On the night of Feb. 20, the Thunder won a comfortable victory over the New York Knicks, but Coach Brooks and his assistant coaches didn't have much of the joy after the win, and they returned to the hotel and continued to work.

Ever since general manager Presti told Brooks that the team might not have the intention of paying a big luxury tax, nerves have been on the cutting edge of the entire coaching staff, and they all know that this means the Thunder's championship window will be very short.

As for considering letting players take the initiative to reduce their salaries, everyone will not have such boring fantasies at all, what is the original dream of playing in the NBA, is to make money, make a lot of money, luxury houses, sports cars, and a lot of beauties need beautiful knives.

Getting rookie players to take a pay cut? Don't even think about it, not to mention that the Thunder's trio is outstanding, and the Thunder don't want to pay, but some big teams are not so stingy, as long as they are strong enough, they will offer a maximum salary contract to recruit players within the allowable range of the rules.

Compared with big cities like Los Angeles and New York, the city is far less competitive, and the head coach of Brooks naturally noticed that the players showed that envious expression when they came to Madison Square Garden.

No matter how bad the New York Knicks are, the tickets are still not sold, and they have money...

"We've talked a lot over and over over the past few days about the reasons for the previous loss to the Mavericks, and we have to be realistic that we're not a team that is good at three-point shooting, and the excellent play of Kayce and KD has covered up some of the team's problems."

The coaching staff has been debating whether the team should continue to add tactics these days, and there are still nearly two months to go before the team is full, and if some more tactics are practiced at this time, there is barely time to do so.

Coach Brooks also agrees with the assistant coach's words, the Thunder team does not even have a pure shooter on the outside, and many times, Li Ze is the most reliable outside firepower point on the team.

"I still maintain the previous view, the team does not need to add some complex tactics at the moment, what we need to do more is how to build a good defensive system, and if the interior reinforcements fail, we need to change the plan as soon as possible."

Coach Brooks' original target player was Tyson Chandler, and if Chandler can be traded, it will greatly improve the interior rim protection ability, although the opponent has some injury concerns, but the coaching staff believes that such a risk is worth trying.

But alas, Chandler himself didn't have much desire to play in Russian City, and the Bobcats didn't want to trade with the Thunder, and Presti's colorful pie didn't impress the other party...

'Our low post defense is really poor, maybe we can consider the 32 defense, once we use the joint defense, we need to take Ibaka as the starter, and then there may be problems in the attack.

"Maybe continuing to do that is the best way for us to defend and we can continue to press our perimeter players in the playoffs."

"But you need to take into account the referee's blowing scale, Hand

After the check was canceled, the requirements for outside defenders were even higher, with too much emphasis on pressing, and I would even worry about the number of fouls Russell would have. ”

Coach Brooks listened to everyone arguing again, and suddenly had a big head, as a rookie head coach, he didn't have a definite idea in his own heart.

Rookie head coach with young team, it's no wonder that Amika's media is generally not optimistic about the Thunder's playoff journey, look at the head coaches of other teams in the West, all of them are old foxes, and there is a big gap in playoff experience.

"The training plan remains unchanged for the time being, we strive to prepare two sets of defensive systems, and when training, everyone has to explain clearly to the players, especially the 32 defense, and we must let Ibaka understand the defensive rotation."

"There are still two months to make the players nervous, and at the same time we have to pay attention to the tactical changes of the opponent and the adjustment of the lineup, this time has been hard for everyone."

Brooks doesn't know how a head coach like Phil Jackson customizes his tactical strategy, and he himself relies more on the assistant coaching team, and such summary meetings will happen frequently in the near future.

"Don't worry, just play two playoff games, I'm sure the lads will adapt quickly, we have to believe in the talent of the players, Scott, you need to rest properly."

Hearing everyone's comforting words, Coach Brooks smiled bitterly in his heart:

"The team's record is so good, it has become a kind of pressure, I really don't want to see the disappointed eyes of the fans in Russia..."

The tension of the coaching staff did not affect everyone on the Thunder team, anyway, it was all training, and it was done as required, and on February 21, the Thunder flew to Minnesota to continue their road trip.

After arriving at their destination in the morning, Li Ze and Guigui came to Lefou's house as promised, and after the All-Star Weekend, the three of them got together again.

