newbobooks 407. Durant's helplessness!
407. Durant's helplessness!
At this moment, Perkins' defensive approach towards Su Hao caught the attention of Thunder head coach Brooks on the sidelines.
He promptly called a timeout, clearly very dissatisfied with Perkins' performance.
"What's wrong with you? You were completely unprepared for Su Hao's attack under the basket! Don't you know you should guard him?"
Why give him so much space?
You should hold him off tightly, making it impossible for him to jump and dunk easily!
Even if he manages to spike the ball in the end, we can't let him succeed so easily!
Even if it results in a foul, it's much better than letting him score easily!" Brooks' tone was unusually harsh, even tinged with anger.
Hearing the coach's reprimand, Perkins dared not refute in any way, and could only nod repeatedly to show that he understood what the coach meant.
As a member of the team, he knew that his performance was not ideal, and if he could not adjust his form in time, the upcoming games would probably become even more difficult.
Brooks pointed to the whiteboard and continued, "When you go on the court later, stick close to him and don't give him any space to jump."
When he gets the ball, you should try your best to steal it or disrupt his dribbling.
If he's about to shoot, jump up and block it, even if it means committing a foul.
Remember, your job is to put pressure on him; don't let him score so easily!
Perkins straightened up and nodded emphatically: "Coach, I understand! I will do as you instruct."
The timeout ended, and both teams returned to the court.
Perkins stared intently at Su Hao, secretly vowing to defend him well.
The game continues. The Thunder launch an attack.
Westbrook passed the ball to Durant.
Facing David Lee's defense, the latter intended to shake him off and drive into the paint, hoping to get closer to the basket and have a better chance of making a shot.
But he changed his mind again, because Su Hao was waiting for him inside.
He knew that if he went to the inside to challenge Su Hao's defense, it would be tantamount to handing the opponent an opportunity to block his shot.
So Durant changed his strategy and opted for a mid-range shot.
The ball went in. It seems that Durant's shooting percentage is the only one that's been relatively consistent for the Thunder so far.
David Lee immediately inbounded the ball to Su Hao from the baseline, and then passed it to Curry.
After Curry dribbled the ball across half-court, he faked out his opponent and then lobbed the ball to Su Hao in the paint.
Su Hao received the ball again.
This time, Perkins stuck close to him, constantly using his body to contest the shot, trying to disrupt Su Hao's attack.
However, Su Hao was not bothered by Perkins' defense.
He caught the ball steadily, adjusted his posture, and prepared to jump and shoot.
Just then, Perkins leaped high into the air, stretching out his arm in an attempt to block the shot.
But Su Hao had anticipated this move. He made a clever dodge in mid-air, avoiding Perkins' block.
At the same time, he threw the ball, which drew a beautiful arc in the air and finally swished through the net.
The audience erupted in cheers, and the Clippers players rushed over to high-five Su Hao in celebration.
Despite his best efforts in this defensive play, Perkins used almost all his strength to contend with Su Hao.
However, Su Hao's power was completely beyond his ability to resist.
Perkins felt as if he had been hit by a tank, his whole body lost its balance, and then he was pushed out of bounds by Su Hao!
His outstretched arm, which he intended to block, didn't even reach the height required to block the shot.
Because Su Hao held the ball directly above his head, Perkins couldn't reach it at all.
This feeling was so frustrating that Perkins couldn't help but roar, "Damn it!"
Su Hao turned to look at Perkins, who was lying on the baseline, and gave a faint smile.
This smile completely enraged Perkins, who stood up and yelled at Su Hao, "Don't be so smug, I won't let you score so easily again!"
In the next possession, Perkins called for the ball and dribbled towards the basket.
However, Su Hao was prepared and quickly moved to block Perkins's path.
Seeing this, Perkins tried to force his way through, but Su Hao's physical abilities were too outstanding, and he easily neutralized his attack.
Left with no other option, Perkins had to pass the ball out.
However, due to a lack of coordination between teammates, the Clippers intercepted the ball and launched a fast break.
Su Hao sprinted like lightning, caught the ball, leaped high, and completed a spectacular dunk.
At this moment, the atmosphere reached a climax, and the audience cheered and applauded Su Hao's performance.
The away fans turned against their own team once again, cheering for Su Hao's outstanding performance.
Durant and his teammates looked dejected, feeling unprecedented pressure in the game.
Brooks immediately called another long timeout.
The Clippers players hugged each other excitedly, celebrating the crucial goal.
Su Hao's face beamed with a confident smile as he waved to the audience, basking in his moment of glory.
On the other hand, Durant silently walked back to his own half of the court, his eyes filled with resentment.
This match was of great significance to him; he was eager to prove himself, but reality proved to be cruel.
Facing the defending champions playing away, he was eager to defeat them.
He knew all too well that to win the championship, he had to overcome the Clippers.
As both are Western Conference teams, they will definitely meet in the playoffs.
Only by defeating the opponent can we go further.
Although it was just a regular season game, it showed him the gap between his game and the Clippers'.
The outside game is manageable, but the inside game is simply not in the same league.
Su Hao single-handedly dominated the Thunder's interior players.
Scoring inside is as easy as drinking water.
Given the current situation on the court, even if Brooks called a timeout, he wouldn't have a better solution.
"Coach, our inside game is no match for them! What do we do?" Harden asked Brooks anxiously.
Brooks frowned, then said, "Our best players are all on the court, and we don't have any players who can threaten their inside game. We definitely can't win inside, so you need to improve your outside shooting percentage!"
Brooks was clearly very satisfied with their outside shooting percentage in the first half of the quarter.
No matter how bad the situation is inside, it's not something that can be solved simply by talking about it.
Faced with Su Hao's relentless bombardment in the paint, the Thunder team had no way to counter him.
The only options are to focus on offense or perimeter defense.