The era of point forwards in the NBA

Chapter 244 Wild Layup (Please Subscription, Monthly Pass)

December 2009, 12, 13:7 pm, Oklahoma, Ford Center.

"As you can see, the two teams in today's match have already started warming up on the court. The home team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, is wearing blue jerseys. Their current record is 15 wins and 5 losses, ranking second in the Western Conference. The one wearing white jerseys is the Cleveland Cavaliers playing away. Their current record is 16 wins and 7 losses. This game is the absolute focus of today's game, and it will be broadcast live across the United States." Kenny Smith said loudly.

"That's right, Kenny and I will explain this game to everyone. The current Cavaliers' record is not as good as the Thunder's. But who would think that their chances of winning will be lower? Probably not much. One is the team competing for the championship, and the other is the biggest dark horse this season. This is not the playoffs. It's hard to feel the pressure, but I believe that both sides will go all out. There are many things to watch in this game. Can LBJ play a dominant performance?" Barkley whetted the audience's appetite before the game started.

Needless to say, this game has already been warmed up before the game. At the same time, the bookmaker has also opened, and there are many people who gamble. At the same time, the online live broadcast has reached the peak of this month. Although it cannot catch up with the game between the Lakers and the Cavaliers, it is not too far behind, and it has also attracted a lot of attention.

Although Lin Yue will not be facing off against James today, people want to see what kind of statistics the rookies of this league will play against the little emperor. After all, the rookie James also hits the rookie wall. Youth means growth.

James has grown a lot in the Cavaliers for 6 years and has become a qualified leader. The only question people have about this proud man is the championship.

People always subconsciously compare him with Kobe, and the matchup between No. 23 and No. 24 always attracts a lot of attention.

People will always compare Jordan and James, but the former has 6 championships and 6 FMVPs. This data alone can be called a god. Two three-peat championships, plus a lot of personal honors, James is not even a star. At least he is still paying for his first championship.

Curry and Lin Yue looked at James who was training at the same time. A year ago, James came to the NCAA to watch their game. Now it is the same three people. Lin Yue and Curry have become teammates, and James is still the leader of the Cavaliers.

This time, it's not the spectators and the players, they are the opponents competing in the same field.

James also looked over after dunking in the warm-up, and found Lin Yue and Curry who were looking at him. He stretched out his hand and shook it as a greeting.

Durant is actively warming up, pulling up three-pointers, stopping mid-range and so on. He is already in the third grade. This season, he will challenge James to defeat him in one-on-one matchups and beat his team.

The collision of top small forwards is bound to create sparks. This season Durant is already in a state of full firepower. The Thunder can achieve this record thanks to the whole team, but only Durant has made the most significant improvement.

The number of shots is less than last season, and all shooting percentages are higher than last season, including average points and rebounds per game. This is the improvement visible to the naked eye.

Since entering the league, Durant has not defeated the Cavaliers led by James. When he wins, James takes a rest. This is also a hurdle that Durant cannot overcome.

"James' speech before the game seems to have caused a lot of topics, and the media also made a fuss about it." Kenny Smith suddenly thought of this before the game started.

"It's true. I've heard of it. The reporter who asked this question was very clever. He deliberately asked the two to compare, and then gave the data of the two, but the data was not faked. James' performance in the first half of his rookie season was not as good as Lin Yue's. This is true in terms of record and statistics, but the Thunder's lineup is much better. Lin Yue has many helpers." Although Barkley likes Lin Yue very much, as a commentator, he will still seek truth from facts.

"It's not just that, it's a different era, and it doesn't make much sense to compare this kind of data intuitively. It can only be said that Lin Yue adapted to the NBA faster than James, but because the two play differently, this difference is reasonable." Barkley added again. These days, the media is getting too much on this kind of thing, and players don't have the mind to concentrate on playing.

The NBA environment is also quietly changing, no longer pure love.

After the two continued to chat for a while, the warm-up time was finally over, and the much-anticipated game was about to begin.

The ingenious and interesting dialogue between Barkley and Kenny Smith also mobilized the audience's emotions. At the beginning of the game, the Thunder fans at the scene dedicated their most enthusiastic screams to the home team.