Li Ze saw that Lefu was in a good mood, and immediately teased the other party:

"Don't tell me you've found a girlfriend, and don't tell me you've found any local food, you're just smiling like a flower, is there anything good going on?"

"Nina has introduced him to his girlfriend several times, but the girls don't like him, Bro, you really should lose weight!"

The turtle pushed away the happy water in front of him, poured himself a glass of pure water, and couldn't help but complain.

"I'm not going to get married early, Russell, marriage is the grave of love, we're young, it's time to enjoy life, guys, Al Jefferson could be out of the team next season!"

"It's definitely something to celebrate when I'm finally the real heart of the Timberwolves, and next season is my contract year, so I'm ready to make a big difference."

Lefu said that he finally got rid of the team's boss, and he didn't have to share rebounds with the other party, and all the data would belong to him in the future, and the big contract was already beckoning to him.

"Where did you get the news? Don't rejoice in vain, besides, the Timberwolves still have Tyrek Evans, and next year's Spanish golden boy Rubio will also return to the team, don't be too happy. ”

Li Ze reminded his good brother that the ball is in the hands of the defender, and if the opponent makes up his mind not to pass the ball to you, it will be difficult to brush the data.

"Don't worry, Evans can't jump, he doesn't dare to go against the head coach's arrangement, I need to practice my three-point shooting in the offseason, a simple double-double can no longer reflect my toughness, the agent told me that if an interior player wants to get a big contract, offense and rebounding are indispensable."

"The locker room almost knows about it, Jefferson doesn't want to mess up anymore, he wants to go to a team that has the strength to compete for the playoffs, in fact, his low-post skills are really good, and it should be a good choice to go to the big city."

Al Jefferson's low-post skills have always been the envy of Lefu, but unfortunately, since Li Ze introduced him to the magic ball style of play, Lefu Jue still has to be the most important three-point shot.

"I'm so happy for you, Love, we can train together in the offseason, and when we come back to UCLA, I want to improve my three-point shooting so it's going to be easier next season."

Turtle suddenly felt embarrassed when he thought that he had shot 25% from the outside this season, and the team had Li Ze and Durant in the containment, and the opponent often put his outside shots, but he couldn't respond...

"Guys, I probably won't be able to train with you guys in the off-season, you know, in June, the World Cup finals are going to start, I'm going to fly non-stop to South Africa, do you want to go with them?"

Li Ze, who has a plug-in bonus, will not train honestly all the time, and there are a bunch of activities waiting for him in the offseason.

"Forget it, I'm not very interested in football, I'm not going anywhere this offseason, I don't want to be laughed at by Kevin next season!"

"Kayce must have a date, I remember All-Star Weekend, he came back on the morning of the second day, the smell of perfume on his body changed, he must have gone on a date with the girl behind our back!"

When Li Ze heard Kevin Lefou's words, he was immediately shocked, can this be discovered?

“Come

on, Bro, your sense of smell is too good, of course this has to be kept secret, you know, it's still our old rules! ”

"When will you introduce us to each other? I'm really curious, you don't look down on ordinary girls. ”

Don't look at Lefu as a fat man, in fact, this guy is delicate, barely a big warm man, if he is not too bloated, as long as he gets along for a long time, girls will like him.

"Maybe you've already met, keep it secret!"

......

The Timberwolves have almost decided to fish in advance, most of the players on the team seem to have no desire, and these guys have also developed a scoring technique, as long as they fall behind enough at halftime, they can brush up in the last two quarters!

As a little expert in the Thunder team, Li Ze opened the game with full firepower on both offensive and defensive ends, completely limited the opponent's Ryan Gomez on the defensive end, and played extremely efficiently on the offensive end.

The Thunder team's offense, the double-cover tactics of the inside line, after Li Ze crosscut, received a pass from the turtle at 45 degrees on the left side outside the three-point line, and Gomez, who was chasing the defense, was obviously half a beat slower, and simply shook and flew directly to the opponent.

Then take a step with the ball in his left hand and step back to make a jumper.

The three-point shot hollowed into the net.

With the blessing of the badge, Li Ze played the game of abuse very easily, especially the bonus of the badge of [Catch and Shooter], which made his iron-blooded jump shot more efficient.

