The era of point forwards in the NBA

Chapter 227 Everyone Hopes For It (asking for a subscription, asking for a monthly pass)
Game start.

The starting lineup sent by the Jazz is Deron Williams, Ronnie Brewer, Wesley Matthews, Boozer and Okur.

The starting lineup sent by the Thunder is Curry, Lin Yue, Durant, Sefolosha and Collison.

Deron is a new-generation point guard ranked well in the league, and was selected to the second team of the NBA All-NBA team last season.

Boozer is also a popular inside player in the league. He has repeatedly scored high points in the matchup with Yao Ming. He participated in the 04 and 08 Olympic Games, and won the BJ Olympic Championship with the team in 08.

Judging by the lineup alone, the strength of the Jazz is definitely not bad. They also sit on the bench with one of the league's most versatile players, "AK47" Kirilenko.

The player from Russia was selected as an NBA All-Star in 04, won the league's block leader in 05, and is the first player in NBA history to rank among the top five in both steals and blocks per game. He has comprehensive skills and outstanding defense.

But even with a good lineup, the Jazz have failed to achieve good results in the playoffs in recent years. Last season, they entered the playoffs as the eighth in the Western Conference, and were eliminated by the Lakers 4-1 in the first round.

Such a Jazz team can always beat the Rockets in the playoffs, which makes Chinese fans somewhat hate them. After all, the fans still hope to see Yao Ming stand on the highest podium.

At the beginning, the Jazz did not let Okur, who was 2.11m, jump the ball, but let Boozer, who was only 2.06m, jump the ball.

Okur is not a traditional center in the league. He does not have enough inside skills and is not good at confrontation. He is a fake center who prefers to play outside.

Sure enough, in the jump ball, Boozer beat Collison and won the first offensive round for the Jazz.

Deron dribbled the ball across half court. What Lin Yue didn't expect was that Jazz center Okur was not standing in the penalty area, but power forward Boozer was standing inside the box.

Okur pocketed from the inside to the bottom corner, and Deron quickly crossed the ball. Before the Thunder players could react, Okur threw the ball.

"Shua!" The basketball went into the net hollowly, and the Jazz made a goal.

Although Lin Yue knew that the center forward of the Jazz was a shooting player, he didn't expect to play this kind of offense as soon as he came up. No wonder Yao Ming couldn't take advantage of this guy's matchup. If he wanted to run and keep up with the defense, it would be a challenge for the bigger Yao Ming.

In the 2006-07 season, in the regular season, Okur averaged 17.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, and his three-point shooting percentage reached 38.4%.In the playoffs, the Jazz faced the Rockets in the first round.

Okur limited Yao Ming's field goal percentage to just 44 percent throughout the series, allowing Yao Ming to make 7 turnovers in seven games, while Okur was 33 centimeters shorter than Yao Ming.In the end, Okur helped the Jazz eliminate the Rockets through the tiebreaker to advance to the Western Conference semifinals, and helped the Jazz defeat the Warriors 15-4 in the Western Conference semifinals to reach the Western Conference Finals.

At the same time, he himself was also successfully selected as an All-Star in 07. Although this was the case when both Ray Allen and Iverson withdrew due to injuries, the substitute list designated by Stern still allowed him to enter the All-Star for the first time in his career.

Compared with the Thunder, which has not yet entered the All-Star team, the Jazz's background is much more luxurious.

Curry dribbled the ball across half court and gave it to Lin Yue.

Originally, Lin Yue intended to pass the ball to Durant, but the moment he caught the ball, the fans cheered enthusiastically.

Durant also ran to pick and roll him, and it seemed that everyone expected him to score the first goal.

"Now Lin has to choose to make his own shot." Barkley said with a smile, the fans are so cheering, he should not be disappointed.

After the screen, Lin Yue successfully rushed to the basket. At this time, Okur was the only one in the penalty area. Boozer was successfully led out of the paint by Sefolosha. In terms of three-pointers, they also have a good hand.

Okur's defense at the basket is still there. Anyway, he is a 2.11m insider and weighs 113 kg. Although he doesn't like confrontation, it's not impossible to resist. He immediately stepped forward to interfere with Lin Yue's layup.

At this time, Collison under the basket was in the air defense state, and Lin Yue also caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye, but he did not choose to pass the ball to Collison, but shot himself, and scored the ball against Okur.

2 to 3, the ball was scored in an unbalanced aerial confrontation, and the audience began to boil. Today is not only Lin Yue's birthday, but also a carnival for the fans.

The same is true for the fans in front of the domestic TV. Many fans secretly thought that if the Thunder can beat the Jazz, I will be a fan of Lin Yue for the rest of my life.

In the next round, Deron didn't pass the ball to allow his teammates to open up space. He wanted to single Curry.

Deron is about the same height as Curry, but he is stronger than Curry. He is a heavy point guard, 1.91m, 94.8 kg, and his weight is almost as high as Lin Yue.

After consecutive cross dribbles, he rushed to the basket, lifted Curry and put the ball into the net.

5 to 2, the Jazz played very proactively. This season, their record of 7 wins and 6 losses did not meet the expectations of the fans. There were still some grievances between Sloan and Deron, which led to the team's poor state.

However, the management has already issued an order. If they can't make it to the playoffs, everyone can't afford to go around. Now that the competition in the West is so fierce, they have to seize the opportunity if they want to make it to the playoffs.

