warrior godfather

Chapter 568 The Background of the Championship
Oakland, California.

Curry sits on the sofa in the living room at home, watching TV thoughtfully.

On the large TV screen, the sixth game between the Clippers and the Grizzlies is being played. Before that, the Clippers took a 3:2 lead, and G6 was held in Memphis.

At this time, the game had reached the last 23 seconds of the fourth quarter, and the Clippers led the Grizzlies by 107 points at 98:9, securing the victory.

The Clippers fans at the scene cheered and the Grizzlies gave up chasing points. Paul dribbled the ball all the way to the frontcourt and held the ball on the spot. Conley stood beside him and didn't come up to press, letting time go by.

As time ran out, the red light came on and the game ended. The Clippers defeated the Grizzlies 107:98, winning the series with a big score of 4:2 and advancing to the Western Conference semifinals.

Curry's gaze followed the camera, scanning Paul, Griffin, Iguodala and others celebrating the victory one by one, pursed his lips, picked up the remote control, and switched to TNT.

The packed American Airlines Center appeared on the TV screen. With the end of the G6 of the Grizzlies and Clippers, the G6 of the Warriors and Mavericks will begin soon.

After the Warriors and the Mavericks fought 2:1, 6 days have passed. The series came to Game 3. The Warriors led 2:[-] and came to Dallas again to compete with the Mavericks for a ticket to the Western Conference Semifinals.

Previously, the Warriors won G4, but lost G5 after returning home, and did not grasp the best chance to end the series.

Facts have proved that what determines the outcome of this round of the series is the touch, and it has nothing to do with home court advantage. The offense of the two teams is mainly shooting, and the lethality is average. Whoever can make three-pointers accurately will win the game. .

The Warriors in G4 feel good, and they can win the Mavericks away; the Warriors in G5 feel bad, and they can lose to the Mavericks at home.

Today's game, for the fans of the two teams, is another chance to draw a blind box. Before the start of the game, before the Warriors and Mavericks players made three-pointers, no one dared to predict the outcome of the game.

However, generally speaking, the Warriors still have the upper hand. The Warriors' defense is stronger than that of the Mavericks. Although the Warriors lost due to poor hand feeling in G5, they still relied on tenacious defense and stalemate until the critical moment, and finally won 86:89 Sadly lost to the Mavericks by 3 points.

Therefore, Curry is not really worried about this game today. According to the rule of quasi-game and iron-game, it should be the Warriors' turn today. If there is no accident, the Warriors should be able to win this round today. series.

This is not out of metaphysics, but the normal fluctuating touch of Warriors players. The offense of role players lacks stability. It is impossible to be accurate in every game, but it can still be done in two games. one reason.

Moreover, the Mavericks lineup is seriously aging. After 5 consecutive fierce battles with the Warriors, the Mavericks have consumed a lot of veterans, and their hand feeling has become more and more fluctuating. In the last game, Calderon scored a top man in the last 12.3 seconds. The 24-second buzzer-beating three-pointer made a strong shot to win the game with difficulty. As the series progresses, the Warriors' chances of winning will only increase.

Curry is more worried about the Clippers than the Mavericks.

In the series against the Grizzlies, the performance of the Clippers' starting five tigers was not inferior to that of the regular season. Griffin averaged 23.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, Paul averaged 19.2 points and 9.1 assists per game, Redick averaged 14.3 points per game, 2.5 three-pointers, Iguodala averaged 11.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. Jordan averaged 12.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, scoring in double figures.

Crawford played the best sixth man effect, averaging 16.7 points per game. He is the leading scorer on the Clippers' bench, allowing the Clippers to always have the upper hand in the rotation stage.

These are just basic data. From a player's point of view, Curry has no weaknesses in the Clippers' starting lineup-of course, this is for the current Warriors.

If Curry can play, this kind of team with two inside players who are not good at switching defenses is Curry's favorite opponent. Jordan and Griffin are just his targets, and Curry can train casually.

But without Curry, only Klay can punish Jordan for squatting with hand-offs, catch-and-shoot around screens.

And this method is very handy. The Clippers will give Clay a fleeting gap. If he can make a shot, the Warriors will still have to play offensively. If he can’t make a shot, the Warriors will have constipation on offense and can only win by defense .

