warrior godfather

Chapter 257 Warriors' "Wave"

"Defence! Defense!"

The noise in the Chesapeake Energy Arena was overwhelming, and the Thunder fans, led by the on-site DJ, chanted loudly to boost their momentum.

Although Oklahoma City is small, the basketball atmosphere is very strong and fanatical. Before the Thunder moved, Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans. The Hornets had no choice but to come to Oklahoma City to play for a season and won the favor of local fans. A warm welcome, which also laid the groundwork for the arrival of the Thunder three years later.

The enthusiasm of the fans seems to have infected the Thunder players on the field. Under the leadership of Harden and Jeff Green, the Thunder's offense played well in the transitional period, which in turn aroused the emotions of the audience even more.

But it is a pity that when the Thunder scored, the Warriors did not stop their offensive pace, and the point difference was not forced to close.

After 20 games, Jeremy Lin has adapted to the NBA arena, played his role as an immediate combat force, and organized the Warriors' offense in an orderly manner. Butler was also unceremonious in the face of Jeff Green's defense. He played several times and made Jeff Green 2 fouls.

The two sides came and went, until the middle of the second quarter, when Zhang Yu and Brooks called back, the rhythm of the game slowed down.

Zhang Yu stood on the sidelines, greeted the off-court players, and encouraged each of them. Jeremy Lin was at the bottom. Zhang Yu said:

"Jeremy, you played very well, take a good rest, you will need to play later."

Jeremy Lin took the towel handed to him by the Warriors staff, wiped his sweat, grinned, and nodded repeatedly.

After surviving the unsatisfactory period at the beginning of the season, his performance has become better and better, and he has gradually gained the recognition of the fans and the media. He did not lose the wind against Tanhua just now, and he felt very comfortable.

At this time, the dead ball had passed and the game continued. Jeremy Lin sat down, picked up the energy drink and swallowed it, and watched the game intently, trying to learn lessons from it.

He is well aware that he is inexperienced and is an older rookie. He is born at a disadvantage. He must seize every minute and every second to improve himself. Even if he is sitting off the court, he never slackens in the slightest.

Apart from on-the-spot learning, Jeremy Lin would also applaud his teammates for their wonderful goals and defenses, waving the towel vigorously from time to time, and even getting up and making various funny moves.

The Warriors' bench is full of people who average 10+ towels per game. Except for Yi Jianlian's restrained personality and quiet demeanor, everyone else is very active. In this regard, Curry is also an "example" for his teammates. Many times, Warriors fans Seeing Curry jumping up and down, I doubt who is the atmosphere group.

"Strike! Ooooh-"

After Chandler dunked again, Jeremy Lin waved the towel in his hand again, but he immediately lowered his voice, watching Zhang Yu, who stopped and paced back and forth, looked sideways at him, slightly He smiled awkwardly.

Zhang Yu laughed and said:
"Why didn't you shout? Tyson's dunk was amazing."

Jeremy Lin rubbed his nose. He didn't think there was anything wrong with celebrating the goal, but he danced and shouted just now, which affected Zhang Yu, who was paying close attention to the situation on the court, but he was a little carried away.

Zhang Yu looked at him in a bit of embarrassment, smiled, and sat down on the empty seat beside him:

"What do you think about the game?"

Jeremy Lin seemed not expecting Zhang Yu to ask such a question. He was startled for a moment, and then looked up at the big screen in the middle of the court. The time displayed on it was 3 minutes and 23 seconds of the second quarter, and the score was 46:41. The Warriors led by 5 points. .

He thought for a moment and said uncertainly:

"If this fight continues, we should be able to win..."

Zhang Yu smiled and asked again:
"You watched the video of Westbrook's game before, and you played against him for less than 2 minutes just now, how did you feel?"

Naturally, the rotation of the Warriors and the Thunder will not be completely synchronized. Westbrook returned to the court a little earlier than Curry and played against Jeremy Lin for a few rounds.

Jeremy Lin thought about it seriously, and replied:

"His explosive power is too strong, even stronger than Rose, his breakthrough is difficult to guard, and his passing is also good, but the scout report is right, his shooting is really not good enough, he likes to jump and pass the ball, so It's easy to make mistakes."

"So did you learn anything from him?"

"Well... like him, I am also prone to passing mistakes. This is not good. I am not good enough in shooting. I will continue to practice shooting hard when I go back..." Jeremy Lin said with a pensive look on his face.

