warrior godfather

Chapter 259 Lien Zhan Strong Enemy (8000 words)
When the red light came on, the fans left the field in disappointment, and the Warriors bench players were all smiles, which was in stark contrast to the dull and quiet Thunder players.

Since the fourth quarter, Durant has been sitting there with a gloomy expression, watching the Warriors' rotation players on the field show their power. At this time, the game is finally over, he reluctantly got up and came to the field, shook hands with several opposing players, Just go straight to the player channel.

In this game, he drove high and low. In the second half, he was almost helpless against Tony Allen. He was disgusted and in a bad mood.

After he returned to the locker room, other Thunder players came in one after another. Durant looked up, Westbrook didn't seem to be affected, and was still talking and laughing with his teammates around him, while Harden looked out of sight There was a slightly ambiguous smile on the corner of his mouth, and there seemed to be some fancy thoughts in his mind.

Seeing his teammates perform like this, Durant's mood became even worse. He is a football fanatic, and his mind is all on basketball. There are only a few well-known nightclubs in such a big place. Who knows the name of James Harden in the party?
Durant also knows that it is Harden's personal hobby, and he has no right to comment, but he hopes that Harden will train well first, and after he grows up, it will not be too late to indulge in sex. When he first entered the league three years ago, but The famous arena mouse became the scoring leader in only three seasons!

Harden is also very talented. As a result, he played 20 games this season, averaging only a little over 10 points per game, and his efficiency is also very low, with a shooting percentage of only about 43%. If this continues, when will he be able to stand alone?
Just when Durant's thoughts were surging, Jeff Green walked into the locker room silently, nodded and greeted Durant, and Durant's mood became even worse.

This is another cat and dog character!

Jeff Green was selected with the fifth overall pick and entered the league in the same year as him. He was highly expected by the team and got a lot of ball rights and time. It has been the fourth year so far, and he is still playing tepidly. I usually score about 15 points when clocking in at work, and the defense is also average. I can't make too much contribution to the team, but it takes about 37 minutes. Harden's slow growth has nothing to do with him.

After Jeff Green, Ibaka walked into the locker room, and Durant's face softened. Ibaka trained diligently and played hard on the court, trying to do his best. , Durant is very satisfied with him.

But then he thought about being abused by the Warriors for 20 points tonight, revenge was nowhere in sight, and Curry's limelight was going to overshadow him again, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of irritability again.

With such teammates, what if he scored 30+ in every game?

At this moment, Brooks walked in. Facing a room full of defeated generals, he didn't mean to get angry, but said softly:
"I am responsible for the loss tonight, so you don't have to blame yourself..."

After some encouragement and comfort from him, the atmosphere in the locker room improved slightly. Afterwards, Brooks took Durant and Westbrook to an interview after the game. He praised the Warriors again and took all the responsibility on himself. Try to draw people's attention to yourself.

After the interviews, the players went home, and Brooks joined Presti, who was watching the game tonight.

Brooks changed his gentle face in front of the players, and said seriously:
"Sam, you can also see that we lost badly tonight, it's time to make a change, if this continues, even if we do make the playoffs, the team is destined to not go far, we need insiders, Can defend inside!"

Presti nodded slowly, with a gloomy expression. He is not a layman who doesn't understand the ball, and he can see Brooks' helplessness during the game.

The emptiness inside the Thunder made Brooks have to shrink the basket, otherwise the penalty area and the backcourt rebounds would not be properly protected, which would give Curry a single-block screen. After Harden was deployed, the strength of the Thunder's outside defense also dropped sharply. The defensive formation was dismantled by the Warriors' simple running without the ball. And Green got the chance to eat pie.

Brooks can't live without rice, and the deformity of the Thunder's lineup makes him unable to balance offense and defense anyway.

After seeing the predicament the team is in now, Presti also has a decision in his heart. He pondered for a while and said:
"Scott, give Jeff more chances, design tactics for him, and brush up his statistics."

