warrior godfather

Chapter 546 Thank you, Stephen

Before the start of the game, the Warriors received the championship ring.

This championship ring was carefully crafted by the Warriors commissioned by the famous luxury brand "Jason of Beverly Hills", who designed championship rings for the Lakers in 2009 and 2010.

It is worth mentioning that Wade commissioned the jeweler to create an engagement ring.

According to Zhang Yu's request, the Warriors' championship rings this year are divided into three grades, and all staff members will get their own rings.

Since this is not the first time the Warriors have received a championship ring, although the scene is grand, it is not as exciting as last time.

The players who already had one ring just took over the second ring with a smile. Only Middleton and others who won the championship for the first time were very excited.

Antetokounmpo, who just joined the team, sat alone on the bench, looking enviously at the high-spirited teammates on the field, his eyes full of longing.

Zhang Yu noticed Antetokounmpo's expression, came to his side, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile:
"Giannis, watching Stephen and the others receive the ring, how do you feel?"

"I want too..." Antetokounmpo replied subconsciously.

"If you want a ring, then play well. This is the third year of Kawhi's career, but he has already won two rings. I hope you can make your own contribution to the team like him, and get The championship ring that belongs to you!"

Antetokounmpo nodded heavily. At this moment, his heart was agitated, and the grand scene of being cheered by thousands of Warriors fans when he received the championship ring involuntarily emerged in his mind.

After the awarding ceremony of the championship ring, players from both sides came to the field, and the game was finally about to start.

Looking at the starting lineup of the Lakers, Zhang Yu felt that things were different.

Jodie Meeks, Steve Blake, Nick Young, Gasol, Sean Williams…

Kobe Bryant and Nash were injured, Howard left, Artest left, the Lakers' five-star battle formation was broken, and only Gasol was left struggling.

The Zijin Legion, which won two consecutive championships, completely faded away from its glory, leaving only a mess after the decline.

No matter how loyal the Lakers fans are, they must admit that this Lakers team is not competitive in the West where the arms race is becoming more serious.

They can only pin their hopes on the man who has saved the Lakers countless times, but no one knows what kind of strength Kobe can play after the Achilles tendon rupture.

But no matter what, the Lakers fans still have a hope in their hearts. Kobe and Gasol's internal and external dual cores are still there.

But in the process of waiting, the Lakers are bound to pay a heavy price.

After the start of the game, the Lakers played very hard, but under the huge gap in strength, the Warriors established a double-digit lead shortly after the opening.

After Butler left, Leonard was put on the starting lineup, and he played the same role as Butler-outside defensive vanguard + fixed-point shooter + ball handler.

But Leonard is not as good as Butler in offensive ability with the ball, especially in handling the ball and causing damage, which is far inferior to Butler.

Butler is extremely good at looking for physical confrontation, and his vision is also very broad. During his four years in the Warriors, he developed the ability to pass the ball. These are things Leonard doesn't have.

Leonard's vision is relatively narrow, and his awareness of sharing the ball is not good. It is more suitable as an end point rather than an initiation point.

In Zhang Yu's previous life, Leonard's assists in the Spurs and Raptors never exceeded 3.5 per game. After going to the Clippers, the team lacked point guards, so he began to take on the task of organizing offense, but the effect was not too great it is good.

However, he also has an advantage over Butler.

Leonard's talent is stronger than Butler's, and his defense is better. His long arms and outstanding shoulder width also make Leonard's shooting ability better than Butler's.

Combined with Leonard's excellent long-range shooting touch, he has a higher ceiling than Butler on the offensive end. Many things are difficult for Butler, but Leonard can. This is the difference between talented and untalented.

But in this game, Leonard did not have the opportunity to show his strength.

The Lakers' defense is too bad. D'Antoni's defensive skills have not improved much, and he has not trained the Lakers' offense. The Lakers have been suppressed by the Warriors.

Leonard doesn't need to attack with the ball, and he doesn't need to work hard on defense. Nick Young has nothing to do with him.

He only needs to do a good job of screens, air cuts and fixed-point shots as last season, and the Warriors' passing and cutting system can run smoothly. The scoring work is mainly handed over to Curry and Clay. Variety.

