super heavy artillery

Chapter 442 Falling Into Passive Thunder

Before the game, everyone expected that the Thunder would focus on Paul George in this series.This just captured the weakness of the Pelicans lineup.Their starting lineup is also very strange, with two power forwards and three guards, no small forwards and centers.

It's no problem to play a team like the Trail Blazers.After all, the Blazers' strengths are also inside and back.They're weak at the three, and the Blazers aren't great.But the Thunder is different, they have Paul George.If he let go of the game, he is completely at the level of a superstar.

However, although this point cannot be ignored, as long as Davis and Mirotic play well, it is not a big problem.

In the second half of the first quarter, Donovan let Westbrook and Adams finish the game with substitute players.An Luo, Paul George and Robertson rested first.In the past few minutes, the Thunder had the upper hand.In fact, the Thunder's current bench lineup is not that weak anymore.But on the Pelicans' bench, there are really no two usable people.In the series against the Trail Blazers, the main playing time of the Pelicans was basically 36 minutes.In the last game, both Davis and Holiday played more than 40 minutes.

Westbrook began to stir up trouble.He is still constantly impacting the Pelicans' penalty area, whether it is hard on his own or with Adams, he is handy.He led his teammates to play a 12:7 spurt in the last three minutes and more, leading the score.Fortunately, Holiday, who the Pelicans stayed on the court, feels good, otherwise the Thunder can widen the point difference.

But as soon as the second quarter came up, the Pelicans were all the main players.An Luo looked at Holiday who was running fast, and was really convinced in his heart.But not everyone is as open as he is.The guy played the entire first quarter without showing signs of fading.Really great!

Davis' touch is still excellent, but he rarely pulls out to shoot three-pointers in this game.In fact, Davis' three-point shooting rate is quite good.Perhaps it was the Thunder's perimeter defense that made him afraid, so he kept getting close to the basket to score.Mirotic became the one who helped him space the floor.This guy is really a perfect fit for Davis.He is a good player at the basket, and he actually has more than 4% of his three-pointers.In this game, Mirotic has hit two three-pointers.This forced Robertson to switch to the perimeter to defend him.And the Thunder penalty area with only Adams left makes it easier for Davis to play.

There is a problem with the Thunder's offense.Although Paul George can score, others don't seem to give him much support on the offensive end.Westbrook has been strengthening his offense since the second quarter, but the efficiency is not particularly high.

Soon, the Thunder's lead was wiped out by the opponent.And with Davis scoring two plus one, the Pelicans once again overtook.

"Ann, we need your help!"

During the timeout, Donovan began to change the team's offensive tactics.Paul George alone can't stand the Pelicans Twin Towers.There must be someone to share the pressure for him.In Donovan's heart, An Luo was the most suitable point.

He transferred Adams directly away from the basket and mentioned the top of the arc as a support.Westbrook plays under the basket, hits when he has a chance, and gives the ball to Adams when he doesn't have a chance.Staying at the basket by himself, if the opponent does not switch defenses, Rondo's threat to An Luo and Paul George will be much smaller.And An Luo and Paul George are on the left and right sides of the sub-station, using the cover of their teammates to look for opportunities to make shots.

Such a change of formation allowed the Thunder to temporarily escape from the embarrassing situation.An Luo finally made some achievements on the offensive end.

In the 4th minute of the game, An Luo circled Robertson to get rid of Holiday's entanglement.At this time, Adams was holding the ball at the top of the arc. Seeing An Luo approaching, he took advantage of the situation and swung to the left, handing the ball to An Luo.After the latter got the ball, his speed did not slow down. He rubbed Adams' body and stepped to the right, and then pulled it up to make a three-pointer.

"Shu~"

The ball went in!Thunder further approached the score.

After one round, An Luo got another chance.But this time he didn't use the cover of his teammates.After receiving the ball from outside the three-point line, he turned around and hit Holiday with his back.In terms of strength, An Luo is not inferior to any second player in this league.What's more, Holiday is a player who is two and one.An Luo leaned on Holiday, pushing in with all his strength.However, he still had some strength left, and he was afraid that Holiday would suddenly withdraw his strength, and it would be bad if he stumbled at that time.

Once, twice.By the time of the third strike, the two of them already had their own calculations.Holiday is really ready to pull back.When An Luo's shoulders moved, his body had already started to lean to the right.But An Luo knew in his heart that this was what he wanted.Of course he was betting that Holiday would do what he wanted.Fortunately, An Luo was lucky.He moved his shoulders slightly, and then exerted force with his left foot, using his right foot as the axis, and suddenly pulled it outside the three-point line on Holiday's left.At this time, the distance between the two was more than one meter, and An Luo pulled it up without saying a word, and shot.

"Shu~"

Go in again!The Thunder equalized the score.

After two three-pointers, Gentry immediately called a timeout.What he was most afraid of was An Luo hitting it.They've been doing pretty well until then, and despite Paul George's stellar performance, the Pelicans have the upper hand.

After returning from the timeout, the Pelicans changed their defensive strategy.Rondo stopped chasing Westbrook. He switched defenses with Davis directly, carried Adams at the top of the arc, and stared at An Luo by the way.Davis stayed directly at the basket. Even if Westbrook rushed in, Davis' defense would not cause too much trouble.Rondo's speed on the outside is more flexible than the big man, and the effect of assisting defense and supplementary defense is much better.

After this change, the score that was not easy for the Thunder to catch up was once again opened by the Pelicans.

The changes brought about by Gentry's changes are secondary. How to limit Davis' scoring is the core issue of the Thunder.Before this, the Thunder also encountered a time when the offense could not be opened.But their defense is enough to ensure that they will not be defeated by the opponent.In this game, Davis became the point they couldn't handle.Adams does not suffer from height, but his pace is too slow.Roberson is good defensively, but suffers from his height.For other people, it's even worse.

As time passed in the second quarter, the Pelicans played more and more smoothly.Although the Thunder tried their best to control the point difference to single digits, it can be seen that they played very hard.

(End of this chapter)