warrior godfather

Chapter 484 Harden's Future Can Be Expected
The next day, April 4, G21 of the Warriors-Rockets series kicked off at the Oracle Center.

There was no suspense in this game from the beginning to the end.

The Warriors established a 10-point lead in the first quarter, and at the end of the first half, they had extended their lead to 15 points.

Only Harden can score stably for the Rockets, and the Warriors have locked up all the other Rockets players.

But the Rockets couldn't prevent the Warriors' offense, so they could only rely on enthusiasm and hard work to try their best to bite the score.

But in the face of absolute strength, none of these have much effect.

There is a gap of 23 wins between the Warriors and the Rockets. This is the result of the Warriors staying away, the starters resting from time to time, and the Rockets doing their best for the playoffs.

At the end of the game, the Warriors beat the Rockets 114:95 and made a good start to the playoffs, leading 1:0.

库里全场出战35分钟，19投10中，三分12中6，罚球4中4，砍下30分5助攻6篮板3抢断。

His playing time is even lower than the average playing time in the regular season. This game really did not cause any pressure on the Warriors.

此外，巴特勒20分6篮板3助攻1抢断1封盖，克莱17分3篮板2助攻，格林11分8篮板8助攻2抢断1封盖，钱德勒10分14篮板2封盖。

The Warriors scored in double figures in all their starters, and the substitute Thomas Jr. also scored 11 points and 3 assists. A total of 6 players scored in double figures, and the team's offense was completely opened up.

而在勇士强度拉满的防守下，哈登27投11中，三分12中4，罚球9中7，砍下33分6助攻4篮板1抢断5失误。

He Harden scored a lot, but his efficiency was extremely low, he sent a lot of turnovers, and his overall performance was not good.

Although Zhang Yu did not arrange targeted defensive measures for Harden, he knew Harden too well, so he just mentioned a few words. Clay, Butler, Green, Leonard and other defensive champions made Harden It's terribly limited.

After G1, Warriors fans are completely relieved about the first round.

No matter how hard you blow it before the game, basketball is round after all, and everything is possible, only the game will not lie.

In the post-match interview, Zhang Yu strongly praised the performance of the Rockets and Harden, but he was already thinking about his opponent in the next round.

Harden is far from reaching his peak now, and the Rockets are unlikely to threaten the Warriors in the next few years.

And this round of the series is actually over.

……

Two days later, G2 between the Warriors and the Rockets started, and the Warriors still won without any suspense.

Harden didn't know if he went to the nightclub again these two days. The game felt very bad. He only hit 24 goals in 8 shots and made 12 of 2 three-pointers, but he made 14 of 11 free throws and scored 29. Points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal and 4 turnovers.

Even at the Warriors' home court, Harden still showed excellent foul-making skills. Clay received 4 fouls on him, 5 fouls in the game, and was almost sent off.

However, Harden's free throws have not reached the peak level. When he can score 24+ on 2 of 20 shots and score 10 points on one goal, he may be able to shake the Warriors' defense with free throws.

His downturn in this game can only give the Warriors an easy victory.

库里全场出战33分钟，19投9中，三分9中3，罚球5中4，砍下25分8助攻5篮板1抢断，小试牛刀。

His touch tonight is also relatively average, but the Rockets' defense is far inferior to the Warriors. Curry strengthened his breakthrough and made 5 of 4 mid-range shots, leading the team to win the game.

Curry played less time in G2 than in G1, which makes people wonder whether the Warriors are playing in the playoffs.

Why is Curry getting more and more relaxed as the series progresses?

After G2, the position shifted, and the Warriors came to Houston to prepare for two away games.

This time around, they weren't here for All-Star Weekend, but with the same relaxed mindset as they did back then.

……

The series between the Warriors and the Rockets went on without any surprises, and the situation of the other matchups gradually became clear.

On the day after the Warriors and Rockets G2, the Heat beat the Bucks 104:91, leading their opponents 3:0 with a big score, and entered the second round with one foot.

This is a one-sided crushing series. The Heat beat the Bucks by 15.1 points per game, which is even worse than the series between the Warriors and the Rockets.

The Rockets still have Harden's high score to hide their shame, and the Bucks have nothing, they only fail.

Monta Ellis, who was traded to the Bucks by the Cavaliers, is the team's top scorer, averaging only 14.3 points per game, not as high as Ray Allen. The Bucks have no hope of a comeback.

The Thunder also led the Lakers 3:0, occupying a great advantage.

