warrior godfather

Chapter 273 The Battle for the Scoring King

After defeating the Heat, the Warriors ushered in a heavy and relaxed schedule.

The heavy part is that after the home game against the Eagles, there will be a long seven-game road trip in the Eastern Conference, including two back-to-back games, which will consume a lot of mental and physical energy of the players.

The ease is that most of the opponents are underdogs outside the playoffs. Among the eight opponents, only the Eagles, Celtics and 76ers are in the playoffs, and the rest are bottom-ranked teams.

But for the coaching staff, no matter who the opponent is, they need to study the game video and make tactical preparations. Because the eastern teams have played less, the scouting department does not know enough about them, and the work before the game is even more arduous.

After playing the Heat, the Warriors ushered in a two-day rest period. The coaching staff took this opportunity to study the next opponent, and the players devoted themselves to training to prepare for the second half of the schedule.

At 2:23 p.m. on February [-], in the conference room of the Oracle Center, members of the coaching staff gathered around a round table, facing one direction, looking at the projection screen in front of them, on which the video of the Eagles game was playing. , Silas was in charge of explaining.

Zhang Yu put his right hand on the back of a chair next to him, raised his legs, straightened his left hand, and placed it on the table in front of him. He tapped the table with his index finger, focused his eyes on the projection screen, and listened to Silas' proposal. Opinions, nodding occasionally in agreement.

This is the "pre-war meeting" of the Warriors coaching staff. The results of their discussions, combined with the report made by the scouting department on the Eagles, will become the training content of the Warriors players tomorrow.

Half an hour later, after everyone's discussion and Zhang Yu's decision, the meeting ended, and the Warriors decided on a tactic against the Eagles—basically, the offensive and defensive tactics that the Warriors are good at, but based on the characteristics of the Eagles' tactics and the recent state of the opponent's players. out of fine-tuning.

Compared with the players, the work of the coaching staff is non-stop, researching videos, preparing tactics, configuring lineups, arranging training, making on-the-spot adjustments... After the last game, the coaching staff will immediately devote themselves to the next game During the preparations for the game, compared to the glamor of the players under the spotlight, they can only hide behind the scenes, and most of the impression left on the fans is to point fingers angrily on the sidelines.

But the coach is also crucial to the success of a team. Many games that can obviously be won will be inexplicably lost due to the coach's wrong tactical arrangements and rotation arrangements. Some "famous coaches" will even be addicted to With past honors, he stubbornly insisted on his untimely basketball philosophy, ruining the team's good situation.

Fortunately, these will not appear in the Warriors. Zhang Yu's basketball philosophy ahead of this era will not go wrong. At least the players he fancy will not be in vain, and he knows that in the next ten years, the league will usher in earth-shaking changes. To change, we will never be complacent and stagnate after a little achievement.

"Ronan, I'm leaving first." Ron Adams picked up his old-fashioned briefcase and said to Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu nodded:

"Slow down on the road, Adam."

After the meeting, everyone was about to leave. Bruce picked up his notebook and followed Ron Adams out of the meeting room, but he would not go home.

Tomorrow the team will conduct tactical training, but the training of the players' personal skills will not stop. Bruce has to go back to the office. According to today's training effect, some training items for tomorrow will be deleted, the intensity will be controlled, and time will be reserved for tactical training.

In the end, only Zhang Yu and Silas were left in the conference room, and the two discussed the proportion of passing and cutting and pick-and-roll in the team's offensive.

They unanimously agreed that the Warriors' passing and cutting coordination is still not in place and needs to continue to run in. The team's next offensive position should still be based on pick-and-rolls.

But unlike the first half of the schedule, which completely relied on Curry holding the ball to start, Silas believed that pick-and-roll tactics could be arranged for Curry and Butler. Although this could not maximize Curry's misplaced advantage, it could allow Butler to find the guard in reverse. Play singles to relieve Curry's pressure on the ball.

After Silas made this suggestion, Zhang Yu strongly agreed, and immediately asked Silas to go back and think about the Curry-Butler pick-and-roll tactics, and then the coaching staff would discuss it.

A new tactic is not something you can come up with just by slapping your head. For different players, the conditions of use of the tactic, subsequent changes, other players' running and positioning are different, and it requires the careful thinking and careful consideration of the coaching staff. Discuss, and test in the training game, in order to play the effect in the game.