Deron himself also wants to play a good record. After all, several years have passed, he has been selected to the All-Defensive Team and has not been selected as an All-Star. He also has his own requirements this season.

For the Thunder, Lin Yue passed a cross to Sefolosha in the corner, and Boozer caught up with the interference, and the basketball bounced out of the hoop.

Okur got the rebound, Deron launched a fast break, and the rest of the Jazz rushed towards the Thunder half court. Matthews made a fast break three-pointer, which was so powerful that it hit the back edge and popped out.

The offense of both sides failed to score, and the game was so fierce from the beginning.

Immediately afterwards, Lin Yue forced Ronnie Brewer one-on-one, hit back and turned around and made a hit.

5 to 4, the Thunder began to enter their own offensive rhythm.

Deron still has an advantage over Curry, and Lin Yue will double-team him from time to time. However, after several years of baptism in the playoffs, Deron has a very good view of the overall situation.

Boozer's low post singles, Sefolosha's speed can keep up, but it is not good for him to fight hard.

Boozer has a strong body and can finish with both left and right hands. He is the best power forward in the league with both left and right hands.

One head and one bump, turning around and scoring with a hook, no extra steps, no confusing movements, just pure strength and touch.

7 to 4, after three rounds, the Jazz finally scored a goal.

Curry can't take advantage of the defensive end, but on offense, he has shown a super talent for running off the ball.

This is what Deron is most afraid of. He has a strong body and can cope with the intention of other teams trying to switch defenses against singles.

Moreover, the Thunder created a bunch of cover tactics for Curry. After receiving a pass from his teammate, Curry slanted 45 degrees outside the left three-point line and hit a three-pointer.

7 to 7, the Thunder tied the score.

As they said before the game, they wanted to celebrate Lin Yue with a victory. Curry stopped concentrating and devoted himself to the game.

After tying the score, the Thunder suddenly strengthened their defensive strength. Players began to physically confront the ball holder to consume and interfere. At the same time, the speed of defense changes also accelerated.

Deron realized that something was wrong. His teammate's running position failed to get rid of the defender. After observing it again, there was no good position to pass the ball. Even Boozer was firmly stuck by Sefoloza, which was obviously not the case in the last goal.

In desperation, Deron had no choice but to shoot himself, but Curry was not at a disadvantage in the slightest. He failed to squeeze into the inside after several strong hits, so he had to forcefully throw the ball.

He can play this kind of inefficient ball with a steady style of play. It is conceivable how good the Thunder's defense is.

Deron looked into Stephen Curry's eyes, so focused and determined, he seemed to play with the determination to win, and he worked hard for it, no matter what.

"Is this game so important?" At this time, Deron Williams didn't know that tonight was Lin Yue's birthday.

Ibaka grabbed the defensive rebound, and the Thunder's three players started at the same time and began to counterattack the fast break.

Ibaka passed the ball to Lin Yue, and Lin Yue rushed to the free throw line and gave it to Curry who followed up.

Curry was chased by Deron behind him.

Deron knew that the counterattack was caused by his failure to score. The ball had to be defended, so he chased after Curry fiercely, even if he made a foul, he couldn't let the ball score.

But Curry knew that someone was chasing him when he started, and he also knew that there were teammates behind him.

When he came to the basket, Curry jumped high and did not shoot towards the basket, but threw it upward.

"Could it be that the ball was dropped?" Deron was still wondering why the opponent didn't shoot the ball.

Suddenly, a huge force knocked him to the ground, and because he had no defense, Delong was persecuted without knowing what happened.

Then he only heard a "bang", as if someone dunked the ball hard into the basket, and the fans at the scene burst out with amazing enthusiasm.

Deron was relieved to realize that the ball that Curry threw high was dunked by Durant who came from behind, and he became the background board of embarrassment.

9 to 7, the Thunder finally took the lead.

"This cooperation is too handsome, fast, and the cooperation between the three of them is good. I thought Stephen would shoot by himself, but I didn't expect him to give KD a follow-up lob. If the timing of the ball is not good, it is easy to make mistakes. It is hard to imagine that this kind of cooperation is a newly formed three-person team." Points cannot be completed.

"To be honest, I'm a little envious." Le Fu said with stars shining in his eyes.

"Hey, I cooperated well with you before, okay, it's immoral to be so sour in front of my former teammates." Westbrook complained.

"It's far away." Love ignored him, causing Westbrook to be secretly sad.

……

"Seeing you guys arguing so happily, I really want to play!" Griffin said suddenly, frightening the two watching the game.

"Your reflex arc is too long. It's been a few minutes, and Lin is off." After Westbrook finished speaking, he saw Griffin's yearning expression. Sure enough, basketball is the most important thing to him. It must be uncomfortable not to play now.

"Actually, it's good to not be able to play the game. The Clippers are in such a mess right now. You may not be able to deal with it when you go. They obviously want to be bad and can't make the playoffs." Love said, he has a deep understanding of this. The current Timberwolves are like this.

"Have you noticed that Lin has become stronger?" Seeing that the topic was a bit heavy, Westbrook began to change the subject.

"This is what everyone expects." Love looked at the fans at the scene and laughed.

At this time, the Ford Center Arena is like Chinese New Year.

(End of this chapter)