Chapter 849: Chapter 278: He Is the Chosen One, and the Only One
Just looking at the score, it’s already a whole level above Kevin Durant. If you factor in all the shooting percentages, the gap is even wider!
"All the media that put Kevin Durant on the same level as Su Wan should apologize to Su Wan, this is pure insult!" Barkley said directly after the game.
Shaquille O’Neal also said, "Kevin Durant is a relatively outstanding scorer among the new generation, but he is still not on the same level as Su Wan."
With the momentum of these two, many media expressed similar views, but there are still many media saying, "This is just the first game of the Finals, Kevin Durant needs to adapt, Russell needs to adapt, James also needs to adapt, so we shouldn’t judge based on one game, we should give them enough opportunities, they will prove themselves, and so will Kevin Durant!"
Su Wan saw these reports and knew very well that this was David Stern’s stubbornness!
He didn’t want the Finals to lose suspense from the very first game...
What Su Wan needed to do was simple: keep playing, and eliminate all of David Stern’s excuses.
The second game of the Finals arrived.
Still the New York Knicks’ home court.
Kevin Durant walked out of the arena with determination in his eyes.
The determined look made Barkley suddenly feel a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen this look not too long ago.
When a player shows such an expression, it often means he will give it his all in the game.
Of course...
If after giving it his all, he still can’t win.
Then it might really break his mindset completely.
One could say, tonight Kevin Durant’s determination is just like the media opinion suggested by David Stern before this game, it’s the last bit of stubbornness.
Just think about it, if tonight is like the last game, being utterly defeated and ending with a 20-point deficit, while Kevin Durant’s performance remains as poor as before.
Then indeed, there’s no reason to keep insisting.
Go back and regroup!
The Thunder Team is ultimately a "youth army", a team that, except for Perkins, are all "rookies in experience" reaching the Finals for the first time.
They really can’t handle continuous defeats.
This is the second time the New York Knicks crowd has reached the Finals. Seeing the determined look from the opposite side, they immediately knew the "ultimate battle" had come early.
Winning tonight’s game would indeed make the New York Knicks’ championship just a matter of time.
Mike Malone once again emphasized the defense against Kevin Durant before the game.
After a "beep" sound, the second game of the Finals officially began.
Amidst the crowd’s cheers, this time the Thunder Team seized the first attack.
As soon as Kevin Durant got the ball, he knew he was in for a tough night. Look at Su Wan’s eyes, and those behind him.
Given the current situation, what else could he do?
Carrying the Thunder Team on his shoulders is what he should do as the "Thunder God".
"Snap!"
In the first round, amid Su Wan’s constant close contact, Kevin Durant rushed to the basket and was blocked by Tyson Chandler.
Blocked as soon as the game started, Kevin Durant instinctively glanced at the sidelines. — Luckily, Scarlett wasn’t there tonight.
Brooks gritted his teeth quietly.
This scene made him somewhat uneasy.
Good things are elusive, bad things manifest.
For the remainder of the game time, Kevin Durant seemed to be grasped by his lifeblood, every attempt on the offensive end was very awkward.
This awkwardness was all-encompassing:
Catching the ball awkwardly, holding the ball awkwardly, breaking through awkwardly, shooting awkwardly...
Since discovering Kevin Durant’s physical strength and fitness could be targeted, the New York Knicks focused even more on these areas in this game.
Virtually all forms of defense aimed at these areas.
But it must be said, the effect is indeed good.
Even Brooks had to admit that Kevin Durant struggled more tonight.
At halftime, the New York Knicks successfully widened the gap to 15 points.
The audience stirred up again.
It was the "pop the champagne early" moment that New Yorkers love to see.
Speaking of which, before tonight’s game started, seeing Kevin Durant’s eyes, they were quite worried for a moment. Turns out...
It was all pretend!
In the first half, Kevin Durant shot 4 out of 14, and the New York Knicks limited him very clearly.
The Thunder Team’s reporters looked at the 15-point gap, their eyes full of struggle.
Losing by 20 points in the last game was quite damaging to them.
However, seeing some media peers saying that it was the Thunder Team’s first time reaching the Finals and lack of experience, and that playing poorly in the first game could be "tolerated."
They would definitely rebound in the second game.
Seeing their reasoning, Oklahoma media believed it and really held high expectations for this game.
But after this game’s half, their expectations were shattered...
Looking at the current scenario, losing the last game by 20 points clearly wasn’t their limit.
After all, they were already down by 15 points by halftime.
According to the current situation, by the end of the whole game, they would lose by 30 points!
It’s also unavoidable, you know Kevin Durant being targeted and limited, performing poorly was unexpected. — Before this series, most media believed Kevin Durant was on Su Wan’s level, so his poor performance surprised the outside world. Su Wan has never been in a slump in the Finals... — But considering the New York Knicks’ focused defense was indeed effective, with Su Wan, Tyson Chandler, and various targeted physical confrontations, Kevin Durant has been struggling, and not playing well was to be expected.