Among several players on the Nets, Wang Chao is most worried about Jokic.

Therefore, in the tactical arrangement, targeted arrangements were also made, and Lopez, who was opposite Jokic, did not need to consider the problem of assistance defense throughout the game, he only needed to follow Jokic throughout the whole game, so that the opponent could not receive the ball at all.

This is really not difficult for Lopez, after all, Jokic is not the tactical core of the Nets, whether it is Paul or other players holding the ball, when they find that Jokic is clinging to a Lopez like kraft candy, they will directly skip the option of passing the ball to Jokic.

This point is exactly what Wang Chao wants.

Moreover, in the face of the Nets, whose offense is mostly based on mid-range shooting, the Clippers really do not rely so much on Lopez's ability to protect the basket under the basket.

Whether Paul, Durant or Booker want to break through the basket with the ball, then give them a break.

Although Durant in this time and space did not suffer a serious injury of Achilles tendon rupture like in another world, as he got older, the number of break-throughs on the wing he liked to use very much in the early years became less and less, and the lethality of the breakthrough has long been much less than before.

As for Paul and Booker, the power of the breakthrough is limited.

Paul is a player who is good at using skill and rhythm to find breakthrough opportunities, although the various dribbles and passing moves of the fox whistle are very exciting, but the real lethality is not at the same level as the peak Wade, Rose, Wei Shao, these players who use speed or explosiveness to pass the opponent and go straight to the basket in one step.

German. The same goes for Booker, who is better at mid-range catch-and-shoot jumpers and pick-and-roll shots.

One thing to say, purely from the perspective of technical characteristics, although the Nets' lineup is very luxurious, it is not very suitable.

At least the positions of Durant and Booker are highly overlapping, and Durant is equivalent to a version of Booker who is one size bigger, more stable on offense, and more capable of holding the ball alone.

And Paul and Jokic, a point guard and a center, actually have a conflict over the ball, which sounds somewhat strange.

The biggest problem for the Nets is defense.

Paul could be considered a defensive stalwart when he was younger, and Durant's defense was not bad, but that was it.

Neither Jokic, Booker nor Bogdanovic are players with outstanding defensive qualities.

In the past season when the Nets won the championship, they had Wang Chao, who played a role on the defensive end, and once there was no Wang Chao, the Nets' defensive system could be described as a mess.

Perhaps with the individual ability of the star, one-on-one single defense is not particularly bad, but when it comes to teamwork, when it comes to assisting in defense, defense, blocking, and dismantling, this weakness is exposed.

In the game between the Clippers and the Nets, not only did they make targeted arrangements on the defensive end, but also on the offensive end, with a large number of blocking and running tactics without the ball, which made the Nets' defense anxious.

At halftime, the Clippers held an eight-point lead at 62-54.

Then, with the substitutions of both sides coming on one after another, the situation became even more unfavorable for the Nets.

Back then, the Nets had the most luxurious bench roster in the league, and the bench players alone could be difficult to distinguish with some teams with lower records in the league.

But now, with Durant, Bogdanovic, Paul, and Jokic signing big contracts with the team one after another, the Nets' salary space has skyrocketed, and there is no ability to leave strong bench players at all.

Instead, they got Wang Chao's Clippers and had the league's top bench lineup.

Louis. The combination of Williams + Harrell is enough to sweep all the bench lineups in the league, and there is also an Alexander who basically has not had many opportunities to perform this season.

As soon as the bench players on both sides came on the court, the Nets could be said to collapse at the touch of a button, and they were attacked by Lu Wei and Harrell in turn to attack the basket and score frequently, and the point difference began to widen rapidly.

In just a few minutes, the Nets called a timeout and sent two starters to stabilize the situation after the timeout.

But it was a little late at this time, and with the play of Lowe and Harrell, the difference between the two teams had been widened to more than 15 points.

In the second half of the third quarter, after Durant returned to the court, he tried to help the team catch up with the difference by scoring consecutive points with his individual ability.

But how can Wang Chao let Durant get his wish?

Durant hit a mid-range catch-and-shoot shot.

