warrior godfather

Chapter 181 Tyson Chandler

That night, Zhang Yu sat calmly on the sidelines of the Chesapeake Energy Arena, surrounded by Curry, Butler, Azubuike and other starters, looking at the field with different expressions.

He glanced up at the big screen, which showed the score of the two teams - 95:105.

Of course, this disparity in the score follows the NBA's principle that the visiting team is first and the home team is second. At this time, it is only half a minute before the end of the game. The Warriors are 10 points behind the Thunder, and the general trend is over.

On the other side of the technical table, Westbrook, Durant and Harden sat on the bench, watching the Thunder's third team dare to fight on the court, and they talked and laughed happily off the court.

Zhang Yu withdrew his gaze, looked at the court with a calm expression, and applauded Danny Green who scored a three-pointer.

He had predicted this result before the game, and he was not surprised at all. He even felt that the point difference was a little small. He had prepared before the game. This game is a win if you lose less. Losing only 10 points is already very good. up.

This season, Durant is fully fired, averaging 29.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. The firepower output has improved by a notch compared with last season, and he has entered the ranks of super scorers in one fell swoop. He led the Thunder to a record of 30 wins and 15 losses, ranking fifth in the Western Conference.

Tonight, he completely ignored the defense of Butler and Matthews. He made 17 of 11 shots from the mid-range. Taught Butler a lesson.

It can only be said that it is not without reason that the Thunder's three young men got together. Durant is the first generation of "Golden Wheel Punishment King". Harden inherited the will of his elder brother and went further and further on the road of fouling. "'; Even Westbrook, who has the fewest free throws, averaged more than 7 free throws per game in his career.

Sure enough, birds of a feather flock together, and people are divided into groups. The three brothers are like-minded people.

Not only did Durant perform well tonight, Westbrook and Jeff Green faced the inside line guarded by the old big Z, wantonly showing their talents, frequently hitting the Warriors penalty area, wishing to fly in the sky to play, and almost knocking Chesapeake The basket of the Energy Arena was dunked badly, scoring 21 points and 17 points respectively.

Harden, who has not transformed into a floor crawling style of play, was flying into the sky and escaping the ground when he first entered the league. In this game, he took the ball and went inside to kill, scoring 17 points.

Faced with such an outstanding performance by the Thunder's four minors, although Curry made 6 three-pointers and scored 29 points and 7 assists efficiently, it was still useless, and he could only watch the team lose the game.

"Beep—"

Soon, the whole game was over, Zhang Yu came to the technical stage and shook hands with Brooks, Brooks smiled politely:
"Sorry, I'm a little out of touch."

Zhang Yu understood what he meant, shook his head and said:
"No, it was a good game, and I lost it convincingly."

In this game, Brooks used a tactic, but it was very useful, and that was to kill the basket directly after the pick-and-roll.

Although the Thunder team has average space, the Warriors players under Zhang Yu's instructions fully contracted the inside line, but in the absence of a defensive inside line in the formation, no matter how much they shrink, it will not help.

You can't expect Butler, Azubuike, and Curry to protect the frame under the impact of the Thunder's talented monsters. After all, they are outside players, limited by their height, standing under the basket can only serve as a background board, and Brooks accurately Discovered the weakness of the Warriors, targeted them crazily, and the effect was amazing.

But for the Warriors, this game is not without any gains.

Zhang Yu has already seen through the Thunder's style of play and found out the Thunder's weaknesses. If the two teams meet again, he will definitely give the Thunder and the young people a surprise, a surprise that they will remember for a lifetime.

……

After playing the Thunder, the Warriors rushed to Houston non-stop to challenge the Rockets away.

In less than half a month, it is the All-Star Game. The Warriors still have 5 games before the All-Star Weekend. The opponents are the Rockets, Mavericks, Thunder, Mavericks, and Clippers.

Although the Rockets are currently ranked ninth in the Eastern Conference, the situation in the Western Conference playoffs this season is very clear. The records of the top eight teams are very close. The Lakers, ranked first in the Western Conference, are only 8 wins ahead of the eighth-ranked Trail Blazers. field, and the Blazers lead the Rockets by 6 games, forming a huge gap. Although the schedule is just over halfway, the Rockets have little hope of making the playoffs.

