The Utah Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder are both in the Northwest Division. The outcome of their head-to-head matchups could ultimately affect the division title, so every time they meet, both teams play with extreme intensity.
After tip-off, the Thunder played aggressively, constantly increasing pressure on the ball from beyond the arc. However, after surviving the initial three minutes, the Utah Jazz gradually found their rhythm.
Okur facilitated from the free-throw line, passing the ball to Boozer in the low post. The latter, upon receiving the ball, took a step up, drove one dribble, pushed off Jeff Green, and easily shot a floater with his right hand.
"Swish!" The low-post strong attack was successful.
The Utah Jazz's old-fashioned offensive style still proved effective time and again. Jeff Green indeed found it difficult to contain Boozer in the low post. Coach Sloan's strategy was to target the weak defense at the power forward position and continuously attack the paint.
But the Thunder also exploited the Utah Jazz's weakness: Okur's slow lateral movement in pick-and-roll defense. Russell, Kayce, and Durant frequently ran high pick-and-roll plays with the center from beyond the three-point line. Whether it was isolation plays or drive-and-kick passes, the results were very good.
Especially with the home-court advantage, with 6 minutes and 58 seconds left in the first quarter, Durant's drive once again drew a foul from Okur.
"Sir, I didn't make any downward motion. You can check the replay; I kept my hands raised!"
Okur explained to the referee while demonstrating his defensive stance. He really didn't want to pick up his second foul so quickly, but unfortunately, the referee would not reverse the call.
Coach Sloan had no choice but to substitute Paul Millsap early. Boozer moved to the center position, and Millsap played at power forward, immediately reducing the Utah Jazz's height on the court.
Coach Brooks shouted instructions to his players from the sideline, giving an offensive signal and telling everyone to continue attacking the basket.
Durant stood at the free-throw line, shrugging his shoulders, and calmly sank both free throws.
"Oh!!!"
The Ford Center erupted in a huge cheer again. 14 to 6. The Thunder had opened up an 8-point lead.
Deron Williams still unhurriedly dribbled the ball past half-court, using Boozer's high pick-and-roll to shake off Russell's defense, then accelerated with the ball in his left hand, driving straight into the restricted area.
Kostić was a step slow on the recovery defense and could only watch as Deron Williams made a low-hand layup. This was also an advantage of the Utah Jazz's small lineup, as Millsap could better open up offensive space.
But after the Thunder quickly inbounded the ball, Russell dribbled past half-court and immediately passed the ball to Kayce, then ran to the left corner to create space. Kostić came up for a pick-and-roll, helping Kayce shake off Myers's entanglement.
Kayce slowed down his drive, leaning against Boozer while observing the Utah Jazz's defense. Noticing there was no help defense, he pulled the ball back with his left hand, using his right foot as a pivot, faking a spin move while in motion.
Boozer's center of gravity shifted backward from the fake. Kayce twisted his body, pulled back with his left hand, quickly gathered the ball, faking a shot. Boozer immediately lunged forward. Kayce paused slightly, then, against the defense, executed a nimble up-and-under scoop shot.
"Swish! Beep!" The ball went in, and the whistle blew.
Coach Brooks, on the sideline, saw Kayce calmly sink the free throw and immediately returned to the bench with relief, leaning back in a relaxed tactical posture. This was the game plan the coaching staff had set before the game: attack the basket and draw fouls.
Initially, the coaching staff had planned to use Russell's drives to draw fouls from the opponent's interior players, but they discovered that Kayce was actually more adept at this technique. Russell relied on straight-line drives, while Kayce had a repertoire of fakes. In the end, this task was assigned to Kayce.
For the remainder of the first quarter, the Utah Jazz found that Kayce and Durant were practically masters of drawing fouls.
Durant would drive in, using his height and wingspan to create contact with the interior players and draw fouls, while Kayce would use his footwork in the low post to shake off defenders and cause shooting fouls. These two, one fast and one slow, made it difficult for the Utah Jazz to cope.
Most importantly, the referees were really blowing the whistle!
By the end of the first quarter, 22 to 32, the Thunder were already leading by 10 points at home.
