warrior godfather

Chapter 195 Battle of the Focus
Victory over the Raptors is not the end, but a beginning.

On April 4, the Warriors continued their 6 consecutive trips and came to Washington, DC to challenge the Wizards.

Facing the second-to-last Wizards in the Eastern Conference, the Warriors were relentless. At the end of the first half, they widened the point difference to 23 points. In the third quarter, under Zhang Yu's strict order, they continued to work hard and expanded their lead to 32 points in one fell swoop. Points, completely ended the suspense of the game.

In the fourth quarter, Zhang Yu lined up with an all-substitute lineup. These substitute players did not intend to hold back at all, and continued to destroy the Wizards' defense. They had to work hard for the next contract.

In the end, the Warriors beat the Wizards 133:102. Curry only played 25 minutes and scored 24 points and 14 assists in a double-double. Eight Warriors scored in double figures and the bench scored 8 points. All soldiers.

Zhang Yu is very satisfied with this result. The Warriors are not those strong teams. They have a strong starting lineup. The advantage of the Warriors lies in the depth of the lineup. There are many young and energetic players, and the offensive power of the substitute lineup is strong. He must play this advantage, otherwise the Warriors Even if it makes it to the playoffs, it won't go far.

The Wizards team was brought by Zhang Yu to sacrifice the flag. He wanted to improve the team's state, further increase the intensity of the game, and let the team enter the atmosphere of the playoffs.

……

On April 4, the Warriors flew from Washington to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves in their second game of back-to-back games.

After the Timberwolves reached the Western Conference finals in the 2003-2004 season, they have never entered the playoffs again, and their record has been getting worse year by year. Before Garnett left, they were ranked last in the Western Conference. After Garnett left, Even the only star is gone, and it has slipped directly to the bottom of the Western Conference. This season, it is ranked first in the Western Conference, and it complements the Nets in the Eastern Conference.

Facing such a tank team, although the Warriors fought back to back, they still won a victory without bloodshed, beating their opponents 125:106.

Since it was the second back-to-back game, Zhang Yu did not require the players to maintain too high a defensive intensity, but fought against the Timberwolves, and the sieve-like defense of the Timberwolves happened to be overwhelmed by the Warriors' running and bombardment. Fast, while the Warriors have a complete offensive system, the Timberwolves do not, and the offensive efficiency is very different.

After the whole game, 7 Warriors scored in double figures. Curry mainly drove his teammates. He only played 26 minutes and clocked out of get off work in three quarters. He scored a double-double with 21 points and 12 assists. Azubuike scored 23 points and Butler 18. Chandler had a great time and scored 15 points, 17 rebounds and 6 blocks, dominating the penalty area.

……

On April 4, the Warriors finally returned to the West Coast, but they did not return to Oakland, but came to Los Angeles.

This is the last game of the Warriors' 4 consecutive away games. They will play against the Clippers at the Staples Center, and then they will be able to end this road trip spanning tens of thousands of kilometers.

The long flight made the players very tired, but after playing the Timberwolves, the Warriors had 1 day of rest, which gave the Warriors a chance to breathe.

They withstood the pressure and exhaustion, beat the Clippers 97:93 in the away game, and won this precious victory.

Curry, who was paddling in the first two games, stood up. He trained Kaman and Jordan Jr. and scored 31 points. In the last 14.5 seconds, he made a step-back three-pointer against Kaman. Points, kill the game.

This is his fourth 4+ after the All-Star, and also his fourth 30+ in the last 7 games. In the past half month, Curry is the hottest player in the league. Best of Western Week award.

So far, the Warriors ushered in a wave of 7 consecutive victories, becoming the team with the longest existing winning streak in the league in one fell swoop.

At the same time, both the Thunder and the Trail Blazers suffered defeats. The Thunder first defeated the Trail Blazers and the 76ers, but lost to the Celtics 3:31 on March 104.

Durant scored 37 points in this game, but the Celtics played a good overall game under Rondo's scheduling. The Big Three scored 61 points and defeated the Thunder.