Leonard is still in an embarrassing situation. He struggles against Marion single-handedly, and it is even more difficult to fight Iguodala. He will only be restricted to death.

It is also very difficult for the Warriors to rely on the depth of the lineup to win. In the playoffs, the Clippers began to implement an eight-man rotation.
Curry can see this, not because he has studied the Clippers' style of play in depth, but in the regular season, Zhang Yu has practiced tactics against potential opponents in the playoffs such as the Clippers, Thunder, and Rockets. How to play these teams.

What Curry didn't know was that the Warriors and Clippers should have met in the first round, but in that series, Clay could only average 40.8 points, 16.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists on 3.4% shooting.

Such a poor performance also made Bob Myers put Clay on the shelves during the offseason, and he was almost about to be traded. It was Jerry West who threatened to resign and kept Clay. lai.

Now Clay has entered the league a year ahead of schedule. After the experience of the Western Conference Finals and the Finals, his strength is stronger, but he has only reached the level close to the 2015-2016 season ahead of schedule. It is difficult for him to perform so well when he is attracting defense.

At that time, facing the Clippers with a balanced lineup, what can the Warriors do to win?

Curry's thoughts raced, but when the Warriors-Mavericks game began, he refocused on the TV screen in front of him and forgot about the Clippers.

Only by defeating the opponent in front of him can he be qualified to challenge the next opponent, even if he doesn't think the Warriors will lose.

……

G6 between the Warriors and Mavericks continued the tone of the previous five games. It was still a defensive battle.

The core of the Warriors' offense is Clay. Of course, they don't want to play singles. Zhang Yu arranged for Clay a lot of cross-screening, double-screening, hand-to-hand off-ball tactics, and even football's wall-hitting two-for-one coordination——Clay holding the ball Play a pick-and-roll with Green, then pass back to Green, run back to catch the ball, and use Green's cover to shoot.

In short, Zhang Yu tried every means to create opportunities for Clay to catch and shoot.

Clay did not live up to Zhang Yu's expectations. He didn't feel good in the last game. He made 18 of 7 shots in the game. Today, he finally recovered. He made 7 of 4 shots in the first quarter, 5 of 2 three-pointers, and scored 10 without free throws. With 3 rebounds and 1 assist, the Warriors led the Mavericks by 24 points at 19:5.

Clay's outstanding performance let Zhang Yu breathe a sigh of relief. With Clay supporting the Warriors' offense, he replaced Leonard in advance with 3 minutes left in the first quarter. With Leonard on the court, the Warriors can always retain a strong offensive point on the court.

Zhang Yu didn't dare to let Clay rest for a long time. Just 3 minutes into the second quarter, he replaced Clay to maintain the Warriors' offensive firepower.

Since G3, Carlisle has been the main force, always rotating with 8 players, with very little time off the bench.

Zhang Yu has maintained an 11-man rotation. Livingston, Parsons, Olynyk, Middleton, Yi Jianlian and Antetokounmpo all have opportunities to play, allowing the main players to have sufficient rest time.

However, as the two most threatening scoring points for the Warriors, Clay and Leonard have been playing for more than 40 minutes, otherwise the Warriors' offense will collapse.

After Clay came on the court in the second quarter, his hand feeling declined slightly. He made 8 of 3 shots in a single quarter and scored 8 points.

At the end of the second quarter, the Warriors led the Mavericks by 47 points 41:6.

In the second half, the Mavericks' defense against Clay was even tighter. He only scored 4 points, but Leonard stood up and made 10 of 5 shots in a single quarter in the third quarter, 4 of 2 three-pointers, 2 of 1 free throws, and scored With 13 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals, the Warriors widened the point difference to 9 points.

In the previous 5 games, Leonard's performance has been struggling. Only G4 scored 20 points in one game, and the efficiency was not high.

But Leonard is very good at learning, which is also an important reason why he has evolved from a 3D engineer to a top striker.

This round of the series is the first time Leonard has played the role of a scorer in the playoffs. After five games, he has accumulated a lot of experience and learned how to complete the offense in a more concise way. The anti-interference ability is getting stronger and stronger, and Marion's restrictive effect on him is getting worse.

