warrior godfather

Chapter 695 The laughing stock of the entire alliance
People expected that Westbrook would explode, but no one could have imagined that he would average an explosive triple-double per game.

Since the start of the game, Westbrook has won triple-doubles in nine games, and at the end of November, he has won triple-doubles in four consecutive games.

In the past season, it was rare that there were a few times in the past. Statistics that must make headlines and can be talked about for a long time have become commonplace for Westbrook. It is as simple as eating and drinking for him to get a triple-double.

The departure of Durant before this undoubtedly added a touch of drama to Westbrook's explosive data.

This is the story of a lone hero. Oklahomans quickly forgot about Durant. Westbrook's passion and fighting spirit ignited the city and made him the only darling of Thunder fans.

In the latest mvp rankings, Westbrook also ranks first. Since the start of the game, he has never fallen out of the top three on this list, ranking first twice.

Whether it is Curry, who led the Warriors to the top of the league, or Durant, who led the Celtics to the top of the Eastern Conference, or James, who led the Cavaliers to press the Celtics even against the strong teams in the Eastern Conference, it is better to cut off the field. Westbrook, who averaged a triple-double, is eye-catching.

He quickly evolved from a superstar to a superstar-at least from the data point of view.

But just when people were amazed at Westbrook's shocking performance and were wondering whether he could continue to get a triple-double in the next game, another person turned out to steal Westbrook's limelight.

From December 12st to December 1th, the Rockets were unbeaten and won ten consecutive victories. Their ranking jumped from seventh in the Western Conference to second in the Western Conference, 12 games behind the Warriors.

During the ten-game winning streak, Harden averaged 25.8 points, 9.2 rebounds and 11.5 assists per game. His performance was comprehensive, second only to Westbrook who averaged a triple-double during the same period, but the Rockets were far ahead of the Thunder with 4 wins and 3 losses. Also jumped to No.1 in the mvp ranking list.

Since the start of the game, Harden has performed very well. His transformation from shooting guard to point guard has amazed everyone.

During the offseason, Bickerstaff dismissed get out of class, D'Antoni took office, and brought his high-post dynamic offensive system to Houston.

When many people mention D'Antoni, they think of running and bombing, but speed + three-pointers are not running and bombing.

D'Antoni's favorite offensive tactic is the three-line counterattack + positional V-shaped attack, not just running and bombing.

As the name suggests, the three-line counterattack means that the two-wing shooters quickly pull down to open the space, advance with the ball in the middle, and the inside line drags behind to follow up.

The shooters open up the space, the ball holder dominates everything, and the high pick-and-roll is the core of D'Antoni's offensive philosophy. Running and bombing is only a part of it, and it is not the focus.

A guard who can handle pick-and-rolls well, score the ball accurately in counterattacks, shoot accurately, and break through sharply is the most important part of this system, which directly determines the offensive level of D'Antoni's team.

Therefore, after D'Antoni took over the Rockets, he immediately announced that he would transform Harden into a point guard.

Harden was very puzzled at first, complaining:

"Oh my god, the coach made me play point guard! What is he trying to do?"

But after two training sessions, Harden quickly adapted to the point guard position and accepted D'Antoni's proposal.

D'Antoni is not aimless. He has been paying close attention to Harden's game for a long time, knowing his technical characteristics before he dared to transform him.

Harden had 606 pick-and-rolls with the ball and scored 588 points in the season. His output and efficiency were among the top in the league. He played 492 counterattacks from defense to offense and scored 528 points, ranking first in the league. He averaged 7.5 assists per game. 3 times were three-point assists passed to teammates.

He is already good at instigating high-position pick-and-rolls, pushing counterattacks, and distributing the ball to shooters, which fits D'Antoni's high-position dynamic offensive system very well.

D'Antoni will not give up Harden's powerful scoring ability. While focusing on pick-and-rolls, he also increases the proportion of singles in offensive tactics.

After the start of the regular season, Harden played very well in his new position, averaging 29.4 points, 12.1 assists and 8.2 rebounds per game, ranking second in scoring and first in assists.

He has evolved from a simple shooting guard to a big ball-handling core who scores and organizes shoulder-to-shoulder. His usage rate is second only to Westbrook, and he even has more assists than Westbrook.

But in terms of scoring that he is best at, Harden is less than Westbrook.

Suddenly, Harden and Westbrook became the two hottest superstars in the league.

The game between the Rockets and the Thunder has become the most popular game. People are looking forward to the performance of Harden and Westbrook, guessing whether they can get a triple-double in the next game, and arguing who is the mvp of this season.

At the same time, Durant led the Celtics and made great strides in the East. Although the ranking was overtaken by the Cavaliers due to the increased difficulty of the schedule, they still led the Bulls by one game and ranked second in the East.

Durant averaged 29.1 points per game, ranking third in the scoring list. The former Thunder's three young players gathered again on the scoring list, which made fans feel infinitely moved.

Many people are thinking, if the three of them hadn't separated back then, what would the Thunder have achieved?
Presti was whipped out by Thunder fans again. He clearly selected three MVP-level players, but let two of them go for nothing.

The Thunder could have formed the most powerful Big Three in NBA history, but in a blink of an eye, everything came to naught.

