warrior godfather

After the third quarter, the score came to 94:83. The Warriors beat the Spurs to a 30:16 offensive climax in a single quarter, winning by 14 points and widening the point difference to 11 points in one fell swoop.

This also led to the start of the fourth quarter, Popovich only dared to let Duncan off the court to rest, leaving both Ginobili and Parker on the court, trying to narrow the point difference in the transitional period.

But Zhang Yu also left Butler and Kelai on the court, and in order to prevent the Spurs from defending Thomas Jr., he deliberately replaced Livingston as a backup point guard.

Butler and Klay are enough to support the Warriors' offense in the rotation stage. Thomas Jr.'s scoring is not needed. Livingston is more experienced and has an advantage in size, so he is a better candidate.

In the first two rounds of the series, Livingston and Thomas Jr. played almost the same amount of time.

The Rockets are not strong and lack ball-holding points. Thomas Jr. can still get a lot of playing time as in the regular season.

But in the series against the Clippers, what the Clippers lack most is a guard, and Thomas Jr.'s defensive weakness is very conspicuous.As the series progressed, Livingston played more and more minutes, and his stability also helped the Warriors stabilize the rhythm in the rotation.

It was the same this time. At the more critical moment, Zhang Yu trusted Livingston more.

He doesn't fight randomly after playing, and organizes the offense in an orderly manner. Butler and Kerai are the main offensive points, which are not inferior to Parker and Ginobili. The two sides are comparable in the rotation stage.

At 7 minutes and 23 seconds of the fourth quarter, when the main players of the Warriors and Spurs returned to the court, the score was 103:93, and the Warriors still led the Spurs by 10 points.

Ginobili and Parker consumed too much energy in the first three quarters. Parker is better. He is only 31 years old and has not yet passed his peak. It is not a problem to play 40 points.

But Ginobili is 36 years old this year. His physical fitness is relatively average. He has been attacking with the ball in the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter, his physical fitness has declined very seriously, and the threat of breakthrough has weakened a lot.

The Spurs mainly relied on Parker alone to support the offense in the transition period, and did not take much advantage.

After the main players of both sides returned to the field, the situation did not improve.

Popovich didn't dare to let Parker and Ginobili play the entire fourth quarter, so they replaced the two and let them come back after 2 minutes of delay.

And for these 2 minutes, Duncan needs to survive alone.

Zhang Yu didn't let Butler and Kelai play all the time, but the lineup around Curry is Danny Green, Leonard, Green and Chandler, which is much inferior to the main lineup, but the basic functions are complete. of.

Danny Green is a high-quality shooter. Leonard does not have Butler's offensive ability with the ball, but his defense is no less than Butler's. He is more accurate than Butler with a fixed-point three-pointer, and his mid-range emergency stop jumper is also modeled. There are samples.

And Duncan is surrounded by Gary Neal, Corey Joseph, Wilson Chandler and Splitter. Compared with the Spurs, the Warriors have a significantly stronger lineup.

Of course, Zhang Yu would not let go of this good opportunity. After seeing Parker and Ginobili off the field for a rest, he immediately commanded his players to launch a fierce attack.

Curry and Green pick and roll, the Spurs switch defenses, and Duncan comes in front of Curry.

Popovich didn't dare to give up, the Spurs stopped defending the pit in the third quarter, and Curry immediately switched defenses when he hit the pick-and-roll.

But the effect of switching defenses was mediocre. Curry shook Duncan's center of gravity with a bow, broke through to the inside line, and made a successful throw at a position one step inward from the free throw line, 105:93.

Duncan looked back at Curry scoring and shook his head helplessly.

Just now Curry made a posture to shoot. He was cautious and didn't take off to try to block the shot, but he still had to step forward to interfere with Curry's shooting. Curry seized the opportunity to pass, and he hurriedly turned around to chase. But it was too late, and was completely thrown away by Curry.

If he is 10 years younger, although he will still be passed by Curry, he will never be thrown away by Curry. At least he can cover Curry's shooting space, and it is not that he has no chance to defend the ball.

But the years are relentless, and Duncan can only watch this baby-faced young man celebrate scoring in front of him, in a way he doesn't like very much.

But what can he say?He once also swaggered in front of the aged Olajuwon and Ewing.

