warrior godfather

Chapter 375 Responsibility (first update)
The next day, Zhang Yu got up early in the morning and came to the Salseforce headquarters together with Rick Wertz and the Warriors' legal department, met with Benioff, and started the final negotiation of the contract.

The main part of the contract has been negotiated, but there are still many details that need to be determined. Many of them can even be said to be nitpicking, but when it comes to such a huge amount, both parties must act cautiously and must not leave any future Vague terms that cause disputes and wrangling.

Moreover, Zhang Yu also needs time to raise such a large amount of funds. The cash flow in his hands is only more than 2000 million U.S. dollars, and the rest of the funds are all invested in two investment companies. In the case of team operation, all land purchase funds have been raised.

Since Zhang Yu had to go to Memphis with the team in the afternoon, Zhang Yu left Salseforce just by showing up.

After bidding farewell to Benioff, he said to Rick Wertz:
"Rick, the playoffs are about to start, and it will take time to raise funds. I will discuss this with you slowly. It can be settled before the start of the playoffs. Don't worry."

Rick Wertz nodded in response:
"I know, Ronan, results are the foundation of the team. I will handle this matter properly. Just focus on the game, don't worry."

Zhang Yu smiled slightly:
"Okay, I'll just wait for the good news. I hope that when the Warriors enter the playoffs with the league's No. [-] ranking, I will officially sign this contract. That day will be a sign of the Warriors' real rise!"

……

April 4, Oklahoma, Chesapeake Energy Arena.

"Defence! Defense—yeah!!!"

In the auditorium, the Thunder fans chanted defensive slogans in unison, and the momentum was overwhelming. After Ibaka successfully steals James, there was a burst of enthusiastic cheers.

At this time, the game between the Thunder and the Heat has progressed to the last 1:54 of the fourth quarter. The two teams fought fiercely for the entire game. The score was very tight. The Thunder led the Heat by one point at 94:93, holding a weak lead. .

The Heat's lineup left on the field is James, Wade, Battier, Haslem and Bosh, while the Thunder is Westbrook, Sefolosha, Durant, Ibaka and Perkins.

After Ibaka's successful steal, the fans were ecstatic, and the morale of the Thunder players was also boosted. Westbrook immediately ran to Ibaka's side and asked for the ball.

Brooks stood on the sidelines with an eager look, and kept pressing down with both hands, signaling Westbrook to control the rhythm and hit the success rate. consumes time.

He kept an eye on the timer, but with 8 seconds left on the shot clock, Westbrook handed the ball to Durant, who came out from the inside, and ran to the weak side to open up space.

At the critical moment of the fourth quarter, of course the ball must be handed over to the big brother.

After Durant received the ball, facing James, he made a tentative step, and then used his signature continuous large-scale change of direction + dragging step to shake out the space and use his best mid-range pull-up jumper , to kill the match.

But the moment Durant just released the ball, Wade let go of Westbrook's defense and rushed towards him, as if he was going to flank him with James!

Durant was caught off guard, so he could only take a step back and protect the ball with both hands, and naturally he couldn't make any follow-up actions.

Although Durant began to encounter double-teams very early, it stands to reason that he should be used to double-teaming, but his weaknesses such as high center of gravity when dribbling, weak physical confrontation and narrow vision make it difficult for him to be double-teamed. The ability to quickly play the ball and break double teams has not been strong among stars of the same level.

But this time, Wade just made a feint. He took two steps towards Durant, then immediately turned around and stopped in front of Westbrook, not really trying to pinch Durant.

But regardless of whether it was a real pincer or not, Wade's defensive goal was achieved. He destroyed Durant's offensive rhythm and made him fall into a stop state. The Thunder's offensive time was running out. Durant had no choice but to I can only make a strong shot, and under the serious interference of James, the basketball hits the front of the basket and bounces high.

But at this moment, Ibaka jumped up from the crowd, overwhelmed Haslem and Bosh, grabbed an offensive rebound, passed it to Westbrook on the outside, and the ball returned to the Thunder.

On the sidelines, Spoelstra frowned slightly when he saw this scene, but he didn't show any particular dissatisfaction.

Since he chose to let Bosh and Haslem partner inside to open up space, he had to bear the consequences of the Heat's poor rebound protection in the backcourt.

