Harden scored 17 points on 9 shots and Willis shot 2 points on 9 shots, and Tyronn Lue couldn't use them like that
On February 23, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and today the West ushered in a much-watched card battle, the second Thunder in the West sat at home to usher in the challenge of the Clippers, before this game, the Clippers were only half a win behind the Thunder, if anyone wins, who can sit in the second position in the West, as a result, the Thunder collapsed the Clippers in the third quarter, and then let's talk about the game process, and then talk about the players' play.
Contest Recap:
At the beginning of the first quarter of the game, Giddey teamed up with Dort to play a 4-0 start, Harden responded with 4 points in a row, Holmgren hit a three-pointer, and Mann responded with a three-point, although the Thunder once established an 8-point lead, but relying on the play of the small card, the Clippers chased down to 2 points to end the first quarter. In the second quarter, led by Holmgren and Aaron Wiggins, they extended their lead to seven points, but thanks to the play of Smallcard and Harden, the Clippers still trailed by two points at halftime.
In the first half of the third quarter, the two sides were still very close, but after Harden went off the court, the team's offense instantly came to a standstill, not only the offense could not be opened, but the defense was also not good, allowing Alexander to seize the opportunity to extend the lead to 14 points to end the third quarter. Although Harden led the team to fight back in the final quarter, the Thunder had already gained momentum, and they relied on more blossoms to withstand Harden's offense, and in the end, the Clippers were powerless to recover, and they lost to the opponent 107-129.
雷霆4人17+，海沃德首秀
After chatting about the game process, let's talk about the players' performance, in this game, Alexander shot 12 of 19 from the field, 3 of 6 from three-point range, got 31 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists, Alexander has won 40 games this season with 30+ data in a single game, which is very good. Jalen Williams shot 7-of-13 from the field, 2-of-4 from three-point range and had 18 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists.
Holmgren shot 6 of 12 in this game, 3 of 6 three-pointers got 17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks, he relied on his flexibility and athleticism, and punished Zubac well, although Zubac scored 13 points, 12 rebounds and 1 assist, but only 5 points on 12 shots in the whole game, and was blocked 4 times in the whole game, Zubac was limited to affect Harden's threat on the offensive end, which is very good.
In addition to the three, Josh Kidd scored 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, Giddey can be said to be the most sacrificial of the four, in the offseason he is likely not able to get the contract he wants, but without his defense and strategy, the Thunder could not play at their current level this season, Dort got 19 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist on 8-of-13 shooting, although he did not prevent Harden, but he and Harden played a great match.
The new recruit Hayward who the Thunder got from the Hornets trade finally ushered in his debut, and his debut performance was very average, with 0 points, 4 rebounds and 0 assists on 2 shots and 0 in the game, and the Thunder sent 5 chips in order to get him.
Tyronn Lue's rotation raises questions
Recently, the Clippers have shown a lot of problems in the two games against the Timberwolves and the Thunder, maybe many fans will say that it is a problem of athleticism, or some fans may say that it is a lack of size, I think these are not their biggest problems, the biggest problem is the rotation of Tyronn Lue, both games have one thing in common is that Harden is off the court, the team collapses, and both are in the third quarter.
What I don't understand all the time is why Tyronn Lue deliberately reduced Harden's playing time, is Harden's ability not good? Obviously not, he wants to give Wei Shao more playing time, but now Wei Shao can be used in times of adversity, let him lead the team passionately, the team has not been forced to adversity, let him hold the ball with this kind of nerve knife, the result can be imagined, this Wei Shao will not work, 1 of 9 shots in the game got 2 points and 5 assists, Xiaoka scored 20 points in 9 of 12 shots, and the feeling is so good, as a result, Xiaoka wants the ball Wei Shao just doesn't give.
Harden's state in this game is also very good, 5 of 9 shots, 3 of 6 three-pointers, 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal, in the first 10 points of the final quarter, Harden scored 8 points alone, Harden is indeed a championship-level team in the league when Harden is on the court, and the Clippers after he is off the court are more like a nervous knife team, facing some teams with poor defense, facing strong teams, their problems will appear.
Maybe Tyronn Lue should change the rotation structure to allow Wei Shao to play, but most of the time is in the first half, if the two sides are stalemate in the second half, he should reduce his use time, and in the second half, if the point difference is big enough, whether it is too far behind or too many points to win, you can use Wei Shao more, and now Wei Shao is obviously unable to provide a stable output in a championship-level team. Speaking of which, what do you want to say about the current Harden and Wei Shao?