Without Kobe, the Lakers seemed to have lost their soul, and the game was lifeless, losing more and more miserably.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Lakers are already on the verge of falling apart, and the next game will be Howard's last game for the Lakers.

The series between the Spurs and the Grizzlies was very intense. The two teams drew 2:2, and the Spurs will compete in the Tianwangshan battle at home.

Originally, the Spurs would meet the Grizzlies in the Western Conference Finals, then sweep them out 4:0 and easily advance to the Finals.

However, the rise of the Warriors completely changed the trajectory of the Western Conference playoffs. Both Leonard and Danny Green were intercepted by Zhang Yu, and the Spurs could not find a suitable replacement, and their strength dropped sharply.

The Grizzlies rely on the advantage of black and white Shuangsha in the interior, and they are inseparable from the Spurs.

This round of the series is also one of the most exciting matchups in the first round, and it is very likely to reach the tiebreaker.

The winner of the Clippers and Nuggets is the Warriors' opponent in the next round. The two teams scored 2:1, and the Clippers took the lead.

The Nuggets hold the home court advantage, but the Clippers' stars are even better.

Paul and Griffin are two major problems that the Nuggets can't handle, and the team offense that the Nuggets rely on is hard to get cheap in front of the Clippers.

In the first three games, except for the Nuggets narrowly beating the Clippers with 2:98 in G95, the other two games lost by more than 10 points.

Now that home court advantage is in the hands of the Clippers, the Nuggets' playoff situation has become precarious.

It is very likely that the West will be under the upper hand, and the strong teams in the East will be much more stable.

The Bulls achieved a record of 61 wins and 21 losses in the regular season, ranking second in the East, and won a full 20 games more than the seventh Celtics in the East.

The Celtics' Big Three fell apart, Pierce and Garnett are getting old, and their seventh place in the regular season is not hiding their strength, but really unable to hold on.

In the series against the Bulls, the Celtics team's highest scorer turned out to be Jeff Green with 18.6 points. Pierce and Garnett could only score 17.6 points and 12.8 points respectively.

The Celtics' defense is not good either. Rondo is reimbursed for the season, and the defense of the back line can only be counted on Bradley, but he can't defend Rose at all.

Rose, who was strictly included in load management during the regular season, can finally play without restriction in the playoffs.

Thibodeau immediately killed Rose for three games to celebrate.

In the first three games between the Bulls and the Celtics, Rose averaged 38.6 minutes per game, scored 26.6 points, 8.6 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, and 2.3 dunks per game, leading the Bulls to a 2-3 lead , One foot into the second round of the playoffs.

The Knicks played against the Hawks relatively easily. Anthony is the absolute strength of the Knicks, averaging 28.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game, leading the team to a 2:1 lead.

The Pacers and Nets drew 2:2, the most suspenseful matchup in the Eastern Conference.

The combination of Deron Williams, Lopez, and Joe Johnson has a strong scoring ability, Gerald Wallace can still fight, and the Nets have an advantage on the offensive end.

Under Vogel's training, the Pacers are very resilient on the defensive end, and Paul George has gradually grown up and become the team's top scorer. It is a traditional team that wins games by defense.

Both teams have a record of 49 wins and 32 points in the regular season, which is comparable in strength. The Pacers only rely on the advantage of the relationship between victory and defeat, ranking fourth in the Eastern Conference.

This round of the series, like the matchup between the Spurs and the Grizzlies, is full of suspense.

……

On April 4, G27 between the Warriors and the Rockets started at the Toyota Center.

Since the start of the playoffs, Warriors fans have been complaining about the league's schedule for the Warriors.

The league probably took into account the huge gap in strength between the two teams in advance. In order to prevent the series from ending early and give the Warriors too long a rest period, the Warriors and the Rockets played each other every two days. Only between G3 and G4 There was an interval of one day.

The Clippers and the Nuggets played every other day. On the same day of G3 between the Warriors and the Rockets, the Clippers defeated the Nuggets 104:93, leading 3:1 and winning the match point.

If the Clippers can make persistent efforts and eliminate the Nuggets 4:1, even if the Warriors sweep the Rockets, they will only have one more day off than the Clippers.

Regardless of whether the league took this into account when arranging the schedule, they also made a mistake in their estimation, that is, the gap between the Warriors and the Rockets is so large.

In both G1 and G2, the Warriors won the game without bloodshed, and G3 was not too difficult.

