April 24.

The second game of the first round of the Thunder and the Nuggets playoffs will officially start today.

As the Thunder defeated the Nuggets in the last game, this undoubtedly greatly stimulated the expectations of outside fans.

So before the start of this game, the ratings on the Internet had already begun to rise sharply, and compared with the first game, it rose by as much as four percentage points.

And at the same time, the Thunder's winning has given Thunder fans hope and hope to have the opportunity to advance in a surprise.

Since the NBA's playoff rules are 2-2-1-1-1 match system, the Thunder will also play away games in this game.

However, no matter what the final result of this game will be, the Thunder will be able to return to Oxford City as they wish in the next game, and return to their home court to start a new round of competition with the Nuggets.

Before the game started, it was obvious that the Nuggets had more solemnity on their faces, and less laughter.

If the Nuggets' mentality was still very relaxed before the last game started, and with such an expected atmosphere at home, the cohesion of the entire team was very high.

But with the loss of the last game, this undoubtedly put the Nuggets under tremendous psychological pressure.

Because the Thunder can lose in this game, but for the Nuggets, they have no choice but to retreat.

Once the Thunder takes away this victory in this game, the total score of both sides in this round of the series will be rewritten to 2:0.

In this case, the Nuggets are trying to go to the Thunder's home court with a 0:2 disadvantage, which is basically even more difficult.

So compared to the Thunder, the Nuggets in this game are already standing on the edge of the cliff, or in this game, the Nuggets must defend this victory at home.

Famous commentator Mark Woodson: "To be honest, I'm really looking forward to this game now. The Thunder have really given us too many surprises this season, whether it's the regular season or the playoffs."

"I paid attention to the whole game. It's hard to imagine that the Thunder still took away the victory of the game even though the offensive point was not fully opened."

"I have to say that the Thunder's offensive methods are really rich this season. Even if Kevin is restricted on the offensive end, others can take over the team's offensive banner as soon as possible."

"You know, although this sounds simple, it is just how difficult it is for a team."

Partner Tom Hovas: "That's right, as we can clearly see that the outside world has praised the Thunder more and more."

"As the team's head coach, Yang has been making a big splash in the past few days. If the Thunder can really defeat the Nuggets in this round of series, then this can definitely be called a season for Yang and Kevin."

"Well..., even if I'm more optimistic about the Nuggets, because their lineup is also very deep, I believe George will lead the team back to this situation next."

Before the game began, both sides announced the starting lineup of this game:

Nuggets:

Billups, Jones, Anthony, Kenyon Martin, Nene.

Thunder:

"Martial Saint" Jackson, Hamilton, Durant, Jamison, and Ibaka.

In this game, the Nuggets continued their starting lineup. After all, although there are many people who can use the Nuggets, this starting lineup has lasted for a whole season.

So as long as there is not a point that is particularly targeted, it will be difficult for George Carl to make too many adjustments to this lineup.

For the Thunder, Yang Fan used Stephen Jackson in the starting point guard in this game, and directly placed Westbrook on the bench.

After all, facts have proved that Jackson will be better with Durant. Of course, this premise is when facing this Nuggets.

And putting aside technical shortcomings, Jackson's playoff experience is far above Westbrook.

From the Pacers in the East to the Black Eight Warriors in the West, Jackson has seen all kinds of storms.

In addition to the championship trophy, Jackson has witnessed too many miracles in the playoffs.

After the game started, the Nuggets did not expect that George Carl directly defended a small-scale joint defense from the beginning.

This set of joint defense is not a standard two-three joint defense or three-two joint defense. Even 121 joint defense is not considered a kind of fake joint defense. Instead, it is more like a pseudo joint defense.

Yang Fan did not have much surprise in this situation. After all, during the period when the league prohibited the defense of joint defense, old coaches like George Carl were all proficient in pseudo-joint tactics.

Compared with the serious joint defense position, although pseudo joint defense has considerable flaws, its biggest advantage is that it can make players on the court more flexible.

If Yang Fan was not wrong about this, it might have been prepared by George Carl specifically for Jackson and Durant.

Basically, it is to attack these two people when necessary.

Especially Kevin Durant, although his performance in the last game was not too amazing, if anyone dared to underestimate his singles ability, he would have to pay a very painful price.

Sure enough, as the game on the field continued, the purpose of the Nuggets defending this pseudo-joint defense was indeed to limit the Thunder's off-ball running while resolutely not relaxing their vigilance against singles for the star.

Although this sounds like a little greedy, it is not difficult for a senior coach like George Carl to do this.

Fortunately, Snyder has made sufficient preparations for the formation that the Nuggets will defend and the adjustments made on the defensive end.

Although I didn't expect George Carl to stick to a pseudo-joint defense strategy, it would never be separated from the root of the situation. As long as there are traces to follow, there would be no flaws.

In the whole first quarter, since the team's off-ball run was greatly restricted on the offensive end, the Thunder had to rely more on the personal abilities of the stars on the offensive end.

Using the personal abilities of Durant and Stephen Jackson to drive Jamison and Hamilton who can play a greater threat without the ball.

And it was not until this time that Yang Fan felt glad in his heart, glad that he had come to Jackson in the mid-season trade.

Because when Durant lacked experience on the field, Jackson's presence became the Thunder's savior.

Even though he faced the defense of former MVP Billups in the finals, Jackson was still very confident in playing, and there was no trace of fear or timidity on his face.

Sometimes he often ignores the tactics arranged by Yang Fan and performs some tough personal singles against Billups.

It can be said that this is definitely the thing that other head coaches hate the most, but at this moment, Yang Fan felt that Jackson's body was full of pleasing breath...

After all, when Jackson started to play singles randomly on the court, Yang Fan was already standing up and ready to scold him fiercely.

As a result, Jackson scored a difficult three-pointer with a backward move, and at this time Yang Fan's hand was still in the air and seemed at a loss.

Yang Fan even held back the words in his mouth. Yang Fan hoped that he could experience this embarrassment several times!!

"What the hell are you fighting this..."

"Damn, this ball is beautiful!!"

Snyder: “……”

Plino: “……”

Dimashi: “……”
Chapter completed!