On the Timberwolves' offense, Tyrek Evans quickly dribbled across the halfcourt, and after a simple pass from the outside, he immediately handed the ball to Al Jefferson, who faced Jeff Green's defense and approached the basket with two hits.

Then his shoulders shook slightly, and his right hand was easily thrown under the basket.

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

Coach Brooks frowned secretly when he saw Jeff Green's defense, the low post defense at the No. 4 position is the most obvious flaw in the lineup, and if he leads at halftime, he will have to experiment with the 32 defense in the second half.

Durant was not very interested in this game, and the two teams belonging to the same Northwest Division frequently played against each other, but the Timberwolves were a little too vegetable, and it was okay to abuse them once.

is also a double cover on the inside line, Durant received a pass from the turtle at 45 degrees on the right side outside the three-point line, and immediately broke through, with a huge stride, so that Corey Brewer's defense was instantly out of position.

Durant accelerated with the ball in his right hand, saw the empty penalty area, took off, and exploded with one hand!

"Bang..."

Durant didn't celebrate after the goal, such a game could no longer arouse his desire to win, his expression was flat and quickly returned to the defense, the audience in the target center arena did not react much, the team kept losing, and the fans were numb...

The most energetic in this game should be Kevin Love, who came off the bench, actively scrambling for rebounds, frequently shooting outside the three-point line, and the data is full of joy.

But the gap between the two teams was indeed too big, 66:52, the Thunder team barely had a force, but they easily led by 13 points.

The second half of the game almost turned into practice time, with the Thunder experimenting with different defensive combinations, and Ibaka getting a lot of playing time.

The Timberwolves' head coach Kurt Rambis is also informed, and he rotates early, and as long as the main team has enough points, the benches will go straight to the court, and the game will be harmonious.

In the end, 110-97, the Thunder easily defeated the Timberwolves, some teams seemed to lose, but in fact they had won, and the current plan was very successful.

After the game, Li Ze and Lefu hugged and greeted each other, and simply whispered two words:

"Well done, 20 points, 14 rebounds, oversized double-double, Bro, keep it up!"

"When I sign a big contract next year, I must go back to Los Angeles and have a big party, call all our UCLA teammates, stay healthy, Kayce, I'll go to Russia City to cheer you on in the playoffs!"

Li Ze got 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in the third quarter, and in the 4th quarter, he was already resting on the bench, Durant brushed the score to 30 points before leaving the game, and the turtle was the same, brushing 20 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists...

After this game, the Thunder will also fly back to Russia, and they will face the Phoenix Suns at home the day after tomorrow.

On February 23rd, the Phoenix Suns came to Russia, and Li Ze, as the head snake, also entertained Steve Nash, who had just joined the Apparent Brothers League, and was still familiar with the private restaurant, Li Ze gave the waiter a look and signaled to serve the food later.

"Steve, I've always wanted to ask you a question, how do you train to achieve the kind of shooting hot spot effect that you have? You can shoot anywhere on the field and have a very high percentage of hits. ”

Li Ze poured a glass of juice for Nash and humbly asked the other party for advice.

Of course, he knows that with the accumulation of time and the blessing of plug-ins, one day, he will also reach the level of a hot zone for the whole court, but it is too slow...

"You need to be patient, Kayce, this thing is shooting, if you are willing to work hard, you will eventually improve, everybody has their own shooting area, if you have to say a method, you can try to train in the dark."

"In the dark night, you can only vaguely feel the position of the blue sky, don't care about the distance, shoot as you like, I think it's a bit like a process of psychological suggestion, but you can refer to it, your trainer should be able to design a reasonable process for you."

Steve Nash shared his experience, and when he saw the surprised look on your face, he immediately smiled again and continued:

"Kayce, maybe you can also think about how to catch the ball in a position where you are good at, and against different defenders, you need to show targeted positioning skills, and back-to-back singles are also a good technique."

"But one thing you have to be aware of, you have to be smart about the scale of the penalty on the court, and when you receive the ball in the low post below the free throw line, the defender can defend with his forearm, and he will sense the direction of your power."

"You can also take a look at the Finals video in '08, Kobe's style of play, it's worth learning, and at the same time, also look at how Ray Allen defended Kobe Bryant in the low post, you can learn a lot of skills on both offensive and defensive ends."

