Chapter 321: The Young Clippers' First Playoff Game

The Thunder are not a weak team.

In the original history without Fan Xi, the Thunder knocked out the Mavericks, Spurs, and Lakers in succession this season to reach the Finals, but they collapsed in the Finals, paving the way for the Miami Big Three's first championship.

The Thunder's three young masters possess extremely powerful individual offensive capabilities. In a sense, Kevin Durant's offensive level this season is invincible in the world; when he wants to score, no one can stop him. In terms of scoring alone, he surpassed everyone in the regular season, including Kobe and James.

Furthermore, their defense cannot be underestimated.

After Perkins joined the Thunder, he brought rebounding, rim protection, and interior man-to-man defense to the Oklahoma paint, and his screen quality is very high, which provides great support for the three young stars' attacks.

Ibaka has also quickly returned to form. His shot-blocking ability is excellent, and although his help defense hasn't reached the peak level of his career, it is still at a near-elite level in the league. Plus, he has a steady open-shot ability and can space the floor.

In addition, there is Sefolosha, a very strong wing 3-and-D player in the league.

Plus, they claimed Derek Fisher after he was bought out, bringing them experience.

Therefore, it wasn't particularly absurd for the Oklahoma media to call for a sweep of the Clippers; they had some basis and confidence.

Including Durant and Westbrook, who are ambitious and want to flip the world upside down, they never thought they would lose to the Clippers.

April 29th.

On the first day of the NBA playoffs, the Clippers and Thunder met.

At the Chesapeake Energy Arena, this modern arena, the Clippers and Thunder ushered in their first playoff matchup in history.

Back then, the Thunder owner insisted on moving the SuperSonics from Seattle to his hometown and renaming them the Thunder. At that time, his actions were full of doubts, including the decision he and his management team made to build a young team.

Now, they are reaping the harvest.

Using the keen eye he honed while doing odd jobs for the Spurs for many years, Presti successively selected multiple future superstars for the Thunder in the draft.

The Chesapeake Energy Arena was packed tonight, with fans from all over the city and state pouring into the arena to cheer for the team they support.

The playoffs have an extraordinary significance for this city, like a parched riverbed receiving rushing water. Small and medium-sized cities need such sports events.

They stubbornly believed that they, from a small city, could easily crush the big-city team from Los Angeles. Especially that "Little Jack" who is always showing off on TV; he has harmed too many Hollywood girls. Kevin and Russell must kick his butt hard and let him see the power of Oklahoma.

"The home atmosphere here is not bad."

Before the game started, Fan Xi chatted with Nowitzki to liven up the atmosphere.

Nowitzki raised his eyebrows; he eliminated the Thunder last season and said: "Small markets are all like this. They are die-hard fans, never wavering, and will fight with the team until the last moment."

"This will be a difficult away game."

Nowitzki told Fan Xi, preparing him mentally.

Fan Xi nodded.

Two hours ago, he ran into Westbrook in the player tunnel, and Westbrook told Fan Xi very seriously and toughly: "I will take you down."

Fan Xi said, then let's try.

Beep!

The whistle blew.

The game began.

The Clippers' starting lineup was: Fan Xi, Hamilton, Leonard, Nowitzki, DeAndre Jordan.

The Thunder's starting five were: Westbrook, Sefolosha, Durant, Ibaka, Perkins.

The game started with a tense atmosphere.

As soon as Perkins got on the court, he started trash-talking DeAndre Jordan, saying all sorts of messy things, intending to disturb him, knowing that DeAndre Jordan didn't have much playoff experience.

Perkins had won a championship with the Celtics and continued Kevin Garnett's characteristics in many aspects.

Slap!

DeAndre Jordan won the jump ball against him.

However, when he landed, he punched DeAndre Jordan in the lower abdomen.

In the playoffs, all sorts of monsters and demons come out, doing dirty things under the guise of "toughness," and claiming as a matter of course: this is the standard of the playoffs.

DeAndre Jordan glared at Perkins but couldn't physically eliminate him.

Perkins was just waiting for DeAndre Jordan to lose his temper; he deliberately messed with his mentality, just to make him lose his mind, preferably punching him twice in front of the referee.

Fan Xi brought the ball to the front court, and Westbrook defended him.

