Start coaching the Thunder, starting with Westbrook

Chapter 229 About to turn over?
The Thunder team finally lost in the fourth game. This time the Spurs had a last stand, but Li Sheng had some reservations.

Although after 0:3, the chance of a comeback is negligible and negligible, but the Spurs definitely don't want to be swept out, so they exploded with terrifying energy in this game.

In fact, Li Sheng had expected this a long time ago. After considering all aspects, he still did not choose to fight the Spurs completely.

Of course, this does not mean letting the water go, but he did not choose to fight with them until the last moment. With more than three minutes left in the fourth quarter and 13 points behind, Li Sheng chose to put the main players off the field.

In 3 minutes, 13 points is not completely unattainable. After all, 35 points can be scored in 13 seconds, but one thing that must be considered is that today's referee is even more aggressive than yesterday.

If it was considered an excessive home whistle before, then today it can really be called a black whistle.

Westbrook and Ibaka both fouled twice in the first quarter. Duncan walked to the free throw line four times, and the referee had the word "task" written on his face as soon as he came up.

This clearly shows that the alliance just doesn't want them to complete the sweep, at least one more game.

In this case, the consequences of going against the alliance must be considered. Although Li Sheng didn't think much about it before, isn't it 3-0 now? With three layers of insurance, Li Sheng also felt that he should accept it as soon as he saw it.

After all, there is still the finals, and in the finals, it is hard to say whether the Thunder or the Heat are more protected by the league. After all, the Heat still have James...

Li Sheng needs to earn back some impression points now, and this is considered as a show of favor with the president.

And on the other hand, this also has an explanation to the boss and the fans. Oklahoma City fans definitely hope to see the team advance at home.

Of course, there is another very important reason, which is to avoid injury.

In fact, the longer the series drags on, the higher the chance of injury. However, Li Sheng has added several layers of insurance. The experience he earned before is now all exchanged for points to buy things for the players to "strengthen his body."

Of course, it cannot be completely denied that the Spurs played well in this game. Parker recovered today and scored 15 points and 9 assists on 23 of 7 shots. However, the real contribution today is the Spurs' bench lineup.

There is a joke that Spurs fans also recognize is that the Spurs do not have a main force and a substitute. In many cases, the substitute may be the "main force".

On the Thunder side, Reggie felt cold and made 6 of 1 shots and made 4 turnovers. Lamb was also completely out of shape. Under their leadership, Ennis was the only substitute who could play a little bit.

On the Spurs side, Dior scored 15 points, Joseph scored 9 points on 6-of-13 shooting, and Bonner scored 4 points on 3-of-9 three-pointers.

Especially when all five substitutes are capable of three-pointers, the space is wide open, and even the Thunder's lineup of five forwards is difficult to fill.

As a result, the Spurs shot 9 of 7 three-pointers in the third quarter today, which was also the key to the victory.

Even if Durant scored 27 points and 13 rebounds today and Westbrook scored 30+ again this time, he still couldn't make up for the holes dug by the substitutes.

And today's rookie performance was not very good. Gobert was troubled by fouls and was still inexperienced. Antetokounmpo also played a little timidly. After all, because of the penalty, the Thunder's defense naturally relaxed, allowing the Spurs to score a series-high 113 points. This is the key to their loss.

Li Sheng didn't mention the penalty after the game. Even if a reporter specifically asked about it, he only said that the Spurs played harder and "smarter" today, and this is the Spurs' home court, and they obviously didn't play well enough today, but after returning to the home court, they will win the series.

Then he was slapped in the face, returning to Oklahoma City in Game [-], and the Thunder lost another game.

这次却是雷霆队的进攻出了问题，杜兰特手感下降21投仅有7中，只拿到了21分，威少虽然14投8中得到24分还有13次助攻，但同时还有7次失误。

Of course, most of them were forced mistakes. The defensive pressure given by the Spurs is still in place, and they have obviously changed their strategy this time. The flanking rotation is faster than before, and at the same time, some open spaces are appropriately released.

In fact, this kind of defense is very risky, but it just succeeded today, which also shows that the benefits are not small.

Even though Li Sheng has transformed the Thunder this season, this team is still a double-young team. Antetokounmpo's current personal ability can't support the core position. When he holds the ball, Leonard puts a lot of pressure. Today, he completely gave up his offense and defended with all his strength.

Whether facing Antetokounmpo, Durant or Westbrook, Leonard has played a defensive effect at the DPOY level for a while today, especially with the help of defensive-level teammates like Green and Duncan, the Thunder's offense was almost cut off by them.

The three most important offensive starting points are gone, and it is obviously a dream to rely on Gobert, Reggie or Ennis.

The Thunder's home court experienced overwhelming shouts at the beginning, and gradually lost their voices later, which can be regarded as a vivid foil to the situation of the Thunder in this game.

After the game, Li Sheng and the Thunder were even more questioned by the outside world, and the voices of bad-mouthing began to gradually increase. By the next day, they even began to support the Spurs to win, thinking that the performance of the Thunder was not worthy of winning the series.

Those who didn't know thought the Spurs were leading now...

Of course, Li Sheng didn't take it lightly, although he felt that the last game was the last game where the three veterans of GDP once again burned their residual heat and led their teammates to charge once. After this kind of opportunity has been given once, it is difficult to have a second time, and he has to hope that Dewey will go wrong twice again, and the probability is negligible.

Of course, if it really drags on to the tiebreaker, then life and death are really uncertain, so Li Sheng still hopes to win it at the Spurs' home court, so it will be safer.

And what's better now is that the alliance should be satisfied enough.

Regardless of whether it is the Thunder or the Spurs, after all, it is not a big ball market like Los Angeles or New York. The income from a game of tickets and peripherals is not worth the league losing a round of the series.

For the president, letting the Thunder reach the finals to play against the Heat is the most profitable and the best for the league.

Not to mention many old guys on the Spurs side, the newborn Leonard is not popular enough to challenge James and Durant, but the star flavor, popularity and influence of the Spurs are still far behind the Heat, Thunder and even the Clippers after winning the championship.

Of course, the league wouldn't support that kind of team, not to mention that Li Sheng thought about the joke and felt that he should be happy to support a dynasty-level team immediately after he took office, so as to cover up the influence of his predecessor to the greatest extent.

In fact, the Warriors once had a chance in the future. In the year they won 73, they did get some benefits. It can also be seen that the league has some support and condoned Green's "small" actions.

It is his personal business that Curry is not seen by the whistle, and it does not hinder the Warriors but has some benefits, at most it is smoothed out.

From the Western Conference finals to the finals, after the previous prince Durant and the current prince Warriors, and then to the league prince James, it finally proved that the league prince is indeed relatively big.

And to put it bluntly, that finals was a bit of a taste for the president to play off. In G7, the Warriors, especially Curry, gave up the opportunity. Otherwise, he might have won a three-peat dynasty shortly after taking office, which still surpassed the best record of the Bulls. At that time, the situation is estimated to be completely different.

Although this president is indeed unethical in some respects since the many tiebreakers in this year's playoffs, he is also relentless when it comes to complimenting others. This is commendable for the Thunder that benefited.

Of course, it is impossible for Li Sheng to pin all his hopes on these illusory places. In the final analysis, the most important thing is to be yourself.

Before the sixth game, Li Sheng also closed the training hall and declined media interviews, allowing the players to concentrate on preparing for the game, but did not put too much pressure on them.

"Because I believe that we are stronger than them. As long as we play well, no one will be our opponent. Tomorrow, let us win our Western Conference Finals trophy in San Antonio!"

(End of this chapter)