"Thank you for sharing, this has helped me a lot, do you plan to go to the World Cup in South Africa this year, we can walk together."

Li Ze sincerely thanked, he realized that he was a little bit of a bull, basketball is not a computer game, there is no need to pursue perfection too much, and it is what he should do at present.

"I may not be able to watch the game live this year, I have to spend time with my family, the old men are all family, but I am very optimistic that Spain can win the championship, Xavi and Iniesta are really good."

"I totally agree with you, the Spanish team is a copy of Barcelona, they have a lot of control over the game!"

"If I have the chance, I would like to hold a charity football tournament and then I can practice my skills."

"No problem, I'm looking forward to it, Amelica doesn't like football too much."

Li Ze and Nash chatted more and more, the two sides had common interests and hobbies, and the guests and hosts enjoyed this meal.

On the evening of the 23rd, the Ford Center Arena launched a voting campaign to determine the color and style of the playoff cheering T-shirts by the fans themselves.

Offline activities are extremely popular, the Thunder section on Reddit has also exploded recently, and Russian City fans have even begun to imagine the style of the championship T-shirt when the team wins the championship, yes, everyone is inflated...

In the visiting locker room, head coach Gentry announced his starting lineup for tonight, with Steve Nash rested by the coaching staff and Goran Dragic, last year's second-round pick, given the chance to start.

At the same time, Robin Lopez, who was selected with the 15th pick in the first round last year, was also put into the starting lineup, and the regular season is over in less than two months, when the health of the players is the most important, and the veterans will have to rest at the right time, and as for the league's fines, the Suns will certainly not care.

Coach Gentry coughed lightly, attracting the attention of the players, and then said unhurriedly:

"The opponent is a team that is very good at playing the transition offense, so we not only have to protect the backcourt rebounds, but also strengthen the frontcourt rebounds, Robin, remember to do your job."

Robin Lopez, who is 213cm, is a little rough but energetic, and the main task of this game is to start him, and the main task is to rush for rebounds.

"Golan, your task after you come on the court is to play more blocking and dismantling, according to the game strategy we formulated before the game, play the blocking and dismantling of the No. 5 position, and when there is an opportunity for three-point shooting, you must make a decisive shot."

"Play our offensive rhythm, we have to defend on the defensive end, we don't give them a chance to shoot from the outside, every win is precious for us now, come on, guys."

Coach Gentry smiled when he saw the eager expressions on the faces of Dragic and Robin Lopez, and said that this kind of competition is needed in the team to better stimulate the players' desire to perform.

In the Thunder locker room, head coach Brooks is emphasizing the defense of the Suns' three-point shot:

"We have to pay attention to Channing Frye's three-point shot, the defense must keep up in time, Green, you and Kostic must echo each other on the court, the opponent will block and dismantle frequently, we have to protect the basket."

"It's the same with the defense on the outside, you need to change the defense in time when you encounter cover, and you have to rotate quickly."

Li Ze heard that Coach Brooks had stopped emphasizing the offensive issue too much, and knew that this game might be another experiment for the coaching staff, and the Suns were also potential opponents in the playoffs, so they were indeed a good training target.

The game started immediately, and in the player tunnel, the turtle scratched his head a little helplessly, and whispered to Li Ze beside him:

"Kayce, I'm not a big fan of the team's 32 defense, I make mistakes every time I practice, and Brooks head coach has been too serious lately."

"Just a few more practice, the coaching staff should be preparing for the playoffs, and you don't want to be out of the first round."

In fact, the joint defense thing tests the players' tactical literacy and the tacit understanding of the defense, Li Ze is very much in favor of the coaching staff's decision, and it is much better to make a plan in advance than to hold on to it temporarily.

"I think the game should be simpler, as long as we feel it, the team in the west can't stop us, unless the opponent's outside line is also accurate, but this is definitely a small probability, we should be confident."

Durant is full of confidence in what he said, after all, he has the highest shooting rate inside and outside the team, plus the blessing of explosive penalties, and the score is a probe.

"I have a bad premonition, Kevin has always been a good spirit, a bad spirit, the Suns will not be the same as the Mavericks before..."

