warrior godfather

Chapter 697 MVP battle

February 2, New Orleans.

The All-Star Rookie Challenge kicked off, and only the Warriors' second-year rookie Bogdan was selected for the international team.

Looney's statistics are mediocre, and Brogdon, Caruso, and Zhou Qi rarely have the chance to play, and they also missed the Rookie Challenge.

This season, the Warriors' core lineup has remained stable, and the bench lineup has also remained stable. Zhang Yu also aims to compete for the championship and reduces training for rookies.

Brogdon is better. He is an older rookie with a certain level of combat power. Zhang Yu does not want to renew Dinwiddie's contract with a high salary. time.

He also lived up to Zhang Yu's expectations. On the court, he showed a mature game temperament that did not match his age, stable pass control, and a precise three-pointer, both with and without the ball, which fit the Warriors' tactical system very well.

In 13.4 minutes of playing time, Brogdon was able to score 5.6 points, 1.9 assists and 1.6 rebounds. He was extremely efficient and performed well.

But Caruso and Zhou Qi did not have this kind of treatment.

Caruso showed strong defensive ability in the summer league, full of vitality after playing, and injected sufficient energy into the Warriors' backcourt.

But he lacks qualified offensive methods. He is inaccurate in three-pointers, can't hold the ball, and can only steal chickens and make empty cuts. While strengthening his defense, he seriously dragged down the Warriors' offense.

And Bogdan still has a three-year contract. The Warriors need his contribution to the championship. Zhang Yu has to give him time to train him. Caruso can only sit on the bench.

He is Zhang Yu's reserve for the future, and he is not in a hurry to use it now.

Caruso has no complaints about this. Bogdan's offensive methods are much richer than him, and he has a certain ability to dominate the ball. He is hard to come by.

This season, Bogdan averaged 25.6 minutes per game, scored 13.8 points, 3.1 assists and 3.5 rebounds, perfectly qualified for the role of the sixth man.

In the team training game, Caruso couldn't make an open three-pointer, so he could only rely on his explosive physical fitness to cut into the penalty area to find opportunities to attack the frame.

But under the defense of Antetokounmpo and Leonard in the starting group, it was difficult for him to seize the layup opportunity, and the offensive end was a drag.

Caruso can only accept his status as a water dispenser administrator, but fortunately, he signed a four-year guarantee contract with the Warriors, so he doesn't need to worry about work.

But he is not willing to just sit on the bench like this. He practices three-pointers hard every day, is always ready, and waits for Zhang Yu's call on the bench.

……

Zhou Qi's situation is even worse than Caruso's. Caruso still has defense, but Zhou Qi is useless in other aspects except for his good static talent.

He suffers from confrontation, strength, offense, and defense. He simply doesn't have the ability to play in NBA-level confrontation.

The task Zhang Yu gave him was to continue to gain weight, to train well on defense and three-pointers, to be a space-based blue-collar insider, to be able to contribute to the team on both offense and defense, and to gain a firm foothold in the NBA.

Zhou Qi did not complain about Zhang Yu's arrangements. He did not participate in the summer league, but he deeply realized the gap between himself and his teammates during the team training game.

Olynyk and Rooney can easily crush him on the rebounds he is most proud of, and his back hits can't even break through Covington.

The pride that Zhou Qi was touted by the domestic media dissipated quietly. He put his identity in order and started working hard from the fringe of the NBA, striving for a rotation position.

From the "big devil" in the CBA to the water dispenser administrator in the NBA, this gap is so huge that it is enough to destroy the heart of a young man who travels across the ocean and chases his dreams.

But fortunately, Zhou Qi came to the Warriors.

Zhang Yu is very concerned about Zhou Qi's training situation and guides his training. Warriors players also take care of Zhou Qi because of Zhang Yu's relationship.

Encouraged by Zhou Qi, he withstood this huge gap, and instead of being disheartened, he trained hard, gained weight step by step, and his strength improved slowly but steadily.

Zhang Yu sent him to the Development League several times, and Zhou Qi didn't feel like he was exiled. He played well in the Santa Cruz Warriors. don't care.

He has only one goal, and that is to play in the NBA dignifiedly as a rotation player.

……

This year's Rookie Challenge doesn't have much to do with the Warriors. Bogdan failed to get the mvp last season. This time he lost interest and kept paddling on the court.

In the end, the world team defeated the US team 150:141. Murray scored a game-high 36 points and 11 rebounds. He was elected the MVP of the Rookie Challenge.

On the second day, the individual events were also uneventful. There were no Warriors players participating in the skill challenge, slam dunk contest, and three-point contest.

The league kindly invited Wiggins to participate in the slam dunk contest, but he just found a reason and refused.

After finally having a week of practice, you still want me to work overtime?
no way.

Before the All-Star, Wiggins was a little depressed. Leonard's evolution further squeezed his performance space.

