warrior godfather

Chapter 396
After the awards ceremony, Curry didn't have time to give a speech, so he came to the field with his teammates to welcome the upcoming game.

Both sides have continued the regular starting lineup, the Warriors are Curry, Clay, Butler, Green and Chandler, and the Lakers are Ramon Sessions, Kobe Bryant, Artest, Gasol and Bynum .

Chandler and Bynum came near the center line. Tonight's referee, Scott Foster, came to the side of the two, with a serious face and a dignified look, motioned for the two to stand up, and then threw the ball into the air. The whistle was blown.

Snapped!
Chandler took the first step, allocated the ball to Curry, and the Warriors grabbed the ball on the first possession.

After landing, Chandler gave Bynum a strange look. In the confrontation with him just now, Bynum seemed weak. Before the game started, he seemed to have exhausted most of his energy.

On the sidelines, Zhang Yu saw this scene, and a bright light flashed in his eyes. He leaned back and leaned on the back of the chair, with a confident look on his face.

Sure enough, the Lakers consumed a lot in the series against the Clippers. They just finished the tie-breaker the day before yesterday and only had a day off. Today they came to the Bay Area to challenge the Warriors. There is no time to recover. They should be very tired physically and mentally.

On the court, Curry dribbled the ball to the frontcourt. Instead of handing over the ball at the beginning of the game as in previous games, he ran tactics to let his teammates pass the ball and warm up his hands. Instead, he waved directly to Chandler. , Chandler immediately went up to the top of the arc to cover him.

The successful crowning of MVP filled Curry's heart with the desire to attack. Today, he will go on a killing spree!
But seeing Curry and Chandler playing a pick-and-roll, Bynum immediately followed, one step inside the three-point line, covering Curry's shooting space with his hands, delaying his shot, waiting for Ramon Sessions Squeeze through cover.

Before the game, Mike Brown forgot to eat and sleep, and carefully studied the series between the Mavericks and the Warriors. After being exhausted physically and mentally, he told the Lakers players in every possible way that he must not give Curry an easy three-pointer. The pick-and-roll screener has the opportunity to hit the penalty area down the line, and he must also curb Curry's performance outside the three-point line.

Bynum faithfully complied with Mike Brown's arrangement, almost stepping on the three-point line to defend, which was completely different from the previous crouching of the Mavericks at the beginning.

Under Bynum's strong delay, Curry was unable to use the screen to shoot a three-pointer directly, and Ramon Sessions squeezed through the screen and posted it up, but Chandler got a chance to go down and took the lead. After the delay, Bynum chased back with most of his body and went straight to the basket. Curry hit the ground and stuffed the ball.

His passing angle is very precise, leading with the ball, Chandler does not need to slow down or bend over, just bend slightly, he receives the pass from Curry, takes advantage of the momentum, and grabs Bynum to return to the defense. Before, the dunk was successful.

Bang!

2:0, the Warriors got off to a good start.

Bynum picked up the dropped basketball, sent the baseline ball, and then slowly ran forward. Ramon Sessions, who received the ball, was also dawdling. He was stuck for 8 seconds and dribbled the ball across the half court and came to the arc. After the top, it was carried a few times on the spot before it was lifted to Gasol who was stuck in the low position.

It was Green who defended Gasol. He put his elbows behind Gasol and stood ready. The other Warriors players did not come to flank Gasol and let Green defend alone.

This is Zhang Yu's arrangement before the game. Artest and Ramon Sessions shot a good three-pointer in the first round against the Clippers. Green will try to defend against Gasol first, see Gasol's state, and then make adjustments later.

After Gasol received the ball, other Lakers players began to run, looking for opportunities for air cuts and spotting, but the Warriors followed closely and did not give them easy shots.

Seeing that there were only 7 seconds left in the attack time, Gasol gave up the idea of ​​playing his support role as the axis and began to single-handedly play Green.

boom!
He made a sudden effort and leaned back hard, but he didn't show the strength he should have, but Green only took a small half step back without losing his position.

boom!
Gasol exerted his strength again, and Green retreated even less this time, basically blocking Gasol's impact.

At this time, the attack time was running out, and Gasol had no time to do more operations. In desperation, he could only turn around and shoot a jumper, but the intention was too obvious. The strike ended, and the rebound was protected by Chandler who was stuck under the basket.