Westbrook received Ibaka's pass, did not rush to attack, and continued to dribble slowly at the top of the arc, wasting time.

But if Westbrook doesn't come up, then he is not Westbrook. No one knows what Westbrook is thinking in his heart. He glanced at Durant who was opening his hand to him from the flank, but ignored his request for the ball. , A direct shoulder sinking, is about to speed up and rush into the Heat's inside line.

But Westbrook's thoughts were too obvious. Wade saw through his action directly and blocked his breakthrough route one step ahead.

boom!
Wade was hit hard by Westbrook, and fell backwards on his back. Westbrook also staggered two steps. The referee immediately blew his whistle, made a fist with his right hand, hit his left hand, and then punched hard in the direction of the Thunder's backcourt. refer to.

Offensive foul, charge with the ball!
Westbrook stood up straight, threw the ball to the referee, and retreated to the backcourt angrily, without any intention of asking the referee to reason.

The ball was purely because of his impatience. He wanted to pass Wade with one step, but he was caught by Wade. There was no point in defending the referee. His offensive foul was too obvious.

The Thunder players also retreated to the backcourt in frustration. Durant shook his hand and walked back without even looking at Westbrook. There was a huge sigh from the audience.

Ibaka struggled to grab offensive rebounds, and the morale brought to the team disappeared in this round.

Looking back, the Heat attacked. Although they were the one behind, they continued to play tactics calmly.

Wade passed the ball to James, wanting him to play the ball, but when the basketball was in James' hands, it seemed like a hot potato, and he immediately passed it back.

In Wade's puzzled eyes, James ran to the weak side, and Battier and Battier were in the bottom corner respectively.

He waved his hands at Wade, and then leaned on his legs, standing in the bottom corner, which meant that Wade was allowed to play this round, and he was responsible for opening up the space.

The attack time was passing by every minute and every second. Wade didn't dare to delay. He didn't have time to say anything more. He suppressed the confusion in his heart and waved Haslem to sink to the bottom. His mid-range shot threat made Perkins dare not let go. He then waved to Bosh, signaling him to move up to the top of the arc.

Although Wade was not in good form in this game, he only hit 18 goals in 7 shots, and his shooting percentage was only 38.9%, while James had made 20 of 10 shots and scored 34 points efficiently, but time was tight. If he gave up the ball, he must take this responsibility.

Afterwards, Wade rushed into the three-point line with the help of Bosh's cover. After compressing the Thunder's defense line, he passed back to Bosh who was on the outside. A long two points, a steady hit.

95:94, the Heat lead by one point.

After Bosh scored the goal, the shouts of "defence" from the Thunder fans immediately subsided, but the Heat's bench fell into a boil. James Jones waved the towel and shouted Bosh's name loudly, just like the two shots just now. The scoring is just as good as his shots.

Round transition, Thunder attack, this time, Brooks no longer let the players press the time, but Westbrook didn't know if it was a heroic episode, or he didn't pass the ball to Durant, and chose to attack by himself.

Westbrook waved for Perkins to go up to the top of the arc, and then he used Perkins' cover to rush into the inside of the Heat. Wade and Haslem chased and intercepted Westbrook. Westbrook lobbed the ball high to Perkins. Perkins wanted to attack the frame directly after receiving the ball, but was pulled down by Bosh who came from the weak side to defend.

"Di-"

The referee's whistle sounded, Bosh thugs fouled.

Perkins stood at the free throw line, but the Thunder fans all looked worried, and even held their breath nervously, staring at Perkins.

There are only 43 seconds until the end of the game, and Perkins' free throws are very average. His free throw percentage has been hovering around 60% throughout his career. At such a critical moment, the fans have no confidence in his free throws.

Bang!

Sure enough, Perkins missed the basket for the first free throw.

But after missing the first free throw, Perkins relaxed a little. According to his 60% free throw percentage, the second goal should be scored.

Bang!

Perkins' expression froze as he missed the second free throw.

"Hey--"

There was a loud sigh from the auditorium, the fans shook their heads bitterly, and some even cursed Perkins.

On the field, Durant, who was waiting for a rebound, was squeezed aside by James and grabbed the defensive rebound before he could react.