Someone jokingly summed up a law:
"Three things that are inevitable in the NBA: Westbrook gets a triple-double, Harden gets to the free throw line and Durant hits the mid-range."

This sentence expresses the most notable characteristics of the three, but not everyone agrees, and some people put forward their own revisions:

"Harden should have made a step-back three."

"Westbrook should be a dunk."

"Durant should be a fadeaway jumper..."

No matter how this sentence was changed in the end, the prestige of Thunder's three young masters spread throughout the league.

But when Harden's reputation was in full swing, on December 12, the Rockets played against the Warriors at home and lost the game 20:113, ending the ten-game winning streak.

The fanatical Harden fans were poured a basin of cold water and calmed down.

这场比赛中，哈登23投8中，三分11中2，罚球14中11，砍下25分13助攻11篮板1抢断7失误的三双数据，但却始终无法追上比分。

Curry scored 28 points, Leonard 27 points, Antetokounmpo 24 points, Clay 17 points, and the Warriors scored 20+ points, suppressing the Rockets.

D'Antoni made a dangerous move, hoarding heavy troops on the line, and expanded his defense very much. He strictly guarded against the Warriors' three-pointers.

As a result, the Rockets' inside warriors were overwhelmed. Curry staged pick-and-roll one-and-two plays many times. Antetokounmpo ravaged the penalty area and was unstoppable. Finish the finish.

However, all of this was expected by D'Antoni. He never thought about defending the Warriors. Warriors are taller.

On the offensive end, D'Antoni also made very bold adjustments.

Harden delegated power, and everyone was a soldier. Ariza, Gordon, and Anderson took turns to break through the frame. Even Capela hit Olynyk with the ball in the frame.

D'Antoni is very clear that the Warriors are best at defending against the opponent's big core with the ball. Harden alone can't beat the Warriors.

But he overestimated the ability of Ariza, Gordon and others to hold the ball, and underestimated the Warriors' individual defense level.

Clay, Leonard, Antetokounmpo, Green, and Wiggins are all first-class defensive champions. The Warriors are not afraid of the breakthrough of the Rockets' role players at all. 10+ point lead.

In desperation, D'Antoni could only hand all the ball to Harden, hoping that he could change his fate against the sky.

The Warriors really can't guard against Harden. He has practiced step-back three-pointers and drawing fouls to the extreme, and he is hard to guard against.

Klay, Leonard, and Green took turns paying fouls on him. Harden alone made more free throws than half of the Warriors.

However, the Warriors have too much advantage on the offensive end, and their offensive efficiency is much higher than that of the Rockets. No matter how many points Harden scores, it will not help.

Capela and Anderson, the tallest in the Rockets, are only 2 meters. Anderson is still very soft. Only Ariza can be used as a striker. Decker is too young, Brewer is too old, Beverly and Gordon are both Short guard.

The Warriors have an advantage in size. Antetokounmpo turned into O'Neal, grabbed 6 offensive rebounds, scored 8 points with the second offense, and dominated the inside.

Olynyk also relied on his height of 2 meters to hit Capela with a low back, then turned around and scored two goals with a hook, which made Capela extremely uncomfortable.

Leonard took the ball and rushed in, but Ariza couldn't stop him at all, and was beaten back and forth.

Wiggins' style of play is also very tough. During the rotation period, he faced Decker and had the advantage in the confrontation.

Looney grabbed 2 offensive rebounds in front of the 03-meter Harrell like a pillar of the sky.

The Rockets couldn't counterattack, and their offensive efficiency dropped severely. Harden alone scored, which was just a drop in the bucket.

Zhang Yu didn't need to deploy any sophisticated tactics at all. The Rockets had a short lineup. They only needed to use the size advantages of the Warriors to break through the frame and grab rebounds, and they were sure to win.

It was worthwhile for him to spend so long, hoarding so many strikers, and finally realized the joy of suppressing talent.

The Warriors say it is a small-ball style of play, but it is not a small size, but a position that is outside and swings upwards. When the size does not suffer, it has the advantage of space and speed to achieve dimensionality reduction.

The small ball style of play is not to play a small lineup without brains, not to not need a center forward, not to play with three or four defenders, that is the way to kill.

Especially when the three-back or four-back lineup is inaccurate, it has neither size nor space. It is the worst lineup. Even if Jordan comes back, he is powerless.

Of course Zhang Yu would not make such a mistake, but D'Antoni has gone further and further on this road. The Rockets have more and more shooters, but the lineup is getting smaller and smaller, and the inside disadvantage is getting bigger and bigger.

But he won't be the last, and there will definitely be others, infinitely obsessed with small lineups, who will go further and further on this road of no return.

In the post-match interview, the reporter asked why the Warriors won. Zhang Yu said:
"We have an advantage in size, which is very important. We control the penalty area, and we have advantages in offensive rebounds and inside scoring. This is the biggest reason for our victory."

"You haven't used Wuxiao today, can you tell me why?"

Zhang Yu smiled and said:

"The five minors are not omnipotent. I will not use a small lineup for the sake of using a small lineup. I will only use the five minors at the right time. We have advantages in space and size. Why bother? A small lineup is not enough. It's not a panacea, only those incompetent coaches will superstitiously believe in small lineups, and the result of doing so is to lose and become the laughing stock of the entire league."

(End of this chapter)