Oklahoma's local narrators mostly kept their mouths shut, and just a few minutes ago they were smug about it, but now everyone had discovered a terrible truth.

Even though the Pacers lost Chris. Paul, the core of the organization, can still play with the Thunder!

The Thunder and Pacers took turns playing offense, but at the end of the day, neither could pull the gap away. More than halfway through the first quarter, the Thunder's bench depth was tested.

After Leonard scored a three-pointer on Ibaka's head, Paul Brown scored a three-pointer. A brave break from George put the Congolese on their back for the second foul of the game. Horford pulled Perkins out of the three-second zone, and there was no doubt that Ibaka's foul pressure would increase because there was no second interior player who could help him share those fouls.

Brooks rushed to urge Nick, a veteran who had been on the team since the supersonic era. Collison came on to replace Ibaka, but Collisson's rim protection ability is not as good as Ibaka's.

Collison entered the industry in '04 and has averaged only 9.8 points per game in a career-high season. As a blue-collar veteran, Collison is more of a spiritual leader for the Thunder's group of youngsters, and you'd be hard-pressed to expect him to make any substantial contributions. This is similar to the Heat's Haslem.

As a result, the Pacers' air cutting is even more "intensified", and the common problems of white insiders such as average bounce and slow movement can be found in Collison.

Horford's strategy was so good that as long as the cut-in guy got up to speed beforehand, Collison would have been able to barely protect the frame.

After Ibaka went off the court, the Thunder immediately fell into disadvantage. Brooks had to switch positions between Collison and Perkins, with Perkins guarding the frame and Collison defending Horford, who was moving in the high post.

In the minutes after that, the Thunder's defense picked up. But Henson also saw the move, increasing the weight of Horford's individual singles. With speed dominant, Horford has countless ways to break down Collison's defense.

Horford is sure of his high jumpers, fake-shot breakaways, and back-to-back singles, and he shows off his all-around offensive skills in front of Collison.

In this way, the game played to the last three minutes of the first quarter, and the Thunder entered the rotation time with a 6-point disadvantage!

Henson's side was replaced by Augustine, Ray. Allen, Green, Yi Jianlian and Anderson, while on the Thunder's side, Brooks is on Kevin Anderson. Martin has high hopes!

Kevin. Martin, this is a very important chip in the Rockets and Thunder's trade for Harden. During the reign of the king, Kevin. Martin is undoubtedly the team's top scorer. After moving to the Rockets, he can be regarded as the boss of the rebuilding team. And now coming to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Brooks' positioning of Martin is undoubtedly the Harden of last season!

Martin proved to live up to expectations, averaging 14 points per game this season and shooting an impressive 42.6 percent from three-point range, despite coming off the bench and playing a sharp reduction in playing time. Arguably, he almost perfectly fills the void left by Harden's departure, and Martin is more experienced than Harden.

Now facing the Pacers' second lineup, Brooks naturally hopes that Martin can lead the team to chase the score back. As a result, the game went on and on. Kevin. Martin made consecutive free throws, which led the Thunder to play a wave of 6-0 offensive and tied the score.

Augustine and Ray. Aaron was able to give Kevin. Martin was still under too little pressure, and even though the Pacers still had a four-point advantage after the first quarter. But the two sides have been attacking each other like this, and this is not the situation Henson wants to see.

Bench depth, Henson believes he still has bench depth to dig into.

In the second quarter, Ibaka returned, but because he had already committed two fouls, he was still somewhat timid on the defensive end. But fortunately, Durant's increasingly mature offensive skills have always allowed the Thunder to fill the defensive deficit with offense.

On the Pacers' side, Horford, who experienced the success of the first quarter of the game and was full of confidence, also played more and more smoothly. He even increased the weight of his dribble movement and played like a real point guard.

With Horford's offensive threat spread across almost the entire half, the Thunder have been unsure whether to help defend or block the pass route against Horford.

The scores of the two sides alternated in the exciting offensive battles, but the coaches of both teams did not seem to be in a hurry.

After Mayno hit a shot, Martin hit both free throws, and as Westbrook hit two consecutive three-pointers, the Thunder unleashed a 12-2 attack wave to quickly take a 13-point lead. 13 points, this is also the biggest gap between the two sides in today's game so far!

But do you think that's secure? Not to be outdone, the defending champions won't be so easy to beat. George and Stephenson fired back-to-back fire, combining to hit a 13-0 spurt to level the score.

The two sides were in a state where no one could defend themselves, and everything looked like a loop of the first quarter. Brooks is thinking about rotation time with Kevin. Martin pulled away and Henson wanted to lock Kevin in the rotation time. Martin to achieve the goal of opening the score.

