rpbooks 832 - Slightly have the upper hand
832 - Slightly have the upper hand
832 - Slightly have the upper hand
Perhaps affected by the atmosphere of the scene, the Thunder players played more aggressively in the next few minutes.An Luo adapted quickly to his new role. Of course, this has something to do with the Raptors' letting go of him.After seven games last season, the Raptors hated and feared An Luo.They have focused on "care" for An Luo from the very beginning. Except for Lowry who is facing him, Anunobi, Siakam and Gasol Jr. are all staring at him. Ibaka, Powell and others at the table are doing the same thing.
An Luo himself did not force himself to score, especially when Westbrook was not on the court, he acted as the team's organizer.Whether it is Noel on the inside or Alexander on the outside, they are all beneficiaries of An Luo playing the No. [-] position.
When Ibaka responded with a mid-range jumper, An Luo quickly found Noel who cut to the basket on the offensive end. Without the slightest hesitation, he hoisted the ball from Ibaka's head to the basket, assisting Noel completed an alley-oop dunk.
Noel was very excited after the dunk.This kind of offense was rare in the Thunder last season.After all, at that time, An Luo and Paul George took away most of the team's ball rights.Although these two guys didn't waste those balls, they always led the Thunder to win one victory after another.But as a player, who doesn't want to get more opportunities in the game?Especially a player like Noel who wants to prove himself.
Noel jumped and rushed towards An Luo, who understood, and the two had a passionate collision near the middle circle, and then returned to their defensive positions.
The game continued.Lowry tried a three-pointer with Ibaka's screen.However, his luck does not seem to be very good.The basketball circled twice in the basket and went out against the net.
Noel grabbed the rebound, shook his hands, and threw the ball to An Luo outside the three-point line.The latter took the ball across the halfway line without haste.An Luo lacks the explosive power of Westbrook, and the Raptors' defense is very timely, so he did not choose to fast break.
The Raptors no longer double-teamed An Luo as brainlessly as before.However, the person defending him has become Ibaka, who is more dominant in height and wingspan. Nas wants to use the dislocation advantage to limit the connection between Anluo and other Thunder players. At the same time, although Ibaka has Not at his peak, but his defensive ability is not weak.Not only can keep up with An Luo's footsteps, but also won't easily give An Luo a chance to make a move.
This small tweak has an effect.An Luo tried a few times and found that he could not make a difference on the offensive end by himself, so he decisively asked his teammates for help.Noel quickly ran to the top of the arc to help An Luo block Ibaka, and An Luo rushed to the inside line.
This presents an interesting picture.It was originally a misalignment, but after changing it, it became a normal alignment.Noel was confined near the free throw line by Ibaka, Gallinari and Alexander were still running to get rid of the defense, and Grant was still fighting the opposing big man.On the contrary, An Luo had the best chance.
Since the ball can't be passed, then come by yourself!
An Luo turned around, turned slightly to the right, and the left half of his body was directly attached to Van Vleet.The latter didn't back down by half a point. He straightened his chest and raised his hands high to prevent An Luo from laying up.However, in a one-on-one situation, it is not easy to guard against An Luo.After he pushed hard to the basket twice, his shoulders shook, and he was about to turn to the right.Van Vleet didn't dare to be careless, he followed An Luo and posted it, but it fell into the latter's arms.Seeing Van Vleet moving towards his back, An Luo was relieved.His movements didn't stop, he took a big step with his right leg to the right, but his body didn't turn directly, he just stomped hard on the floor, and then twisted to the left side suddenly.From the left to the right, the space between An Luo and Van Vleet was suddenly pulled out.Although the latter immediately realized that something was wrong and rushed over immediately, it was still too late.An Luo exerted force under his feet, and the whole person stood up from the ground, leaned back slightly, and pushed the ball out of his hand.
"Shh!"
A crisp voice sounded over the Chesapeake Energy Arena.An Luo, who took two steps back to stand firm, swung his right hand fiercely, and then sprayed a trash talk at Van Vleet:
"Dude! Your defense is jumping around like a monkey!"
Van Vleet is at a loss...
Looking back, Siakam succeeded in singles against Grant, helping the Raptors score two points.He should almost go down and rest.In the past 8 minutes or so, as the absolute core of the Raptors' offense, Siakam has done everything he should do.Because of his strong first few plays, the Thunder put more power into him on the defensive end, but Siakam was able to keep scoring.I have to say that the Raptors are lucky.When they lost the core players of the team in vain, a younger player grew up and carried the burden of the team.As the most improved player of last season, Siakam showed an indomitable momentum after being righted.Such a player, the last one is Antetokounmpo of the Bucks.
However, the Raptors gradually lost the wind.In fact, they played very well. Even when Siakam and Lowry were off the court to rest, Van Fleet, Ibaka, Powell and other players were not helpless to fight back.They scored 31 points in the first quarter, but still trailed the Thunder by 8 points.
Thunder is too strong!
If someone commented on the Thunder in this way last season or last season, everyone would not be surprised.This season, there will be some doubts.But anyone who has watched this game can feel the aura displayed by the Thunder.The Raptors played well enough, but were still overwhelmed by the Thunder.Although the Raptors' defense has dropped a lot compared to last season, the Thunder's offensive ability is really amazing.Moreover, this was done when An Luo only scored 5 points.I'm afraid that's the only way the Thunder last season looked like.
Throughout the first quarter of the game, Donovan sent 9 players, each of whom scored and scored, and did what they should do.This is the biggest difference for the Thunder this season. Their bench, which has been criticized for a long time, has been greatly improved.The two players Grant and Alexander alone can be vigorously cultivated in those rebuilding teams.
(End of this chapter)