warrior godfather

In the first quarter, James exploded completely. He played 12 minutes, made 10 of 6 shots, 3 of 2 three-pointers, 4 of 3 free throws, and scored 17 points. He led the Heat to lead the Warriors by 36 points 28:8.

His touch is also very hot, and his long-range shots after the pick-and-roll are very resolute, severely punishing the Warriors' strategy of going around the pick-and-roll.

But Zhang Yu did not adjust his defense, but instead strengthened the protection of the penalty area, resolutely not giving James a chance to break through to the basket.

This is also one of the reasons why James took a lot of long shots. His breakthrough was blocked and he could only use shots to digest the ball.

On the offensive end, the Warriors insisted on passing and cutting tactics, and did not change course because of James' outbreak.

However, Klay, Butler, and Green all started slowly, and the Heat defended Curry extremely tightly. After Bosh suffered a loss, his defense expanded very much. To delay Curry's shot, hand over the basket to his teammates to make up for it.

When Curry ran out of the gap with the help of a cover, the Heat players rushed to Curry at the first time, resolutely not giving him a chance to shoot. There are often two warriors chasing Curry and covering for Curry. A scene where a player has an open chance.

With such a tight defense, Curry can only take advantage of the Heat's defensive communication mistakes to get a few opportunities and score points piecemeal.

However, he attracted most of the Heat's defensive attention, and the rest of the Warriors got a lot of good opportunities. There is no reason for being opened up too much.

……

In the second quarter, the two sides replaced the rotation lineup.

The advantages of the Heat's Big Three were revealed at this moment. Spoelstra sent Wade and Bosh, who were replaced at 2 minutes in the first quarter, and let them lead the Heat's bench lineup. Mike Miller, Ray Allen and Haslem are assistants.

This lineup is stronger than most of the starting teams in the league, but it is only the configuration of the Heat in the transition stage. They have such a deep lineup, and it is reasonable to rank first in the Eastern Conference.

Zhang Yu also made adjustments to the rotation lineup. In the past, he was always up and down, but facing the two major stars of the Heat, the pure substitute lineup was obviously not strong enough.

He replaced Butler, who was replaced early in the second half of the first quarter, back on the field, and added Thomas Jr., Tony Allen, Yi Jianlian and Whiteside, and competed with the Heat in the transitional period.

This lineup is enough to start some teams in the league, but compared with the Heat, it is still too inferior.

On the court, the Warriors took the lead in attacking. Thomas Jr. dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, handed the ball to Butler, and then ran to the weak side.

Butler then passed the ball to Yi Jianlian, who was raised to the top of the arc, and moved to the weak side. Thomas Jr. turned back. Butler made a screen for him, and Thomas Jr. briefly threw away Ray Allen, who was chasing behind him. position.

Later, Thomas Jr. ran to the top of the arc and cooperated hand in hand with Yi Jianlian. Bosh was delayed when he came up, but Yi Jianlian immediately went down and took Ray Allen away. Thomas Jr. got a one-on-one chance.

He didn't waste time, and after a change of direction, he accelerated directly and used his powerful explosive force to rush past Bosh's left side.

Thomas Jr.'s center of gravity is too low, his speed is fast, and his movements are extremely flexible. Bosh can't react in time and is directly passed by him. Thomas Jr. rushed into the penalty area and hit a jumper with an emergency stop at 36:30.

After Thomas Jr. scored, he grinned and looked provocatively at the Heat fans on the sidelines. Amidst their boos, he retreated triumphantly to the backcourt.

"Thomas made a two-pointer! His speed was too fast, and Bosh was passed by him with one step, and he didn't react at all." Mike Breen said.

Mark Jackson looked at Thomas Jr. with admiration:

"This round has fully demonstrated Thomas Jr.'s advantages in offense. He is very flexible, explosive, resolute in birth, and very accurate in shooting. If it is not limited by his height, he would not be selected at such a low position."

On the sidelines, Zhang Yu looked at Thomas Jr. who scored with a smile, and applauded very proudly.