Although the Thunder won three consecutive victories later, they lost to the Nuggets 4:7 in back-to-back games at home on April 94. Durant scored 98 points against Anthony, and the efficiency was extremely high. But he couldn't guard Anthony, allowing Anthony to score 33 points, and the two basically realized the exchange.

But Anthony has Billups as a teammate, and Durant's teammate is Westbrook. The veteran Billups firmly controls the rhythm of the game. Westbrook is like a player who has just touched basketball in front of him Like a high school student, he was playing around with him.

At the last moment, Billups even got rid of Westbrook by running without the ball, and made a crucial three-point catch to seal the victory of the game.

These two losses brought the Thunder's record to 47 wins and 32 losses, while the Warriors relied on four consecutive victories to overtake the Thunder in one fell swoop, reaching 48 wins and 31 losses, one win ahead of it, and their ranking rose to seventh in the Western Conference.

The Blazers first lost to the crucial direct dialogue with the Thunder, but they won consecutive battles in the subsequent games, defeating the Knicks, Clippers, Kings and Knicks successively, and achieved 4 consecutive victories. The record came to 46 wins and 33 losses, only 1 win away from the Thunder, and 2 wins away from the Warriors.

Unexpectedly, the Spurs also joined the battle group. They were 2 games ahead of the Thunder, and the situation was very good, but they suddenly lost the chain. After defeating the Lakers, they lost consecutively to the Magic, Kings, The Suns, with a record of 48 wins and 31 losses, are exactly the same as the Warriors, but they are ranked sixth in the West because of the win-loss relationship.

Now, the eyes of the entire league are focused on these four teams. The biggest gap between them is the difference of 2 games between the Trail Blazers and the Spurs. A bloodbath.

And they only have 3 games left. More importantly, the Thunder, Trail Blazers and Warriors each have one game against each other. Live broadcast across the United States, all focus battles.

The Spurs are a little better, they don't have to talk directly to their competitors, but they have to play the Grizzlies, Nuggets, Timberwolves and Mavericks, and the schedule is not simple, and it is not impossible to capsize in the gutter.

For a while, the situation in the Western Conference playoffs changed suddenly.

……

April 4, Oakland.

Tonight, the Warriors will play against the Thunder at home. A large number of fans have gathered outside the Oracle Center. Although every Warriors game day, there will be a huge crowd of people here, but today there are extraordinarily many people. Under the big screen outside the stadium, Crowded with fans who didn't get tickets, they will cheer on the Warriors in the arena under the night until the end of the game.

The arena was already full of seats, and fans holding season tickets became the envy of the game. Ticket prices for this game soared, and scalpers got in their way, even for the last-class tickets on the third floor. The price has also more than tripled to nearly two hundred dollars a piece, which can only be bought quickly, and slow hands can only be blown outside the arena.

It is no wonder that the fans are so enthusiastic about this game. Before the game, the major media repeatedly played up the importance of this game, and the winner will have a great advantage in the playoffs.

Zhang Yu said in an interview with reporters before the game:

"The victory belongs to the Warriors. We will not disappoint the home fans. I have found a way to beat the Thunder. They have no chance of winning."

And Brooks is much more low-key:
"We will do our best to win, this is a very important game for us... Coach Z's statement? I admit that the Warriors are a strong team, but we will not back down..."

This made the reporter a little dissatisfied. Such a highly anticipated battle for the spot in the playoffs, but the smell of gunpowder is not strong. This year's head coach is not very good, so only Coach Z dares to speak.

If Zhang Yu knows what the reporters are thinking, he will definitely point them to a clear path, that is to leave a message under Durant's Twitter, and maybe they will gain something.

The current Durant has not shown his true temperament, and he still gives the outside world the impression that he is a well-behaved "school bag Du". The reporters are not very interested in him, but Westbrook, who is outspoken in interviews, He does not hide his thoughts and is very popular with reporters.

A reporter asked Westbrook:

"Coach Z said that the Thunder have no chance of winning. What do you think?"

Westbrook immediately sneered and said:
"Who can't say big words, let's see the truth on the field."

