Barkley said, "Donovan hasn’t fully grasped the difference between college basketball and the NBA yet. In the NCAA, the player lineup is mostly fixed and rarely changes, but in the NBA, they can make mid-season trades that transform the entire team."
Smith said, "Yes, the Nuggets are a classic example. If you use previous experiences to deal with them, you might suffer a lot."
Back from the timeout.
The Thunder’s offense.
After a series of passes, the ball finally landed in Durant’s hands outside the right three-point line with 6 seconds left.
This was a ’hold-the-fort’ ball.
Durant performed a crossover to the right against Zeng Xingyang and got past him.
Durant slowed down and came to a sudden stop, Zeng Xingyang rushed to defend.
He created strong interference for Durant.
But still couldn’t stop the ball from going in the hoop.
Zeng Xingyang wiped his sweat.
To be honest, as long as the Thunder’s ball gets to Durant, it’s tough for the Nuggets to keep him down.
Actually, Durant doesn’t just shoot himself, when there’s a better offensive opportunity for his teammates, he will pass the ball.
It’s just that the Thunder are habitually used to watching Durant attack alone, but once he joined the Warriors, he completely became a team player.
After scoring, Durant glanced over at Scarlett, only to find she wasn’t watching him, feeling slightly disappointed.
The Nuggets on the offense.
Zeng Xingyang didn’t have the ball, Jokic dribbled past half court.
Zeng Xingyang frantically crisscrossed with his teammates.
Roberson’s defense was strong, but even he couldn’t keep up with this relentless positioning.
Soon Adams was the one tracking Zeng Xingyang.
Zeng Xingyang cut in along the right baseline, Jokic saw his chance and decisively passed the ball with a bounce.
Zeng Xingyang caught the ball, stepped up, and soared into the air, Ibaka rushed from the other side trying to block him.
But Zeng Xingyang showed off his improved bounce; he jumped really high and hung in the air, switching the ball, originally a right-side layup, to the left.
A strong switch-handed layup off the backboard went in.
Fans on the baseline were stunned.
Isn’t this rookie just a shooter?
When did his talent get so good, too?
The Nuggets players weren’t surprised, mostly because Zeng Xingyang occasionally showed such under-the-rim switch-hand moves in practice.
Zeng Xingyang just attacks the basket less frequently, not that he can’t do it.
"KD, your defense isn’t great," Zeng Xingyang continued to provoke Durant.
Durant is a powerful opponent, he can ignite the strongest fighting spirit in Zeng Xingyang.
Durant was very strong at the Thunder, but he didn’t have the added force of team support yet.
If he went to the Warriors, defeating him would be even tougher.
"Is your defense so good? Come for a one-on-one." Durant quickly retorted to Zeng Xingyang.
Durant saw right through that Zeng Xingyang wouldn’t engage him one-on-one.
Durant chose to take the ball directly from the backcourt and over the half-court.
Zeng Xingyang stuck to defending, and Harris came over to double-team.
Ibaka stepped up to block Zeng Xingyang, preventing the double-team from succeeding.
Durant used a suspension dribble and switched to the left for a diving move, decelerated, and stopped for a three-point shot at the top of the arc.
Zeng Xingyang ran himself ragged getting around the screen to catch up.
It was disrupted, but the rebound fell into Adams’ hands.
Adams threw the ball back out to Durant.
Durant made a fake, Zeng Xingyang altered his balance.
Durant slid sideways, stepped back, gathered, and jumped for a three-pointer.
The basketball carved out a beautiful arc.
On Durant’s second offensive attempt, he didn’t hesitate, hitting the bullseye.
In the following few plays, the Nuggets’ offensive efficiency dropped a bit, while the Thunder’s offense was fueled by Durant and Westbrook taking turns dishing out assists to Ibaka and Adams for scoring inside.
With 5:11 left in the game, the two teams’ score closed at 22 to 20.
The Thunder had strong defense and offense inside, with Ibaka’s talents being impressive with high jumps, and Adams’ positioning and offensive rebounds being powerful.
On the court, Jokic suffered back-to-back and conceded two fouls.
Mike Malone also called a timeout for a readjustment.
Nurkic replaced Jokic, Grant was swapped for Faried, and Harris was switched for Nelson.
The Nuggets entered with their second lineup, while the Thunder also rotated, with Westbrook and Roberson leaving the floor for Anthony Morrow and Waiters to come in.
The Thunder shifted their primary attack focus entirely to Durant.
The Nuggets’ offense.
Nelson dribbled to the frontcourt.
Nurkic played differently than Jokic; he lacked the facilitation ability, and when catching the ball outside, would mostly just do hand-offs.
Nelson passed the ball to Pope.
Pope then passed to Zeng Xingyang, who was standing on the left side three-point line.
Defending Zeng Xingyang was Waiters.
Waiters slightly approached Zeng Xingyang, but his stance was set to guard against a drive, assuming Zeng Xingyang won’t take a long two-pointer.
But Zeng Xingyang’s choice surprised Waiters.
Not feeling pressure, Zeng Xingyang quickly pushed off the ground, raised his hands, and released the shot.
Zeng Xingyang cleanly and smoothly sank the shot.
What added to Durant’s discomfort was that when Zeng Xingyang passed by, he did a high-five with Scarlett.
Scarlett had a bright smile on her face.
Seeing this, Durant felt unsettled.
He stared intensely at the two of them, contemplating the subtle scenes he had seen before.