Chapter 21 The Perfect Debut
Durant suffered a great blow this time. If it were an ordinary player, he would probably not be in any state in the future.
But this second-tier show is different. People turn grief into strength, and their desire to fight is even higher! This is the difference between ordinary players and stars of tomorrow. It is not just about talent, but also psychologically. Frustration and pressure will only accelerate their growth, and will not become pressure and crush them.
"Boss, isn't it all the movies like this? The protagonist was beaten up by the villain first, and then turned around and counterattack! I see that this kid's eyes look very similar to the protagonist, and it seems that he wants to perform this trick on you, so you have to be careful." Ji Guomo saw Durant's heavy-handedness and perseverance. Ning Weiyuzai continued to work hard and refused to surrender until death, and joked with his brother.
Although it was a joke, Durant really became more difficult. Mageti was on the defensive end and lay a gun on Ji Guochou.
The Clippers' temporary master, who was screened by Durant, made a quick stop jump shot directly. Through this shot, he scored his 10th point in the game.
Mageti, who was shot in face, was very angry about this. This blocked shot by Ji Guochou, who was not sure that it was Ji Guochou's attack that inspired the fighting spirit of the second-hand show. He only knew that if a rookie played like this, his face would be unsatisfied.
In the next two minutes, the Clippers' offense was a routine. Mageti used his speed + strong body to hit Durand in various ways, and after breaking through, he hit the basket or shot.
After all, Durant is still a rookie. Before he could return it to Ji Guochou, he was beaten repeatedly by Mageti, which was a terrible sight!
Ji Guoqiu continued to dominate the basket on the defensive end in the past two minutes. As long as the Supersonics dared to come in, they would go without returning. Ji Guomi, on the other side, used his faster explosive power and movement speed to keep filling in and assisting defense, and the two kept guarding the basket tightly.
Supersonics' main shooting guard, Wilkins once again slipped through the bottom line. This time he successfully broke through Ji Guoqiu's defense, but his layup at the basket was driven back by Ji Guomi, who was assisting the defense on the wing, and slapped him away!
Another insider of the Clippers used this block and also raised a sign: "This road is not open!"
Kassel has been in the league for 15 years. He has long had the experience of how to deal with young fish like the Supersonics. He can easily kill them by using counterattacks. The aliens themselves can't run, but their teammates can complete this task, and it's enough that he is only responsible for passing the ball.
As long as Ji Guoqiu caught the rebound, he immediately passed it to Kassel, and then made a fast attack with his teammates.
The Supersonics teamed up with young people, who were very motivated to retreat and defended very hard, but these little guys would not get stuck. By the time they ran to the basket, the Clippers often had already completed layups.
Durant wanted to have excellent performance on the offensive end, but the supersonics had limited tactical execution ability, and the success rate of the cut-off tactics on the online line was less than half, and the cover without the ball was not good. In the end, they basically fell into singles mode. There was no chance of open space, so it would be strange if the shooting rate was high.
Ji Guochou ended the first half and scored 12 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. The reason for so many rebounds is entirely because the Supersonics contributed various singles.
Ji Guomeng scored 9 points, 4 rebounds and 1 block in the first half. Today, he only made 5 shots in the first half, all of which were outside the three-point line, making 3 of 5 shots, which was a pretty good shooting percentage.
The two teams scored 49:39, and the Clippers led by 10 points in the first half.
In the first half, the Clippers' tactical execution ability was not excellent. Fortunately, Ji Guoqiu's pick-and-roll and unball screening were much better than the Supersonics' inside line. With Kassel's experience, they had more open shots than the opponent and fewer turnovers. Especially when the Supersonics were on the court at the same time, they rarely scored in the paint, so the Clippers' lead should be.
Supersonics are too young, and their core is only in their first season. It is difficult to play the role of coaches. Players' growth depends on the accumulation of time. If they don't do anything wrong, they don't know what is right.
In the second half, Dunleavy did not replace the three main players, and used a combination of Brevin Knight, Quentin Ross, James Percy, Ji Guomo and Ji Guoqie.
In this combination, Durant of the Supersonics said it was very uncomfortable. Percy's defensive ability was as famous as Bathir, Artest, Bao Sanshu, Laga Bale and others, which made first-year rookie Durant difficult. Under Percy's defense in the third quarter, the second-tier shooting percentage dropped to 5 of 13 shots, and conceded three consecutive shots in front of Percy in the second half.
