Chapter 096: A Trip to Miami
In the NBA league, many teams have not been able to improve their performance, and a large part of the reason is that they are numb when they lose, and they will be rotten after numbness, and there will be no winning culture in the locker room.
Rookies coming to a team like this will have a hard time playing in the first few years because it takes a process to rebuild.
During the intermission, Jordan Jr. on the Clippers bench looked at several veterans of the team who were still calm, and joked from time to time, and his heart suddenly felt bad.
"DeAndrew, you go on the court first in the second quarter, pay attention to protect the rebounding ball in the backcourt, don't foul easily!"
The elder Dunleavy looked around the bench, and finally sighed helplessly, still choosing last year's 2-round rookie DeAndre Jordan, a child who trains actively, deserves more playing time.
Little Jordan was stunned for a moment, then got up directly and quickly took off his coat, "I'm ready, coach!" ”
Old Dunleavy didn't say anything, and patted little Jordan on the shoulder.
Early in the second quarter, the Clippers partnered the backcourt with Karim Rush and Sebastian Telfair, with Craig Smith and Marcus Camby at the front and Jordan Jr. at center.
Marcus Camby was slow to move laterally, Dunleavy Sr. was a dead horse doctor, and he sent in Jordan Jr., who is very athletic, and he hopes that the two can complement each other and withstand the onslaught of the Thunder.
The Thunder made a regular rotation, with Li Ze and Sofrosa partnering in the backcourt, and Etang Thomas, Ibaka, and Nick Collison also rotated normally.
"The Clippers have brought in Rookie center DeAndre Jordan, which they drafted last year, is this a surprise for head coach Dunleavy?"
At the beginning of the second quarter, the home commentator Tewyn noticed the new face of the Clippers, and quickly flipped through the information to introduce the players.
Sebastian Telfil saw Li Ze coming to defend himself after dribbling through the half, and his scalp suddenly tingled, isn't this bullying?
The 191cm Westbrook defended him enough, Li Ze looked 2 meters, and Sebastian Telfil was only 183cm, which directly made others numb.
After all, he is not Paul, and his physical fitness is not so good that it explodes, and when he encounters a talented type of player, he will basically be deflated.
Li Ze stuck to Sebastian Telfil after he came on the court, and he likes to defend this kind of physical talent, short little guard.
Keeping up with the footsteps and covering the opponent with his body, coupled with the bonus of the silver badge [Marking Master], from time to time he harassed and cut the ball, and it was difficult for Sebastian Telfil to defend the ball.
After protecting the ball, he hurriedly made an offensive gesture, and Little Jordan immediately went up to block and dismantle, but unfortunately the quality of this block and dismantling was too poor, and Li Ze easily squeezed through.
Sebastian Telfil was just a little relaxed after the pick-and-roll, when he suddenly noticed a hand on the ball.
"Smack..."
Li Ze squeezed through the block and cut off the ball in the opponent's hand directly, and after stealing the ball, he directly dribbled and accelerated across the halfcourt, and took off directly after the free throw line.
Glide through the air, one-armed buckle!
"Bang...", the steal and the violent buckle are done in one go.
"Ahh Yes!! ”
The crowd at Ford Center immediately erupted in a huge cheer for the brilliant dunk.
After dunking, Li Ze quickly returned to the defense with a calm face, and the big guy had to quietly pretend to be X.
"Wow! Kayce is definitely a nightmare for some defenders, Sebastian Telfil actually relaxed after blocking and he paid the price! ”
The commentator Twin is also a die-hard fan of Li Ze, and it is a pleasure to blow it.
Dunleavy Sr. shouted from the sidelines, constantly reminding his players to focus.
But it didn't work, the Clippers' offense couldn't play, Jordan Jr.'s blocking quality was problematic, he was easily squeezed through every time, and there was no move on the outside, so he could only give Marcus Camby in the low post again.
As a result, the offense was guarded down by Collison and Ibaka, and Ibaka took the rebound and passed it directly to Li Ze.
After dribbling quickly through the half, Li Ze handed the ball directly to Sofrosa and began to run without the ball, and after Collison gave Li Ze a back cover, he went straight down, and Li Ze quickly bounced out.
Jordan Jr.'s defensive attention was on Li Ze, but the reaction was a beat slower, Soflosa made a straight stop, and Collison under the basket went straight to the ball.
This simple Spanish pick-and-roll is very practical, especially when playing a rookie with little defensive experience like Jordan Jr.
After the goal, Collison gave his teammates a thumbs up, and the attack was too easy.
The Clippers attacked Sebastian Telfil and exchanged the ball directly over halfcourt, and Karim Rush received the ball and played a pick-and-roll with Marcus Camby.
But Soflosa's defense is also good, constantly putting pressure on the opponent's body after squeezing, and Ibaka in the restricted area also keeps greeting teammates, and the Clippers still don't have too good chances after passing a few times in a row.
In the end, Karim Rush defended and forced a shot from beyond the three-point line.
"Bang...", he was angry.
The long rebound popped out and was directly picked up by Li Ze, who immediately launched a conversion attack, but the Clippers retreated very quickly, and when they saw that they had no chance, they made an offensive gesture and signaled their teammates to slow down.
Quickly handed the ball to the up-and-coming Edon Thomas, and Li Ze ran off the ball again, while Sovrosa also went over to catch the ball.
Collison still gave Li Ze a back cover, and then went down, Jordan Jr. didn't miss anyone in defense this time, but Li Ze successfully got rid of the defense and bounced the ball outside.
Sebastian Telfil had no choice but to hurry over to make up for the defense, Li Ze received the ball and made a triple threat, saw the opponent's defense move back, and directly pulled out the jump shot.
