When he heard this answer, Durant's excited expression became a little complicated.
Although unlike in history, he and the Thunder now have a "peaceful breakup," but his departure was not so peaceful.
There are still many Thunder fans who are ill-willed because of his departure.
Even if there are a thousand good things, they are not as good as losing them all in one day.
Even if he fights to be reimbursed for the season, it will not help.
Of course, the most important thing is the relationship between him and Westbrook.
From the exchange between Durant and Lin Ying, we can feel that Durant treated Westbrook just like the university treated Lin Ying...
Moreover, Durant plays for his "enlightenment mentor" Charles Craig, and Westbrook plays for his good friend Kelsey Barrs. The two have something in common.
In addition, Westbrook is a very good person off the court, and the two have a close relationship.
This is why Westbrook was held back at critical moments and was praised by the media as "the best defender of Durant", and Durant never complained.
If it were anyone else, he might not be able to stand his performance and explode in one season.
But it is precisely because of this that Westbrook cannot accept Durant's departure.
He viewed Durant's departure as an "escape."
They should have fought together to the end to wash away the shame of being overturned 1-3, but Durant chose to run away.
Durant wanted to chase the championship, but he couldn't say that Westbrook was wrong, which created the current situation.
So seeing Westbrook again and returning to the Thunder will be a very complicated matter.
"Don't worry, I'm here."
Lin Ying patted Durant on the shoulder.
He couldn't ask Durant to delay his comeback. With Durant's straightforward character, he would definitely not agree to it.
So what he can do now is tell Durant that he is different now from when he was with the Thunder, and he will no longer need him to fight until the season is reimbursed.
Durant nodded and put his hand on Lin Ying's shoulder.
The grievances between him and the Thunder are in the past. What matters now is the Texas Twins. They need to do what they Naa did in the NBA.
…
Before heading to Oklahoma City, the Nets officially announced that Durant would return.
This time caused heated discussions among fans on social media.
As expected, many Thunder fans were sarcastic.
Although there are actually many fans who thank Durant for everything he has done for the Thunder, and they are also grateful that he left in a trade.
If he joins the Warriors as he did in history, then the Thunder will definitely be in a terrible situation now.
Right now, they are at least still one of the teams competing for the championship.
But the majority are always silent, and the only ones jumping onto the rafters are the clowns.
Of course, there are many fans who are looking forward to this game, because the confrontation between Westbrook and Durant has made this encounter full of topics.
Moreover, Westbrook's personal performance this season is very strong. He averaged a triple-double of 30+10+10 per game.
"If Russell keeps performing like this, he will become the regular season MVP no matter what."
This was a performance that made Kenny Smith sigh with emotion on TNT.
This is the first time since "Oscar" Robertson in ancient times that a player has averaged a triple-double per game.
This will make the game more interesting.
…
Oklahoma, Ford Center Arena.
Westbrook is working hard in the training facility.
He is a player who relies heavily on emotions to play, and Durant's departure has left him in an "angry" mood.
This has caused his performance on the court to skyrocket. His three-point shooting percentage this season has reached 34% so far, which is a career high.
Now he has to face Durant directly, and he is a little "excited" and can't sleep.
He is not training alone, with him is Steve Adams.
This is Adams' third season as a rookie. Similar to Jokic, the Thunder attaches great importance to him and traded Perkins away last season in order to support him.
By this season, due to Durant's departure, he and Westbrook became close teammates.
Moreover, at this time, Adams had grown long hair and beard and became "Aquaman".
This is not because Americans admire beard culture, because Adams is not an American at all, he is a New Zealander.
But playing in the NBA sometimes requires not only a strong body, but also a fierce appearance.
Westbrook is now practicing mid- and long-range jump shots. He is enriching his arsenal because he has taken on more responsibilities this season.
Adams was...well, practicing rebounding.
After one round of practice, the two of them sat on the sidelines to rest.