This game also truly reflected the strength gap between the two teams. Although the Warriors did not have a starting center, they still easily defeated the Rockets by running and bombing. Curry easily scored a double-double with 24 points and 10 assists. Double, beat the opponent 6:118.

But then, the Warriors added another defeat in the away game against the Mavericks, losing to their opponents 96:103.

Zhang Yu still arranged for a small-ball lineup to start, wanting to continue the tactic of defeating the Mavericks last time, and let Butler face Nowitzki.

But Carlisle is not an idiot either. Brooks's homework was placed there, and he copied it directly. Blowing up the inside of the Warriors, scoring a super double-double of 37 points and 14 rebounds, leading the team to victory.

Zhang Yu frequently changed players at the center position. Big Z and Ronny Turiaf were all taken up by him, but the effect was not good. He even set up an extreme space lineup with Anthony Toliver as the center to play against the Mavericks. Confrontation.

But this night was destined to belong to Nowitzki. The German single-handedly matched the firepower output of the Warriors. Jason Terry and Kidd also played well, making Zhang Yu's gamble useless.

In the end, the Warriors can only return to Oakland with a record of 1 win and 2 losses. They have two days of rest, and then they will continue to play the Thunder and Mavericks.

But unlike the previous two games, Tyson Chandler has successfully passed the physical examination and came to Oakland to report that the Warriors will usher in their new starting center.

……

2 month 4 day.

At ten o'clock in the morning, Zhang Yu drove to the Oracle Center. After the game last night, the Warriors flew back to Oakland overnight. He gave the players a day off so that they could have a good rest and prepare for the last three games before the All-Star Game Contest.

Zhang Yu doesn't like to arrange high-load training for the team during the season. High-intensity games and long-distance travel are already very tiring. If the training volume is also large, it will increase the risk of injury for the players.

When the "magic operator" Pat Riley used to coach the Lakers, he used to conduct a week-long closed devil training for the players before the 1989 Finals. As a result, Magic Johnson and Byron Scott were injured and the Lakers In the finals, they were easily swept by the Pistons 0:4 and missed the chance of three consecutive championships.

Zhang Yu has a different view from him. He does not think that cruel training helps to maintain the player's state. Only reasonable rest can allow players to focus on the game. Systematic training should be carried out during the long offseason.

The Warriors didn't practice today, so Zhang Yu still came to the arena, naturally to meet Tyson Chandler who came to Oakland to report.

He came to the conference room, where Tyson Chandler and his agent were already waiting, with Larry Riley on the sidelines.

After Zhang Yu came in, everyone stood up, Zhang Yu said with a smile:

"Sorry, I'm late."

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Yu turned his attention to Tyson Chandler. He has a beard and a tough face. His dark suit is slightly bulging by his muscles and fits him very well.

"Tyson, you're finally here. Do you know how I survived these three games? The Warriors have been blown out!" Zhang Yu said with emotion.

Tyson Chandler also laughed:

"I can't wait to come to the Warriors, believe me, coach, you made a right choice."

Facing Zhang Yu, he wasn't nervous at all. Instead, he showed the posture of a big brother, as if Zhang Yu was not his boss and head coach, but an ordinary young man.

The agent quickly winked at Chandler, and he restrained himself a little, but he still didn't have the respectful attitude that a player has when facing a coach.

Zhang Yu looked at Tyson Chandler with interest, but he was not angry. He learned about Chandler's character from Larry Riley, and he knew it better than anyone else. Later, Chandler would be in the Knicks The team and the Suns locker room made some news, and this kind of performance of him has long been expected.

Tyson Chandler is a person with a very "big brother" temperament. He wants to be the leader of the locker room everywhere. He also likes to reveal the internal affairs of the team in front of the media. The blue-collar player in the team is not a star, can't convince the crowd, and often has conflicts with his teammates. Even Dirk Nowitzki pushed Chandler in the game.

But since Zhang Yu wanted to use his defense, he naturally found a solution to this problem.

He smiled and said:

"Tyson, let's talk about your role on the team."

Chandler and his manager immediately cheered up and looked at Zhang Yu intently.

"I think you should also know that I paid such a high price to let you come to Oakland. I didn't let you play more than ten minutes on the bench every game, get a few points and a few rebounds, and then rest. You will be a warrior. The team's starting center." Zhang Yu said.