"Kayce, you practically destroyed Myers' and Brewer's defense. You probably didn't notice their expressions; they looked like they were about to cry. When Sloan took them out, it felt like the old man was going to eat someone."
Jeff Green sat on the bench, starting to gloat.
"It's so comfortable playing in Oklahoma City. If this were Salt Lake City, a lot of those defensive moves would definitely be called fouls. I wish we could play 82 home games."
Russell was also overjoyed. Sometimes, he couldn't keep up with the opponent's rhythm when defending the pick-and-roll, but as long as some minor contact was allowed, even if he was a step late, he could still disrupt the opponent. Deron Williams had a tough time defending him in the first quarter.
"It's not time to relax yet. The Utah Jazz will definitely fight back. The lead isn't big enough; we need to push harder!"
Kayce looked relaxed as he simply reminded his teammates.
The second quarter went even smoother than Kayce had imagined. Perhaps influenced by the atmosphere at the Ford Center, Wesley Matthews and Andrei Kirilenko, who came off the bench, almost bent the rim.
For the Thunder, Kayce and Thabo Sefolosha were hot from beyond the arc, and with Serge Ibaka protecting the defensive rebounds, transition offense came in waves, further extending the lead.
By halftime, 46 to 62, the Thunder entered the second half with a 16-point lead.
However, the smooth sailing hit a snag early in the third quarter. During a scramble for a defensive rebound, Boozer went up strong under the basket, hanging onto Jeff Green's arm. Then, Kayce saw Jeff Green collapse to the ground in pain, clutching his shoulder.
"Hey! Hey! Didn't you notice you were hanging on his arm?"
Kayce immediately stepped forward and pushed Boozer away, expressing his displeasure.
"Sorry! Man, I really didn't mean it. How are you feeling?"
Boozer raised both hands, indicating he had no ill intent, and also anxiously inquired about Jeff Green's condition.
Seeing Jeff Green still clutching his shoulder in agony, his other teammates also gathered around. The referee, realizing something was wrong, quickly signaled for the Dr. to come check.
After a quick diagnosis, the Dr. gave Coach Brooks a signal, indicating that Jeff Green would likely be unable to continue playing.
"F***!"
Coach Brooks cursed under his breath on the sideline. This was a significant blow to the ascending Thunder, as no one could replace Jeff Green's role at power forward.
"Clap, clap, clap."
The home crowd at the Ford Center also gave a round of encouraging applause to Jeff Green as he left the court.
The rest of the game felt uninspired for the Thunder players. Amidst the huge cheers of the home fans, they maintained their lead. With 5 minutes and 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Utah Jazz pulled all their starters.
Ultimately, 94 to 105, the Thunder easily defeated the Utah Jazz at home, ending their last game of 2009.
After the game, the players from both teams exchanged brief greetings, and the Thunder quickly returned to the locker room. Coach Brooks knew his players were concerned about Jeff Green's injury, so he immediately spoke:
"There's no structural damage, but Green will need half a month to recover. That's good news, I guess!"
"Shit! Injured in a contract year, that damn Boozer!"
Durant cursed under his breath upon hearing the news. This was a crucial time to secure a big contract, and getting injured now was the worst feeling. He had just put up 31+6+3 in this game, but after hearing the news, he no longer felt like celebrating.
Kayce and Russell also felt heavy-hearted. No one likes to see their teammate get injured, but this is the NBA. The intense competition makes it impossible for anyone to avoid injuries. Sometimes, injuries are also part of the game.
...
On January 1, 2010, the first day of the new year, all the Thunder players came to Jeff Green's house to check on his injury.
"Hey! Bro, it's nothing big, just half a month of rest. I'm lucky, no structural damage. Guys, cheer up!"
Jeff Green's right arm and shoulder were already immobilized, and he was now jokingly portraying himself as a one-armed hero.
"Green, don't rush back. Make sure to completely heal your shoulder injury. There are many more games ahead, and most importantly, we still have the Playoffs to play this year. Your body is the most important thing!"
Kayce helped Jeff Green entertain his teammates while gently advising him.
"Don't worry, Kayce, I understand these things. Injuries are unavoidable in basketball. I'll handle these issues. Keep up the good work; the January games are all on you guys!"
