warrior godfather

Chapter 766 Library Has Gravity
After the end of the regular season, just two days later, the playoffs kicked off.

April 4, 14:7 p.m., Chase Center.

The Warriors and the Nuggets are about to start their G1 contest in the first round of the playoffs. In the grand entrance ceremony, the Warriors starters enter the arena one by one.

This season is the first time the Nuggets have entered the playoffs in 4 years. The players are very excited, even facing the defending champion, their fighting spirit remains undiminished.

In the past few years, the Nuggets have tried their best to train Jokic and Murray, and finally it has achieved results.

Jokic has gradually grown from a rookie in the middle and late stages of the first round to one of the best centers in the league. Murray, who is in his second year as a rookie, is also one of the most watched potential stars in the league, with the potential to become a star .

In the final stage of the regular season, the Nuggets and Timberwolves had similar records, competing for the last place to enter the playoffs. The records have been stalemate, and no one can widen the gap.

In the penultimate game, the two teams ushered in a head-to-head confrontation, and whoever wins will enter the playoffs.

Originally, the Timberwolves relied on Butler's outstanding performance to defeat the Nuggets at home and made it to the playoffs again in more than ten years, but now Butler is the boss of the Bulls. King, ranked ninth in the Western Conference, still missed the playoffs.

In that game, Jokic played 46 minutes, made 25 of 14 shots, 7 of 4 three-pointers, 4 of 3 free throws, scored 35 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. He led the team to beat the Timberwolves 112:106. King is back in the playoffs.

The Nuggets fans were ecstatic, but the outside world's doubts about Jokic have not diminished.

Although Jokic has grown rapidly in the past few seasons and has grown into one of the best centers step by step, Americans always have the greatest prejudice against a white European center or a white center with average athletic ability.

How can a center score by throwing throws in various postures without being able to jump?
How can there be a center who doesn't want to be in the paint, but stands in a high position and keeps dealing cards to his teammates?
How can there be a center who grabs rebounds in the backcourt without passing the ball, and advances all the way to the frontcourt with the ball?
Jokic is getting stronger and stronger, but his way of playing has made the American media and fans very uncomfortable, and he was directly labeled as a soft guy.

In their view, the low-post behemoths like O'Neal and Yao Ming are the real centers. No matter how bad they are, they have to be super blue-collars like Howard, who can get 20+10 by relying on their bodies, instead of shooting outside all day long. , pass the ball.

Although Jokic's shooting is very accurate and the efficiency of low-post singles is also very high, but in the perception of fans, his light and soft shooting looks soft, not like a center at all.

Towns looks tougher than him. After all, Towns still has dunks and blocks. Jokic's defense is to stop at the basket and hardly jump. Even if the defensive effect is hundreds of times stronger than Towns, he is not welcomed by fans.

Even if Jokic's data is getting better and better, people still can't accept such an alternative center.

In this season's All-Star fan voting and media voting, Jokic is very unpopular. Even if he averages 19+10 per game this season, he can't even make it to the top 4 in the Western Conference All-Star voting. Quite a few players voted oddly.

The Nuggets made the playoffs, and no one thought Jokic could get any honor.

Even if the league's center is withered, among the 76 teams entering the playoffs, only the [-]ers and the Nuggets have the center as the first core, followed by Gobert with the Thunder as the defensive core, but Jokic entered the best team. There are very few wind noises.

Among the best team judges who posted their votes, few voted for Jokic, and even Towns got more votes than Jokic.

No one is optimistic about Jokic's performance in the playoffs. What can he do with the inside combination of Lopez + Antetokounmpo?

However, when everyone was not optimistic about Jokic, Zhang Yu praised Jokic in the interview before the game, saying that the Warriors will never take it lightly, which is very puzzling.

The inside combination of Lopez + Antetokounmpo played the best inside defense in the league after the All-Star Game. Lopez's reputation was reversed in one fell swoop and he became the best blue-collar center in the league, not even one of them. Afraid of a Jokic?
The media is still not optimistic about Jokic, but what Zhang Yu said made them have to formalize this white center whom they despised.

After all, Zhang Yu's vision has never missed it.

……

"Di-"

The referee blew the whistle, Lopez successfully jumped the ball easily, and the game officially started.

The Warriors' starters are Curry, Jaylen Brown, Wiggins, Antetokounmpo, Lopez, and the Nuggets' starters are Murray, Button, Craig, Millsap, Jokic.

When jumping the ball just now, Jokic just made a symbolic jump and gave up the ball.

He knew that he was not good at jumping, and he never wasted effort on such things, so he might as well retreat early.

Mike Malone told the players in every possible way before the game that they must strictly guard against the Warriors' fast-break counterattack, which is the Warriors' biggest killer move.

