warrior godfather

Chapter 767 Despair
With Curry off the floor and Jokic on the court, the Nuggets are still on par with the Warriors.

Antetokounmpo's scoring ability is stronger, but Jokic's ability to drive his teammates is stronger. The two major insiders face off head-on, you come and go, and the score rises alternately.

In the last round, Jokic held the ball with his back in a low position, observed his teammates' running positions, and suddenly hit the ground and passed it to Craig, who got rid of the defense and cut to the inside, and the latter scored a layup.

In the next round, Antetokounmpo hit Millsap with his back in the low post, pushed strongly to the penalty area, carried Millsap on his shoulders, and then turned and put the basket successfully.

The two faced each other tit-for-tat and never gave in. Jokic, who was considered not even the best third team, was able to compete with the league's top two power forwards.

This situation lasted until 5 minutes and 48 seconds of the second quarter. When Markkanen stood on the free throw line, Zhang Yu took the opportunity to replace Curry and Antetokounmpo.

In the rest of the second quarter, the Nuggets, who were able to stalemate with the Warriors before, fell into a disadvantage, and the point difference was further opened to more than 15 points.

Jokic can exchange sons with Antetokounmpo, but he is suffocated to death in front of Curry.

He is not afraid of Antetokounmpo's breakthrough at all. Anyway, Antetokounmpo didn't shoot. No matter how he plays, he will end up at the basket to finish.

Jokic only needs to wait in the penalty area, stand in a good position, and has advantages in weight and strength. With the help of the striker, it is not easy for Antetokounmpo to score.

But Curry wants anything and everything in front of Jokic. The combination of sudden shots and passes, and off-ball running can also play the role of Curry's gravitational attraction and create opportunities for teammates.

No matter how powerful other superstars are, they are only threatening when they have the ball in their hands, but as long as Curry stands on the court, he is a huge threat, completely subverting people's perception of basketball in the past.

Jokic's rest time was already short, and he didn't dare to guard the pit in front of Curry. He was exhausted on the court, but he still had little effect and was exhausted physically and mentally.

When Antetokounmpo rested for 3 minutes and returned to the court, the Warriors' offensive threat was even greater, and the point difference was further widened.

After the second quarter, the Warriors led the Nuggets by 75 points with 58:17.

In the third quarter, the situation of the Nuggets did not improve for a long time. The offense was all dependent on Jokic. He didn't dare to rest for a minute, but he couldn't get close to the point difference. He quickly became emotional and began to make some irrational actions Action, was blown 1 fouls, and was warned 2 time by the referee.

This is Jokic's biggest weakness, and it is also a common characteristic of Eastern European stars. He has a very hot temper. As long as he is in a bad mood, he will easily act violently.

This further accelerated the defeat of the Nuggets. Zhang Yu added fire to Jokic's collapsed mentality, and the Warriors began to pinch Jokic.

Jokic often sent out subtle assists in the first half. After his mentality was affected, he made consecutive mistakes. The Warriors seized the opportunity to counterattack. Curry made two chasing three-pointers, and one of them just passed the three-pointer The ultra-long three-pointer with one step from the line detonated the entire Chase Center, and the point difference instantly widened to more than 20 points.

Mike Malone urgently called out a timeout, trying to interrupt Curry's momentum, but after Curry entered his own rhythm, there was no timeout that could be interrupted.

After the timeout ended, the two teams returned to the field, and Murray hit the iron with a three-pointer. Looking back, Curry stopped playing the pick-and-roll, and directly challenged Murray. The crotch dribble + double back dribble completely swayed the opponent, and he made a hit with his hands A three-point shot with a step back completely broke the Nuggets' mentality.

The Nuggets, known for their tenacity in the regular season, lost all confidence under Curry's torrential continuous blows, and were never able to narrow the point difference to less than 20 points.

In the fourth quarter, out of caution, Zhang Yu replaced the main force and played for another 4 minutes. It was not until Mike Malone replaced all the Nuggets' starters that Zhang Yu was sure that the Nuggets had no ability to comeback, and then replaced them with substitutes.

After the Warriors rotated players on the field, they continued to press the Nuggets to play off the bench, maintaining a huge lead.

This is why the Warriors can always beat their opponents. Curry's scoring explosiveness can always make the Warriors play a fatal wave in the third quarter. Zhang Yu's caution and hard work in rotating players will hold the lead and not give the Opportunity to comeback.

As long as Curry is in normal form, few teams can withstand the Warriors' wave in the third quarter.

In the stalemate to the critical moment of the game, Curry is often in poor condition, but using the gravitational effect of Curry can also create opportunities for teammates, but it is difficult to make a final decision in the end, and there are very few lore shots.

When Curry is good enough to make a lore shot, he often wins without making a lore shot, and when Curry feels bad, he can hit the critical moment, but it is also difficult for him to make a lore shot. Killed the ball.

Curry's unique super influence on the offensive end gives the Warriors a natural advantage, full of resilience, always winning simply and losing hard.

The same is true in the playoffs. Even if they lose the series, the Warriors will never be swept, not even a gentleman sweep, and they will win at least two games.

However, the opponents often lose by a large margin, and are always swept or swept by gentlemen. It is difficult to win and easy to lose.

