One Thousand and Fifty-Seven: Changes Against the Times

Durant looked at the score on the big screen and smiled proudly.

Facts have proved that the Warriors still have the ability to suppress the Grizzlies.

And as long as the Grizzlies can be suppressed, there is a high probability that they will win the championship!

Durant certainly has not forgotten the Cleveland Cavaliers led by James. They are also strong championship contenders.

But to be honest, compared with the Grizzlies, the Cavaliers are much less of a threat.

Now Durant is no longer the kid who was stepped on by James. James is no longer the biggest obstacle in his career, Link is!

After the first quarter, they led by 11 points, which was a huge benefit to the Warriors.

There was a time in Oklahoma when an 11-point lead wasn't safe. Because Durant never knows what Westbrook will do next second.

But in the Warriors, Durant doesn't worry about this problem at all. They succeeded once last season, so they have the ability to succeed a second time!

The electronic buzzer sounded to indicate the start of the second quarter, and Durant couldn't wait to step onto the court.

He can't wait to continue to open up the score. If he can defeat the Grizzlies and Link with a big score, Durant will be even more excited!

In the past few years, Link had suppressed him and brutally tortured Thunder again and again. Now, it's his turn to suppress Link!

However, when Durant saw the five players sent by the Grizzlies, he was completely dumbfounded.

Not only Durant, but also his teammates and even the Grizzlies fans who came to watch the game were all dumbfounded.

What the hell is the Grizzlies' current lineup! ?

"Wait a minute, the Grizzlies have changed their formation! After the start of the second quarter, the Grizzlies actually sent out a..." Hubie Brown immediately turned over the information in his hand to confirm that he remembered it correctly. , and continued to add, "Sent out a lineup that has never appeared at the same time this season!"

"Moreover, this lineup is very strange and anti-era!" Next to Hubie Brown, Jeff Van Gundy was also a little confused.

Conley, Dinwiddie, Link, Jokic and Marc Gasol, the Grizzlies actually fielded a double-height lineup!

"What the hell..." Steve Kerr was also dumbfounded. The twin-tower lineup might have been popular four or five years ago. Back then, Kobe was wreaking havoc on the league with his championship twin towers.

But now is the era of small ball. Almost 30 teams in the league are trying to play small lineups, even old-school teams like the Spurs are no exception.

Not to mention the emergence of a small lineup team like the Rockets that directly abandons the mid-range and plays a more extreme style than the Warriors.

Cole was completely dumbfounded. He thought the Grizzlies would replace Harrell at the fifth position, with five small players versus five small players.

Unexpectedly, he actually made the lineup bigger!

But after looking at the Warriors' own lineup, Cole couldn't help but feel worried.

It's obvious that the Warriors are now at a huge disadvantage in terms of height.

The reason why the Warriors dare to play a small lineup is because there are not many high-quality centers in the league. Those blue-collar rough guys couldn't gain any advantage in the paint even when facing Green, who was just over two meters tall but full of strength.

Just like when the Warriors faced the Cavaliers in the Finals last season, Mozgov couldn't take advantage at all.

But Jokic and Gasol are different. Their skills are very gorgeous. Also, they both have three-point range.

The two centers of the Grizzlies are very different from the centers of other teams.

Kerr didn't know how the Grizzlies would fight;

But he was sure that Qiaogel didn't put on such a lineup because of his brain.

"The Grizzlies are bold, really bold! I don't know what they planned, but their twin-tower lineup is undoubtedly a beautiful sight now. I just hope they don't take it for granted."

As he spoke, the Grizzlies had already attacked.

With two big centers, the Grizzlies' offensive pace became extremely slow.

Link held the ball at the top of the arc outside the three-point line, and Durant came to guard it.

And this means that Ian Clark, who is 1.91 meters tall and weighs less than 80 kilograms, must face the destruction of Jokic's "giant pork belly"!

"Fuck, what the hell..." Clark was on Jokic's back. He couldn't see anything except Jokic's back!

This made him feel deep despair.

Green wanted to help defend, but Gasol's three-pointer really couldn't be ignored. The Spaniard is already the best three-point shooting center in the active league, bar none.

The emergence of small lineups has opened up the offensive space as never before. Nowadays, many teams do not need traditional centers. One of the main reasons is that traditional centers will squeeze space.