The Spurs attacked, and the Warriors, uncharacteristically, began to flank Duncan. Duncan gave the ball to Corey Joseph, who made a three-pointer and the rebound was grabbed by Green.

Green immediately turned around and pushed for a fast break, Leonard took the lead, Danny Green and Curry flew on both wings, attracting the Spurs' defense, Leonard got the space instead, received a pass from Green and made a layup, 107:93.

"Good shot! Leonard's layup was unpretentious, but it helped the Warriors widen the point difference to 14 points. The Spurs' situation is getting worse. The Warriors' main force came back and played a defensive counterattack. It is a very bad signal." Yu Jia said.

Yang Yi analyzed the Warriors' fast break from Curry's perspective:
"From this shot, it can be seen how terrifying Curry's deterrence is. Wilson Chandler would rather watch Leonard make an empty basket, and stick to Curry near the three-point line to prevent him from receiving the basket." Shooting a three-point shot would have been absolutely impossible in the past, but with Curry, it seems more reasonable, after all, a three-pointer is one point more than a two-pointer."

Yu Jia added:
"This should be Popovich's arrangement. It makes sense for him to do so. Curry made 386 three-pointers in the regular season and continued to set his own record for three-pointers in a single season. He almost broke the record. Improve to more than 400. Since his rookie season, he has been the league's number one in three-pointers."

"In the playoffs of the past two years, Curry is also the player with the most three-pointers, and he is far ahead of No.2. It is necessary, as long as Curry is given a chance, he can make the opponent regret it."

While the two were talking, the Spurs had already launched an offense. Corey Joseph and Duncan played a pick-and-roll, broke through with the ball, and Leonard, who was helping to defend, took the ball abruptly, took the lead, and succeeded in a fast break dunk, 109:93.

Yu Jia said loudly:
"Leonard scored again! The ball was too cruel. He brought Corey Joseph down directly. Those big hands really didn't grow in vain. This is not a steal, this is robbery!"

"drop--"

Popovich quickly called a timeout. Less than a minute after the Spurs returned to the main force, they were beaten 1-4 by the Warriors. The point difference was about to reach 0 points. rest.

Yang Yi smiled and said:

"In less than a minute after the two teams changed players, the Warriors' counterattack stopped the Spurs. If Popovich still can't find a way to deal with the Warriors' counterattack, then the Spurs will have to explain this game."

Popovich called a long timeout. At this time, it is good to let the players rest for a while.

But he doesn't have many ways to play the game. The Warriors are upright and upright, using power to overwhelm others. The tactics are also very simple, that is, infinitely switch defenses, strengthen physical confrontation, seize every opportunity to counterattack, and let Curry handle the ball in positional battles. Others Make room.

But the simplest is often the most effective. The Spurs are afraid of the Warriors' simple and crude play style. If the Warriors and the Spurs fight tactics, they are not afraid.

However, the decline in the veteran's physical fitness and the lack of forward talent made the Spurs unable to break through with strength, and could only be led by the nose by the Warriors.

Popovich can only emphasize on maintaining fighting spirit, we must fight with all our strength in every round, if we still have a chance, I hope a miracle will happen.

After the timeout, players from both sides returned to the field. Zhang Yu, like Popovich, switched back to the full main lineup. In the last 6 minutes, he did not stay any longer.

The Spurs attack, Parker and Duncan pick and roll, the Warriors switch defenses, Parker singles Green, breaks through to the inside of the Warriors, and hits a jumper with an emergency stop, 109:95.

"call……"

Parker's goal relieved Popovich, who was tense on the sidelines. This goal was a goal to stop the bleeding. With a 14-point difference, there is still hope of catching up.

Looking back, Curry and Green picked and rolled, Duncan switched defenses, Curry did not rush to attack, but took two steps back and called Duncan out.

Popovich looked at the two nervously, pressing his arms around his chest hard.

It is impossible for him to mess up his position at this last moment and flank Curry. The Spurs did not carefully rehearse the tactics in this area before the game. Popovich can only pin his hope of defending Curry on Duncan.

The brilliance of the Spurs over the past decade is based on Duncan. Now, the Spurs need Duncan to save the team again.

However, Duncan is old, he is no longer that omnipotent stone Buddha.