Before the game, the coaching staff gave him Westbrook’s scouting report and game video for him to study. He was very puzzled at the time. According to the usual practice, this should be the task of Klay and Tony Allen. How to find it? fucked him?

But since the coaching staff assigned tasks, of course he could only follow through. He watched Westbrook's game video last night and cooperated with the scout report to deeply remember his game habits.

Now after some inquiries from Zhang Yu, he realized that he, like Westbrook, has shortcomings such as high turnover rate and inaccurate shooting. He recalled his 38.9% shooting percentage, 20% Three-point hit rate, with a look of shame on his face, said:

"Coach, I know what to do. I will definitely practice shooting when I go back."

Zhang Yu smiled lightly and said:
"Very well, Jeremy, I know you have worked hard, and you have adapted to the intensity of the NBA game recently, but it is not enough, I hope you can contribute more to the team. I see you have adapted to the game recently The intensity, the coaching staff will draw up a new training plan for you, the focus is on shooting, and you will train well after you go back..."

Afterwards, Zhang Yu encouraged Jeremy Lin a few more words before turning his attention back to the court. After hearing this, Jeremy Lin was even more excited. Be a good point guard.

Westbrook's scouting reports and game videos emerged in his mind, as well as Curry's bit by bit in the training game, looking for the gap between himself and the two, especially in handling the ball in the pick-and-roll. His foundation in the league is also the easiest place for him to improve.

Suddenly, he remembered the tactical training content of the past two days, looked at Zhang Yu sideways, and asked:

"Coach, the Thunder are almost catching up with the score, why don't we use those tactics?"

Zhang Yu naturally knew what he was asking, and said vaguely:
"Not yet."

"Oh..." Jeremy Lin nodded, without saying anything, and turned to look at the field.

Zhang Yu didn't explain any more, but looked up at the score - 53:51, the Warriors' lead was reduced to 2 points, and with less than 1 minute left in the second quarter, the Thunder had a small climax, which made a big difference. No wonder Jeremy Lin couldn't help asking questions in one fell swoop.

Zhang Yu stood up, pressed his hands down, and shouted at the Warriors players:

"Steady the rhythm, take your time!"

When Curry heard it, he slowed down and took possession of the ball at the top of the key to pass the attack time.

Seeing this, Zhang Yu stopped shouting, put his hands around his chest, and looked at the field with a calm expression, without any signs of panic and anger when the score was forced so close.

In fact, Jeremy Lin's question just now, Zhang Yu has already had it.

When he watched the game in his previous life, he was also very puzzled. Why did the Warriors often open the score in the third quarter instead of killing the game in the first half?
This question has been buried in his heart until he became the head coach himself and found the answer.

The NBA has a total of 82 regular season games in one season. This schedule is also one of the best among all professional sports leagues in the world.

Under the pressure of a high-intensity and high-density schedule, no team will go all out in the regular season. Only after entering the playoffs, each team will cut the rotation, use the main force, and try to hand every ball to the stars. Come and fight, every second counts.

Therefore, the NBA's regular season and playoffs are actually two kinds of games. The playoffs are a battleground for life and death, while the regular season is closer to an "exhibition game". Both sides will have a tacit understanding to retain their strength.

Of course, there are also head coaches who just like to start with a dead fuck. In the regular season, they rotate 8 players or even 7 players.

This will of course allow the team to achieve good results, but it will also exceed the load on the core players.

When Paul first entered the league, he was also known as a combo guard with extraordinary talent and strong impact. However, in the first four seasons of his career, he averaged nearly 38 minutes per game, and his usage rate was extremely high. Every ball had to pass him. He also needs to go all out on the defensive end. This certainly allowed the Hornets to rise rapidly and become a powerful force in the Western Conference, but the load on Paul cannot be ignored. It is difficult to explain by mere accident.

In Zhang Yu's previous life, Durant and Harden gathered in the Nets and formed the Big Three with Irving. However, because of Irving's wave after wave of showmanship, Nash, the head coach of the Nets at the time, used Harden without restraint, causing Harden Deng suffered a hamstring injury in the playoffs, coupled with the fact that the star on the opposite side went off in person regardless of face, the European Nets finally fell in the second round of the Eastern Conference, and the future is uncertain.

All these are too numerous to list, and the lessons are not far away, so few teams are full of strength in the regular season, and the Warriors are the same, and with Cole's character, he will not be the main force in the regular season .