The unpredictable Jeff Green muttered to himself that his recent outside shooting had become a metaphysical problem, and Jeff Green always felt that this game was going to be cold at the thought of being dominated by the Mavericks' three-point shot.

"Okay, let's focus on this game, we've dropped to 2nd place in the West, and we're going to try to win this game!"

Hearing that Big Brother Collison also spoke, everyone immediately responded.

"Million, spit, smash, tired of logging!"

The Celestial Empire on the other side of the ocean, today happens to be Wednesday, but the game time between the Thunder and the Nets collided, CCTV chose to broadcast the Nets game live, and the fans of the Thunder team could only go to Sina Sports to watch the game.

In Sina's studio, host Ke Xiaofan and guest Yang Yi also chatted about the playoffs.

"Mr. Yang, before the trade deadline, the Thunder team did not supplement the height of the interior rim as everyone expected, do you think it is necessary to add a big man with the current strength of the Thunder team."

"I think there are two sides to everything, and if you can get a blue-collar big man who fits the Thunder, then this kind of reinforcement works best, but if you do trade for a star insider, it's really hard to say."

"The Thunder's offense is completely dependent on the trio on the outside, and if there is really a star interior player, the tactical play will definitely change, which may destroy the team's chemistry, but let's be honest, the current interior line will definitely not be able to withstand the Lakers' twin towers."

Like most ball critics, among the Western teams, Yang Yi is still optimistic about the Lakers, with a huge advantage in lineup and experience.

"Our fans and friends are also discussing a question, if you really want to meet teams like the Lakers, Spurs, and Mavericks in the postseason, Mr. Yang, how do you think the Thunder team should play?"

The moderator, Ke Xiaofan, asked a question that has been the most discussed recently.

"Then the trio can only let go of the play, in the regular season, the Thunder team is running tactics a lot of the time, and there are not many individual singles, only in the case of tactical killing, Li Ze and Durant will use their individual ability to take over the offense."

"But the playoffs are different, you can't afford to lose every game, so as long as you can throw the ball in, this tactic will be considered successful, and I believe that the Thunder will not stick to various tactics at that time, and the playoffs will be the stage for the stars."

Yang Yi is very much looking forward to the Thunder's playoff performance, and he also wants to see if Li Ze can perform as well as the regular season under the high-intensity defense.

"We can continue to talk about this topic when we play, the starting list in front of us is out, and Steve Nash is actually resting, which is a bit surprising, is Gentry the head coach trying to strategically give up this game."

"The Suns' starting five are: Goran Dragic, Jason Richardson, Grant Hill, Amare Stoudemire, Robin Lopez, and two of the starters are rookies from last year."

"The Thunder are still in the regular rotation, with Russell Westbrook and Li Ze in the backcourt, Kevin Durant and Jeff Green on the front, and Nenard Kostic at center."

"The tactics of the two teams are actually somewhat similar, so let's return the screen to the front and hopefully we can put on a good game."

In the final warm-up before the game, Li Ze noticed that Nash was dressed in civilian clothes and picked up the ball for the Suns players on the sidelines, and was immediately a little surprised.

Turtle Turtle noticed that the starter had become Dragic, and suddenly came to his senses, the other party was in the same class as him, he felt that he could punch hard again in this game, and said with a smile:

"It looks like I'm going to have to play against the second-round pick, I really didn't expect Dragic to start with the Suns!"

"I remember that the opponent's three-point shot is quite accurate, remember that the defense must pounce, I don't want to see you blown up by the second-round show."

Li Ze couldn't help but remind him when he saw Turtle's confident expression, and the memory in his mind told him that Dragic would become an excellent player in the future.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be fine!"

After speaking, he and his dance partner Meno had an embarrassing dance in front of the technical table, and Li Ze's scalp was numb, this is really as long as he is not embarrassed, the embarrassed person will definitely be someone else...

The referee came to the center of the field with players from both sides, everyone briefly bumped fists and greeted each other, and Kostic and Robin Lopez came to the center circle, their knees slightly bent, ready to jump the ball.

"At the beginning of the game, Lopez successfully jumped to the ball for the Suns, and Dragic dribbled the ball across the half court and came up to play a pick-and-roll at the No. 5 position."

The host Ke Xiaofan hurriedly increased his speed of speech, and the Suns' offense played very fast.