Last summer, he worked hard on three-pointers during the offseason. This season, his three-point shooting percentage reached a career high of 36.8%, and he dared to take shots. He averaged 1.6 three-pointers per game. The level that a striker should have.

At the same time, Wiggins is also working hard on mid-range shooting and dribbling to make up for his weaknesses.

Leonard's performance in the finals last season made Wiggins envious.

But he also has self-knowledge. If it were him, he would not be able to grasp even a wide open three-pointer from the bottom corner, let alone a mid-range singles.

Only by improving your skills can you grasp the opportunity when it comes.

Inspired by Leonard, Wiggins trained hard for a summer, but he did not expect that while he was improving, Leonard was also improving, and even improved more than him, directly crossing the threshold of superstars.

This season, Leonard's light has become more and more dazzling, covering up Wiggins' progress.

Whether it is offense or defense, whether it is three-pointers or mid-range shots, Leonard is far better than Wiggins. The only thing Wiggins can do is physical talent.

But in the face of Leonard's superstar-level performance, this is the least worth mentioning.

Wiggins no longer has any pride in being the No. [-] pick in his heart. He only regards himself as a backup striker, and he doesn't expect a starting position, but only wants more playing time.

He didn't even miss the All-Star weekend. He spent every day in the training center of the Chase Center and seized all the time to improve his skills.

In Zhang Yu's previous life, Wiggins could do badly in the Timberwolves. His talent is the greatest capital, but in the Warriors, under the pressure of Leonard, and under the fierce competition, basketball civil servants can't do it either.

……

After the individual events, there is the All-Star Game. At the suggestion of the players, the league extended the intermission period of this year's All-Star Weekend, and held the individual events and the main game on the same day to give players a longer rest time.

Zhang Yu served as the head coach of the All-Star Western Conference team for the third time. He did not arrange any tactics and let the Western Conference stars play casually. He only replaced players on a point-by-point basis so that every All-Star had a chance to play.

Cole, who coached the Eastern All-Star team, also sat firmly on the Diaoyutai without any interference, and the All-Star team completely turned into an exhibition game.

In the end, the Western team was even better, defeating the Eastern team 198:182. The thick eyebrow scored 52 points in the home game and was elected as the All-Star mvp.

Westbrook scored 41 points. He fell behind Harden and Curry in the All-Star voting and was only selected for the bench. He was simmering in his heart and wanted to compete for mvp, but he failed.

Before the All-Star break, Westbrook played the most explosive personal performance in the league, averaging 31.1 points, 10.5 rebounds and 10.1 assists per game, and got a total of 27 triple-doubles, second only to Oscar Robertson's 1961 times in the 62-28 season, but Westbrook There were at least 9 35+ triple-doubles, breaking the historical record for the same period.

Only Harden's 28.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 11.3 assists in the league can match Westbrook, but it is still not as good as his 30+ triple-double per game.

However, Westbrook suffered from the Thunder's poor record, fell behind in the fan voting, and was not selected for the All-Star starter.

On the other hand, Curry averaged only 26.1 points, 6.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game, but the Warriors' outstanding record and past popularity have pushed him to the top of the list.

On the mvp list, Westbrook has also been at a disadvantage for a long time. In the latest issue of the list, he only ranked sixth, while Harden continued to occupy the top position, and the calls for winning the mvp have soared.

After the All-Star game ended, Westbrook immediately launched a counterattack.

2月24日，威少砍下17分17助攻18篮板的逆天三双，率队以110:93大胜湖人。

2月28日，威少狂砍43分10助攻11篮板，并在最后16秒打成2+1，完成准绝杀，率队以109:106力克爵士。

Two terrifying triple-double performances brought Westbrook back to the top of the MVP rankings. Although Harden also led the Rockets to win consecutively, his statistics were not as good as Westbrook, and he slipped to second on the rankings. bit.

In March, Harden also worked hard.

3月12日，哈登狂砍38分11助攻10篮板，力敌合砍58分的詹姆斯、欧文，率队以117:112力克骑士。

3月15日，哈登轻松砍下18分13助攻12篮板，率队以139:100狂胜湖人。

3月17日，哈登空砍41分11助攻14篮板，火箭112:128输给鹈鹕。

3月18日，哈登背靠背狂砍40分10助攻10篮板，最后5分钟关键时刻砍下9分，率队以109:105力克掘金。

Harden has won triple-doubles in four consecutive games, including two consecutive 40+ triple-doubles back to back, regaining the first place in the MVP rankings.

This is also the sixth time Harden has won a 6+ triple-double in a single season, surpassing Westbrook and Robertson and setting a new historical record.

But then, Westbrook returned the color.

3月29日，威少狂砍57分11助攻13篮板，加时赛独得7分2助攻4篮板，率队以114:106力克魔术，单赛季第二次斩获50+三双，追平了哈登的次数。

The mvp battle between the two became more and more intense.

(End of this chapter)