warrior godfather

Chapter 573 What else can Coach Z do?

When the Warriors lost G3, some Warriors fans regained their previous argument, thinking that the Warriors are out of play and the playoffs are over. Without Curry, Clay and Leonard will definitely not go far.

But some Warriors fans are still more optimistic.

They don't believe that the Clippers' three-pointers will be as accurate as they are today. According to the law, Clay should be accurate in the next game. If he fights hard to defend, the Warriors will definitely win.

In this game, the Clippers made 42.5% of their three-pointers, which was accurate for three quarters. In the fourth quarter, Zhang Yu had no choice but to expand the Warriors' defensive formation and give priority to blocking the Clippers' three-pointers.

But then the Clippers shifted their offensive focus to the inside. Griffin, who had been locked up for nearly three games, finally recovered on the offensive end. He scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Clippers maintain their lead and finally won game.

Zhang Yu made all possible adjustments, but the Clippers' three-pointer was too accurate, and the convulsive feel made the Warriors' defense lose any effect.

In the post-match interview, Zhang Yu said helplessly:

"We lost to the Clippers' three-pointers, but this cannot be simply attributed to bad luck. Paul, Crawford, and Redick all have the ability to make three-pointers, and they made a lot of three-pointers. Severely punished our defense, we must find a way to limit the Clippers' three-point shooting in the next game, this will be the key to our victory."

Zhang Yu's speech gave the Warriors fans confidence. They all look forward to Zhang Yu's quick adjustment and subtle tactics as before to regain the advantage.

……

On May 5, the fourth game between the Warriors and the Clippers was held at the Staples Center.

Zhang Yu adjusted his defense. When defending the pick-and-roll, he went to the line and squeezed the screen. The inside line was delayed, and the weak side defender shrank the frame to limit the Clippers' outside shots while trying to protect the penalty area as much as possible.

The big score is 1:2 behind, and the Warriors are still in the away game. Zhang Yu no longer dares to gamble.

After the game started, today's commentator Jeff Van Gundy saw Zhang Yu's defensive arrangement and gave affirmation:

"After the last defeat, Coach Z immediately made adjustments. The Warriors' defensive position is not unexpected, but under the current circumstances, being safe is the best choice. In fact, the Warriors' defense in the last game was good enough , Whether they can win the Clippers, the key is to attack."

Mark Jackson echoed:

"Yes, the Clippers' offense is too comprehensive, with Griffin on the inside, Paul, Redick, and Crawford on the outside, and the connection between Paul and Jordan is also very threatening. Their offensive efficiency ranks in the regular season. First in the league, it has declined after entering the playoffs, but it is also ranked second among all playoff teams. It is impossible for the Warriors to completely limit the Clippers' offense. They must match the Clippers' firepower. have a chance of winning.”

Jeff - Van Gundy and Mark - Jackson represent the views of almost all commentators.

In G1, the Warriors switched defenses infinitely and did not give the Clippers a chance to open outside, but the degree of protection of the penalty area also declined, giving Griffin room to attack.

In G2, the Warriors shrank the inside line to protect the penalty area. The Clippers did not seize the opportunity and missed a three-pointer. The Warriors evened the score, but the Clippers adjusted immediately in the next game. fiasco.

Today, Zhang Yu used the third and final defensive strategy, which is to squeeze the screen to chase the ball holder, and chase back after the inside delay, taking into account both inside and outside, just let the defender on the weak side recover, and focus a little on protecting the penalty area.

If such a defense still fails to prevent the Clippers' attack, then Zhang Yu can only go through the fire and use the dead five as a last-ditch effort.

But the Clippers are not the Mavericks. Griffin and Jordan Jr. are very lethal to the Warriors inside. When it is not a last resort, Zhang Yu does not want to use the dead five to fight for his life.

Many people are superstitious about the Five Deaths, especially after the Warriors won the championship last season, Warriors fans even had a saying that "one out of five, who will compete with each other", as if as long as the Five Deaths played, the Warriors would be invincible.

But Zhang Yu is well aware of the limitations of the Death Five. In his previous life, the Warriors were only invincible in the 2015-2016 season. The battle formation is too perverted.

After Durant left the Warriors, the Warriors' offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency became more and more mediocre. Other teams have found a way to deal with the Death Five. It is easy to get into foul trouble, and it is difficult to counterattack.

