"I think he should endorse sports drinks."

Shaquille O'Neal said with a big laugh.

"No, I think some male health products would be more suitable, long-lasting enough."

Barkley was full of witty remarks.

"The one Wade used?"

O'Neal said with a big laugh.

Back then, Wade was photoshopped onto a small card for a male health product, and he teased him about it for an entire season.

O'Neal's words immediately made Barkley and Smith laugh.

Before the game started, they boldly predicted that Durant would perform poorly tonight. Unexpectedly, they were right, and the three of them were ecstatic.

The Thunder launched a strong counterattack led by Harden at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

But Ginobili immediately launched a wave of personal offense to stabilize the situation and widen the point difference to more than 20 points.

Because of the large point difference, Durant and Westbrook did not play again in the fourth quarter.

Durant looked very dejected. He had been gathering all his strength to raise his hand to slap Tang Tian.

As a result, he slapped himself directly in the face, and his face was swollen.

In the final minutes of the bench players' competition, the Spurs finally defeated the Thunder 108-96 on the road.

They won their first victory after the All-Star Game and continued to consolidate their position as the top seed in the West.

Harden was the Thunder's best performer, playing 25 minutes, making 7 of 15 shots, 2 of 5 three-pointers, and 7 of 8 free throws, contributing 23 points and 4 assists.

Westbrook had 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, and Ibaka had 8 points and 10 rebounds.

Although Durant also had 26 points, he made only 10 of 29 shots, with very low efficiency.

On the Spurs side, Parker made 11 of 13 shots and efficiently scored a team-high 25 points and 9 assists, Duncan had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Ginobili had 20 points and 5 assists.

Tang Tian mainly focused on the fight with Durant in this game and only took 6 shots in the entire game.

He made 3 of 6 shots, 2 of 4 three-pointers, and 2 of 2 free throws, getting 10 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, and 1 block.

Of course, the data does not reflect Tang Tian's value in this game.

Anyone who has watched the game knows that Durant completely failed to "explode" Tang Tian in this game, and was even defended so inefficiently that he looked a little embarrassed on the court.

"So that's what 'explode' means, forgive my ignorance, it's the first time I've seen it."

"After watching the game, I think James Harden is more like the Thunder's leader, Durant is like a sulky kid who completely ignores the team and just wants to fulfill his promise, and he failed."

"It's not Durant's fault, Coach Brooks has been asking him to attack. From the coaching staff to his teammates, this is a team with the Kevin Durant label."

"This is definitely not the model for a championship team. I think Durant should learn to pass the ball, like LeBron."

"Brother, although you're right, I have to remind you that LeBron hasn't won a championship yet."

"Yes, brother ball hasn't been successful yet. (?⊙w⊙)?"

"No, this season will be successful. The Heat are obviously stronger this season, and they will win the championship this year."

"If they don't win the championship, I think LeBron's historical status will be questioned like never before."

"He chose the most difficult path."

"Isn't there a more difficult path?"

"Hey! Hey! You're off topic, we're discussing Durant!"

"Okay, but this is just a regular season game. The Thunder and Spurs still have a good chance of meeting in the Western Conference Finals this year. I'm wondering if Durant plays like he did today... and then the Thunder lose the game..."

"That's impossible. Durant was just not in good shape tonight. When he's feeling it, the quality of the defense doesn't affect him."

"You talk as if it's true!"

"That's just how it is, just wait and see in the playoffs!"

"Wait, why is this person's speaking style exactly the same as Durant's little account before? Is this his new account?"

"......"

...

The heated discussion among fans on Twitter made the post-game period extremely lively.

But this time, no matter how the fans ridiculed him on Durant's Twitter, Durant did not show up to argue with them using his main account.

However, you could feel from his comments in his little account that he was obviously still unconvinced and was determined to rehabilitate himself in the playoffs.

Taking down the Thunder was a good start for the Spurs after the All-Star Game.

Moreover, what made Popovich even more satisfied was Tang Tian's high-intensity defense throughout the game, which allowed him to confidently keep him on the court all the time.

Although Jefferson was absent due to injury, Tang Tian's performance in these two games has fully won Popovich's trust.

He is already the undisputed starter at the Spurs' small forward position.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it was March 11th. The Spurs have played 6 games after the All-Star Game, with a record of 5 wins and 1 loss.

Except for a loss to the Bulls, their overall performance was quite perfect, and their chemistry reached its peak since the beginning of the season.

Jefferson also returned during this period.

However, after playing against strong teams in a row, Popovich did not immediately arrange for him to play because he did not want to disrupt the team's existing chemistry.

It was not until the game against the Wizards on the 12th that Popovich decided to let Jefferson play.

The Wizards' record this season was terrible, only slightly better than the bottom-ranked Bobcats, making this a good opportunity to return.

However, Jefferson directly refused, and he did not even appear at the game.

After the game against the Wizards, Jefferson also sent an email to the Spurs management through his agent.

In the email, he expressed his doubts about the team's distrust of him and hoped to get more playing time.

Jefferson signed a 4-year, $38.8 million fully guaranteed contract with the Spurs in the summer of 2010.

That is to say, including this season, there are still three years left on his contract, and the team cannot cut him at this time.

Moreover, he has just recovered from his injury, and his trade value is also very low, so he is sure that the Spurs will not be able to trade him and will eventually compromise and give him playing time.

If this were another team, it might have worked, but Jefferson seemed to have forgotten who has the say in this team.

Spurs owner Peter Holt and Popovich have an incredibly close relationship, and general manager Buford is also Popovich's former assistant.

Popovich is more than just a head coach in the Spurs.

After Jefferson's email reached the management, Popovich was immediately enraged.

After obtaining the tacit approval of the management, he directly announced an indefinite team ban on Jefferson until the day he was traded away.

From the team's point of view, it is not rational to not let a player with a contract worth nearly ten million dollars play.

But unfortunately, Popovich is such a tough guy. He has been in the Spurs for twenty or thirty years, and he is really the only one who dares to do this.

Moreover, this is also a completely cautionary approach, which clearly tells others that this method may work in other teams, but it is completely impossible with him.

作者：Lin Hai Ting Tao