Phil Jackson was also a little confused. In the first quarter of the game, the Tigers still played according to their usual style of play, but the team was at a disadvantage. On the contrary, the Thunder played a very impressive game.
Patience did not play fast breaks, which they are better at, but achieved very good results in the success rate of the game. This surprised everyone. Of course, no one can say for sure what happens on the court, and anything is possible.
There is no need for the Tigers to panic. After all, it is still early in the game, and they are not far behind.
The game started soon in the second quarter. Both sides returned to the court again. Harden also returned to the court. He came on the court at the end of the first quarter and his performance was quite satisfactory.
Westbrook dribbled the ball and rushed in front of Yang Zhenxing. Wherever he fell, he stood up. Westbrook did not perform well in the first game. In this game, he wants to regain his face in the previous game.
Iverson doesn't have much to do against the taller and stronger Westbrook. After all, Iverson is not a very good defensive player and Yang Zhenxing is 193cm tall, very fast, and now his body is very strong.
He is good at guarding such a fast guard, but it is the taller and stronger shooting guard that makes Yang Zhenxing difficult to guard.
Perhaps Phil Jackson believed that Harden's impact was far less than Westbrook, so he let Iverson and Harden face off against Yang Zhenxing, who was originally a combo guard. Now that his skills have become more comprehensive after training, his ability to organize offense is already very good.
Although the Tigers have a lot of great point guards, and Francis doesn't have many opportunities to play, there are also Iverson, Marbury and Arenas, but these are not guards who focus on passing, so
Yang Zhenxing, who can play as a combo guard, is of great use
Facing Westbrook's impact, Yang Zhenxing never flinched. He bent down slightly, his eyes like a torch, watching Westbrook's every move. The strength of his opponent should not be underestimated. He was still questioned two years ago.
Now no one questions him anymore. He is just a different kind of point guard, but he is still a superstar in the NBA.
After Westbrook made several consecutive false moves, the frequency suddenly accelerated, and a lightning-like figure quickly appeared on the right side of Yang Zhenxing. The air flow caused by the high-speed movement gently blew Yang Zhenxing's long hair. (ps:
In fact, it's not that long, but it's much longer than these guys. It's not an exaggeration to be blown up by the wind, haha) Such a sharp breakthrough, if his excellent motor nerves hadn't reacted in time, he would have really been broken by him,
Yang Zhenxing stepped on the floor with his left foot and flew backward quickly, blocking Westbrook's breakthrough in time. However, Yang Zhenxing, who successfully defended, had a look of frustration on his face. Westbrook's ball was no longer with him.
In his hand, a black shadow quickly passed over his head. Harden's three-pointer hit, Harden is becoming more and more cold-blooded now, and he will basically not waste this opportunity easily.
Phil Jackson just felt a little regretful. He was still very satisfied with Yang Zhenxing's defense just now. Whether it was the defensive momentum, starting timing, or response to the defense, he showed qualities that are difficult for ordinary people to match. As for Harden's three-pointer,
The tacit understanding between the players is not enough and the defense is not timely. This is not a big problem. In fact, it was Iverson's missed man just now. He was blocked by Ibaka.
In the next few minutes, the two sides were still inseparable. The brothers McGrady and Carter had alley-oop cooperation to show their tacit understanding. Harden's breakthrough on the Thunder's side still gave Iverson some headaches. If it had been before, even Ivers
Iverson can't defend, but he will use his unstoppable scoring ability to fight back against his opponents. Now that the Tigers are full of stars, Iverson can't do that. He knows what he should do. Iverson is currently very low-key, but
His key points can still help the team to a great extent. During this period, both teams have performed wonderfully, and the Thunder are still leading by about 4 points.
Phil Jackson called a timeout. The team's consecutive attacks failed, and there were also problems on defense. He was quite satisfied with Yang Zhenxing's performance just a few minutes ago. The powerful impact brought great impact to the Thunder's defense.
A severe test, and the ball distribution after the breakthrough was also timely.
'"With the game playing like this, I don't need to say more, everyone should understand in their hearts, but as a professional player, no matter what kind of game it is, you must go all out. We know this is a difficult game, everyone
Come on, cheer up," Phil Jackson said seriously. The game just now wasn't too bad. The players need to adjust.
Perhaps Phil Jackson's accusation played a role. After the game restarted, the players' rhythm became much faster between defensive rotations. Such changes made the Thunder players temporarily unprepared. Three consecutive attacks ended with
The defeat ended, and the Tigers took the opportunity to hit a 4-0 spurt, during which Yang Zhenxing sent two assists to Iverson and McGrady respectively.