According to Zhang Yu's speculation, there are various reasons why the Warriors often play a wave in the third quarter.

First of all, it is naturally the arrangement of the Warriors coaching team during the halftime break. Secondly, it is also related to the fatigue accumulation of the opponents in the first two quarters and the warm-up of the Warriors in the first half. But the most important thing is the sudden increase in the intensity of the game.

That Warriors team has rich experience and outstanding talent. They often lag behind their opponents in the first half, but as long as they get serious in the third quarter, and then put on the dead five, the offensive and defensive intensity is full, and the score can be opened in an instant.

They don't need to maintain a high-intensity game for 48 minutes. As long as they play a high-quality game, they will generally be able to pocket the victory.

The current Warriors naturally don't have the strength to look down on the crowd, and they are not qualified to relax in the first half and increase their intensity in the second half. The Warriors played very seriously in these two quarters.

But the truth is the same. If you regard a basketball game as a long-distance race, the first half is just a preliminary stage. Even if you lead by 20 points, the opponent can adjust their mentality at halftime, and there is still a whole half to chase points. The second half is the decisive stage. , If you lead your opponent by 20 points in the third quarter, you are usually sure of winning.

Therefore, Zhang Yu has reason to believe that the "wave" of the Warriors in the third quarter was intentional by the coaching staff. "A wave of flow" can definitely be played in the first half, and it is deliberately done so in order to win at the lowest cost.

Inspired by this, Zhang Yu also found a way to make the Warriors, who are not strong at this stage, play a "wave" method, that is, make a fuss about tactics, make no adjustments in the first half, and then make targeted moves in the second half The arrangement, in a disguised form in the third quarter, increased the intensity of the game.

This is also the reason why Tony Allen has a stronger defense, but Zhang Yu complimented Clay to start. This can not only train rookies, but also leave more room for adjustment in tactics.

Of course, Zhang Yu’s doing this is not lacking in cultivating the opponent’s star touch. When he finally reaped the fruit, the loss to the Lakers is a very obvious example, but if the Warriors want to go further, Clay and Green must grow up. Among them, the Warriors are bound to pay the price.

Although Zhang Yu can use a more streamlined training method, instead of exposing Clay directly to a superstar like Kobe, let him start off the bench and let Clay grow slowly while winning. After all, the Warriors are not those The team in the rebuilding period can let the high-ranking rookies in the team grow wildly.

But next season is a very special season, and it is also a very important season in Zhang Yu's plan. Only Zhang Yu, who is a reborn, knows how special this season is. In order to make full use of the advantages of rebirth, Clay must realize his potential as quickly as possible. Simply put him in the starting lineup, while training rookies, it can also cultivate a winning model in the future. This is already the way that is most in line with the Warriors' plan.

So even if the Thunder were about to tie the score, Zhang Yu didn't panic at all. In fact, he had prepared for the team to fall behind in the first half before the game. After all, he didn't make any targeted arrangements, and the Warriors could maintain their lead. At halftime, it was beyond his expectations.

Jeremy Lin's question aroused Zhang Yu's inner thoughts. Just as he was thinking about the Warriors' second-half tactics, the game had reached the final stage of the second quarter.

On the field, Durant dribbled the ball at the top of the arc and looked at the timer from time to time. There were only 8 seconds left before the end of the second quarter. This was the last attack of the first half.

"KD! KD!"

Almost all the Thunder fans at the scene stood up, chanting Durant's name, and the other Thunder players spread out wisely, taking away their opponents and making room for Durant in singles, only Matthews looked serious. stop in front of him.

Amidst the boiling sound, Durant dribbled the ball expressionlessly, and suddenly started. After a dragging step, there was a large change of direction in front of his body, completely shaking Matthews' center of gravity, and standing upright. , raised his hand and threw a three-pointer.

brush!
"Oh oh oh oh--"

The light was on, the ball was scored, and the crisp netting sound was immediately drowned out by a louder sound wave. The Thunder fans made all kinds of meaningless strange noises, expressing their joy in their hearts. With Durant's three-pointer at the buzzer , the Thunder overtook the score 58:57, leading the Warriors for the first time since the opening!
"I knew it, you can do it!"

Westbrook rushed in front of Durant, grinning loudly, while Durant had a tough expression on his face, eyes wide open, high-fived him, celebrated with other teammates one by one, and yelled in a rare way:
"Kill them!"

　This chapter is really difficult to write...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)