warrior godfather

Chapter 341 Confused Brooks (8000 words)
Durant and others did not raise any objection to Brooks' decision. Their minds still echoed the scene of a Warriors player who couldn't get rid of in front of them when they started the singles in the third quarter. It seemed like a nightmare that had been haunting them heart.

After Brooks conceded the shot, Zhang Yu also took advantage of a dead ball to replace the team's third team. The subsequent game completely entered garbage time and came to an end without any surprise.

In the end, the Warriors defeated the Thunder 125:103, winning the focus of the No. [-] in the West VS No. [-] in the West head-on. They won five consecutive victories and stabilized their No. [-] ranking in the league.

After the whole game, Curry clocked in three quarters, played 31 minutes, made 19 of 11 shots, 14 of 8 three-pointers, 4 of 4 free throws, scored 34 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 turnovers. Scored 21 points in the first quarter, leading the Warriors' offensive frenzy in the third quarter, and was the number one contributor to the Warriors' win.

Green also played extremely well. He had a strong sense of presence in the first half. In the second half, after Zhang Yu put on a five-small lineup, Green became the focus of the field. position, and it turns out that Green is fully capable of playing the center position facing the Thunder's inside line.

Like Curry, he also clocked in three quarters, played 30 minutes, made 10 of 6 shots, 4 of 2 three-pointers, 2 of 1 free throws, scored 15 points, 11 assists, 12 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks and 3 turnovers. It is comprehensive and has made great contributions to both offensive and defensive ends.

On the defensive end of the first half, Green took advantage of Ibaka's weakness of not shooting, boldly emptied Ibaka, and rotated around to help defend, effectively limiting the Thunder's breakthrough. This is one of the reasons why Westbrook shot a lot of three-pointers.

On the offensive end, Green perfectly played the role of a pick-and-roll screener. After receiving the pass from Curry's double-team, he either attacked the frame by himself, shot a three-pointer, or hit the inside of the Thunder to attract help defenses and then distribute the ball. For teammates, the choice is reasonable and calm, severely punishing the Thunder's defensive strategy of flanking Curry. Under his leadership, the Warriors' four-on-three success rate is extremely high.

Although all this stems from Curry's strong offensive deterrence on the offensive end, which has attracted most of the Thunder's defensive attention, but without Green's comprehensiveness in shooting, movement control, and passing on the offensive end, the Warriors are not so good at breaking double teams. easy.

If Green can only finish and can't pass, Brooks can let him attack alone. With Green's firepower, he can never kill the Thunder; if Green can only pass, the Thunder's follow-up defense is easy. Limit the Warriors' conduction of the ball.

But Green has very comprehensive skills on the offensive end, and his offensive ability is not enough for the Thunder to treat him as a star. Only when he is not taken seriously, can Green bring out his passing, impact and shooting. The Warriors It also happens that there is a Curry who makes the opponent willing to let him go and double-team him, which makes Green's almighty on the offensive end.

Green is such a peculiar player. If he is allowed to lead a team alone, his omnipotence on the offensive end will become omnipotent. There will be no room for play.

But as long as he has a superstar around him who can attract the opponent's defensive attention, then Green will let people know that he may be the most versatile player in NBA history in terms of comprehensive offense and defense. He can play from 1 to 5 on the defensive end. , He can also play from 1 to 5 on the offensive end.

Today's Green played such an amazing performance. He is like a combat booster specially hung on Curry. When he is alone, there is no offensive threat, but he can infinitely amplify Curry's offensive influence. .

Curry is still Curry without Green, but when the two coexist, the Warriors can have an extra all-around Green.

And this kind of Green also made the Thunder afraid to pinch Curry in the second half. He also took advantage of the trend from an all-around pick-and-roll ball handler to a space-based fifth position, which still has a huge effect on the court.

Of course, the premise of all this is that Green has the ability to attack independently, otherwise he will completely lose the threat on the offensive end, and the passing he is good at will not be able to play any role.

