"Why?" asked MacDonald.

"There are many reasons. The Lakers' defense is a big problem. Their offense is too dependent on Don, but the main reason is that when the game reaches a critical moment, we will see a direct showdown between Don and Russell, and then we will find the gap between the two." Barry said calmly.

"You mean, Don will be at a disadvantage in the confrontation?" MacDonald asked.

"Isn't this an obvious thing?" Barry asked back. As a famous Tang Hei in the league, he has been dissatisfied with Tang Shuai since he entered the league. Even though Tang Shuai has so many amazing performances now, he still disagrees.

McDonald was speechless for a moment, so he could only smile awkwardly, and then said: "Kevin has left the Thunder, and Russell's contract will be about to expire next year. Do you think he will leave the Thunder?"

"No, I think..."

The two of them found a new topic, and the previous conversation was brought over.

Just as the two were talking in the comment seat, the players from both sides had already entered the court and started warming up.

Walton performed abnormally today. He did not stand on the sidelines and urge the players to warm up as usual, but kept sitting on the bench, holding the tactical board in a daze.

It was not until Brian Shaw led the team to train and called him that he stood up with the tactical board and surrounded the players and started talking about tactics.

Both Shuai Tang and Gasol noticed Walton's abnormal behavior, but when he started to explain the tactics, he found that it was no different from the past.

After the tactical explanation was almost done, the players on both sides began to prepare for the game. Before playing, Tang Shuai walked to Walton and asked, "Coach, are you okay?"

Walton looked at him with a strange look, then smiled and said, "It's okay, come on stage."

Tang Shuai nodded, then turned around and walked towards the field.

Both parties announced on the LED screen.

The Lakers' lineup is the same as at the beginning of the season.

On the Thunder, after Durant left Oakland, last season's shooting guard Robertson became the team's starting small forward. In fact, he is 2.01 meters tall and is a standard small forward/shot guard swinger.

Except for Westbrook and Adams who are still under last season, the remaining two places are Oladipo, who was traded in the offseason, and the other is Kante, the original team's inside substitute.

The Lakers' lineup was consistent with the beginning of the season, and Gasol served as the team's starting fourth position.

Barry was a little surprised to see this lineup, but he still felt that Westbrook would be the upper hand in the confrontation

The ones jumped the ball were Adams and Noel.

With the referee's whistle, Adams successfully turned the ball back to the Thunder's half with his physical fitness.

The Thunder team attacks first!

Westbrook took the ball to the frontcourt and immediately faced Batum's defense.

Donovan's tactics are mostly based on the personal ability of the Double Young Master. After Durant left, the center of gravity of the offensive was directly pressed on Westbrook.

One thing is somewhat similar to Tang Shuai this season, they are all moving forward with a team alone.

Westbrook greeted Adams and came out to pick-and-roll. After breaking the ball, he rushed to the inside regardless of what he was.

Facing Noel's defense, he was not at all false. After accelerating fake move, Noel shrank back, he raised his hand and made a jump shot.

With a "swish", the jump shot hit a steady hit, and his opening feel was quite good.

The Lakers sent the ball, and Tang Shuai pushed forward with the ball. When he arrived at the frontcourt, Oladipo's defense immediately rushed up.

I looked at the Thunder's defense and stared at the man defense, but the players in other positions were all on the inside and should be ready to double-team in the inside at any time.

He did not choose to attack first as Westbrook did at the beginning, and there was no need for him to do so after Gasol was promoted.

He reached out and signaled Gasol to mention the free throw line position, and then gave the ball over.

Gasol played Kante with the ball on his back. After a few fake moves, he turned his back and scored a layup.

Kanter is a typical player with strong offense and weak defense. He doesn't have many ways to face Gasol's offense.

The Thunder's offense is still a strong breakthrough after Westbrook's pick-and-roll, but unlike last round, he suppressed the Lakers' defense this time and passed the ball to Oladipo on the outside.

Oladipo made a three-pointer.

With a "bang", Tang Shuai turned around and defended in time. Oladipo's three-pointer shot and bounced out of the box, and Gasol grabbed the rebound.

In the Lakers' offense, Tang Shuai still called Gasol out. This time he chose to pick-and-roll, and then knocked the ball back to Gasol with one hit. Gasol raised his hand and hit a jump shot from the free throw line.

After scoring the goal, Gasol waved his fist hard, and after returning, he seemed a little excited.