Today, he finally ushered in an explosion in the third quarter. When Clay misfired, he took the torch from him and illuminated the way forward for the Warriors.

In the fourth quarter, Clay recovered and scored 10 points in a single quarter, helping the team maintain a 9-point lead.

In the end, the Warriors defeated the Mavericks 91:82, winning 4:2 and advancing to the Western Conference semifinals!

全场比赛下来，克莱23投11中，三分15投7中，罚球4中3，砍下32分5篮板4助攻1抢断，伦纳德16投8中，三分7中3，罚球5中3，砍下22分6篮板1助攻2抢断2封盖，两人合砍54分。

Green's performance cannot be ignored. He made 7 of 3 shots, 3 of 1 three-pointers, 3 of 2 free throws, 9 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. The role of assisting defense to interfere with shooting many times is something that data cannot show.

Parsons is another important scoring point for the Warriors. He scored 13 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. He is the only player other than Clay and Leonard to score in double figures.

In this round of the series, Parsons played very well, and as the series progressed, his performance became better and better.

In both G1 and G2, Parsons didn't score in double figures, but he was very motivated. He made contributions in rebounding, defense, connection, shooting, etc. He had a strong sense of presence and was the kind of energy type that could arouse the fighting spirit of the whole team. Players, the defensive strokes in the regular season are completely different.

In the next three games, Zhang Yu gave Parsons more playing time, and Parsons performed better and better, scoring 14 points, 16 points, and 15 points respectively, ranking third among the Warriors.

六场比赛打完，帕森斯场均出战20.4分钟，可以得到12.2分4.6篮板2.6助攻1.1抢断0.8封盖的全面数据，三项命中率为46.5%、37.2%、75.6%，是勇士少有的进攻高效球员。

In contrast to the Mavericks, Nowitzki made 19 of 8 shots and scored 23 points. Monta Ellis made 22 of 7 shots and scored 18 points. Marion made 12 of 4 shots and scored 11 points. Die, efficiency is terrible.

In the post-match interview, Carlisle was calm:

"Congratulations to the Warriors. The Warriors are the better team. We didn't limit their offense. Thompson is a very good shooter. His off-ball movement is definitely the top level in the league. Leonard's explosion It's not in our plan, otherwise I believe we can drag the game to the tiebreaker..."

Zhang Yu praised the warrior generals:
"Klay's performance is phenomenal, he definitely deserves the best team; Kawhi is a cold-blooded killer today, he stood up when Klay was strictly guarded, he is the key to us winning this game; Drummond is the soul of our defense, when Steph is not there, he leads the team forward on the court; Chandler stepped up from the bench and gave us energy... I have to give credit to the game today Everyone, it was a team win, everyone was indispensable..."

As Zhang Yu said, the Warriors were able to win against the Mavericks because of the concerted efforts of the entire team.

In addition to Clay, Leonard, Green, and Parsons, there is also Middleton who scored in double figures in G1 and G3; Antetokounmpo, who played steadily for about 15 minutes and has unlimited energy on the defensive end; Danny Green who is going all out; Chandler and Yi Jianlian who are still conscientious although their playing time has been reduced; Livingston who averaged at least one picturesque straight-arm jumper per game...

The Warriors without Curry, without the superstar who can turn the tide at critical moments, without the MVP who doesn’t have to worry about giving him the ball, can only be united with sincerity, everyone performs their own duties, and uses tenacious defense and unremitting running. Only by moving can we win one game after another.

Indeed, as people expected, Zhang Yu came up with exquisite tactics and designed a lot of off-ball running routines for Clay, letting people know for the first time that so many possessions can be digested without the ball.

He boldly used new players, and according to different situations on the field, he formed six different five-small lineups, all of which achieved good results.

But if everyone hadn't been more active in running and defending, rebounding more actively, and perfectly executed Zhang Yu's tactics, the Warriors could not have eliminated the Mavericks in six games.

They used their performance on the court to tell the world that even without Curry, the Warriors are not a soft persimmon that anyone can pinch. They may feel bad and make mistakes, but they will not admit defeat.

The background and pride of the championship make them full of fighting spirit even in adversity, and never shrink back in the face of difficulties.

This victory is not the end, there are more enemies ahead of them, and they will keep fighting until the day Curry returns.

(End of this chapter)