Wang Chao broke through with the ball and rushed into the basket to pull the lever and score a layup.

Durant faked outside the three-point line to trick Gallinari's center of gravity and then re-shot a three-point shot.

Wang Chao borrowed his teammates to block and hit a long-distance three-pointer.

For several rounds in a row, no matter what way Durant scored, Wang Chao could respond immediately, and the score difference showed no signs of narrowing.

Before you know it, the game is in the fourth quarter.

A 15-point difference is theoretically not an irreversible huge point difference, especially for a team with super offensive ability like the Nets, which may only take a few minutes to catch up directly.

But the problem is that they are facing the Clippers, who are also unique in the league in offensive ability, and can even be said to be the only one.

As a result, the Nets' onslaught didn't close the margin much.

With only two minutes left in the game, the two teams still have a double-digit point difference.

The Nets chose to give up and replaced all the main players early.

In this way, the Clippers won the first game at home 118-107, leading 1-0.

Wang Chao and Durant's battle for points, due to the latter's lack of physical strength, the result is still Wang Chao wins.

Wang Chao shot 14-of-22 and 8-of-8 free throws throughout the game, scoring 42 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists.

In contrast, Durant's 10-of-18 data, 32 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists are not bad, but they are significantly inferior to Wang Chaoyi.

On the Nets side, in addition to Durant, Paul, Booker, and Bogdanovic also scored double-doubles, and the only one in the starters who did not score double-doubles was Jokic, who had 7 points and 8 rebounds.

Jokic played depressed enough in this game, basically did not receive the ball a few times in the whole game, and Lopez on the opposite side seemed to have a grudge against him to kill his father, and followed him every step of the game, not giving him a chance to receive the ball at all.

Compared with the Nets, who have four players in double figures, the Clippers have significantly more players who score in double figures.

Gallinari, Harris, Lopez, Lowe and Harrell, plus Wang Chao, a total of six scored double-doubles.

In this regard, in terms of offensive firepower, the Clippers are even stronger than the Nets!

Of course, as mentioned before, this Clippers team is good at playing tailwind, the game is smooth, and the offensive firepower is unmatched, but once the game falls into a headwind, such as an inaccurate outside shot, it is difficult to say whether the winner will be lost.

Fortunately, the Clippers have the presence of Wang Chao, which ensures the minimum floor of the team.

After winning the first game, the Clippers followed up with another win in Game 2 of the Finals on June 2, winning both home games and leading 2-0.

In the four rounds of the playoffs so far, from the first round to the Finals, the Clippers have never lost a single home game in the first two home games of the series, and only the Warriors have won one home game against the Clippers in G5.

The Clippers leading 2:0 have an absolute advantage, but the Nets are not without chances, as long as they can win the next two home games and chase the score to a 2-2 draw, then at least they can compete with the Clippers for match points.

Everyone knows that the Nets will launch the most ferocious counterattack against the Clippers when they return to their home court, including the post-game press conference after the loss of Game 2, Durant also vowed that he will bring victory to the team when he returns to the home court, and will never sit still.

In Game 3 of the Finals on June 5, Durant did just that.

In this game, Durant was full of firepower, 15 of 27 shots, 5 of 7 three-pointers, 13 of 14 free throws, and scored 48 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, and even overwhelmed Wang Chao, who scored 44 points.

It's just that Wang Chao has 14 rebounds and 11 assists in addition to 44 points.

With Durant's small universe explosion, the Nets successfully pulled one back at home, and the total score came to 2:1.

The victory in this game was a relief to Nets fans, and the Nets really held on to their lives.

But just when they were looking forward to the fourth game of the next Finals, when the Nets could continue to win the game and tie the score, a bad news was like a bolt from the blue, directly to the Nets fans were stunned.

Durant, who turned the tide like death in the last game, felt calf discomfort not long after the game, and after an examination, it was judged to be a calf strain.

It's not a particularly serious injury, but it takes time to recover.

But now that the Nets are still on the way to the Clippers to play the Finals, if they are missing the main core Durant, what else can they do to fight the Clippers?

Fans were worried, but it didn't take long for new news to come in.

