The Way of the Center

"Be careful, okc's lightning rise!"

This is the cover title of the latest issue of Sports Illustrated, and the cover photo is naturally a group photo of the Thunder's three juniors plus Ibaka and Morris.

Durant and Westbrook sat in the front row holding a basketball, while the three insiders stood behind with their hands folded. On the cover of the first issue before the start of the new season, the Thunder became the team that Sports Illustrated decided to focus on.

"The record of 47 wins last season put them just one step away from the playoffs. This year, Presti has strengthened the Thunder's weak inside, and they will have more mature Durant and West Brook, the playoffs, seems to have opened the door to them." Sports Illustrated made a column for the Thunder to introduce their team structure and strengths and weaknesses.

"Although the chances of entering the playoffs are great, the young people of the Thunder seem to be able to stop there. It is almost impossible for the current Thunder to squeeze into the second round or better. None of the Thunder's three teams have playoff experience, and the competition in the Western Conference is as big as ever. So Thunder fans, don't get your hopes up for the three teams to make the playoffs."

Sports Illustrated's analysis is very pertinent. It neither belittles the Thunder's strength this season nor over-boosts it. But Jeff Van Gundy was still very unconvinced after reading this column. It is not impossible for the Thunder to break through the first round.

On October 5, the confident Van Gundy and his Thunder team played their first pre-season warm-up game under the eyes of everyone.

The Golden State Warriors led by the old coach Nelson will test the strength of the Thunder in the new season.

Van Gundy still mainly used training as a substitute in the preseason, so Anjie only played 18 minutes in this game, and his and Morris' playing times were always staggered, because Van Gundy continued to let Morris play center, and let Yi Bacca plays power forward.

Therefore, when Anjie is off, Morris is on the field. The two of them didn't have any chance to partner inside the entire game.

The two rookies Ibaka and Morris played the most minutes for the Thunder, but the Warriors' No. 3 pick covered up their outstanding performance by themselves.

Steve Curry, this guy Morris is all too familiar with. During the NCAA 32 strong battle, the Cyclones' opponent, Davidson College, was led by Curry.

NCAA's three-point line is shorter than that of NBA, so Curry was not favored by too many people in college. They think that when the NBA faces a farther three-point line, Curry, a thin guy who can only shoot three-pointers, will be at a loss.

Many fans expressed disappointment when the Warriors decided to take Curry with a third overall pick. For the third pick, they can choose Tyreke Evans, Hasim Thabeet, and "Spanish Golden Boy" Ricky Rubio, but the Warriors chose this small guard who can only shoot. Oakland.

However, for the first official appearance, Curry's performance made everyone shut up.

He made 5 of 6 three-pointers and assisted Ellis many times to get open shots. Ibaka and Morris smacked the Warriors in the paint, while Stephen Curry helped control the situation on the perimeter.

In the end, Ibaka and Morris failed to lead the Thunder to victory, 99 to 87. The much-anticipated Thunder lost the first game of the preseason game to the Warriors, who had a poor record last season.

For the loss of this match,

Neither the Thunder players nor Van Gundy took it seriously. After all, most of the game was played by the team's second or even third team, and the Thunder didn't show their true skills at all.

But how could those critics who had nothing to talk about give up this opportunity? After the game, they criticized the Thunder team as worthless. Some articles even analyzed the reasons for the Thunder team's defeat in detail.

"Shit." Van Gundy just picked up the newspaper and glanced at it before throwing it in the trash. Van Gundy knows the status and prospects of the Thunder team best.

However, in the Thunder's second preseason game on October 11, they lost again.

The Thunder's three young players only played fifteen minutes in this game. Seeing that the three were in good condition, Van Gundy did not continue to use them.

Unexpectedly, the plans of the Eagles and the Thunder were diametrically opposed. The Eagles played the first five for a long time in this game, and the main players were the training purpose of the Eagles in this game.

Using one's own substitute to play against other people's strongest lineup, it would indeed be a bit of a dream for the Thunder to win.

82 to 103, the Thunder lost by a big score. Although An Jie didn't play for a long time, he made a lot of money.