The two brothers still do what they should do in this lineup. Ji Guochou is still idle at the basket guarded by him. He occasionally gets a mid-range distance on the offensive end. When the penalty area is about to be in place, he will also use his half-baked hook to give his opponent. Although his hook movements have serious training traces, he still cannot be underestimated because of his height and wingspan.
Ji Guomeng did not use his back-to-body shooting today. His face frame shooting is temporarily enough. He should wait until he is more skillful before using it, so he can reduce his shooting percentage.
Durant finally used a cross cover in the third quarter to get a rare mid-range gap in the open, but Durant was too anxious to score in this goal and actually made a blacksmith!
Ji Guoqiu took this rebound at the basket and increased his rebound count to 10.
It was already 4 minutes and 40 seconds in the third quarter. The two brothers had played for eight minutes on the court. Ji Guochou scored a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Old Dunleavy made a substitution adjustment.
The score of the two teams is 64:44, and the Clippers have a lead of 20 points. There is no need to fight again in the last quarter. Today's inspection of the two brothers can end here. The old coach is very satisfied with the performance of the two.
One minute later, the two brothers were replaced, and Carman did not play again. Today, the focus was not on him but the two brothers. The Clippers replaced the third substitute to play garbage time.
Ji Guochou produced 20 minutes this year, scored 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks, and he had no friends for high efficiency.
Ji Guomeng scored 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks in 22 minutes. The two played their respective characteristics today. Not only did Dunleavy see it, but the Clippers fans also gave warm applause when the two left the court, indicating that their debut has been recognized by Clippers fans.
After the game, Ji Guoqiu was still attending the press conference. Ji Guomo was left in the locker room by old Dunleavy. The old coach dared not take him to attend such occasions again.
At the press conference, Dunleavy highly praised the two brothers, but when asked whether they would promote the two brothers to start the game, the coach still kept it a secret, and did not answer positively, only answered that the team's starting game was determined by the players' training status.
Espn's sports columnist, Laubi highly praised the two after the game. He wrote: "Today is the premiere of two Chinese rookies in the Los Angeles Clippers. The ending is wonderful. They are like two big locks, blocking the three-second zone cleanly, making the supersonic young second-tier and No. 5 picks slam. They are also two rookies, the two brothers of the Ji family beat two opponents with higher draft picks in both offense and defense in this game."
The two Da Bendan and Da Sabi, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times, did not express their opinions on the two after this game. Obviously, they could not find the black spot. They blackened the two before the game. If they didn't pretend to be an ostrich, they would easily be slapped in the face!
These two people are very smart. When should they pretend to be turtle with their heads? When should they chase each other and fight? They clearly distinguished them.
Ji Guomo did not want them to be so comfortable. He didn't care about these things like his brother. Although he didn't say it before the game, he kept it in his heart how these two people were picky and humiliated. Of course, there must be revenge and revenge. So he took the columns of the two people before the game with a camera and posted them on his blog without a comment, but the intention was already clear. This was a silent slap in the face!
The media flocked to Ji Guomo's blog like a cat that smelled fishy, and spontaneously began to hype this matter.
They haven't forgotten that the first round No. 30 rookie was still making a fuss a few days ago, claiming that he is no worse than the No. 1 pick and second place. Now it seems that this is not all bragging. He still has strength, but whether there is a No. 3 pick and second place? It depends on the performance in the regular season to confirm.
It's a coincidence that the Clippers will face the Portland Trail Blazers at home on October 11. Isn't this the team of No. 1 Oden? However, the reporters immediately became disappointed. Oden had already reimbursed the entire season due to a knee injury in September. Before the No. 1 Oden arrived in the preseason, he had already withdrawn from the competition for the best rookie this year.
On October 11, the Clippers played against the Trail Blazers at home, the two brothers did not expect that they would sit on the bench. The starting inside combination was Carman and Tim Thomas.
The inside combination of Chris Carman and Tim Thomas is not inferior to the Ji brothers in terms of offense, but they are one level behind in defense, and rebounding is far less stable than when the two brothers are on the court.
Chapter completed!