Curry dribbled the ball under his crotch, trying to break through, Duncan took a small step back, Curry directly received the ball, pulled up and shot, Duncan couldn't interfere, the basketball flew past Duncan's fingertips, and a high The arc fell into the Nets.

112: 95.

After scoring the goal, Curry pumped his fist excitedly and raised his hands high, which aroused the cheers of all Warriors fans:

"Curry! Curry!"

"Get rid of the spurs!"

"Curry is invincible, Warriors are invincible!"

These voices are disorganized and not at all neat, but they are more or less the same.

The call of the Warriors fans reached Duncan's ears, making him slightly absent-minded.

Looking at this young man with a different style of play, Duncan suddenly realized that the current NBA is no longer his era.

Duncan still has the desire to win another championship for the Spurs, but with this young man rising like the sun blocking the way, does he still have a chance?

……

Curry singled out Duncan's three-pointer, which established the victory for the Warriors.

After this goal was hit, the Spurs' offensive has not weakened, and their fighting spirit has not declined. These veterans have experienced too many successes and too many failures, and nothing can break them.

But the situation of the game is not changed by people's will. The 17-point difference is a huge gap, which lies on the way for the Spurs to chase points. No matter how hard they try, they can't narrow the point difference to less than 13 points.

Although the Spurs' fighting spirit remained undiminished, time passed rapidly in the tug-of-war between the two sides, and the chances of the Spurs' comeback became increasingly slim until they disappeared completely.

In the end, the Warriors defeated the Spurs 119:103, leading the series 1:0.

After gaining a 17-point lead, Zhang Yu asked Curry to suppress the rhythm, and stopped playing when there was a fast break, and used all methods to waste time

That made the final five minutes of the game ugly, with the Warriors scoring few points and a 5-second violation, but it completely stifled the Spurs' chances of a comeback.

At this critical moment, time is the most precious, and only if there are enough rounds, there is a possibility of a comeback.

The leading side usually starts to press the rhythm in the last 2 minutes, but Zhang Yu took the initiative to waste time 3 minutes earlier, making it impossible for the Spurs to even make tactical fouls.

After the game, Popovich did not chat with Zhang Yu like he did after the regular season. He just shook hands with a cold face and turned to leave.

Zhang Yu looked at Popovich's back, smiled and shook his head.

The regular season and the playoffs are indeed two completely different games. In the playoffs, all the veils of tenderness will be torn off, and there is only a relationship between teams and people, and only wins and losses.

Fortunately, he is the winner. If the Warriors lose, Zhang Yu's performance will not be much better than Popovich.

In the post-match interview, the difference between Popovich and Zhang Yu was very obvious.

Popovich's answer was tinged with anger, but it was anger at the Spurs' failure.

The Spurs team did their best in this game, and there is no point of criticism. The Warriors' victory is also fair and aboveboard, without any off-court factors.

But people like Popovich can't tolerate failure. He didn't say the phrase "I seem to see Jordan playing." Compliment your opponent's mood.

Zhang Yu praised the Spurs well. From Popovich to Duncan, from Parker to Gary Neal, every Spurs player is very strong in Zhang Yu's mouth. It seems that the Spurs are the winners tonight. This is It's a moment for the victors.

But what Zhang Yu said is not unreasonable. From the data point of view, the Spurs' main players, especially the GDP combination, are no worse than the Warriors' starters.

邓肯砍下21分12篮板5助攻2封盖，帕克砍下24分7助攻4篮板1抢断，吉诺比利砍下22分6助攻4篮板2抢断，三人全部得到20 ，马刺这场比赛的进攻并没有太大的问题，甚至还超常发挥了。

Before the start of the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs had plenty of rest time to recharge their batteries, and the team was in good shape.

Except for Curry who scored 34 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds and 1 steal, the Warriors performed significantly better than the GDP combination, and everyone else scored slightly worse.

巴特勒的得分产量还是有限，威尔森-钱德勒的防守也比卡隆-巴特勒、马特-巴恩斯要强，他只得到了20分6篮板3助攻2抢断1封盖。

克来下半场投了不少转换快攻的三分，全场砍下18分3篮板2助攻1封盖1抢断。

Leonard's performance was very impressive. He seized many fast-break opportunities and scored 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. He was the highest scoring player on the Warriors' bench.