He immediately distributed the ball to Curry, and Curry slapped the ball hard, rushed to the frontcourt, and quickly launched a counterattack!

zizi——

The Warriors split up and flooded into the Lakers' half. The Lakers retreated slowly and chaotically, and the defense was completely torn apart. Curry made a through pass across the half and passed the ball to Butler. inside.

After Butler received the ball, he rushed to the basket non-stop. When encountering Artest's interception, he didn't go hard. He quickly distributed the ball to Clay in the left corner. Up and down, the three-pointer went into the net hollowly.

5: 0.

Knowing that the basketball hit the net, Bynum and Gasol retreated to the Lakers' three-point line, and could only embarrassingly turn back and run forward.

Ramon Sessions had the idea of ​​sending directly from the baseline to the frontcourt to catch the Warriors by surprise, but after Clay scored the goal, the Warriors players didn't celebrate at all and retreated quickly. Green followed Gasol Beside him, Chandler took the lead in running back to the backcourt, blocking Bynum between the basket and the basket, not giving him a chance to steal.

On the sidelines, Mike Brown couldn't help but sighed and shook his head slightly when he saw the Warriors retreating in an orderly manner.

Just now Gasol singled Green, which made him feel a little disappointed. When Gasol played against the Clippers in the first round, his performance was very poor. He averaged only 12.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.4 blocks per game. He has made some achievements in the field and protected the backcourt rebounds well, but his scoring has dropped sharply.

In the playoffs, everything else is secondary, and the ability to solve hard is the most valuable resource. It is precisely because of Gasol's sudden decline in the first round and the threat of the offensive end that the Lakers can only rely on Kobe to struggle Support, Bynum and Artest took part of the ball with inefficient shots, the Lakers and Clippers only fought seven games, and finally won with difficulty.

If Gasol's performance is a little more normal and returns to the normal level of 18+10 in the regular season, the Lakers will play a lot easier in the first round, and there will be no tiebreaker to eliminate the Clippers.

Looking at it now, Gasol's condition has not recovered, and after the first round of seven games, Gasol has consumed a lot, and his body has not recovered from his exhaustion. It has become extremely difficult for Green to play singles, and he may even be 13+9. Neither is easy to maintain.

On the court, the Lakers had no chance of a fast break, so they had to be honest. Gasol was still the pivot, and the others ran, but the Lakers players' legs seemed to be wrapped in sandbags, their feet were heavy, and their running was slow. Unable to get rid of the warrior generals who have been recharging their energy for a long time, they will not get an open chance.

In desperation, Gasol attacked Green again, but under Green's strict defense, he still returned without success, and was almost blocked by Green, who was much taller than him, and the rebound also fell into the penalty area to protect the rebound. Butler's hand.

The round changed, the Warriors attacked, and when Curry dribbled the ball across half court, Zhang Yu called out his name, Curry turned his head to look, Zhang Yu gestured to him, Curry nodded clearly, and brought the ball to frontcourt.

This round, instead of playing a pick-and-roll with Chandler, he beckoned to Green, who immediately went up to the top of the arc to cover for Curry.

This is the meaning of Zhang Yu's gesture just now. He saw that Gasol's physical condition was not very good, and asked Curry to directly target Gasol to play a pick-and-roll.

According to Mike Brown's instructions, Gasol followed Green to the top of the arc, stepped on the three-point line, and delayed Curry's shot.

But Curry did not stick to the three-point line and Green to play a pick-and-roll. Instead, he was one step outside the three-point line. With the help of Green's cover, he blocked the chasing Ramon Sessions. Make a super long three-pointer!
Gasol couldn't catch up, and simply stood where he was, just stretched out his hand.

brush!
Curry, who was not disturbed, went up and down with a knife and hit the net with a three-pointer, 8:0.

Gasol looked at the basketball that didn't even touch the frame, and was stunned for a moment before running to the frontcourt.

Mike Brown did not let him switch defenses when he encountered a pick-and-roll. The delay of stepping on the three-point line is already his limit. If he goes outside, it will be too late to recover. At that time, Green will receive the pass from Curry and finish it by himself. Or passing Chandler an alley-oop is an easy scoring opportunity.

The lesser of two evils is the lesser of two evils. In contrast, Gasol would rather see Curry one step outside the three-point line, with the help of a single-block cover, and directly pull up a three-pointer. The efficiency of this difficult shot is very low .

