On June 12, the finals started at the Charlotte Times Warner Center.

Judging from the pre-match, the G1 battle in this final is no different from previous years.

On the surface, it is all very popular, with the popularity and expectations rising.

But the popularity and expectations are so high that it has to be played with g1 and look at the ratings and other things to know.

TNT's commentator seat, sitting from left to right, Buckley, Mike Bryn and Kenny Smith.

During the pre-match discussion, the three of them also separated from the camp.

Mike Bryn is still on the fence, and Kenny Smith clearly supports Bobcats, so Barkley can only reluctantly support Thunder.

As a basis for support, Barkley took out the theory of Beauty and blew Brooke Lopez.

I have to say that this season, Daluo has indeed conquered a group of fans, experts and critics.

Once, Daluo was blown into a shark, and after the Warcraft, the future Midi first center.

But does Daluo really have that strength? Li Ke doesn't think so.

But "feeling" is useless, and Li Ke has to prove this with his performance on the court.

Soon, the game started and Li Ke’s chance to prove this came.

At the beginning, the Bobcats surprisingly put out a five-square lineup.

Point guard Curry, shooting guard Li Ke, small forward Captain Jack, power forward Dior, center Tucker.

Even though many experts predict that the Bobcats will unswervingly use the five-small game against the Thunder, no one expected that the Bobcats will use this five-small game at the beginning.

"Five smalls are coming up, what about the regular lineup? No need?"

It is impossible not to use it. Jordan Jr. is still a top blue-collar center who averages double-double. It is not necessary at all in the finals, and it is too luxurious.

In the fifth small-time junior, Rivers mainly wanted to knock out Daluo, which many experts and fans were looking forward to.

It has to be admitted that Daluo developed three-pointers, and his already generous body and excellent support skills from the beginning, he is indeed very suitable for this era of small balls.

But it's just suitable. If you want to truly become a center forward at the core or superstar level in this small ball era, don't even think about it.

With a slower speed, if you really encounter a stronger opponent, Daluo will become the one that will be beaten.

This is what this game is-

At the beginning, the Thunder relied on their height to win the ball.

But at the half-time position attack, the Thunder could not take advantage of their height to tear open the Bobcats' defense.

Daluo is indeed very tall, 2.13 meters tall, almost one head taller than Tucker, who is less than 2 meters tall.

But the gap in this head can be made up with faster speed and flexibility.

Daluo could not directly break through Tucker by his height advantage.

Then, the Thunder's offense can only be fought according to the established tactics.

The established tactics are only Rondo and Daluo pick-and-roll. If you can't get it out, you can find Xiao Du.

Just talking about this tactical style, there is no problem. Being patient can still tear open the Bobcat's defense.

But the premise is, patience...

At the beginning, the Thunder were still very patient. They didn't succeed in the first wave of offense, so they were not in a hurry.

Even afterwards, the Bobcats fought back and scored first.

In another offensive round when they turned around, they were still patiently tearing the space between the half.

But as the game progressed, the five little cats' counterattack became more and more sharp, and Daluo quickly became a black hole on the Thunder's defensive end.

Needless to mention the counterattack, Daluo couldn't keep up.

In positional battles, the Bobcats also tried various pick-and-rolls, looking for Daluo crazy, and training Daluo crazy.

Defensively, the Bobcats simply and directly switched defenses and let the Thunder fight, so slowly they could only find Xiao Du.

Xiao Du's single defense was also a skill in martial arts, and he had to do his best to be able to use it.

Halfway through the first quarter, the Thunder fell by as many as 7 points with a score of 9-16.

Daluo's cramped performance when he was present was already visible.

In the commentary seat, the beauty did not come, and the only one who was whipped was Barkley.

"Brook Lopez became a defensive loophole for the Thunder. The reason why the center was lagging behind in the era was that it was not strong enough, while Brooke Lopez was different because he was a powerful center?"

Kenny Smith was sarcastic, and Barkley just smiled and spread his hands.

On the court, Scott Brooks hesitated and insisted on his pre-game style of play and did not replace Daluo.