After he finished speaking, Chandler and his agent were visibly relieved, and their doubts were all gone.

Chandler's contract will expire in one year. Although they know that this possibility is unlikely, they are worried that Zhang Yu will use Chandler's expiring contract to clear up salary space. Now that Zhang Yu has personally made a promise, there is no need to worried.

Zhang Yu paused and continued:

"I know your ability, I also believe that you can fully recover from the injury, you will be the defensive core of the Warriors. And everyone knows how good your screens and rolls are. You and Steph's pick-and-roll Tactics will be an important part of our offense, Steph may not pass the ball as delicately as Paul, but he is more of a shooting threat, and you can feel right away, how wonderful it feels to play the pick-and-roll with him."

Chandler laughed:
"I don't mean to look down on Biedrins, but I can guarantee that I can do everything he can do, and I can do better than him!"

Zhang Yu nodded with a smile, he believed what Chandler said, otherwise he would not have made this deal.

Chandler not only has a size and tonnage that are rare in this era, but also has outstanding low-post single-defense ability, but also has strong athletic ability and excellent mobility. He often plays pick-and-rolls outside the three-point line in the game, and then goes down to the penalty area in two steps. It's a good show for dunks, and he can not only guard the inside, but also expand the defense to the three-point line, and his ability to sweep and assist defense is extremely outstanding.

In Zhang Yu's previous life, Chandler was signed by the Knicks after helping the Mavericks win the championship, and formed a frontcourt trio with Anthony and Stoudemire. The frame and help defense are omnipotent, and the Knicks' defensive efficiency has jumped from the 22nd in the joint rankings to the 5th in the league in one fell swoop, becoming a strong defensive team and winning the best defensive player award.

Zhang Yu believes that Chandler can show such an amazing defensive effect in such a Knicks team, let alone a Warriors team with a well-equipped front line.

With the addition of Chandler, supplemented by the rotation of strikers such as Butler and Matthews, the Warriors' defense will definitely be improved to a higher level, and it will be raised to the upper level of the league, and Chandler will become the Warriors. Best Defensive Player!
"Not only that, the Warriors are a group of young players except for Big Z. They lack experienced veterans. You will be the leader of the team's locker room. I hope you can use your rich experience to help Stephen and Jimmy make progress. "Zhang Yu said.

Hearing this, Chandler smiled even more happily, Zhang Yu's words were exactly what he wanted.

"Coach, don't worry, since you trust me so much, I will not let you down."

He originally felt that it was awkward to call Zhang Yu, who was younger than himself, a coach, but now this feeling has disappeared.

The old guy Larry Brown was old, so he didn't do any personnel work at all, and even let him play as a substitute. In contrast, Coach Z is still a young man who knows people and is good at responsibility.

Larry Riley looked at Zhang Yu in surprise. He didn't expect that the boss would entrust a player who had just been traded with a heavy responsibility. Isn't this in line with the boss's personality?
But after thinking about it for a while, he understood Zhang Yu's thoughts, and looked at Chandler with a trace of pity.

Silly boy, you really believed what the boss said. He is both the boss and the head coach. If he said anything casually, who would dare not listen?You, the leader of the locker room, can only lead yourself, right?
Zhang Yu naturally didn't know what Larry Riley was thinking. He suppressed his smile and said seriously:

"But I have a request, that is, you can't talk about the team's internal affairs in front of the media, and you can't say anything—unless I allow it. This is the rule of the Warriors. Can you do it?"

Chandler nodded readily:

"No problem, don't worry, it doesn't matter if I don't accept media interviews in the future!"

Zhang Yu froze for a moment, he didn't expect Chandler to agree so simply.

What he doesn't know is that Chandler likes to complain in front of the media because the conflicts with his teammates cannot be resolved. Now Zhang Yu asks him to be the leader of the locker room and supports him. Talk too much in front of you.

"How is your physical condition? We still have three games before the All-Star Game. I need you to start the game, can you?" Zhang Yu asked, changing the subject.

Chandler immediately replied:
"I'm ready to play anytime!"

"Well, the Thunder has won us twice, this time, I will never give them another chance to be arrogant!"

(End of this chapter)