Brooks' eyes lit up, he naturally understood the meaning of Presti's words, and nodded repeatedly:

"no problem!"

……

Just when the undercurrent was surging in the Thunder team, the Warriors, the winners tonight, had already arrived at the airport and boarded a special plane.

There is a joke that NBA players are either on the plane or on the way to the airport, especially when playing away games. In order to have time for training during the day, it is the norm for the team to travel overnight.

And this has also allowed the players to develop the habit of resting anytime, anywhere. On the plane, most of the Warriors players fell asleep. Those who were not sleepy also wore headphones, listened to songs, closed their eyes and rested. After the plane landed, they would rest all the time. At noon tomorrow, we will train again to maintain our state.

The Warriors still have two away games to play. They need to play back-to-back against the Mavericks and Spurs, and then return to Oakland to rest for a day. They also have to face the Heat from afar. The schedule is very difficult.

While the players were resting, Zhang Yu was not idle. He and the coaching staff came to the front of the cabin, where a small meeting space was opened up, with a fixed round table surrounded by seats.

At present, among all NBA teams, except for Mark Cuban who spent a lot of money to buy a special plane for the Mavericks, the other teams have reached an agreement with Delta Air Lines, spending tens of millions of dollars a year to rent a plane for the basketball team. The team commutes away.

Delta Air Lines also specially modified the aircraft for these big customers, including enlarging the seat size, opening up the coaching staff meeting space, setting up an on-board kitchen, etc., to provide convenience for players and coaches.

At this time, Zhang Yu was sitting with everyone, watching the video in front of him, discussing tonight's game.

The plane was bumpy. Even the younger Silas is 35 years old, and he can’t sleep peacefully like young players. He might as well use this time to watch the video and get ready for the game the day after tomorrow, so that he can sleep well tomorrow morning. Rest well at the hotel.

But Zhang Yu was full of energy and didn't show any signs of fatigue. He also held a meeting with the coaching staff, and ordered the crew to bring out the supper prepared in advance and put it in front of everyone.

The sleeping players all wore earmuffs and eye masks, and no one deliberately lowered their voices. Silas and Bruce looked at the laptops in front of them, discussing the gains and losses of the game seriously, while Zhang Yu and Ron Adams were on another computer. On the Internet, I watched the Mavericks game video and made tactical preparations for the game the day after tomorrow.

After a long time, everyone got together again to summarize and express their own opinions. According to the usual practice, Silas spoke first. He said:

"The team's offense is still an old problem. There are only two real ball-holding points, Stephen and Jeremy, and Jeremy's ability is limited. Jimmy is barely half, but he can't drive the overall offense. Everyone else lacks the development of offense. Ability. Now Stephen has not encountered targeted defense, but we can’t hope that the opponent will always defend Stephen alone. After all, we are the ones who know Stephen’s ability best, and if he continues to play like this, I don’t think any team can tolerate him. Such an easy three-point shot..."

After Silas finished speaking, everyone nodded one after another. He got the point. The Warriors now seem to be in a state of great momentum, and their achievements are making great strides.

The Warriors' offense is completely dependent on Curry. Others have not grown up and cannot share too much for Curry on the offensive end. Now other teams have not fully realized the power of Curry's three-pointers, but Sierra Sr. has followed Nelson for a long time, and has been nurtured by Zhang Yu for another year. Watching Curry train every day, he has the deepest understanding of Curry's destructive power on the offensive end.

Now Curry has shown the momentum of scoring like chopping melons and vegetables on the court. They are limited by the limitations of the times, and they still lack sufficient understanding of Curry's shooting ability, but no matter how slow they are, they will one day be unable to bear it Flank on Curry.

The Warriors coaching staff does not believe that there will be someone who has been looking at the opponent's leading star, throwing in a three-pointer after a one-block screen, the cost of developing offense like Curry is too low, and the success rate is too high, like him In this way, the 30+ will be cut all the way, and it will not be long before they will be sanctioned.

