Vol 3 Chapter 276: Initiative

For a series of seven games, one of the games won or lost, the impact on the overall situation is not as big as people think. What's more, this is only the first time the two sides have met.
At the press conference after the game, both coaches and players fully affirmed the performance of the other side. The winning Thunder was not domineering or unreasonable; the Pelicans who lost the game did not complain. The atmosphere of the two teams is not as tense as the other teams competing against each other.
In fact, these two teams are very related. There was no NBA team in Oklahoma. Later, the Sonics moved from Seattle to the current Thunder. But in fact, before the Thunder, there was another team that played in Oklahoma City for a while. This team is the New Orleans Hornets, but they are now called the Pelicans.
On August 29, 2005, due to the landfall of Hurricane Katerina, the New Orleans Hornets’ Arena King Smosey Center suffered huge damage. Therefore, the Hornets had to temporarily move to the Ford Center Arena in Oklahoma City during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. During that period, the league added a misnomer of the New Orleans Hornets.
Therefore, whenever the Pelicans players visit Chesapeake Energy Arena, these Oklahoma fans will respond with warm applause and cheers. After all, in a sense, the Pelicans can be regarded as the city's first NBA team. However, for Oklahoma now, the Thunder are their own team.
After the first match, the media quickly released information about the game and relevant player data.
Davis is undoubtedly the best player in the game. He played 39 minutes and scored 43 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals. If not for him, the Pelicans would have surrendered in the third quarter! Holiday, Milotic and Rondo, who performed well in the first round of the playoffs, performed poorly in this game. Holiday 12 points and 4 assists, Milotic 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, Rondo 9 points and 9 assists. In addition to these four people, Jordan Crawford, who came off the bench, performed well, scoring 15 points and ranking third in the team. If you look at it alone, the performance of these players is not bad, but compared with the previous 30+, 40+ points and 15, 6 assists, it is indeed a bit sluggish.
In those media reports, the Pelicans were beaten back to the prototype. Even in the game, the Pelicans caused great difficulties for the Thunder; even though Gentry made several very targeted arrangements based on the situation on the court; even if they limited An Luo to only 12 points! But these people are right. In this game, the problems exposed by the Pelicans were the key to the Blazers losing the game in the first round. One is defense against Paul George, the other is Rondo.
I don't know if the Blazers are still paying attention to the follow-up games of the playoffs. If you watched this game between the Thunder and the Pelicans, I don't know how they feel. Maybe Lillard will feel very depressed!
On the first day of May, the Thunder and the Pelicans played their second game at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Prior to this, the other two teams in the Western Conference played the first game of the series. The Warriors finally won the fourth quarter of the Houston Rockets battle. The two teams were tied in the first half. But in the second half, the Rockets failed to hold the Warriors' offensive frenzy. Although Harden and Paul have performed well enough, the all-people warrior is even better.
What's different in the West is that the eight teams in the East have just finished the playoffs. The Cavaliers led by LeBron James played seven games against the Indiana Pacers in the first round and won. James is still strong, but most people think that the Cavaliers have not gone too far this season. The Celtics also fought for seven games. Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to a sudden emergence, causing huge trouble for the Celtics who reached the Eastern Conference finals last season. But then, the Celtics, who fought all the way and suffered from injuries, quickly defeated the 76ers at their home court. Although the latter had been off for a week before, the Celtics still won. It can be seen that sometimes too long rest is not a good thing.
Looking at these teams in the East, both Anlo and Donovan feel that the Celtics and Raptors will become the ones that rush out of the East. That one is not a fuel-efficient lamp. However, the Thunder's people just chatted with each other. It's useless to think about it now, they still have a long way to go! At least the Pelicans must be resolved before they are eligible to discuss the finals.
"You're right, the Pelicans are strong! But aren't we strong? You know, this is our home court. The whole Oklahoma is cheering for us. Victory, after all, belongs to Oklahoma ."
Before the game ~EbookFREE.me~ An Luo was also stopped by reporters when he arrived at the arena. However, he still adhered to his usual principle: reporters and media are here to fool. After a few chattering words, An Luo came to the locker room. Westbrook and others have arrived.
"Good evening! Guys."
Saying hello, An Luo came to his place and began to prepare.
"Ann, we are betting that the Cavaliers or the Raptors will win the first game. I think it is the Raptors. The Cavaliers have a poor lineup this year. But Paul believes in LeBron and he thinks the Cavaliers will win. You also choose one? "
As soon as he sat down, Westbrook leaned in. This guy, is it possible to win the game tonight? One by one was too idle to talk about others.
"I choose a knight!"
"Way?" Westbrook asked puzzledly.
"I don't know which one of them is better. But I know, you bet with Paul and you never won!"
...
"Beep"
The whistle sounded and the game officially began.
Both parties are well-informed people. They didn't test each other anymore, and quickly entered the game state.
Like the last game, the two sides played inextricably for a long time. But the turning point of the game came very early. With 4 minutes left in the first quarter, Westbrook jumped to the rim to push Davis. Although the ball was not scored, it successfully caused Davis's defensive foul. Later, Davis was replaced by Gentry, he had committed two crimes!
This is not good news for the Pelicans. As the absolute core of offense and defense in the team, Davis must play well enough before they have a chance to win this game. Now Davis is in trouble with fouls, and the next game is dangerous.