"Whew..."The 3-pointer hollows into the net.
"Beautiful three-pointer, Kayce directly ignored the opposing defense, I would say maybe the game is over, we are 19 points ahead!"
Commentator Twin also swelled after seeing Li Ze score this goal, and directly announced that the Thunder team had won.
Old Dunleavy directly asked for a timeout, this game can't be played, Jordan Jr.'s blocking quality is not good, the offense can't play, the defense can't be defended, and he himself is a little disheartened.
During the pause, the fans at Ford Center were in high spirits, and as soon as the DJ played the hi song, everyone yelled that they were going to win again, and the 10-game winning streak was already beckoning to them.
"Well done! Bro, that three-pointer was so cool! ”
Durant's face is excited, 10 consecutive wins, the first in the league, he never dreamed of this situation last season, and the feeling of winning is really cool.
"Free throw line dunk, Kayce, you should try a free throw line dunk, it's just a small step away!"
Turtle Turtle was still worried about the dunk just now, he couldn't dunk that effect himself, so he wanted Li Ze to dunk one for him to enjoy.
Li Ze smiled and responded to his teammates' gossip and ridicule, he knew that there was no suspense in this game.
Sure enough, the next game was tepid, and after the two sides tacitly played to the middle of the third quarter, they replaced the substitute players and announced that the game had entered garbage time.
In the end, the Thunder defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 118-96.
Li Ze is also very happy, because his data is easy and good-looking, 8 of 13 in the game, 3 of 5 3-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, 21 points, 6 rebounds and 14 assists, barely a big double-double...
Durant was also very happy, 14 of 16 from the field, 2 of 2 from 3-point range, 4 of 4 from the free throw line, 34 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists.
Turtle was also happy because he also played a double-double, 8-of-14 from the field, 1-of-2 from 3-point range, 4-of-4 from the free-throw line, and scored 21 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 turnovers.
The Thunder team has won 10 consecutive victories, the first in the league, Li Ze, Turtle Turtle, and Durant are also completely popular, first, second, and third grades, and the rookie combat power is terrifying!
After the game, in the Thunder locker room, everyone was smiling, and winning was cool.
"Alright, boys, go home and rest early, tomorrow we're flying to Miami and then playing another back-to-back away game, don't relax!"
Coach Brooks cooled down the players in advance, and the winning streak is a good thing, but the coaching staff still has a lot of work to do, and he has not been able to solve the shortcomings of the roster so far.
"Shet!! Why do we always have back-to-back games in our schedule, and we go away after playing at home! ”
When the players heard this, they complained that the schedule was indeed unfriendly.
"Kayce, Miami is my territory, my good brother is over there, tomorrow is here, let's relax!"
While the ice was being compressed, Durant looked like an old driver and said to Li Ze.
"Don't listen to him, Kayce, we didn't see any hot girls in Miami last year!"
When Jeff Green heard this, he immediately complained about what happened last year.
"It's different this year, Michael has found a good place over there, you guys just come with me!"
Durant's good brother Michael Beasley was drafted by the Heat with the second pick in the first round last year, averaged 13.9 points per game in his rookie season, and is currently mixing well in Miami.
"No problem, as long as you don't get stopped at the door, you can only drink alcohol at the age of 21, this rule is too unfriendly!"
Li Ze shrugged his shoulders and said that he was waiting for the old driver to take him away.
"Haha, you just wait, I promise to make everyone happy!" Durant is already hi right now...
......
The 10-game winning streak of the Thunder team has also attracted huge attention in the Celestial Empire on the other side of the ocean, and it is not popular to be crazy outside in these years.
Muscle collisions, backward jump shots, and breakthrough dunks are the fans' favorites, and the Thunder team accounts for almost all of these three points, so fans have skyrocketed recently, and Li Ze's No. 10 jersey is also selling well.
Although it was already late in the city after the game, Qin Hua, a foreign student, began to post when he returned to the hotel, he had to show off, otherwise he really couldn't sleep.
"If you don't understand, just ask, is Li Ze's autographed jersey collectible?" As soon as this post was sent, it immediately attracted a bunch of lemon essence.
"The landlord really wants to get an autograph! And group photos? ”
"The landlord has made a lot of money this time, and he watched two games in the front row in a row, signing and taking a group photo, what kind of shit luck is this?"
Qin Hua saw that everyone was in front of the computer, and he immediately felt comfortable, and continued to type on the keyboard to put photos.
"It's okay, in fact, I also have the autograph and photo of Durant and Westbrook!"
"Lie down! I want to go straight down the network cable and kill you X! ”
"Add me one, this X is too big!"
Qin Hua, an international student, watched the number of replies rise wildly, and suddenly lay on the bed and laughed out of a pig's cry, which felt so cool...
The next day, the Thunder flew non-stop to Miami for their road trip, where everyone continued Texas Hold'em.
"Wade won the championship so early, which is really enviable!"
Durant sighed while looking at the cards, Wade's championship experience is indeed a bit legendary.
"But now Wade can't support the Heat alone, O'Neal actually left after winning the championship, I thought he would stay with the Heat."
Wade averaged 30.2 points per game last season, and Jeff Green also admired the opponent's ability.
"It is said that the Heat training is too strict, O'Neal couldn't stand it and left, but I really didn't expect him to go to the Cavaliers again this year!"
Turtle Turtle really didn't expect the elderly shark to join forces with LeBron James, and the two don't really match each other.
Li Ze silently looked at the bad cards in his hand, and didn't answer, but he couldn't help but complain in his heart:
"In the future, there may be more things that everyone can't think of..."