In the NBA, veterans hold a special status; after all, everyone gets old, and in the locker room, everyone shows a veteran some respect. But on the court, that tradition doesn't exist.
Competitive sports are incredibly cruel. If your physical condition declines, even if you're a superstar, the players on the court will still attack you relentlessly. No one dislikes an easy target.
So Kayce sometimes wonders why some old guys are always so confident. Do they not watch basketball? Or do they genuinely believe they are still very good?
On the Thunder's first possession, after Russell brought the ball past half-court, he immediately passed it. Not in good physical condition, he needed to rest on the court. Kayce received the ball and gestured to his teammates, indicating no need for a screen.
Kayce looked at Rasual Butler, who was guarding him, and executed a crossover dribble, quickly pulling back. Rasual Butler was thrown off balance by Kayce's move.
Then, Kayce performed two consecutive, rhythmic in-and-out dribbles, completely shaking off his defender, and pulled up for a jump shot near the free-throw line.
"Swish!" The mid-range jump shot went in.
As a team with one of the worst records, the Clippers had no defensive discipline whatsoever. Asking their veterans to do the dirty work, to defend with effort, was practically impossible; strolling around was their norm.
Kayce said nothing after scoring, returning to defense with an expressionless face. Big shots generally disdain trash-talking with minor characters; if they're going to talk trash, they'll target the opposing star player.
Britney, watching from the sidelines, smiled and waved at Kayce after he scored, which made Kayce lose his composure, breaking his cool in an instant.
He smiled and gave Britney a wink. Anne, watching Kayce's performance, almost burst out laughing.
"Alright, silly girl, didn't you see him trying to look cool on the court? You waved, and he immediately changed his expression!"
Anne whispered to Britney beside her, laughing.
"No wonder he looked so serious after scoring just now. I'm dying of laughter, me ha ha!"
Britney laughed heartily at Anne's words, snuggling into Anne's embrace as the two beautiful girls playfully tangled together.
The live director naturally noticed this beautiful scene and specifically gave the two lovely girls a long shot.
"I admit, I'm a little jealous of Kayce, guys. For the sake of beautiful girls, we must win this game. Let's go!"
The Clippers' home commentator also teased Kayce.
The Clippers' veteran had just tried to show off and was immediately slapped in the face, losing a bit of pride. Baron Davis brought the ball past half-court and immediately initiated a pick-and-roll with Marcus Camby.
After the screen, he quickly passed the ball to the rolling Marcus Camby, who, after receiving it, backed down Jeff Green twice, then turned and hit a hook shot deep in the paint.
Jeff Green was at a significant disadvantage guarding a 211cm big man, who was also very experienced and easily handled him.
Kayce brought the ball past half-court, signaled Jeff Green to set a screen, and at the same time, gave his teammates an offensive hand signal. After quickly passing the ball to Jeff Green, Kayce drifted to the corner.
Durant came up through an off-ball screen to receive a handoff pass. Jeff Green faked a screen and quickly popped out. Durant accelerated with a right-hand dribble, with Al Thornton tightly guarding him.
Al Thornton was from the same draft class as Durant, but he was selected 14th overall in the first round. There was a clear talent gap between the two.
Durant felt the defender sticking to him, suddenly pulled the ball back with his right hand, causing his defender to lose balance, then leaned back slightly and shot a jump shot.
"Swish!" The two-point shot went in easily.
Durant's movements were fluid, and his release point was high, leaving Al Thornton only able to watch as he scored.
A small cheer erupted in Staples Center, coming from some Thunder fans.
"Incredible talent! Every time I see Durant's ball-handling ability, I can't help but praise him!"
The commentator immediately exclaimed in admiration after Durant scored.
The Clippers' pre-game strategy must have been to attack the paint more. This time, Baron Davis directly ran a pick-and-roll with Kostić. Kostić, seeing Russell was a step slow in squeezing through, quickly stepped up to hedge.
But Baron Davis made a bounce pass that sliced through the defense, and Kostić successfully scored an easy basket at the rim.
"Russell, how do you feel?" Kostić asked with concern, seeing Russell sweating profusely.
"No problem, that was my fault!" Russell still firmly stated he was fine.
Kayce also noticed the situation, but he was helpless. After bringing the ball past half-court, he signaled Kostić to come up for a screen.
A high-quality screen allowed Kayce to directly shake off his defender. He accelerated with a left-hand dribble, saw Kaman not coming up to help defend, and pulled up for a jump shot at the free-throw line.
"Swish!" The two-point shot went in steadily.
Kayce shook his head internally as he retreated on defense. This defense was practically non-existent, making it truly difficult for Old Dunleavy.
Kaman was active on offense, but not very effective. Kostić wasn't afraid of this static post-up offense. After two clunky post-ups, he couldn't push his defender back, but he didn't pass the ball, instead taking a turnaround jump shot.
"Bang!" He bricked it badly. Kostić secured the rebound and immediately passed it to Kayce.
Kayce accelerated immediately after receiving the ball. Seeing that Russell hadn't rushed out, he could only quickly bring the ball past half-court. Marcus Camby had already retreated to the basket. Seeing this situation, Kayce stopped at the three-point line.