The starting lineup sent by the Thunder has not changed, Curry, Lin Yue, Durant, Sefolosha and Collison.

After a rest, Collison returned to the starting lineup again. After some adjustments, his physical condition at the moment is definitely the best in the team.

The starting lineup sent by the Cavaliers is Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, LeBron James, JJ Hickson and "Shaquille" Shaquille O'Neal.

Players from both sides started jumping the ball. The Sharks in their old age still defeated Collison in this jumping ball. This is a bit illogical.

After the jump ball was successful, he even jumped two steps, smiling happily, like a naughty, immature child.

Mo Williams took the ball across the half.

Mo Williams is 1.85m and weighs 88kg. He is a scoring point guard who loves mid-range and long distances.

However, he is physically stronger than Curry, but he doesn't like breakthroughs, and he rarely uses his body to fight and force a layup.

In the 2008-09 season, he averaged 35 minutes per game, scored 17.8 points, 4.1 assists and 3.4 rebounds, shot 46.7% from the field, 43.6% from three-pointers, and over 90% from free throws. His offensive efficiency was good.

Last season was also the peak season of his career so far. On February 2009, 2, because the Raptors player Chris Bosh missed the 11 All-Star Game due to a knee sprain, NBA President David Stern designated Mo Williams to replace Bosh. Mo Williams was selected to the NBA All-Star team for the first time in his career.

This is his recognition.

Little Mo passed the ball to Anthony Parker, and Anthony Parker transferred the ball to James.

James puts up the ball, and the rest of the Cavaliers space the floor and create one-on-one opportunities for him.

Durant was trying his best to block it. The Thunder did not double-team the first ball, and James' mid-range and long-range shots were mediocre.

However, James did not use the conventional trick of turning around and shooting a jumper when he played back. Instead, he ran all the way into the inside, pressed Durant's long arm under the basket, and scored the ball.

It can be seen how exaggerated his physical fitness is. After the confrontation, Durant took a few steps back, and the defense after the follow-up was naturally useless.

2 to 0, James used his body to force Durant as soon as he came up.

Durant gritted his teeth. If he could resist the confrontation before the layup just now, he would not say that he could block the ball, but there is a high probability that he could prevent it. Unfortunately, his physical fitness is much worse than that of James.

Now Durant is just a thin-looking bamboo pole. He usually trains and has muscles on his body, but it doesn't look obvious. If he doesn't meet James, he can play the rest of the small forwards.

This kind of strong body collision seems to be difficult for Durant. James is like a tank rushing inside.

Curry sent the ball to Lin Yue. Lin Yue passed the ball to the fierce-eyed Durant after half court. That's right. As the leader of the team, this is when he needs to stand up.

In a frontal one-on-one, the Thunder also opened up their positions. They have more shooters at this time, and it is easy to open up space.

"KD and LBJ are competing head-on. As the core of the two teams, they really need to collide head-on. They both belong to the small forward position. KD has not won James before, which also makes him questioned a lot. Today is a good opportunity." Barkley said.

There must be a fierce battle between the top small forwards. Durant has an advantage in height and wingspan, and James' physical fitness is obviously stronger. I don't know how he will choose to play singles.

Durant first changed direction drastically, using the shaking of his shoulders to create confusion. At this time, he rushed to the inside. James is also a superstar who combines offense and defense. He quickly followed up to defend and gave a physical confrontation.

Whether it's a shot or a layup, this kind of confrontation is an inevitable result.

This is the test for Durant, whether he can score the ball in the face of James' physical confrontation.

Durant changed hands in the air, and James had already interfered. At this time, O'Neal under the basket also jumped to interfere with him.

Durant chose to throw in the air, and the bullet came out from close range.

At this time, the referee's whistle sounded, and the ball blew O'Neal's push in the air.

"If the ball is not a foul, there is a high probability that he will not be able to score. This shot position is not good for him." Kenny Smith said, but fortunately, the referee noticed the subtle movements.

Durant made two free throws and the score came to 2 to 2. Both big brothers scored two points for the team first.