In addition to Curry, who scored 30+ points, and Green, who won a triple-double, the Warriors' third winning hero was Butler. When Curry was double-teamed, he and Green supported the Warriors' offense. The difference is , Green relied on the pass, and Butler relied on the strong kill against Durant.

In this game, Butler was merciless against Durant. He broke through with the ball when he had the opportunity, and succeeded repeatedly. Durant's weak defense could not stop Butler's impact. He made 17 of 10 shots in the game. Made 3 of 1 three-pointers, made 4 of 3 free throws, scored 24 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block and 1 turnover. Durant was completely blown away on the offensive end, and Durant was also very uncomfortable on the defensive end. , which can be called the integration of offense and defense.

In addition, Clay made 9 of 5 three-pointers and scored 15 points. Leonard had 10 points, 3 steals and 1 block. Tony Allen had 8 points and 2 steals. Jeremy Lin had 9 points and 4 assists. Chandler had 8 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. Covering, performance is very good.

Among them, Clay and Chandler mainly scored in the first half and the fourth quarter, while Leonard and Tony Allen played an important role in the five small lineups in the third quarter, and the points were mainly obtained through defensive counterattacks .

For the Thunder, Westbrook felt hot in the first half. He made 13 of 8 shots and 8 of 5 three-pointers. Only 21 points were scored, 8 of which were obtained before the Warriors put in the five small lineups. When the Warriors entered the five small lineups, Westbrook was firmly contained on the offensive end.

Not only Westbrook, but Harden, who played well in the first half, was completely locked up by the Warriors' infinite defense changes.

Harden defended against Chandler in the second quarter. He made 7 of 5 shots, 3 of 2 three-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 14 points. However, he faced Tony Allen, Butler, and Leonard in the third quarter. In the ultimate defensive lineup composed of De and Green, they only made 5 of 1 shots and scored 2 points.

He was flanked by the Warriors again in the fourth quarter, without scoring. He scored 18 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 5 turnovers. He was very embarrassed under the Warriors' targeted defense.

Only Durant relied on his height and arm length to score 8 points in singles in the third quarter, but it was just a drop in the bucket, and it didn't help the overall situation.

In addition, Durant was flanked in the first half, faced with the Warriors' unlimited defense changes in the third quarter, the whole game encountered great defensive pressure, and his scoring efficiency plummeted. He made 25 of 10 shots, 10 of 3 three-pointers, and 6 of free throws. 5. Scored 28 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 5 turnovers.

Under the tough physical confrontation of the Warriors, he consumed a lot of energy and performed very poorly.

Except for the three players, none of the other Thunder players performed very well. Only Ibaka scored in double figures and scored 10 points and 6 rebounds. The rest of the role players did not score more than 5 points.

This is also related to the Warriors' defensive strategy. Zhang Yu allowed Westbrook and Harden to take a lot of jump shots in the first half, but never allowed the Thunder's role players to score.

When he found that the touch of Westbrook and Harden was difficult to control, he decisively resorted to five-pointers to force three players in singles in the second half, completely cutting off the Thunder's offensive system, and then relying on the strong single-defense ability of the Warriors, almost Blocked the Thunder's offense.

The Warriors also took advantage of the situation to play continuous defensive counterattacks. Curry entered his favorite rhythm of the game and harvested the game in one fell swoop.

……

When the red light came on, the Warriors fans all stood up and applauded, all with big smiles on their faces.

When Zhang Yu walked towards the technology stage, a white-haired old man in the front row stretched out his hand to him, and said loudly:
"Ronan, you did a great job, we must continue to win!"

Zhang Yu clapped his hands with him, and the smile on the old man's face became more intense. He said excitedly:

"I've watched Warriors games for more than 20 years. Even in the 'RUN-TMC' era, the Warriors never had such a perfect start... Ronan, please, get one championship, just one, just one! "

Looking at the old man's crystal clear eyes, Zhang Yu nodded solemnly and said:

"I'll try my best!"

