At 19:00 in the evening, all fans entered the Chesapeake Energy Arena, and nearly 20,000 tickets were sold out.
After the Trail Blazers eliminated the Thunder last season, tens of thousands of Thunder fans wearing blue and white jerseys held up MVP signs, and the atmosphere was explosive.
This is our home court!
We will definitely defeat the Trail Blazers like we did last time!
All members of the Thunder team were immediately full of confidence.
After the grand opening ceremony, the ceremony ended.
When Durant led the Thunder players on the court, Wang Zelin felt the entire Energy Arena ground shaking.
But he was not envious, because in the Rose Garden, Portland also enjoyed the same treatment, even worse.
The geographical advantage of playing at home is fully demonstrated at this moment!
So what if it's possible?
Again, this is not the first time he has defeated the Thunder here.
Trail Blazers bench.
Wang Zelin took off his warm clothes, moved his joints, and prepared for the referee's signal to come on.
"The atmosphere at the Thunder's home court is still so lively!"
Although this was not his first time here, after Beverley glanced at the crazy fans, there was still some envy in his eyes.
"How happy they are shouting now, how miserable they will lose soon!"
Teammates turned to look at Wang Zelin.
Unknowingly, the youngest young man in the team has become the Dinghaishenzhu that every member of the Trail Blazers must listen to carefully!
"Brothers! This battle must be won!"
Wang Zelin came over, gathered in a group with his teammates, and let out the loudest roar tonight.
"This battle must be won!"
Other teammates quickly followed suit and shouted.
"Tonight's game is a head-to-head match. Even before the fight officially begins, the atmosphere is full of gunpowder!"
Teacher Yu Jia explained excitedly.
After the Trail Blazers selected Lillard and Wang Zelin last season, they quickly emerged and became an emerging force in the Western Conference. They have already attracted the interest of ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV, the four major TV stations in the United States. This season, they have live broadcasts across the United States.
Nearly 30 games, ranking fourth in the league behind New York, Lakers and Heat.
The Thunder and Trail Blazers, two equally young teams, gradually became like rivals after the playoffs last season. This season, their market competitions were all broadcast live across the United States by Normal University TV.
TNT sent out the long-lost ace commentator combination of Barkley and Kenny Smith.
The Imperial TV station naturally also broadcast the game live, and also sent their ace partners, Teacher Yu Jia and Zhang Weiping Bryant.
…
The game started quickly, with a jump ball from both sides, and Wang Zelin won the first attack for the team.
However, the Blazers failed to hit the fast break, so Westbrook returned to defense and switched to a positional battle.
If there is no good fast break opportunity, Lillard will not force the attack. He will wait for his teammates to get into position, and then hand over the first attack to Wang Zelin.
This is also the starting choice of the Trail Blazers most of the time. With so many teams in the league now, I am afraid that only the Trail Blazers and Spurs will choose to give the first offensive ball to the inside to make a decision.
Before the Thunder's inside position was settled, Wang Zelin took the opportunity to quickly rush to the frontcourt and dropped Perkins, forcing Ibaka to defend.
This is also one of his usual routines this season. If the opposing center is not as fast as himself, he will use his speed advantage to get rid of the opponent and quickly form a 5-on-4 situation in the frontcourt. At this point, he faces the other players of the opposing team.
All four players can create mismatch opportunities.
For example, now, when I come to the frontcourt, the defender has been replaced by Ibaka.
Against Ibaka, Wang Zelin's strength and tonnage have an absolute advantage. Since the former has outstanding athletic ability, he is destined to lose something.
If he can achieve both strength and speed, Ibaka's career ceiling will not be just a high-quality championship puzzle with more defense than offense, nor will he not even be selected to the All-Star.
Ibaka's assist defense is already at the top of the league, and his single defense is actually not bad. However, when facing Wang Zelin, due to his weight, he was unable to stop Wang Zelin's dragon collision.
When Wang Zelin carried Ibaka to the basket, Durant immediately participated in the defense and double-teamed him in advance.
