The Godfather of Basketball

There is a saying that if you don't try, you don't know how good you can be.

Harden used to be the sixth man of the Thunder, played a strong role, scored many 20+ or ​​even 30+ games as a substitute, but after this game, people realized that he can actually do better, and shot Scoring 43 points in 13 times shows that this may not be his limit.

In other words, people realized for the first time that the player who allowed Tang Tianhua to amnesty Perkins for 2600 this summer and renew his contract with a 5-year maximum salary is really much better than they imagined.

Maybe the Thunder already have 2 MVP-level players?

Of course, this kind of voice is only a small part. After Harden played such data, in addition to the Oklahoma City media's hype, most mainstream media including ESPN raised a lot of doubts.

"Getting free throws is an ability, but 20 free throws in a game is obviously too much."

"We meant no harm, but it was an ugly game, with whistles all over the sky, and the image in my head was Harden standing at the free throw line."

"There is no doubt that this is an ugly way of playing. If such penalties continue, the viewing pleasure of the game will plummet."

...

The sky full of doubts made the Thunder team the focus of the league's attention.

Before the game against the Pistons that day, Tang Tian was also asked these questions by reporters.

"Will James Harden continue to play this way?"

"The way he plays? I think he's the same as before, just smarter, and those people just ignore it. They all know that Harden gets 20 free throws, but someone pays attention to him. 13 shots A 10-for-10 shooting percentage, a 3-for-4 three-pointer?" Tang Tian asked rhetorically.

"But that's 20 free throws."

"Yes, it is impossible for him to get so many free throws every night, but this is actually not important at all. The important thing is that he is playing more efficiently than before. If you really have to struggle, you can look at today Late opponent, the former Corey Maggette, he averaged close to 10 free throws per game for several seasons, does it make a difference?"

In front of the media, Tang Tian paid great attention to protecting his disciples.

But just like what he said, Harden is really much better than his previous life, and the description of playing smarter is completely fine.

That night, the Thunder faced the Pistons.

Ibaka and Westbrook are still suspended, but the Pistons are also a real weak team now, and they are now headed by rookies like Monroe and Knight.

The two sides were deadlocked for a quarter, and a wave of 15-0 games in the second half of the second quarter wasted directly.

The Thunder finally defeated their opponents and won 4 consecutive victories. Durant scored 21 points. Harden continued to play strongly and played three quarters. He made 7 of 15 shots and 11 of 12 free throws, scoring 26 points, 6 assists and 4 turnovers.

The process of this game was uneventful, and the result was not too surprising. Even Durant Harden's performance was within the normal range.

However, what Corey Maggette said in an interview after the game became the biggest highlight.

Tang Tian used him as an example before the game. Although he didn't play in this game, the home court reporter still interviewed him after the game.

"Did he really say that?" Maggette was not angry or anything, but rather flattered.

When confirmed by the reporter, he said with a smile: "Yes, people don't understand, but it is not so easy to get free throws, because what you encounter is the kind that may be very malicious, I hope Harden can be appropriate. If you build muscle, you reduce your risk of injury."

Not only was Maggette not angry, he also gave Harden some advice.

The reporter was very surprised, and asked him his opinion on Thunder by the way.

"I think this experience has made them stronger than before, and they will win the championship this season."

After Maggette's remarks in this interview came out, the fans all laughed together. It was not until the twilight years of this star of the last century that people discovered that he had such a cute side.

"Come play with the Thunder, man, we still need a shooting guard!"

Even on Maggette's personal Twitter, some Thunder fans were fans of his remarks and left a message like this.

"Thanks for the support, man, but I'm on the Pistons right now."

Maggette's reply also attracted more passerby fans for him.

Harden's "touching porcelain" finally became popular with a star of the last century. This result is really surprising.

After the game against the Pistons, the Thunder returned home.

They ushered in a wave of three consecutive home games. After losing one game to the Spurs, they also ushered in Ibaka's comeback and won two games in a row.

After some players were suspended consecutively because of the brawl, they had 6 wins and 1 loss in 7 games, a very good record.

And what's more important is Harden's growth. He averaged 28 points per game in the 5 games he came back, and he seems to be another rising superstar.

This kind of performance also makes the fans look forward to it even more. When Westbrook also returns, what a terrifying team the Thunder will become.

Time flies, and after the end of this wave of three consecutive games, the incident also came to mid-March.

The season has also come to the last critical time node, the deadline for layoffs (the deadline for layoffs for qualifying for the playoffs).

Some weak teams who still have immediate combat power and hope to play in the playoffs will take the initiative to apply for buyouts to join their favorite teams.

When he was with the Rockets and the Cavaliers, Tang Tian also successively renewed many people at this time point.

However, the Thunder now has a neat lineup, and there are 15 players on the roster, so theoretically there is no need to participate.

But unfortunately, during the team's daily training during the day, Bazemore injured his wrist, and the test was positive, so he was directly reimbursed for the season.

The unexpected injury made everyone unprepared, including Tang Tian.

Although Bazemore is not that important to the Thunder after Harden's comeback, but after Tucker changed to the fourth position, he is the only pure backup shooting guard except Sefoloza.

Now that they are injured, the team can only focus on the free agent market, and the time left for them is less than half a day.

"The team currently has 15 people. We have to lay off staff if we want to sign someone. Turiaf is the only option." Jones was analyzing in Tang Tian's office.

Tucker switched to the 4th position, and the team seemed a bit crowded inside. After Ibaka came back, Collison and O'Quinn didn't get too many opportunities, let alone Turiaf, who is basically retiring. up.

And Jones said that he is the only one because his contract is only a one-year minimum salary, and the loss of layoffs is the smallest.

"So who can we sign?"