Then Ron Adams spoke, and he naturally started from the defensive end:
"The team's defensive system with Tyson and Drummond as the core has been initially established. This is an important reason why we can temporarily rank first in the league. They all have strong defense capabilities. Slee and other defensive champions, the team's defense has a bright future..."

He paused, took a breath, and continued:
"There are just a few minor flaws. First of all, Drummond's experience is still insufficient. He sometimes over-helps in defense, and his defensive skills need to be honed, but these are not major problems. His defensive awareness and The habit is very good, as long as you give him time, he can solve these problems. With Tony, Jimmy and Steph, we can build a closing lineup with strong defense, but the space of this lineup is too poor, so it is still Clay's growth is needed, he is the key to the final lineup's offensive and defensive balance."

Ron Adams' perspective is not limited to offense, he will also consider issues from the team as a whole.

In the end, it was Zhang Yu who made the summary. He pondered for a moment and said:

"What you said is that the team has always had problems, but tonight's game is not difficult, and there is really nothing new... But the Mavericks have more problems. If they don't make changes, it will be difficult for them to beat us. As long as some arrangements are made for Nowitzki, it should not be difficult to win this game. After returning, we still need to step up the rehearsal of the pass and cut system, which can effectively make up for the team's lack of ball-holding points. Steph's pick-and-roll is the foundation of the offense."

"In addition, be patient with the growth of Clay and Drummond. I also know that Tony is better as a starter, but Clay is the future of the team. This is beyond doubt. Next, we can arrange more for him. Lots of off-ball tactics."

"Shouldn't he play more ballhandling?" Silas asked.

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said:

"He can be allowed to play some mid-range post-ups properly, and he will be misplaced, and the others will not be considered for the time being."

Afterwards, everyone briefly discussed the precautions against the Mavericks before returning to their seats and waiting for the plane to land in Dallas.

Zhang Yu lay on his back on the seat, closed his eyes and rested his mind, listening to the slight snoring in his ears, put his hands in front of his abdomen, but the slightly rolling eyeballs under his eyelids showed that he had not yet fallen asleep, and his mind was still active state.

After several recent meetings with the coaching staff, Zhang Yu has roughly determined the development direction of the Warriors this season. Next, the final decision will be made based on the performance of the team in these three games against strong opponents.

……

"Good! Curry made a three-pointer. With 1 minute and 10 seconds left in the game, the Warriors lead by 12 points and have the absolute initiative. The Mavericks are in danger! This is Curry's 10th three-pointer in this game It's his 44th point, Curry is unstoppable tonight!"

The atmosphere in the American Airlines Center was terribly gloomy. The Mavericks fans looked at Curry who was dancing on the court with their heads in their hands. Their faces were full of disbelief. Many diehard fans stopped Curry on the field and yelled at him with foul language.

At this time, the Warriors' away game against the Mavericks has come to an end. After Curry made the three-pointer that sealed the victory, Carlisle shook his head and sighed, then called a timeout, replaced the substitute, and conceded the loss.

As the commentary said, Curry completely dominated the game. He made 26 of 16 shots, 17 of 10 three-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, scored 44 points, 14 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. The force defeated the Mavericks' defense, and once made the restless American Airlines Center become silent.

According to Zhang Yu's instructions, Curry came down from the court without looking at anyone else. His eyes were full of Nuo Tianwang, and he just stared at the slow-footed Nowitzki to play pick-and-rolls.

Carlisle tried various methods, but they couldn't limit Curry. Nowitzki's footsteps were too slow. When Curry launched the pick-and-roll, he fell into the same or even greater predicament as Brooks - Nowitzki If he didn't defend, Curry would shoot a three-pointer; if he defended, Curry would use his speed to pass him, leaving Nuo Tianwang in a dilemma.

