The opening three-pointer in basketball

About 18,000 fans packed every seat at the Ohio Energy Arena.

The fans were wearing a lot of clothes and it was snowing outside.

But it was still very hot inside the arena.

The DJ at the scene was very proud, "Guys, the Christmas war is about to begin, and we will face our old rival, the Timberwolves."

"They have White, they have Love, they are the team at the top of the league standings, but they lost to us twice."

"The Thunder faced the Timberwolves, there was no pressure."

What this DJ said was rather arrogant, but he was indeed qualified to say it.

Because at this time, the Thunder are definitely the healthiest and most competitive team in the league.

They are said to be healthy because their core players are all extremely talented and have explosive bodies.

To say that they are the most competitive team is naturally because Detonator selected a group of very good, super scorers in their early twenties.

The Thunder's starting lineup is: Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, Parkinson, Sefolosha.

Durant is recognized as the second small forward in the league, second only to James in strength.

Durant is known as the strongest singles player in the league, and his one-on-one ability can be said to be the best in the league.

In addition to averaging 22 points per game in his rookie season, he averaged more than 27 points per game in the other seasons.

He is known as the most consistent long-distance player in the league.

And although Adu usually doesn't take defense very seriously.

But when it comes to important games, his defense is still very good.

He is 2.08 meters tall and can run and jump. He is like a Spider-Man.

Under such conditions, even if he follows the players, he will have a huge deterrent effect.

In addition, whoever Durant hits is out of position.

Those who are faster than him are not as tall as him, and those who are taller than him are not as fast as him. He can beat any defensive player.

The best player in the league to guard Durant so far is Tony Allen.

Others have very average results.

Westbrook is one of the most explosive players in the league today.

He and Rose have always been nicknamed the explosive duo by fans. Both dribble very fast and are very capable of rushing the frame. They can explode the frame at every turn.

And Westbrook is actually stronger than Rose, has better physical fitness, and is less prone to injuries.

Westbrook is known as the James of the guard class.

His three-point shooting is average, but his zombie jump shot percentage is not bad, averaging 40% per game.

Since entering the league, Westbrook has been regarded as the core of the team.

Under such circumstances, in just three years, he has developed into one of the top guards in the Western Conference.

Ibaka is now the center of the Thunder. He is very young, but he can run and jump and has top defense.

There are also Parkinson and Sefolosha, these two are the same, they are both very good at defense.

Fans like to say that the Thunder's offense relies on the king's explosive combination, but their defense relies on five people, which is a team defense.

In addition to these five people, they also have Harden, Collison, and Robertson.

Harden is the best sixth man in the league. Although he comes off the bench every game, he still averages 21 points per game.

Collison and Robertson are both good defensive players.

It can be seen that the Thunder are really strong at this time and are still very young and healthy.

Apart from their lack of experience, they are almost perfect in other aspects.

Durant, Westbrook, and Harden average nearly 70 points per game combined.

No matter how hard the others defend, the opposing team really has no chance to fight.

The Thunder have played very well this season, whether they are facing the Spurs, Bulls, or Heat.

The only team the Thunder didn't feel comfortable playing against was the Grizzlies.

Because the Grizzlies have both black and white, plus Tony Allen.

The black and white duo locked up the inside line and did not give the Thunder's three young masters a chance to break through the frame.

Under such circumstances, the Thunder had to pin their hopes on three points.

But the Thunder's three-point shooting is relatively average.

So it's more difficult for them to face the Grizzlies.

But as far as the entire league is concerned, the Grizzlies are the only one with such defensive resources.

No team can compete with the Grizzlies defensively.

Not to mention the Timberwolves.

So the Thunder don't need to be afraid of the Timberwolves.

This is why the live DJ is so arrogant.

In the tnt live broadcast room, Kenny Smith said unceremoniously: "This game is difficult for the Timberwolves. The Thunder are not an ordinary team. They are strong. Not only are they top-notch in offense, their defense is also one of the best in the league."

"The rest of the Timberwolves can't be counted on, but no matter how accurate Bai is, he can't be inferior to the Thunder's third young master."

O'Neal nodded, "Yes, I am more optimistic about the Thunder in this game."

"In the past two games of the Thunder, when they attacked, the Timberwolves had no way to defend. They had no defensive ability in front of the Thunder."

"Even if Bai is very accurate, he can't be accurate all the time. But the Thunder can really score goals all the time."

Barkley curled his lips and said, "Guys, this is a Christmas game. The players must take it very seriously. I don't think the Timberwolves players will give in easily."

"And the Timberwolves now have a few new people. They are not simple."

"There is still hope for the Timberwolves."

At the Energy Arena in Ohio, the substitute players of both teams were off the field, but the main players were still on the court.

The Timberwolves' starting lineup is: Bai Yi, Reggie, Tucker, Morris Jr., and Pekovic.

Love was not started in this game because this guy's defense was zero.

The Thunder's ability to attack the inside is very strong. Using Tucker to defend is at least much better than Love.

Tucker's defensive advantage is that he can defend from one to five, he has good speed, good confrontation, good physical fitness, and can fight like crazy for almost a whole game.

However, he also has a defensive flaw, which is that he is not tall enough.

As an inside man, he is only 1.96 meters tall, which is exactly his outside height. This height makes him look short even for a small forward, but he is a power forward.

But no matter what, he is much better than Love.

In addition, Morris Jr.'s defense is much better than Johnson or Billis before.

The two people before had almost zero defense.

It's basically like a scarecrow.

Although little Morris is young, this guy has a temperament that refuses to admit defeat.

He may be a bit stubborn, but no matter who is facing him, he will defend seriously.

He is big enough and has a lot of defensive tricks. He is not like a rookie defensively, but more like an experienced player.

The same is true for Reggie, who is much better than Rubio in terms of speed, confrontation, and arm length.

With this lineup, the Timberwolves are much better defensively.

But the offense is actually weaker than before.

Tucker and Morris are both super weak in scoring ability.

We can only rely on Bai Yi and Reji.

Bai Yi pursed his lips. He didn't care about the offense. He believed in himself. Now that the team's defense was up, he felt they could still fight.