When Curry scored 17 points in the third quarter and hit 4 three-pointers, the fate of the Nuggets was sealed.

In the end, the Warriors beat the Nuggets 123:101 by 22 points, making a good start to the playoffs and leading 1:0.

Curry made 23 of 11 shots, 11 of 6 three-pointers, 4 of 4 free throws, scored 32 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. In the first half, he mainly attracted defense and created opportunities for his teammates. The Warriors counterattacked in the third quarter. Curry entered the rhythm, scored 17 points, and took the game away in a wave.

Jokic's performance is also very good, 19 of 9 shots, 8 of 3 three-pointers, 6 of 5 free throws, 26 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 block double-double data, but sent 5 turnovers, of which There were three times in the third quarter, and the Warriors fought back, ruining the Nuggets' last hope of a comeback.

From the data point of view, the Warriors' defense against Jokic was a failure, and Lopez failed to prevent Jokic from scoring.

But judging from the content of the game, Jokic's scores were all obtained by storming, all within the acceptable range of the Warriors, and failed to change the Warriors' tactics.

Lopez's defense is a great contribution. Before the Warriors lost to the Nuggets, it was Jokic who changed the defense. He had to accumulate manpower in the interior and gave Jokic the opportunity to drive his teammates.

Lopez can limit Jokic alone, and the game has entered the rhythm most familiar to the Warriors.

No one can beat the Warriors by himself. Jokic played the Warriors and a team by himself, and in the end he could only lose.

Antetokounmpo 23 points, Wiggins 18 points, Jaylen Brown 13 points, Bogdan 11 points, Brogdon 10 points, the Warriors scored in double figures, and the Nuggets except Jokic, only Mu Ray had 15 points, Barton had 12 points, and Millsap had 13 points. Not many points, far worse than the Warriors.

Jokic played 39 minutes, which doesn’t seem to be much, but after the Nuggets were beaten in the fourth quarter, Jokic got off the court very early to rest. This is his playing time in three quarters, and he only had less than a rest in the first three quarters 2 minutes, if the point difference is not big, he is likely to play the whole game.

In the post-match interview, Mike Malone was asked by reporters about Jokic's playing time, and he replied helplessly:
"The team's offense is inseparable from him. He is the absolute core of the team. Only when he stays on the court can we fight the Warriors. You know, our opponent is the defending champion. We must do our best to find The chances of winning, although it is very slim, but we will not give up...”

Mike - Malone's attitude is very pessimistic, and even the risk of frustrating the morale of the Nuggets, but people can understand his mood.

Anyone who has watched this game can see the desperation and powerlessness of the Nuggets.

The Warriors lineup is too reasonable. Curry and Antetokounmpo are two superstars inside and outside. The offense is all-round and three-dimensional. If you can defend against one, you cannot defend against the other.

There are also a group of secondary attackers around the two major stars. Wiggins, Jaylen Brown, Brogdon, and Bogdan all have the ability to attack with the ball. It would be embarrassing for them to attack hard. But through the pick-and-roll to eat the ball and shoot, there is no pressure on Jokic who dare not defend.

But Jokic can't play yet, otherwise the Nuggets' own offense will collapse. Mike Malone can only actively expose the Nuggets' biggest defensive weakness, watching Jokic being played in the palm of his hand, sweating profusely Rain, the mentality gradually collapsed until the third quarter broke out.

The most desperate thing is that Mike Malone doesn't even have any room for adjustment. He will still die for Jokic in the next game. The Warriors can completely copy this game's style of play.

As long as Jokic can't have the athletic ability of thick eyebrows overnight, the Nuggets have nothing to do with the Warriors, unless the Warriors' own offense has problems.

But unfortunately, the core of the Warriors is Curry, who is the most restrained person in the NBA, not one of them.

……

4月16日，勇士和掘金展开第二场较量，以125:112取得胜利，大比分2:0领先。

The Nuggets lost decently. Murray and Barton's three-point shooting has improved a lot. Mike Malone has focused on arranging hand-offs and pick-and-roll shooting tactics. The Nuggets' offensive efficiency has improved compared to the previous game. a lot of.

But the Warriors' offense was stronger, Jokic strengthened the defense on the outside, Antetokounmpo gained more space and scored 26 points.

The Warriors' outside firepower is still fierce. Jokic's defense only caused a certain degree of interference. He was too slow to keep up with the guards.

Curry scored 25 points, Bogdan made a sudden breakthrough, made 4 three-pointers and scored 14 points, Wiggins 18 points, Brogdon 10 points, Markkanen and Antetokounmpo made four/five pick-and-rolls and made a goal 3 three-pointers, 11 points, or six players scored in double figures.

Jokic stopped squatting, and his physical exertion was greater than the previous game. He only scored 22 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. After three quarters, his physical fitness was close to exhaustion, and he only scored 3 points in the fourth quarter.

The warrior boiled the frog in warm water, kept controlling the rhythm of the game, and won the game without bloodshed.

In the post-match interview, Mike Malone was even more pessimistic:

"We did everything we could, but the Warriors were the better team and they deserved this win. You can see that Nikola gave everything, he couldn't run, but I couldn't." Let him rest, I hope he can persevere..."

(End of this chapter)