warrior godfather

Chapter 360 The Remnants of the Old Era (5000 words)
After Butler scored a goal, the Warriors fans on the sidelines applauded excitedly. The star matchup can stir people's nerves the most, and now Butler is a well-deserved star.

Amidst the sudden uproar, Rivers frowned, and a puzzled look flashed in his bloodshot eyes.

He has hardly rested these two days, and spends all his time studying the Warriors' game videos. The Warriors are in the limelight this season. As one of the potential opponents in the finals, the Celtics' scouting department is also continuing to collect the Warriors. These materials saved Rivers a lot of time, allowing him to have a comprehensive understanding of the Warriors in just two days.

He knows very well that the Warriors often start with a pass-and-cut tactic to find a touch for Curry and Clay, and then let Curry and Butler start the ball-holding mode.

But today, the Warriors made drastic changes at the beginning of the game. They stopped passing and cutting, and even Curry didn't even attack with the ball. They directly let Butler single out Pierce, which made Rivers a little unexpected. and.

He glanced at Zhang Yu on the other side of the technical table, and saw that the young man was sitting firmly on the seat with a calm expression.

Rivers weighed his mind, stood up, clapped his hands, and said loudly:

"Move, show our strength, all move!"

His hoarse voice is very unique, and it is also very obvious in the noisy environment of the Oracle Center. The Celtic players heard it, and their steps accelerated a lot.

Rivers took another look at Zhang Yu, who was as steady as Mount Tai, before returning to his seat and sitting down.

He couldn't figure out what Zhang Yu was thinking, so he could only focus on me and lay out his own tactics, so as not to give the warriors an opportunity.

On the court, the Celtics players were obviously more focused and patient. After Rondo and Garnett picked and rolled, they gave the ball to Garnett.

Garnett did not single out Clay, but played hand-to-hand with Ray Allen. Curry chased and defended with all his strength, but was blocked by Garnett, although Clay immediately switched to Ray Allen. However, Ray Allen took advantage of the slight gap in the Warriors' defense and shot immediately after receiving the ball. Clay couldn't interfere, and the three-pointer went into the net hollowly.

5: 4.

After the goal, "Gentleman Ray" looked very calm, just gave Garnett a high-five, and quickly returned to defense.

This is just one of the more than 2600 three-pointers he has made in his entire career.

Clay just shook his head, as if he was very dissatisfied with his defense just now, and then ran towards the frontcourt, but his eyes towards Ray Allen became much sharper.

Round transition, after Curry took the ball to the frontcourt, he didn't pass it to Butler, but played a pick-and-roll with Butler, switching Pierce in front of him.

Mike Breen said:

"Curry faced Pierce, and the other Warriors players pulled away—he wanted to single Pierce! This is the third offense the Warriors have launched against Pierce!"

"It seems that this is the Warriors' tactic tonight. They are going to target Pierce. After all, Garnett, Rondo, and Ray Allen are not easy to deal with. Pierce is the weakest defense in the Celtics starting lineup. Ring." Mark Jackson echoed.

On the court, facing Pierce's single defense, Curry took small steps back and forth to change directions, and then suddenly took the left and rushed into the three-point line. His first step was very fast, and he threw Pierce half a body away. Then there was another acceleration, completely getting rid of the slow-footed Pierce, and rushed up against the defending Garnett. When the two were about to collide, he stretched out his hand and handed the ball to Chandler from behind Garnett. Chandler plucked onions on dry land and dunked successfully.

6: 5.

After Curry scored, Pierce raised his right hand to indicate that it was his fault, but Garnett didn't mean to blame him. Instead, he gave him a high-five as a sign of comfort.

Curry is the leading scorer, the MVP leader, and a recognized super point guard. It is normal for the 35-year-old Pierce to be passed by him. Even Garnett himself has no confidence to guard Curry.

However, Curry is a rising supernova, but it does not mean that the old guys will give way willingly.

