Apple, then this will largely prove that Durant is no less powerful than Li Chen.
New Yorkers won't forget the defeat that the Thunder brought to the Knicks during Li Chen's suspension, in their opinion. It's a great chance for revenge, and Adu is a very talented young player, but compared to the Big Apple. He is still some distance away.
The game was held at the Ford Center Arena in Oklama City, the home of the Thunder, and after moving from Seattle, the Thunder's ball market was much better than ever, especially after the team selected the twin stars of Durant and Westbrook, and the people of the city fell in love with the team from the bottom of their hearts. Fans saw the glory of the city.
The '09 show was also a surprise, as the weird bearded Harden showed his talent shortly after joining the team, and his ability on the offensive end made him comfortable both as a starter and as a sixth man.
Although the addition of Tanhuaxiu has made the already difficult ball problem even more headache. But there's no denying that the Thunder are back in contention for the playoffs after a regroup, and so far, they're eighth in the West. They are just one win away from the seventh-place Jazz.
In a sense. The Knicks and Thunder are actually very similar, they are both teams that have undergone a restructuring and have risen rapidly, with a team dominated by young players and leaders who are also young talents in the league. The slight difference, though, is that the Thunder's regrouping took nearly three seasons, while New York took just one summer.
It has to be said that luck is a very important ingredient, and the good luck of the Knicks is enviable. The outbreak of the Big Apple even made the rest of the Knicks not need to play well to taste the taste of victory, which is such a domineering thing that the current Adu does not have.
As the leader of the team all the time. Durant hasn't been able to control the game yet, so he'll need help from the likes of Westbrook and Harden, while the Big Apple can be his lone hero as always.
In the face of the Knicks, the Thunder dare not underestimate anything, even if they cut a big win on each other's heads not long ago, but everyone knows that it was just an accident, just like the Lakers without Kobe Bryant or the Cavaliers without James, the Knicks without the Big Apple are not a complete team at all, and today, the well-armed New Yorkers are waiting for the opportunity to prove themselves.
Scott's lineup is enough to make any coach in the league salivate, because the current Thunder team is indeed young and terrifying, except for Collison at the big forward position, the rest of the starting lineup is full of players that the Thunder have gained in the past three years of drafting.
Although Ibaka was born in poor basketball soil in Africa, his background in a basketball family made him not as rough as other African players, and after being discovered by Spanish scouts, Ibaka received systematic basketball training in Spain, which laid a solid foundation for him to later join the NBA as a professional player.
Although he only finished with the No. 24 pick in the '08 draft, he has so far outperformed the value of this draft pick, and in terms of physical fitness alone, Ibaka's outstanding reach and athleticism are enough to make him an ace blocker.
It is worth mentioning that Ibaka's backcourt rebounding ability is slightly inferior to his frontcourt rebounding, because he often has to jump up to make up for the defense, which causes him to often ignore the protection of rebounds, and his mental immaturity is what he has been criticized for, even if this means that he still has a lot of room for improvement.
The Thunder's junior front is their core player Durant, and Adu, who is only 21 years old in '07, has shown maturity that is not in keeping with his age, and as a leader of a team, he is qualified in every way. The much-criticized emaciated body is getting stronger and stronger, and it's clear that his arms are getting thicker with each passing season.
Nowadays, Durant is rarely afraid of physical confrontation, he can often shoot or make layups when his body is out of balance, sometimes even dunked from a 7-foot gap, and the height and reach of the center give him an advantage at the small forward position, especially with his superhuman shooting accuracy, all of which make for a super scoring machine.
This season, Durant has shown his intention for the scoring title since the beginning of the season, and his continuous high scoring has allowed him to squeeze into the top of the league's scoring charts.
Facing veteran scoring machines Wade, James, Anthony, Kobe Bryant and others, Adu did not show the jerkiness of a novice, and his performance of nearly 30 points per game made him look so close to the honor of scoring champion.
Of course, everything was so abrupt and dreamy. Suddenly, one day, Adu learned that Li Chen had scored the highest single-game score so far this season, and the sudden outburst of the Big Apple inevitably caused him a little pressure. Even if it's just a little pressure, it still forces Adu to keep moving in a better direction.
In the eyes of the city's people, Adu's months of hard work suddenly came to naught, and the transformed Big Apple showed his unparalleled talent for scoring, and his constant 40+ allowed him to quickly leave his rivals far behind, and he was firmly in the lead when people debated whether he was a short-term outburst or a long-term normal state of affairs.
