Thoroughly Defeating the Nuggets

Adams won the opening tip-off. Westbrook brought the ball across half-court, then signaled for Little Sabonis to set a screen. He then bounced a pass to Little Sabonis, who rolled to the basket.

Turning to face the approaching Nuggets player, he didn't shoot but instead whipped the ball to Chen Xi on the wing.

After catching the ball, Chen Xi used a triple threat to push back Barton, who was trying to get up close and defend. He then faked a shot, easily getting Barton off balance, drove to the basket again, and faced help defense from Gallinari. He jumped, spun in mid-air, and released the ball just before landing.

"Wow, a 360-degree spin layup in the air!!! Chen is already putting on a spectacular show!!!"

He stumbled a couple of steps after landing, regained his balance, and ran back to his own half. The sidelines were filled with cheers. Chen Xi saw many fans wearing Thunder's number 3 jerseys inside, shouting loudly to celebrate his basket.

"This is what a star feels like! Awesome!"

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone watched Chen Xi from the sidelines, feeling a pang of jealousy. He had a rookie with such a high level of immediate impact, and he was still improving. And he was only the 56th pick, making only $550,000 a year!!! Presti, you bastard!

The Nuggets' offense wasn't fluid; they ran into trouble right away. The perimeter defense formed by Westbrook, Chen Xi, and Butler was at least impenetrable, if not a wall of iron.

Judging solely on on-ball defense, Chen Xi and Westbrook were already at a high level. With the addition of Butler, who was excellent at both on-ball and help defense, the Nuggets' perimeter was immediately put under pressure. They couldn't even dribble steadily at times.

After receiving the ball from Barton, who had passed it with difficulty, the Nuggets player tried to organize things at the free-throw line, waiting for teammates to get open. After a while, he finally found Moody, who was left open by Westbrook's off-ball defense. He immediately passed the ball, and Moody went up for a layup after cutting to the basket.

2 to 2

The Thunder were on offense. Chen Xi used Butler's screen to get away from his defender and shot as soon as he caught the ball. Seeing the silver "Catch and Shoot" badge light up in his vision, Chen Xi confidently turned and walked towards the backcourt.

Swish~~

The sound of the ball falling into the net was so crisp. Paired with Chen Xi's movement, it instantly ignited the arena. The roaring cheers surged skyward, as if to blow the roof off the stadium.

"Absolute confidence!!! Chris has entered scoring mode!!!! My God, this is a scene we've only seen from Stephen before!! Thunder fans actually get to experience the thrill of Warriors fans for a day!!!!"

Westbrook rushed over and shoved Chen Xi hard.

"Bro" Butler's celebrations were always so violent. He was genuinely worried about getting a bruise on his back. Chen, with a poker face, was putting on a show while secretly tearing up inside. "It hurts! It hurts so much!"

The Nuggets attacked again. This time, Westbrook stole the ball during the guards' passing sequence. With a long pass, Butler had already entered the Nuggets' three-point line.

Bang!!!!

JB finished with a one-handed slam dunk.

7 to 2

Beep!!!!

Coach Malone immediately called his first timeout of the game. He had to stop the Thunder's momentum, or they might get blown out.

Chen Xi sat on the bench, took a sip of Gatorade, and looked at the other half of the court. "Tsk tsk, scary."

Malone's spit was about to land on Barton's face. While it was common for coaches to yell at players on the sidelines, being yelled at face-to-face and with a finger pointed at your nose was uncomfortable for anyone.

The game quickly resumed. Chen Xi was surprised to find that the defender in front of Turtle Turtle was now Kobe Mamba, Jamal Murray.

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Yo, Malone has some guts, putting a rookie in. Although he was yelling at Barton, he took out Moody. 666.

Nuggets ball. Rookie Kobe Mamba brought the ball to the top of the arc. Facing Westbrook's tight defense, he surprisingly managed to hold onto the ball. His fundamentals were solid, at least better than "Bro" who just went off.

Chen Xi stood by with his hands on his hips, critiquing the 7th pick, who was ranked 49 spots higher than him.

Gallinari came up to set a screen. Murray used the screen to create distance from Westbrook and then hit a pull-up mid-range jumper.

Back to the Thunder's ball. Westbrook drove to the basket with the ball and easily made a layup with his right hand through contact.

Murray crossed his arms, and Malone looked helpless.

There was nothing he could do. Expecting a 1.93m rookie guard to defend Westbrook in his prime was a fool's errand. He could only hope that Murray's offensive contribution would help the team catch up.

However, the current Thunder weren't just Westbrook anymore.

Chen Xi and Butler both had stable offensive output. With the Nuggets' offensive efficiency, they clearly couldn't catch up.

When Donovan subbed out Adams for Grant just 6 minutes into the first quarter, putting out a pseudo-five-out lineup again, the Thunder went on a 19-4 run. Even with Malone calling two timeouts, he couldn't stop the momentum.

The game entered practice mode in the second quarter. Donovan kept trying different lineups, hoping to find suitable rotations for the transition period. After Chen Xi moved to the starting lineup, the bench's firepower decreased significantly. Against teams with strong bench units, they would have to rely on Westbrook and Butler taking turns to lead the team and stabilize the situation.

After easily defeating the Nuggets, the Thunder seemed to be back on track. Chen Xi's return, Butler's addition, and the starting lineup's crushing dominance over the Nuggets made the world re-examine the team.

"Charles, do you think the current Thunder have what it takes to challenge Golden State?"

On a TNT basketball show, Kenny Smith asked Barkley this question.

"Honestly, this year's Thunder have surprised me. You know, they lost Durant almost for free. The remaining players' skill level made it hard to believe they could perform so well. But now, no one can ignore them, except the Warriors."

"So you think they still don't have what it takes to challenge the Golden State Warriors?"

"Of course. Let's look at this damn Warriors team! Who do they have? Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant! My God, those two alone have three MVPs! Plus a DPOY in Dream Green, and a top 3-and-D player in the league, Klay Thompson. They even have Iguodala coming off the bench!! What a luxurious lineup."

"Indeed, this year's Golden State Warriors are a historic team."

"I don't mean to disrespect the Thunder, but you know, the current Thunder can at most be a playoff team. But these Warriors are qualified to be compared with those powerful dynasty teams in history."

"No, no, no, they're still a gap away from dynasty teams," Shaquille, sitting beside them, couldn't hold back.

"Are you talking about the Lakers? Come on, Shaq, you have to admit that the current Golden State wouldn't necessarily lose to that Lakers team."

"Do you think Pachulia can guard me?"

"Do you think Grant can guard KD?"

The two started their classic bickering again. They seemed to enjoy it, being able to argue with someone they disliked while also getting high ratings.