Thomas Jr. does have many advantages, but he also has many shortcomings. If Zhang Yu hadn't specially designed tactics for him, it would be difficult for him to achieve such good results on the field.

Thomas Jr. has strong explosive power, fast speed, excellent shooting and finishing, but his height of 1 meters makes his field of vision much narrower than others. If he encounters defensive methods such as pincers and delays, it will be more difficult for him to play the ball and sluggishness.

Moreover, his short height also limits his shots. Facing a more mobile center like Bosh, it is difficult for him to jump up and pull up directly.

Therefore, the participants in the pick-and-roll are concentrated between one ball handler and one or two screeners, and the static offensive method is destined to be unsuitable for Thomas Jr.

This is because the starting position of the pick-and-roll is fixed, the players participating in the defense are fixed, and the defender has more defensive reaction time, which can pinch Thomas Jr., block his ball line, and force him to make mistakes.

If you want to make good use of Thomas, you have to use your strengths to avoid weaknesses, so Zhang Yu specially set up several offensive moves for him.

In the offense, Thomas Jr. will not come up directly to pick and roll, but first hand over the ball, and then use the cover, use flexible off-ball movement, and cooperate hand-in-hand with his teammates to reach the offense Zhang Yu set for him. Start the position, get a short one-on-one opportunity, and then immediately launch a face-to-face singles, or pick and roll with the ball, and quickly complete the attack before the opponent's flanking attack arrives.

So Thomas Jr. and Curry have some similarities in that they both run a lot without the ball, but the difference is that Curry's off-ball threat is far greater than that of Thomas Jr., and Thomas Jr.'s off-ball running is mainly to get singles. Opportunity to avoid being flanked.

However, Thomas Jr.'s offensive weakness can be concealed by Zhang Yu's exquisite tactics, but on the defensive end, his height, which is two heads shorter than others, is the most conspicuous sign, attracting opponents to attack him.

On the court, the Heat attacked, Thomas Jr. faced Mike Miller, and Wade, who was a guest point guard, dribbled the ball for halftime and passed the ball directly.

After Mike Miller received the ball, the others immediately pulled away. Mike Miller took a step and pulled out his hand from the three-point line. Thomas tried his best to reach out, but he couldn't interfere with Mike Miller's shooting at all.

brush!
The basketball crossed an extremely standard trajectory and entered the net hollow, 39:30.

"Bang! Mike Miller hit a three-pointer! He completely ignored Thomas' defense. Thomas is too short!" Mike Breen said.

On the sidelines, Spoelstra had a smile on his face.

No matter how strong Thomas Jr.'s scoring ability is, his height of 1 meters is really a disadvantage on the defensive end. How could Spoelstra let go of this opportunity?

Zhang Yu on the other side of the technical stage sighed softly, but there was nothing he could do.

The Heat's lineup has too many shooting points to hide Thomas Jr. on the defensive end, so he can only rely on him to defend hard.

Looking back, Thomas Jr. wanted to rely on offense to make up for the points he lost on the defensive end. He ran an off-the-ball start first, and after being cleared on the strong side, he played a pick-and-roll with Yi Jianlian and used the screen to break through to the Heat. After helping to defend, pass back to Yi Jianlian, who catches the ball and shoots, and hits a three-pointer, 33:39.

The Heat attacked, and Mike Miller continued to pull out in front of Thomas Jr., but this time Thomas Jr. put enough confrontation on Mike Miller's bottom plate to interfere with his power, and a three-point shot came out of the frame .

The rebound was grabbed by Whiteside under the basket, and the Warriors counterattacked. Thomas Jr. took the lead and made a layup, 35:39.

"Thomas scored fast breaks! After he came on the court, he made continuous efforts to help the Warriors narrow the point difference to 4 points. This is his third consecutive game and he played an outstanding performance. Jeremy Lin's injury not only did not affect the Warriors Instead, the Warriors have unearthed a new super sixth man!" Mike Breen said.

On the sidelines, Spoelstra frowned and gestured to Wade on the court, and Wade nodded knowingly.