Using the post-up skills he learned from Olajuwon, Ainge made five of five shots in front of Al Horford without a miss.

Morris and Ibaka still serve as the core, but the immature two seem to have not adapted to the fast pace of the NBA.

After losing two games in a row in the preseason, Van Gundy's goal of training has been achieved. Both Morris and Ibaka got a lot of playing time, so as not to spend time adapting the two rookies after the regular season started.

Originally, the reason why these two were favored by Presti and Van Gundy was their immediate combat power. If you can't play a role in the field, how can you give full play to the advantages that an immediate combat role should have.

Although the goal of training is achieved, if the team continues to lose, the morale of the players will inevitably fluctuate. Van Gundy, who has been a coach for 14 years, naturally understands this.

So in the Thunder's third warm-up game, Van Gundy used a normal rotation for the first time. It's worth mentioning that Serge Ibaka is still the one who sits at the starting power forward position and partnered with Anjie inside.

Morris performed very well in the preseason, but unfortunately his performance cannot be reflected in the data.

On the offensive end, he obviously hasn't adapted to the confrontation at the NBA level. Although he can frequently force the opponent to hit the iron on the defensive end, he rarely blocks shots. Compared with Serge Ibaka, who is known for blocking shots, Morris has received relatively less attention.

When Ibaka and Anjie partnered inside, Anjie instantly felt a lot easier than last season.

Although Serge Ibaka is very strong and has abnormal athletic ability, his touch is unexpectedly soft.

His range is farther than Krstic, and he has a better shot than Krstic. On the offensive end, he can help Angela open up more space, and on the defensive end, his eye-catching blocks also give the Thunder another layer of barriers in the three-second zone.

So the New York Knicks, the Thunder's third preseason opponent, are not as lucky as the first two teams.

Although David Lee is a frequent visitor to the 20+10 club, his performance was not convincing in the face of the hospitality of the Thunder's three-dollar insider.

97 to 88, when both the Thunder and the Knicks were playing according to the normal rotation, the even stronger Thunder had the last laugh.

The first time he played all his cards, Van Gundy led the team to a complete victory. This is also the first time that the Thunder have exposed their true strength to others.

In the last preseason game on October 20, the Thunder's opponent was the rising Charlotte Bobcats in the Eastern Conference.

The same rise, the Bobcats paid several times the time of the Thunder. However, judging from the performance of this game, their slow work did not produce "fine work".

The Thunder's three young men fired together, which seriously hit the optimism of the Charlotte people before the game.

"Elvis" Gerald Wallace and Raymond Felton performed well, but unfortunately, when the Thunder's three minorities all scored more than 20 points, they almost rarely lost.

Anjie beat Tyrus Thomas to death throughout the game. On the defensive end, he would not give Thomas a chance to charge up. On the offensive end, Anjie used his strength and technical advantages to play like a duck to water.

With 21 points and 13 rebounds, this is the first time Anjie scored more than 20 points in the preseason and scored a double-double for the first time.

99 to 93, although the point difference is not big, but the Thunder has always taken the initiative on the scene. In this regard, the four preseason games that Van Gundy arranged for the team all ended, with 2 wins and 2 losses. Such a result will definitely make many scouts from other teams elusive and unable to see the true strength of the Thunder.

Four games are enough for all members of the Thunder to activate their competitive state. When a group of young people returned to Oklahoma City full of enthusiasm, there were only eight days left before the first game of the regular season.

The NBA opening game will be held on October 27, but the Thunder will not play until the 28th.

A year ago, Anjie was a fledgling, and people said that being able to gain a foothold in the NBA was already his greatest success. But he not only gained a foothold in the nba, but was also selected to the All-Star in one fell swoop, won the best rookie, and was selected to the rookie first team.

A year later, An Jie experienced the baptism of 82 NBA games, playing games is no longer his goal. The playoffs, the second round, the conference finals, and even the finals. And who dares to stand up and guarantee that all this can't happen?

Another October, another season. The difference is that Thunder Three is less immature and more threatening!

Perhaps, as the cover of Sports Illustrated said, blue and white lightning is on the rise! (To be continued.)