Chapter 184: He Doesn't Get It.
Durant cut from the weak side to the strong side, leaping to catch the ball with his back to the basket in the low post.
Han Sen tried to swipe the ball as Durant received it, but he couldn't make the steal. However, he quickly adjusted and maintained a solid defensive position.
Durant's passing skills were still underdeveloped, but his one-on-one game, especially in the low post, had greatly improved from the previous season.
He turned and initiated a triple-threat stance. Han Sen applied pressure to his lower body, but Durant drove left, shielding the ball and dribbling quickly past Han Sen along the baseline.
In his unleashed state, Durant was noticeably quicker.
Though Han Sen was beaten, he remained calm, cutting off Durant's passing lanes and herding him toward the rim.
In the past, Han Sen had tried to solve defensive situations on his own. But after playing the Lakers, he leaned toward cooperating with Marc Gasol on defense.
This approach not only improved the defense's success rate but also conserved his energy.
Of course, this defensive method only worked against players with limited or average passing ability, and Durant fell into that category.
Durant reached the basket, but with limited space to accelerate and facing Marc Gasol's 7'1" frame and 7'4" wingspan, he couldn't complete a strong finish.
Turning to pass, he found Han Sen had cut off the passing lanes. Durant attempted a forced reverse layup over Gasol, but he wasn't Kobe—his height became a disadvantage here.
His shot awkwardly hit the side of the backboard, and the ball was ruled out of bounds. Durant looked frustrated; the feeling of winding up for a big play only to hit air was stifling.
Adding to his irritation, Han Sen clapped in his face after the referee's call. 'Is this how you treat your friends?' Durant thought.
The Grizzlies continued to run high-low plays.
Marc Gasol spun past his defender and passed to Rudy Gay. Gay caught it, faked a three-pointer to get Durant to jump, dribbled in, and sank a mid-range jumper.
The defensive disparity between the two teams was becoming evident.
The Thunder's defense still relied heavily on individual defenders without a mature team system.
Westbrook and Durant's defensive effort had waned as they took on more offensive responsibilities. Once beaten, their follow-up defense often lagged.
On the next possession, Durant called for the ball in the low post, determined to get back at Han Sen after losses on both ends.
But he didn't get the chance, as Westbrook decided to take matters into his own hands, hitting a contested jump shot off a strong-side pick-and-roll.
This time, however, his shot fell short. Aware of his miss, Westbrook quickly jumped for the offensive rebound and went up again, showing his passion for the game despite inconsistent accuracy.
However, Gasol blocked his layup attempt off the backboard. Scoring inside against the Grizzlies was no easy task.
Gasol secured the rebound and passed it to Conley, who immediately picked up the pace, pushing the ball forward—a stark contrast from the half-court style they had under Coach Hollins.
The Thunder were caught off guard by this quick transition.
In the frontcourt, Gasol screened for Conley, who accelerated past Ibaka's help defense, then passed to Randolph, who was wide open under the basket for an easy two.
6-5.
After the Thunder's perfect start, the Grizzlies had returned with a 6-0 run, scoring all in open play and with assists on every bucket. And Han Sen hadn't even scored yet!
Team basketball might not always trump raw talent, but high-talent team basketball—now that's terrifying.
While the Grizzlies didn't have S-tier talent beyond Han Sen, their S-plus-four-A lineup was proving menacing enough.
Coach Joerger stepped to the sideline, signaling Gasol to double-team Durant preemptively. Sensing OKC's slump, Joerger made a call to capitalize.
Westbrook reacted quickly, passing to Ibaka, who took a mid-range shot.
Good look, but Gasol's closeout threw him off, and the shot clanged off the rim.
The ball bounced long, and Ibaka secured it again, passing back to Westbrook, who turned and launched another pull-up jumper.
Clang!
Another miss.
Gasol took yet another defensive board, and the Grizzlies hit the fast break again.
This time, Han Sen raced out, caught Gasol's full-court pass, and sped past Sefolosha for a flying dunk in transition, scoring his first points of the night.
8-5.
The Grizzlies' run was far from over.
OKC's coach Brooks called for a timeout.
"How did they even make it to the Western Conference Finals?" barked Barkley from the commentary booth.
"They went 4-1 against the Clippers, then beat the Spurs," Kenny Smith replied, the only one of the TNT trio who wasn't laughing.
"Oh, you mean that kid who only dunks? And the Spurs I used to play against on the Lakers?" Shaq chimed in.
Their banter may have been ruthless, but compared to the Grizzlies' playoff gauntlet, OKC had faced a smoother path to the WCF.
After the timeout, Durant caught the ball low again.
Facing up against Han Sen, Durant pulled up off a triple-threat move for a jumper.
This shot was wiser than his earlier drive; with his talent, going straight up was better than risking a double-team inside.
Han Sen's hand stretched out, trying to contest, but once Durant was airborne, it was up to his own touch.
Clang!
Another miss.
It had been too long since Durant had a rhythm with the ball.
Gasol grabbed another board, setting him up for a monster rebounding night.
Brooks must have stressed transition defense in the timeout, as the Thunder managed to slow the Grizzlies down this time.
Conley ran another pick-and-roll with Gasol, but Ibaka's long arms deflected his corner pass to Gay, and Sefolosha secured the ball.
OKC finally got a defensive stop, launching a rare transition play.
In a two-on-one situation, Durant soared for a layup over Han Sen, celebrating with a fist pump.
His first points of the night, but more importantly, it came over Han Sen.
Conley motioned to Han Sen, signaling he'd take the blame for that defensive lapse.
Han Sen nodded, no hard feelings. But as he got the ball, he saw Durant stepping up as his defender.