Lopez's quality of cover allowed the turtle to squeeze through quickly, but Dragic, who held the ball in his left hand, was faster, made a sharp stop, and suddenly accelerated. Got past Kostic's defence and drove into the box.

At the moment when Jeff Green assisted in defense, Dragic stepped in and gave the ball to Stoudemire near the basket, who received the ball and quickly came with a one-arm dunk!

"Bang...", a one-handed heavy buckle was made.

"Beautiful breakthrough shot, Dragic played this ball very smartly, the rhythm of the left-handed player changed, suddenly accelerated, and Kostic was caught off guard, this technique really doesn't look like a second-round show!"

Host Ke Xiaofan praised Dragic, who had not paid much attention to the player before.

Kostic patted his chest at the same time, signaling that the defense was his problem, and then the Thunder quickly sent a baseline ball, the turtle dribbled across the half court, and made a tactical gesture, Li Ze and Jeff Green made a cross cover in the three-second zone, and then quickly ran to the left waist position.

When Li Ze received the pass from the turtle, Richardson's defense also rushed to the ball, Li Ze turned around, and after the three threats, he quickly closed his feet and made a realistic duffle, and Richardson's defensive center of gravity immediately moved forward.

Seeing that the opponent pounced, Li Ze held the ball in his left hand, accelerated his breakthrough along the bottom line, ignored Robin Lopez's defense, took off early, and the big pull rod in the air, from left to right, made a backhand layup, and easily sent the ball into the basket.

"Hmmm..." pull-up layup hits.

"Oh!!"

The crowd at Ford Center exclaimed, the ball had some Michael Jordan style, and such a stretched aerial lever was an absolute visual feast.

After landing, Li Ze looked indifferent, and silently pretended to be an X, which is the bonus brought to him by the [Infinite Takeoff] badge.

"This ball is too similar to Michael Jordan's movements, the bottom line is broken, and the air pull rod is pulled, this is Li Ze's talent, it's amazing!"

Yang Yi didn't go through the procedure anymore, he came up and blew it directly, it must be the top ten balls of the day again.

The Suns were not affected and continued to serve the baseline ball quickly, and this time, Dragic played the Suns' classic blocking and pick-and-roll cooperation with Stoudemire, and immediately hit the ground and passed the ball to the remaining Stoudemire.

The latter catches the ball, takes a small jump directly, and then exerts force with both feet, rises into the air, holds the ball in his right hand, and wheels the ball into the basket with one arm.

"Bang..."Stoudemire's classic force splitting Huashan...

Li Ze also noticed that Dragic's passing was indeed very good, and Stoudemire was comfortable receiving the ball and could directly attack the basket, which was really a bit of Nash.

When the Thunder attacked, Jeff Green and Kostic made a double cover for Durant on the line, and after Durant received the pass from the turtle, he didn't make adjustments, pulled it up and threw it.

The three-point shot hollowed into the net.

"Ahh

The Ford Center immediately cheered on Durant's goal, and the city fans loved to watch the fast-paced game.

In the first 6 minutes of the first quarter, the two sides went back and forth, and the shooting rate was very high, and Dragic controlled the team's offensive rhythm very well, especially the blocking and dismantling attack at the No. 5 position, which was really more and more comfortable...

Coach Brooks is already considering replacing Jeff Green, whether it is a pick-and-roll offense or a low-post attack, Stoudemire completely crushes Jeff Green's defense, and repeatedly scores easily on the inside.

What's more fatal is that although the Suns' shooting percentage has decreased, their frontcourt rebounds are too fierce, and Robin Lopez has some problems with rebounding positions, but with his height and vitality, he makes up for his lack of experience.

Richardson's outside shot, which was interfered with by Li Ze, hit the iron directly, and at this time the basket was already in a ball, Robin Lopez was in front of Kostic, and Stoudemire picked the melon behind his head and successfully grabbed the rebound in the front court.

Then the basket is strong and the ball is firmly placed in the basket.

"Squeak..."

Watching Stoudemire begin to flex his muscles, Brooks head coach called a timeout and had to make a substitution.

"Green, take a break, Ibaka, pay attention to the early position, pay attention to the position of Stoudemire, we have to control the rebounding ball in the backcourt so that we have a chance to switch offense."