Looking back, Pierce directly opened his hand for the ball, and Rondo immediately passed the ball when he saw it.

Pierce took the basketball and turned to Butler, squinting his eyes slightly. After a three-threat action, he bent over and took a step forward to the right, and then followed the action of turning to the right. His shoulders shook twice, and suddenly turned back to the left, leaning back Jump shot.

Butler was tricked by his lifelike feint, the defense slowed a step and didn't interfere with Pierce's shot, and the ball flew over his fingertips, slid a rounded trajectory, and fell into the net.

brush!
7: 5.

Pierce smiled triumphantly, spread his hands at Butler, glanced at Curry again, turned and ran back to the backcourt.

He is not a modest gentleman, if he dares to break ground on his head, he will never swallow his anger!

"Bang! Pierce singled Butler successfully. He used his skills and experience to sway Butler's defense, but Butler almost blocked his shot. The ball was dancing on the tip of the knife!" Mike Breen said .

Mark Jackson said with a smile:
"This is Pierce. Every movement and every look in his eyes is a fake. Butler's defense is already very good. If it is replaced by other people, he may have been swayed by his three threats."

On the sidelines, Rivers clapped his hands with satisfaction after seeing Pierce score the goal
The Celtics' first three points came from the Big Three. This is his favorite offensive mode. As long as the Big Three are in good shape, the Celtics are invincible!

On the other side of the technical stage, Zhang Yu looked at Pierce who was celebrating, his expression did not change, but he nodded, but his eyes became darker.

……

In the game that followed the first quarter, the two teams fell into a tug-of-war.

The Warriors insisted on the strategy of infinitely switching defenses, forcing the Celtics to play singles, and did not give them room for complex tactical coordination. Only Ray Allen and Garnett's hand-to-hand cooperation was effective, and the rest of the time was played by the Big Three in singles. In 2008, when the three of them first formed a team, they played.

Such Celtics are not afraid of unlimited defense changes. The Big Three were once the leaders of their respective teams. Singles is the most familiar offensive method for them. The Warriors' defense is not without flaws. It's just above the average level. It's hard for Chandler to restrain Garnett, who is flexible in his feet. Butler is also repeatedly frustrated when facing the experienced Pierce.

The Big Three of the Celtics are one of the few stars in the league who have spanned two decades. They are all remnants of the old era. Even the super shooter Ray Allen, who ranks first in history in terms of total three-pointers, was once a member of the league. For the first-class swingman in China, CIC is their most familiar way of scoring.

Today, the Oracle Center has become the stage for the performances of the Big Three. They take turns to play singles. In this ancient arena, for the audience who are used to watching ultra-long three-pointers, they fully demonstrated the classic mid-range offensive skills.

And the Warriors did not lose. In this game, they were uncharacteristically attacking Pierce frantically.

Butler frequently singled Pierce, and Curry did not pick and roll to find Brandon Bass, who had a worse defense. Instead, he and Butler picked and rolled Pierce many times, and seized the opportunity to break through to the Celtics inside, or complete it by himself. Finish, or assist a teammate to score.

Even Clay had a mid-range post-up against Pierce, and he didn't suffer a loss. He made 2 of 1 shots and scored 2 points.

Faced with the Warriors' frenzied offense, Pierce naturally wouldn't sit still.

Although he has never been known for his defense, his accumulated experience over the years has allowed him to defend at the small forward position without suffering, reaching above the league average.

Pierce can't keep up with Curry's speed, but he has strong confrontation and strength. Using experience, he can effectively limit Butler's breakthrough. After the first quarter, Butler only made 5 of 2 shots and 2 of 2 free throws against Pierce. , 6 points, average efficiency.

However, the Celtics were completely unable to limit Curry's offense. At the end of the first quarter, Curry made 7 of 5 shots, 2 of 1 three-pointers, and no free throws. He scored 11 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds. Withstood the firepower of the Big Three, the Warriors were only 25 points behind the Celtics at 28:3.