And Nowitzki is the core of the Mavericks' offense. It is impossible for Carlisle to let Nowitzki go off the court. Nowitzki can only accept Curry's repeated ravages on the court.

The three-pointer just now was made by Curry in the face of Nowitzki's step-back three-pointer, which completely helped the Warriors seal the victory.

And even though Curry made such a terrifying three-pointer, Carlisle still insisted on the strategy of defending Curry alone, and even let Nowitzki and Marion, who was facing Curry, switch defenses until Curry scored the 34th point. It just turned Curry's stable three-pointer into a stable two-pointer.

When interviewed by reporters after the game, Carlisle confided:

"Curry's pick-and-roll position is too high. He initiates a pick-and-roll one step outside the three-point line. I can't let Dirk go out. I really need him to guard the penalty area. You all saw it. He switched to Curry. It's useless, Curry's ability to play small and big is amazing...what? Why don't I double-team Curry? Are you crazy? You mean I should let my power forward go out to double-team the guard and give up the basket completely This is not a good idea, I will not relax the defense of the penalty area for a moment, and I would rather believe that Curry can't make a shot than let Chandler and Green slip into the penalty area and dunk. Difficult three points..."

The next day, Zhang Yu shook his head and laughed when he saw the newspaper report on Carlisle's interview.

To be honest, he understands Carlisle's thoughts very well. In the season before his rebirth, even though Curry played a single-month average of nearly 38 points per game, the Warriors met a team with an inside core. The opposing coach such as Mike Malone and Rivers still chose to squat inside to defend Curry.

Facing defenses like the Nuggets and 76ers, Curry scored 49 points and 53 points respectively, and made 10 three-pointers...

Like Carlisle, they are also betting that Curry will not be able to shoot himself with a three-pointer, but at this point, they are also betting wrong just like Carlisle.

And Curry, who was famous at that time, even had a head coach who made such a big gamble, and even Trail Blazers head coach Stotts was obsessed with defending Curry alone, let alone Curry who hasn't played anything well yet?

Zhang Yu only hopes that this situation can be maintained for a longer time, so that Butler, Clay, and Green can continue to grow behind Curry, until the day when they are all mature, it will be the time for the Warriors to truly aspire to the league.

But Zhang Yu doesn't know how long Curry can enjoy the "age bonus". There will definitely be a head coach like Tyronn Lue who will stand up and double-team Curry frantically. According to Zhang Yu's previous experience, George Karl did not include Double-teaming Curry, Rivers did not double-team Curry, and Popovich did not double-team Curry, but the league's head coaches will definitely not let Curry shoot indiscriminately.

In the regular season last season, the Spurs had a special reason for double-teaming Curry. On the one hand, Curry’s lore against the Lakers shocked the outside world. expand.

With the presence of Chandler and Green this season, Zhang Yu doesn't need to put up two point guards. Besides Curry, there are people who can handle the ball properly, so opponents don't dare to expand wildly. Zhang Yu doesn't believe it, and the Spurs dare to act like If you attack Curry like last season, you will kill yourself!

But the next day, Popovich gave Zhang Yu a good lesson, letting him know what is ginger or old spicy.

Not long ago, the Warriors had a contest with the Spurs and lost that game. Popovich has completely transformed the Spurs. The entire team changed from the downturn of last season and made great progress all the way. It is currently ranked in the West Second, there is only one win away from the Warriors, and the bite is very tight. If the Warriors lose again tonight, the two will switch positions. This game about the battle for the top spot in the Western Conference has also attracted the attention of the entire league. .

And this game did not disappoint. From the first quarter, it entered the rhythm of confrontation. Popovich and Zhang Yu expected that Duncan, who had weakened his mobility, squatted inside and gave Curry enough There is room for shooting, and Curry is also very competitive. After using the three-point line to cover the difficult three-pointer with the ball, he has repeatedly succeeded. He scored 23 points in the first half, which made the Spurs fans on the scene exclaimed.