"Russell, add some breaks, pick up at the No. 5 position, try to get a foul on Robin Lopez, and I'd like to see him foul in the first quarter."

Turtle Turtle immediately nodded to indicate that he understood that if he could take this large-stirring stick directly off the court, the rebounding pressure on the Thunder would be much less.

After returning from the timeout, the Thunder's offense began to force the interior and try to create damage, but Li Ze soon found that the Suns seemed to have been prepared, and many times they directly gave up the defense just to reduce their own fouls.

Coach Gentry grasped the weakness of the Thunder's rebounding, and the tactics were extremely simple, shooting from the outside, rushing to grab rebounds from the inside, and two big men over 2.10 meters and full of vitality turned over the river and the sea in the Thunder team.

While the combination of Serge Ibaka and Kostic was able to successfully protect backcourt rebounds, the Thunder lost their transition offense for most of the rounds.

By the end of the first quarter, at 27:25, the Suns had a two-point lead, and Stoudemire played well, scoring 12 points in a single quarter.

During the intermission, Coach Brooks was also a little worried, rebounding is also the weakness of the Thunder, and the play of Robin Lopez, a rookie of the Suns, did disrupt the Thunder's tactical deployment.

"Kayce, you and Green are also going to increase their rebounding protection, especially the control of long rebounds, in the opening phase of the second quarter, and the Suns will definitely increase their three-point shooting when Channing Frye comes on the floor."

Li Ze nodded to show that he understood that he would play to the No. 3 position in the bench lineup, so he would naturally have to take on more rebounding responsibilities.

But when the second quarter of the game began, something happened that made Li Ze feel speechless, Durant's crow's mouth worked again, and Channing Frye's three-point shot seemed to open an 8x mirror, accurate and scary.

Earl Clarke and Louis Armondson also played the same blood after they came on the court, and various small throws under the basket also entered, and the Suns played a wave of 8:0 offense.

Li Ze saw that the situation was not right, Jeff Green was super ghost again, and immediately turned on his personal offensive mode, the Thunder team attacked, Li Ze faced the defense of Dudley who came off the bench at the top of the three-point line arc, dribbled under his hip continuously, held the ball in his right hand to improve the center of gravity of his body, and pretended to break through.

Noticing that Dudley moved back slightly, he dribbled behind his back in an instant, and made a feint to worship the Buddha, which immediately flew Dudley, and Li Ze quickly changed direction in front of his body, and retreated to jump shot.

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

After the Suns hit the iron and Collison desperately protected the rebound, Li Ze directly held the ball and dribbled across the half court, facing Dudley's defense on the left side outside the three-point line.

Dodley dodges Dudley's defense and makes a pull-up jump shot from beyond the three-point line.

The three-point shot was scored again, and the difference instantly returned to two points.

"Ah!!h

The audience at the Ford Center Arena immediately shouted for Li Ze, and the fans were addicted to watching the wonderful individual offensive performance.

"Squeak..."

Coach Gentry immediately called a timeout, and the Suns' coaching staff was well aware of Lee's ability to interrupt the opponent's offensive rhythm at this time.

Li Ze returned to the bench, and a bad feeling surged in his heart, although this wave of offense withstood it, the Suns' shooting rate was a little abnormal...

After the timeout, the two sides showed an anxious game again, and when Li Ze rested in the second half of the second quarter, Durant also took on the offensive responsibility of the Thunder.

At the end of the half, the two sides were tied at 58.

In the midfield, in the locker room of the Thunder, Durant said a little depressed:

"The Suns actually chose to give up some interior defense, and didn't want me to stand on the free throw line at all, and the hell the game strategy, it was actually tied at halftime?"

"They're going to have a lower percentage of hits, and I don't believe Channing Frye will always be that accurate!"

"Kevin, I hope your crow's beak improves...."

But alas,

A lot of the time in the NBA game, it's always full of serendipity, and some extreme individual performances can really affect the trend of the game, and Dragic completely exploded in the third quarter.

The three-point shooting after the block at the No. 5 position, in the third quarter, there was no missing serve, and 4 of 4 in the single quarter...

Li Ze once again felt the rapid collapse of the team, and complained helplessly in his heart:

"The fans are right, the Thunder team's game is either to play the opponent or be beaten by the opponent..."

------Off topic------

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