During the intermission, Rivers was very satisfied with the score. In the first quarter, Pierce scored 9 points, Garnett scored 6 points, and Ray Allen scored 6 points. The Big Three scored very well and were in good condition.

Especially Pierce, he has become the Warriors' key offensive target today. This kind of contempt is undoubtedly a provocation to him, which inspired Pierce's fighting spirit. He also tried his best to single-handedly defend the opponent's offense many times, and successfully defended the pride and status of his older generation of stars.

Looking at Pierce, who kept wiping off his sweat and breathing slightly short of breath, Rivers said loudly:
"Good job, Paul! Just play like this, kill that No. 21, and tell him with actions that in this league, you can become a star not just by being voted as the All-Star starter by Chinese people!"

Pierce nodded vigorously, but didn't answer. He was irritated by his opponent in the first quarter, and he didn't have the strength to spare.

He picked up the energy drink, swallowed it, looked at Butler on the Warriors' bench, recalled how he crushed him on both offense and defense just now, and smiled triumphantly.

You should recognize your own strength now, you want to pinch me like a persimmon?You are not qualified yet!
……

When Pierce rested, Garnett and Rondo stayed on the court, with three backups, to battle the Warriors' rotation.

This is another advantage of the Big Three teams, which can always leave a strong offensive point on the court to lead the team.

But the Warriors happen to be a team with a very deep lineup, and the strength of the rotation players is very good, and Jeremy Lin continued his excellent form in the previous game. Even in the face of Garnett's defense, he was not timid at all. The meaning is to continuously pass the pick-and-roll to forcibly hit the Celtics penalty area and challenge Garnett's defense.

Although Jeremy Lin was blocked once, he caused a foul by Garnett, made two free throws, and then a large barrier avoided Garnett's block, a layup, and then another shot Li's mid-range step back hit, scored 6 points in a row, and defeated Garnett's defense head-on!
Relying on Jeremy Lin's outstanding performance, the Warriors quickly equalized the score. If Garnett hadn't hit back with an iron-blooded jumper on the offensive end, the Celtics would have even been overtaken by several points. But even so, the two teams took the lead alternately, and the situation changed. Get more and more anxious.

Finally, at 7 minutes and 25 seconds, Garnett made a mid-range shot under the interference of Yi Jianlian. Looking back, Leonard received a breakthrough from Jeremy Lin and made an open three-pointer. The score came to 39: 34, the lead of the Warriors came to 5 points, which is also the biggest lead of the Warriors in this game!
"Di-"

Rivers immediately called a timeout. In this kind of tug-of-war, every point is crucial, and he can't sit back and watch the Warriors continue to open the score.

On the sidelines, Zhang Yu and the players walking off the court clapped their hands one by one, and looked at Rivers on the other side in surprise.

Zhang Yu didn't expect that Rivers would call timeout so decisively. It seems that his on-the-spot adjustments were not all useless, at least in regular time, his mind was very clear.

Although Rivers just called a timeout, based on Zhang Yu's understanding of Rivers, it is very likely that he will switch to the starting lineup.

And Zhang Yu has never had the habit of substituting others. His coaching philosophy is to go first and change according to the situation.

If Rivers also switches to the starting lineup, the Warriors will not suffer at all; if Rivers chooses to wait and see, then the Warriors will take advantage of the lineup to open up the score and completely control the initiative in their own hands.

However, Zhang Yu's guess was right, Rivers also replaced the main force, but let Garnett go down to rest, and Greg Stiensma served as the center.

The 2-meter undrafted pick is a very diligent player, but his strength is obviously not enough to gain a foothold in the NBA. Otherwise, even if he only has the strength of a basic-salary center, Rivers will not let Garnett swing up to five. The number is up.

But the Celtics really have no one available at the fifth position, so they have to let Steensma play for more than ten minutes per game, and these ten minutes are when the Celtics' inside defense is weakest.

