Start coaching the Thunder, starting with Westbrook

Chapter 223 The Third Battle

In the Eastern Conference finals, the Heat and the Pacers scored 1:1, and the Heat pulled back a victory.

Wade has been in hot form for two consecutive games, while Paul George has shown the unstable side of the young star. The shooting rate in this game is only 25%. Even if Stephenson and Hibbert played well, they cannot stand up to the team's lack of offense.

The outside world was not very optimistic about them, but now they have lost a home game. Although the series is tied, the Heat's victory situation seems to be getting clearer.

On Saturday, May 5, the Heat returned to the home court and made another victory, leading 26:2 and regaining the advantage in the series.

The Heat's inefficiency and [-]-point lag in the first quarter made the Miami fans lose their voices, but they took the lead for three consecutive quarters, gradually closing the score and overtaking it.

Once again, George was disappointing. He couldn't stand up at the critical moment, and he showed a disadvantage in this round of matchup with Wade.

The Heat basically relied on James and Wade. In the regular season, Wade was affected by age and injuries. On the contrary, he played better in the playoffs.

The next day was the third game between the Thunder and the Spurs. The Thunder came to San Antonio. Li Sheng and Udoka, who returned to their "old clubs" in the Western Conference finals, made many San Antonio fans who remembered them feel very complicated.

ESPN made a prediction before the game. Before the series, it was only a [-]-[-] prediction ratio, but now it has become a [-]-[-] split. It is basically a one-sided side against the Thunder. The difference is to predict how many games they can win.

There are a few who think they will sweep, and most think that the two sides will play the sixth game, and the key depends on the result of their third game.

If the Spurs can rebound strongly, they will still have a chance in the series, but if they fall behind 0:3, the only question left is whether they will be swept.

Although San Antonio is not a big city, and the ball market is quite average, the fans who came in at home were quite enthusiastic. When the Thunder came out, they were booed immediately. They used this method to cheer for the home team that was behind.

In such an atmosphere, the Spurs also made an excellent start. At 12:3, in more than four minutes, Li Chengming directly called a timeout.

It may be because of the extra day of rest, the old man on the opposite side seemed to be alive and well this time, but Li Sheng didn't care about the performance of the other side, he knew that the key to victory or defeat lay with himself.

Seeing that the players did not show the slightest panic, Li Sheng nodded, knowing that they were not intimidated by the opponent's momentum.

At this point, no one will give up easily, and they also know that they will encounter fierce resistance from their opponents when they come to the away game.

What else can I say, just do it!

"Okay, back to the game... The Spurs came up with a lot of momentum today, but the Thunder were not overwhelmed. After returning, they quickly responded."

"Look at this ball - oops, it hurts enough to hit the head and cover the face. Ginobili is a bit over the top. Westbrook fell directly to the ground, and then got up immediately to rush up. The referee hurried over to stop the conflict between the two sides..."

"Everyone has been saying that Westbrook appears to be tepid in this playoffs, but looking at the statistics, he is very efficient and even made fewer mistakes. I think this has something to do with his change in playing style. At present, his body is fine. It's not that injuries have affected his performance, but it's just Coach Li's arrangement."

Li Sheng doesn't know what Westbrook's mood is now, and whether there will be dissatisfaction in his heart, but judging from the results, his arrangement of Westbrook is good, and it is also a good thing for the team.

Of course, it’s better to avoid balls like the one just now. Although Li Sheng secretly added protection to Westbrook’s ankles and legs, if the opponent plays more dirty, he will not be able to withstand it. After all, who knows that if he is not careful to protect himself, he will injure other places, such as palm fractures, concussions, etc. It is not impossible.

The Spurs should be experts in playing tricks. Many Spurs fans and even other fans like to attribute everything to Bowen alone, but in fact Duncan was not very clean in the early days, and there were many small tricks.

Just like the ball just now was a slap in the face by Ginobili, who directly slapped Westbrook on the face. After watching the replay, the referee chose to give a malicious foul, which immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of the fans on the scene.

Fans have double standards. Whether their views on penalties are fair or not depends entirely on which side they stand on.

If it benefits you, you will try to ignore it even if you don't wash it. If you suffer it, it must be "black whistle", "alliance shelter" and the like.

When the warriors establish their dynasty in the future, most of the remarks such as "do not use the boundary" and "move the Great Wall" actually come from competitors.

Is there any benefit?

There must be, and it can even be said that there are quite a few, but the question is which of the top teams in the league has not been praised, and which team has not won?
The Lakers dynasty passed by stepping on the corpse of the king, the Spurs dynasty passed by stepping on the corpse of the sun, King James...er...

In the end, the fans talk more, and they can even go straight to the history books.

Doesn't the current Thunder also benefit from the whistle, but Thunder fans certainly won't feel that they have benefited.

While the Spurs fans were dissatisfied, Li Sheng himself still wanted to be dissatisfied. He wished to be promoted again and sent Ginobili directly off the field. At least the remaining players would have fewer dangerous moves, and without Ginobili, the strength of the Spurs would also weaken.

The first-level malicious penalty is two free throws and one throw. Westbrook executes two free throws and hits one of two free throws, but there is still an offensive opportunity, and the ball is served directly from the frontcourt.

Durant came out and received a pass from Westbrook. Facing Leonard's sharp change of direction and suddenly started to kill to the basket, Duncan immediately came to defend.

"This time we scored 4 points again, and the Thunder quickly filled the disadvantages."

"An obvious thing about the Thunder this season is that their overall three-point ability has been strengthened, which gives them an advantage when chasing points and widening the point difference."

"It's like this. After all, three-pointers are one point more than two-pointers. A few more shots will open the score."

The Spurs were not upset either. They played passionately, but also calmly. In the first quarter, the two sides went back and forth, but the Spurs still suppressed the Thunder's two counterattacks, and ended the first quarter with a score difference of 29:24 and 5 points.

Although Westbrook, Durant, and Antetokounmpo had a lot of breakthroughs, the Spurs' home court advantage was revealed later, and they were not so easy to get fouled.

At the beginning of the second quarter, it was another contest of rotation, but Li Sheng asked Westbrook to replace him. Lamb, Sefolosha, Collison and Ibaka wanted to use Westbrook's breakthrough points to lead the team's offense.

The Spurs' defense dropped a notch during the rotation stage, which is naturally good news for Westbrook. This makes it easier for him to break through the penalty area and create opportunities for his teammates.

This is also Westbrook's favorite. After all, he likes statistics, so why not do it if he can win games and collect statistics.

Under Westbrook's frequent impact, the score gradually approached, and Popovich had to call a timeout.

He seems to realize now that the Thunder may have really failed to exert their strength in the first two games, and it wasn't the random speculation of the outside media.

It's very simple, because the Thunder's lineup has a lot of ball-holding points and not weak shooting points. This means that Li Sheng can match up a lineup that looks relatively reasonable at any time, and it can play a good role in real games.

With such a different lineup, in fact, Li Sheng has done a lot of experiments in the previous regular season, and it can be said that it has also been verified by practice.

Faced with such a changeable lineup and tactical play of the Thunder, the depth of the lineup that the Spurs were most proud of was not effective at this time.

(End of this chapter)