Jeff Green was touched and patted Kayce's shoulder with his uninjured left arm, indicating that he was fine.
"Once your shoulder is healed, I promise to throw you a Latin-themed Party. Get some good rest, Bro!"
Durant also comforted his good brother. They were both in contract years this year, and seeing Jeff Green injured, Durant empathized.
"Wow! That's great! We haven't had a Party in a long time. I'm already looking forward to it! Can I bring Nina with me then? She's been going crazy with boredom lately."
Russell suddenly shouted excitedly.
"Ugh! Russell, this is a men's gathering!" "You guys aren't planning to have kids now, are you?!" "Russell's hopeless!"
Kayce watched everyone complain about Russell, and couldn't help but smile knowingly, hoping this injury wouldn't affect the team's morale.
Misfortunes never come singly. Kayce suddenly felt that this old saying was indeed very true.
On January 2nd, the Thunder played an away game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Before the game, their good brother Luc Mbah a Moute warmly welcomed Kayce and Russell. They reminisced about their wonderful college days and had a great time chatting, but unfortunately, the evening's game left Kayce feeling even more disheartened.
Just five minutes into the game, after securing a defensive rebound, Kostić accidentally stepped on his teammate Serge Ibaka's foot, severely spraining his ankle and forcing him to withdraw from the game.
After that, Andrew Bogut, who had recovered from his injury, wreaked havoc in the Thunder's paint. Ultimately, with his big double-double of 23 points and 15 rebounds, the Bucks successfully defended their home court with a score of 97 to 103.
The Thunder's Big Three still performed steadily: Kayce had 24 points, Russell had 22 points, and Kevin Durant had 31 points. However, with the paint undefended, the young Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison struggled to contain Andrew Bogut's performance.
After the game, Coach Brooks looked a bit grim and delivered more unfortunate news to the players:
"Kostić will need at least a week to return to practice. Guys, this is a tough time for the team, but we'll get through it. We're a family. Don't worry about temporary wins or losses; staying healthy is the most important thing!"
Kayce was speechless. He didn't know if this counted as a butterfly effect. The Thunder were first in the Western Conference, but games were becoming increasingly difficult. Besides the weak teams, every strong team wanted to take a bite out of them, which also increased his teammates' physical exertion.
"I hope injuries stay away from everyone," Kayce silently wished in his heart.
Compared to the unlucky Thunder, the Chicago Bulls recently went on a four-game winning streak. With a record of 14 wins and 17 losses, they had returned to eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Although Ben Gordon was still bothered by injuries, Kirk Hinrich's return saw him in explosive form, solving the team's immediate crisis.
On January 4th, the Thunder traveled to Chicago to challenge the resurgent Chicago Bulls.
Due to continuous road games, the Thunder only had a simple recovery training session on the afternoon of the 4th. Coach Brooks and coaching staff were somewhat flustered; both starting big men were injured, and tonight would be another difficult game.
"Look at these Chicago media outlets; they're practically treating Derrick Rose as Michael Jordan's successor. The Chicago Bulls are only eighth in the East right now, so why is everyone praising Derrick Rose so much?"
Russell originally thought that after the Chicago Bulls' poor performance at the start of the new season, the media and critics would surely criticize Derrick Rose. The exact opposite happened, which made him feel a bit jealous.
Kayce hadn't expected Russell to read news reports about their opponents, but after a moment's thought, he understood what was going on.
Don't ever think that rookies from the same draft class are all good brothers. In reality, everyone wants to step on each other to get ahead, because there's only so much honor to go around, and if others take it, you'll be left with nothing.
The 2008 Rookie of the Year was awarded to Derrick Rose, and O.J. Mayo and Russell, both on the All-Rookie First Team, were furious. Especially O.J. Mayo, whose stats were on par with Derrick Rose, but the latter ended up winning the award.
Russell also secretly competed with Derrick Rose. At UCLA, they had already reached the Final Four, but were swept away by an unleashed Derrick Rose. He wanted to get his revenge in his rookie season, but the Chicago Bulls crushed them again.