The round transition, the Heat attack, Wade took the ball to the top of the arc, and passed the ball to Ray Allen.

Butler, who was facing Ray Allen, was ready to fight immediately, but Ray Allen didn't mean to single him at all. Instead, he played a pick-and-roll with Mike Miller and wanted to switch Thomas Jr. in front of him.

Butler wants to squeeze through the screen, but Mike Miller can't do anything else. An open three-pointer is a unique skill. It is the foundation of his career in the league for more than ten years. After he screened for Ray Allen, Immediately disassembled, Butler didn't dare to let him go, so he could only switch defenses with Thomas Jr..

Ray Allen stopped the ball for a while, and after his teammates pulled away, he singled out Thomas Jr., leaped high after two dribbles, and made an emergency stop to shoot a jump shot. His figure was extremely stretched in the air, and Thomas Jr. could only look at the ball and sigh.

brush!
The basketball went into the net hollow, 41:35.

"Yes! Ray Allen made a mid-range shot! Thomas is trying his best to defend, but he is too short to interfere with Ray Allen's shooting." Mike Breen said with some regret.

He is a very objective commentator, but no matter who sees Thomas Jr. bravely defending opponents who are like giants compared to himself, it is hard not to admire his courage.

Jeff Van Gundy said:
"The Heat are obviously launching an attack on Thomas. Mike Miller missed once, and they replaced Ray Allen and Mike Miller, who have stronger autonomous offensive capabilities, in reverse pick-and-roll, chasing Thomas. This should be Spoelstra A strategy that Erstra prepared specifically for the Warriors."

Mark Jackson echoed:
"That's right, and Mike Miller and Ray Allen both chose to use pull-up jumpers to complete the offense when they singled out Thomas. His confrontation and strength are not weak, his center of gravity is low, and his hands are fast. If he dribbles in front of him for a long time, the risk of being intercepted is very high. Pulling is the most suitable offensive method against Thomas. Spoelstra very well prepared.”

The three commentators clearly showed Spoelstra's thoughts in front of the fans, and the Heat's next offense was carried out in full accordance with their analysis.

Mike Miller, as Thomas's initial matchup, was responsible for covering Ray Allen and Wade, switching Thomas in front of them, and then Wade and Ray Allen would start singles.

They won't dribble more in front of Thomas Jr., but just like an American heads-up, dribbling the ball twice, then just pull out, and don't give Thomas Jr. a chance to steal.

This kind of attack completely hit Thomas Jr.'s weakness, Wade and Ray Allen continued to rely on shooting to score.

Looking back, Thomas Jr. wanted to make up for his defensive weakness by scoring, but it was not so easy.

Spoelstra began to flank him, forcing Yi Jianlian, who had screened for him, to handle the ball.

Yi Jianlian can only shoot open three-pointers, play a dozen fixed tactical routines, and his ability to handle the ball is average, but the Heat's rotation speed is extremely fast, and he is not given time to react.

Yi Jianlian had no choice but to pass the ball to someone else and start the attack again. The Warriors played two consecutive rounds until the end of 24 seconds before reluctantly making a shot.

Fortunately, Zhang Yu made adjustments in time, replaced Yi Jianlian with Parsons, asked him to cover Thomas Jr. at the top of the arc, and took advantage of his good handling of the ball. The Warriors' offense was revitalized.

At this time, Butler also stood up. He was at a disadvantage in front of James, but the 38-year-old Ray Allen had a high success rate in singles.

The Warriors relied on the offense of Thomas Jr. and Butler to barely bite the score, but relying on the advantages of those two rounds, the Heat still had the upper hand in the transition.

When the second quarter reached 6 minutes and 13 seconds, the two sides switched back to the main force, but Spoelstra left Ray Allen on the court, and James became the Heat's point guard.

The score at this time was 54:43, with the Heat leading by 11 points.

Yi Jianlian was very frustrated when he saw the Heat expanding the score, and said to Zhang Yu:
"Brother Yu, I'm holding the team back..."