After high-fiving the fans along the way, he came to the technical stage and shook hands with Brooks.

Brooks smiled wryly:
"Congratulations, Ronan, you won again."

Zhang Yu smiled:
"It was a great game."

Brooks shook his head:

"No, we played ugly... That lineup you put out in the third quarter is very interesting. Is that what you prepared for us?"

Zhang Yu said vaguely:
"It was just by surprise. If I hadn't been forced into a desperate situation by you, I wouldn't have used this extreme lineup."

"Desperate situation..." Brooks repeated, taking a deep look at Zhang Yu.

He doesn't think that falling behind by 6 points at halftime means being "pushed into a desperate situation."

"To be honest, I'm completely taken aback by your small lineup. It doesn't seem to have any weaknesses. I can't help but want to go back and try it out." Brooks said pointedly.

"Of course, we have another match on February 2th. You can also set up a small lineup, and we will have a good fight." Zhang Yu said.

Seeing that Zhang Yu avoided the truth, even if he didn't talk about the small lineup, Brooks stopped probing, shook hands with Zhang Yu, and left.

……

After the game, Thunder, as the loser, was the first to be interviewed by reporters.

Facing reporters, Brooks praised the Warriors' defense and took responsibility for himself:

"We tried our best in this game, but the Warriors' defense was very confrontational, and their five small lineups in the third quarter were very creative, which was obviously part of their game plan...I have to admit, Coach Z's second half The adjustments were subtle, I didn't respond, it was obviously my problem, we lost the game, the blame was on me, Kevin, Russell and James did a great job."

When a reporter asked about his opinion on the Warriors' five small lineups, Brooks gave a vague answer:

"This is a very imaginative lineup, and it has achieved very good results, whether it is offense or defense... I will go back and watch the game video to prepare for the match in a week."

This is the consistent style of Brooks after losing. He never pushes the responsibility to the players, but takes the responsibility himself. The reporters have already expected this, and hastily ended their questions.

After Brooks, the Thunder's three young players took turns to accept interviews, and the first one was Durant.

"Kevin, can you talk about your thoughts on this game?"

Durant glanced at the note that the PR handed him, then raised his head and said expressionlessly:
"This is a wonderful game. The Warriors kicked our ass hard. We are a little negligent. We will make adjustments after we go back and fight back in the next game... (Fack! Why do I always lose to Warrior? Why?!)”

The reporter obviously couldn't hear Durant's inner roar, and continued to ask:
"Stephen Curry scored 34 points in this game, what do you think of his performance?"

Durant glanced at the note again, his eyelids twitched, he raised his head, and said expressionlessly:

"Stephen Curry is doing great, he's one of the best players in the league, he played at a superstar level tonight, he should be in the discussion for the best player of the season... (I'm the The best one! Why do I keep losing to that babyface? I can't understand, what the hell do I have to do to win?)"

"In addition to Curry, the Warriors' Draymond Green scored a triple-double in this game, and Butler scored 24 points. How do you evaluate their performance? Do you think their performance is comparable to that of James and Russell? Come on, who is better?"

Durant took the note closer, looked at the key words on it carefully, and said:
"They, like James and Russell, are very good players. They are the key to the Warriors winning this game... (Shet! Why do you ask this question? Don't you know that Jimmy Butler's 24 points are all Is it on me? Where is this SB reporter? Let me see - ESPN reporter, right? Well, I remember you...)"

"Kevin, how would you rate your performance tonight?"

"I haven't played well enough, I need to be more aggressive, further improve my efficiency, stand up in difficult moments, obviously, I didn't do enough today... (That Kawhi Leonard pin really Is it just a rookie? Why do I feel that he is more difficult to deal with than Jimmy Butler, but he lacks a little experience. If he meets the Warriors again in the playoffs... No, I will double practice when I go back. This time it is me Careless, wait for me to go back and prepare well, and then I will have a showdown!)”

