super heavy artillery

Chapter 176 Preseason

When the time came to October, the NBA became lively.

In early October, the Thunder traveled to Spain to play one game each against Real Madrid and Barcelona.

This year's newly joined players have appeared one after another. Oladipo, An Luo, Sabonis Jr., and Ilyasova all got enough playing time.After all, it is a performance game. As the head star, Westbrook basically sits on the sidelines for less than 10 minutes each.

With a record of one win and one loss, the Thunder returned to the United States. On October 10, they will play away against the Dallas Mavericks.An Luo finally ushered in his real debut in the NBA.

Donovan continued the previous starting lineup, Adams, Kanter, Robertson, Oladipo, Westbrook.

In this game, the Mavericks sit at home and take the lead.Bareari scored 7 points in a row from outside shots, but Westbrook and Oladipo each responded with a three-pointer.Next, the two sides came and went, and the score rose alternately.

Compared with the NCAA, the pace of NBA games is indeed much faster.After all, the attack time is only 24 seconds, and the players are playing more urgently.It's no wonder that many super scorers in the NBA don't score high in the NCAA.For example, Jordan averaged 28 points per game in his rookie season after entering the NBA, but he averaged only 17 points per game in the NCAA for three years. To a large extent, it was due to the limitation of offensive time.

An Luo came on with 3 minutes left in the first quarter.

Standing on the court of American Airlines Stadium, Anlu was in a daze.He sat in the auditorium to watch NBA games more than once, but when he actually stood on the court, it was a completely different feeling.

Of course he wasn't nervous.When Donovan asked him to warm up, Westbrook, who had only played for 5 minutes, came over and patted An Luo's ass, and whispered to him: "Ann, this is no different from your previous game. .take it easy!"

"Don't worry, Russell! I played in the NCAA finals, and there were more than 7 people at that time!"

Indeed, compared with the Rui Lante Stadium, these are small scenes.However, the moment the dream comes true, there will still be a little overwhelmed.

Seeing the disdain on An Luo's face, Westbrook withdrew his hand from patting An Luo's butt.Then, he slapped An Luo's head at a loss!The boss in my heart is not happy:

Haven't I seen those big scenes?But I was nervous when I played in summer league!
After An Luo came on the field, he received a pass from his teammates.He was a big step away from the three-point line at a 45-degree angle on the right, and he raised his hand to hit a three-pointer.Devin Harris in front of him didn't react at all.

If there is anything to be happy about for the Thunder this summer, it must be the exchange for An Luo.Whether it was the summer league or the first two preseason games in Spain, An Luo showed a strong three-point ability.

And, of course, his defense above that level.

Harris, as a veteran, is still a veteran with a good reputation. He couldn't hold back his face when he was shot a three-pointer in the face by a rookie.He felt that it was necessary for this rookie to experience what is called the NBA.

He thought so, and he did so.Barea also understood Harris' thoughts and gave the ball directly to him.After halftime, Harris launched an offense.

His boot speed is fast.But An Luo has always maintained enough buffer space. He sticks close to Harris, stretching out his left hand to interfere with the opponent's dribble.Seeing that he couldn't get rid of it, Harris paused, ready to use the rhythm to sway An Luo and get a chance to shoot.

But rhythm has always been An Luo's forte for breakthroughs. In addition, he followed Westbrook to Kobe's for a few days at the end of last month and learned a lot, which gave him a lot of improvement in both offense and defense.

The moment Harris paused, he leaned forward directly.With his chest against the opponent's upper body, his excellent wingspan completely covered Harris' shooting space.

The rhythm of the breakthrough was interrupted, and there was no room for a shot. Harris is now very embarrassed.He tried a few pushes, but An Luo's core strength is not low, and with a weight of nearly 200 kilograms, he really can't hit this ball.

Just as he was looking for his teammates to pass the ball, An Luo slapped the ball out.

He is becoming more and more proficient in this matter now. After all, the steal is improved through the bracelet, and the effect is guaranteed.

After the successful steal, An Luo accelerated instantly, and jumped out after chasing the basketball.

"F***k!"

Harris reacted and ran wildly, but it was too late.He could only watch An Luo cross the center line, then rush to the basket, and in a rather ugly posture, he dunked with one hand, ending the attack.

Westbrook stood up early.After An Luo dunked in, he jumped up happily, waving the towel in his hand round.Until he sat back in the seat, he was still talking about An Luo's dunk with his teammates, and then laughed together.

Compared with Westbrook, An Luo's dunk is indeed surprisingly ugly.It feels like all the chic energy in him is concentrated on shooting.In fact, An Luo's physical condition can make many beautiful dunks.But he seems to be used to being ugly, and he forgot how to do moves in actual combat.

Five best three-pointers, five fadeaways, and five best dunks!This is not about playing around.Fans who follow him have already seen it in the summer league.It can be said that in every game, far more people expect An Luo to dunk than those who expect him to make a three-pointer.

However, this attack and defense made Donovan keep nodding.Originally, there was a big problem in the second position of the team, which became the team's weakness many times last season.Now the team has two second positions, Oladipo and An Luo, one is strong in breakthrough, the other is stable in three-pointers, and the defense is very good.

But both are star-level, and both of them are still a little bit short.Donovan now has a little happiness trouble.If two people merged into one, then the Thunder's backcourt would be a disaster.

What's more worth looking forward to is that one of them is 24 years old and the other is 19 years old.I have to say that the Thunder's management team is commendable for their rookie vision.

In this game, An Luo still only played 20 minutes.Because of the excellent performances of Mavericks Barea and Nuo Tianwang, and Westbrook "watching from the sidelines", the Thunder regrettably lost this preseason game.

Next, An Luo and others returned to Oklahoma.Under the watchful eyes of Oklahoma City people, the Thunder went to three cities in one go, defeating the visiting Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets.

To everyone's surprise, the new faces who joined the Thunder this year performed well collectively.Especially the two rookies An Luo and Sabonis Jr. are even more eye-catching.

This feeling is like returning to the era of the Four Young Masters, the time when the Thunder team was full of talents and gave hope to all Thunder fans.

(End of this chapter)