Snapped!
Before he finished speaking, Zhang Yu slapped him on the back and scolded with a smile:
"UA, what are you talking about!? You and Chandler have their own strengths, but his technical characteristics are more suitable for this game. When the team needs your three-pointers and the end of the inside line, it is you who come on the court to play. Chance!"

Under Zhang Yu's relief, Yi Jianlian's uneasiness was finally suppressed.

But the sense of crisis in his heart has become stronger. Green's starting position has become more and more stable. Now that Parsons is competing with him, he must train harder if he wants to get more playing time.

……

With a double-digit disadvantage, Zhang Yu no longer insisted on the pass-and-cut tactics. Facts have proved that the Warriors' pass-and-cut is not hot enough at this time to pose too much threat to the Heat.

This is because the cooperation of the Warriors players is not tacit enough. Except for Curry and Green, everyone else's ability to handle the ball is relatively average. It takes time to hone in order to truly play a dynamic offense like the Spurs.

After the Warriors' main force returned to the court, Zhang Yu gave Curry unlimited fire rights, asking him to do what he did in the finals again and destroy the Heat's defense.

The Warriors attacked, Curry and Chandler picked and rolled, Bosh switched defenses, Curry waved his hand, and the others opened up space and cleared the strong side.

Bosh stepped on the three-point line, raised his right hand, looked dignified, stared at Curry closely, did not dare to blink his eyes, and always paid attention to his movements.

Curry dribbled half-bent, lowered his center of gravity, and seemed to initiate a breakthrough at any time. Bosh had to take a half-step back to allow room for reaction.

At this moment, Curry straightened up suddenly, and raised his hand to shoot a three-pointer. Bosh rushed up, but was still a step too slow. Curry shot too fast, and specially adjusted the arc, and the basketball wiped His fingertips flew over, drew a substandard arc, and fell into the net, 54:46.

Turning around and seeing Curry's three-pointer hit the net, Bosh opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say, and his expression was a little dull.

"Bang! Curry made a three-pointer! It's unbelievable, he didn't use any fake moves, and directly shot Bosh!" Mike Breen exclaimed.

Mark Jackson said:
"Bosh was afraid of Curry's breakthrough, gave him half a step, and then Curry made a three-pointer. In fact, Bosh did the right thing. As a 6-foot-11 (2) insider Players, it is impossible to defend a defender with excellent breakthroughs, but is this half-step space different from an open space for Curry? This is what we don't know..."

On the field, the Heat attacked. James, who had just played, immediately showed his fiery state. He hit Green in the low post and succeeded in a difficult turn-around jumper, 56:46.

On the sidelines, Zhang Yu shook his head helplessly as he looked at James who caused the audience to cheer.

Everyone knows that James' shooting is unstable. His high efficiency is supported by his horrible shooting percentage at the basket, and the shooting percentage of mid-range shots is low.

But when James is in excellent form, his shooting will become extremely accurate. He has won several key games by shooting.

比如2013年和马刺的总决赛抢七中，詹姆斯出战45分钟，23投12中，三分10中5，罚球8中8，狂砍37分12篮板4助攻2抢断，率队以95:88击败马刺，卫冕成功。

In that game, Popovich continued the Spurs' usual strategy of defending James, strictly guarding the penalty area, choking breakthroughs, letting James shoot, and betting on his inaccurate shots.

Unfortunately, the Spurs just caught up with a game where James' jumper was overwhelming. He used precise three-pointers and a turnaround jumper to punish the Spurs' defense and helped the Heat win the game. Ended with failure.

Now it seems that the Warriors have also encountered a James who feels overwhelming. If he continues to let him shoot, he will continue to punish the Warriors with shots.

But Zhang Yu has no plans to adjust the defense. The Spurs lost the game, not because of the defense. They only allowed the Heat to score 95 points. The defensive strategy against James was actually correct.

If James is allowed to break through to the basket, he can rely on breakthrough points to drive the Heat's overall offense. At that time, he may not score 37 points himself, but the Heat will definitely not only score 95 points.

