Basketball K God

Chapter 359 Semifinal G1
Rudy Gay's reimbursement for the season has caused the Grizzlies to face the Thunder with Kevin Durant in the starting lineup, and how to arrange the starting lineup has attracted the attention of the outside world.Some experts suggested that the Grizzlies can let Sean Battier start to match Durant.Although Tony Allen is the top defender in the league, he is only 193cm. Facing Durant, who is 210cm tall, he probably can't even touch his arm when the opponent shoots...

On May 5, the second round of G2 of the Grizzlies VS Thunder playoffs will be held at the Ford Center Arena, home of the Thunder.The winner of this round of the series will advance to the Western Conference Finals!
The Grizzlies have never advanced to the Western Conference Finals, and even in the first round, they only broke through this season; if the Thunder did not consider the history of the Seattle SuperSonics, they would not have reached the Western Conference Finals either.So both teams are eager to beat their opponents and make history.

In this game, the starting lineup of the Thunder at home is: center - Kendrick Perkins, power forward - Serge Ibaka, small forward - Kevin Durant, shooting guard -- Thabo Sefolosha, point guard -- Russell Westbrook.

The starting lineup of the Grizzlies in the away game is: center-Marc Gasol, power forward-Zach Randolph, small forward-Tony Allen, shooting guard-Xie Kai, point guard- — Mike Conley.

The starting lineup of the Grizzlies is the same as that used in most games against the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, but in this way, Tony Allen is bound to defend Durant, who is more than 15cm taller than him .

This kind of dislocation to defend the opponent's small forward is not unheard of. Tony Allen has done it. He started to play the starting small forward after Rudy Gay was reimbursed for the season. There are a lot of them, and the number of times they are blown up is very few.On the contrary, the offensive efficiency of many tall wing players has declined under his defense.

But KD is not an ordinary small forward. His height is even taller than the centers of some teams. If he pulls up a jumper, almost no one in the league can interfere.

So this set of matchups is one of the keys to the outcome of this round of the series. Once Tony Allen is blown up, it will be very troublesome for the Grizzlies.

However, the Grizzlies also have an alternative plan, which is to let Tony Allen play a false starter and let Sean Battier come up against KD.

Although Battier is 33 years old, he is in good condition. Although it is not expected that he can limit Durant, he can limit it a little, as long as he does not get crazy high scores from the opponent.

The game was broadcast live on CCTV5, and the hosts were Yu Jia and Su Qun, editor-in-chief of "Basketball Pioneer Daily".

"Mr. Su, what do you think of this game?" Yu Jia asked.

Su Qun said: "This round of the series will be very interesting. For this game alone, I think the Thunder at home may not be sure to win. Don't think they have an extra two days of rest. In fact, they don't have much advantage. The Grizzlies have also rested for two days, they are young, and their physical strength is recovering quickly, and the most important thing is that they have completed the black eight, and the whole team is very confident."

"Do you think that with Tony Allen at 193 to defend Durant, with such a big dislocation, would Durant score high?" Yu Jia continued to ask.

Su Qun adjusted his glasses, and then said: "Defending Durant one-on-one, basically no one in this league can do it, so it is still necessary to defend as a whole. Don't underestimate Tony Allen, he is the Celtics. Someone came over, and Perkins, who was traded with the Thunder, is a former teammate, this guy can't attack, but he can't defend."

"Teacher Su, one last question, do you think Xie Kai can still perform as well as he did in the series against the Spurs?"

Su Qun said: "It's hard to say now. I believe he can continue to play. He is not a pure shooter, nor a pure ball handler. He is a very comprehensive player. This type of player is completely guarded to death. Not likely. I don't think Sefolosha or Harden can guard him."

There are a lot of fans in the Ford Center arena. Although Oklahoma City is a small city, the enthusiasm of the fans is unabated.The atmosphere at the scene was very enthusiastic, the talent of the home team was slowly realized, and everyone was looking forward to the future of the team.

Warming up before the game, Xie Kai and Westbrook were talking and laughing.The relationship between the two is known to the entire alliance.

In addition to Westbrook, Xie Kai hugged Arthur and Cole Aldridge of the Thunder.These three were members of the Kansas team that won the NCAA championship that year.

Cole Aldridge is not treated as well as Xie Kai and Arthur. He didn't even enter the team's squad today.He is currently a non-fan watching in the VIP seats of the stadium.

Xie Kai also expressed emotion that the competition in the NBA is indeed too fierce.It is not an easy task for a player who is not particularly talented to play a rotation here.

But there is no way, and he can't help old teammate Cole Aldridge.He can't let his good friend Westbrook and Thunder coach Brooks say good things to give this marginal man some playing time, can he?

The NBA is a league where the weak prey on the strong. If you are not strong enough, you can only be marginalized or eliminated. It is difficult for others to help you.

Xiaojiasao and Perkins are preparing to jump the ball near the middle circle, and the game is about to start.

The fans in the Ford Center arena screamed everywhere, and the contest between the two youth teams was about to begin!

At the start of the jump ball, Xiao Jiasao beat Perkins with the jump ball, and the Grizzlies won the first wave of offensive balls.Both of them are not good at bouncing, but in comparison, Perkins is more floor-like, and the bouncing is probably as high as a shoe box!

Conley slowly dribbles over.

The Thunder's defensive matchup is basically the same as predicted before the game. The only difference is that they let Perkins match up with Randolph, and let Ibaka defend Xiaojiasao.

"Mr. Su, what do you think is the purpose of the Thunder letting Perkins defend Randolph?" Yu Jia asked.

Su Qun said slowly: "That's right. The black and white bears are actually both center forwards. Judging from the offensive styles of the two, Randolph is more inclined to attack with status, while Gasol often plays in high positions. He has a good support, and he also has a basket in the middle distance. So Ibaka, who has better movement speed, can guard Gasol Jr., I don’t think it’s a problem.”

The one who opened the defense was naturally the Thunder's 3D player Sefolosha.

Sefolosha can't compare with Harden in terms of talent and offensive ability, but he doesn't occupy the ball and has an excellent defense, which makes him firmly occupy the team's starting lineup.

Xie Kai came out to catch the ball, and Randolph on the inside was in position.

Perkins is not tall, but tonnage, hey, who is it?
(End of this chapter)