warrior godfather

What does a suffocating game look like?
The Heat fans who came to the Oracle Center to watch the finals G1 have a deep feeling for this.

If the Eastern Conference finals between the Heat and the Bulls was a suffocating defensive battle, then the finals between the Heat and the Warriors was a suffocating offensive battle.

At the beginning, Heat fans were worried about whether the Heat could score, but now they are worried about whether the Warriors will score.

In the first half, they were still a little worried that James' scoring would not continue.

But after the third quarter, this worry completely disappeared. James' state tonight is very similar to his avatar in the last two games of the Eastern Conference Finals. Tonight is destined to belong to James' night.

But James' performance may not necessarily bring a victory for the Heat, especially the Warriors launched a strong counterattack in the third quarter, chasing the score to only 3 points.

The Warriors' five-small lineup made Heat fans feel suffocated. It was the anxiety and uneasiness that they could only watch the opponent's players shoot open three-pointers, but could do nothing.

At this time, the few Heat fans in the auditorium will always look at the Filipino standing in front of the Heat bench with his arms folded and his face calm and determined. Their head coach - Spoelster pull.

They understand Spoelstra's approach, and there is a price to pay for everything. Giving the Warriors an open three-pointer on the weak side is the price the Heat must pay to lock Curry.

Every Heat fan will never forget that Curry's performance in the Finals last year, he destroyed the Heat's defense, that is the eternal nightmare of Heat fans.

They don't want to experience that feeling anymore, the feeling of three points like rain and thousands of arrows piercing their hearts.

They would rather watch other Warriors players shoot open three-pointers than watch Curry train Bosh after the pick-and-roll.

Seeing other people shoot three-pointers, the Heat fans thought "don't go in", but when they saw Curry shoot three-pointers, their thoughts were "it's over"!
Spoelstra seemed to have heard their voices, and arranged the most aggressive defensive strategy, even more aggressive than the Heat's original defense, not giving Curry a chance.

Of course, there is a price to pay, and it is still a big price.

Curry was one step outside the three-point line and Green picked and rolled, Bosh had to follow out to pinch Curry, and the basket was completely empty.

Curry passes the ball to Green who is running down, and the defender on the weak side returns to the frame. Green then passes the ball to the bottom corner or 45 degrees on the weak side, which is an open opportunity.

The Warriors' offense in the third quarter was so simple, so simple that except for Curry and Green, the other three did not need to move, as long as the Heat's defenders on the weak side could not defend against two.

But such a simple offense is based on the fact that the Warriors have the ultimate space. Five players who can shoot three-pointers force the Heat to expand their defensive formation to the limit, and many times it is too late to rotate.

The Heat also want to put up such a lineup, but the Big Three are not good at three-pointers. In Zhang Yu's previous life, in the finals against the Spurs, Wade never took a three-pointer from the beginning to the end of the seven games. He took less than one three-pointer, and all of them ended in iron strikes. …

With these two "refuses to shoot", no matter how many shooters the Heat hoard, there will always be two points on the field that drag the space, and the offensive space is extremely flawed.

If it weren't for James' excellent form today, all kinds of fairy balls emerge in endlessly, and he can often finish against the help defense. With such a congested space for the Heat, he will play very uncomfortable.

But this is not what Heat fans are thinking about now. Their hearts are affected by every open shot of the Warriors, praying that the Heat's first-line defense will be more oppressive and the rotation will be faster.

The Heat's players' defense is not without hard work. The Warriors can't make every pick-and-roll tactic, but compared to the open opportunities that Clay/Leonard/Butler get on the weak side, the Heat's defensive success rate is still too high. low.

And several times the Heat's rotation has been in place, but the Warriors can still continue to export opportunities.

The Warriors played a season of passing and cutting, and a season of turnovers. Everyone has developed the ability to pass the ball with one hand.

It is difficult for them to send the precise scalpel pass like Curry and Green, but it is very simple for them to pass the ball to open teammates.

Fortunately, after the start of the fourth quarter, the bench lineups of both sides came on the field, and the Heat fans finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It's finally time for us to gain the upper hand. Now it's our turn to expand the score advantage, right?
In the continuous golden ocean of Oracle Arena, the sparse Heat fans seem insignificant, but there are smiles on their faces.