Fan Xi didn't tangle with him, changing direction, accelerating, and sprinting to the basket. When Perkins came over to help, he made an easy bounce pass, threading it through Perkins' legs... Perkins is a stationary center, and his agility is very average.

He was toyed with by Fan Xi.

DeAndre Jordan caught the ball behind him, jumped up, and completed a two-handed heavy dunk, making the rim roar.

"You're only good at playing dirty behind people's backs."

After landing, DeAndre Jordan mocked Perkins and pressed his hand below his knee, meaning to tell him: You are too low.

This action caused boos and jeers from the whole arena.

The Thunder fans seemed to be here to vent their unhappiness in life.

They cursed DeAndre Jordan in unison.

Fan Xi's eyebrows raised; he realized that the playoffs are a real test for these young players.

Many basketball professionals, when analyzing the playoff situation, place playoff experience in a very important position.

The cursing and booing of 20,000 people is not the effect you can hear on TV, but an overwhelming... atmosphere of being pointed at by ten thousand people.

DeAndre Jordan's face indeed changed a bit.

Fan Xi looked at him twice and said to him while running back on defense: "You have to adapt to this and be more focused on the game."

Turning back, Westbrook broke through Fan Xi; his penetration ability is very strong.

After killing into the paint, Fan Xi and DeAndre Jordan double-teamed him.

But Westbrook seized the fleeting opportunity, jumped up, knocked DeAndre Jordan away, completed the shot, and drew a foul.

DeAndre Jordan's defensive action was too conservative; he didn't firmly knock Westbrook down.

Arenas on the sidelines jumped up anxiously and shouted: "Kid, you have to be tougher. There is no such thing as a 2+1 in the playoffs."

Swish!

Westbrook hit the free throw.

And the Thunder quickly retreated on defense; the rhythm was completely different from the regular season.

The rhythm and intensity of playoff offense and defense are incomparable to the regular season; after all, this is a battle about whether they can continue to advance.

Fan Xi and Nowitzki decided to set an example for the young people.

They ran a high pick-and-roll, Fan Xi killed into the free-throw line, drew Ibaka away, and passed back to Nowitzki.

Westbrook flew over fiercely, tangling with Nowitzki, but Nowitzki was unhurried, using his inherent rhythm to back down Westbrook, then shot... Beep!

The head referee blew the whistle; Westbrook jumped too hard and was called for a foul.

Swish!

The ball fell into the net.

Another 2+1.

But this time, it was no longer the cheers of the whole arena. More than 20,000 fans were booing wildly, greeting the referee and Nowitzki.

Denouncing this as an unfair call.

The 20,000 Thunder fans became the best sixth man on the scene.

This is why there will always be obvious "home-court advantage" in some playoff games. The presence of fans will inevitably make the calls lean towards the home team because the pressure the referees are under is also real.

Swish!

Nowitzki steadily hit the free throw.

He has played in this league for too long; he appears in the playoffs almost every year, and these sounds will not interfere with his shooting form and strong heart.

"It's nothing, guys, as long as you raise your focus, their strength is simply not enough to stop our pace."

Nowitzki said to the young DeAndre Jordan and Leonard while running back on defense.

The game continued, Kevin Durant used his shooting to surpass Leonard's entanglement; he was even harder to deal with than in the regular season. Although his shooting posture couldn't be called graceful, like throwing beans on the ground from the second floor, the accuracy was too high.

Leonard realized that his defensive intensity couldn't handle Durant because Durant's offensive intensity was increasing.

Fan Xi subsequently hit a 3-pointer.

He passed the ball to Nowitzki at the high post.

Then, he made an off-ball cut, circled behind Durant, and hit a 3-pointer through Leonard's screen.

Nowitzki is a hidden high-post playmaker, although his career average assists are only 2.4, and the scouting report also says his playmaking ability is weak.

However, he is a threat just standing there. His powerful offensive ability makes his passing easier, and with Fan Xi and Hamilton running, even if the Thunder's defense is dense, it's easy to make mistakes.

The first quarter ended quickly.

The Thunder never changed their lineup.

They played very efficiently and reasonably tonight, with clear division of labor.

The Clippers, however, kept changing players.

On one hand, it's because the Clippers' depth is invincible, and on the other hand, the Clippers are relatively passive, and some young players failed to adapt to the playoff rhythm, but Fan Xi hoped they could all adapt.

