The era of point forwards in the NBA

Chapter 275 Attack and Defense Integration

At the last moment, relying on James' incredible drift three-pointer, the Cavaliers fixed the score at 100 to 99.

After the goal was scored, the Thunder only had 3 seconds to attack. After the timeout ended, Durant and Curry were taken care of by each other, so Lin Yue had to send the ball to Sefolosha who was open.

The latter missed the middle distance, declaring the Thunder's defeat.

However, Thunder fans were not dismayed.

During the period when Curry was injured, the Thunder won hard every game and lost to weak teams. At that time, they thought that the team's prospects were not as good as they thought.

Now fighting the Cavaliers, the No. [-] team in the East, to the last minute, they are satisfied.

It was a good game, similar to the last time the two teams met.

It's just that the protagonist is replaced, and James, who is playing at home, hits a three-point lore and enjoys the voice of the audience. He is the savior of Cleveland. At that moment, people put all their hopes on him.

As for whether they can win the championship, everything depends on a few months later.

As the schedule progressed, the Thunder's record, like other teams, declined.

Then, with just three games remaining in January, their schedule finally eased up.

However, the Thunder lost two of these three games, to the Chicago Bulls led by Rose and the Denver Nuggets led by Anthony.

Only won the underdog Golden State Warriors.

Harden once again complained to Lin Yue and others, but the venue for complaining changed from Golden State to Oklahoma.

At this time, the Thunder's record has changed to 29 wins and 17 losses, ranking sixth in the Western Conference. Except for the Lakers with 37 wins and 11 losses, the other four teams in the Western Conference's top six teams have very little difference.

As for the seventh-ranked Jazz in the Western Conference with 28 wins and 18 losses, they seem to be similar, but the schedule in February is very difficult, and it is their turn to compete with the strong teams.

The competition in the west is confusing and fierce.

The honors in January were also announced.

Lin Yue lost the Rookie of the Month award for the first time, and this honor went to Evans, who averaged 20+6+5 per game.

Perhaps this has something to do with the Thunder's poor record this month. After all, Lin Yue's statistics have always been slightly worse than Evans'.

This time the Eastern Conference Player of the Month is still James, and the Western Conference Player of the Month has become Kobe.

However, none of this matters.

Because the All-Star Weekend will be held as scheduled in mid-February, Lin Yue was successfully elected as the top voter of this All-Star, defeating the very famous Kobe Bryant by a narrow margin.

With the efforts of all Chinese and some Thunder fans, Lin Yue was elected as the All-Star vote leader in the first season of his career.

Of course, this is more or less due to the number of voters. From the perspective of strength, Lin Yue is not yet capable of being compared with Kobe, James and other stars.

Comparing them side by side is more or less excessive for a first-year player.

At the same time, even though Yao Ming has a high ranking, he has to miss the All-Star team due to injuries.

There are still 15 days before the All-Star break, during which time the Thunder still need to focus on the regular season.

After all, the record in January has declined severely. If they don't seize the opportunity to show their strength in February, they may still fall to eighth, and they won't even make it to the playoffs.

Nothing can be slack until the playoffs are confirmed.

In addition to Lin Yue, Durant, who has become a star this season, and Curry, whose statistics have risen sharply, have the opportunity to enter the All-Star. They have no chance to use this time to enjoy a short vacation.

But the All-Star is also an alternative experience, the purpose of the stars to go there is to take a vacation.

Durant and others have not yet participated in the All-Star Game, they are all playing in the Rookie Challenge.

The upcoming All-Star makes the whole team look excited, after all, the vote winner is in their lineup.

……

On February 2, the Thunder ushered in a challenge from the Atlanta Hawks at home. They had just played against this team in the middle of last month, and it didn't take long for them to play against each other again.

Unlike the last game, this time the Thunder has more Curry, Kevin Ollie and Etan Thomas, although they have not returned yet, but this time the Thunder will not be as passive as they were on the field.

After Lin Yue won the vote champion, his popularity in the United States once again ushered in a sharp rise. Fans who are not familiar with the Thunder want to know what the new Chinese vote champion is capable of.

Tickets for the Thunder game sold out within minutes of going on sale, the first time this has happened since the team moved to Oklahoma City.

Even the first regular-season game of moving over failed to cause a sensation among local fans.

Barkley couldn't help feeling emotional when he saw this situation. The Thunder's home atmosphere, which was still dead last season, has undergone a completely new change this season.

As soon as the game started, the Thunder launched a fierce attack.

Mike Bibby's defense is good, but Curry is a shooter, as long as there is a slight space, his three-pointers are like a sharp sword in the enemy's throat.

Lin Yue stepped forward to cover him, and no matter how good Bibby's defense was, he couldn't bypass Lin Yue and directly stepped forward to follow up.

Curry took advantage of this momentary opportunity to make a shot, and the basketball went into the net hollow.

The fans at the scene screamed excitedly. After a series of away trips, the Thunder finally ushered in their home court, and they could hear the home fans shouting to them.

In the next round, Joe Johnson used his best shot to score the ball.

It is still difficult for Lin Yue, who is on guard, to limit the "single player king". It is difficult for an all-round offensive player with rich means to lock him.

What's more, Lin Yue is still a rookie lacking in defense.

3 to 2, the Eagles can still play against the Thunder in the early stage.

As the game progressed, Durant and Curry returned to the home court with full firepower. With the help of Lin Yue, the Thunder's offense was very smooth.

After half a quarter, a five-point lead was established.

After Lin Yue came off the field to take a break, the Thunder's offensive rhythm slowed down a bit, and the Eagles did not allow the point difference to widen further.

Joe Johnson felt good today, 3 of 3 two-pointers, and 9 points with free throws, but he failed to make a three-pointer.

In addition to him, Josh Smith, who played brilliantly in the last match between the two teams, was much quieter, and he couldn't play the defensive counterattack he was good at.

The Thunder's defensive speed is very fast, and Durant can always stop him before he starts up. This time, the shortcomings of unstable shooting are exposed.

In just a few rounds, Durant crushed the former dunk king on both offense and defense.

After the battle with James, Durant also began to focus on personal defense and no longer focused on offense.

His height and wingspan are doomed, as long as he wants to be a defensive leader.

(End of this chapter)