In their view, Wade and Bosh will set off a wave of offensive climax as they did in the early part of the second quarter, and continue to widen the point difference approached by the Warriors.

But they noticed from the big screen in mid-air that the face of Spoelstra, who was pacing back and forth on the sidelines, did not show the slightest relaxation that the Heat were about to take the upper hand, but was more dignified than in the third quarter.

Soon, Heat fans will understand why Spoelstra has such an expression.

The Warriors' lineup is Livingston, Tony Allen, Clay, Butler and Chandler, an almost perfect defensive lineup!

And with Clay and Butler, there will be no problem with the Warriors' offense in the rotation.

The game also proved this point. Tony Allen's playing time has decreased a lot this season, but he is still the top expert in the field of perimeter defense.

Wade was stalked by Tony Allen, and his scoring was limited.

Although Tony Allen can't guard Wade, he can make it extremely difficult for him to score every time. This is already a big victory for the Warriors' defense.

The most important thing is that the Warriors are guarded by Chandler, who is physically strong inside, and the Warriors are deliberately shrinking. The defense in the penalty area is impenetrable. Wade and Bosh can only float outside to shoot, and the offensive efficiency is very low.

This is also a helpless move. This season, Wade's shooting has declined in an all-round way. Not only is the three-pointer inaccurate, but the efficiency of the mid-range has also dropped a lot. Only the scoring efficiency in the penalty area is acceptable.

During the regular season, most teams' interior defenses were relatively average, and the referee's standards were relatively strict. Wade's breakthrough can still be called sharp. …

But in the playoffs, the Heat encountered strong defensive teams such as the Pacers and Bulls one after another. With defensive gates such as Hibbert and Noah on the inside, the confrontation intensity increased, and Wade's breakthrough threat dropped a lot.

Now that the Heat are playing against the Warriors, Wade has Tony Allen following the defense all the way, Butler and Clay keep swiping their cards to help defend, and Chandler is on the inside, making his breakthrough more and more difficult.

When Wade needed to score the most, his scarred left knee became his biggest obstacle.

When Wade dribbled the ball in a different direction, swayed out of the breakthrough space, and rushed into the three-point line, but because he failed to speed up, he was caught up by Tony Allen from behind, forced to stop in the middle distance, and was forced to take the ball, Yu Jia sighed:
"Wade's speed is really not as good as before. If it was in the past, he would directly go to the penalty area and dunk."

Yang Yi said:

"That was Wade who had part of his meniscus removed in college. I really can't imagine what height Wade could have reached if his left knee hadn't been injured."

Yang Yi's voice was full of regret, which was also the regret that Wade has always been fond of.

But on the stage of the finals, this kind of regret seemed a bit inappropriate. Yang Yi only mentioned one sentence, and then turned his attention to other people:
"Butler carried Mike Miller - went in, made a pull-up jumper, got it! This shot is beautiful, Mike Miller really can't guard Butler!"

At this time, the fourth quarter had just lasted 8 minutes and 35 seconds, less than 3 minutes had been played, but the two teams had come and gone, and the offense and defense had switched for several rounds.

And Butler frequently singled out Mike Miller through staggered travel, and he succeeded on the offensive end again and again.

This is why Zhang Yu dared to deploy Livingston, Tony Allen, and Chandler at the same time.

As a point guard, Curry cannot play a lot of singles. He must play pick-and-rolls with his teammates, or attack the opponent's weaknesses, or drive the team's overall offense. This is his responsibility as a point guard.

Curry's position and the team's tactical status determine that he cannot be a pure attacker, although he has this ability.

But as a small forward, Butler's singles is his responsibility, especially the mid-range singles, which is an ability that a small forward must master.

Butler is not as good as top strikers like Durant, James, and Anthony, but he was also selected to the best team. His skill at drawing fouls with one hand is even better than that of Jan Du. It is easy to beat Mike Miller.

A large number of his shots are concentrated in the middle distance, and his requirements for space are very low. Tony Allen's weakness of three-pointers dragging space, the Heat will not be able to take advantage of it.