26:29.

In the first quarter, the Thunder led by 3 points.

In the second quarter, the Thunder brought on James Harden, the best sixth man of the season.

James Harden hadn't shown the posture of a superstar at this time, but he was indeed a better playmaker than Westbrook. He had already averaged 16.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in the regular season, initially possessing the three elements of a passing, cutting, and shooting superstar.

In addition, James Harden was the Thunder's second-best defender at this time, and also the best defensive player among the Thunder's three young stars.

Probably because of his substitute status, he put a lot of energy into defense.

After the second quarter started, James Harden began to primarily defend Fan Xi.

Harden, wearing the number 13 jersey, already had a thick beard, although not as long as it would be later, it was already longer than peak Davis.

This made it impossible to see his immaturity, and at the same time, he looked a bit fierce.

NBA players also do some things with their appearance, including tattoos that bare fangs and brandish claws, unique hairstyles... etc., these are all part of the game.

In the second quarter, the Clippers felt much better.

Because the lineup they sent out was Fan Xi, Arenas, Grant Hill, Nowitzki, Kwame Brown.

Except for Fan Xi, they were all veterans with rich playoff experience.

However, this still didn't reverse the passive situation.

Because the Thunder were young and strong, their firepower was fierce, and their confrontation was very strong.

The old comrades were experienced, but their bodies couldn't keep up with their brains.

The advantages of the regular season seemed to become weaknesses in the playoffs.

It's like when a scouting report praises a rookie for being able to play the 3 and the 4, but when they get to the NBA, they become neither here nor there, unable to play the 3 or the 4.

Many pessimistic voices appeared on TV.

However, before the end of the first half, Nowitzki hit a 3-pointer, and Arenas, who had missed 3 consecutive 3-pointers, also hit one.

Narrowing the point difference to 1 point.

51:52.

On the way back to the locker room, the Clippers' young players were a bit dejected, and the veterans' brows couldn't be smoothed out either.

Mike Brown was rubbing his palms until they were hot, full of entanglement.

They all saw their own shortcomings.

Only Fan Xi was very calm.

He accepted an interview with TNT during halftime.

Facing the reporter's question, he said bluntly: "Our touch was a bit cold in the first half, and there were some problems on the defensive end. But this is normal. Young teams and young players suddenly facing the playoffs, especially the intensity of the Thunder's level, it's expected to be a bit unaccustomed."

"This shows that the Thunder are well prepared."

"I'm not worried about losing this game."

Fan Xi left a very confident smile.

Then he walked into the locker room, looked at the silent atmosphere, clapped his hands, and said with a smile: "Why aren't you happier? The Thunder tried their best in the first half and only led by 1 point. And we still have a lot of strength left unused. This wave, the advantage is with me!"

Fan Xi encouraged the players and mediated the atmosphere.

And subsequently, he hugged Leonard, who always had an unchanging expression, and said to him: "I'll give you two choices. Either you tell a joke now to make everyone laugh, or you go and lock down Kevin Durant in the second half."

Huh?

"I..." Leonard, a social phobic, wouldn't know how to tell a joke, so he quickly said: "I choose to lock down Durant."

That's right.

Fan Xi patted him on the shoulder: "Smile, celebrate the success."

Leonard tried hard to pull up the corners of his mouth, making a strange sound: Heh! Heh! Heh...

As soon as this sound came out, the whole locker room couldn't help it, and laughter erupted. The atmosphere suddenly became lively.

Fan Xi then walked over to DeAndre Jordan and said: "If you can't grasp the scale in the second half, just be tougher, play more fiercely. Even if you get a technical foul or something else, I'll pay the fine, and your salary will be paid as usual."

Fan Xi cheered on DeAndre Jordan, who was a bit timid.

This is teaching according to aptitude.

Butler on the side quickly said: "Then how should I grasp the scale in the second half?"

"Just hold back a bit." Fan Xi encouraged Butler.

This made everyone laugh out loud again.

Because Butler was too reckless; he got 4 fouls in less than a minute and a half on the court.

He belonged to the reckless among the reckless.

He didn't have the problem of rookie nervousness; he was just too unrestrained.

Maybe it's another kind of nervousness.

... ===== CHAPTER 322 =====