Chapter 386 This year, the turtle is still accurate
Halfway through the first quarter, both sides had extremely high shooting percentages. The score was 14:13, with the Trail Blazers temporarily leading by one point.
In the seventh minute, the Thunder attacked.
Westbrook used the pick-and-roll to break through Lillard and get into the paint.
Wang Zelin immediately pulled out to cover the defense, and the opposing Perkins immediately moved to the basket and signaled Westbrook to pass the ball.
Westbrook immediately jumped up, feeling full of lag in the air, but it was a fake shot and a real pass. After attracting Wang Zelin's defensive attention, he immediately sent a lob pass to the basket.
Wang Zelin had noticed the situation behind him and was indifferent to Westbrook's shot. Not only did he not block the shot, the opponent immediately defended and broke through the basket.
"Snapped!"
Perkins caught the ball and exploded on the spot.
"Snapped!"
A more violent sound spread instantly.
Wang Zelin returned to defense and slapped Perkins to the floor with the ball.
After the defense was down, Wang Zelin turned around and made a long pass, assisting Lillard to hit a layup in the frontcourt.
"Foul! Didn't the referee commit a foul?"
Perkins quickly got up from the ground and vented his dissatisfaction to the referee.
"A guy who only grins like a bitch, I really don't know how you can survive in the NBA?"
Wang Zelin shook his head, smiled disdainfully, turned and left.
"asshole……"
As soon as Perkins roared out, a whistle sounded in his ears.
In the ninth minute, it was the Thunder's offensive round again.
After Durant picked and rolled, he reached the free throw line and was double-teamed by the Trail Blazers. In desperation, he had to pass back to the outside.
At this time, Sabo, who was at a 45-degree angle on the right wing's three-point line, was already free. Upon seeing this, Durant immediately distributed the ball.
At this time, Wang Zelin was in the short corner area on the right wing. After seeing Durant's move, he came out of the short corner area to defend in two steps.
At this time, Saab had just received the ball, and Wang Zelin returned to defend in two steps. Saab took off and had no time to dodge. His eyes immediately blurred, and then a force of gravity hit him, and he fell to the ground.
"Give it to me~ bring it!"
Wang Zelin jumped up and slapped the basketball.
"Snapped!"
A real volleyball hat, he slapped the basketball directly to the center circle.
"The king sent out another super hot pot! This is already his second block in this game!"
Zhang Lili was very excited.
frontcourt.
Westbrook returned to defense in time, but faced with the impact of Lillard and Batum, he still ignored the other, and finally watched Batum succeed in an alley-oop dunk.
Two consecutive successful defenses made the Thunder players extremely wary of Wang Zelin's shot-blocking ability. In the next few minutes, they involuntarily reduced their attempts to rush to the basket from the inside.
After the first quarter, at 27:21, the Trail Blazers led by 6 points.
Wang Zelin made 3 of 3 shots in a single quarter, all from the inside, and 2 of 2 free throws. He scored 8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 1 assist.
In the second half of the first quarter, Wang Zelin showed his prowess on the defensive end and protected the rim to the extreme. The Thunder scored a total of 8 points in the second half, but none of them was obtained through inside offense.
In this focused battle, both sides basically played the entire first quarter.
For the Trail Blazers, coach Terry had already formulated a nine-round rotation plan before the game, which shows how much he values the Thunder game.
Of course, the same must be true for the Thunder.
I won't talk about others. Judging from the current situation, Durant and Westbrook's playing time tonight is likely to exceed 40 minutes.
Sure enough, in the second quarter of the game, the Thunder made changes in the other three positions, with only Durant and Westbrook continuing to play.
For the Trail Blazers, Wang Zelin and Lillard continue to play, Aldridge is temporarily resting, and the other three substitute players are Yi Jianlian, Connett Lee and Will Barton.
When Yi Jianlian and Wang Zelin partnered, the main means of scoring were fixed-point shooting and off-ball cuts, plus helping to block people.
As for Will Barton, his defensive ability is naturally far inferior to Batum. But the reason why Coach Terry is willing to play with him is because Will Barton has outstanding athletic ability. Although his body shape is a bit thin, at least he has good footwork.
Able to keep up with Durant.
I don't ask him to limit how much he can do, I just ask him to consume more of Durant's physical energy.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Thunder took the lead.
Westbrook caught the ball in the backcourt, and before his teammates could get into position, he suddenly accelerated past Lillard at the top of the arc and went straight to the basket.
Wang Zelin reacted very quickly and interfered immediately. Westbrook failed to dunk, but he caused Wang Zelin's defensive foul and gained the opportunity to make two extra free throws.
This is also Wang Zelin's second foul in this game.
After the two had physical contact, Westbrook fell on Wang Zelin and then lay on the ground.
Before the fans on the sidelines could get angry, he stood up like a normal person, pretending to pat the non-existent dust on his butt, and showed a row of white teeth to Wang Zelin provocatively.
Smiled.
"This guy……"
Wang Zelin also shook his head helplessly.
Sometimes, he was really curious about what was going on with the turtle's physical structure. He was injured again and again, only to get an upgrade after returning to the game. After returning to the game, his playing style not only did not converge, but became even more brutal.
However, he got a foul in the second quarter, which also reminded Wang Zelin to pay more attention to foul issues in the future.
One thing to say is that the Turtles, who are at the peak of their personal physical fitness, not only have a long range, but can also maintain more than 30% of their outside three-point shots, and are also pretty good at free throws.
Since the end of his sophomore year as a rookie, his free throw percentage has never dropped below 80%.
This year, Westbrook's mid-range two-point shooting percentage has reached a career high, exceeding 44%.
What is this concept?
Let’s find a handsome guy from CIC to compare.
For example, Kobe Bryant.
So far in his career, Kobe's short-range two-point shooting rate is around 45%, mid-range two-point shooting rate is around 43%, and long-range two-point shooting rate is around 40%.
In the eyes of the majority of fans, Kobe's mid-range shooting ability is undoubtedly the best in the league.
With such a high number of shots, it is actually not easy to maintain a mid-range shooting percentage of about 45% in his career.
This year, Westbrook averaged more than 6.5 mid-range two-pointers and long-range two-pointers per game, and his average field goal percentage exceeded 40%, which can be regarded as an effective conventional offensive method.
After the second quarter, the Thunder started the usual rhythm of the game, with Westbrook responsible for carrying the explosive package of the offense. Durant is now more of a nuclear weapon threatening the opponent. Except for the occasional open shot, there is no more.
The desire for singles at the beginning.
Not to mention, Westbrook's touch was really good today. In the fifth minute, he made 3 of 4 field goals, plus 3 of 4 free throws with two successful fouls. He scored 9 points, leading the Thunder to temporarily overtake the Blazers.
or 3 points.
In the next round, Durant caught the ball from the outside and hit a three-pointer from the corner. The Thunder led the Trail Blazers by 6 points at 39:33.
Just after Lillard passed halftime, coach Terry called a timeout.
The Blazers' offensive and defensive strategies have had problems during this period and need to be readjusted.