He also particularly emphasized strengthening the defense against Curry. Murray is responsible for defending Curry. He must follow the pig closely and never allow him to easily shoot three-pointers.

On the field, the Warriors attacked, Curry came to the top of the arc, and played a pick-and-roll with Lopez. Murray struggled to squeeze the screen, but was firmly blocked by Lopez.

After Lopez's cover, he always shoots outside and does not need to go down, so the cover is very solid and of high quality.

Jokic stayed at the free throw line and didn't follow up. He just raised his hand for a symbolic interference. Curry pulled up and shot, a three-pointer hollowed into the net, 3:0.

On the sidelines, Mike Malone shook his head helplessly.

Looking back, Murray and Jokic played a pick-and-roll, Lopez also stayed at the free throw line, Jaylen Brown circled the screen, Murray got a brief space, made a three-pointer, missed, and the rebound fell to Adetto In Kumbo's hands.

The Warriors attacked, Curry and Lopez picked and rolled, Jokic defended this time, delayed Curry, and Murray squeezed through the screen to catch up.

Curry was unhurried, and after Jokic forced him up, he passed the back to Lopez.

Lopez shot the ball as soon as he caught it, and Jokic couldn't interfere, but Lopez's shot missed a bit, hit the front of the basket, and bounced high.

The Nuggets were in chaos in the restricted area. Players from both sides scrambled together. Antetokounmpo, Wiggins, and Jaylen Brown all participated in the offensive rebounds. Height and size had the upper hand, and Wiggins successfully grabbed the offensive rebound. , using the ultra-fast bullet speed, made a second shot, 5:0.

On the sidelines, Mike Malone couldn't sit still anymore, got up and came to the sidelines, shouting for the Nuggets players to protect the rebounds.

The Nuggets attacked, Murray and Jokic picked and rolled, Jaylen Brown circled the screen, Murray did not take another three-pointer, but passed it to Jokic.

Jokic caught the ball and shot, but his shot speed was too slow. Lopez didn't care about Murray at all. He had been paying attention to his movements and posted them in time. Under the interference, Jokic missed two points.

The only task Zhang Yu arranged for Lopez before the game was to stare at Jokic and let Murray shoot.

After a rookie season, Murray has made great progress, but he only averaged 16.7 points and 3.4 assists per game in the regular season, and his efficiency is only at a moderate level, which is not a threat to the Warriors.

The Nuggets retreated quickly, no one dared to go to the Warriors penalty area to grab offensive rebounds, and Curry was recovered.

Curry dribbles across half court, passes to Jaylen Brown, and runs to the corner to open up space.

Jaylen Brown and Lopez played a pick-and-roll, Jokic failed to defend, Jaylen Brown fainted and made a two-step pull-up jumper, the basketball went into the net, 7:0.

Looking back, Jokic asked for the ball from the waist, singled out Lopez, turned around and scored with a hook, 7:2, the Nuggets finally broke the scoring drought.

In the next round, Wiggins took the ball and Lopez picked and rolled, Jokic still stayed at the free throw line, Wiggins made an emergency stop for a jumper, and the basketball bounced into the frame, 9:2.

On the sidelines, Mike Malone frowned, watching Jokic being targeted frequently, hesitating whether to adjust his defense.

But in a blink of an eye, he saw Antetokounmpo, who had never had a sense of presence, and his firm strategy of squatting in the pit remained unwavering.

Compared to being shot to death by the Warriors, he still pays more attention to the defense of the penalty area, and does not want to give Antetokounmpo a chance to wreak havoc on the basket.

The Nuggets attack, Jokic catches the ball at the waist, and the others run without the ball. The Warriors, except for Lopez, switch defenses infinitely. The Nuggets have no chance to run.

Seeing that the attack time was running out, Jokic waved to Barton, and Barton ran over, and the two cooperated hand in hand.

Lopez ignored Button at all and stared at Jokic. Curry squeezed a screen and slowed down a step, but it also caused some interference to Button. Button made a mid-range shot and the rebound was protected by Antetokounmpo.

Mike Malone shook his head helplessly. The Nuggets seem to have a bunch of shooters, but their shots are not stable enough. Jokic is the player with the highest three-point shooting percentage in the Nuggets.

In the next round, Curry and Lopez played a pick-and-roll and continued to target Jokic.

He's also the only one who can get Jokic out, attracting the defense and passing the ball to Lopez.

Jokic went to pounce on Lopez, and Murray also looked back at Lopez, but at this moment, Curry suddenly started and cut into the inside from behind Jokic.

Lopez made a fake pass and threw the ball to Curry. Murray's eyes moved along the basketball to Curry. He was shocked and hurried to pounce, but it was too late. After only two steps, Curry cut in. Basket, layup, 9:2.

