Ridiculing a warrior is not as good as a warrior! The Thunder had 26 fewer players in back-to-back games. Why were the Lakers defeated in two quarters?

Yesterday, the Thunder defeated the Warriors 126-102, leading by up to 36 points, leading by 19 points at halftime, and defeated the Warriors in three quarters.

Today, the Thunder thrashed the Lakers 121-92, leading by up to 37 points, leading by 32 points at halftime, and beating the Lakers to tears in two quarters.

It is no exaggeration that the Lakers' performance in this campaign was not as good as yesterday's Warriors. After all, the Thunder played back-to-back today. Jaylen Way, Dortmund, Wiggins, and Kenway were absent. The Lakers struggled for two quarters and really failed to live up to the expectations.

"Laugh at the warriors, understand the warriors, become the warriors, and ultimately find that you are not as good as the warriors."

The Lakers' proud dual-ball core offensive system was unable to move forward in the face of the Thunder's league's top defense: Doncic scored only 19 points on 7-of-20 shooting and committed 4 turnovers; Reeves scored only 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting and committed 5 turnovers.

Doncic and Reaves can't open up offense, let alone defense.

The Thunder's defense perfectly predicted the Lakers' offense. It flanked Doncic, double-teamed, rotated, and cut the ball in one go. The Lakers' offense could not escape the five-finger mountain of the Thunder's defense.

The Lakers' defense was more passive. Alexander singled out the Lakers' defense at positions 1-5, and was double-teamed by Holmgren, Joe, Caruso, and Jarinway with open three-pointers. The Thunder played a point-based offensive effect, and the Lakers' defense was always led by the nose, focusing on one thing and losing on the other.

The Lakers made 11 turnovers in the first half, while the Thunder made only one. The defending champion performed perfectly on both offense and defense. Facts have proved that the gap between the Lakers and the defending champions is not that the Warriors are poor, but that the Thunder are too strong.

In the focus battle, the Thunder's league's first defensive efficiency gave Doncic a boost of strength.

The Thunder sent Wallace to defend Doncic. He switched defenses when No. 1-4 was on the screen. When encountering Doncic + Ayton's pick-and-roll, he directly flanked the ball holder, trying to protect Harten from being named by Doncic when guarding the pick-and-roll.

The Thunder's defensive principles are very clear. Doncic will first switch defenses in the pick-and-roll with position 2-4 on the outside, and then attack in the pick-and-roll with position 5 inside, resolutely not allowing Doncic to easily enter the three-second zone. Coach Daignault tacitly allowed Doncic to face Wallace, Alexander, and Holmgren's one-on-one defense and gamble on long-range shots. Once Doncic entered the three-point line in the positional battle, he would attack him.

That is to say, the Thunder would rather give space to other Lakers than let Doncic play.

Doncic made 3 of 8 shots in the first quarter and made 4 turnovers. The Thunder’s defensive ability made Doncic uncomfortable. On the one hand, he held the ball in singles to attack Wallace and Holmgren, which consumed a lot of defense. On the other hand, the Thunder harassed Doncic on the line and had a strong ability to rotate off the line. After Doncic was double-teamed, his passes to the inside were repeatedly destroyed. The Lakers only scored 18 points in the first quarter.

The Thunder took the lead in the start with their individual defensive quality and team rotation discipline, perfectly cutting through the pick-and-roll offensive system led by Doncic, and the league's first defense is well-deserved.

The Lakers also wanted to give Alexander strength, but the defense was shattered at the first touch, and the Thunder easily controlled the Lakers.

The Lakers sent Smart to defend Alexander, and used unlimited defense changes from positions 1-5, cutting Alexander + Harten pick-and-rolls, encouraging the Thunder generals to play one-on-one.

Alexander has no solution one-on-one, and there is no essential difference in the effectiveness of Doncic, Smart, Reeves, Rui Hachimura, and Ayton defending him alone. Alexander easily defeated Ayton, Rui Hachimura, and Doncic in a one-on-one. The Lakers were forced to attack in a double attack to limit Alexander's pick-and-roll call, and the rest of the Thunder launched an efficient 4-on-3.

Alexander singles out or attracts a double attack are like two bottles of poison. The Lakers defense cannot withstand it no matter how they choose.

When the Thunder showed a five-way lineup, Holmgren/Jaylin Williams stood at the center position, and Caruso took the No. 4 position. This space lineup destroyed the Lakers in the second quarter.

The Thunder have two ball-holding points in Alexander and Mitchell. Holmgren can also use the absolute height to punish mismatches. The Lakers will be punished by Alexander/Holmgren when changing defense, and the double attack will be pierced by thousands of arrows from the Thunder shooters. The game process also proved that the Thunder cannot let go of every point on the outside.

The Lakers made 11-1 Thunder mistakes in the first half, and the Thunder made only one mistake. Their perfect game execution defeated the Lakers in the first half, and at one time they established a 32-point lead at most!

It's not that the Lakers didn't work hard, but that the Thunder's system of play was thoroughly understood. The strength of the two teams is not at the same level at all.

The Lakers' ball rights are basically concentrated in the hands of Doncic. They have a typical ball-holding and big-core play, with one person instigating the ball and the other four waiting to receive the ball before handling it. The Thunder chose to put all the pressure on Doncic, double-teaming Doncic on the line, and rotating off the line at the same time. They double-teamed Doncic and cut passing routes at the same time. The Lakers' open-book answer-style single-core play that relied on instigation by one person was completely controlled by the Thunder's league's first defense.

Looking at the Thunder, Alexander can play without the ball. He shares the ball with Mitchell and Holmgren, and even Wallace/Caruso have wonderful cooperation with Harten to break through the ball. The Thunder's offensive system emphasizes multiple people touching the ball and multi-point participation, and it is difficult to completely restrict open dynamic offense.

Alexander is very selfless. He plays the ball when he is flanked. He assists Holmgren and Joe's wide-open three-pointers.

Regardless of team offense or defense, the Thunder's offensive and defensive system and the comprehensive offensive and defensive quality of all players are obviously at a higher level in the food chain than the Lakers.

Yesterday, the Thunder led the Warriors by up to 36 points in three quarters. In this campaign, they led the Lakers by up to 37 points. They played at halftime and fought back-to-back. They also used Dortmund and Jaylen Way as starters and substitute Wiggins who averaged 14.8 points per game. They still crushed the Lakers with absolute strength..

The Thunder started the season with 12 wins and 1 loss, defeating the Warriors and Lakers in a row. They were indeed in the lead and were truly qualified to say: "Who still has dreams?"

source:7m cl