Durant and Oden participated in the draft in the same year, and they are both extremely talented.
But the amazing thing is that their skills and life experiences are completely different.
Auden is an "orthodox" genius.
Whether it is static talent or dynamic talent, he is almost perfect.
Many people regard him as the most dominant center since O'Neal, a genius among geniuses that only occurs once in fifty years.
In the rookie physical examination, all Oden's statistics were better than Durant.
From the strength of the inside players, to the jumping of the forward players, to the speed of the outside players...
In every aspect, Oden is the better one.
At that time, Durant couldn't even do a bench press.
This is why the Trail Blazers did not select KD, who had a historical performance in the NCAA, and chose Oden, who had injury risks.
But Durant has his "unicorn" talent.
He has been playing basketball since he was a child, and he has "childish skills". His dribbling, shooting and other skills were already very mature before he entered the NBA.
He is tall and has long arms, has the top static talent among strikers, and his jumping and explosive power are also above average.
He scores like a man in a bag and is a natural scoring machine...
These unique talents allow Durant to still become the best player on the court despite poor physical conditions.
To put it simply, Oden and KD are like two sides of the same coin.
Their talents are completely different, but they were equally good when they first entered the NBA.
But the draft also became a watershed for the two.
Oden joined the Trail Blazers, a young guard with Roy and Aldridge; while Durant went to the SuperSonics, which was in dire straits.
The former must start as a blue-collar, auxiliary player, while the latter has become the core of the team from the beginning, with unlimited firing rights.
After a season, Oden began to be frequently affected by injuries, while Durant successfully leveled up and started his journey to super giants.
At this point, the two people's life trajectories have developed in different directions, one upward, the other downward, and it seems that they will never intersect again.
Until...that man appears!
The emergence of Shen Fei brought a turnaround for Oden's career, which was on the verge of being "broken."
Now, the Emperor, who has recovered his health, once again has the opportunity to compete with Durant.
It is worth mentioning that after Oden returned not long ago and showed good physical condition, the media immediately began to discuss-if the 2007 draft is rearranged, who will be the No. 1 pick?
This topic has generated widespread discussion.
But what is surprising is that even though Durant averaged 30 points per game last year and was selected as an All-Star, many people still think...
If he were selected again, Oden would still be the No. 1 pick.
This discussion was very heated, with many professional football commentators and retired celebrities participating.
Durant, who loves surfing the Internet, accidentally saw this information.
Therefore, before the game started, he decided to end this discussion with an ultimate personal performance.
Today, the two had eye contact many times starting from the third quarter.
Whether it is Oden or Durant, they can see the strong fighting spirit in each other's eyes.
............
The remaining time of the third quarter became a moment of confrontation between the two.
Oden is wreaking havoc inside the Thunder.
Even Ibaka, who is guarding him, has shown his potential as a defensive gate in past games.
Oden's scoring method is very simple and crude - you, Ibaka, can indeed jump, but if I use my strength to crush you into the three-second zone, and then use confrontation to prevent you from jumping, how can you defend?
Watching the Emperor "ravaging" Ibaka like a melon and vegetables, Brooks on the coaching bench and Presti, the Thunder general manager in the stands, all had an urgent idea: they must introduce a big center.
!
No matter how good his body is, Ibaka is essentially just a power forward.
He is very strong against a team that plays average inside, but when faced with a dominant center, he seems powerless.
Fortunately, although the Thunder's defense was weak, they still relied on fierce offensive firepower to hold on to the point difference.
Durant staged a "death coming" drama in the third quarter.
Because of the presence of Westbrook and Harden, the Rockets did not dare to flank KD and always adopted a single defense strategy.
But neither Danny Green nor Tony Allen, who came on as a substitute, could stop Durant.
kd not only listened to the coach's suggestions and increased his offense without the ball, but also was able to decisively hold the ball in singles at the right time.
Every time Tony Allen was about to attack him, Durant could always avoid it cleverly and use four or two to make a big move, either scoring or assisting.
When Shen Fei, who was far away in Houston, saw kd's performance, his sense of crisis increased a lot.
[In this time and space, Durant and Harden have evolved faster.]
[If this continues, no matter how stupid and stingy Detonator is, he will probably try hard to retain the Third Young Master.]
He thought in his heart.
In his previous life, Shen Fei often played 2k (an NBA game). In the dynasty mode, the Thunder who did not break up the team basically established a dynasty and became the most powerful existence.
Now, this situation seems to be happening in reality.
However, after Shen Fei was briefly surprised, the sense of crisis in his heart was gradually replaced by excitement.
After all, having a foreseeable and powerful opponent will keep the next few years from being boring!
............
The confrontation between the two teams continued until the fourth quarter.
In the last three minutes, the score reached 115:113, and the Rockets only led by two points.
After a timeout, both sides deployed their strongest lineups, and the game entered the final battle.
The Rockets are: Jeremy Lin, Roy, Tony Allen, Tucker, Oden;
The Thunder are: Westbrook, Harden, Durant, Jeff Green, Ibaka.
