warrior godfather

Chapter 295 Unpopular
After G2 ended, the Warriors returned to the home court, and the whole team breathed a sigh of relief.

The big score of 0:2 behind is like a huge rock, pressing on everyone's heart. Leaving the American Airlines Center arena full of boos can greatly relieve the frustration of the Warriors players.

When the Warriors were preparing for G3 against the Mavericks, the league was not idle. On May 5, the 20 draft lottery ceremony was held in New Jersey as scheduled.

The Warriors' own first-round pick was traded to the Jazz by the Nets, but the Nets' first-round pick this year is in the hands of the Warriors. The Nets rank last in the Eastern Conference this year. This will definitely be a high pick. dispatched to draw lots for the Warriors, and Zhang Yu also kept an eye on the results of the draw.

The No. [-] lottery was an upset. The second-to-last Cavaliers won the No. [-] lottery, and the Timberwolves, who were last in the league, only got the No. [-] lottery.

However, this is the seventh consecutive year that the team with the worst record in the NBA missed the No. The team's contribution and income are not proportional.

And this year is the first year that James left the Cavaliers. Bosh and James left the small team that trained them and gathered in Miami and Wade to form the Big Three, which shocked the world and shocked the boss.

If the Heat really establishes a dynasty and proves that this way of the Big Three teaming up is feasible, then will the geniuses selected by small teams only need to play for a few years, and then they can go to big cities to play "brother basketball"?

This is the most worrying thing for the owners of small teams. In the past, the NBA advocated the loyalty of one person, one city. Stars disdain to form groups. However, after the Celtics formed the Big Three, the trend of grouping has intensified. Gasol went to the Lakers, James Going to the Heat with Bosh, the NBA is about to enter an era of oligarchs.

In this case, David Stern gave the Cavaliers a No. [-] pick, which is also the heart of these team owners and shows his attitude.

After the Timberwolves, the No. 29 pick was given to the Warriors. This was also a small upset. The Nets had a record of 53 wins and [-] losses, four or five games behind the Raptors, Wizards and Clippers. The probability of signing is not high, it can only be said that Larry Riley is full of luck.

Then the Cavaliers got the fourth pick, which was a draft pick from the Clippers. After that, Zhang Yu didn't pay attention, and the first round had nothing to do with the Warriors.

After the lottery is drawn, the next step is the trial training for the rookies. Last year, the Warriors quickly started the trial training. This year, they will play in the Western Conference finals. Zhang Yu's work is all focused on the series against the Mavericks. It was left to Larry Riley to do it.

With the No. [-] pick in hand, he already has a plan for the draft.

In the league, not all teams need to worry about draft picks. The Warriors are the only team in the league that rebuilds while playing in the Western Conference finals. The Bulls and Heat who are still in the playoffs can only get the first pick in order of record. Picks at the end of the round.

The G3 of the two teams was held on the night of the draw ceremony. Their attention was all on the championship, and they didn't care about the draw ceremony.

……

Miami, American Airlines Center.

This lazy seaside city also has the most lazy fans in the United States. The first quarter of the game between the Bulls and the Heat lasted 7 minutes, and there were still some sporadic vacancies in the auditorium. Only in Miami, where there are many Latinos, This scene will only appear in the Western Conference Finals.

On the field, Rose holds the ball and advances to the frontcourt. Chalmers is the leader defending him.

Bosh didn't defend and stayed at the free throw line, and Chalmers also chose to go around the screen.

The last time the Heat defeated the Bulls in an away game was to prevent Rose from breaking through and give him jump shots. As a result, Rose's shooting efficiency was not high throughout the game, so he won the victory.

Today, when Rose was emptied by the Heat again, he pulled up without hesitation and shot a three-pointer. Before Wade got around to him, his shooting action was very stretched, and the basketball crossed a line With a low but stable arc, the bullet enters the frame.

At 17:13, the Bulls led by 4 points.

After Rose scored the goal, the high-spirited "defence" shouts from the Heat fans stopped, and the arena suddenly became much quieter.

On the sidelines, Spoelstra looked up at Rose's data column on the big screen, his eyes flickered, and he seemed a little hesitant.

This is already the second three-pointer made by Rose in this game. He made 3 of 2 three-pointers after the opening, all of which were half-open opportunities. scored 8 points.

