Steady as an Old Dog in Mid-Range!

They couldn't help but wonder—once the defense really closed in, would Ibaka pass the ball to Harden cutting inside, or to Durant catching it off the ball?

Either way, they both looked like stars with stronger finishing ability.

Ibaka was also one of the Thunder's five young stars.

But he still fell a little short.

At the very least, when it came to perimeter shooting, Ibaka wasn't as reliable as Durant or Harden.

And yet...

"Whoosh!"

Ibaka barely hesitated.

He raised his hand and drilled a long Two-pointer.

The basketball flew toward the hoop with GPS-like precision and dropped through the Nets.

Made it.

Ibaka hit the Mid-range shot.

In transition.

Facing Ibaka's defense, George put together a silky sequence of dribble moves before flowing into a step-back Mid-range shot.

"Swish!"

That went in too.

Second-year George had made a leap in growth after just one year.

This season, on a championship team, after the coach gave him a certain share of the offense, George played with great confidence.

He believed that, as a small forward playing the four, he had a natural athletic advantage when matched up against Power Forwards.

He could freely use his flashy dribbling to shake off defenders, then finish the possession with a Mid-range shot.

One word: steady.

Thunder possession.

At the right side of the top of the key, Harden kept dribbling between his legs, seemingly preparing to take Curry one-on-one.

But in reality...

As he accelerated into the lane, he fired a no-look behind-the-back pass to Ibaka at the left elbow once again.

The latter caught the ball without the slightest hesitation.

He raised up for another Mid-range shot.

Nothing but net again.

"???"

George frowned deeply. "He's that accurate? He's a power forward. His mid-range game shouldn't be this precise!"

"That's pretty