The Clippers' starting lineup was the same as in the previous round, with Curry, Barang, Ricky and the duo.

And the Thunder's starters are equally stable, with Perkins, Ibaka, Durant, Westbrook and Gasfrosa.

From the perspective of alignment alone, the Clippers have an advantage on the inside, but the advantage is not obvious.

Perkins + Ibaka's interior combination is fierce defensively and is likely to counteract the power of the duo.

In the backcourt, the combined attack power of Curry + Barang Davis is more powerful.

Westbrook + Severosa, on the other hand, is both offensive and defensive, and is more balanced.

In the key No. 3 position, the Thunder undoubtedly have an absolute advantage.

Kevin Durant, in his fourth year in the league, has grown into a top scorer.

Durant averaged 30 points per game last season, and the last player like him to average 30 points per game in his third year was Michael Jordan (Jordan averaged 37 points per game in his third year. ）

Durant's points per game average has slipped this season, not because of less ability, but because of fewer shots and more balls allocated to Westbrook.

Durant must have a big advantage over Ricky Davis, not to mention crushing.

On the bench, Harden and Gordon, who swap teams, are currently evenly matched.

Harden plays more imaginatively, with strong organization, planning skills, and strong key shots.

However, the defense is average, slightly inexperienced on the court, and sometimes confused.

Gordon plays hard, plays well both offensively and defensively, has microwave attributes, and is extremely tough.

However, the playmaking ability is average, and he needs to partner with Westbrook or Eric Maynor to support the backcourt attack.

Relying on him alone, he can't lead a second team.

From a comparison, it can be seen that the two teams are evenly matched.

The two sides will definitely not be able to separate the winners and losers as easily as in the first round.

Min Congda continued to sit behind the team's bench, watching the game with his hands on his chest.

Putting aside the emotional stance, combined with the performance of the regular season, in Min Congda's eyes, the Thunder is stronger than the Clippers.

There are two main aspects, the first is of course Kevin Durant's strong point.

When you have a superscorer like Durant on your team, that's a huge advantage in itself.

Especially in the playoffs, why did the Spurs lose to the Clippers in the first round.

Obviously I tried my best every game, but in the end, I just couldn't beat it?

Duncan, as the team's former supergiant, averaged 12 points per game in the first round.

As long as he can ignore tactics in the low post and average 20 points per game, the Spurs will not be able to lose so easily.

Duncan is in a decline, and Durant is on the rise, not yet at his peak, and is already one of the league's most feared scorers.

Secondly, the second aspect is that the overall lineup of the Thunder is younger, with excellent athleticism, height and long arms.

The selection of materials for the Thunder in recent years has paid special attention to the physical and hardware conditions of the players.

Height, reach, lateral movement, these basic qualities must be strong.

During the regular season, the Thunder's stealing ability was among the best in the league and was one of the teams with the strongest stealing ability.

The blocking ability ranks second in the league, and the player's blocking and blocking ability are quite outstanding.

"Our Clippers are now focusing on passing and cutting, and the most important thing is to be able to pull out space, but the Thunder's long arms and legs are best at controlling space and cutting space. It's all young people against young people, Curry is a few guys, and they can't do it against the Spurs anymore, just throw three points and score it. ”

Min Congda gave his assertion, which is quite accurate.

In the first round against the Spurs, there were many cases where the Spurs defenders didn't really lose their position.

But the Spurs' No. 3 Jefferson defense is average, short and old in the backcourt, and old and slow inside.

The Clippers can always move the ball and shoot one step ahead of their opponents and turn the Spurs around.

The Thunder are different, they are as young as the Clippers, and they are fast, brave, and have endless energy on both offensive and defensive ends.

Min Congda's perception of the situation between the two sides is correct.

From the beginning of the first quarter, the Thunder took the pace of the game.

Durant opened the series with a three-point shot from the top of the arc.

And the Clippers have been slow to get into the groove on the offensive end.

Curry, who served as a barometer of the team's outside offense, missed two three-point attempts in the opening game.

Instead of letting Westbrook play against Curry, the Thunder used Sephorosa, who is tall and arm-long, to interfere with Curry's shot.

Sefrosa is a defensive expert on the Thunder's perimeter, and it is much more difficult to play him on the perimeter than it is to play Parker.

In the case that the outside line cannot be opened, the Clippers naturally seek to open the situation from the inside.

Zach Randolph has been playing steadily, using his nimble feet and strong body in the low post to eat Serge Ibaka alone.

Playing Duncan and McDyes, Randolph is the young and strong one, and he has repeatedly won under the basket with his body.

Reversed against Ibaka, Ibaka is younger and stronger, and his muscles are as perfect as sculptures.

And he also has an amazing bounce, and the basket under the basket is extremely strong.

Baron Davis, who also frequently scored inside points in the first round, scored twice under the basket in the first quarter.

The Clippers relied heavily on Randolph's offense in the low post to maintain their score in the first quarter.

And the Thunder frequently counterattacked when the defense was successful.

Westbrook's ability to push counter-attacks is truly thunderous.

The Clippers' ability to defend against fast offense is inherently poor.

Once Westbrook gets up to speed, no one can intercept it.

The Thunder played halfway through the first quarter and led the Clippers by 9 points at 19:10.

Dunleavy had to call a timeout to adjust the team's offense and defense.

"Hehe, these stinky boys, after the 4:0 sweep of the Spurs, have you rested? Proud, right? Underestimating the enemy, right? ”

"It's okay, after this round, I can rest completely, and I can have a good rest."

In fact, the Clippers players did not underestimate the enemy, but it was true that they had a big break.

Sometimes resting too long is not a good thing for players to stay fit.

Especially for a three-point shooter like Curry, the feeling of shooting in practice and shooting in games on weekdays is very different.

Moreover, the Thunder and Spurs seem to be from the same goal, but the styles of play are very different.

In the last round, the Clippers were a young team that ran fast and jumped high.

ran against the Spurs, dragging Duncan and Parker, who were dragging their injured legs, and Ginobili, who was injured in their arms.

Now that the two levels are reversed, and you meet the thunder that is faster and jumps higher, the feeling and rhythm of the game is completely different.

Dunleavy asked the players to adjust immediately and find their rhythm in the game.

It was easier said than done, as the Clippers trailed the Thunder by as many as 12 points at 21:33 in the first quarter.

After that, the Clippers began the difficult road of digging and filling the pit.

This kind of game is the most difficult to play, it tests the player's ability to resist pressure, and it is also very tiring to fight.

Because of backwardness, Dunleavy did not dare to boldly let go of the rotation and sloppy the main force, leading to a vicious circle.

The halftime margin stretched to 15 points, and in the third quarter, it went all the way to about 8 points.

As a result, in the fourth quarter, there was another 11-3 offensive shockwave, which brought the Clippers back to the pre-liberation period overnight.

In the end, the Clippers lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder 96-110, 14 points on the road.

The Thunder successfully won the first win in the semifinals, leading 1:0.

Min Congda also successfully won back a city! Finally got the first loss of the playoffs!

(End of chapter)