Despite the discovery of a calf strain, Durant decided to play with the injury in order to win the game and keep the Nets at the championship.

When others saw the news, they were only moved by Durant's desire and persistence to win, but Wang Chao looked confused.

"Holy, what the hell is this?"

In the original 18-19 season, why did the Warriors lose to the Raptors in the Finals and lose the opportunity to win three consecutive championships?

The reason is simple, Durant is injured.

Durant suffered a calf strain in the second round of the playoffs against the Rockets, missed the entire Western Conference finals, and then forced an early return during the Finals in order to win the game, only to play only 12 minutes before re-injuring the injury, and a torn Achilles tendon, a serious injury that could ruin a player's career.

At that time, almost everyone thought that Durant's career was going to be over, but they didn't expect that two years later, Durant would be resurrected and still be able to play a super individual performance, of course, that's all for later.

Since Wang Chao came to this world, the butterfly effect has changed many things in this world, and some players who should have been ruined by injuries have not been injured, such as Cousins of the Lakers.

He thought that Durant, who was not with the Warriors, should also avoid this major injury in his career.

Unexpectedly, it is a blessing or a curse, and it is a disaster that cannot be avoided.

Durant, who strained his calf during the Finals and decided to continue playing with the injury after the injury, seems to have foreshadowed what will happen to him next.

Although Wang Chao is not good at dealing with Durant, he still doesn't want Durant to get hurt, after all, he will have one less strong competitor in the next two years.

After thinking about it, Wang Chao chose to make a special call to Durant to try to persuade the other party to take his injury seriously.

But it is clear that such an approach will not dissuade Durant.

He originally had a grudge against Wang Chao, and the two are still direct opponents in the finals, even if Wang Chao is really well-intentioned, in Durant's perspective, it will become Wang Chao's off-the-board move in order to win the game.

Seeing Durant's resolute attitude, Wang Chao didn't bother to say anything.

He said everything that should be said, and if the other party didn't listen, he couldn't blame him for his inaction.

On June 7, the home of the Brooklyn Nets, the fourth game of the Finals went on as scheduled.

Durant played with an injury and was still the team's starter.

At the beginning of the game, Nets fans were already sweating for Durant, but it seems that Durant has not been affected by the injury and is in good shape as always.

Durant played 9 minutes in the first quarter of the game, shooting 3 of 4, including 3 of 3 three-pointers and 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 11 points in a single quarter to help the Nets take the lead in the first quarter of the game.

Just when all Nets fans breathed a sigh of relief and began to become optimistic, believing that the Nets could win this game and chase the score to a 2-2 draw.

But in the second quarter of the game, the situation changed dramatically.

Not long after the start of the second quarter of the game, Durant held the ball and made a backward jumper shot, but the shot missed, and Durant fell directly to the ground when he landed, with a painful face.

This scene made the head coach of the Nets "chuckle" in his heart, and his heart couldn't help sinking.

He is also opposed to Durant playing with an injury.

Although the championship is very important to the Nets, the opponent is Wang Chao after all, and the Clippers have the upper hand, even a healthy Durant is not sure that he will be able to win the Clippers, let alone an injured Durant?

Now, the worst has happened.

When Durant landed just now, he didn't have physical contact with anyone, and it was a flat fall, which was the most dangerous, because there was no way to judge the severity of the injury.

From the way Durant fell to the ground in pain, it can actually be guessed that his injuries are definitely not light.

Moments later, Durant limped into the tunnel with the help of his teammates, leaving the Nets home fans who had not recovered from the impact of Durant's injury.

In the next game, both the fans of the Nets and the players on the court have no intention of playing.

In just a few minutes, the Clippers caught up with the point difference behind in the first quarter of the game and overtook it, won the game in one go, rewrote the overall score to 3:1, and took the lead in winning the match point.

The Nets have half stepped into the cliff, but no one cares at all, from media reporters to ordinary fans, everyone is concerned about only one question, what is Durant's injury? Will the next games still be played?

A day later, the Nets' official inspection report was released.

Durant ruptured his Achilles tendon and was determined to be out for the season and miss all of the next Finals games. (End of chapter)