warrior godfather

Chapter 696 Cancer
After the Warriors won the Rockets, they continued to advance triumphantly, relying on the powerful offensive firepower of the four major stars, they were invincible and won consecutive victories all the way.

However, the overflowing offense caused Curry's scoring to drop a lot. In many cases, he didn't even need to attack, and the opponent fell down.

In the Christmas game, the Warriors played against the Cavaliers. Curry felt bad, but the Warriors still won the game without any effort.

The Cavaliers even played this game as the finals. Lu guided the 8-man rotation, and the only substitutes were Richard Jefferson, Shumpert, and Channing Frye. They wanted to get rid of their shame and regain their confidence.

The Cavaliers lost so badly in the finals that they had a psychological shadow. They urgently need a victory to rebuild their confidence in the championship.

And Curry encountered the Christmas debuff. He felt average and had no desire to break through the frame. He only made 11 of 5 shots, 7 of 2 three-pointers, and 3 of 3 free throws. He scored 15 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds and 1 steal. vitality.

But even if Curry doesn't play, the Cavaliers are no match for the Warriors.

Leonard scored 30 points, Antetokounmpo scored 21 points, Clay took more than 30 games to find his touch and scored 23 points, Bogdan 14 points, Wiggins 15 points, and the Warriors scored in double figures. Defeated the Cavaliers 125:113.

Although James scored 31 points, Irving scored 25 points, including 14 points in the final quarter, and Love 20 points. The Big Three played perfectly, but they were still no match for the Warriors' terrifying offensive firepower.

What's more frightening than multi-point blooming is that Leonard has reached the peak, allowing the Warriors to have a superstar who can back up the offense when Curry is performing at an average level.

In the past, opponents locked Curry and might be able to steal a victory.

Now, they must lock Curry and Leonard at the same time to really contain the Warriors' offense.

But this is impossible. No team has such defensive resources unless the ultimate method of four defenses and two defenses is resorted to.

It is very rare for a team to have two superstars. Superstars are very sensitive to their own status, and it is difficult to tolerate having an extra superstar of the same level around them, taking away their possession and flashlights.

But Curry is just that kind of outlier. He never fights or grabs. Seeing his teammates score, he is happier than himself scoring, and he is happy to paddle on the court.

He can even tolerate Durant who came by airborne, let alone Leonard who grew up in the Warriors?
Along with the Warriors' winning streak, Curry's scoring continued to decrease, from 11 points in November to 28.1 points in December, then to 12 points in January, until 27.5 points before the All-Star in mid-February.

The Warriors' lineup is really too strong. There are four major stars in the starting lineup. The substitutes Dinwiddie, Bogdan, Wiggins, and Green can play the main force in other teams, but they can only play as substitutes in the Warriors.

With Curry playing back, the Warriors also achieved a record of 50 wins and 6 losses, ranking first in the league and leading the second-ranked Rockets by 6 games.

With the blessing of the record, even if Curry's data is not so impressive, he was firmly elected as the All-Star vote king.

Curry no longer needs regular season data to prove himself. Unless the Warriors fall out of the top four in the Western Conference, or his scoring average falls below 20 points per game, no one can compete with him for the top vote.

Leonard was selected as an All-Star starter for the first time, and his scoring soared to 25.7 points, which happened to be ranked tenth on the scoring list. Curry was in front of him and Irving was behind him, officially among the top scorers.

However, Curry averaged 17.5 shots per game, and Leonard averaged 17.9 shots per game. Curry's efficiency is higher and shots are more difficult. Leonard's scoring is mainly one-on-one singles, with splashes to open up space and score. more relaxed.

The outstanding performance on the offensive end allowed Leonard to completely get rid of the blue-collar impression in the minds of fans.

Coupled with Durant's east tour, there is an extra spot for the frontcourt starter in the West, and the Warriors' record is so good that many fans voted for Leonard.

Dennis finally got his wish and saw Leonard take the first step to become a superstar.

Antetokounmpo also benefited from Durant's departure and was selected as an All-Star, but it was only a substitute.

There are many stars in the backcourt in the West, but the talents in the frontcourt are withered. With Antetokounmpo's performance, he is enough to be selected as the All-Star starter.

But the Warriors already have two All-Star starters, Curry and Leonard, who have taken away a lot of neutral votes. No one wants to see the Warriors' three players selected for the All-Star starters. Antetokounmpo can only regret losing.

However, the coach will not ignore his outstanding performance. Clay was also favored by the coach and was successfully selected to the All-Star bench.

Last season, Antetokounmpo was only the best sixth man. After starting this season, his statistics have improved in an all-round way. He was selected as an All-Star, which is also a big breakthrough.

截至全明星，阿德托昆博场均出战32.5分钟，能得到20.3分9.5篮板3.9助攻1.5抢断1.3封盖，一跃成为最快进步球员的有力竞争者。

Antetokounmpo's shots are not too many, but it has only increased from 12.8 last season to 14.5 now.

