After the timeout, the Thunder replaced Perkins and replaced him with Harden.
Thunder coach Brooks finally gave up the last trace of fantasy and won the most used twin-tower lineup in the regular season.
The Thunder team is very young and lacks experience, their shooting is not very accurate, and their offensive understanding is not enough. In this case, fighting hard on defense is the best option.
A team that is young, energetic, and full of energy is best suited for defense.
If you want to defend well, you need to work hard on the inside.
So last season, the Thunder traded Jeff Green for Perkins at all costs and got a bad guy in the penalty area!
Perkins can almost be ignored on the offensive end, but he is still very useful on the defensive end, especially in the penalty area!
This is also the reason why the Thunder have a good record in the regular season.
When facing the Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals, although the Spurs were very accurate from the outside, the Thunder still kept Perkins on the court and defended against the Spurs.
So Brooks doesn't want to give up this successful lineup easily.
If they gain an advantage in the penalty area, if they can slow down the rhythm and fight hand-to-hand with the Warriors in the penalty area, the Thunder will have a chance!
After all, the Thunder have a tonnage advantage in every position!
After all, the Thunder have a huge advantage in strength!
After all, the Thunder are full of momentum!
But reality shattered his fantasy!
Perkins can't be guarded on the court!
Even a flanking attack is very slow!
And the Splash Brothers shot very fast, and they were all three-pointers, and Perkins couldn't guard them at all!
More importantly, with Westbrook on the court, the Thunder's space on the court is very small. Add Perkins in and the Thunder's offense will not be able to open up at all!
The Warriors wish they had all five of them huddled in the penalty area, and the Thunder can't make a three-pointer. How can they play this game?
After taking out Perkins and replacing him with Harden, the Thunder's offensive space instantly became much larger!
This is the Thunder's strongest offensive lineup!
The Thunder's three young players are Westbrook, Harden, Durant, plus Ibaka, assisting a defensive hero Saflosa!
After the timeout, the Thunder's offense was much better.
The Warriors still let Clay stay in the paint and not give Westbrook a chance to attack the paint.
Curry also stayed two steps inside the three-point line.
Anyway, Saflosa's three-pointers are just like that, not even one three-pointer per game!
However, Harden and Durant cannot be released, and Ibaka in the pick-and-roll must also be taken care of, so that the Warriors cannot all shrink near the penalty area.
The Thunder's offense is much better, but their defense has not improved.
Westbrook's defensive gamble involves a lot of steals, and his defense off the ball is average.
Harden has a hard time defending fast guards, and his off-ball defense is even worse than Westbrook's!
Durant isn't known for his speed either.
Ibaka is very good at blocking shots, but his effectiveness in defending from the outside is not very good.
There was only one Savlosha who defended very well and kept wiping the butts of others.
But this is not possible.
Because the Warriors' off-ball tactics are extremely good!
The Splash Brothers kept running, and Yao Ming, Kirilenko and others kept covering the two of them. The Thunder team focused on one thing but not the other, and the defense was full of loopholes.
Although the Thunder can also score, their efficiency is much lower than that of the Warriors!
Durant made a two-pointer despite the difficult defense. Curry turned around and ran to the basket for an empty layup and scored two points!
Westbrook made a zombie jumper, and the basketball rolled in tremblingly. When he turned around, Clay threw in a three-pointer in just a few seconds!
Ibaka's layup was blocked by Kirilenko. Curry received a long pass in the frontcourt and made an emergency three-pointer. The basketball was hollow!
…
Soon, the first quarter was over, the score became 43:25, and the Warriors led by 18 points.
In fact, the Thunder's 18 points were mainly lost when Perkins was on the court.
After Harden came in, the Thunder only lost by 6 points!
Although they still lost by 6 points, the Thunder were already doing very well by being able to deal with the Splash Brothers with full firepower for one game.
When the game started in the second quarter, Harden stayed on the court and led Fisher, Cook, Collison and Perkins to deal with the Warriors.
The Warriors' lineup is Lowry, Azubuike, Tucker, Hayward, and Lopez.
Obviously, the Warriors are much more mobile and have better shooting ability!
In fact, the Thunder's lineup also has twin towers, and it is difficult to defend against the Warriors.
But Brooks can't help it, because there are only so many people he can use!
There is no one available, and no one can be the head coach.
The Thunder's strategy is to slow down, slow down the pace of the game, and give the main players as much rest time as possible.
But the Warriors' bench didn't give the Thunder a chance at all. Their offense came one after another, and the Thunder were completely unable to find their way!
Lopez doesn't go inside at all. After picking and rolling, he walks outside the three-point line and throws three-pointers when he is open!
Perkins was so fat that he couldn't catch up, and his face was so angry that he kept trembling!
The second quarter lasted just over three minutes, and the score difference reached 25 points!
The Thunder had to call a timeout.
After the timeout, Perkins and Collison came off the court, and Durant and Ibaka came on.
The Thunder's offense and defense are getting better now.
However, relying on their physical advantage, the Warriors' substitutes did not fall behind at all.
Soon, at the end of the second quarter, the score became 78:56, with the Warriors leading by 22 points.
The second half started quickly.
Brooks was cruel this time. He directly abandoned Perkins and replaced Fisher with a smaller lineup.
Although Fisher is very old, he does not suffer on the defensive end, especially when it comes to defending players who move without the ball. His experience is very useful.
The Thunder began to give the ball to Durant more and let him solve the problem.
Durant is extremely talented, has excellent touch, and is extremely difficult to guard.
But Kirilenko's defense is also quite good, even if it is said that he is the top player in the league!
It can be said that Kirilenko is the most suitable player to defend Durant and James!
What are Durant's strengths?
He's tall, has long arms, and has excellent shooting skills!
What are the characteristics of Kirilenko?
He is tall and has long arms, and his shot-blocking ability is top-notch!
It can be said that Kirilenko was specially designed for Durant!
No matter where Durant goes, Kirilenko follows him closely!
Kirilenko has only one mission, which is to restrain Durant to death!
Anyone can score, except Durant!
Deng Fang knows best that as long as he guards Durant and does not give Westbrook a chance to attack the inside, the Thunder will have no chance to turn around!
Under the Warriors' defense, the Thunder's offense is still very difficult.
Fortunately, without Perkins, the Thunder, which uses a smaller lineup, is much better on the defensive end.
The score difference between the two teams remained in a stalemate for most of the quarter.
Just when everyone thought the battle would be resolved in the fourth quarter, Curry suddenly showed off his power. He threw in three three-pointers in two minutes and assisted Klay two more. A wave of 15:2 directly stopped the game!
The Thunder called two timeouts in a row to no avail.
Soon, at the end of the third quarter, the score became 119:85, with the Warriors leading by 34 points!