A transition three-pointer, unguarded, jump shot.
"Swish!" The three-pointer went in cleanly.
After scoring, Kayce shrugged and quickly returned to defense. Marcus Camby was also a bit speechless seeing this. What kind of shot selection was that? And it actually went in?
After that shot, a huge cheer erupted in Staples Center. UCLA fans and Kayce's fangirls screamed wildly.
At this moment, the referee blew the whistle, and Coach Brooks called a timeout.
Kayce saw Russell's pained expression and immediately felt something was wrong. This unlucky kid probably couldn't hold on. After all, even a hero can't withstand three bouts of diarrhea, and Russell had more than three this afternoon.
Didn't Pierce also have diarrhea and couldn't hold on in 2008, directly leaving the game? It seems Russell is in trouble for this game.
"Russell, go directly to the hospital for a thorough check-up. You should have listened to us this afternoon. How are you feeling now?"
Coach Brooks was also very anxious seeing Russell in such pain. This was truly an unexpected disaster.
"I feel okay, Coach, but I need to go back to the locker room to rest for a bit first, no need for the hospital."
Russell insisted he was fine, and finally, with the assistance of team staff, walked back to the locker room.
"Sefolosha, focus on defense when you're on the court. If you have an opportunity, don't hesitate. Kayce, Kevin, play aggressively. We need to speed up the offensive pace and run more pick-and-rolls with the 4 and 5 positions."
Hearing Coach Brooks's instructions, Kayce immediately indicated he understood. He needed to score more points to make up for Russell's absence.
Coming out of the timeout, the Clippers' offense again fed the ball to Kaman in the paint. The latter received the ball and continuously backed down aggressively, then turned and gathered the ball, only for Jeff Green, who had rotated to help, to strip it away and immediately pass it to Kayce.
Kayce received the ball and accelerated with full force, pushing the fast break. He noticed Baron Davis coming up to hedge.
He immediately shook off his defender with a wide behind-the-back dribble. Seeing that Durant had already crossed the three-point line, he immediately delivered an accurate long pass.
Durant soared up with the momentum for a two-handed alley-oop dunk!
"Slam!" Durant, after completing the dunk, immediately gave Kayce a thumbs up.
Another round of cheers erupted in Staples Center, which made the Clippers fans present a bit awkward, after all, this was their home court!
Baron Davis brought the ball past half-court and saw Kaman still asking for the ball. This time, he completely ignored him, had Marcus Camby come up for a screen, and facing Kayce's defense, suddenly took a step-back jump shot.
"Swish!" Contested, the three-pointer went in cleanly.
Kayce truly hadn't expected him to shoot directly. A sudden cold arrow! He was careless, and his defense didn't keep up.
However, for the remainder of the first quarter, the Clippers experienced what it meant to face an unreasonable young man and what it meant to be overwhelmed by talent.
After a pick-and-roll, Kayce faced Marcus Camby's defense, performed consecutive between-the-legs dribbles, then directly took a step-back three-pointer.
"Swish!" Another three-pointer went in.
Durant, after a pick-and-roll, faced Kaman's defense. He dribbled with his left hand, raised his center of gravity, faked a drive, and seeing the defender move back slightly, pulled up for a jump shot from beyond the three-point line.
"Swish!" The three-pointer went in cleanly.
After Kayce and Kostić ran a pick-and-roll, Kayce accelerated with a right-hand dribble to drive. Noticing Kaman's defensive positioning was too far forward, he suddenly made a behind-the-back bounce pass while on the move, directly tearing through the opponent's defense.
Kostić received the ball and finished with a one-handed power dunk!
Old Dunleavy, watching the Thunder's offense be so efficient, while his team had only scored 2 points from Marcus Camby in these few possessions, reluctantly called a timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, although Baron Davis hit another three-pointer, the team's defense was already starting to crumble.
Kayce noticed that the Clippers' pick-and-roll defense had changed to squeezing through, no longer switching. Facing this situation, Kayce gestured to his teammates, indicating for everyone to spread out.
Facing Rasual Butler's defense, Kayce performed a crossover dribble and quickly pulled back. After a behind-the-back dribble with his right hand, he suddenly made a wide turn, accelerating with the ball to drive.
This lightning-fast move allowed Kayce to successfully shake off his defender and drive to the paint. Seeing Marcus Camby quickly rotate back, Kayce flicked his wrist, directly passing the ball to Jeff Green in the corner.
The latter received the ball and shot a three-pointer from beyond the arc.
"Swish!" The open three-pointer went in.
Old Dunleavy watched from the sidelines, growing increasingly frustrated. How do you play against this? Can they even play against this?
Next, Durant also followed suit, constantly playing drive-and-kick with Kayce. The Thunder's offensive pace was incredibly fast, while the Clippers could only score in bits and pieces, their scoring barely connecting.
By the end of the first quarter, the Clippers' home commentator, seeing the 34-22 score on the scoreboard, couldn't help but make another sour remark:
"Perhaps this year's Rookie of the Year is Kayce. We missed out on a genius!"