Durant clapped his hands and shouted, "Come on!"
Clearly, he was pumped.
Han Sen couldn't hold back a grin.
While facing the Lakers, Han Sen had to think about how to drain Kobe's energy in the first three quarters.
But against the Thunder, he felt that just a single line of trash talk would suffice.
After all, the Thunder's dependence on Durant was even greater than the Lakers' reliance on Kobe.
Han Sen shifted left, right, then faked Durant into a jump with a quick move.
Durant's defense? He was already starting to look like Rockets-era McGrady.
As Han Sen drove, Ibaka closed in to help, but Han Sen dished a no-look pass to Gasol, who swished a mid-range jumper from the free-throw line.
10-7.
The Grizzlies stayed on top.
Barkley and Shaq's predictions were halfway tongue-in-cheek, but it wasn't far off—trying to beat this Grizzlies team through isolation play alone? Let's just say it's not happening.
Coach Brooks sensed the urgency and subbed in Harden for Westbrook.
Harden came in and orchestrated the offense, with Durant coming off an Ibaka screen to catch and shoot over Gasol's help defense.
Sure, Durant's developed his isolation game this season, but his bread-and-butter has always been the catch-and-shoot.
Harden's presence stabilizes OKC's offense, setting Durant up better than Westbrook's fast-paced approach.
Then, Gasol counters with a high-post assist, finding Rudy Gay slashing in for the layup.
12-9.
Thunder's next possession, they keep it steady in the half-court.
Durant distracts the defense, allowing Harden to charge the rim with a 'Euro step' around Randolph, drawing a foul from Gasol on the way up.
Harden's the reason they got past the Spurs. Without his stellar play, they might be facing the Spurs instead of the Grizzlies.
Harden heads to the line for the free throw.
Durant lines up next to Han Sen and smirks, tossing out, "That's it? All that hype, and you're just hiding behind your team?"
Han Sen doesn't miss a beat: "You know, I'm disappointed. That sounded like something a wannabe would say, not you."
Durant flinches. Han grins. "I thought you'd be better than Kobe's fanboys online."
Harden sinks the free throw, tying it up 12-12.
The Thunder crowd erupts.
Han Sen takes the ball up, ready to make a play. Gasol sets a high screen, and Han switches onto Ibaka.
With a smooth crossover, he breezes past him. Ibaka's solid in help defense, but one-on-one? Not his strong suit.
Before Perkins can close in, Han pulls up for a floater—sinks it with ease.
Grizzlies edge ahead once more.
Durant's trash talk seems to have fired up the Grizzlies' defense too. Conley locks in on Harden, while Han sticks to Durant, denying him any easy touches.
Harden, forced into a tough drive, kicks it out to Sefolosha, but Gay's hustle is too much. Sefolosha's three rattles off the rim, and Gasol scoops up the rebound.
Han's back at it on offense. Another high screen comes up, and Sefolosha scrambles around, fighting through it.
But Han's faster—he beats him to the lane, forcing Durant to step up. Han makes it look like he's about to challenge Durant head-on, but instead whips a no-look pass to the corner.
Gay catches it, drills the three.
Just like that, it's a five-point game.
Durant feels the urgency, so he runs to the arc, demanding the ball.
Now, it's a showdown—Han versus KD.
Durant takes him left, looking to create space for his signature pull-up. But Han's locked in, shadowing him step for step.
Just as Durant releases, Gasol crashes over to help. The double team throws off Durant's shot—it clanks out.
Randolph seizes the board.
Back on offense, Han and Randolph set up a pick-and-pop, but Han fakes the drive and pulls out beyond the arc.
Randolph bodies up Sefolosha, locking him out. With a split-second of open space, Han releases—swish.
20-12, Grizzlies are up by 8.
In just a few quick possessions, they've blown the lead wide open.
Timeout, Thunder.
The camera zooms in on Durant, staring up at the scoreboard, dazed. He's got that look—like, "What the hell just happened?"
Barkley's on the mic, barely containing himself.
"KD wanted to show us what this Thunder team's about. But he's the one who doesn't get it—he doesn't realize just how damn good these Grizzlies have become!"
Durant's still playing catch-up to a new Grizzlies squad that's been leveling up all season.
Randolph's early-season injury? It forced them to grow, adapt. When he came back, they were already a powerhouse.
Every round of the playoffs has sharpened their edge.
Facing the Mavs, then taking on the Lakers under pressure—it's refined them into a confident, resilient team.
Not just the 'grit and grind' they were known for last season, but a full-force team built to break through any wall in front of them.
-End of Chapter-
Translator's notes:
If you haven't noticed yet, I translated this chapter over two days, so the style changed midway. Sorry for that.
Also, kinda late to explain this- better late than never lol.
Screen: In basketball, a screen (also called a "pick") is a technique where a player positions themselves to block or impede a defender's path, allowing a teammate to get open for a shot, drive, or pass. By positioning themselves between a defender and the teammate with the ball, the screener creates space for their teammate to make a play.
Pick and Roll: A fundamental basketball play where a player sets a screen (the "pick") for a teammate handling the ball and then moves towards the basket (the "roll") to receive a pass, potentially leading to an easy scoring opportunity.
Pick and Pop: Similar to the pick and roll, this play involves a player setting a screen (the "pick") but instead of moving towards the basket, the screener moves out to the perimeter (the "pop") to receive a pass for a jump shot.
Difference: The primary difference between the two lies in the screener's movement after setting the screen. In the pick and roll, the screener rolls towards the basket aiming for a layup or dunk, whereas in the pick and pop, the screener pops out to the outside for a mid-range or three-point shot.
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