On the sidelines, Mike Brown didn't say anything after seeing Curry's goal. This kind of ball can be given, and he wished that Curry would keep shooting like this.

In Mike Brown's decades of NBA career, he has seen too many superstars. Curry just won the MVP today. When he was full of ambitions, he made such super long three-pointers at the beginning of the game, eager to show himself. For the Lakers, it is definitely good news.

Mike Brown didn't believe that Curry could keep shooting such ultra-long three-pointers. If he had the ability, he would keep shooting. When he couldn't make shots, the opportunity for the Lakers to counterattack came.

But as time passed, Mike Brown's face became more and more ugly. He never waited for the opportunity to counterattack, but watched the score being opened up by the Warriors little by little, and the disadvantage of the Lakers became bigger and bigger.

Curry did exactly what he thought, playing pick-and-rolls with Chandler and Green at one or two steps outside the three-point line in a row. Even in a fast break, stepping on the Bay Bridge, he made a ground-breaking logo three-pointer.

But to Mike Brown's surprise, Curry shot farther and farther, and his shots became more and more accurate. He played the entire first quarter, shooting 9 of 7 shots, 6 of 5 three-pointers, and 2 of 2 free throws. , almost hit every shot, scored 21 points, led the Warriors to lead the Lakers by 32 points at 23:9, and entered the intermission.

Mike Brown gave Curry the space, and he caught it all. The Lakers' defensive formation has not been changed, and the defense in the penalty area is solid, but Curry has no intention of challenging the Lakers' defensive system. He directly ignores the Lakers' defense. Apart from the sub-line, all problems are solved!
The entire Lakers team is in poor form, and even the speed of their actions has to be slowed down, and both offense and defense seem weak.

When Gasol's support was useless and singles were ineffective, Kobe stood up.

After 45 minutes of fighting the Clippers' Game [-], he carried the Lakers on his shoulders again tonight and moved forward with a heavy load.

He seemed to have a steel-like will, his body was exhausted, but his technical movements did not change in the slightest. He succeeded in mid-range singles consecutively, scored 11 points in the first quarter, stabilized the situation, and prevented the Lakers from being completely defeated by the Warriors.

But his performance was still eclipsed in front of Curry. Mike Brown watched Curry make a murderous ultra-long three-pointer, completely silent and completely confused.

He has coached in the NBA for more than ten years, and this is the first time he has encountered such a situation.

Curry was so accurate in the first quarter, Mike Brown must not let him continue to shoot, that is to kill himself.

But Curry's position to initiate the pick-and-roll is really too high. If he lets Gasol and Bynum defend and delay, he will take the initiative to split his defensive formation and abolish one of the twin towers by himself.

Moreover, Green's footsteps are very fast. After covering for Curry, he goes straight down and defends one step beyond the three-point line. Gasol, who is stronger and delayed, moves slowly and has no time to chase back. Whether it is attacking the frame or feeding the cake in the follow-up, the choice is very calm, and the difficulty is greatly reduced when Pau Gasol shrinks the inside line.

And if you switch defenses directly, the scene of Nowitzki being trained by Curry in the army is vivid, and Gasol's ability to defend against small ones is not much stronger, especially when facing Curry. A sure thing.

Are you going to pinch Curry?But this is on the old path of the Mavericks again. The Warriors' four-on-three rounds emerged in front of Mike Brown. Green can handle the ball and shoot three-pointers. There is a strong threat to the basket, and they can all seize the opportunity. This is how the Mavericks lost in G1.

With two bottles of poison in front of him, Mike Brown suddenly found that he was in the same dilemma as Carlisle, and this had a lot to do with the fact that the Lakers and the Mavericks also had the same weakness of aging lineup and slow pace of the twin towers.

Curry seems to be born specifically to restrain such a team. The twin-tower lineup that has swept the league in the past seems to be looking for a dead end in front of Curry.

But Mike Brown saw this, but was powerless to make a change. Carlisle could remove Haywood and let Nowitzki take the fifth position, and compete with the Warriors in a small lineup, but the twin towers are the fundamental system of the Lakers. Bynum and Gasol is the two strongest players of the Lakers besides Kobe, it is impossible for him to take down the twin towers.

For a while, Mike Brown felt a little hopeless and had no way to deal with Curry. He could only suppress his anxiety first and put in a rotation lineup to try to regain a little advantage in the transition.

(End of this chapter)