At this point, Zhang Yu and Popovich have the same choice. He would rather see James hit the shot than see him ravage the Warriors' penalty area.

The Spurs actually lost on offense. When a team uses a 37-year-old veteran as the core of the offense, it is difficult to win the game. Even if the veteran is Duncan, after all, when Jordan won the championship last time, only 36 years old.

And what Zhang Yu is not afraid of most is to fight against others. In this league, is there any player with a stronger offense than Curry?

……

On the field, the Warriors were attacking, and Curry was still playing a pick-and-roll with Chandler. Bosh this time chose the strategy of coming up with a big delay and then chasing Chandler.

But when Bosh chased back and Ray Allen's chase and defense were not in place, Curry seized the gap, raised his knife and dropped it, and hit the net with a three-pointer!

brush!
49: 56.

The crisp netting sound was amplified by the radio, and was clearly heard by the audience in the front row. Curry's two three-pointers extinguished the enthusiasm of the Heat fans, and the audience completely fell silent.

These two three-pointers brought back bad memories of the finals for the Heat fans. They seemed to have returned to that nightmare again. On this field, this seemingly harmless baby face in front of them was shattered with their own hands. The dream of the Heat winning the championship.

"Bang!! Unbelievable threes, Curry's shot selection is always so crazy, but he always makes these unreasonable shots... Hey Jeff, why are you shaking your head?" Mike - Brin asked curiously.

Jeff Van Gundy sighed:
"I just suddenly felt like I was really old and couldn't understand the current NBA... If you told me ten years ago that there was a guard who took a three-pointer against the opponent's center every game, I'll think you've been kicked in the head by a donkey; if you tell me this guard takes more than 10 5-pointers a game and makes more than [-], I'll send you to St. Elizabeth's asylum immediately ...But now, all of this is happening in front of me, and I can only say that this world is too crazy!"

"No, Jeff, I have to correct—" Mark Jackson said, "Steph Curry is crazy!"

"Di-"

Spoelster decisively called a timeout, and he took the tactical board from the assistant coach beside him with a very ugly face.

Curry's three-pointers are extremely unreasonable shots, but even if he can make a shot, switching defenses and delays can't stop him, so he can only attack.

After the timeout, both sides returned to the field.

The Heat attacked, James and Bosh picked and rolled, Green still played around, James made a decisive three-pointer, the basketball went out of the frame, and was accepted by Chandler.

No matter how good his touch is, it is impossible to score every goal.

The Warriors attack, Curry and Chandler pick and roll, Bosh and Ray Allen directly flank him.

Curry sent the ball to Chandler, who slid down, and James immediately shrank from the weak side to the basket to protect the frame.

Chandler didn't make a strong attack and wanted to transfer to Butler in the bottom corner, but when James shrank, Wade moved his feet to a position that could take into account both Clay and Butler, and paid close attention to Chandler's movements .

When Chandler passed the ball, Wade immediately judged the direction of the ball, flew forward, intercepted the ball, and the Heat immediately turned from defense to offense!

Wade took the lead, James ran in the middle, the Warriors had no time to retreat, only Curry was caught in the middle, in a dilemma.

Wade dribbled the ball all the way into the Warriors' three-point line, and Curry had to go up to block it, but Wade continued to dribble unhurriedly without looking at the frame. After entering the penalty area, he casually threw the ball into the sky.

Curry looked back and saw James, who was following up, soared into the air, swung his right hand backwards, like a strong bow that was fully drawn, and suddenly released it, smashing the ball into the basket hard!
49: 58.

boom!
The silent American Airlines Center erupted instantly, and the fans shouted excitedly:

"LeBron, I love you to death!!"

"Fuck! Fuck! That's the way it is, that's the fucking way it should be!"

"Yeah!! LeBron kill the Warriors, kill this group of guys who stole the championship from us!"

Mike Breen also exclaimed:

"The connection between Wade and James boosted the morale of the Heat. The Warriors made a mistake at the critical moment of chasing points. Will the momentum come to the Heat again?!"