On January 10th, the paper voting channel for the All-Star Game was about to close, and although Durant did not think that he could turn the tide in the third phase and surpass Anthony in the number of votes, he still felt a little restless in the face of the upcoming announcement of the third phase voting results.

This is his first All-Star selection, and it is clear that Durant is still lucky at the moment, looking forward to his counterattack.

"Okay, Kevin, the voting data will come out the day after tomorrow, you don't need to be too nervous, don't worry, you will definitely be selected as an All-Star this year, it doesn't matter if you start, the important thing is that you are already an All-Star, which can make it a lot easier for us to negotiate a contract."

Agent Kleiman noticed that Durant had been irritable for the past two days, and couldn't help but whisper comfort.

"I know, I know! But I just want to start, Fack! We're number one in the West right now, we're the best team in the West, so why should Anthony start! ”

Durant felt depressed at the thought of being a substitute and only being able to fish in the All-Star Game.

"You're in your third year, it's a necessary process, and every rookie goes through that, and look at Chris Paul, who was a great All-Star for the first time, but he's still a backup guard."

"Kevin, there's no need to worry about the starting position, we have more important things to do, maybe, we can think about the possibility of you getting the MVP this season, you're already on the MVP shortlist."

Agent Kleiman didn't listen to Durant's complaints this time, he really wanted Durant to win the MVP, which would allow him to help Durant sign better contract terms in the offseason, which is related to the green knife!

"Well, I've seen some media coverage, but seriously, there's Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan in the West, LeBron James, Paul Pearce, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade in the East."

"Look at these lists, I don't think I can compete with these old guys, you know, after all, I'm not the top face of the league, at most I enjoy the star whistle treatment, and those people above have been working hard in the league for many years."

Durant hasn't ballooned enough to ignore the league's veteran superstars, and he feels like he's done with making it to the All-Star Game this season.

"No, no, Kevin, don't underestimate yourself, the Thunder are not only the first in the West, but also the first in the league, you still maintain the winning advantage, believe me, we just need to build momentum, you can definitely rush to the top of the list."

"Think about it, Kevin, if you get the regular season MVP, you get the scoring title, and you get an All-Star this season, I promise you're not just going to sign a max contract, you're going to get more bonus terms this offseason."

"The most important thing is that we might be able to sign a big shoe contract."

As soon as the agent Kleiman thought that Durant could sign a big contract, he felt that the green knife was already coming, and the more he talked, the more excited he became, and even began to dance.

"Wow! What you said really made me very excited, but a lot of the media didn't like me, and the league probably didn't like to let a rookie win the MVP! ”

Durant imagined that if he really won so many awards, it would definitely be heavenly, and the face of the league would directly become him, and LeBron James would have to step aside.

"You're underestimating the NBA league, Kevin, people like to see stories of counterattacks, the Thunder, who won 23 games last season, have a great record this season, we just need to render how hard we work, and we will be loved by many fans."

"You need a story, Kevin, I've got that in my hands, keep your game up, manage your relationship with Kayce, you need his help, take a long-term view, and if you do win the MVP, you're the core leader of the team!"

The agent, Kleiman, patted Durant on the shoulder and sent out the super pie he had drawn, smashing Durant into a daze.

"MVP? Maybe I can really get this award. ”

Durant leaned on the sofa and muttered to himself, thinking of the scene when he received the award, he suddenly felt his blood boiling, and he wanted all the honorary knives!

On the afternoon of January 9, the Thunder team only conducted a simple tactical training, and after two days of full rest, everyone was full of vitality and completely recovered.

"Russell, do you think Kevin is very strange today, this guy's attitude towards Kayce is too good!"

Although Jeff Green has a shoulder injury, he still comes to the team to train every day, and when he saw Durant's attitude take a 180-degree turn today, he complained to the turtle next to him with a strange expression.

"It's not surprising, Bro, everybody likes Kayce, everybody always likes him, Kevin may have been impressed by Kayce's skills, you know, Kayce is a talent."

The nervous turtle didn't notice Durant's abnormality.

"Wow! Kevin, you're like Nina's cupcakes today, sweet and delicious, you have to be tough! ”

Li Ze, who played a few games 1-on-1, felt that Durant's defense was not trying his best at all, and couldn't help but complain.

"Shet! This is what you asked me to blow you up, I originally wanted to release water to make you happy, but it seems that there is no need for this! ”

Durant was still thinking about what his agent Kleiman said, and wanted to learn from Li Ze in a friendly game, but he didn't expect to be really beaten up if he wasn't careful, and he suddenly couldn't hold his face.

Annoyed and angry, Durant was full of firepower and immediately left behind what his agent Kleiman had said. While spewing trash talk, I continued to go back and forth with Li Ze 1 to 1...