But Gasol and Jokic don't have such a problem at all. They both have three-pointers, and they can create three-point threats like true outside players.

Therefore, the Grizzlies' twin towers do not have the problem of congestion inside.

Link lobbed the ball to Jokic with a slight lob. Van Gundy covered his eyes in advance. For Clark, this was really cruel.

Sure enough, Jokic was not polite to Clark. He used his fat ass to destroy Clark's body, and Clark was paralyzed in two or three strokes.

After easily pushing to the basket, Jokic dunked directly through Clark's hands.

Clark could do nothing but look up.

Clark looked at Cole pitifully, there was really nothing he could do, the size difference was too big, he couldn't stand it at all!

"Damn, that's really tricky!" Cole also shook his head. This was the first time the Warriors had encountered this situation.

Of the two inside men, both can play in the low post, and both can shoot three-pointers to open up the floor. Before this time, no team really had such staffing.

But this is not the end of the Warriors. If the Grizzlies think that hoarding insiders can defeat the Warriors, that would be naive!

The biggest advantage of a small lineup is on the offensive end! All it takes is one mismatch opportunity for Jokic and Gasol to become the biggest defensive holes.

In today's era, finding mismatches to attack has become the norm. The Warriors' great strength on the offensive end, apart from three-pointers, is that they are very good at finding mismatch opportunities.

Why can players like Antetokounmpo thrive in the league? Because whoever he hits is out of position.

What's more, Jokic and Gasol are not the kind of fast-moving insiders. Breaking through them is a piece of cake with a small guy!

So the warrior did the same. Small hits and big mismatches, this is the Warriors' favorite thing.

Durant held the ball outside the three-point line and called for cover. Green immediately put it up, and Jokic also followed up.

Looking at the swaying fat on Jokic's belly, Durant drooled.

It’s not that he wants to eat, it’s that he wants to eat!

Breaking through a fat guy like Jokic must be easy and enjoyable.

The screen is in place and Durant breaks through. Under normal circumstances, Durant should now face Jokic's defense. If Jokic doesn't change, Durant will have a chance.

If both men come up to double-team, Green will be left empty.

No matter how Link and Jokic work together, it's a dead end.

However, Durant had just gotten around the screen when he found Jokic and Link standing in front of him!

Jokic delayed Durant in the first shot, and Link quickly followed up and continued to defend!

When Link caught up, Jokic immediately chased Green.

Seeing this, Durant immediately passed the ball to Green. But halfway through the flight, the basketball was intercepted by Jokic!

Jokic's steal rate has always been among the best among players at the same position. He is one of the few weird centers who averages more steals per game than blocks per game.

Of course, not every center can complete such a defense. In fact, this kind of defense is much more difficult than the direct squatting that most centers like.

Because this requires players to keep moving, switch back and forth between high and low positions, and select positions accurately. But these are precisely Jokic's advantages!

Ever since Jokic played five wonderful starting games this season, Joger has been studying how to maximize the use of Jokic's strength.

So far, it seems that he succeeded!

"Jokic completed the steal, and the Grizzlies broke the Warriors' attempt to find misplaced singles! Everyone thinks that guarding the pick-and-roll is the weakness of centers like Jokic, but the Grizzlies made up for this weakness with team strength! "

As soon as Hubie Brown finished speaking, Jokic, after completing the steal, found Link with a long pass from the backcourt.

Who said that if there are two big centers, they will not be able to counterattack quickly?

Link rushed into the penalty area, and Durant also caught up and prepared to block.

But Link used a European step to dodge from the right to the left and avoid Durant's pursuit.

Durant missed, and Link easily put the ball in.

After the start of the second quarter, the Grizzlies scored four points in a row, and the Warriors' five-small lineup no longer seemed so intimidating.

After scoring, Link pointed to Jokic and thanked him for the pass.

When passing by Durant, Link didn't forget to wink at him.

"Now, let's see if our second-round pick can change the situation!"

Previously, Durant said that the Grizzlies' desire to rely on second-round picks to rise was wishful thinking. The defense and offense in that round were undoubtedly the Grizzlies' best response to this!

After returning, Link opened his arms and Jokic stood ready behind him. The Warriors were about to face another round of tight defense.

Link and Nikola Jokic will officially write another great story for the duo in the league!