April 23.

On this day, the Thunder's upset victory over the Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs has undoubtedly become a hot topic.

Although the Nuggets are only ranked sixth in the league in the championship prediction list this season, there is indeed some gap in this ranking to truly strive for the championship.

However, many fans still shocked the Thunder's surprise victory over the Nuggets.

After all, before this round of series starts, some senior basketball experts are very optimistic that the Nuggets can complete the promotion in this round of series with a crushing attitude.

You should know that although the Thunder performed very well in the regular season, the overall age of this team is relatively young. After entering the playoffs, they will inevitably face some experience shortcomings.

The most important thing is that in the last period of the regular season, the Thunder, who had performed well in the first half, experienced a straight decline in the second half.

This phenomenon naturally represents the unstable factor of the Thunder. Similarly, this is also a necessary process that a young team needs to go through.

So before this round of series starts, there are very few people who are really optimistic that the Thunder can beat the Nuggets and advance to the next round.

If these people are deductive to the Thunder fans, there are not many left of neutral fans.

However, even when everyone was not optimistic, the Thunder defeated the Nuggets away in the first matchup in the playoffs between the two sides.

And when JR Smith scored 37 points in a crazy game, I have to say that this situation was obviously beyond everyone's expectations.

In addition, Nuggets head coach George Carl also gave a very high evaluation of the Thunder at the post-match press conference.

Especially for the Thunder head coach Yang Fan, he was not stingy at all and gave him praise.

It means that Yang Fan's ability to respond on the spot is not only excellent, but also has reached a very high level of judgment on the situation on the court.

And he said bluntly that Yang Fan will definitely become an excellent NBA coach in the future.

The media naturally reported all of George Carl's comments after the game.

Although anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is a kind of praise, because the Nuggets lost to the Thunder in the first round, and in this case, the Nuggets, who rank second in the West, naturally had to give an explanation to outside fans.

Therefore, while trying not to hit the team itself, and hype up their opponents, this is undoubtedly a common method in the NBA.

However, even though Yang Fan knew it well, he still maintained a tacit consent for George Carl's praise.

After all, it is very rare to be praised by these old antiques. Even if he wants to use himself as a gun, for Yang Fan, George Carl is also his stepping stone.

Strictly speaking, two people are completely taking what they need and using each other.

George Carl needs to give an explanation to the Nuggets fans, while Yang Fan needs to build momentum for himself through George Carl's praise.

Simply put, although Yang Fan has to bear some doubts and pressure from the outside world in this wave of operation, for Yang Fan, this wave will definitely make a lot of money!!

In addition to the Nuggets vs. Thunder, the results of the other sets of matches in the first round of the playoffs were also completed.

In the West, on the same day, the Mavericks, ranked sixth in the West, also defeated the Spurs with the following matches, rewriting the total score of this round of series to 1:0.

However, the Mavericks can beat the Spurs below, and the shock they bring to people is far less than the competition between the Thunder and the Nuggets in this round of the series.

After all, although the Mavericks only ranked sixth in the West in the regular season and the Spurs ranked third in the West, the overall strength of these two teams is actually not much different from the team's record.

So it is no exaggeration to say that in this round of the series, no matter which team the Mavericks and Spurs can advance, fans will not feel any surprises.

After all, the battle between the bull and horse has become a major highlight of the Western Conference playoffs, and fans have long become accustomed to the love and killing of these two teams.

But at the same time, I'm afraid the Spurs should be complaining about the Thunder in their hearts, and they can't help but take good care of the Thunder's ancestors for the 18th generation.

I have to bring Yang Fan with me…

Compared with the West, there was also an upset in the East. Among them, the 76ers ranked seventh in the East defeated the defending champion Celtics in full view of the public, rewriting the total score of the series to 1:0.

It can be said that the shock this game brought to the fans is no smaller than the Thunder.

That is, the Thunder team is famous this season and has played its own reputation in the regular season. Otherwise, the 76ers' victory over the Celtics would definitely be more lively than the Thunder's victory over the Nuggets.