"See, it's no different, man, that's how talented players get along, but unfortunately I'm not tall enough and it's hard to defend both of them one-on-one, otherwise I'd definitely train with them."

Turtle Turtle saw the two people who were fighting hotly on the side, and couldn't help but show envious eyes.

"......" Jeff Green was speechless.

Danny Granger, the core player of the Indiana Pacers, played an excellent performance of 25+5+3 per game last season and was selected as an All-Star, but the team only achieved a 36-46 record, ranked ninth in the East, and finally missed the playoffs.

After the start of the new season, perhaps due to personnel changes, the Pacers currently have an 11-24 record, which is 10th in the East.

Many media reporters have stopped paying attention to this team, after all, according to this trend, the Pacers are still fishing steadily in the new season.

However, the game with the Thunder on the night of the 9th received a lot of attention, because the big-mouthed Hibbert made a bold statement, proclaimed himself the No. 1 center in the East, and even threatened to blow up the Thunder's inside!

Before the game, in the Thunder locker room, Coach Brooks no longer emphasized the tactical arrangement, they have made a lot of preparations in the past few days, and at this time, they only need the players to play step by step.

"Enjoy the game, boys, this is our home stadium, take care of the rebounding ball and don't let the fans in the city disappoint!"

"Yay! 10,000, spitting, crushing, and logging tired! ”

The Thunder are going to play four home games in a row, which makes the fans of the Russian City as happy as the Chinese New Year, although the first home loss to the Hornets will not affect the enthusiasm of the fans.

Tonight, more fans came to the Ford Center Arena early with their own cheering slogans to cheer for the home team.

Danny Granger and Roy Hibbert saw the tsunami-like cheers of the Thunder when they saw the crowd on the court, and their hearts suddenly felt like a lemon, they had never been treated like this on their home court...

"Danny, remember to pass me more when you get on the court, I will definitely blow up the opponent's inside line!"

As the players warmed up for the end, Hibbert approached Granger, the boss, and whispered a plea.

"No problem, Roy, I believe in your ability, just remember to give me a few backcourt rebounds."

Danny Granger took out the boss's style, thumped Hibbert's chest, and agreed, and the two looked at each other and smiled, both feeling that the game was almost stable.

Thunder's home commentator Tewyn is introducing the Pacers' starters:

"Coach O'Brien still has a two-tower lineup, with Earl Watson and Luther Hyde at the back, Danny Granger and Troy Murphy up front, and Roy Hibbert at center."

"It's worth noting that Murphy is 211cm and Hibbert is 218cm, which will put a lot of pressure on our interior line, and of course, I'm sure the Thunder boys will win the game, we have won the Lakers' twin towers!"

Commentator Twyn began to blow the Thunder crowd, and Russian fans loved to hear that.

"I felt good on my shots today, maybe I can shoot them from the outside!"

During the warm-up, the turtle threw the ball into the basket while smiling and said to Li Ze beside him.

"The opposing rim is not as good as you think, bold to hit the basket, this is our home court!"

After Li Ze saw the Pacers' game video before the game, he knew why the opponent's record collapsed, the core problem is that the defense is not good, and the twin towers look very bluffing, but many times the Pacers have no advantage in rebounding.

"We're going to destroy them on the outside, they're too slow to move on the inside, they're not tall enough on the outside, and I'm already expecting their cover to change!"

Durant also said with a smug expression.

"Come on, guys, I'll be wielding a towel for you guys on the bench!"

Jeff Green also came out at this time to express his heart, saying that he is with the team.

"Haha, don't hurt your other hand, we're all waiting for you to come back there!"

......

"At the start of the game, Hibbert jumped to the ball for the Pacers with his huge height advantage"

The Pacers' first offense, Watson dribbled across the half court and immediately handed the ball to the team's boss Danny Granger, who played a block with Murphy and passed to Murphy at the free throw line.

A simple combination of high and low positions, Hibbert faced Collison's defense, arched a step inside with the ball, and immediately turned over and hooked.

"Hmmm...", two points from the basket.

The Thunder team didn't care, quickly sent out the baseline ball, the turtle turtle quickly advanced to the frontcourt, everyone quickly fell into position, Collison lifted the block, took the right hand to accelerate the breakthrough, easily shook off Watson's defense, and after dribbling two steps, the right elbow area of the free throw line made a quick stop jump shot.

"Whew...", a steady hit from mid-range.

The backcourt of the Pacers, Watson 185cm, Hyde 191cm, this backcourt combination defense is basically in vain, Li Ze faces these two, can basically be regarded as a big fight.

