Stamina Crisis

Fortunately, the "Deep Three-Point Shooter" badge lit up at the opportune moment. Chen Xi breathed a sigh of relief and turned to walk back to the backcourt.

"Damn it, next time I'll just jump and shoot. This peak Green's lateral movement is no joke."

Chen was still muttering, his heart filled with lingering fear, while the arena had fallen somewhat silent.

The fans didn't care about any strategy. They only saw Chen Xi, a second-round pick this year, drive straight at Curry, shoot over Green, and celebrate prematurely on the Golden State Warriors' home court. He turned to head back on defense before the ball even went in – that was supposed to be Curry's signature move!

"It's unbelievable. Even after saying it many times, I have to say it again: Chen doesn't look like a rookie at all, but more like a star player!" Kenny Smith exclaimed sharply.

"The game's flow is completely different from what I expected. I thought this would be a showcase for Westbrook, Durant, and Stephen Curry, but now the spotlight is on someone we overlooked!"

"It's worth mentioning that Chen is clearly more than just an excellent shooter. By rights, his off-ball usage rate should be higher, but so far, his continuous on-ball initiations have shown more potential. This young man might have a broader future than we imagined!"

Kerr couldn't help but call a timeout. He had figured out the Thunder's strategy and needed to hide Curry on defense while also disrupting the Thunder's rhythm and cooling down that number 3 player.

"Good job, Chris." Donovan patted Chen Xi on the shoulder as he came off the court.

"Keep it up. Even if your efficiency drops, you must resolutely wear down Stephen. Once he can't get going, it will affect the Warriors' entire system. Then we'll figure out how to deal with KD. I don't believe he can beat us alone."

"Let's go OKC!!!" The Thunder players gathered together and shouted in unison, their morale high.

The game resumed. The Warriors' offense was fine. Even the Thunder's perimeter defense at this level struggled to guard half-court sets, especially with a bug of inside height at their number 3 spot.

Durant easily made a jump shot, scoring two points.

On the Thunder's offense, Chen Xi chose to set a pick-and-roll early, drawing Curry towards Westbrook.

"Tch, who doesn't have a teammate! You have Green, I have Turtle Turtle!"

Westbrook drove past the screen, faced Curry, accelerated, pushed off the defender, and drove straight to the basket.

Green quickly rotated to defend, but Westbrook almost simultaneously dished the ball out to Adams. When Zaza went to double-team Little Sabonis, Aquaman was left with an open basket.

He easily laid the ball in, and the Thunder maintained their lead.

The game continued back and forth. At the 8-minute mark of the first quarter, Donovan subbed out Chen Xi and Westbrook, letting Butler, who had limited offensive involvement in the first half, continue the game with the bench.

The Warriors, in turn, subbed out Curry and Dream for Iguodala and Livingston, with KD continuing to lead the team during the transition period.

However, in the transition period matchup, the Thunder couldn't maintain their scoring momentum. Apart from McDermott hitting a three-pointer, no one else on the bench scored. It was all Butler carrying the load, completely unable to match the firepower of KD, Iguodala, and Livingston. After Butler went off the court, the Thunder nearly collapsed.

"Their bench depth is still lacking," Barkley pointed out the Thunder's problem.

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"This is also one of the reasons I support the Warriors. Few teams have the resources to send a player of Iguodala's caliber to the bench. Only the Warriors and the Spurs can do that."

By the time Chen Xi and Westbrook returned to the game, the 7-point lead they had built had turned into an 8-point deficit. Chen immediately understood the helplessness Harden felt during those two years of fighting the Warriors.

But that's life. If you can't resist, you can only enjoy it.

Thinking on the bright side, there were eight more points to chase! Hahahaha, damn it!!!

With Westbrook and Chen Xi back on the court, the Thunder's offense clearly improved. Although Butler was still resting, Roberson could at least fill his defensive role.

After painstakingly playing for a quarter and a half, they managed to close the gap to 3 points. As soon as the two guards subbed out, the lead was immediately extended again. Donovan, helpless, had to maximize Chen Xi and Westbrook's playing time.

This continued until the final five minutes of the fourth quarter. Chen Xi had only rested for 2 minutes, and Westbrook had only sat out for one possession.

"It's hard to believe this is just a regular season game! So far, the Thunder's three perimeter players have played a combined 111 minutes, averaging 37 minutes per person, and there are still five minutes left in the game! If nothing unexpected happens, they won't be subbed out! This means the Thunder's perimeter trio will each play over 40 minutes in this game."

"After Chris was moved to the starting lineup, the Thunder's firepower did increase, but unfortunately, their bench depth decreased. This will be a key factor restricting the Thunder's future. We can't expect them to play over 40 minutes every game."

"Relatively speaking, the Warriors' player minutes are very healthy. The Thunder's strategy from the start was to wear down Curry's stamina, but now it seems their stamina issues might be more severe."

Huff... huff...

Chen Xi leaned on his knees, gasping for air, watching Westbrook step up to the free-throw line yet again.

"Damn it, Turtle Turtle and JB, are these guys reincarnated serfs? They're iron men! My Stamina is almost gone!!!"

Watching Westbrook make the second shot and then lift his jersey to wipe his sweat, Chen Xi struggled to straighten his back and ran towards the backcourt.

The Warriors' offense hadn't declined at all, maintaining a stable level. In fact, their burst at the beginning of the third quarter had once extended the lead to 14 points. Fortunately, the Thunder managed to claw their way back by having Butler and Westbrook continuously attack the paint.

With one lapse in attention, Klay once again created separation with his movement and cut to the basket. This time, Chen Xi couldn't keep up; his legs felt like lead, and he couldn't lift them at all. He could only watch him easily lay the ball in.

Beep~~

Donovan called a timeout.

With five minutes left, Chen Xi was subbed out to recover his Stamina, and Grant replaced him.

However, just a few minutes of rest allowed the Warriors to start raining threes again. Durant hit consecutive three-pointers, bringing the deficit back to 9 points.

Deprived of crucial perimeter support, the Thunder were repeatedly double-teamed in the paint, leading to a severe drop in efficiency. Grant and Roberson had very poor shooting percentages tonight, offering no support whatsoever.

"Chris, how are you feeling?" Donovan looked at Chen Xi on the bench with some helplessness. If he could, he wouldn't want to overwork his starters, especially Chen Xi, whose Stamina was significantly worse than Westbrook's and JB's.