Although Westbrook had already scored 5 assists in the first quarter, he still felt quite unhappy. He had not taken advantage of several collisions with Yang Zhenxing. This undoubtedly caused a huge blow to his self-esteem. This is not his habit.
With his style of play, he doesn’t want to reluctantly provide a few assists when he is being defended and has to pass the ball. He wants to attack and score. This is what he is used to in the first quarter and the previous quarter.
Durant performed well in the game, but Westbrook was slightly inferior
Ignoring the opponent's provocation, Yang Zhenxing focused all his attention on his shoulders. With Yang Zhenxing's current level, he could roughly guess the opponent's next move just through the movements of his opponent's shoulders. Coupled with his speed, there is no doubt that
He still has an advantage in the face-off defense. Yang Zhenxing's defense has become more and more experienced. Now he is less and less deceived by the opponent's fake moves, so it is not easy to break through Yang Zhenxing.
The dribbling rhythm suddenly accelerated. Westbrook's dribbling was like a taut bow string. He pulled the ball back to open up a little space and then quickly accelerated and rushed in. The lightning speed burst out in an instant. This is Westbrook.
The real speed. In awe, Yang Zhenxing quickly calmed down and took a step back. Although the opponent's speed surprised him, he was confident enough to intercept it. His open arms kept moving with his body.
The physical contact was very intense, and Westbrook's impact was absolutely strong. Even James couldn't do anything when he rushed forward. Moreover, Yang Zhenxing's body was one size smaller than James. At this time, Yang Zhenxing almost lost his defensive position.
Before Yang Zhenxing could recover, Westbrook rushed in and scored two points with a beautiful three-step basket. The daze was only for a short time, and it was game time. There was no room for distraction. Don't say
Such a small accident, and besides, he was facing the super-impact Westbrook.
Yang Zhenxing admires Iverson's words the most: I always feel that I can miss the first 20 shots, but I believe that the 21st one will definitely go in. I just keep fighting!
There were 3 minutes and 55 seconds left in the first half. Yang Zhenxing passed through the pick-and-roll and continuously broke through Durant and Westbrook. Before Perkins could cover up the defense, he passed the ball to McGrady on the outside. The latter was unmanned.
While on defense, he easily hit the ball. This was a mid-range jumper. The hit also meant that the Tigers had overtaken the score. Even though it was just a one-point lead, this had a huge effect on the players' confidence.
But before the Tigers had time to be happy, Durant hit a three-pointer, and the Tigers responded by pouring cold water on them.
Then the Tigers requested a timeout and made some adjustments. They played well just now, although they were countered by the Thunder again.
Immediately returned to the game and the players took to the field again!
In fact, during the timeout just now, Phil Jackson did not adjust the lineup and made no new arrangements for tactics. He believed that in the second half of the quarter just now, the team performed very well and was very smooth offensively and defensively.
There has also been a lot of progress, and more importantly, the team's operation seems to have improved, and they have begun to have some wonderful coordination. They just need rest and substitutions.
The Thunder replaced Westbrook. In the second quarter, he and Yang Zhenxing seemed to be at loggerheads. They had many head-on confrontations, and the effect was good, much better than the previous game, but they would not let him continue.
If the situation continues, after all, Westbrook's forehead getting hot is still somewhat detrimental to the team. This is also a normal rotation in the second half of the second quarter.
At 2 minutes and 15 seconds, Yang Zhenxing intercepted Westbrook's pass in the midfield, passed a long pass to Yi Jianlian, and assisted the latter to score a dunk. Yi Jianlian also broke out suddenly in this series. In this regular season, his data only averaged 10.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.
But of course this is understandable, but his rebounds are not too many and can only be regarded as quite satisfactory. Yi Jianlian works very hard to change this. Although he does not have many offensive opportunities, when he has the opportunity, he plays very determinedly.
There was Durant standing in front of the ball, but he was ignored by the Arab League.
Then Carter hit a three-pointer, and the point difference reached 4 points. The Tigers found their rhythm in the second quarter. With Yao Ming's buzzer-beating shot, the point difference reached 6 points, and the first half ended.
Yang Zhenxing scored 10 points and 5 assists, and Westbrook, who was opposite him, couldn't take advantage. He scored 9 points and 4 assists, which was evenly divided. However, this already made Westbrook depressed enough. This half-time data was not good for him.
It's too average. When facing the Lakers, Westbrook averaged 25 points and 9.4 assists per game.
Entering the half-time break, both sides returned to the lounge.
The Tigers cheerleaders were performing sexy dance moves in full swing. Yang Zhenxing was relatively relaxed and did not forget to make eye contact with the beauty of the cheerleading team before entering the locker room passage.
