Lineup Change

The Warriors had possession. Curry dribbled to the top of the key... three meters away, Oladipo was already right on him.

He lobbed the ball to Green, who had moved up, then quickly sprinted toward the baseline.

Green held the ball at the 45-degree angle. After taking a dribble, he lobbed it to Durant. KD had the ball at the three-point line, facing up against Roberson for an isolation.

He hit him with his signature, exaggerated double crossover, then rose straight into a pull-up jumper and easily sank a long two. Roberson was left standing there with his hands on his hips, looking helpless.

That was what an unstoppable isolation looked like. At six-foot-eight—officially, anyway; he was actually taller—with a seven-foot-six wingspan, he could rise up and shoot right in front of you. With his shooting motion protected by his cylindrical space, who could possibly bother his shot?

Roberson was a light-framed wing without the strength to push him out of his sweet spot. The only option was to pray he had an off night—or that fatigue would wear him down as the game went on and affect his performance.

The once-explosive combination were now facing off on the court. Each had scored his team's first point. Maybe there was a little extra motivation to prove himself against the other.

Westbrook grabbed the ball and charged forward again. This time, faced with a double-team from Klay and Green, he finally kept his head and whipped a pass to Oladipo on the weak side.

Odie caught the ball, dribbled once to his left, then spun right into a fading jumper and sank it.

4–2. The Thunder were playing fast, as usual.

The Warriors, by contrast, were unhurried and composed, seemingly unaffected.

Curry leisurely brought the ball upcourt as usual and passed it to Green before accelerating into his route. Using KD's screen, he slipped between Pachulia and Klay and ran to the right corner. Pachulia and Klay then collapsed inward together, shutting Westbrook out and preventing him from chasing Curry through.

The signature Elevator Door Tactic. Curry had an easy three-point look and made it. 4–5.

Then, after Little Sabonis missed an open mid-range shot, Green immediately took the ball and pushed upcourt. Catching the Thunder before they were set, he led a four-on-three break and fired a long pass from the logo to Klay Thompson in the right corner.

Catch, jump, snap his wrist—a textbook release. Another three.

4–8.

The Warriors' strengths were starting to show.

On offense, they had three elite shooters and a point forward to orchestrate the attack. Even if their plays didn't open up, Durant's unstoppable isolation was always there as a fallback, giving the team historically great offensive efficiency.

On defense, meanwhile, DPOY-caliber stopper Draymond Green could guard anyone from the one to the five. The team's defensive versatility was astonishing, and with Klay and Durant in their prime, Steve Kerr only had to think about hiding Curry on the other team's weakest offensive player.

As time passed, the Thunder's meager, inefficient offense let the gap between the teams grow wider and wider.

Donovan realized he needed to make a change.

With eight minutes left in the first quarter, Chen Xi and Grant replaced Adams and Roberson. Both could shoot, and with Sabonis moving to center, the Thunder formed a Five-Out Lineup with one big and four smalls.

The Thunder had possession. Westbrook held the ball on the left side at the 45-degree angle. Chen Xi moved up to set a screen, then popped out and caught the ball. Curry switched onto him. Chen Xi accelerated past him by half a step, drew help defense from Green, then immediately passed to Oladipo. Odie caught it and drove before kicking the ball out to Grant, who cut into the Ghost Position for an easy layup.

"That was a very patient possession. The Thunder's adjustment after the substitutions paid off. Let's see how the Warriors respond."

Jeff Van Gundy, the game's commentator, had an excellent feel for what was happening on the court.

"A Five-Out Lineup with one big and four smalls—what a surprise. I didn't think the Thunder had the personnel to put out a lineup like that. On a night when Westbrook and Oladipo have their outside shots falling, this lineup could be a huge advantage—against most teams, anyway."

"So you don't think this lineup will give the Warriors much trouble?" Reggie Miller beside him quickly played the straight man.

"Of course not. This Five-Out Lineup is really only a Pseudo Five-Out. Of the entire lineup, Chris Chen is the only one who can be called a shooter over a large sample size."

"His sample size is still small—he's played just five regular-season games so far—but he's made 15 of 26 threes, a 57.6 percent clip. That's enough to show he can create plenty of spacing. I'd even say he's the Rookie of the Year so far. The Thunder front office never fails to impress."

"What good is having an eye for talent if you can't keep your guys?"

The two exchanged a look, then couldn't hold back their laughter.

"Don't get me wrong. I mean James Harden."

"Of course, of course. After all, KD left as a free agent."

Back to the Warriors' offense. They started with their classic Green holding the ball while Curry moved off it, but once they saw the Thunder's lineup change, Chen Xi had no choice but to stand in front of Durant, who was twelve centimeters taller than him. Green wasted no time passing the ball to KD.

Durant held the ball at the three-point line against Chen Xi. He gave him a simple Triple Threat, then went straight up for a jumper, completely unfazed by Chen, who was closing in to contest him. Fortunately, he missed this time, and Westbrook grabbed the rebound.

The moment Chen Xi saw the ball bounce off the rim, he took off downcourt toward the Warriors' basket. When he turned his head, just as expected, Westbrook had launched a long pass from way downtown.

The pass was a little off. Chen Xi leaped to catch it and had barely landed when Durant's recovery was about to put him right back in front of him. With no time to drive to the basket, Chen Xi took advantage of KD not yet being set and immediately pulled up for a mid-range jumper.

The ball bounced around the rim three times before finally dropping through the net.

"HAHAHAHAHA, holy shit! I just dunked on Durant!"

Chen Xi couldn't hide his grin as he ran back on defense.

"Great shot, Chris." Westbrook came over and slapped his hand.

"That's it! Don't hesitate—let it fly!"

"Hold off on the encouragement, Jerami. Let's switch. I'll take Green!"

Chen Xi wasn't foolish enough to think he could handle Durant just because he'd made One Offense, One Defense. Without hesitation, he went to Grant and asked to switch.

Are you kidding? He's twelve centimeters taller than me, with a twenty-centimeter longer wingspan. Even if you gave me a gold Defensive Badge, I still might not be able to handle him!

What a Model Monster! A Model Monster! This is ridiculous!

Chen Xi was freaking out internally as he ran over to Green with a serious expression.

Dream was six-foot-six and not much of an offensive player. He was just strong. But compared with Durant, he was several levels easier to guard.

For Chen Xi, before he could improve his help-defense attributes, just staying with his own man was already a job well done.

But that left Grant with a tough assignment. Even if he could more or less match Durant in size, the gap in skill was still huge. He couldn't do much to trouble Durant, either.

Fortunately, Oladipo's shot was falling today, which made the Thunder's Pseudo Five-Out a threat. The two teams then traded baskets.