Westbrook took good care of Adams and even handed Adams a bottle of water.
"We will win tomorrow's game."
Adams took a sip of water and said.
"Of course, I won't be lenient!"
Thinking of Durant, Westbrook's anger, which had weakened due to fatigue from training, came back.
He will definitely give Durant a hard look tomorrow. He wants Durant to know that he can lead the Thunder to win the championship even without Durant!
Adams nodded, he will stop the Serbian guy named Jokic tomorrow.
…
On game day, the Ford Center was fully booked.
What people didn't expect was that there were many fans at the scene holding up KT boards with signs saying "Welcome Durant Home".
The majority are silent, but they express themselves in different ways.
Durant gave his best performance for the Thunder last season, so how can anyone remain indifferent!
Members of both teams entered the venue one after another.
Durant's nose instantly felt a little sore when he saw this.
If he didn't really see no hope, why would he want to leave here.
He has stayed in this city for eight full years from his rookie season to now, and his home is here.
This kind of reaction from the fans is the best gift to him.
But what happened next was a bit unexpected.
After Westbrook saw the KT boards in the camera, he directly negotiated with the staff and seemed a little excited.
Not long after, those KT boards were finally taken away by the security personnel at the scene.
Some fans were unwilling and almost had a conflict.
But in the end, basically no KT boards were seen on site.
This little episode made the game seem a bit tense.
Then what happens next makes everything even more interesting.
Before the opening ceremony, the Thunder played a tribute video to Durant to thank him for everything he had done in the past.
This video made many fans at the scene clearly and excited. Many of them seemed to have returned to the scene in the playoffs last season.
Durant couldn't control his emotions at this moment and shed tears directly.
After all, he is still an emotional person.
This can be seen in Naa's behavior of blocking his career in order to win the championship.
Lin Ying put his hand on Durant's shoulder at this time.
He was also happy for Durant at this moment.
When Durant arrived in the Nets, he no longer had an "enemy to shoot to" or the "hardest road." The welcome he received from Thunder fans and the Thunder team is the best proof.
Of course, not everyone feels this way.
During the Thunder's half, Westbrook's eyes were also red, but they were bloodshot with anger.
He can ask security to ban fans from holding such signs, but he can't stop the team from thanking Durant.
What can I say thanks to the "deserters"?
After the thank you video ended, the game warm-up followed.
On the Nets' side, Durant was shooting from the outside, but on the Thunder's side, Westbrook was taking the ball and dunking continuously.
His anger was so full that he needed to vent some of it by dunking.
Lin Ying's expression became serious when he saw this scene.
For most players, it is no good to be dominated by emotions. The most typical example is Cousins ​​​​of the Kings.
But it's different for Westbrook. He gets braver as he gets higher, especially when he reaches his peak and has not been affected by injuries.
After the warm-up, the lineups of both sides were announced one after another.
Nets: Bradley, Ariza, Durant, Lin Ying, Jokic;
Thunder: Westbrook, McGehee, Gay, Ibaka, Adams.
The game begins immediately, with players from both sides taking the stage one after another.
Jump ball from the center circle between Jokic and Adams.
As the fans cheered, Adams moved the ball back to the Thunder half, giving the home team the opportunity to take the lead.
A somewhat embarrassing thing is that even though Jokic has used a pushcart jump ball before, he has not won a ball with a jump so far this season.
Westbrook holds the ball to the frontcourt, and Adams pulls up to the high post for a pick-and-roll.
Adams' body is still very thick, blocking Bradley solidly.
Then, Westbrook was like a sports car that stepped on the accelerator to the bottom and suddenly jumped up.
Jokic knew Westbrook's technical characteristics and had already stepped back a little earlier, but Westbrook's speed still exceeded his expectations.
He stretched out his hand to stop it, but he caught the air.
At this stage, Westbrook, once he charges forward, is like a fully accelerated cheetah, extremely fast.
"Bang!"