哈登打出了系列赛最好的一场表现，全场出战44分钟，25投12中，三分12中5，罚球10中7，砍下36分7助攻4篮板2抢断3失误，高产高效。

But he can only delay the Rockets' defeat, but cannot reverse the situation.

Harden's score was "given" to him by Zhang Yu.

If Zhang Yu wants to prevent Harden from dying, there are ways, but he is useless.

The Warriors' defensive strategy has always been to let the opponent's star attack and lock the role players. Unless they encounter a Big Three team like the Heat, they will focus on it, but they will not tilt all the defensive focus on the opponent's star.

Compared with the star's individual offense, Zhang Yu is more afraid of the opponent's overall opening and scoring more points.

Harden alone can't kill the Warriors. He can score high points, but the Warriors will take away the victory. The defense does not need to be changed, and the players can save worry and effort.

In the end, the Warriors defeated the Rockets 118:107, leading 3:0.

This is the smallest point difference since the three games, but the game process was not intense at all.

Harden played almost the entire game, chasing points hard, but Curry only played 36 minutes, 21 of 11 shots, 13 of 7 three-pointers, 3 of 3 free throws, 31 points, 4 assists, 6 rebounds and 1 steal.

He rested for 6 minutes in the second and fourth quarters. After the Rockets narrowed the point difference to single digits, Zhang Yu would replace him. Curry made another operation to open the score again.

The Warriors seem to have given the Rockets the hope of chasing points, but that is just a match between the next four and the top four, using the long rotation and the Rockets' short rotation to fight against each other, which is very cost-effective.

……

A day later, on April 4, at 29:07 pm, the Warriors and Rockets played Game 30 at the Toyota Center.

But the big score of 3:0 made the Rockets let go of themselves, completely lost the pressure, dared to fight hard, and defended very tenaciously.

They don't expect to win this round of the series, but they have the determination to defend their home court. No matter how strong the Warriors are, they must fight for a victory to avoid being swept away.

This is their final dignity as a warrior opponent.

Asik broke out. He grabbed offensive rebounds one after another inside the Warriors, and confronted Chandler bravely and fearlessly, which made Chandler very embarrassed.

After the whole game, Asik made 6 of 4 shots and 18 of 13 free throws. He scored 21 points and 14 rebounds, 7 of which were offensive rebounds.

Substitute Francisco Garcia broke out. He played 40 minutes, scored 5 three-pointers, scored 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. He became the team's backup surprise soldier.

Beverly and Aaron Brooks also scored in double figures. Their efficiency was not high enough, but they did their best, scoring 10 and 11 points respectively, which greatly shared the pressure on Harden.

However, while the Rockets' role players were desperate, their boss, their head star Harden, was lost.

Maybe it was Zhang Yu's strategy of Tian Ji's horse racing in the last game that worked, or maybe it was Harden's outburst that consumed his touch.

In this game, Harden's state was very sluggish, his hands were cold, and he even had low desire to shoot, so he could only rely on free throws to maintain his face.

他出战40分钟，18投5中，三分10中2，罚球11中8，砍下20分6助攻4篮板5失误，表现极其糟糕。

When Harden plays this kind of performance, no matter how good the rest of the Rockets play, they can't win the ball, at least they can't win the Warriors.

The Warriors defeated the Rockets 118:107, with a big score of 4:0, swept the Rockets, and successfully advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals.

The Rockets' defense in this game is very resilient, and Zhang Yu no longer saves the use of Curry.

Curry played 38 minutes, with full firepower, 22 of 12 shots, 14 of 7 three-pointers, 6 of 6 free throws, 37 points, 5 assists, 6 rebounds and 1 steal. He played the best performance in the playoffs .

The diametrically opposite performances of Curry and Harden have also aroused discussions from the outside world.

However, no one thought that the Rockets could beat the Warriors. Although the Rockets were a bit embarrassing to be swept, it is understandable that the opponent is the defending champion.

People are not harsh on Harden, but praise his performance.

面对勇士，哈登场均能够砍下29.5分6.5助攻4.5篮板1抢断4.25失误。

Although he made a little more turnovers, his flaws were not concealed. His 29.5 points per game average was only slightly lower than Curry's 30.8 points.

In this regard, the Rockets fans shouted the title of "09 duo", full of hope for the future.

There seems to be no difference in strength between Harden and Curry. If Harden is given a good lineup, wouldn't the Rockets...

In short, Harden has a promising future, and the Rockets have a bright future!
(End of this chapter)