Reborn NBA's Strongest Talent

Chapter 272. 272. A Flash in the Pan
The growth of the two rookies Nunn and Robinson is the only gain for the Thunder in its current state.

The two are matched in black and white, and their shooting percentage from beyond the three-point line helped the team make up for its shortcomings. After three games, both of them performed well.

These performances were also seen in the morning training.

After chatting with Li Cha, Nunn became more enthusiastic about training. After Allen and Robinson arrived, the three of them even competed in three-point shooting.

In the last training session, Li Cha shot 50 out of 42 shots. The two were astonished. Today they are here to challenge.

Nunn made 50 of 32 shots and Robinson made 33. The two were evenly matched.

Allen only hit 10 goals, and he still has a long way to go to become a center who can pull outside and shoot three-pointers in the small ball era.

After the team defeated the Kings, the atmosphere in the team became much more relaxed, and it could be seen that even Donovan relaxed.

Without Westbrook, the team will definitely face many problems at the beginning, but as long as it can walk on the right path and slowly move towards the goal, it is all progress.

Everything seems to be going in a good direction.

On October 10, the Celtics came to Oklahoma to challenge the Thunder away.

Owen still looked at Li Cha with such cold eyes. After Li Cha knew that Owen and himself had become competitors in the Kobe training camp last year (the other party admitted that he was forced to open the business), Li Cha could already understand what Owen meant when he looked at himself.

It is provocation, dissatisfaction and willingness to challenge at any time.

There are not many players in the league who have similar skills to Irving. Curry is considered a good skill, Harden is also one, and DeRozan is also good. At most, Bill can be added.

But they all have some deficiencies more or less, Curry lacks explosive power, Harden likes to be smart, DeRozan has no three-pointers, and Bill has no results.

Only Li Cha met Owen's requirements in terms of technique, speed, strength, full coverage of the shooting area, and performance, so Owen has already regarded Li Cha as his lifelong enemy.

Of course, today's game will go all out.

Although Hayward has not fully recovered, his comeback has allowed the Celtics' Big Three to return to their positions. Coupled with the growth of the new generation of Tatum, Brown, and Smart, the Celtics are coming aggressively this time.

As soon as Lei Ting took the fight, he was defeated.

There is another loophole in Nunn's point. The defense can replace Li Cha to match Irving, but Nunn can't do anything in front of Irving when attacking. He can't even pass the ball quickly, which directly becomes a decoration.

Not to mention Smart, who is more defensively capable.

No matter how Donovan adjusts the playing time of Rose and Nunn, Nunn can't play his role, including becoming a pitcher.

As a result, Rose, who came off the bench, played more minutes.

The Celtics' offense caused the Thunder to retreat steadily. Although Li Cha stood up to respond from time to time, no matter whether it was a three-pointer or a long-range shot, he could score points, but the ball never came to Li Cha's hands.

Maybe it's because of the point guard, because Nunn can't move the ball well, or George is too big, and he stepped forward to ask for the ball as soon as the ball crossed the center line.

Fortunately, the Thunder's interior defense is also very good. Allen set a no-fly in the penalty area, and at least one block in each quarter blocked a large number of balls that rushed to the basket.

The Celtics took the lead from the beginning of the game, but the score gap has not been widened until the fourth quarter.

The Thunder, which was only 7 points behind, began to chase points at 8 minutes in the fourth quarter. George returned to the game after the break and started the lonely hero road of infinite singles.

Even the point guard doesn't have to catch the ball on the baseline anymore, George alone takes over all possession from the backcourt to the frontcourt.

From the 8th minute onwards, Li Cha never touched the ball again in the offensive round. Whether he was standing in the corner waiting for a three-point opportunity, or making an air cut to get an open position, or getting the ball with his back to prepare for a single, he was ignored.

George's sweep was also blooming inside and outside at the beginning, scoring consecutively, approaching the score.

However, under the constant pressure of the Celtics' iron-blooded defense, George's physical strength was exhausted very quickly, his shooting became worse and worse, and his breakthrough was even more difficult for his opponents to get in.

Under the ebb and flow, the Celtics' defense became easier and the Thunder's scoring became more difficult.

The point difference was opened again.

He showed his skills in times of crisis, but before Li Cha got the chance, the game was over.

98:86，雷霆输掉了12分，乔治30投10中得到26分10篮板4助攻，第四节10投2中把自己给拉了下来。

Li Cha only scored 12 points and 7 assists on 18 of 3 shots. He watched helplessly as the team fell from a nearly comeback to the bottom, but he was unable to help.

