rpbooks Chapter 818 One step further
Chapter 818 One step further
Chapter 818 Going Further
The conversation with Donovan reassured An Luo.At the same time, he also has greater expectations for the upcoming new season.
What is certain is that An Luo will get more possessions on the offensive end next season.This is something that was decided when Presti made his choice.Originally, a large part of the Thunder's offense was concentrated on An Luo and Paul George. Now that the two are gone, the remaining one will naturally get more opportunities on the offensive end.
Next season, An Luo will finally have the confidence to compete for those personal honors that he has long envied.For example, scoring champion.As a shooting guard, it would suck if you don't want to be the scoring champion.
In fact, last season, An Luo wanted to compete for the scoring champion from the beginning.Moreover, during the period at the beginning of the season, his scoring average has always been at the forefront.But as the season progressed, Paul George began to exert his strength, and An Luo's possession of the ball gradually decreased, and his scoring also dropped.If the Thunder's possession of the ball can be concentrated in his hands more, An Luo never thinks that he will be inferior to Harden.This season, it is time for him to go further.
However, while having better opportunities, An Luo will also face greater tests.After all, Paul George's restraint played a huge role in the reason why he was able to score so comfortably in the first two seasons.Of course, he and Paul George are in a state of mutual completion in the Thunder.Both are outstanding scorers, and one-on-one defense basically cannot limit them.Once the two play at the same time and help each other, it will be a very severe test for the opponent's defense.In this league, there are almost no teams that can restrain these two guys at the same time.
But now, the opponent can use a tighter defense to limit An Luo.Anyway, the attacks of the rest of Thunderclap couldn't achieve that explosive effect.The newly joined Gallinari may be able to provide some help to An Luo, but it is still difficult to do what Paul George did.
Therefore, An Luo must have richer offensive methods.Just like Harden, his three-point, two-point and one-point abilities are all top-notch.The only person who can completely restrain him is himself.If An Luo wants to go further this season, he must become more perfect from himself, and it is not realistic to rely solely on more ball possessions.
Of course, An Luo has the capital to make himself stronger.In his heart, he already has a relatively clear idea, but he still needs to understand the characteristics of the team's lineup for the next season.Only the improvement that best fits the lineup can help him achieve his goals to the greatest extent.
From this point of view, the biggest beneficiary of Paul George's deal may be An Luo.He should feel lucky!But for fans of the Oklahoma City Thunder, this deal is very infuriating.Of course, they were not angry that Presti sent Paul George away and kept An Luo.Rather, angry at Paul George's departure.The general public will never know the real situation, what they see is only scales and claws, and they are easily influenced by media news.
In the eyes of the vast majority of fans, Paul George's behavior is not much different from Durant's departure from Oklahoma two years ago, even though Paul George's trade has brought a fairly rich asset to the Thunder .
In fact, the anger of the fans came more from Paul George's own words.When the Thunder won the championship last year, he told everyone in high spirits that he would stay in the Thunder and join hands with Westbrook and An Luo to develop a greater career.Sure enough, Paul George quickly signed a four-year contract extension with the Thunder.At that time, Oklahoma City Hall down to ordinary fans cheered for Paul George's choice.Paul George joined the Thunder to make up for the team's last link in winning the championship. His contract extension brought greater hope to the Thunder.
Sure enough, last season, they appeared on the stage of the finals again, and defeated the Toronto Raptors, who were also desperate for the championship, and successfully defended their title.At this time, although the Thunder is facing the problem of An Luo's contract renewal, at least in the following season, they can still maintain a stable lineup.Establishing a dynasty is not impossible.
Throughout the history of the NBA, there are many teams that can win the championship, and there are also many teams that can defend the championship, but there are too few teams that can successfully complete three consecutive championships and establish a dynasty.The Thunder have the opportunity to become a new dynasty team, which is definitely a very important honor for the city of Oklahoma.Countless Oklahomans are looking forward to their team continuing to improve the lineup during the offseason, and then triumphantly all the way to defend the title again.
Unfortunately, the Paul George trade made all of this out of reach.
Perhaps for the Thunder itself, this has minimized the loss to the maximum.The problem of choosing one from the other is difficult to deal with, not to mention that such a choice is likely to determine the present and future of the team.
But the fans don't know these things!Everything was fine at first, but Paul George left the Thunder suddenly, leaving as soon as he said, without any warning.For Thunder fans, this is undoubtedly a "betrayal".
From the melon-eaters who watched the excitement before, they suddenly became hurt people. Countless Thunder fans felt very disappointed.So, they made a crazy move 2 days after George was traded, which was to burn the jersey.Prior to this, Irving left the Celtics and Butler left the 76ers. Fans on both sides also mercilessly burned each other's jerseys to show their anger.
However, it didn't take long for everyone to let go.Because the Thunder's management stepped forward and exposed some unknown inside stories.It turned out that when the Thunder renewed Paul George in 2018, they told George that Paul George could renew his contract before the Thunder. After the contract renewal, the Thunder can send him to the team he wants at any time.The performance of the Thunder's management this offseason obviously did not break their promises, and it really sent Paul George to Los Angeles where he wanted to go.Since the words come first, there is no deceit at all.
Of course, these are things to come.Both the Thunder and Thunder fans quickly came to terms with Paul George's departure.Although the Thunder has changed from a Big Three team to a Big Two team, the current lineup is not bad.They still believe that under the leadership of Westbrook and An Luo, it is not hopeless for the Thunder to complete the great cause of the dynasty.
(End of this chapter)