"The last question, Kevin, what do you think is the key to the Warriors winning today? What is the reason for your loss?"

Durant didn't read the note this time, he has answered this question countless times, and said with ease:

"We didn't focus enough, we didn't execute the game plan, it's as simple as that... What helper? It’s all cats and dogs! Look at Curry. In addition to Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler, he also has Klay Thompson, Tyson Chandler, Tony Allen, Kawhi... Leonard...wait! I seem to have found the problem-these are the players that Coach Z brought to the Warriors! If I can play under him, will I also have a lot of helpers? I envy that doll Face, if I was in the Warriors... hey...)"

Durant's gaze was a little erratic, and finally he added a sentence in a strange way:
"The Warriors have a very good coach, which is the most important reason why they can achieve such a good record."

When the reporters heard his answer, they immediately became excited:

"You mean, Coach Brooks is not as good as Coach Z?"

Durant shook his head and said:

"Of course not, Scott is the best coach in my mind, none of them... (Coach Z is of course the better one, but Scott is already very good, he will definitely come up with a way to beat the Warriors The method, um, will definitely be able to...)"

After Durant, Westbrook was interviewed, and the reporter asked:
"Russell, you played very well in the first half today. You scored 21 points in the first half, but you only scored 7 points in the third quarter. Can you tell me the reason?"

Westbrook shrugged:

"The Warriors changed their defense, I didn't crack their defense, I have to do better... (Who knew the Warriors would put such a weird lineup? Next time I will break their defense, I will!) "

"Are you satisfied with your performance today?"

Westbrook shook his head and said:
"I'm happy with the first half, but I hate myself in the second half. I played badly in the second half. When's the next time we play against the Warriors? February 2th, yes, February 7th, let's Let's see what happens then... (Okay, revenge so soon, I'll be firing on all cylinders, too bad it's not in Oklahoma, I kinda miss the Chesapeake vibe, we The fans are so cute...)"

"Last question, Russell, how do you evaluate the Warriors' small lineup in the third quarter?"

A trace of fear flashed in Westbrook's eyes, and he said:

"The lineup is short, but the defense is strong. Each of them has a strong single defense, so they can switch defenses infinitely. I must praise Coach Z. He has arranged a very good game plan... (Hey, we seem to I haven’t won the Warriors for a long time, and I have to discuss it with Kevin and James when I go back. If we want to go further, we must beat the Warriors! I believe that as long as the three of us work together, no team will be ours opponent……)"

Harden was the last to be interviewed, and the reporter asked:
"James, you scored 18 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 5 turnovers tonight. How would you rate your performance tonight?"

Harden glanced at the note handed to him by the PR, and said familiarly:
"It's okay, but it doesn't help the team win. Any statistics are meaningless. I need to play better... The defense is really good...)”

"James, what do you think is the reason why you were reversed tonight?"

Harden thought for a while and said:
"After we took the lead in the first half, the second half was a little slack. This should not be the case. We should maintain [-]% focus. The Warriors are a strong team. We must pay attention to their guys... (This SB reporter is Where did it come from? Are you asking me? I’m not the boss of the team, you should ask KD and Russell, I’m only responsible for scoring points off the bench, I’m definitely not responsible for the loss...)”

"James, what do you think of the Warriors' small lineup in the third quarter today?"

Harden glanced at the note handed to him by the publicist again, organized his language, and said:
"Warriors' small lineup worked really well, they used infinite switching to contain our offense, we didn't play well in the second half, obviously, we had to find a way to deal with the small lineup of the Warriors... (Where did the Warriors find it? There are so many defensive champions here? When will I be like Stephen Curry, when I am singled out, my teammates will come up to flank me. I really envy his status in the team. Is this the treatment of the core of the team...) "

"James, one last question. After you played in the fourth quarter, you were double-teamed by the Warriors. This seems to be the first time you have been double-teamed. How do you feel?"

