The era of point forwards in the NBA

Chapter 201 Little Fights Big God

5 to 2, the Thunder took the initiative on the field and hit both shots at the beginning.

After Redick was provoked, he was aggrieved, but Nelson didn't pass the ball to him, but hoisted it to Howard again.

The Thunder didn't rush to flank Howard. It wasn't because they thought Collison could defend Howard, but because they were afraid of the outside shooters.

Just like the Eastern Conference finals between the Cavaliers and the Magic last season, the Cavaliers have been struggling with whether to pinch Howard throughout the series. As a result, not only did Howard go crazy, but also the other shooters of the Magic team.

This is why the Cavaliers signed O'Neal this year. Even in his twilight years, they also hope that they can rely on tonnage to prevent Howard.

The Thunder thought very clearly today, if you want to play inside, you can play inside, but you must not let the shooter miss the shot, which will quickly widen the point difference.

This time Howard played back-up singles, but Collison is a player who has been selected for the national team after all, and he also has the character of not admitting defeat.

The two insiders started a fierce collision between flesh and blood.

Howard, who was still at his peak in the end, was even stronger. After pushing Collison away, he turned around and threw the ball with a hook.

People are indeed stronger, but this simple close-range hook didn't make it.

Howard took off again, grabbed the rebound before Collison with his amazing bullet speed, and chose the second attack again.

Collison, who lost his defensive position, had to choose to foul and send Howard to the free throw line.

After scoring the first free throw, the big boy who likes to show a healing smile again.

Two free throws were made and the score came to 5-4.

Neither side scored a goal in the next two rounds. Howard missed another shot at the basket. This time, Collison didn't miss the opportunity and got the defensive rebound first and moved back to Yicheng.

However, Lin Yue and Durant made a mistake in the fast break cooperation, which caused Collison to slip away again the ball he finally obtained.

Nelson didn't choose to score with the help of a screen this time, but made a layup by himself after passing the man. Howard helped him block Collison. This kind of layup was originally intended to be won.

It's a pity that Lin Yue came to make up for the defense, and the moment he shot the ball, he slapped the ball out of the baseline.

"After entering the league, Lin Yue's defense has also improved. He averaged 0.8 blocks per game, which is really not easy for him as a shooting guard." Barkley said happily. After all, he is a guy he is optimistic about. The better he performs, the happier he is as a master.

Then Redick made a fake shot and hit Lin Yue, and then made a quick stop and hit a mid-range shot.

"Forget it, this defense needs to be strengthened." Barkley was slapped in the face as soon as he finished speaking, a little embarrassed.

Kenny Smith sniggered from the sidelines.

5 to 6, the Magic went ahead by 2 points.

"Huh, that's it." Redick finally had the confidence to respond after scoring a goal, and became crazy.

Lin Yue just smiled, and immediately took his position at the Magic's half court.

Curry passed the ball to Lin Yue again after he dribbled the ball. This time, Lin Yue directly passed the ball to Durant. In any case, when the three of them were on the court, Durant was the core of the offense. What's more, Durant's strength is indeed the strongest among the three young players.

Durant made a big change of direction and passed Barnes, who had been entangled for a long time, and took off directly with the striding meteor to glide in the air, intending to face Howard's defense with a dunk.

The fans at the scene opened their mouths wide. The visual effect of the ball was shocking enough. Howard and Durant took off at the same time, and the two leading stars collided head-on.

This time Howard was a little unconvinced. He used all his strength and leaped high. He was bound to defend the ball. There was Lin Yue in front of him, and Durant is now. Together with your Thunder team, I will not pay attention to my three-time dpoy (best defensive player).

"boom."

"Dong dong dong."

With a yell, Howard won the air duel, and Durant fell heavily to the ground.

Lin Yue and Curry trotted over to pull him up.

At this time the referee's whistle sounded.

Howard's expression changed suddenly, from elation to doubt.

"How could this ball be a foul? It's a good hat." Howard yelled at the referee with an incomprehensible look on his face, but the referee still maintained his judgment and ignored the players' doubts.

"The referee's whistle is a bit late." Seeing Howard, who was still arguing with him, Kenny Smith said.

"Actually, we can't see clearly whether there is a foul action on this ball. Let's watch the replay." Barkley said.

The referee at the scene maintained his own judgment. Howard was a little dissatisfied, but under the persuasion of his teammates, he did not argue with the referee any more. It would be a real loss if he suffered another technical foul.

With Durant's two free throws, the video of the ball just now came out.

"Sure enough, Dwight is indeed suspected of fouling the ball. He touched his hand and changed the trajectory of the ball, but it seems that he doesn't know it yet." Kenny Smith said, he couldn't understand Howard's behavior.

"Sometimes I really don't notice the foul. It's like this when I'm playing high. Dwight just now was thinking about blocking KD's dunk. Naturally, he didn't notice such a subtle change, but the referee's penalty is not a problem." Barkley explained that he is also an inside player, so it is somewhat understandable.

With 5 minutes left before the end of the first quarter, Lin Yue was replaced as usual.

The score came to 16 to 15, with the Magic leading by one point. Howard still had the ability to dominate inside. When Brooks replaced Lin Yue, he also replaced Collison with Ibaka.

Ibaka's physical fitness is not bad. Although he is not as exaggerated as Howard, he can resist to some extent, but he is a little short in height, which is really a disadvantage.

Without Lin Yue, the Thunder would naturally change their style of play, allowing Curry to hold the ball, while Durant would take the initiative to go outside and play pick-and-rolls with Curry.

Since Ibaka's screen quality is good, and his mid-range and long-range shots are not bad, he also went to the outside to play and cooperate. Howard couldn't let his opponent shoot.

In this way, Howard also ran to the free throw line together, which entered the trap designed by Coach Brooks.

He just used this to give Curry a chance to match up with Howard. Howard is indeed the best defensive player, but it is for the inside, no matter how fast he is, it is impossible to catch up with the defender.

And Curry's speed is also considered high among guards.

In this way, this scene was formed on the field. Several Thunder players covered Curry one after another, and finally Howard and Curry faced each other. At first, there was no one at the basket, but now Ibaka and Barnes are blocking each other.

After seeing the defensive player turn into Howard, Curry smiled and became the "smiling assassin".

After continuous rhythm changes, Howard's high center of gravity had no time to adjust, so he could only watch Curry pass it and drop it, but it passed, and it didn't pass at all.

Curry knows that Howard will definitely catch up with the block when he reacts. It's hard to say with his defense speed and bounce, but if he withdraws to shoot a three-pointer, it's another matter.

Curry pulled the ball back out of the three-point line as soon as he passed Howard, and Howard took some time to catch up.

Howard's hand didn't catch up until Curry took a three-pointer with a step back, but the bounce and wingspan were really scary, and Curry thought that even this would be blocked.

Fortunately, the ball slipped through the fingers and entered the net with a "swish".

The scene fell into carnival again. This time the goal was a one-on-one victory. Curry's three-pointer was too morale-boosting.

"Dwight has tried his best on this ball. His reaction speed is already top-notch among centers. However, Curry's several misdirection changes are too perfect. This set of smooth and smooth operations is simply a model of small players playing big. If I meet such a player, I think it will be difficult." Barkley really felt a little sympathetic to Howard after speaking.

"Stephen Curry's competitive state today is very good. The ball was very difficult, but he didn't lose his balance and went into the net. It seems that today's Thunder team is worth looking forward to." Kenny Smith said with a smile.

Curry, small hit big drop God.

(End of this chapter)