But when Curry shined, the Spurs took the lead. Popovich sent Parker, Ginobili, Bonner, Richard Jefferson and Duncan to form a "star and four-shot" team. The lineup made it impossible for Green to match up to a weak point in space. At this time, Green was far from the defensive skill at his peak. He started to assist defense diligently according to his past habits, but he made frequent mistakes. The timing was not good. Made multiple open three-pointers.

Later, he didn't help defend at all. Parker and Ginobili caught Curry and Clay repeatedly ravaging them. At the same time, they used pass cuts to tear apart the Warriors' defense line. With one man stretched to the left and right, the Spurs succeeded in making empty cuts again and again.

So after the first half, the Spurs had the upper hand in the attack, leading the Warriors by 57 points 50:7.

Faced with such a situation, Zhang Yu certainly would not sit still. He replaced Tony Allen in the second half to consolidate his defense, but Popovich also immediately changed his strategy, taking advantage of Chandler, Green, and Tony Allen on the Warriors. Due to the shortcomings of this point, the defensive end attacked Curry unscrupulously, which severely damaged the Warriors' offense!

Zhang Yu had to sigh, as expected of Popovich who kept saying "hate three-pointers" and made the Spurs quietly become the most accurate three-pointer team in the league. In the old days, as long as he could win, he would do anything.

It's like when Popovich trained Dejounte Murray into a guard who was close to averaging a triple-double when the big core of holding the ball was popular. When the conditions were right, he decisively flanked him again.

In Zhang Yu's previous life, when the Spurs and the Warriors faced each other in the 2013-2014 playoffs, Popovich did not pinch Curry. Dare to attack, he also bluntly said after the series, "Curry is the contemporary Jordan"!
But now, Curry has played the performance of that period. In Zhang Yu's view, this should have touched Popovich's bottom line, making him choose to flank Curry without hesitation when the Warriors did not have enough shooters.

Faced with this situation, Zhang Yu smiled bitterly and had to replace Clay again. Popovich is the one who will call a timeout after Curry hits a three-pointer. He even arranged for someone to double-team Curry in the backcourt. Zhang Yu is not surprised at what he can do to Curry if he is not allowed to catch and throw the last ball in the half.

But he still underestimated Popovich's emphasis on Curry. After Clay came on the court, the Warriors still had two non-space points, Green and Chandler. The 27.5% of his original rookie season has been much stronger. It can be seen that under the reminder of Zhang Yu, he practiced hard for three-pointers in college.

But it is a pity that Green's three-pointer was still not accurate enough, so Popovich dared to let him go to flank Curry, who had already shot crazy in the first half. Zhang Yu suspected that this was a temporary decision by Popovich. He didn't make so many three-pointers, so he should have followed Curry's normal strategy to defend Curry, but after Curry's day-to-day performance in the half court, he still chose to respect Curry's shooting.

And this makes Zhang Yu very uncomfortable. Green's current ability to handle the ball can only be reflected when the opponent is defending him normally. In the case of shorting, if he still thinks about dealing the cards, it is easy to make a mistake.

In this case, Zhang Yu can only make some changes, replacing Green and Butler, and adding an extra space point. Now Popovich will not double-team Curry, but the combination of Curry and Clay Parker and Ginobili once again outflanked the defense line. Although Curry turned around and outplayed Parker, but without Green to assist Curry in dealing cards, the efficiency of the Warriors' half-baked passes and cuts was far inferior to the Spurs' real passes and cuts. In the confrontation, the Warriors gradually fell into a disadvantage.

In the end, although Curry scored 36 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds, the Spurs still won the battle, beating the Warriors 117:102, and relying on this direct contest between the two sides to overtake in one fell swoop. , to the top of the west!

After the game, Zhang Yu smiled wryly when shaking hands with Popovich:
"You beat me again."

Popovich chuckled and said:
"You should be able to see that we are not the same as we used to be."