After having this harvest, Zhang Yu walked out of the conference room in a very happy mood, said goodbye to Silas, and prepared to go home.

But at this moment, Larry Riley came over, he greeted Silas first, and then said to Zhang Yu:

"Ronan, do you have time? I have something to discuss with you."

Zhang Yu was taken aback for a moment, then nodded and said:
"Come to my office... Stephen, don't worry, just give me the new tactics within three days."

He shook his hand at Silas, and Larry Riley went back to his office.

Jonathan was sorting out the scouting report and other materials that Zhang Yu would use tomorrow. When he saw the two people coming in, he quickly got up to greet him. Zhang Yu signaled him to continue, and came to the reception area with Larry Riley.

After the two sat down on the sofa, Zhang Yu asked in a relaxed tone:
"Tell me, what's the matter?"

Larry Riley said softly:
"Ronan, Durant is now averaging 27.6 points per game, 0.7 points ahead of Stephen. If you want to help Stephen win the scoring title, it will be too late if you don't work hard. Jeff Austin also revealed a little bit of this. Meaning, and because of the team's operational considerations, I think we should help Stephen win this year's scoring champion."

"Scoring champion..." Zhang Yu thought for a while, then nodded slowly, "Well, this is still up for grabs."

Not long after the start of the game, Zhang Yu proposed to help Curry compete for the scoring title. Later, other teams began to double-team Curry. His long-range deterrence was initially established, and his scoring inevitably declined. Ups and downs, the growth of rookies in the team has become the most concerned issue of the coaching staff, and this matter has been let go.

But today Larry Riley came over and reminded Zhang Yu that helping Curry win the scoring champion is very beneficial to the Warriors.

As Curry's agent, Jeff Austin cannot fully represent Curry's meaning, and Zhang Yu believes that with his relationship with Curry, if Curry wants the scoring champion, he will definitely tell him directly, but Jeff Austin Austin's meaning is obvious, winning the scoring champion is very good for Curry, and he wants to fight for this benefit for Curry.

Of course, the situation of the Warriors is the most special in the league. As the owner and head coach, Zhang Yu has absolute authority, and his relationship with Curry is there. Jeff Austin only dared to mention it vaguely. In Zhang Yu's hands.

From Zhang Yu's point of view, he should also help Curry win the scoring championship. As the team owner, he should not only consider the team's record, but also take into account the team's operations.

For an NBA team, the star is the most important asset. Of course the most valuable asset of the Warriors is Curry. This statement is very cold, but the NBA is a business field. From the perspective of the boss, Zhang Yu must think about it this way .

Curry has already been a two-time All-Star starter and won the best second team once. He will definitely be selected for the best team this year. He is already a quasi-superstar. Will really enter the ranks of superstars!
Needless to say, this has improved Curry's own commercial value. The current scoring champion is still a very golden award, and has an extraordinary status in the hearts of fans.

There is a good saying-a superstar is not necessarily a scoring leader, but a scoring leader must be a superstar.

For the Warriors, this is the success of making stars, which can attract a large number of fans to watch the Warriors' games, and the surroundings of the team can also be sold under the leadership of Curry. Zhang Yu knows better than anyone the terrifying commercial value of Curry. , calling him a cash cow is an insult to him.

Before his rebirth, because of Curry's existence, the Warriors' market value soared to the second in the league, second only to the Knicks, and they had the most profitable league while paying the league's first luxury tax.

This is the result of Curry's serious injury and wasting two years of critical growth. Now Curry's development is more than ten times smoother than before. He made the playoffs in his rookie season and was selected as the All-Star starter and the best team. This season repeats the experience of last season and wins a scoring champion, then the market value and profit of the Warriors will definitely soar ahead of time, and the appreciation rate will be even greater!

Zhang Yu thought about the stakes in his heart, and said:

"This scoring champion, I will do my best to help Stephen fight for it. This away trip is a good opportunity. The team will arrange tactics for Stephen. You can communicate with Jeff Austin and contact the media. Now let's support Stephen's score. Wang builds momentum, and the focus is on 'epoch-making'."

"Epoch?" Larry Riley wondered.

"It is to focus on Curry's three-pointers. The league's top shooter, epoch-making scoring champion, historically efficient scorer, etc., can all be used." Zhang Yu explained.

Larry Riley's eyes widened:
"Is this too exaggerated? It is easy to cause backlash. After all, this is Stephen's second season..."

