rpbooks Chapter 269
Chapter 269
Chapter 269
A game in Utah once again pushed Westbrook to the cusp.
Just after losing the All-Star starter, he led the team to a big victory over the sixth-ranked Jazz in the West, and scored a 30+ triple-double again.The Thunder's official twitter used Westbrook's violent dunk in the game as the background, accompanied by the subtitle "MVP", and made a silent protest to the league.
However, in the list of the 26 All-Star bench lineup officially announced by the NBA on the 2017th, the Thunder star Russell Westbrook's name is impressively listed.
In fact, among the 14 East and West All-Star substitutes announced this year, the least suspenseful candidate is Westbrook.In the eyes of the outside world, as the regular season MVP favorite this season and a player averaging a triple-double per game, Westbrook should be included in the Western Conference All-Star starter.
So when it was learned that Westbrook missed the All-Star starting lineup, there were a lot of discussions from the outside world.
Today, Westbrook has no suspense selected for the Western All-Star bench, and this will be his sixth time to participate in the NBA All-Star Game.
He himself was very happy.After all, the All-Star is the recognition of a player by fans, players and the media.A little embarrassingly, Westbrook is going to be teammates with Durant again!
This year's All-Star Weekend, Westbrook and former Thunder teammate Durant played together on behalf of the Western All-Stars is a matter of great concern.Durant switched to the Warriors last summer, and he and Westbrook went from buddies to enemies overnight.In the two games between the Thunder and the Warriors this season, there was little friendly communication between Westbrook and Durant.
After the list was announced, everyone was very concerned about whether this year's All-Star Weekend would be a turning point in their relationship.
But all this will have to wait until February, in New Orleans, to see the outcome.
On the night the list was announced, the Thunder challenged the Pelicans away.In the last game against the Pelicans, thick-browed Anthony Davis scored pretty good statistics, but lost the game.In fact, he has done this many times this season.Together with another big man, Cousins, he became the leader and deputy leader of the empty cutting group.
This time, the Thunder played very easily.
Both Davis and Evans of the Pelicans returned from injury.Especially the thick eyebrow, because of the contusion injury of the right quadriceps, he only played the first half.And it's mediocre.After all, I have injuries on my body, so I dare not get too involved.
Westbrook didn't play for long, either.He fought too hard last time.So he sat on the bench more often in this game.With him is Adams, who is back from injury.Although his body has fully recovered, Donovan didn't let him play for a long time just to be on the safe side.
Still, the Pelicans are no match for the Thunder.An Luo played quite well in this game.
In the second half of the first quarter, An Luo played more off the ball.Under Christon's control, the basketball is like cannonballs, being continuously delivered to An Luo's hands.
Of course, this is also thanks to the "cooperation" of the Pelicans!This allowed An Luo to get so many opportunities to fire the cannon.
Buddy Hield and An Luo haven't seen each other for a long time.He admired this Chinese guard who eliminated himself from the NCAA Final Four.But he never felt that he was worse than the other party.But in this game, he has been at a disadvantage.
Whether it is offense or defense, he obviously has not fully adapted to the rhythm of the NBA game.This can be seen from the 10-of-2 field goal percentage and the 32 points of An Luo who is facing him.
An Luo scored 5 points on Hilde in just 13 minutes!And it's 100% hit!Hield is aggressive but slow to handle the pick-and-roll.I can't keep up when changing defenses. For a player like An Luo who has a good grasp of timing, there is too much room.
When he partnered with Oladipo in the second quarter, he put more energy on defense.
Hilde is actually very similar to An Luo.His shooting ability is quite good.In the second unit, his chances with the ball improved a lot.An Luo has been following him closely, not giving him a chance to shoot.Push Hield to the basket and Kanter and Grant will take care of him.
In the second half, An Luo was more active on both ends of the offense and defense.When partnered with Christon, he strengthened the offense and used scoring to help the team.When partnered with Oladipo, his possession of the ball has declined, but his contribution on the defensive end is also great.
In the end, the Thunder beat the Pelicans 109:92 and won two consecutive away games.At the same time, they also ended this difficult road trip.
Back at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, the Thunder continued their fiery state and defeated the Dallas Mavericks who came from afar.
Westbrook only played more than 20 minutes and clocked out of get off work in three quarters.
The Mavericks are missing the three main players today, Deron Williams has a toe injury, Wesley Matthews has a hip muscle strain, and Dirk Nowitzki has been scheduled for a rotation, counting a hamstring injury JJ Barea, who stayed on the injured list, and the four main rotation players were unable to play in this game.
Despite this, they still played impressively in the opening period.Under the needle of ten-day laborer Pierre Jackson, they hit consecutive shots.They dominated the first half of the first quarter.
Westbrook's offensive desire is not strong.He was always looking for his teammates.This is also an important reason why the Thunder fell behind.
It wasn't until the second half that the Mavericks were slowly overtaken by the Thunder, who were obviously stronger than themselves.However, before the end of the first quarter, with the excellent performance of Anderson and Devin Harris, they regained the lead 26:23.
Shortly after the start of the second quarter, Jackson, who played well in this game, strained his thigh muscle and had to withdraw from the game, making the Mavericks' formation even more difficult.
However, on the Thunder side, Enes Kanter, the offensive core of the substitute lineup, was quite depressed in the face of the pincer attack. During the timeout, he hammered the courtside seat angrily, causing his right hand to be injured. He also returned to the locker room early.
Halfway through the schedule, the number of injuries is increasing.This has made Donovan more and more cautious about the use of his players.
Subsequently, the two teams fought for a while.
小牛最多时曾以44：37领先7分。雷霆在威斯布鲁克和奥拉迪波在第二节的轮番进攻下，不断杀伤内线博得罚球，半场结束前5秒由安洛的三分球将比分反超成53：52。
Unexpectedly, turning his head, Mavericks rookie Finney Smith responded with a three-pointer at the buzzer.This also allowed them to maintain the lead at the end of the first half.
(End of this chapter)