Zhang Yu nodded in agreement, he pondered for a moment, and said:

"Greg, I have a gift for you, I hope you like it."

Popovich was taken aback, then smiled:

"Gift? Is it red wine? We can have a drink together."

"No, it's a book... Jonathan, bring that book for me!" Zhang Yu turned around and said hello.

Hearing this, Jonathan hurried over from the bench with a book and handed it to Zhang Yu.

Later, Zhang Yu handed the book to Popovich:

"This is a book about the history of the Opium War, that is, the British invaded China at that time in 1840, and finally won... Oh, yes, there is also the history of Xiangjiang, which was ceded to the British at that time .”

Popovich took the book with a puzzled face, read it over and over for a while, then raised his head, and said blankly:
"Ronan, thank you for the gift you gave me, but with all due respect, why did you give me this book? To be honest, I don't know anything about the history you mentioned. If you didn't mention it, I would I’m afraid I won’t take the initiative to understand this period of history in the future.”

Zhang Yu heard what Popovich meant, that is, he had no interest in this gift, but he still pushed the book towards Popovich, and said in a deep voice:

"Take it, Greg, I think you'll need it someday."

Popovich looked at Zhang Yu for a while, shook his head and laughed:
"Well, thank you for your gift, I will put him on my bookshelf, and when I am interested, I will definitely read it."

After finishing speaking, he raised the book in his hand which was still covered with a film, and turned to leave.

It's not surprising that there are so many people, the two can be regarded as friends, and no matter how young Zhang Yu is, he is also the owner of the Warriors. Popovich will never ignore what Zhang Yu gave him.

Seeing that Popovich accepted the book, Zhang Yu breathed a sigh of relief. He still has a good impression of Popovich. He doesn't want to see him make mistakes in that matter like in his previous life. After understanding the history of Xiangjiang, we can maintain an objective and fair attitude.

Of course, if Popovich still upholds the arrogance unique to white elitism, or disdains to understand Xiangjiang's history, then Zhang Yu will naturally not show mercy. He can't do other things, but let the Spurs sink a few years earlier, yes It was easy for him.

Zhang Yu never hesitates when it comes to big issues and personal friendship.

……

After losing to the Spurs, criticism of the Warriors from the outside world suddenly increased. The number one position in the Western Conference is too conspicuous. How much praise the Warriors received before, and how much ridicule they have now, especially Curry's style of play is particularly attractive. Social media On the Internet, the Warriors fans and the many Spurs fans who suddenly emerged had a debate, but they fell into a disadvantage.

Not only in China, basketball forums all over the world are turn-based games. The Warriors have been winning before, and finally lost a game. People who don't like the Warriors immediately emerged.

Winners and losers, the Warriors fans had to fall into a disadvantage in the face of the home team's defeat, but this situation soon ushered in a change, because the Warriors will face a team that has been ridiculed all over the United States and the world— -Miami.

On the night of the loss to the Spurs, the entire Warriors boarded a special plane non-stop. After a lot of hard work, they hurried back to Oakland to meet the Heat's challenge at home.

This is the first time the Warriors have played against the Heat this season. Oakland fans can finally see the luxurious lineup of the Big Three. Home tickets are sold out at a faster rate than before. On the day of the game, the Oracle Center was full, and even gathered outside Huge crowds, watching the game on huge screens on the outside walls.

It has to be said that although the grouping of the Big Three made almost everyone other than Heat fans feel contemptuous, their "popularity" is still extremely high.

It's just a pity that the Heat have not achieved results that match their high popularity. As of now, the Heat's record is 13 wins and 8 losses, ranking only fifth in the Eastern Conference.

However, in Zhang Yu's eyes, the current Heat is the scariest. On November 11, after a start of 28 wins and 9 losses, they held a 8-point meeting with only players participating. With 45 consecutive victories, the horror of the combination of the Big Three began to emerge. Now, it's the Warriors' turn to face the menacing Heat.

(End of this chapter)