The Clippers undoubtedly have such an ability. Griffin has completed his evolution this season, averaging 7.4 free throws per game. In the playoffs, he averaged 8.4 free throws per game, which is extremely lethal to the inside. If the Warriors Going to the top five, Griffin will be completely liberated and destroy the Warriors' inside line.

Jordan also made 5.8 free throws in the playoffs. Although his free throw percentage was only 43.4%, or even less than [-]%, as long as he can cause fouls, it will be a huge damage to the Warriors.

Therefore, before the time of life and death, Zhang Yu was not willing to fight for his life with the five dead, but today, the warriors are not in a real desperate situation.

However, even if Zhang Yu made adjustments, as time went by, the balance of the game gradually tilted towards the Clippers.

The Warriors' defensive strategy of crowding screens and not changing defenses gave Paul the opportunity to shoot directly through screens. Paul continued his excellent form in the previous game today. , give a little space to enter.

After the first half, he scored 17 points, and the Clippers also led the Warriors by 57 points at 48:9 into the second half.

This is not a coincidence. In Zhang Yu's previous life, Paul shot 45.9% of his three-pointers in this year's series against the Warriors. He averaged 2.4 three-pointers per game, which is even higher than his own overall shooting rate of 42.7%. .

Against the Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals, Paul's three-point shooting rate remained at 45.5%, and his overall shooting rate rose to 51%. He scored 22.5 points, 11.8 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 2.5 steals, and only sent 2.3 turnovers. The offense and defense are integrated, the scoring organization grabs it, and played a round that can be called a perfect series.

Paul in this year's playoffs is in excellent condition and feels hot. It can be said that he is unstoppable. It's just that the Clippers' front line is weak, Paul and Redick in the backcourt suffer from height, Crawford's defense is too poor, and the perimeter defense is useless. Durant and Westbrook are unstoppable. The consequence is that the Warriors dragged the game into the tiebreaker, and the Thunder eliminated the Clippers in six games.

That is to say, Clay hadn't grown up at the time, and he averaged only 16.5 points per game. If he had 2014% of the strength in the 2015-[-] season, the Warriors would be able to beat the Clippers without even reaching the tiebreaker.

Now the Clippers have Iguodala, and his single defense and assisted defense are at the top level in the league, which greatly makes up for the Clippers' weaknesses.

In this game, Rivers directly asked Iguodala to take over Clay and asked Paul to face Durant, resolutely not giving Clay a chance to explode.

Paul is also at the level of first defense, but he is too short, and Clay is the type who takes the ball and pulls it out. Paul will suffer instead if he defends, and Iguodala will be more effective in chasing.

Although Rivers is often criticized by others, his magical stroke of d hit the Warriors' weakness.

Using experience and judgment, Iguodala has been following Clay closely. Not only can Clay not get many open opportunities, but it is even difficult to get smooth shots. He can only shoot three-pointers against interference, which is very inefficient. .

Paul doesn't suffer much against Leonard. Although the height difference between the two is huge, Paul is very strong in the lower plate and has a lot of small moves, while Leonard's movement and control skills are relatively rough, and he does not have the ability to take the ball directly. , It was very uncomfortable to be topped by Paul, and Paul almost took the ball away twice.

However, Zhang Yu quickly made adjustments to allow Leonard to use his physical advantage to break through Paul and not to be obsessed with mid-range shots. This achieved certain results, and the Warriors finally opened up their offense.

At this time, Rivers showed his rigid side again, letting Paul defend Leonard alone, not flanking, and Jordan Jr. on the inside was also very slow to help defend, focusing all on Chandler. It opened up the space for Leonard to display.

However, one Leonard is still not enough. In the second half, the Warriors still did not create many high-quality offensive opportunities. Most of the points were scored by Leonard's tough shots and Clay's strong shots. The rest came off the bench and were lost in the Clippers' defense. , nothing spectacular.

But Paul still maintains a fiery touch, and what is even more detrimental to the Warriors is that the Clippers' home court advantage began to play a role. Griffin got a lot of free throws in the second half. Not daring to make moves, Griffin's impact on the Warriors' restricted area was even more violent.