The game restarted and the Rockets served from the backcourt.
After Shuhao passed the half court with the ball, he handed the ball to Roy.
At the last moment of the game, most NBA teams will give the ball to their ace, and the same is true for the Rockets.
After Roy got the ball, he faced Harden's defense.
I saw him dribbling the ball from his hips to his left hand, and then feinting in and out.
Roy's movements are not very fast, but his rhythm is very good.
However, Harden moved in small steps this time and always remained in a defensive position.
When the plan failed, Roy did not rush to attack, but took two steps back and opened his hand to signal his teammates to pick and roll.
Tucker rushed over and used a solid screen to block Harden, allowing Roy to get rid of the defense.
And Jeff Green, who came out with the shoe king, is considered a fast-footed insider.
He immediately switched defenses with Harden and blocked Roy's path.
However, Huang Mamba suddenly lowered his center of gravity and accelerated past Jeff Green.
After rushing to the inside, Roy rushed the ball into the basket with a throw before Ibaka could cover.
117:113, the Rockets lead by four points!
During the transition between offense and defense, Westbrook forced a breakthrough and rushed into the paint "carrying a bag of explosives."
Oden and Tucker hurriedly retracted and prepared to protect the basket.
In a flash of lightning, Westbrook suddenly released the ball, and Harden received the ball in an open space on the outside.
Tony Allen showed terrifying lateral speed and rushed to the scene.
However, Harden did not rush to take action, but calmly passed the ball to Durant on the side.
At this time, even Teacher Tony had no time to return to the defensive position.
Durant raised the knife and made a steady three-pointer.
117:116, the score difference is only one point.
On the way back to defense, Durant said: "I'll guard Brandon!"
Hearing this, Harden nodded and did not refuse.
Soon, Roy received the pass from the outside and signaled a single.
Facing Durant's defense, Huang Mamba chose to use it to break through.
kd gritted his teeth and followed him like a shadow.
The two were entangled from outside the three-point line to near the free throw line. Roy suddenly exerted force while walking, and turned around after the confrontation...
Durant was pushed and took a step back uncontrollably.
Roy took action immediately.
The basketball left his fingertips and spun at high speed, drawing a beautiful arc in the air...
"Shua~"
Hollow into the net!
119:116, only two minutes left before the end of the game.
The defensive failure did not change Durant's mentality.
With a calm look on his face, he came to the baseline to catch the ball and dribbled the ball directly through the half court.
Tony Allen stepped forward to defend, but his movement was too large and he was called for a foul.
Durant stepped to the free throw line and secured two points.
At 119:118, the game became intense.
"Defense!!!"
"Defense!!!"
"Defense!!!"
.......
Thunder fans all stood up to cheer for the home team.
In such an atmosphere, the players forgot about fatigue and devoted themselves to defense.
Durant used a rare "mad dog" defense to prevent Roy from catching the ball.
Shuhao waited for more than ten seconds, but was still unable to hand over the ball. In the end, he had no choice but to attack by himself.
Facing Westbrook's extremely aggressive defense, Brother Hao was not timid. Instead, he faced the difficulty and made a tank-style breakthrough.
It is true that his physical qualities are inferior to those of his opponents, but the comparison on the basketball court is never about the numbers on paper.
For example, now, Westbrook obviously did not expect that Shuhao would choose to use his strength and speed to "eat him alive".
If you hesitate, you will lose!
Shuhao successfully passed Westbrook.
After breaking into the penalty area, Brother Hao still did not slow down.
He faced the defensive Ibaka and took three steps directly for a layup.
As the saying goes, when the road is narrow, the brave will win.
When Shu Hao lost his center of gravity after the confrontation, with a flick of his wrist, the basketball miraculously hit the board and went into the frame.
At the same time, the referee whistle sounded...
and.one!
The originally noisy arena suddenly became quiet.
After Shu Hao was pulled up by his teammates, he excitedly pumped his fist.
"Oh~~~ Shuhao's ball is so tough!"
"He broke out of Westbrook and then scored 21 on Ibaka. This is the future point guard of the Chinese men's basketball team!"
Zhang Weiping commented excitedly.
It's a pity that Shuhao was unable to score the extra penalty amid the boos from the audience.
121:118, the score difference is still within one round.
In the transition between offense and defense, Harden held the ball and used the screen to replace the defender with Shu Hao.
"Pull it open, pull it all apart!"
Westbrook shouted, indicating that the right side of the court should be cleared so that Harden could play in singles.
Soon, only Shuhao and Brother Deng were left on one side of the venue.
Harden lowered his center of gravity and used continuous crotch dribbling.
Every move of his crotch was accompanied by a fake movement of his shoulders, as if he was about to accelerate his breakthrough at the next moment.
Shuhao kept moving his feet, trying hard to keep himself in position.
But in the end, Harden made a sudden crossover and passed him.
After arriving at the basket, Deng met Oden's defense.
While collecting the ball, he suddenly stepped out with his left foot. The next moment, he changed direction and stepped out with his right foot to the right.