"Ahh Oh! ”

The Ford Center Arena was filled with jubilation, and after the Turtles opened the scoring for the Thunder, everyone sat down to watch the game.

When the Pacers attacked again, they felt that something was wrong, the defense of Turtle and Li Ze was too oppressive, these two had the advantage of height and size, plus the blessing of the home whistle, it was really on the body.

Danny Granger sensed something was wrong and hurried over to pick it up, but Durant kept him covered, making it impossible for him to shoot easily and had to hit the ball low again, and this time Murphy used his height and experience to score two points from the basket again.

The Thunder team quickly served the baseline ball, this time after Li Ze received the ball, quickly dribbled across the half court, noticed that Hyde was very close, Li Ze suddenly accelerated with the ball in his left hand, and Hyde hurriedly took a step back.

During the march, Li Ze suddenly changed direction under his crotch, and Hyde involuntarily shifted his defensive center of gravity forward, and then Li Ze suddenly dribbled the ball behind his back with his right hand, and made a big retreat and jumper.

The three-point shot hollowed into the net.

A small guard, after shaking off the defense, can jump directly, this is the height advantage, and it is difficult for the opponent to interfere with Li Ze's shooting.

"Wow! Wonderful three-pointers! Hyde of the Pacers should be careful, don't let Kayce find his shooting rhythm or he will destroy you, he is best at playing against small guards. ”

Although the commentator Twin blew hard, he just saw Li Ze throw in a three-point shot, and the Thunder players were just over halftime, and they couldn't help but sweat for Li Ze, which was not a good shot choice, but fortunately the ball went in.

The Pacers' offense is still unhurried, and they should have seen the strategy of the last game against the Hornets, so please slow down the pace of the offense, and this time when the offense was as fast as 24 seconds, Danny Granger blocked and hit a mid-range strong shot.

But the Thunder turned around, the offense played fast, Li Ze immediately ran to the left bottom corner after half time to open up space, and Durant easily got rid of the defense with two covers from Collison and Ibaka.

received a pass from the turtle outside the three-point line, and without hesitation, he immediately jumped and shot.

"Huh..."The three-pointer hit steadily.

"Kevin's three-pointer also scored! It seems that in this game, the boys of the Thunder team have a very good hand and finish the offense in 14 seconds, I like the rhythm of the game! ”

Home commentator Tewyn feels like the Thunder are slowly taking control of the game.

In the first half of the first quarter, the Pacers barely managed to hold the tempo, and after six minutes, Danny Granger felt like he was losing control of the game, and the Thunder were shooting at an extremely high percentage and the offense was getting faster and faster.

The Pacers have been unable to keep up with the pace of the game after a series of rapid turnaround runs in the twin towers, and the Thunder have almost completely abandoned the low-post offense inside, which makes it difficult for Hibbert and Murphy to play their part.

The turtle's high-position blocking and dismantling made the big man very uncomfortable, the defense was rushed up, the defense squatted, and he could only watch the shot, but this is not where Hibbert and Murphy are desperate, Li Ze and Durant's style of play is the real shrimp pig heart.

The Thunder attacked, Ibaka and Collison covered the two elbows on the left and right of the free throw line, Li Ze from right to left, simple cross-cutting, getting rid of the defense, and when he received the ball at 45 degrees on the left side outside the three-point line, he faced Murphy, who had switched defenses.

Seeing that the opponent raised his hands high and tried to use his height advantage to defend, Li Ze first dribbled the ball twice in his crotch on the spot, and dribbled back with his right hand, which made Murphy's defensive center of gravity move forward.

The left hand quickly changed direction under the crotch, and after a fancy big turn, Li Ze easily got rid of the opponent's defense, accelerated the breakthrough with the ball in his left hand, ignored the protective basket Hibbert, took off, pulled his left arm back, and smashed the buckle with one arm!

"Bang..."Breakthrough dunk success.

"Oh! Yes!! ”

The audience at the Ford Center Arena shouted, unable to hide the excitement in their hearts, Hibbert was detained by Li Ze, to be precise, it was unstable after the aerial confrontation, and he knelt directly...

Hibbert, who knelt on the ground, saw Li Ze smiling at him, and immediately returned to the defense, and immediately became angry in his heart.

As a result, as soon as he opened up the space, his right hand was lightly thrown, and he was split by Li Ze who rushed from behind, and Hibbert could only watch Li Ze control the ball and push up the conversion attack.

A pass found the turtle turtle who rushed to the front, and after the latter received the ball, he rushed up in three steps, and his right hand was a one-arm buckle!

"Bang..."

In the remaining minutes, the Thunder went on a 12-4 run, and at the end of the first quarter, 24-32, after several switching offenses, they easily took an eight-point lead.