"It can still be seen that KD is not comfortable playing against LBJ." Barkley looked at the frowning Durant and said, James' tough defense made him feel uncomfortable, and the layup after the confrontation was also somewhat deformed.

In this round, Xiao Mo chose to shoot himself with the help of James' cover. He prefers offense to defense because he is strong in offense and weak in defense.

Durant and Curry formed a defensive switch. If Mo looked back, he would definitely pass the ball back to James, because Durant, who was tall and long, was chasing after him.

However, Collison, who was focused on the basket by Xiao Mo, and O'Neal helped him get stuck. The ball only needs to pick the basket to make progress.

As a result, at the moment of the shot, Durant came up with a nail plate cap, pressed the ball down abruptly, and protected the ball.

The Thunder immediately formed a defensive counterattack.

After Lin Yue received Durant's long pass, he gave up two points at the basket and returned to Curry who followed up from the outside.

"The Cavaliers have no one under the basket. Do you still want to pass the ball? This pass is too ridiculous." Barkley exclaimed, this kind of unreasonable pass will be scolded by the coach.

At this moment, Barkley turned his gaze to the Thunder's bench. Coach Brooks was looking at the players on the field and smiling, as if he was happy with Lin Yue's choice.

A three-pointer is indeed one point more than a two-pointer, but no one is defending the basket!

Barkley was very puzzled, but on the court, Curry dodged Anthony Parker, who was flying to defend, took a small step back, and shot a three-pointer with his bow and arrow.

Before the goal was scored, several members of the Thunder made a celebration. This is the mutual trust between the players, and Curry will not miss this kind of ball.

"Shh!"

5 to 2, the Thunder lead by 3 points.

This time James dribbled the ball forward by himself, and the game has just begun, so there is no need to rush, just find your own rhythm first.

JJ Hickson of the Cavaliers ran to the top of the arc to cover James. Although Durant couldn't resist, he was still a great threat on the defensive end with his height and wingspan, and he was not satisfied with his speed.

Durant's single-defense efficiency is higher than last season, and he is growing in all aspects in the third grade. This is the experience he has accumulated after many games.

James suddenly scored to O'Neal under the basket. After the latter pushed Collison, he easily hit the board and scored.

Even in his twilight years, O'Neal still has an advantage at the basket, especially facing the Thunder who are not strong inside, he can shine on the offensive and defensive end.

If he really came to assist James to win the championship, it seems that by signing him, this year's Cavaliers have a chance to achieve a breakthrough.

5 to 4, Jane Ao connected, unstoppable, James' precise passing can stimulate O'Neal's more potential.

Then there is Lin Yue and James' ability to compete in organization. After all, they are players with more than ten assists per game. Lin Yue's vision is even better than James.

The game was pleasing to the eye, and the score rose quickly.

After Lin Yue was sent off for half a quarter, the score of the two teams came to 18 to 15, and the Thunder temporarily led by three points.

James is still on the court, and he doesn't seem to care about statistics, and he doesn't allow inaction.

After Lin Yue left the court, James remained on the court. It seemed that he was going to play the rhythm of the first quarter.

After the substitution, the Thunder's offensive efficiency declined. Without Lin Yue's organization, the team's offensive threat was much less.

However, the presence of Curry and Durant on the court determined the Thunder's lower limit.

Durant's hand feeling is not good, the emergency stop in the middle distance misses the basket, and the sight is not good.

Curry was much more comfortable under Xiao Mo's defense. He hit three three-pointers in the first quarter, which was the hero for the team's lead at the end of the first quarter.

29 to 27, at the end of the first quarter, the Thunder still lead by two points.

In this quarter, James made 7 of 4, missed a three-pointer, made 5 of 3 free throws, scored 11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal, and made a bulldozer-style layup.

Fortunately, Curry scored 15 points in a single quarter and scored half of the team's points alone, which made up for Durant's current poor performance.

Despite preparing for so long before the game, he was still a little timid when facing James. He didn't play to the level he should have, and sat on the bench without saying a word.

"Don't worry, wait for me to open the score." Lin Yue patted Durant on the shoulder and said to him.

The first half of the second quarter was his stage.

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(End of this chapter)