In the fourth quarter, Owen looked at Li Cha from displeasure to joking.

If you can't even get the ball, you are still a star, so what if you have skills.

After the game, the commentators and the media commented, "Why did Li Cha not take a single shot or even touch the ball in the last 8 minutes? George has obviously missed consecutively, but he still went his own way and won all the balls by himself."

"If you can digest the possession of the ball, it is also possible to use scoring to lead the team to victory, but if you can't score and want to occupy the possession of the ball, this is undoubtedly a ball dominance."

"As a coach, Donovan didn't even adjust his tactics. Seeing the victory slip away from his mouth, the team's management will not fail to notice such an obvious problem."

"Give that damn ball to Li Cha!" a Thunder fan yelled loudly while facing the camera.

If it wasn't for his appearance, he would almost be recognized as Tyronn Lue.

After the game, Donovan took the initiative to take the blame, saying that it was his own strategy to hand over the ball to George, but he did not adjust it in time after the failure of the strategy.

George didn't speak.

Li Cha did not attend the press conference.

Instead, he practiced in the arena until very late before going home.

After this game, the Thunder had another two days of rest, and this time even Donovan stepped up.

As Donovan said after the game, since the tactics are wrong, practice tactics seriously. For two days, the team has been training tactics.

On October 10, Booker and the new top pick Ayton led the Suns to Oklahoma to challenge the Thunder.

After several years of training, Booker's offensive ability has become more and more perfect. His jump shot is very similar to Kobe's. Don't think about it, he must go to Kobe's training camp again this year.

He is obviously a very lazy person, but because of the idol's saying "to become a legend", he is desperately tempering himself. The player with the best shooting among shooting guards should be Booker.

Except Li Cha.

The number one pick, Ayton, is full of talent. Whether it is height, wingspan or jumping, static talent and dynamic talent are better than the thin Tre Young and the somewhat fat Doncic. No matter how you choose, you will definitely choose Ayton.

In the few games of the new season, although he did not perform perfectly, he still realized his talent.

In the first three games, he averaged 11 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. The double-double data is already very good. The Suns are currently rebuilding, and they provide the most abundant resources for the two cores. I believe they will grow into superstars in the future.

The game against the Thunder was also a joint effort between the two. Booker's mid-range and long-range jump shots were full of firepower. If it wasn't for Li Cha, who is more familiar with him, to defend, maybe Booker could play an even crazier game.

In the first two quarters, the two sides played close to each other. In the third quarter, Booker suddenly exerted strength and hit three consecutive three-pointers from the outside.

Immediately afterwards, there was another breakthrough and a layup. Although it took 5 shots to complete, 13 points in a single quarter were enough to lead the Suns to pull the score away.

Another weapon is Ayton. The protection of the basket is what Ayton has done best so far. The Thunder failed to score inside many times and had to pull back to the outside to shoot three-pointers. This once again exposed the problem of the Thunder's tactical layout.

Without Westbrook, no one in the Thunder can rush to the basket and kill the enemy violently. They can only let Ayton monopolize the basket. The momentum is getting stronger and stronger, and the defense is getting better and better.

Li Cha still didn't get enough opportunities.

In the fourth quarter, Li Cha made both shots, but more possessions came to George. Even Randall took more shots than Li Cha.

The Suns maintained their lead to the end, and the away challenge could bring down the Western Conference Thunder. The Suns never expected it.

But the victory has been won, and the sun also happily went home with the victory.

115: 110.

The Thunder only lost by 5 points.

乔治28投14中得到36分9篮板3助攻，效率不错，但是在带动球队方面做得并不足够。

Li Cha scored 16 points, 9 rebounds and 25 assists on 3 of 5 shots. He was still terribly stable, but the possession and number of shots were still similar to those of the three-core team. This is not a normal phenomenon.

As for the Suns, Booker scored 24 points and 14 assists on 41 of 6 shots, including 7 three-pointers, defeating the Thunder alone.

Ayton had a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds.

After the Thunder started with three consecutive victories, they lost two in a row. They even lost to the rebuilding Suns. With the current strength of the Suns, they are at most a fringe team in the playoffs.

Could it be that the Thunder's first two victories were just a flash in the pan?
The first victory over the Warriors attracted the attention of the entire league, Westbrook, who was injured because of the battle against the Warriors, and Li Cha, who was as stable as an old dog, were all just a flash in the pan?
Roses may bloom, but epiphyllum only lasts a few minutes from flowering to ending. Although it is beautiful, it is too short!

Where is the prospect of the Thunder?

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(End of this chapter)