Now the Thunder's frontcourt has formed a 4-and-5 defense, and now they are double-teamed, leaving Aldridge and Batum empty.
Compared with the three-pointer from the corner, Lillard chose a more reliable two-pointer from the mid-range. Aldridge received the pass and hit a jumper.
2:0, the Trail Blazers lead away from home.
This is why, as mentioned earlier, handing over the first attack to Wang Zelin is only the most opening choice of the Blazers.
Because sometimes, because his offensive threat is too great, he often easily attracts double-teams from his opponents, so the team has better offensive options.
Take for example the ball just now.
Thunder offense.
Coming to the frontcourt, the Thunder also handed over the first attack to the team boss.
Durant was in the midfield position on the left wing, and Batum defended closely, but the former still got the ball.
Wang Zelin roamed in the low post on the right wing and near the basket, ready to help defend with Batum at any time.
In the 7th season of his career, this year is the most explosive year for Durant's scoring. He is currently averaging almost 33 points per game. Among the previous scoring champions since the new century, only Tu Longke in 2006 averaged 35.4 points per game.
Overwhelm him.
In addition, Kobe is one year older this year, Anthony led the team to play tepidly in New York, and their scoring has declined. If the title of the strongest scorer in active service was still controversial in the previous one or two seasons,
So this year there is no doubt about it:
Kevin Durant is the best scorer currently!
For the current Thor, any place on the court can become a point of attack.
After receiving the ball, Durant didn't do much dribbling. He took a step forward, forced Batum to take half a step back, and stood up from the spot.
"Whoosh!"
Scored two points.
After the ball was scored, the fans screamed, but Durant looked determined and cold, with no intention of celebrating.
What are you all excited about?
Isn't this what I normally do?
This year, Durant has not only improved in terms of strength, but also has become stronger in mentality. The death posture that will frighten the entire league in later generations has slowly surfaced.
"this……"
Batum looked back at Wang Zelin and felt helpless. Even Kobe, who faced two consecutive championships in his rookie year, had never led people to such despair!
Durant's mismatched and unsolvable attributes are undoubtedly a natural disaster for the defender's psychological defense.
So unreasonable!
Wang Zelin didn't say anything, he just patted Batum's butt and turned around to catch the ball and serve the baseline.
However, this does not mean that his inner truth is as peaceful as it seems.
If you dare to bully my brother, then be prepared to have your insiders beaten!
Trail Blazers offense.
Wang Zelin pressed into the low post, and Perkins caught up with him, not wanting him to score easily.
Thunder fans roared out.
"That's right, Patrick! That's it, you are the strongest to prevent that oriental boy!"
Facing Perkins' move, Wang Zelin pulled forward sideways to block him behind him.
Being drafted in the same year, Lillard and Wang Zelin have such a tacit understanding that they no longer need to communicate verbally in many cases.
The moment Wang Zelin started, Lillard noticed Wang Zelin who was about to reach his position, and directly raised the ball with both hands and passed it in.
"Well done!"
Wang Zelin was delighted.
Then he exerted force again, taking a step under the basket, leaping high, grabbing the ball with his right hand, straightening his waist and abdomen, half-turning in the air, and smashing the ball into the basket with one hand through Perkins.
"boom!"
The whole audience was shocked.
"Beep~"
The referee's whistle blew, but Perkins failed to take off, blocked the foul, and received an extra penalty shot.
"Alley-oop! A performance from the Portland Youth Army! A fatal blow from Wang in the air!"
Buckley's roar broke the silence of the audience.
“Hot chicken!”
"Little bastard!"
"Flying!"
The fans immediately booed.
Parkinson muttered nonsense and spat trash talk at Wang Zelin: "You brat, how dare you dunk me? You succeeded in irritating me! I'll let you know right away what true cruelty is!"
Faced with such a small role, Wang Zelin didn't even bother to talk to him, he was so out of character.
He walked to the free throw line and made the extra free throw, leaving Perkins standing there looking at his back, his teeth itching with hatred.
The opening contests between the two sides were just like the dunk dunk competition in the pre-game warm-up, full of gunpowder.