Westbrook had 16 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, but his plus/minus was the lowest on the team! SGA set a record, Mitchell’s super rise

The NBA regular season continues, with the Sacramento Kings going away to challenge the Oklahoma City Thunder. Westbrook returned to where his dream began. The Kings took the initiative to change the lineup and put Westbrook into the starting lineup, partnering Schroeder + LaVine + DeRozan + Sasha; on the Thunder's side, Jaylen Way and Holmgren were exempted from the game due to injuries. Caruso came back from the concussion agreement. The Thunder's starting five are SGA + Wallace + Dort + Wiggins + Harten. As a former son of Oklahoma City, Westbrook burst into cheers and applause from the audience when he came out. This is a courtesy that neither Durant nor Harden has ever received.

When the game started, the two teams started to attack, and the scores alternated the lead. The Thunder's offense was cut off during the rotation period, and the Kings seized the opportunity to attack and once established a 10-point lead. The Thunder's main force returned to the court to stop the bleeding, and the Kings still controlled the initiative on the court. The Thunder chased the point difference to 4 points at the end of the half. After changing sides and fighting again, the two teams were not very efficient on the offensive end and frequently struck iron. This situation continued until the decisive moment. The Thunder increased their offensive and defensive intensity. The Kings missed rebounds many times. The Thunder used an 11-0 spurt to seal the victory. In the end, the Thunder narrowly defeated the Kings 107-101.

The Kings have adjusted their starting lineup, but they remain true to their original principles. This team has many attackers but a mess of defense. This directly determines that they can deal with any opponent in a chaotic battle. However, no matter how many points they lead, they are not sure of winning. A few defensive loopholes or mistakes in a few rounds may ruin a good game. In this game, the Kings' poor frame protection was caught by the Thunder and beaten to death. They scored 34-52 in the paint and lost a full 18 points. More importantly, the Kings are more likely to make mistakes at critical moments. They made 17 mistakes in the game. The Thunder used their mistakes to score 27-18 to crush the Kings.

Five members of the Kings team scored in double figures. Westbrook was extremely excited to return to Oklahoma City and return to the starting lineup. He hit three consecutive three-pointers in the opening game and dreamed of returning to his peak, but he still couldn't change his destiny like he did in his peak! After the game, Westbrook played 30 minutes, made 6 of 16 shots (4 of 8 three-pointers), scored 16 points + 9 rebounds + 4 assists + 1 steal, and made 2 turnovers. The plus-minus value on the field was -16, the lowest on the team! This is Westbrook. Even though he accepted the basic salary arrangement, he still played like a superstar on the court. The number of shots he took was far ahead of LaVine (13), DeRozan (14), and Sasha (15). However, his efficiency and game influence were not enough to change the game. It is worth mentioning that Westbrook completed a new milestone. According to statistics, after this campaign, Westbrook's career steals reached 1,958, surpassing Harper (1957) and rising to 15th in NBA history. Next, Westbrook will chase Iverson (1983), who ranks 14th.

The old king of the city fell off the altar, but the new king of the city is in full bloom! In this campaign, SGA played 35 minutes, making 14 of 26 shots (1 of 5 three-pointers), 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 31 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks. In the first two games of the season, SGA scored a total of 40 free throws, breaking the record held by Chamberlain (38), but was labeled a "Northern Beggar". In the past two games, SGA deliberately changed its style of play to refuse to commit fouls, and only made 6 free throws in the two games. In this campaign, SGA still did not use its trademark fouls and only went to the free throw line twice. Even so, SGA still managed to hold on to 31 points. Especially in the decisive moment, SGA killed the game with three-pointers, which it is least good at, killing people and vindicating themselves. At the same time, SGA set a god-level record to pay tribute to Curry. According to statistics, SGA scored a total of 174 points in the first five games of the season and led the team to victory, second only to Curry in 2015 (179 points).

SGA leads the team to remain undefeated as steadily as a dog. The emergence of sophomore Mitchell has become the biggest surprise for the Thunder. In this campaign, Mitchell played 24 minutes as a substitute, making 7 of 15 shots (3 of 7 three-pointers), 1 of 1 free throws, and contributed 18 points, 1 assist, and 2 steals. So far this season, Mitchell has averaged 18.2 points + 3.8 rebounds + 3 assists + 1.2 steals per game, making him the team's substitute scoring leader! I have to say that you can always trust President Pu's vision. If Mitchell keeps playing like this, he has every chance to become the best sixth man! Looking at it from another perspective, the depth of the Thunder's lineup is terrible, and the road to defending the title is bright! Fans and friends, what do you think of this? Come and leave me a comment to discuss.