He never expected that Perkins would miss two free throws!
After James protected the defensive rebound, he didn't rush to attack. He slowly brought the ball to the frontcourt, but instead of passing the ball to Wade as before, he waved his hand and signaled Wade to go to the corner to open up space.

Afterwards, he dribbled the ball on the spot at the top of the arc, letting the offensive time run out, until there were 2 seconds left, and he stood against Durant's defense and confidently shot a three-pointer.

Bang!

His shot intentions were too obvious. Even if Durant didn't defend well, he pounced on him immediately and interfered with James' shooting. The basketball went out of the frame and was protected by Ibaka.

"Di-"

Immediately afterwards, Brooks called a timeout, replaced Ibaka, and replaced Sefolo Sala to open up space.

This is the Thunder's last chance. There are 19.5 seconds left in the game. If this attack fails, the Thunder can only make a tactical foul and it will be difficult to chase.

Amidst the shouts of "OKC" from all the fans in the field, Westbrook sent a sideline ball, and Durant came out to catch the ball through the cover. Without the slightest hesitation, he directly shot a three-pointer!

James, who was chasing him, was blocked by Perkins, a step slower, and did not interfere with Durant's shooting, but Durant has been on the court for 43 minutes, and his physical exertion is very intense, very tired, and he lacks strength when taking off , The dry pull-up three-pointer was a little shorter, and the basketball hit the front edge of the basket and bounced high.

Bang!

In an instant, players from both sides rushed into the Heat penalty area, huddled together, and struggled to seize the position. Since Brooks replaced Ibaka and replaced Sefoloza, the Thunder's inside height was weakened, and Perkins doubled. The punch was hard to beat with four hands, and the rebound was won by Haslem.

He immediately passed the ball to Wade, and Wade sprinted forward with the ball. Westbrook hurriedly chased after him, slapped hard, and made an active tactical foul.

"Di-"

The referee's whistle sounded at the right time, and Brooks immediately replaced Ibaka to protect the backcourt rebounds, but Wade made two free throws steadily, extending the lead to 3 points, and Brooks had to switch back to Harden, a desperate fight.

The Thunder sent the baseline ball, and Westbrook rushed to the frontcourt and passed it to Durant, but this time, he was really pinched by Battier and James, and he could only pass the ball to Sefolosha.

At this time, the game was about to end with only 3.5 seconds left, and there was no time to pass the ball. Sefolosha could only shoot a three-pointer.

Bang!

Under tremendous psychological pressure, Sefolosha made a wide-open three-pointer, and the rebound was protected by Bosh. At the same time, the time ran out, the red light came on, and the game ended. The Heat narrowly beat the Thunder 97:94.

"Hey--"

After the game, Thunder fans made no secret of their disappointment.

After losing this game, the gap between the Thunder, the Spurs, and the Warriors has been further widened, and the hope of returning to the top two in the Western Conference has become increasingly slim. In the early stage, we were in a state of triumphant progress all the way, driving high and low, and this is the most disappointing.

"We lost again. We lost to the Grizzlies in the last game. We have lost two games in a row..."

"Fack! It was another critical moment of collapse. The last 2 minutes were full of strikes and mistakes. This way we will never win!"

"You're right, I thought the last game lost to the Grizzlies was bad enough, but today I lost to the Heat in a more disgusting way, at least in the last 2 minutes of the last game, Russell and James relied on free throws Got 6 points, but didn't score a single point today, Schett... KD! You are a super scorer, the team needs you to stand up and score!"

On the way to the player tunnel, Durant's face was terribly gloomy as he listened to the discussions in his ears.

When he walked into the player tunnel, as usual, many Thunder fans stretched out their hands from above, wanting to high-five him, but Durant completely ignored the fans' outstretched hands and walked straight into the player tunnel.

Behind him, although Westbrook's face was also ashen, he managed to squeeze out a smile, and high-fived the fans one by one before walking into the player tunnel.

Durant didn't notice what happened behind him. After returning to the locker room, he took a shower in silence without any communication with others. Together with Westbrook, he followed Brooks to the news room and was ready to be interviewed.

After the whole game, the two scored 30 points and 28 points respectively. The performance is not bad. The only fly in the ointment is that they did not take their responsibilities in the last 2 minutes. They did not score a point and ruined the game with their own hands. .

　Thanks to Yu Qingfeng, book friends 161219144813359, and ayjs for their rewards!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)