Spoelstra is hesitating whether he should continue to stick to the defensive strategy of letting Rose shoot. Rose's touch in this game looks very good. If he keeps shooting like this, there may be problems.

Just as he was thinking, Wade broke through with the ball and fell into the Bulls' double-team in the middle distance. Inside the Heat, a super-large pull-bar shot into the basketball made the American Airlines Center completely quiet.

After scoring the goal, Rose did not celebrate, but after a good teammate high-fived, he quietly retreated to the half court. Instead, a few fans wearing Bulls No. 1 jerseys on the sidelines cheered and celebrated crazily.

Spoelstra's mind immediately turned from defense to offense. He took two quick steps, came to the sideline, and said loudly:
"Don't worry, Dwayne, slow down and fight!"

The Bulls' defense is very good, but the offense is very monotonous. They rely entirely on Rose's singles and pick-and-rolls. Thibodeau can let Luol Deng and Boozer play two singles at most. There are almost no other tactics. The Heat must not give the Bulls a defensive counterattack. Chance.

Although this is also the strength of the Heat, with the Big Three, the hard solution to attacking with the Bulls is the most beneficial choice for the Heat.

Spoelstra also made a decision to continue to empty Rose's shots. He didn't believe that Rose could be accurate for the entire game.

When the series reached the Eastern Conference finals, the tactics that the two teams could use were used in the first two rounds, and there was not much room for adjustment. The Bulls even went all out in the regular season. The Heat locked the Bulls inside and role players. Rose's jumper is the only offensive method left by Spoelstra for the Bulls. As long as his jumper feels down, the Bulls' offense will collapse immediately.

Spoelstra believes that moment will come sooner or later.

But as time went by, Spoelstra's face became more and more ugly.

第一节打完，罗斯三分球5投3中，得到13分，公牛27:22领先热火5分。

In the second quarter, the Heat relied on Wade to lead the team to chase the point difference to only 1 point. Then Rose came on the court at 8 minutes, made 3 of 2 three-pointers and 5 of 3 long two-pointers, scoring 12 points , once again helped the team to open the score. After the first half, the Bulls led the Heat by 47 points at 38:9.

During the intermission, Spoelster's face was full of helplessness. Compared with the previous two years, Rose's shooting has indeed improved a lot. He also made several three-point strikes in the first two rounds. But this is the first time for Zhuncheng to do this. He didn't expect to be bumped into by the Heat, so he could only admit that he was unlucky.

But Spoelstra still doesn't think that Rose can always maintain such a touch. He firmly believes that Rose's state will definitely have ups and downs in the second half.

This is also a situation that often occurs with many non-shooting guards. They may be accurate for a while, but it is difficult to maintain this state throughout the game. Spoelstra has seen this situation more in Wade.

In the locker room, he once again emphasized the game strategy that he had formulated before the game. Because of Rose's fiery touch, the wavering Heat players also settled down.

After the start of the second half, the Heat set off a counterattack. In these three games, the Bulls' defensive attention has been on Wade. James stood up and carried the Heat's offense.

Under the Heat's targeted defense, Rose made 4 of 2 three-pointers, 6 of 3 long two-pointers, 2 of 1 at the basket, and scored 14 points in a single quarter. He led the Bulls to contain the Heat's counterattack. At the end of the three quarters, the Bulls led the Heat by 70 points with 56:14, firmly holding the initiative in their own hands.

Spoelstra finally couldn't sit still. He walked up and down the sidelines, took a look at the situation on the field, and then looked up at Rose's data column, his face was livid.

Rose actually scored three quarters!

Spoelstra dare not bet on Rose's inaccuracy in the fourth quarter. The Heat have no room for error. He can only make changes. The Heat have to squeeze the screen when defending the pick-and-roll, and the inside players have to be raised. Don't give Rose shooting space.

This can prevent Rose from taking easy shots, but after the Heat's defense expands, it gives him room to break through.

Rose immediately returned to the "right path", continuously breaking through to the Heat's inside line, attracting the defense and passing the ball to his teammates, or completing the finish by himself, and the Bulls returned to the most familiar offensive mode.

Although limited by staffing and monotonous tactics, the overall offensive efficiency of the Bulls has always been low, but they were able to maintain their existing advantages. Unable to shrink, finally declared a failure.

This situation continued until the end of the game. The Bulls defeated the Heat 99:83, leading the opponent 2:1 in the series.