Such a choice is undoubtedly wrong.

The main player is beaten and not replaced. After the game, the head coach will be criticized.

But Scott Brooks is such a coach. He doesn't have excellent command on the spot and lacks tactics.

The advantages are that they are good at cultivating young players, good at dealing with relationships with star players, and good at chicken soup.

Simply put, he is another Doug Rivers, and he can't even compare to Rivers.

No matter how much Pig Head says, on-the-spot adjustments, cleverness, and tricks are better than Scott Brooks.

So in the finals, the opponent was replaced by the Thunder, and the Bobcats' coach was not a problem.

If the opponent is the Spurs, the problem with the head coach will definitely be magnified.

This is why Li Ke hopes that the opponent in the finals will be the Spurs.

There is no suspense when fighting the Thunder; playing against the Spurs, Popovich, and Duncan can still cause some trouble for the Bobcats.

Daluo was beaten for half a quarter of the game, but was not replaced.

The Bobcats insisted on the five-small playing style, continued to focus on offense and defense conversion, counterattack, and attacked positions in Daluo.

While the offense is exciting, the defensive end continues to suppress the Thunder.

After the first quarter, a score of 33 to 24 and a 9-point lead, the Bobcats have a huge advantage.

"We can already be sure that even the Thunder with Brooke Lopez and Kevin Durant is hard to beat the Bobcats' five-small play."

"The only question now is, can the Bobcats really stick to the whole game and use five-small play?"

In the second section, Rivers gave the answer-

Point guard Livingston, junior brother of shooting guard, small forward Wesley Matthews, second-in-command power forward Hua and center Li Ke.

Continue to the five small children? No problem!

The Bobcat continued to be five small, but Thunder changed.

It is impossible to follow the fifth small. The Thunder did not follow the depth of the fifth small, mainly because they did not have the wing player who could reach the fifth position.

After the second quarter, they could only form a lineup of one, one, four, and four.

Ibaka was the center, and Du Jr. continued to play, and Mike Miller, Sabo Seforosa and substitute point guard Royal Ivey were replaced by the outside.

This rotation lineup is actually no longer the Thunder's regular rotation lineup.

The Thunder's substitute is also very thick, but this thickness is reflected in the inside.

In two positions in the interior, they have Bobcats former player Nazel Mohamed, the meritorious player Nick Collison of the Supersonics Age, and sophomore center Cole Aldridge.

But now, facing the Bobcats' five small attacks, none of these three substitutes can get on the inside.

And the current rotation has obvious problems.

There are four small men on the outside, only Xiao Du and Seforosa's defense is above the level.

The defense of Mike Miller and Ivy may be fine against the young junior brother who is still young, but it will be a big problem against Matthews and Li Ke.

So, in the second quarter, the Bobcats' offense still focused on attack and defense conversion, counterattack, positional warfare and military training Mike Miller and Ivey.

On the defensive end, continue to rely on the flexibility of the five small players.

However, Xiao Du, who played continuously, had to reach the No. 5 position, and the only one who could defend the Bobcats was Matthews.

Matthews' defense is fine, but Xiao Du, who is tall and long, has a problem, and he cannot defend himself.

Rivers didn't expect Matthews to block Du. As long as he had a slight limit and could achieve the most basic consumption, Matthews' defense would be successful.

In this way, in the second quarter, Xiao Du played against Li Ke.

The Bobcats' sharp counterattack still helped them further widen the gap in the scores.

In the first half, the score gap of 62 to 51 and 11 points made this game seem to be less suspense.

"Thunder obviously cannot deal with the Bobcats' five-small play style. The only problem now is, can the Bobcats really always implement this five-small play style?"

During the intermission, Barkley raised his question, but Kenny Smith said something amazing: "Persist? Why should Bobcats persist?"

Seeing the surprised expression on Barkley's face, he explained: "If I were Doug Rivers, I would have set up a regular lineup in the third quarter, defended one quarter, and by the way, the key players of the five smalls can get enough rest."

"Then in the last quarter, we will go to five small teams and end the game directly!"
To be continued...