"In the last game against the Warriors, you were blocked many times by Chandler. This time you are going to fight again. Do you have anything to say?"

Westbrook hesitated now. He still remembered the few blocks Chandler gave him. This was not easy to deal with. He scratched his head and said unwillingly:

"I was careless in the last game, and I will prove my strength tonight."

But Westbrook himself didn't believe this sentence, because according to Brooks' deployment, he was destined not to have too many opportunities to perform tonight.

……

In the locker room of the visiting team, the Thunder players were making final pre-match preparations. Head coach Brooks stood in front of the crowd, doing the final pre-match mobilization:

"We've had a tough season and we're finally out of the playoffs. I still remember the regret in my heart at the end of last year's season when the team finished third in the West. Thinking, if I didn’t become a coach in the second half, would we have made the playoffs?”

"Now, I can finally coach for a full season. What makes me happy is that with the concerted efforts of everyone, we have really seen the dawn of the playoffs! As an extremely young team, we can I'm so proud of all of you for getting this far in a competitive West surrounded by great teams!"

Brooks applauded, and the players of the Thunder also smiled. As a young team with an average age of less than 24 in the starting lineup, they ranked third from the bottom in the Western Conference last season, but now they are standing on the threshold of the playoffs On top of that, a remarkable achievement indeed.

"However," Brooks looked serious, "We are not the only team that quickly completed the rebuilding. Our opponents today have also completed their rise this season. Their core player Stephen Curry was even selected as an All-Star starter! And their head coach, Coach Z, is the only owner and head coach in the league, and he is only 26 years old, younger than Nenad!"

Krstic, who was pointed to by him, smiled, and Brooks continued:
"There is no doubt that the Warriors are a strong team. In the last match, they beat us. Their defense is very tough and their offense is very efficient... But can we surrender?"

"Impossible!" All the Thunder generals shouted in unison.

"Yes, no! I watch the video every day until late at night, racking my brains to think about tactics, not to send the Warriors into the playoffs! Today, we want to prove to people who is the better team I dream of going to the stage of the playoffs and receiving the cheers and applause of the fans under the eyes of everyone, do you want to?"

"miss you!"

"If you want to, then defeat your opponent and firmly hold the initiative to enter the playoffs in our hands!"

"Definitely!"

……

In the locker room of the home team on the other side, the atmosphere was different from that of the Thunder team. Zhang Yu stood in the center with a smile on his face. Others chatted and laughed in low voices as they checked their jerseys and shoes. Low laughter rang out from time to time in the room.

clap clap.

Zhang Yu clapped his hands, attracted everyone's attention, and said casually:
"Do you remember the tactics I arranged?"

"Remember!" Everyone responded in unison.

Zhang Yu smiled:
"Do you have the confidence to win this game?"

"Have!"

Zhang Yu said slowly:

"Very well, I won't talk about the importance of this game. Although losing the game will not immediately disqualify us from entering the playoffs, our fate will be in the hands of others. I I don't want to see that happen, so today we have to win!"

"There are many benefits to entering the playoffs, so I won't list them one by one. I just want to say that many of you have a basic salary, and if you can perform well in the playoffs, your next contract may It will be richer than you can imagine!"

After Zhang Yu finished speaking, everyone's eyes changed, especially the undrafted and second-round picks.

"Go and win this game. We are a team with seven consecutive victories, and the opponent has fatal flaws. If we play according to the tactics I arranged, we will not lose."

Zhang Yu came to the middle position, raised his right hand, and clenched it into a fist. All the others surrounded him, clenched their hands into fists, and made a fist.

"1, 2, 3, Let`s go, warriors!"

Under the leadership of Zhang Yu, everyone shouted a slogan together, and their expressions were all cheered up.

Silas opened the door at the right time, and the players filed out. Zhang Yu high-fived them one by one, until only he and Silas were left in the room.

Zhang Yu grabbed Silas' shoulders, laughed loudly and walked out the door:

"Go, go, go, I want to watch the Warriors enter the playoffs with my own eyes!"

(End of this chapter)