Both managers have their own plans, so no matter how anxious the situation on the pitch is, they are indifferent.

"We're in the rhythm of the Thunder right now, we're trying to play against them! Although both sides have a high shooting percentage, we are not an offensive team after all! Henson, don't you adjust your strategy? "Vogel couldn't sit still, he was a more defensive coach, and the offense didn't always reassure him.

In the face of Vogel's suggestion, Henson just waved his hand, "No, we don't fight against each other." Wait, it's coming. ”

Henson's face did not change, and the fans spent eight minutes in this addictive head-to-head battle. Both teams of youngsters showed off their unmatched talent, with fast-paced transitions between offense and defense sending viewership skyrocketing to the viewership of the nationally streamed game.

And this timeout, Henson and Brooks picked up the tactical board almost at the same time and stood in front of everyone. Both coaches hope that this timeout will turn into a turning point that will change the situation of the game!

"Shoot Kevin more, cover him more! Shoot when you get the chance, just like you did when you were in Sacramento! Your task is to pull the score away in the rotation time and set the stage for our second half attack! "Brooks squatted on Kevin. In front of Martin, since no one can prevent anyone from the starters, let's make a stumbling block from the rotation lineup!

"Jimmy, I want you to see Martin die! On both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, I want you to put pressure on him! Consume him and reduce his shooting percentage as much as possible! Don't be afraid even if it's a chaotic battle, we can just as much punch them to death. Henson sat down with Jimmy. Butler in front of him.

The first quarter of the game was rotated by Augustin and Ray. Allen didn't work well with the back line. So, Henson planned to use Butler Garrey. Aaron's partner tests the waters. And Jimmy. Whether Butler performs well or not is directly related to the success of Henson's Plan B......

As for organizing the offensive...... Henson doesn't need a playmaker this time, and he doesn't plan to use the strength of the team to play against the Thunder again. And it's going to take a look, Kevin. How Martin is going to contain Jimmy. Butler's singles.

Martin is actually a very strange player, with strong scoring ability, but poor confrontation and defensive ability, which determines that he cannot be a leader. So the team with Martin as the core usually doesn't have a very good record. And if he goes to a strong team to be an auxiliary point, he needs a partner with strong defensive ability to "check and fill in the gaps" for him.

One of Martin's most classic "performances" on the defensive end was in 2011, when Mavericks veteran Peja Brown. Stojakovic is already in the twilight of his career, and it can be said that he has been reduced to a pure shooter, and all he can do is shoot, fight and his low ability.

As a result, the Mavericks ran into the king, and Carlisle was stunned to let Peja go to the back to eat Martin, and it really became two...... This shows how vulnerable Martin's defense is.

Now, Henson wants to do something similar to Carlisle, singled Martin! But Henson's singles point with the ball is not Peja, but the youthful Jimmy. Butler!

Prior to this season, Butler had already made a name for himself in the league on defense. Now, it's time for his attacking talent to shine.

At the end of the timeout, Brooks looked at the court and couldn't help but feel a shock in his heart. Henson changed formation again, and every time Henson changed formation, Brooks felt nervous. Because he couldn't guess what the purpose of Henson's change of formation was.

"Here it is, Coach Henson once again pulls out his secret weapon, Jimmy. Butler. Butler has played a firefighter role with the Pacers this season, and there were many times when the Pacers couldn't turn it on, and Coach Henson would put Jimmy on the court. Hopefully, this guy is better than you think! ”

Seeing Butler on the court, Barkley immediately came to the fore. After all, this isn't the first time he's seen Jimmy this season. Butler put on a great performance.

"But then the Pacers don't have an offensive starting point on the court." Kenny. Smith spread his hands and didn't want a point guard, that's how Henson did it?

After the pause came back after the first round, Jimmy. Butler used his aggressive defense and tough confrontation to force Kevin, who was not very physical. Martin shoots iron. But then, the Pacers turned out to be led by Jimmy . Butler advances with the ball. This scene made Brooks and Kenny. Smith looked stupid.

"As far as I know, Jimmy. Butler is not a good point guard. ”

The Thunder's defensive focus is on the Thunder. Aaron, but Jimmy. After Butler had possession of the ball over half court, he didn't mean to pass the ball at all, but gradually lowered his center of gravity and then increased the frequency of dribbling. At the same time, the Pacers players completely emptied Butler's side after a flurry of running!

"It's going to ...... Let that guy hold the ball and play alone? Brooks was stunned, is Henson so bold? Any third substitute, dare to let him hold the ball and play alone?

Henson, on the other hand, smiled smugly, thinking that Jimmy. Butler just came up to defend? Then stay tuned!