In the past few seasons, Butler has been the Warriors' No. [-] scorer and has a high tactical status. When Curry is strictly guarded, Zhang Yu usually lets him attack with the ball to break the deadlock.

After Butler left, Leonard was not yet mature enough, and the Warriors' second scorer became Clay.

But Clay is different from all other scorers. Apart from simple breakthroughs and low backs, he has almost no ability to hold the ball, and most of his points come from off-ball offenses.

The Warriors' tactics have also changed as a result. The proportion of passing and cutting has further increased, and the proportion of pick-and-roll and singles has decreased.

Part of the ball left by Butler was taken back by Curry, and part of it came to Green, and his shots were divided between Clay and Leonard.

Green is already familiar with dealing cards, and Clay has no pressure to increase his number of shots.

After three seasons of honing, Clay has further practiced shooting this offseason. His shooting skills have reached the peak. Although it is still not as good as Curry, it is enough to disdain all other shooters in the league.

And there are many loopholes in the Lakers' defense. Clay runs without the ball and gets a lot of open opportunities. He catches the ball and shoots.

The cross screen between him and Curry at a 45-degree angle is a major killer move of the Warriors' passing and cutting system. No matter who bounces out, it can attract the defensive attention of two people. Anyone who takes the opportunity to cut to the basket can get an easy layup.

The resulting changes of Chandler, Leonard, and Green covering the Splash Brothers are also tried and tested.

Curry and Clay's three-point deterrence was too great. The Lakers had to hoard heavy troops on the three-point line, and even relaxed their defense of the penalty area for this purpose, giving the Warriors many opportunities to score easily with air cuts.

After the first half, the Warriors dismembered the Lakers' defense with a sharp pass and cut attack, leading the Lakers by 70 points with 48:22, and directly ruined the game.

The scoring of the Warriors' starting lineup is very scattered, Curry has 12 points, Clay has 11 points, Leonard has 10 points, Green has 7 points, and Chandler has 8 points.

But the order of scoring by several people is different. First, Splash passed the screen, got an open opportunity, made a three-pointer, and attracted the Lakers' defense. After the screen, the others made an air cut and hit the basket. .

The opening game was broadcast live across the United States and broadcast by ESPN. During the intermission, the commentator Jeff Van Gundy said with emotion:

"The Warriors' offense is different from other teams. They rarely play pick-and-rolls and breakthroughs. They all use screens, first look for opportunities on the outside, then change the opponent's defensive focus, and then hit the basket through air cuts. Last season , Passing and cutting account for a lot of the Warriors' offense, and now almost every round starts with passing and cutting. This may be the adjustment made by Coach Z after Butler left, which can make the lack of possession of the ball Thompson's offensive ability plays a bigger role on the offensive end."

Mark Jackson said:
"The Warriors' three-point-focused offense has also had a great impact on other teams in the league. In the two games that have ended today, the four participating teams have taken more than 30 three-pointers. It used to be very rare. After the Warriors won two consecutive championships, the entire league has realized the importance of three-pointers, including the Heat, which has reached three consecutive finals before, and is also the best three-pointer in the league. One of the teams. In today's league, the three-point line is the line of life and death, and whoever masters the three-pointer will win!"

……

In the second half, the Warriors continued to maintain a huge lead, and the Lakers were still unable to close the score.

After the third quarter, the Warriors lead the Lakers by 92 points with 67:25, and the game has completely lost suspense.

In the fourth quarter, Zhang Yu replaced the full bench lineup and started the three quarters. Antetokounmpo finally got the chance to play.

Zhang Yu still attaches great importance to the opening game. Although the opponent is the disabled Lakers, he also takes it seriously, and only Yi Jianlian is allowed to play in the rotation stage.

After Antetokounmpo came on the court, he was very excited and actively screened his teammates and grabbed rebounds in the interior - although he couldn't touch the ball.

Thomas Jr. and Parsons took all the possession of the ball. Parsons just took the ball and did it. Thomas Jr. was not alone. As long as Antetokounmpo ran out of opportunities, he would pass the ball to him.