Of course, the Warriors would not miss this good opportunity. After seeing Stiensma on the field, Zhang Yu raised his left hand and patted his head. This gesture has only one meaning, which is to use various means to attack the opponent's penalty area.

After seeing Zhang Yu's actions, the Warriors players on the field immediately followed his instructions and launched a crazy attack against Steen Sima!

They still follow the game plan formulated by the coaching staff. As long as Pierce is on the court, they will find opportunities to consume him, but the follow-up actions are all turned into attacking the frame, reducing shots from the outside and mid-range, and using Stearns to protect the frame. The weakness of the insider has repeatedly succeeded.

Rivers is also well aware of Steensma's strength, which made other Celtics players shrink to help defend, but Zhang Yu arranged for Curry and Jeremy Lin to attack Pierce, which does not mean that everyone else is a spectator.

Clay was running all the time, looking for open shot opportunities. Green opened up space on the outside and cut inside when he had the opportunity. Chandler kept sinking and nailed near the penalty area, threatening the Celtics' basket at all times. Next, each point has an offensive threat.

In the first half, they took advantage of the excessive contraction of the Celtics, seized the open opportunities, and sounded the alarm several times, so that the Celtics did not dare to underestimate them and were forced to adopt a man-to-man defensive strategy .

Now that Stiensma is on the field, the Celtics have contracted a few rounds, but they have been punished by their empties, so they can only switch back to man-to-man and hand over the defense of the penalty area to Stiensma. At most, you can reach out and swipe your card halfway.

"Di-"

After 3 minutes, Rivers couldn't bear it anymore and raised his hand to stop the game. Stiensma lashed out on the court, seemingly working hard, but in fact the defensive effect was basically zero, which belonged to the bluff defense. In just 3 minutes , He lost 8 points at the basket, and the point difference was widened.

The timeout ended soon, and Garnett went into battle again. Although the rest time was very short, it was not enough for him to recover his physical fitness, but the impact ability of the Warriors' back line was too strong. On the basis of Curry, there was another Lin Crazy, Stearnsma received two fouls in 3 minutes, and if he continues to play, he may not be able to finish a quarter and will be sent off.

After the Big Three are complete, the Celtics are complete. After a few patient tactical moves, Pierce and Ray Allen scored consecutively to help the team stabilize the situation. Zhang Yu also replaced Jeremy Lin and Bart at the right time. Le, strengthen the defense.

In the rest of the second quarter, the two teams returned to the state of the first quarter. The Warriors continued to target Pierce, and the Celtics' Big Three took turns. Provide fire support to the Big Three.

The two sides came and went, and the first half came to an end unconsciously. The score became 57:52. The Warriors led by 5 points and entered the intermission.

……

"Everyone played very well in the first half. We played what we wanted, and we continued to work hard in the second half. We just need to persevere, and the Celtics will collapse. Victory is in sight..."

In the locker room of the home team, Zhang Yu stood in front of everyone, cheering up the morale loudly, while the Warriors players sat quietly in their seats, relaxing their muscles, recovering their physical fitness, and preparing for the second half of the game.

"...Let's just defend like this later. As for the offense, it's still the same as the first half. Stephen, Jimmy, you guys continue to attack Pierce, and the others don't relax. Pay attention to running without the ball, be ready to respond at any time, and shoot when you get a chance. Jeremy, you are ready to play at any time..." Zhang Yu arranged tactics very quickly, and everyone he pointed to responded quickly.

"Okay, that's it, let's go, fight for the third quarter to resolve the battle!"

In the end, Zhang Yu's voice was sonorous, everyone shouted a slogan, and filed out of the locker room.

Zhang Yu walked at the end, looked at the sweaty Curry, patted his back, and said:

"It's hard work, Stephen, if you persist for another half, the victory will be ours!"

Curry smiled and replied confidently:

"No problem, boss, Pierce will only be more tired than me!"

(End of this chapter)