In the end, the Warriors, who suffered both offense and defense, lost to the Clippers 92:101, falling behind by a big score of 1:3.

This time, the Warriors really stood on the edge of a cliff.

全场比赛下来，克莱在伊戈达拉的限制下，23投9中，三分14中5，罚球3中3，砍下26分4篮板3助攻1封盖3失误。

Let him digest so many ball possessions in the absence of Curry, or under the opponent's high-pressure defense, after all, it is difficult for some strongmen.

Leonard made some achievements in the second half. He made 18 of 8 shots, 5 of 2 three-pointers, and 6 of 5 free throws. He scored 23 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Can bring a victory for the Warriors.

保罗出战42分钟，21投12中，三分9中5，罚球5中4，砍下33分11助攻4篮板3抢断2失误的超级两双。

Griffin played 43 minutes, 15 of 7 shots, 2 of 0 three-pointers, 12 of 9 free throws, 25 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block. He also got a double-double, which was extremely lethal to the Warriors inside.

The Clippers scored 58 points with both internal and external dual-core, Crawford 14 points, Redick 10 points, Iguodala 12 points, Jordan Jr. 8 points, and the others barely scored.

The Clippers are almost a seven-man rotation. In addition to the starting five tigers and Crawford, Matt Barnes played for 23 minutes, Darren Collison played for 7 minutes, and Glenn Davis played. 5 minutes, the effect is negligible.

Rivers regarded this game as an early decisive battle, vowing to get the match point at home, and finally he succeeded in achieving his goal.

In the post-match interview, Zhang Yu took all the responsibility for the loss on himself:

"Klay and Leonard played outstanding performances. It was a problem with my tactical arrangement. I didn't defend Paul or Griffin. This was a very serious mistake... But the series has not yet In the end, these three losses are not worthless, I have found the weakness of the Clippers, we will set off a counterattack at home, I promise, this round of series will not be the end of the season for the Warriors!"

The reporter was very surprised by Zhang Yu's speech. Obviously the Warriors are the team that is about to be eliminated, but he said it as if the Clippers were behind 1:3.

When it was the Clippers' turn to be interviewed, the reporter repeated Zhang Yu's words, perhaps because they had won the match point. From Rivers to Paul and Griffin, they all felt that they had won the game, so they answered more casually.

Paul said:

"Did he really say that? Well, maybe this is the confidence of a champion coach, but don't forget, we also have a champion coach, we will solve the battle in the next game, and we will not give the Warriors a chance to come back."

Rivers said with a smile:
"Even I don't know the weaknesses of the Clippers. Maybe I should ask him what the weaknesses of the Clippers are. I am looking forward to what the Warriors can do in the next game. However, no matter what the Warriors do, we have something to gain." Determined to win, no one can stand in our way to the Western Conference finals!"

When Zhang Yu's answer was reported, it also aroused discussions among commentators and fans.

Barkley said:
"I can't see where the Warriors' hope of a comeback is. Where does Coach Z's confidence come from? Is Curry going to pay? Besides, the Warriors have nothing to adjust."

Bill Simmons said:
"Paul has one foot on the floor of the Western Conference finals. This should have been done five years ago, but it's not too late. I see determination in his eyes. He will control the rhythm of the game." , the Warriors may be able to pull back a point at home, but they can't complete a big comeback."

Even O'Neal, who has always supported the Warriors, is not optimistic about the Warriors:

"If Curry can pay in the next game, I will unconditionally support the Warriors, but unfortunately, Curry can't even play closed games, and the Clippers have reached their peak. They will win, but the Warriors will definitely come back next season ..."

Clippers fans scoffed at Zhang Yu's words, and not all Warriors fans believed it. Most Warriors fans felt that Zhang Yu was unwilling and insisted on saving face. The Warriors should lose or lose.

But Zhang Yu led the Warriors to achieve brilliant results, and let them have a glimmer of hope, a tiny glimmer of hope.

No one believed that the Warriors in the 2009-2010 season could make it to the playoffs, no one believed that the Warriors in the second year could make it to the Western Conference Finals, and no one believed that the Warriors in the third year could win the championship, but Zhang Yu did it.

What he is best at is creating miracles.

It's just that Curry can't come back, is there any room for the Warriors to adjust? What else can Coach Z do?

(End of this chapter)