"Damn! Another dunk! Thunder!! Another slam after a defensive stop and fast break! And it's another gliding dunk from the free-throw line!!!"
"Even though it came during a fast break, a free-throw-line dunk in the middle of a real game is still incredibly shocking!! Absolutely unbelievable!!"
"Looks like the timeout Brooklyn just called didn't help them settle into a rhythm. They haven't been able to get their offense going since returning to the court, either. Instead, Thunder have hit them with two fast breaks in a row. That really hurts!"
"Will Atkinson consider calling another timeout? Or will he wait and see, relying on his players to adjust on their own?"
Atkinson chose to let his players handle things themselves and determine the direction of the game.
No one understood better than he did just how strong the three core players on this team were.
They might not be as good as Chen Xi on the other side, but surely they shouldn't be getting overwhelmed like this right from the start.
The bigger problem was the players' own form. That wasn't something tactics could make up for.
Durant and George were both shooting rather poorly tonight, while Harden had clearly been more focused on helping his teammates find their rhythm early in the game than on attacking off the dribble himself.
That was why Nets' offense hadn't fully gotten going.
As for defense... there really wasn't anything they could do.
Thunder's attack over these past few possessions hadn't been the result of any tactical advantage. It was simply that Chen Xi's individual ability was absurd.
The first quarter was barely halfway over, and he was already closing in on 20 points. Who could possibly stop him?!
In fact, during the timeout, Atkinson had already told his defenders to consider