There was a loud noise behind him, and Westbrook rose into the air and slammed the ball into the basket!
After landing, Westbrook roared at the audience, and veins popped out on his arms and neck.
It looked like a bloodthirsty Ninja Turtle.
He was responded to by enthusiastic cheers from the Thunder fans at the scene.
Durant and the others have welcomed him and thanked him. Now they are Thunder fans and Westbrook fans!
Feeling the fans' response, Westbrook pouted and punched his chest hard, then turned around and looked at Durant with a cold look.
This is the "meeting gift" he gave to Durant!
Lin Ying walked to Jokic's ear and communicated for a while.
In the Nets' offense, Jokic holds the ball at the top of the key, while Lin Ying and Durant move without the ball.
The Thunder's defense is very tight.
Emotions are contagious, and while others may not be as overcome with anger as Westbrook is, they do have high spirits.
Durant finally stepped out to catch the ball, and Westbrook switched defenses and rushed forward.
"when!"
Durant's shot missed the basket.
With Westbrook's height, this kind of interference from defense changes will definitely not interfere with Durant.
So this ball is more about Durant's mentality.
He still felt that he was indebted to Westbrook, so his hand shook when he took action.
In the battle for defensive rebounds, Adams blocked Jokic, but he did not take off to grab the rebound. Instead, he watched Westbrook retreat to the basket and grab the defensive rebound.
When Lin Ying saw this, she couldn't help but sigh.
Will the legendary "Cardboard Master" appear this season?
But that's right, if he hadn't appeared, Westbrook wouldn't have averaged double figures in rebounds per game this season.
It is unrealistic for a standard-sized guard to reach double figures in rebounds just by relying on awareness and ability. He is as strong as Kidd, and his most rebounds in a season are only 8.
Westbrook does have a good sense of rebounding, but it would be a bit exaggerated to say he is better than Kidd.
This round allowed Westbrook to successfully collect a rebound, but the Thunder failed to hit the fast break.
No matter how fast Westbrook is, he can't complete a one-stop fast break in the backcourt against this Nets lineup.
The Thunder's frontcourt position.
Westbrook continues to hold the ball in the frontcourt and pick-and-roll with Adams.
This time Jokic took a big step back.
The exchange between Lin Ying and him just now was about defensive methods.
Westbrook's breakthrough is fierce, but his shooting is weak.
There is no problem with this choice.
But Westbrook took a direct move and shot!
The impact of emotions on him is completely reflected in this ball.
If it were normal times, he would definitely hesitate, or at least observe the position of his teammates before choosing a shot.
But now all he could think about was giving Durant a "meeting gift", and this time he acted extremely decisively.
His jump shot is a bit stiff, straight up and down, and the ball doesn't spin much.
Appeared, the legendary "zombie jumper"!
"Whoa!"
But the ball was scored!
Lin Ying frowned.
Westbrook is not capable of entering the white-hot space, but he is now in a super-level state.
It seems that next round I can only attack from a flank.
During the Nets' offense, Durant leaned on McGee in the low post and asked for the ball.
He knew he had to respond.
But as soon as the ball went in, Westbrook decisively flanked it.
He just couldn't get along with Durant tonight.
Durant turned toward the baseline and prepared to lean back.
But Westbrook was so familiar with his skills that he made a decisive move the moment Durant turned around.
"Crack!"
This time it was fast and accurate, and it broke the ball directly!
The referee didn't blow the whistle, and Westbrook took the ball and ran away.
His lightning speed was reflected in this shot. He passed the defense of two Nets players, and finally rushed to the frontcourt to confront Bradley and then dunked the ball into the basket with a high-speed breakthrough. basket!
The ball was so fast that Westbrook fell out after dunking and fell into a ball with the photographer.
There was a commotion at the scene, and many fans looked worried.
But the next second, Westbrook climbed up from the ground without waiting for his teammates to come up.
Chapter completed!