For the confrontation between the Thunder and the Knicks. Some fans who pursue individual basketball have expressed strong interest in this game, and although Anthony has temporarily surpassed Durant, that does not stop people from discussing the outcome of the battle between the Big Apple and Durant, a pair of leading scorers. Even to a certain extent, people ignore several other extremely good young players of the Thunder.
Westbrook was another gain for the Thunder in '08 in addition to Ibaka, and it is not impossible to say that he was the main gain, and his physical attributes made him perform vigorously, whether it was a layup or a dunk. Wei Shao can always easily attract people's attention. His iron-like body earned him the nickname Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
When it comes to Wei Shao, people can't ignore his amazing first step, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have the ability to make defenders break their ankles when they break through, even compared to a predecessor like Wade, Wei Shao's performance is not inferior in the slightest.
In the two games against the Heat this season, Westbrook averaged 22 points and 5 assists per game, and his extremely fast speed and super impact made Miami fans can't help but shout, another Flash was born. Of course. Wei Shao himself is not interested in this kind of argument, and he has a high opinion of himself, and it is unlikely that he will be willing to become the second of so-and-so.
But as a point guard. Wei Shao's passing still has to be practiced well, the super high turnover rate is a problem that he has never been able to get rid of, and the mid-range shooting and three-point shooting are also not stable enough, of course, for a 21-year-old player, the time left for him to improve is far enough, especially unlike the Bulls' Rose, he does not need to bear the pressure of a leader, he can grow more smoothly under the cover of Durant.
In the Thunder's division, Scott sent Harden today, and the performance of the Tanhua Show was stable and reassuring, although the bearded man is also a man who needs the ball, but compared to Westbrook, his overall view is simply more than a little bit better.
The positioning of the number two position does not prevent him from having an excellent passing hand, his strong body allows him to always move freely in and out of opponents' packs, and as a prong, the bearded shooter is also very good, and his status as a left-hander will always associate him with Chris Mullin.
In today's Thunder, Harden is more often playing the role of an off-ball runner, and in a few cases he will also use breakthroughs to tear apart the opponent's defense, I have to say that the Thunder hindered the play of the beard to a certain extent, and he needed a bigger stage, such as the later Rockets.
On the whole, the future of the Thunder is optimistic enough, and their present is not entangled, after a long period of reorganization, the young geniuses have carved out their own world in the Great Northwest.
Chandler lived up to expectations by beating Ibaka in the opening jumper, and the two looked like the same type of player, with the same slightly thin body, the same amazing explosiveness, the same high-quality defense, the same helpless attack, and the same fiery temper.
However, compared to Chandler, Ibaka's shooting is obviously much more reliable, but fortunately he does not have the ability to attack independently, otherwise the Thunder would never have selected a big man with unlimited potential just with a No. 24 pick.
Wei Shao held the ball to attack, he didn't plan to pass the ball to others, in the rookie who was opposite him, Wei Shao seemed to see the score beckoning to him, breaking through was never easier, Wei Shao's explosive power that didn't match his appearance made him easily squeeze Curry.
The disciple's choice of offense has always been a headache for Scott, such as this ball, Westbrook could have continued to break through and attract the defense and then split the ball, but in a hurry, he chose to make a stop-and-go jump shot, and the basketball smashed the basket without suspense.
Ibaka took the rebound, and after the jump ball, he once again taught the Knicks' interior a deep enough lesson, knowing that his teammates were not reliable in shooting percentage, he intuitively found his position, and before David Lee, Ibaka quickly grabbed an offensive rebound, and his performance did not end there.
Durant cut in from behind, Ibaka accurately sent the ball to his teammates, Adu did not hesitate at all after winning the ball, in David Lee, he did not see any quality that could stop him from scoring, jumped and fell quickly, and his long arms allowed him to easily dunk the ball into the basket through David Lee.
With a loud bang, like a thunderbolt, Durant staged an amazing slam dunk between the lightning and flint, and David Lee, as a supporting role, completely felt the taste of shame.
The fans at the Forin Center were all high-fived and celebrated, and the team's dismissal was very satisfying, and no one could have imagined that Adu would score the first point of the game in such a domineering way, including the Knicks.
"Day, I was shown off!" (To be continued......)