In the second quarter, the Pacers continued to retain the height advantage, and Hibbert continued to play, but unfortunately after a few rounds, the Pacers players collapsed.

Li Ze, who turned on the offensive mode, showed his comprehensive offensive skills, facing the guard's back single, when AJ Price changed Li Ze after coming on the court, he could only watch Li Ze turn around and shoot backwards, and easily scored the ball, and his 188cm height could not interfere with Li Ze's shot at all.

Facing the Pacers forward group of Mike Dunleavy, Solomon Jones, and Brandon Rush, Li Ze's combination of fast and slow Crossover shook these three almost doubted their lives.

When Mike Dunleavy switched defenses, Li Ze continued to dribble under his crotch, his right hand paused slightly, and made a feint to close the ball, Dunleavy was directly flown away, Li Ze easily changed direction in front of his body, and made a stop-and-go jump shot outside the three-point line.

The three-point shot hollowed into the net.

Hibbert has no role on the court, and the Thunder's offense, most of which is projection, is also a long rebound after hitting the iron, which makes him extremely embarrassed, and he can't pick up a few rebounds...

By the time Durant also returned to the court, the second quarter of the Thunder trio completely exploded, shooting inside and out, and directly spoiled the game.

At halftime, 46-66, the Thunder led by 20 points, also thanks to the excellent play of the Pacers' Danny Granger, who came up in the second quarter and threw three points wildly, but the switch offense came together, and the difference quickly widened.

At halftime at Ford Center, the fans were all smiling, this game was really too easy, leading by 20 points at halftime, there was no suspense!

After the start of the second half, the Pacers struggled for three minutes before completely collapsing, Durant's unreasonable three-pointer just went in, and after the margin widened to 20+, the game went into garbage time.

In the end, 96-116, the Thunder defeated the Pacers at home and solidified their position as the first in the West.

After the game, in the face of an interview with media reporters, Li Ze smiled slightly and teased Hibbert:

"The big man of 218cm only got 4 rebounds in the whole game, such a performance can't dominate the inside!"

David Lee of the New York Knicks was a little stunned after seeing the Pacers' game, is this God's test for himself?

The third phase of the All-Star paper voting channel has been closed, David Lee originally wanted to use the game against the Thunder to perform well and canvass for himself, after all, there are still 8 days of electronic voting, but now, he only hopes that he can win safely.

But David Lee's idea is still too optimistic, the New York Knicks currently have a 15-21 record, and the team's defense, as the regular season continues, is getting more and more stretched...

On the night of the 11th, when facing the Thunder away from home, the interior combination of David Lee and Jarred Jeffries was blown up by Li Ze and Durant on the outside, and the Knicks' defensive rotation was too poor, and the cover man was gone after a few times.

In the end, 88-112, the Thunder beat the New York Knicks at home, and David Lee lost...

In these two games, Li Ze cut 24+5+6 in a row, and Durant was 32+6+2, such a terrifying outside projection ability made the league's respective teams shout incredible, and what is even more outrageous is that the turtle turtle can also contribute 20+5+5, and the Thunder trio is terrifying!

This also made everyone realize that even without interior starters, the Thunder's dividends are not easy to eat.

Two hearty victories in a row have made Durant happy, and with the fact that his agent Kleiman is already in action, many media and ball critics have begun to discuss Durant's story.

"MVP, I'm here! Kayce can help me in the future! ”

Durant was at home while looking at the messages of the Russian City fans on Twitter, while yelling in his heart, thinking of the happy place, from time to time he also had a tactical back, and he was happy at home alone...

Li Ze didn't care too much about the MVP, because the next schedule was very unfriendly to the Thunder, the Spurs and the Mavericks both wanted revenge, and the Raptors' dragon king Bosh was also waiting to eat the bonus...

"I hope everything will go well in the next game, if you lose in a row, the first place in the West will be gone, and the Lakers' state is getting better and better! I really hope that the other side will lose quickly..."

"Kayce, it's a shame that you're in third place in the West after the paper voting deadline for Phase 3, which means you're likely to lose the All-Star Game this year, and you know a few things."

The NBA league had just released the voting data for the All-Star Game, and agent Chapman immediately called to comfort Lee.

"It's okay, I haven't cared about the All-Star start, thank you for your concern!"

This is Li Ze's true words, after all, it is only a first-year rookie.

"That's good, by the way, the single is a big hit, we plan to release an album, listen to me, I have a bold idea..."

"Ah, next time, Chapman, I'm going to train here...."

Li Ze hurriedly hung up the phone, he didn't want to listen to the other party's nagging now, although he had expected to miss the All-Star Game start, but the result of the third place still made him a little regretful:

"I wish the old guys would give way..."