Spoelstra looked solemnly at Rose, who was surrounded by his teammates. In this game, this young man who remained calm after winning the game, this young man who had just become the youngest MVP in NBA history, defeated The Heat's defense broke out an upset.

He scored 46 points, 13 assists and 5 rebounds in a super double-double, which was even more dazzling than James and Wade. 1:2 behind.

After reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, Spoelstra felt a sense of fear for the first time. If Rose's shooting touch can continue, it will be a big bad news for the Heat.

The Heat's inside line is really too empty. Relying on shrinking defense can limit Rose's breakthrough. If he can make a steady three-pointer, Spoelstra will not dare to let him shoot again. At that time, Rose The breakthrough will become the sharpest blade of the Bulls, cutting open the fragile inside defense of the Heat.

In fact, the Heat's offense is the same as the Bulls'. It also relies on the star's individual singles and pick-and-rolls to initiate, but the Heat have two outside ball-holding points, and the Bulls only have one.

But the Bulls have the best defense in the league. Thibodeau is a defensive master. He has been the chief defensive assistant for the Celtics before and knows both James and Wade very well.

He focuses on defending Wade. In view of his characteristics of shooting left and right, he is very particular about the arrangement of defensive positions, forcing him to the left, forcing him to shoot jump shots, allowing him to score in the most awkward way, limiting the Wade's offense.

For James, Thibodeau allowed him to attack and focused his defense on cutting off the connection between James and his teammates. James can score by himself, but not assist his teammates, completely stripping him from the Heat's offense.

As for Bosh, Thibodeau can do nothing.

This kind of defense is very effective, James can get high points every game, Bosh can also blast Boozer with a single point, but Wade is completely locked up, it is difficult to score 20 points, and the efficiency is very low, the role player of the Heat On the offensive end, it is almost invisible, and can only get sporadic points in each game. The Heat did not score 90 points in the first three games.

Thibodeau made the defense to the extreme, leaving only the Big Three in the Heat's offense, and also limited Wade's scoring efficiency.

Spoelstra knows very well that the only advantage of the Heat lies in the strong ability of the Big Three to solve hard problems. If Rose can also come up with a hard solution method that is excellent in shooting and passing, then the advantage of the Heat will no longer exist. The disadvantages will expand infinitely, and the outcome is really hard to say.

Of course, he also knows that Rose has never been a player who is good at shooting, and today's outbreak may be just a flash in the pan, but Spoelstra must consider the worst.

Rose is a player who can perform miracles, just like no one thought he would be the MVP before the season started, and no one knew if he could make those half-open three-pointers.

And even if his shooting returns to normal levels, as long as there is another outbreak, the Heat will not be able to bear it. If the Heat's state drops again...

Spoelstra looked at Rose, thinking a lot, thinking a lot.

Rose didn't notice Spoelstra's gaze. After celebrating with his teammates, Rose went straight to the player channel.

From the beginning to the end, there was no violent expression fluctuation on his face, he just smiled happily.

In the post-match interview, the reporter asked Rose:

"Derek, you made 8 three-pointers tonight, which is the most three-pointers you made in a single game in all games, including the regular season. Did the Heat's defense arouse your competitive spirit?"

Ross replied calmly:

"I have been practicing three-pointers for a year. Today I am just shooting. Whether the Heat let me go or not, I believe I can make it."

The reporter asked curiously:

"One year? Didn't you practice three-pointers before that?"

Rose shook his head, looked up slightly, revealing the color of memory, and said:

"No, I was also practicing shooting before, but I didn't pay much attention to it. At that time, I thought that breakthrough was the best way to attack. Since I was a child, the coach has always taught me to hit the inside, score at the basket, and outside shooting is a last resort. choose."

"Then why do you start to pay attention to three-pointers again?" The reporter asked.

Ross solemnly said:

"I have to thank Coach Z. We talked a lot during the All-Star weekend last year. He gave me a whole new perspective on the injuries I suffered in the past and the importance of shooting. Since then, the three-pointer has become a One of my most important workouts, and without his advice, I probably wouldn't be able to make eight 8-pointers in a game my entire career."

"The Warriors are now 0:2 behind to the Mavericks. What do you think of this round of the series?"

"They won't admit defeat so easily. I know Stephen and Coach Z. The Warriors are back at home. This round of the series has just begun!"

(End of this chapter)