Chapter 375 New Situation (Second Update)

The Thunder were also surprised by the major adjustment of the Clippers' starting lineup.

It's rare to make such a big starting change in the playoffs.

Seeing James Harden starting, Kevin Durant stepped forward and joked: "James! They actually let you start? Is it as compensation for the last game?"

The referee's call at the end of Game 3 made the Thunder extremely dissatisfied.

Thunder general manager Presti protested to the league and criticized the referees for being unfair.

As a result, he was fined US$20,000 by the league, which made Min Congda jealous.

It made him want to stand up and speak out for the Thunder.

Faced with provocations from his boss in the past, Harden did not respond.

Harden is not a player who is good at talking trash.

But anger also ignited in his heart.

After coming to the Clippers, Harden found that no one seemed to be the real boss here.

PJ Tucker's defensive style is completely different from Ricky Davis's.

The disadvantage is that they are slow. These two guys are not as nimble in playing ball as Curry.

The intensity of the game has kept up, the offense is extremely ferocious, and the defensive stickiness has been greatly enhanced.

Baron Davis was once considered the boss, but his ability can no longer be regarded as the absolute core.

Tucker is only 1.9cm tall, much shorter than Durant.

The Clippers' starting lineup may seem unconventional, but in fact Harden has started in the regular season.

I thought no team wanted him and he must be a parallel import, so I signed him.

Of course, this move depends on whether the referee will give him face. Obviously at Staples Center, the referee will.

The general manager asked the coaching staff to change the starting lineup with just one sentence.

Tucker's defensive method is to push the ball down and prevent Durant from easily catching the ball or making easy movements.

Just because he doesn't want to talk trash doesn't mean he's not competitive.

He used his upper body to attack Durant with borderline foul moves, causing Durant to make mistakes and interrupt his rhythm.

It can be seen that Durant has a strong desire to attack. He was unwilling to lose in the last game. This time the team wants to rebound.

It doesn't matter if your eyes are sealed, if I raise my arms you can't even reach them.

"Keep your mouth shut, little bamboo pole. Today you will know how we lost, and I won't give you any more excuses."

Harden knew that Min Congda personally put him in the starting position.

They are better at responding to provocations from others.

In the first quarter, the Clippers played surprisingly well and brought the game into a completely new situation compared to before.

As a substitute and support player, he knows his position very well, so he is naturally a bit shorter mentally.

PJ Tucker squats in the corner, or rushes for offensive rebounds with Randolph.

Harden's off-ball movement is obviously inferior, and C&S is not what he is good at.

Harden continuously hit the basket in the first quarter, causing defensive fouls on Ibaka and Perkins respectively.

During Curry's absence, Dunleavy tried various lineups.

After all, Ibaka is really tall, and anyone else would shy away from him.

It's useless. For pitchers of Durant's caliber, whether or not someone reaches out to interfere with their shot has no impact at all.

The advantage is that it has strong impact. Both battering rams can rush in. The two of them hold the ball and take turns attacking the opponent in pick-and-rolls. It is called a simple and crude game.

As for the reason, it is very simple. He must be hoping that Harden can break his inner demons and build up his confidence!

Harden does have some inner demons. In the Thunder, he is the third child behind Durant and Westbrook.

During a breakthrough layup, the headband Harden was wearing was swung away, but he still tried hard to take the shot, causing his opponent to foul and go to the free throw line to score.

At the beginning, Baron Davis held the ball and charged in, not afraid of Perkins and Ibaka.

They will hide their competitiveness in their hearts and express it with actions.

James Harden scored 8 points in the first quarter with consecutive shots and free throws.

PJ Tucker is different. He can survive in the league mainly because of the face given by Min Congda.

His defense stuck to Durant like candy.

This includes starting Harden and teaming up with Baron Davis to form a bearded duo.

In the future, he will become stronger and stronger, and his offensive power with the ball will become more and more powerful.

In the Clippers, he can be said to be the one who controls the sky, and the boss must listen to his words.

Especially Durant, after hitting two mid-range shots at the beginning, it became difficult for him to score.

Harden is only in his second year, and his physical strength is already stronger than many second positions in the league.

Harden and Curry are quite similar in this regard. Both of them have gentler personalities.

Ricky Davis really caused trouble for Durant in the final stages of Game 3.

Randolph and Gasol are both capable players, but they don't have the heart or temperament to be the boss.

But this kind of defensive strategy is of no use to Durant. His height and wingspan determine it. Even if you have good defense, it is still the same as not guarding him at all.

When I arrived at the Clippers, I just squatted in the corner to look for three-point shooting opportunities, grabbed offensive rebounds, and defended desperately.

The score was 27:25, with the Clippers leading by 2 points in the first quarter.

Harden remained silent, but Baron Davis stood up and spoke for Harden.

If you have to say who is the boss, it is General Manager Smart, he is the real big brother.

Unexpectedly, this short striker from Kong Wu played very hard, he was like a desperate Saburo.

The whole style of the Clippers, which used to play pass-cut coordination and take a light route, has changed.

Ricky Davis just started transforming into a 3D player last season.

Even if Durant doesn't have the ball, Tucker will still keep an eye on him and never give Durant a chance to catch the ball easily.

Suddenly it became thicker and braver.

In the first quarter of the game, Durant made 2 of 6 shots and scored 6 points with two mid-range shots and two free throws.

The Thunder gradually felt that the Clippers were a little different from the first three games.

Instead of swearing or provoking others at every turn.

He chose to take a strategic route and defend his opponents reasonably through good positioning and early prediction.

Curry is the No. 1 pick, but he is very humble. You see, when he was asked to be a substitute in this game, he sat on the bench.

After all, Balang is a famous star in the league, and his behavior has always been aggressive.

After the game started, Durant did not restrain himself anymore and hit consecutive mid-range jumpers against Tucker at the beginning.

And he not only feels that Durant is shorter than Westbrook, but he also feels inferior when compared with Ibaka.

Although Durant is a bit handsome, he is still a young man after all, so he needs to restrain himself temporarily when facing his big brother.

He was also the core of the team in high school and college, playing in Europe and winning the MVP role.

Both Gasol and Randolph have mid-range abilities, opening up space for the two sledgehammers to rush in.

Davis himself is an offensive master, and after transforming to 3D, he knows how to defend offensive arrows.

So he didn't even try to reach out to block shots or interfere with him.

The Thunder are in trouble, and they've encountered a new situation.

Cole couldn't help but said to Dunleavy: "Mike, Mr. Smart's adjustments are effective, but we have to wait and see in the second quarter."

Dunleavy nodded and rotated in the second quarter. He replaced Baron Davis with Curry and asked Harden to partner with Curry.

Then, an important inside substitution was made, with Matt Bonner replacing Marc Gasol instead of Milicic.
Chapter completed!