But the Lakers' substitutes are also working hard. Antetokounmpo struggled to hit the basket. After failing twice, Thomas Jr. stopped passing him.

There is a fundamental difference between the preseason and the regular season. Antetokounmpo experienced the intensity of a real NBA game for the first time, which was completely beyond his expectations.

For marginal substitutes, there is no garbage time, as long as they are on the court, they are going all out.

The Lakers' substitute insiders Jordan Hill and Robert Thackeray both received basic salaries, were neither famous nor outstanding, but they fought fiercely and played very hard. In the precious playing time, they worked hard. look at yourself.

Antetokounmpo was very embarrassed by their defense and was also very embarrassed by their attack. It was a completely different feeling from the summer league, team training games, and preseason games.

He felt that he had stepped into the Colosseum of ancient Rome, surrounded by ferocious gladiators and ferocious beasts, and he was always thinking about how to tear him into pieces, but he was caught off guard and devoured everything. suffered.

However, Antetokounmpo's performance did not affect the Warriors' final victory.

Thomas Jr. and Parsons dominated the Warriors' offense in the fourth quarter. Facing the Lakers' substitutes, they were a dimensionality reduction blow, and they could get whatever they wanted on the offensive end.

Whiteside also seized every opportunity in the limited time and played a double-double performance of 12 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. The statistics are very gorgeous.

However, the stubborn problems of the Warriors' bench lineup still exist, the defense of several players is still very lax, and the Lakers can easily score from the bench

Zhang Yu didn't care too much about this. It was all garbage time. The Warriors held a lead of more than 20 points and could win by playing casually. It was impossible for him to ask the players to defend well.

In the end, the Warriors beat the Lakers 121:100 and got off to a good start to the season.

Starting all three quarters, Curry 22 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds, Clay 18 points, Leonard 14 points, Green 11 points, 8 assists and 9 rebounds, Thomas Jr. 14 points, Parsons 13 points, Whiteside 12 points, Seven of the team scored in double figures.

The Lakers are too sloppy, and the Warriors spend a little bit of effort, and the game is wasted.

If Zhang Yu hadn't allowed Curry to hit two singles with the ball at the end of the third quarter, he wouldn't even be able to score 20 points.

Lakers score is also very scattered, Gasol 14 points, Jodi - Meeks 12 points, Nick - Young 10 points, Xavier - Henry 14 points, Jordan - Farmer 12 points.

After the Warriors led by a big score, their defense slackened, and they fell into a situation of mutual honesty with the Lakers, but fortunately, even if they only rely on offense, the Warriors are enough to win the game.

This victory also marked a successful end to the Warriors' championship ring night.

After the Warriors players returned to the locker room, they were elated and gathered together in twos and threes, chatting and laughing happily.

Antetokounmpo was the only one sitting in his seat with a dejected expression on his face.

He played 12 minutes today and played the entire fourth quarter. He made 6 of 2 shots and no free throws. He only scored 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls. His performance was very bad.

Looking at his teammates celebrating the victory and carefully admiring the championship ring in their hands, Antetokounmpo couldn't be happy at all, he just forced a smile, not wanting to look too out of place.

This victory has nothing to do with him. If he doesn't play, the Warriors will win even easier.

"This ring is even more delicate than the previous one, tsk tsk, look at this diamond..."

Antetokounmpo, who was sorting out his equipment, lowered his head lower when he heard the exclamation of his teammates.

Listening to the unfamiliar English, far away from home, the loneliness of coming to a foreign country to work alone suddenly flooded Antetokounmpo's heart.

Snapped!
"Hey Giannis, you played well today!"

Antetokounmpo was slapped hard on the shoulder, and he looked up to see Curry standing in front of him, looking at him with a smile on his face.

"I watched carefully, and every time you screened, you chose great timing. Unfortunately, you didn't use your strength in the final confrontation. Otherwise, your score will definitely be in double figures...Keep working hard, you must be fine!" Curry laughed.

Antetokounmpo only felt a slight soreness in his nose, and he nodded fiercely:
"Thank you, Stephen, I will definitely work hard!"

(End of this chapter)