Basketball's most talented forward is on the left

Chapter 1087 Ohla Hippopotamus, the Thunder’s last chance

Before the Finals, Thunder fans believed that the Thunder would definitely be able to return to New York.

Yes, Thunder fans are still very low-key. Despite the rhetoric of their core Durant, facing the No. 1 team in the regular season, entering the Finals four times in four years, and sweeping the New York Knicks in the regular season, the fans still maintained their best attitude.

Basic sanity.

A sweep is impossible. Most Thunder fans think the Thunder will win this series 4-2 or 4-3.

However, after the first two games, Thunder fans sadly discovered that, not to mention winning the championship, even playing back to New York seemed to be a luxury.

In the first two games of the finals, the Thunder lost in a helpless state, 0-2, and the Thunder once again pushed themselves to the edge of the cliff.

Of course, because of the previous experience in the Western Conference Finals - they also completed a counterattack even after falling behind 0-2, so neither the emotions of the fans nor the emotions of the players are too pessimistic.

Just like when Westbrook was interviewed after the game, he could still say the classic line with a smile: "We will be back."

However, knowledgeable people have begun to look down on the prospects of the Thunder. Even in the famous ESPN program that night, Jimmy said: "The Thunder should recognize themselves. They are not the Knicks' opponents. They should put down their burdens and fight with all their strength. Maybe they can still win."

After one or two games, to be honest, I already had a premonition that winning the playoffs for the first time in history seems to be right in front of us."

Of course, Jimmy's words were opposed by many people. Many people felt that he was making too much fuss. Not to mention that the Thunder had the experience of coming back from a 0-2 deficit, but there were also teams that had a 2-0 lead in the finals and were overturned.

Isn't the Maverick that unlucky guy?

"Basketball is round, let's wait and see." In response to everyone's opposition and ridicule, Jimmy did not argue. If he didn't believe it, he would just wait and see.

Many people watching the show felt the same as Jimmy.

In San Antonio, Spurs head coach Popovich watched the entire game with red wine.

Prepare for a rainy day. Although the Spurs ultimately fell short this season, it does not prevent Popovich from preparing for next season in advance. As the strongest opponent, Popovich will naturally not let go of games like the finals.

But after watching the second game, Popovich's face became solemn and he forgot to drink the red wine in his hand.

He brought himself, or rather the Spurs, into perspective during the game to analyze how likely it would be to win against the Knicks if the Spurs entered the finals.

After calculating for a long time, Popovich had to admit that if the Thunder were replaced by the Spurs, the ending would not be any different from now.

The Knicks...are too strong.

In the second game, except for Harden who continued to take the blame, the Thunder's two young players still performed stably. Durant had 31 points and 4 rebounds, and Westbrook had 27 points, 7 assists and 3 steals. Both shot at around 45%. This number has already been

Very outstanding.

Popovich will never forget how the Spurs were overturned. Durant and Westbrook are like two perpetual motion machines that never get tired, attacking the Spurs' defense again and again, and finally messing up the Spurs.

Completely unable to withstand Thunder's youthful storm.

However, the Knicks not only resisted, but also played with ease.

Yes, they still did not limit the performance of the second young master, but unfortunately, the Thunder could not guard against the Knicks' perimeter army.

Curry had 18 points, Dragic had 10 points, Ke Liu had 12 points, Battier had 12 points and 4 rebounds, Danny Green had 11 points, 2 steals and 2 blocks...

The Knicks' outside firepower was 5 points more than the Thunder's. They made 15 of 27 three-pointers in the game, which made the Thunder exhausted. There were leaks everywhere on the outside.

It's not difficult to understand why the Thunder still lost by 20 points.

I can't stop you, and you can't stop me. You come and I go, but everyone is only 50-50 open.

Of course, if that's the case, Popovich doesn't think the Knicks are sure to win. The Spurs also relied on GDP to win the first two games, but then they were overturned by the tireless Er Shao.

However, the Knicks still have a guy who has no solution.

Zuo Li…

In the second game, I had 38 points, 17 rebounds, 10 assists, 6 blocks and 2 steals, shooting 75.5% from the field, and only made two mistakes in the game!

No solution, horror, helplessness...

After watching the game, Popovich didn't know how the Spurs could restrict this guy.

Duncan?

No, not enough.

The Thunder used the inside of Perkins and Ibaka to restrict the 37-year-old Duncan, which ultimately caused the Spurs to lose.

At the age of 36, his physical fitness and physical fitness have declined to a great extent. His shooting percentage has dropped to 44%, which is rare in his entire career. Although he averaged 17 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.3 rebounds per game.

A good performance in blocking shots, but the efficiency is really not high.

Perkins is a heavy inside man, and his defensive focus is also quite solid. In addition, Ibaka is very good at assisting defense and blocking shots. This makes Duncan fall into a fight with them and cannot take any advantage. The most obvious one is the first one.

In four games, Ibaka made 11 of 11 shots, scored 26 points with a 100% shooting rate, and also blocked 3 shots.

But these two people couldn't restrain Zuo Li at all. In the second game, Zuo Li even defeated them in a completely different way from the first game.

If Zuo Li in the first game was a bulldozer on the inside, in the second game Zuo Li was a flexible Panther tank on the outside. He left the Thunder at a loss inside, causing the Thunder to have to use Harden to help defend, causing Harden to collapse again.

Then, Zuo Li used his deterrence to force the Thunder to recover, creating more space for teammates on the outside.

Back and forth, Thunder has no power to parry.

So it is impossible for Duncan Garbonner to restrict the left winger, but what about Leonard...

Popovich fell into deep thought... Will a rookie who averaged less than 10 points per game in the playoffs this season be the Spurs' answer next season...

…

"Our answer?"

"Try not to go back."

Regardless of whether Popovich found his answer or not, Zuo Li gave his answer after landing on the Ohela Hippo.

The next three games will be held here, and Zuoli's goal is to try to resolve the battle in Ohla Hippo.

Zuo Li also humorously shouted to Knicks fans: "Sorry, we may not go back."

And the Knicks fans also happily said: Just don't come back! It would be great to win the cup there!

Although it is a pity that we cannot witness the first dynasty in team history at our home court, for Knicks fans, the dynasty itself is more important, and we are not people who pursue a sense of ritual!

Moreover, they have other dreams at the moment, which is to win the playoffs and win the championship. The arrogant OK failed to achieve it at the beginning. It was defeated by Iverson and became undefeated. It also achieved the prestige of the answer. I don’t know if this time,

Will the Thunder wait for their answer?

But regardless of whether there is an answer or not, everyone knows that the Oklahoma City Thunder is the last chance. If they cannot defeat the Knicks in G3, then this NBA season will come to an end early.

(End of chapter)