As soon as the series with the Trail Blazers ended, Deng Fang began preparations for the Western Conference Finals.
In fact, it is very simple for Deng Fang. All the tactics have been thought out. The main task is to familiarize the players and unify the team's thinking.
At 8pm on May 16, 2016, the first game between the Warriors and Thunder officially started at Oracle Arena.
The Thunder's starting lineup remains unchanged, with Westbrook, Robertson, Durant, Ibaka, and Adams playing.
Needless to say, Westbrook and Durant will definitely start.
Robertson is the strongest contender for the best defensive player. With him on the court, he can wipe Westbrook's butt and better restrict the Splash Brothers, so he also has to play.
Westbrook's one-on-one defense is good, but his defense without the ball has never been good. What the Splash Brothers are best at is without the ball, so Robertson's appearance is of great significance.
Robertson is not only good at one-on-one defense, he is also excellent at assist defense, and he even has no problem getting in the paint occasionally!
At least it would be difficult for Green to attack Robertson alone in the penalty area.
Ibaka can block shots, rebound, and has developed three-point skills. He is very mobile, so starting is inevitable.
Adams is very powerful in the penalty area and has advantages against Bogut and Green. The most important thing is that Adams is not slow to switch to the outside. At least he will not let Curry do whatever he wants, so the advantages of him playing outweigh the disadvantages.
In fact, Adams' defensive switching ability is not particularly good, it is just much better than Kanter's. The reason why Adams can switch to the outside is that, first, his pace is not slow, and second, the defensive ability of other Thunder players is good enough!
Even if Adams switches defense and Ibaka is still in the penalty area, Durant can also block shots, and Robertson's defense and assistance are top-notch!
Even Westbrook, with his incredible physical fitness, is top-notch in rebounding.
Therefore, Adams can safely switch out without worrying about behind him.
It won't work if it's Kanter. As soon as Kanter comes up, Curry can basically score at will. Even if there are people like Ibaka, Durant, and Robertson behind him to defend, Kanter can't guard Curry.
Emergency stop three-pointer!
If Curry doesn't come in, it's useless for you to help defend in the penalty area!
There are no changes in the Warriors' starting lineup, which is still Curry, Klay, Barnes, Green, and Bogut.
Since Adams is a huge threat in the penalty area, and since Adams can be switched out, it is not a big disadvantage to switch to Curry, then don't use five small players at the beginning, because then the penalty area will be easily lost, and Green's physical energy consumption will be too high.
As for Barnes, Deng Fang mainly thinks about the finals.
If Barnes is abandoned now and put on the bench, it will be a huge blow to Barnes' self-confidence, which will be detrimental to the finals.
Barnes is usually not very talkative, very low-key, and even seems a little unconfident. Since he has been encouraging Barnes before, he cannot break his promise at this critical moment.
Even if he is replaced two minutes earlier, he cannot be directly put on the bench!
Of course, Deng Fang did this not only to help Barnes gain confidence, but also because Barnes's three-pointer is better than Iguodala's.
Although Iguodala is more trustworthy at critical moments, there is no doubt that Barnes is generally more accurate in three-pointers than Iguodala.
The referee blew the whistle, the ball jumped in the middle circle, and the game started on time.
The Thunder got the ball first and the Warriors defended.
Deng Fang made particularly many arrangements on the defensive end, which is the main reason why he is confident in defeating the Thunder.
Offense depends on touch. If you don't have touch, there's nothing you can do about it. Even if your opponent defends well, you can't do anything about it. But you can control your own defense. This is the only thing you can control!
Westbrook dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, Durant passed the screen and came out to catch the ball, and Barnes followed Durant closely.
After receiving the ball, Durant acted as a triple threat. Barnes followed Durant closely and refused to give him a chance to shoot!
Of course, you have to raise your hands while staring closely, so as not to give Durant a chance to make a big comeback...
Durant's singles ability is indeed strong, and it is impossible to restrict him with single defense.
If you don't give him a chance to shoot, he will break through!
It is even said that it is impossible to completely prevent Durant from shooting. After all, he has an absolute height advantage!
But Deng Fang is not afraid!
Before the game, Deng Fang's task for Barnes was to try his best to block Durant's shot and make it difficult for him to take the shot. As for the breakthrough, he could just leave it to his teammates.
Why did Deng Fang dare to do this?
Because there are three players on the Thunder court without baskets!
First of all, there is no doubt that Adams has no basket.
Of course, Adams didn't have a basket, so he kept wandering near the penalty area. Once Durant bursts in, the Warriors help defend, and Durant passes the ball to Adams, he can score easily.
Therefore, Bogut near the penalty area could only watch Adams and would not help defend unless absolutely necessary.
Although they are not assisting in defense, there are two strong men standing near the penalty area, which will also have an impact on Durant's breakthrough - no matter what, you can't hit Adams or Bogut...
Except for Adams, Robertson has no basket!
Robertson's three-point shooting is very poor, and even his free throw shooting is not as good as Adams. His free throw shooting rate in the playoffs is only 40%!
For such a player, it is unreasonable not to let him shoot three-pointers!
No matter how Robertson wandered around, Curry would always huddle near the penalty area and keep staring at Durant!
Robertson walks to the left, Curry takes a step to the left, Robertson turns to the right, Curry takes a step to the right, as long as he controls Durant's passing route to the penalty area.
As for passing the ball to Robertson from outside the three-point line, two words - whatever!
With Curry as a helper on defense, Durant has to think carefully if he wants to break through.
Curry can't block Durant, but he can draw offensive fouls! And Curry's steals are also top-notch!
Of course, this cannot completely restrict Durant. After all, it is not difficult to have another defender who cannot block shots to help defend.
But the Warriors also have Clay helping out on defense!
Because Westbrookâs three-pointers are not good either!
Westbrook's three-pointers have never been good, and everyone knows this.
Why does Westbrook dare to take a decisive shot even though he is not good at three-pointers? Why does no team dare to completely leave Westbrook open like later generations?
Because Westbrook's reputation is there, he is a superstar after all, and he has unlimited power to fire!
Because Westbrook, who is completely short-term, may have an explosive personality and a perfect three-pointer, no one dares to bet!
Although it is a low-probability event, it does not mean that Westbrook will not have explosive moments!
More importantly, even if Westbrook's three-point shooting is not very accurate, the Thunder's defense is so good, who dares to say that his three-point shooting percentage is higher than that of Westbrook?
Therefore, no team dares to completely let Westbrook go.
But Deng Fang dared!
Deng Fang knows that Westbrook really has no three-pointers, and the probability of Westbrook breaking out with a three-pointer is extremely small!
Deng Fang knows even more that even if the Thunder defend well, the Warriors' three-point shooting percentage is higher than that of Westbrook!
Even if Curry is allowed to shoot a three-pointer against Adams, it will be more accurate than Westbrook's open three-pointer!