It was also relying on Butler's outstanding performance that the Warriors had an advantage in the transition period and finally overtook the Heat. The score came to 92:91, and the Warriors led by 1 point.

Of the 9 points the Warriors scored, Butler scored 6 points. Clay used an off-ball screen to hit a three-pointer, and no one else scored.

"Di-"

After Butler hit a pull-up jumper, the referee's whistle sounded and Spoelstra called a timeout.

Seeing this, Yang Yi said very firmly:

"The Warriors overtook, James is about to go, he rested for two and a half minutes, which is long enough."…

Yes, two-and-a-half minutes is a long time in the Finals.

Although including the 5 minutes at the beginning of the second quarter, James only rested for a total of 7 minutes, but in Yang Yi's judgment, this is already the longest time James can rest in half a game.

Even if it weren't for this game being G1 of the finals, if James wasn't in such a good state today, he wouldn't even be able to get the 7 minutes of rest time.

This is the finals, a stage where you must go all out and have no reservations.

The same is true for the Warriors. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Butler and Clay's playing time has exceeded 34 minutes, and their rest time is even less than James.

Although the pressure on the offensive end of the two is not as great as that of James and Curry, as the core members of the Warriors, they cannot relax on both ends of the offense and defense, and consume a lot of physical energy.

However, in order to regain the disadvantaged situation, Zhang Yu did not dare to hold anything back. Clay's excellent offensive and defensive 3D attributes and Butler's singles are irreplaceable by other Warriors players.

With Curry exhausted, in order to win, Zhang Yu can only greatly increase the playing time of the two.

After all, the Warriors don't have the luxury configuration of the Heat's Big Three, and they can always have a strong point on the court.

If Wade and Bosh faced the normal rotation of the Warriors just now, the Heat would definitely continue to expand their lead.

……

Spoelstra called a short timeout this time, and it was over quickly, and the two sides returned to the court.

As expected by Yang Yi, James went into battle again, and Wade and Bosh went off to rest.

On the other side, Curry also returned to the court.

In this game, Curry and James have always been on the same page. Zhang Yu's substitutions are very clear. The king must see the king. He is determined not to give James the opportunity to travel on the wrong peak and Tian Ji to race horses.

In fact, most of the Heat's bench lineups were James, but today James is in excellent condition. Spoelstra adjusted the rotation to allow James to fight against the Warriors' main lineup to maximize his offensive deterrence.

However, Zhang Yu also replaced Clay, Tony Allen and Butler with Danny Green, Leonard and Green.

With Wade off the field, there is no need for Tony Allen's defense. Zhang Yu instead increases the team's offensive space. Danny Green and Leonard are equivalent to weakened versions of Clay and Butler. Both offense and defense are effective. The Warriors' roster has also become more balanced.

However, in the next 2 minutes, the Warriors failed to maintain their lead.

Spoelstra's lineup for James is Ray Allen, Chalmers, Mike Miller and Joel Anthony, one end point, three shooters, and the space is very open.

Although Wade and Bosh are not on the court, James is like a fish in water on the offensive end. Every ball is a pick-and-roll and then uses a cover to kill the basket. He challenged Chandler for two consecutive rounds and successfully scored one of them. 2. He scored 1 points in a row, and he also found a chance to assist the open Mike Miller to hit a three-pointer.

However, Curry was still closely flanked by the Heat, and only grasped the Heat's defensive communication error, and sent 1 assist to Chandler who was going down.

Danny Green was intentionally left empty, and he had rested for too long, and his hands felt a little cold. He only grasped one of the three open shot opportunities.

In the end, Leonard stood up. He took advantage of James' unfamiliarity with him, singled James, made a breakthrough layup, and helped the Warriors stabilize the situation a little.

But looking back, James hit Leonard with his back, resisted his defense, and hit a fadeaway jumper. The point difference came to 102:101, and the Heat achieved a lead.

"Di-"

At this time, at 5 minutes and 25 seconds into the fourth quarter, Zhang Yu looked at James, who was celebrating with a bully step after scoring a goal, and called a timeout.