The era of point forwards in the NBA

Chapter 269 Slow-tempo team

OJ Mayo chose to give up singles, but the Grizzlies' offense did not stop.

Under Conley's tandem, Randolph and Marc Gasol scored the ball at the basket one after another.

Immediately afterwards, Durant's mid-range shot began to miss, and the Grizzlies seized the opportunity to counterattack. Conley's long pass found Rudy Gay, who spread his wings and finished the offense with a powerful dunk.

6 to 5, the Grizzlies took the lead in an instant.

Seeing that Durant has not found an offensive state for a long time, Lin Yue chose to cooperate with Curry.

I don't know if it's because the two haven't cooperated on the court for a while, but Curry and Lin Yue made a mistake in this pick-and-roll cooperation.

Curry's pass was seen through by OJ Mayo, who blocked the pass and blocked the ball.

Fortunately, the Thunder's return to defense was fast enough, and the Grizzlies' fast break failed this time.

After entering the positional battle, the Grizzlies began to slowly dig in, trying to compress the offensive area.

It has to be said that the offensive rhythm of the Grizzlies is really too slow, so stable that every time they complete an attack when there are only 5 seconds left in the attack time, if it is changed to the past, wouldn't it be enough for 35 seconds.

Fortunately, this time Collison withstood Randolph head-on, forcing him to shoot at a certain distance from the basket, and this time his sight was exposed.

Seizing the problem of the opponent's offense, the Thunder immediately launched a counterattack.

Although he scored 5 points in a row at the beginning, Durant really has no temper in the face of Rudy Gay, who is similar to himself and has better physical talent than himself.

The speed of lateral movement is not slow, but in the case of increased confrontation, Durant's shooting posture will change.

The game just went like a live hand-to-hand combat.

Fortunately, Curry returned this game. If Curry hadn't passed Conley, the Thunder's offense would not have scored again.

7 to 6, since then the two sides began to lead each other.

Facing the aggressive Grizzlies at home, under the opponent's slow-paced and tight defensive system, it is difficult for the Thunder, who are good at singles, to win. The team's cooperation is the key to defeating their opponents in this game.

After Lin Yue left the court, the organization of the Thunder team was handed over to Curry, who did a good job. It was the first time Lin Yue watched the Thunder team's offense so smoothly off the court.

It seems that during this period of rest, Curry is also studying how to connect the team well, after all, he is the team's starting point guard.

首节比赛将结束，雷霆队以26比28落后2分，雷霆队唯一值得高兴的就是OJ梅奥这一节4中0，罚球2中2，拿到2分1助攻2篮板。

This is the record he played at the same time as Lin Yue.

Lin Yue made 2 of 1 and missed free throws. He scored 2 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds, obviously better than Mayo.

For the Thunder, Durant made 8 of 2, 1 of 0 three-pointer, and 2 of 2 free throws. He played the entire first quarter. The team leader only scored 6 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist.

It seems that Rudy Gay is still very skilled in defending this kind of shooting forward.

……

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Thunder made adjustments. After Curry returned, the Thunder's point guard had a substitute player again, and Lin Yue no longer needed to be the point guard of the bench lineup, because the team needed him to score.

Lin Yue also responded to the head coach's request with his own actions. After scoring 4 points in a sudden shot, the Thunder successfully overtook the score.

OJ Mayo found it difficult to defend Lin Yue alone. He is not just an organizer. In one-on-one, his rich skills and precise backward jumper will put a lot of pressure on the defender.
The Grizzlies' bench lineup is average compared to the starting lineup, and this season's Grizzlies are also a youth team. Rudy Gay was drafted in 06, Mayo was drafted in 08, Conley was drafted in 09, and Marc Gasol also came to the team this year.

As far as Randolph was selected in the 01 draft, an experienced inside player led this new generation of players. Compared with the Thunder, this lineup structure cannot be said to be exactly the same, but it can only be said to be exactly the same.

In contrast, the bench lineup is a bit underwhelming.

OJ Mayo and Marc Gasol lead the bench lineup, and the offense will naturally be handed over to these two players.

Marc Gasol, Lin Yue played against him as early as in the Olympic Games. At that time, the Gasol brothers' combination of inside and outside lines caused a lot of trouble for the Chinese team.

Paul Gasol is a skilled inside player, and Marc Gasol, as his younger brother, is also very skilled at the basket.

The hook after turning around threw Ibaka around. The footwork skills at the basket are rare in the league at this stage. Most players rely on their strength to directly eat cakes and dunk.

Marc Gasol's style of play is actually very difficult to defend, because there are many variations of his footsteps. Ibaka himself is an inside player, so of course he knows this.

Before Durant and Curry returned to the field, the two sides were in the offensive stage. The Grizzlies' speed was too slow, and the Thunder would seize the opportunity to defend and counterattack, forcing the Grizzlies to play fast.

As a result, every time, the Grizzlies dealt with it properly, like a veteran team.

No wonder they have improved so much this season. Sure enough, the system is well constructed. It is difficult for a team with this steady style of play to widen the gap, and naturally it is difficult for the opponent to lead much.

In the end, when the main players such as Durant and Curry returned to the court, the Thunder were 42 to 43, only one point behind the Grizzlies.

At this time, the Grizzlies also replaced their main force on the field. Conley, a rookie, has a very high golf quotient, which will not be reflected in his physical fitness.

But when the two teams officially played against each other, the Thunder found that Conley was completely underestimated.

His passing is very accurate, especially in the control of rhythm. He knows that facing this kind of team that likes to play fast, he must pull the Thunder into a positional battle and play full games with them, so that the impact of the Thunder will be much smaller.

In fact, the Thunder were led by the Grizzlies in the second half of the second quarter.

The point difference was opened up bit by bit, Conley's offense was not good, and he didn't have the ability to attack independently, so he passed the ball to his teammates.

Randolph and Marc Gasol at the basket took the lead temporarily by virtue of strong play.

The second quarter was about to end, the Thunder trailed by 52 points 57 to 5, and the Thunder's defensive counterattack and fast break were restrained by the Grizzlies.

San Shao also failed to use his top personal strength to open up the situation for the team. After gradually getting used to the Thunder's offensive mode, the Grizzlies' defense began to be aggressive.

The inner twin towers are like an infinitely high protective cover. As long as you rush in rashly, there is a high probability that you will be blocked, and one will be hidden.

After seeing Durant and Curry being blocked one after another, Lin Yue also learned to behave. He no longer waited for a breakthrough, but initiated an attempt from the outside.

Although Conley's defense is not as clingy as a top defensive point guard, he relies on his brain to guess Curry's style of play, and blocks through observation, so Curry has no suitable shots.

When encountering such a slow-paced team, everyone in the Thunder team felt their scalps go numb.

(End of this chapter)