At the same time, many fans have begun to engage in conspiracy theories, believing that the feng shui of the playoffs this year is not good, and I am afraid that the East and West game will appear at the same time!!

Most fans just want to have fun with this kind of remarks. After all, fans don’t know whether the feng shui is good or not, but in this year’s playoffs, there were the following situations.

This situation can definitely be regarded as a big highlight for fans who like to watch the fun.

…………………

Denver, in the hotel.

While the outside world has conducted a rigorous analysis of this year's playoff format, the Thunder are all resting in the hotel.

Even head coach Yang Fan has given a death order. During this period, no player can go out and can only carry out activities in the hotel.

Even if you eat, you can only taste the food provided by the hotel to eliminate all junk food and contact from the outside world.

Because Yang Fan was afraid that the players would mess around outside and eat randomly, which would affect their status during the game. After all, this kind of thing has not happened in the history of the NBA.

Especially when the team has two thorns, "Martial Saint" Jackson and Mason, Yang Fan has to eliminate all unstable factors before the game begins.

Of course, at the same time, although the players cannot entertain, they also do not need to train. They just need to lie quietly on the bed to recover their strength and prepare for the next game.

Since both sides only have a day off after the game in the playoff mechanism, on this day, it is sometimes difficult for players to adjust their state to the extreme, and training is naturally impossible in this case.

At most, you must follow the tactical concepts arranged by the coaching staff and start with theory. As for practice, it must be completely handed over to the state during the game.

"Yang, if nothing unexpected happens, the Nuggets are likely to defend the joint defense in the next game. After all, that guy George Carl is still good at this change."

"And once the opponent starts to defend the joint defense on the defensive end, it will be more difficult for us to create opportunities through the off-ball pick-and-roll."

"This is a joint defense tactic that I have made against George Carl very likely. Although I don't know if the other party will make changes, it is definitely correct to prevent it in advance."

After taking the report handed to him by assistant coach Snyder, Snyder made some rough analysis of all the defensive tactics that George Carl would likely have listed.

And the cracking methods and stations are also listed at the bottom.

It should be said not to say it. Although Snyder's ability on the offensive end is not outstanding, if only talking about defense, then Snyder's defensive philosophy has definitely reached the master level.

"Okay, just be sure of these things. Before the game, we try not to put too much pressure on the players."

"Although it is a good thing to keep them alert, it's easy to get rid of it. Now this is OK. Let's watch the rest."

He casually put the report aside. At this time, Yang Fan couldn't help but pinch his forehead while sitting on the sofa.

Obviously, the coaching staff must undertake the workload for each game in the playoffs is definitely far beyond people's imagination.

On this day, the players can rest and sleep when they want to sleep. As long as they can adjust their condition, they don’t have to consider other things at all.

But for a team's coaching staff, unless they have crushing strength before each game starts, the team needs to prepare too much.

At least with the arrival of the playoffs, Yang Fan hasn't slept well for a long time, and even the frequency of eating oranges has decreased.

As for Snyder and Plino, they were even worse, because when Yang Fan was occasionally lazy and relaxed, Snyder and his men had to stare at the game video and watch it in a daze.

It is no exaggeration to say that at this time it was Snyder, even Yang Fan could recite all the details of the game, because this really makes me feel a little bit chubby...

"Yang, in the next game, we will continue to use Russell or directly use Stephen."

Seeing Yang Fan slumping on the sofa at this time, rubbing his forehead and stuffing oranges into his mouth. Although Snyder didn't want to disturb Yang Fan, these things still depend on the coach's arrangements.

When he heard Snyder's question, Yang Fan, who was already preparing to wander around the world, was suddenly interrupted. He saw that he sat upright and looked at Snyder who was slightly serious in front of him with helplessness.

"Quinn, you know why Plino has average tactical skills, but he can keep his feet in the NBA."

Snyder: "Because he works hard? Or is he more powerful in other fields?"

"No, it's because he has more eyesight than you..."
Chapter completed!