Harden glanced at the note handed to him by the PR for the last time, raised his head and said:

"I regard him as a kind of respect, you know, not everyone will enjoy this kind of defensive treatment, I am very grateful to the Warriors for recognizing me... (Fack! I hate double-teaming! Does anyone like being double-teamed? Well? If it wasn’t for the Warriors’ double-teaming in the fourth quarter, I would have scored 20 points! But being double-teamed is not bad. I don’t have to attack by myself, which saves a lot of energy. There is a game the day after tomorrow, so I can go to the nightclub to relax tonight. Just a moment, hehe...)"

……

After accepting the interview, the Thunder three young men returned to the locker room one after another, packed up their things, left the Oracle Center with their teammates, and boarded a minibus.

They will rest in Oakland for another night, and then take a special plane to Dallas tomorrow, and challenge the Mavericks away the day after tomorrow.

The Oracle Center was not far from where the Thunder stayed, and they returned to the hotel in less than 15 minutes.

The Thunder players had just finished the game and lost the game. They were exhausted physically and mentally. After getting off the car, they didn't communicate much and went back to their respective rooms.

Only Harden found the team's assistant coach, vaguely stated that he had something to go out, and reported to the team.

Everyone in the Thunder knew about Harden's habits. The assistant coach understood it and didn't ask much. He just told Brooks about it after Harden left.

During away games, the team will not prohibit players from going out, but they need to report to the team.

After Brooks heard it, he nodded and didn't say much.

This kind of thing is very common. In addition to Harden, there are several Thunder players who went out to have fun.

Playing in the NBA is very stressful, and it is even more necessary to vent after losing. For young and rich NBA players, the best way to vent is naturally to go to nightclubs to party.

But after a fierce game, the players still have the energy to go to the nightclub to party, but Brooks doesn't have this idea.

His mind is now full of the Warriors' five small lineups in the third quarter. On the way back to the hotel from the Oracle Center, Brooks was thinking about how to crack this lineup. Now, he just wants to quickly study the game against the Warriors in the third quarter. playback.

On the one hand, as a head coach, he must figure out how he was defeated in the adjustment of the on-the-spot arrangement, so as to prepare for meeting the Warriors in the future; After using the tactic, I am eager to figure it out and see if my team can use it.

Afterwards, Brooks simply ate something. After returning to the room, he had a few minutes of video with his wife, then turned on the game video and began to study the third quarter of the game against the Warriors.

……

As time went by, Brooks frequently paused and backtracked, and took out the tactical board from the travel bag, drew a tactic, and then erased it, repeating this process repeatedly, and his expression became more and more dignified.

pat.

Finally, Brooks pressed the space bar to freeze the screen, he let out a long breath, rubbed the center of his eyebrows, and a tired look appeared on his face.

He stood up, walked to the window, opened the window, felt the cold night wind blowing on his face, and lifted his spirits.

Looking at the quiet neighborhood outside the window, Brooks's high-speed mind gradually calmed down. He recalled the details he saw from the game video just now, and muttered to himself:
"Where did he find so many top wing defenders? They are all rookies. Klay Thompson's defense is also much stronger than last season. After that Danny Green came on the court in the fourth quarter, he played very well. ...The most important thing is that Draymond Green, a player who is less than 6 feet 5 inches (2 meters), can top the center position and achieve good defensive results. This is really...unbelievable! "

He stood by the window for a while, feeling that he was sober enough under the blowing of the cold wind, then closed the window, returned to the table, and sat down.

Brooks looked at the time and found that it was already 12:30 in the morning. It took him an hour and a half to initially figure out the defensive and offensive details of the Warriors' five small lineups, and finally understood how to break through this five small lineups.

But unfortunately, the Thunder did not have the resources to break through the Warriors' Fifth Elementary School.