After Westbrook broke through, he chose to pass the ball again. This time he chose to pass the ball inside. After Kant received the ball, he turned around and shook Gasol's defense, taking off and dunking to regain his face.

However, Gasol is not Barnes, and his height and weight are there. Although he is shaken away because his footsteps cannot keep up, it still disturbs Kanter's turn. Kanter paused for a moment before jumping, which just gave Nor'er time to make up for defense.

Just as Kante was jumping, Noel came back to defend and pressed down his attack.

A burst of cheers suddenly sounded at the scene. Noel's strength and potential have always been there, but he was not very concerned about being in the 76ers. After coming to the Los Angeles metropolis, his popularity naturally increased.

This is the benefit of big city teams. Even if you sit on the bench and watch the water dispenser, you will receive media attention. If you go to the newspaper, no one will pay attention to them until you exit the NBA. This is obviously a unique advantage.

After Noel grabbed the rebound, he gave Tang Shuai a hand. Tang Shuai took the opportunity to launch a fast break, and passed the ball to Batum who followed up. Batum's layup added another 2 points for the Lakers.

6-2, the Lakers played in a very impressive manner at the beginning, which was completely different from the previous games.

The people are still those, but after adjusting the lineup, the team's performance on both offense and defense was immediate.

For the Thunder's offense, Westbrook chose to do it alone, using a pick-and-roll to the basket, regardless of Noel's defense, and then jumped up and made a layup.

Noel did not gain the upper hand in the confrontation, and he fell first because he was not as good as Westbrook's, and he instinctively grabbed it.

With a "beep", the whistle of the referee on the sidelines sounded, and the referee called Noel's defensive foul.

Westbrook walked onto the free throw line and made all two free throws to continue the team's scoring.

Seeing Noel foul, Tang Shuai hurried over and grabbed him and whispered. Noel can be said to be the barrier of the team's inside line now. If he comes out, it will have a great impact on the team's defensive end. The foul just now is not worth it.

Noel nodded repeatedly. Although he entered the league earlier, his experience on the court was obviously not as rich as a player like Tang Shuai who had started to take big things early.

"Luke, this is a good signal, and the team members have started to communicate again." Xiao said to Walton with a smile when he saw this scene.

After losing to the 76ers, it was obvious that the communication between the players was reduced, especially between players like Tang Shuai, Gasol who opposed small lineups, and players like Barnes and Noel who did not oppose small lineups. Now that the people on both sides started to communicate again, it was obviously a very good signal.

Walton squeezed out a smile, nodded, and said nothing.

The game on the court continued. After Tang Shuai took the ball to the frontcourt, he gave the ball to Gasol to support him. He broke away from Oladipo's defense by himself, and took the ball with a three-pointer.

With a "swish", the three-pointer was arrested.

Looking back, Westbrook tried to stand up and continue the score for the team. Noel learned his lesson this time and knew that he was not able to bounce, but had an advantage in height. So he just took off and waited until Westbrook was about to take action, and his hand just reached the point of attack.

After a successful defense, Westbrook deliberately moved backwards and avoided the cover, but his attack posture had completely changed.

With a "bang", his move jumped out of the basket, and the rebound was grabbed by Gasol on the right side of the basket.

These two inside players of the Lakers, one offense and one defense, one old and one young, have a natural tacit understanding on the court.

Gasol swung his hand to give the ball to Tang Shuai. Tang Shuai quickly broke into the frontcourt. A series of changes of direction made Oladipo stagger. He got up and sent the ball into the basket easily.

11-4, the Lakers were already leading by 7 points in less than half of the quarter!

Donovan reached out and called for a pause.

Tang Shuai turned around and clapped Gasol suddenly. He tried very hard when he clapped his high fives, and it was obvious that he was in a very refreshing mood.

After Gasol returned, the team's defense has obviously risen. These times, they have played defensive counterattacks both times. Tang Shuai has an exclusive OSover package, and this rhythm is his favorite.

The fans at the scene made a deafening cheer, which was the revival team they wanted to see, and it should be what a team aiming to revival should look like.

When he was about to leave, he felt the excitement of the fans on the scene. Tang Shuai reached out and motivated the fans on the scene.

The cheers suddenly increased.

"Don's performance is great, not scoring like before, but the whole team is opened. It's really great. Oh my God, he's just a sophomore!" McDonald shouted excitedly, and when he shouted, he couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Barry beside him.

Barry's face looked a little embarrassed. He was really the American version of Yang Yi. He was slapped in the face again and again, but he stretched out his face again and again and again to be beaten.
Chapter completed!