Zhang Yu chuckled lightly:
"Backlash? Insufficient strength will attract backlash. If the strength is enough, these are the footnotes of greatness. Stephen has such strength, so let's do it."

……

On February 2, the Warriors played against the Eagles at home.

The Eagles are still the same, maintaining the ranks of the playoffs, but unable to make a greater breakthrough. The lineup is balanced, but lacks real superstars. Scratch off that super lottery ticket they need.

The Eagles' scattered offensive points were restrained by the Warriors. The tough front line composed of Butler, Green, and Kirilenko was like a iron chain crossing the river, causing Joe Johnson, Horford, and Josh Smith to bleed.

Relying on the oppressive defense, the Warriors frequently caused opponents to make mistakes, and staged wonderful defensive counterattacks many times, which further boosted the team's momentum. The offensive end was also very targeted, and finally defeated the Eagles 115:95.

库里登场30分钟，投篮20中12，其中三分球12中6，罚球5中5，砍下35分7助攻5篮板。

In fact, in the first three quarters, the Warriors had already led the Eagles by 21 points. Curry could have clocked in three quarters, but Zhang Yu asked Curry to play for 2 minutes in the fourth quarter, hit two three-pointers, and scored 30 points. replace him.

On the same day, the Thunder lost to the Magic 88:101. Durant scored 23 points and Curry recovered 12 points. The season total difference between the two is still 25 points.

On February 2, the Warriors officially started their seven-game road trip, and their first stop was Minnesota.

Facing a super big belly like the Timberwolves, the Warriors certainly would not be polite. They beat their opponents 132:106 and got a good start to the road trip. Under the loose defense of the Timberwolves, Curry easily scored 23 points and 9 assists in the first three quarters. The quasi-triple-double data of rebounds is extremely efficient.

This time Zhang Yu didn't let Curry play in the fourth quarter to score points. This was purely because the Timberwolves' defense was too bad. The Warriors had a huge lead of 28 points in the first three quarters. In this case, let Curry play again to score points. The intention is too obvious.

The Thunder also had a game on the same day. They played against the Lakers at home and fought a whole game against the defending champions. In the end, they lost 87:90 by 3 points and lost the game.

The intensity of this game was very high, Durant only scored 21 points, Curry narrowed the gap by 2 points again, and Durant only led by 23 points.

On March 3, the Warriors went to Indiana to challenge the Pacers. Zhang Yu returned to his hometown, but he didn't have time to catch up with Stevens.

The Pacers are still tough and tough, but before Paul George grew up, they lacked a star who could lead the team forward. Granger has tried his best, but he is just a star, but not a superstar.

The same is true for this game. Two teams that advocate defense met together, and they fought defensively after the opening. At this time, stars need to stand up, and Curry is undoubtedly a better star than Granger , he scored a double-double of 24 points and 11 assists, helping the Warriors beat the Pacers 105:98. On the other hand, Granger only scored 17 points, and he did not make any achievements at critical moments.

In this game, Zhang Yu focused on winning and did not allow Curry to score points. He could not live up to the warm cheers from the Indiana fans at the beginning of the game, and the Pacers were very disciplined defensively. Double-teaming from time to time, the defense is tight when there is no ball, and Curry has no room to score points.

There was no game for the Thunder on this day, and Curry overtook Durant by 1 point in total points, but because he played one more game than Durant, the average points per game was still behind Durant, but the gap has become negligible .

On March 3, the Warriors came to Washington to challenge the Wizards.

Facing the Wizards, ranked third from the bottom in the Eastern Conference, the Warriors easily won 117:104.

The Warriors could have won more easily, but Curry felt terrible in this game, missing all his first 7 shots. In the Thunder game that ended earlier today, Durant broke out against the Pacers and scored 33 points , In order to compete for the scoring champion, Zhang Yu made Curry make crazy shots, which added some twists and turns to the game.

But the Warriors still relied on their tough defense to suppress the Wizards, allowing No. 12 pick Wall to score only 25 points, while Curry made a total of 25 shots, 9 of 16 shots, 4 of 6 three-pointers, and 4 free throws. In 26, scored 4 points, 5 assists and 6 rebounds. Although the efficiency was bleak, it guaranteed the scoring, allowing Durant to overtake the total score by only [-] points, without falling too much.

The battle for the scoring champion between the two is still going on.

(End of this chapter)