The five small lineups of the Warriors are not so unpredictable tactics. In other words, there are no unpredictable tactics on the basketball court. As long as there is enough time to study the video, everyone can understand basketball tactics. Through the seemingly chaotic running in the game, quickly find the essence and weakness of the opponent's tactics.

Brooks also knew that he was flawed in on-the-spot response, so he worked extra hard on the replay after the game.

But in many cases, seeing through a tactic is just the beginning, and cracking a tactic is the goal.

In Brooks' view, the Warriors' five minors are a set of lineups put up by Coach Z because Chandler was so targeted by Durant, Westbrook and Harden's pick-and-rolls and off-ball screens.

But the core players of this lineup are not the top superstar Curry of the Warriors, nor Butler and Leonard with strong single-defense ability, but the short and strong insider who shined in the first half-Drummond De Green.

It is precisely because of such a center who can defend against big centers, shoot three-pointers, and have the ability to switch defenses downwards that Coach Z dares to play five minors. Become as thin as paper, that is not worth the candle.

But Green just has these abilities. He may not be able to defend those star centers alone in the low post, but he can withstand a blue-collar center like Perkins, create opportunities for his teammates to attack, and has the ability to protect the frame, which is enough. .

In addition, the five small lineups must have wing players with good single-defense and auxiliary defense capabilities. The opponent's star singles with strong shooting ability-that is, against Harden and Durant, as well as Westbrook, who feels hot in this game.

There is no doubt that the Warriors' five small lineups have achieved their goals perfectly.

When Green took the fifth position, the Warriors implemented unlimited defensive changes, did not give the Thunder any easy shooting opportunities, and forced the Thunder to single-play their four major defensive champions. There will be flanking.

The Thunder lacks inside players who can play in the low post. Perkins and Ibaka are both blue-collar workers, and their ability to play the ball is also very poor. They can't punish the Warriors for the low-post attack.

When Harden or Westbrook is double-teamed in the process of singles against Curry, the Warriors' five-small lineup has an advantage in mobility. After the two pass the ball, the Warriors' rotation will often be in place quickly, and everything has to start again come again.

Going around, the Thunder still can only attack from the outside, and it is difficult to find the two defensive weaknesses of Curry and the Warriors' low post.

And this is exactly in the Warriors' arms. Green, Butler, Leonard, and Tony Allen are all very strong in one-on-one defense.

In particular, Westbrook's hand feeling declined in the second half. The Thunder had three space black holes on the court. The Warriors relied on the super mobility of the five small lineups in the second half of the third quarter, and even began to pinch Harden and Durant.

Durant, who was able to score points through indiscriminate singles before with unlimited changes of defenses, also misfired. This further limited the Thunder's offensive efficiency and caused many mistakes by the Thunder. These mistakes were further transformed into the Warriors' continuous counterattack. , the point difference was widened, and finally the Warriors played an astonishing offensive and defensive efficiency in one quarter, completely reversing the situation of the game!
The more Brooks thought about it, the more frightened he became. Before today, he had never thought that basketball could be played like this. The Warriors' five small lineups relied on extreme mobility and aggression to achieve a near-perfect effect on the defensive end. Extremely flexible contraction defense, it does not suffer from the protection of the frame and backboards.

Of course, the Warriors' five small lineups are not without shortcomings. After all, their height is there. If they encounter a star insider with low-post strong killing ability and ability to play the ball, they can give this five small lineup a powerful blow.

But...does such a low-post killer still exist in the league?

At least, the Thunder don't have such a player.

So, if the Warriors play another five, how can they break it?

Brooks looked at the computer screen frozen in front of him, and fell into deep thought again.

On the screen, it was Curry's wanton smile after he scored a three-pointer with the logo.

　The 8000-word chapter asks for a monthly ticket and a recommended ticket~
　　Congratulations to the Warriors for winning G1 in the Western Conference Finals!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)