Murray was very annoyed. Curry ran less without the ball. He even forgot that Curry is the best off-ball player in the league. If he is not careful, he will catch a chance.

Fortunately, Murray quickly redeemed his sins and played a hand-in-hand with Jokic, hitting two points, 9:4.

Lopez still only stared at Jokic, regardless of Murray's shooting, Jaylen Brown's interference was slower, giving Murray an open space.

But this kind of hand-in-hand cooperation cannot last long for the Nuggets.

In the next round, Jaylen Brown found Jokic in a pick-and-roll, and hit the iron with a mid-range shot.

Looking back, Murray wanted to repeat the same trick. Antetokounmpo came directly to help defend, intercepted the ball from Murray, and succeeded in a one-stop fast break, 11:4.

In the next few rounds, the limited cooperation of the Nuggets was stifled. Lopez stared at Jokic, and Murray had someone to help defend when he got the ball, allowing others to shoot.

Both Millsap and Button can score, but they are only piecemeal. Jokic still has to attack Lopez with little effect.

Lopez doesn't eat and is strong in confrontation. Jokic can't play basketball and can only shoot from mid-range or find opportunities to shoot three-pointers. It is very difficult and he only scored 7 points.

And Curry, Jaylen Brown, Wiggins, including Brogdon and Bogdan, who were replaced by Zhang Yu later, have been targeting Jokic, and their offensive efficiency is much higher than that of the Nuggets.

Jokic's footsteps are already slow, and Mike Malone won't let him defend. He can only stay below the free throw line and watch Wiggins and Jaylen Brown shoot. Will follow out strong delay.

Curry returned to his long-lost off-the-ball style, and played a short pick-and-roll with Lopez. After Lopez screened, he immediately opened it. Curry passed the ball, then moved without the ball, and Lopez passed it back.

After being stolen two by Curry, Murray began to keep an eye on Curry's off-the-ball movement after the ball was released, Lopez took the ball, and Curry ran to hand-off with him, and continued to target Jokic.

Jokic didn't dare to come out on guard. After receiving the pass from Lopez, Curry attracted the defense of Murray and Jokic, and then hung it to Lopez who was down, and Lopez dealt with four-on-three.

Lopez only needs to dribble to the basket, Millsap has to come up to help defend, but Antetokounmpo is waiting in the penalty area, if the outside line does not shrink, Lopez will pass to Antetokounmpo, if the outside line shrinks , Lopez is assigned to the outside line and can always find a space.

This is the tactic Zhang Yu arranged. Unlimited used pick-and-rolls and screens to target Jokic, and used Curry to call him out from the inside to attack the penalty area and find open space on the outside.

As long as Jokic stays on the court, he will never have a moment of leisure.

Mike Malone could only watch Jokic being targeted, and there was nothing he could do about it.

It is impossible for him to replace Jokic, and it is impossible for Jokic to suddenly switch to the outside line.

And the Warriors happen to have Curry and Tianke Jokic, who are invincible in the league.

This is the conspiracy, and Mike Malone can only watch Jokic running back and forth, being played by Curry.

As a bait, Curry didn't score much, only 5 points, but he sent 4 assists and a few puck assists.

Wiggins and Jaylen Brown shot averagely with the ball, but Jokic couldn't prevent it, which was equivalent to shooting open positions, scoring 8 and 7 points respectively.

Brogdon and Bogdan, who came off the bench, also held the ball and played a pick-and-roll with Lopez, just to target Jokic, scoring 5 and 6 points respectively.

On the contrary, Antetokounmpo was relatively quiet. Millsap was very strict with him. Sometimes he would rather let Lopez drive straight in than give him a chance to catch him. He only scored 4 points.

Curry and Antetokounmpo didn't score much, but they restrained the Nuggets' defense and created many opportunities for teammates.

After the first quarter, the Warriors led the Nuggets by 36 points at 26:10.

In the second quarter, the two sides rotated to play, Antetokounmpo brought the Warriors to the bench, the Nuggets did not have Jokic, Antetokounmpo scored 4 points in a row, and the point difference widened to 14 points.

Mike Malone immediately switched back to Jokic, and he rested for less than 2 minutes.

After Jokic returned to the court, the Nuggets' offense and defense have greatly improved, stabilizing the point difference.

Although Jokic can't jump, he has a good sense of defensive position and strong confrontation. With the help of Millsap, staying at the basket is a tough barrier. Antetokounmpo wants to score, but it's really not good. easy.

Mike Malone breathed a sigh of relief. As for Jokic's physical fitness, he has no time to consider this issue.

The Nuggets have Jokic and no Jokic. They are completely two teams. In order to win, they can only suffer from Jokic.

(End of this chapter)