But playing next to Curry, Leonard, and Clay is not the focus of the opponent's defense. Sometimes, the opponent will even miss his cut in order to catch the Warriors' three-pointers from the outside.

Antetokounmpo's shooting percentage reached an astonishing 57.9%, exceeding the peak level, but his strength is far from reaching the peak. The amazing efficiency is entirely due to the Warriors' wide offensive space.

He doesn't need to face a crowded inside line, doesn't need to worry about the opponent's defense, and can even easily dunk the basket in many cases.

Such data also let him
When O'Neill commented on Antetokounmpo, he expressed his jealousy for him:
"I envy Giannis very much. He plays next to Stephen and Clay. This is the ultimate dream of every insider. If Stephen and Clay could be given to me... tsk tsk, I promise, we will win six consecutive championships. Nobody is our match, not even the Bulls!"

Because of this, many people don't think that Antetokounmpo's strength is really as strong as shown by the data.

Thick eyebrows entered the NBA almost at the same time as Antetokounmpo, and played in the same position. They are both talented insiders of the new era and are often compared together.

His fans always question Antetokounmpo's performance sourly:

"The efficiency is good. It all depends on the Warriors lineup. Let him try with the Pelicans?"

"Hehe, this is the advantage of a low-ranked rookie. Being able to go to a strong team is not like being selected by a big brow. He has no thighs to hug and can only rely on himself."

"Thick eyebrows can play so well in the Pelicans. If he goes to the Warriors, he will definitely be much better than Alphabet."

"Hey, some people just have good luck. They followed Curry to win two championships, and their thick eyebrows were chopped off every day. It doesn't matter if this champion is wrong!"

Thick eyebrow fans are jealous of Antetokounmpo's honor and loose defensive treatment in the Warriors, but Antetokounmpo fans do not envy thick eyebrows' star status in the Pelicans.

They themselves didn't expect that Zhang Yu could remove Green, who was at his peak, from the starting line-up and let Antetokounmpo play the main force.

Beside the Splash Brothers, Antetokounmpo has played the highest production and efficiency of his career. His fans feel that the Warriors are the most suitable team for Antetokounmpo, Curry is the most selfless boss, Zhang Yu is the most good coach.

In contrast, Green fans are very painful.

After Green became a substitute, his statistics shrunk significantly. Although the defense was still as strong as ever, and his assist statistics were even higher than many starting point guards, he was just a substitute and was destined to miss the All-Star.

To their disappointment, Green's long-range shot still did not pick up.

After half a season, his three-point shooting rate is only 31.6%, and the number of shots has also been greatly reduced, and his deterrence outside the three-point line is gradually decreasing.

In many cases, opponents no longer regard Green as a space-type fourth position, and wantonly let him go to help defend.

And Green didn't shoot when there was an open spot, just stood outside the three-point line with the ball, waiting for his teammates to come up and pass the hand, or dribbled two steps to reorganize the offense, and missed a great opportunity in vain.

Only when the 24 seconds are about to run out and everyone else is blocked and unable to catch the ball is a last resort, Green will reluctantly shoot a three-pointer with an ugly posture in exchange for a cry. The crisp sound of iron striking, or an outrageous three non-stick.

His inside finishing ability has also declined seriously, and his shooting percentage at the basket is only 60.7%.

After leaving the penalty area, Green's near, mid-range and long-range two-point shooting percentages did not break through 25%. The overall shooting percentage was only 41.8%, and the true shooting percentage was even more outrageous. League average.

It's hard to imagine that this is an insider, the warrior with the best space in the league, with the efficiency of the ultimate space lineup.

And remove the time period when playing with the main players, Green's efficiency is even worse.

He went to Brazil to play in the Olympics once, and he left the offense in the fiery Rio de Janeiro, and brought back only defense and passing.

In the face of Green's appalling offensive performance, even the most determined "ranger" had to accept the reality. Zhang Yu's decision was right, and Green was really not suitable for starting.

Warriors fans are extremely fortunate that Zhang Yu decisively won Green, otherwise such a cancer occupying the position of the main power forward will not only poison the Warriors' offense, but Antetokounmpo will also be suppressed on the bench. type it out.

Clippers special advisor Jerry West commented:

"Coach Z's decision is amazing. We all know that when something is not broken, it is best not to fix it. But Coach Z took the initiative to make major changes to the championship lineup, directly putting his defensive core, Decentralizing the organization center to the bench requires great courage and self-confidence."

"You know, the Warriors are a team that won four championships in five years. If it were me, I would never adjust the lineup until I failed to defend the title. No matter how bad Green's performance is, I will trust him, because no one Know that the outcome of change is good or bad.”

"But it turns out that Coach Z is right. Antetokounmpo's starting effect is much better than that of Green. At the critical moment of the three consecutive championships, the Warriors completed the update of the lineup, which is unique in NBA history. It is also the root cause of the Warriors' success, Coach Z is always making the right choice, and he is the biggest contributor to the Warriors' four championships in five years!"

(End of this chapter)