This season, he finally welcomed his good brother Kayce, and the Thunder's record soared. However, the Chicago Bulls struggled at the beginning of the season. Russell thought Derrick Rose was done for, but when he looked at the media reports, it was still full of praise.
"So, playing beautifully is very useful. The media and critics sometimes only watch highlights. If you can also frequently make the Top 10 Plays, believe me, your fans will at least double," Kayce said with a smile, teasing Russell.
"Derrick Rose's playing style is indeed beautiful to watch, but playing like that constantly wears down his knees, which isn't good for his career."
Kevin Durant also praised Derrick Rose's exciting play, but he didn't like Derrick Rose's style of play.
"My dunking is also spectacular! But no one ever praises me. Tonight, I'm going to play full defense. This guy won't score easily on me. Sh*t, I want to see if the media will still hype up Derrick Rose after the game!"
Russell had already entered 'jealous mode' at this point. It was because Derrick Rose had stolen everyone's attention that he felt he was being treated unfairly.
Kayce didn't interrupt, quietly listening to Russell vent his frustrations, thinking to himself:
"Looks like tonight is a grudge match. Rookies from the same draft class are indeed rivals!"
The United Center Arena was packed tonight. Although the team was currently only ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference, the atmosphere was still incredibly lively. Many fans wore number 1 jerseys to cheer on the home team.
When the arena suddenly went dark and the DJ loudly introduced the home team, there were continuous huge cheers from the crowd. Especially when Derrick Rose came out, the atmosphere reached its climax.
As both teams' players did their final warm-ups before the game, Kayce also felt a pang of jealousy. The Chicago Bulls' jersey colors were too good-looking, white with red lettering. Watching Derrick Rose throwing down dunks, Kayce was a bit speechless. This guy really trusted his body too much.
The referee signaled for both teams' players to come to center court. The players exchanged brief greetings. The flashy Derrick Rose deliberately ignored Russell and greeted Kayce instead.
"Hey, Bro, finally we get to play against each other in the NBA. Even though you guys are dealing with injuries, I won't be taking it easy tonight."
"Haha, your record is far worse than ours. Keep it up, Bro. Catch up to our wins before you talk big."
Kayce was also not polite, smiling and teasing Derrick Rose. Derrick Rose just smiled and shrugged when he heard Kayce's response. This display made Russell's anger level skyrocket; he was too arrogant, ignoring him!
The referee signaled for Serge Ibaka and Joakim Noah to come to the center circle for the tip-off, and the game officially began.
"Noah, with his height advantage, successfully tipped the ball to the Chicago Bulls. Derrick Rose quickly dribbled across half-court."
On the Chicago Bulls' first possession, Taj Gibson came up to set a screen for Derrick Rose. Russell, fueled by his increased anger, squeezed through the screen exceptionally quickly, but Derrick Rose's speed was too great. He drove to the paint with a left-handed dribble and then took off.
After jumping, he twisted his body, maneuvering in mid-air, from left to right, with a large-scale scoop, evading Serge Ibaka's block, and deftly scooped the ball with his right hand.
"Swish!" The two-point shot went in easily.
"Ah!!! Wow!!!"
The United Center Arena crowd cheered wildly. This was the Derrick Rose they loved; only Derrick Rose in the league possessed such a flashy and explosive style of play!
On the Thunder's possession, after Russell dribbled past half-court, Kayce immediately gave his teammates an offensive signal. This was a grudge match between brothers, and Russell had to take the first shot himself; he had to respond.
Kayce and Kevin Durant stood on the baseline, one on the left and one on the right. Serge Ibaka came up to set a high screen. Derrick Rose defended the screen by going under, giving Russell space for a mid-range shot.
This defensive choice angered Russell even more, and his rage level rose again. He drove left off the screen, took one dribble, and immediately pulled up for a jump shot.
"Swish!" The mid-range shot went in steadily.
After scoring, Russell didn't celebrate. He glared at Derrick Rose and immediately hustled back on defense.
Kayce naturally noticed Derrick Rose's defensive choice and couldn't help but chuckle to himself:
"The silver [Organization Core] badge has an offensive bonus. Russell's mid-range shot is very accurate right now. This grudge match is getting interesting!"