warrior godfather

Chapter 768
After two games, the Nuggets are already in a desperate situation.

Two days later, G3 kicked off, and the referee unsurprisingly favored the Nuggets. In the first quarter, Antetokounmpo and Wiggins were given 2 fouls each, and the Warriors continued to call fouls in the follow-up. The Nuggets players frequently stood up for free throws At one point, the Warriors fell behind by 10 points.

But under the absolute strength gap, the home field advantage will not play a big role.

In the third quarter, the Warriors fought back. Zhang Yu decisively sent Antetokounmpo with 4 fouls on the field. Just how to defend and put pressure on the referee.

The referee really didn't dare to blow off Antetokounmpo directly, so he could only continue to blow other people's fouls and interrupt the Warriors' offensive rhythm.

But even if the Warriors don't fight back, they still have the upper hand in a simple battle. Curry showed his power and scored 21 points in a single quarter. After three quarters, the Warriors caught up with the score.

In the last quarter, the Warriors set off a Jedi counterattack. Curry came on the field at 6 minutes and 14 seconds, and then hit key shots in a row. In the last 5 minutes, he made 2 three-pointers, one of which shook Craig's 3+ 1. Score 10 points, lead the team to beat the Nuggets 126:120, lead 3:0, and get the match point.

The referee has tried his best. Jokic got 13 free throw opportunities and scored 34 points, but Curry was even better, scoring 39 points. His performance in the critical stage was even better than Jokic. With absolute strength, 5 to 8 wins.

Although Jokic has referees to take care of him, he has been fighting on the inside, and the defensive end has to run back and forth between the penalty area and the three-point line. Even if he can take advantage of the free throw time to rest, his physical energy is also very high. In the fourth quarter, he only got 5 points, 3 of which were free throws. In the last 5 minutes, he only made 2 of 1 free throws, scored 1 point, and lost in the confrontation with Curry.

After the Nuggets lost Game 3, their morale recovered a lot. After all, barefoot players are not afraid of those who wear shoes.

A day later, the Nuggets showed their strongest fighting spirit in this round of the series, vowing to defend their home court in front of the Denver fans.

The Warriors encountered the strongest resistance in the four games, but the Nuggets were inexperienced after all. They were too excited in the first half and tried their best. Points difference.

Although the Warriors' core lineup is young, they have rich experience in the playoffs. They played steadily in the first half and dealt with the Nuggets patiently.The Nuggets went all out, then declined again, and exhausted three times. After the physical fitness declined, the Warriors launched an offensive in an orderly manner and slowly opened up the point difference. 111:126 was swept out,

The Warriors have also become the fastest team to advance to the second round of the playoffs. The trailing side of the other series has won at least one game, and the Warriors will also be the only team to complete the sweep.

The Warriors seem to be the same Warriors, and their strength has not declined at all. They swept last season, and they are still sweeping this season.

But Zhang Yu is clear that the Warriors are indeed not as strong as last season. They were able to sweep the Nuggets because they have too many advantages in the lineup. They naturally restrain the Nuggets. If the Nuggets are replaced by other teams, the Warriors may not be able to sweep the Nuggets. up.

In this round of the series, the Warriors fell behind more than once, which was unique in last year's playoffs.

The strength of the Warriors' rotation has also dropped a lot, and Curry and Antetokounmpo need to play to lead the team in order to exert pressure.

Jaylen Brown was affected by Ramadan, and his state was unstable. He scored in double figures at home, barely scored 3 points in G10 away, and only scored 4 points in G7.

Zhang Yu can only reduce Jaylen Brown's playing time and give Bogdan more opportunities.

There is a gap between Bogdan and Jaylen Brown in terms of hard power, but fortunately, the Nuggets have Jokic as a scope. Bogdan does not need to take on too many main offensive tasks, as long as the pick-and-roll shoots three-pointers against Jokic. Yes, he just took advantage of him. In the series, he averaged 12.4 points and made 3.1 three-pointers, ranking only behind Curry.

Especially in the crucial G3 game, Jaylen Brown was inexperienced, sloppy, and was seized by the referee. He committed 3 fouls in two quarters. Bogdan stepped forward and scored 4 three-pointers, scoring a total of 16 points. Jaylen Brown's vacancy, including 3 three-pointers in the third quarter, 9 points in a single quarter, teamed up with Curry to sound the horn of counterattack, and finally completed the comeback.

But if you switch to another team, how much effect Bogdan can play is a question mark.

The only thing to be thankful for is that the core of the Warriors' backcourt is Curry, and one has more offensive influence than two. Even if the second position is weaker, it will not have much impact on the Warriors' offense.

In the post-match interview, the reporter asked Zhang Yu to look forward to the opponent in the second round. Zhang Yu spread his hands:

"I don't know who the opponent is yet. I will continue to pay attention to this round of the series and prepare in advance. I hope the Blazers will advance. Drummond is a natural winner..."

When the Warriors swept the Nuggets to advance, the Trail Blazers and Pelicans fell into a fierce battle.

The Pelicans Cousins ​​is reimbursed for the season, but Holiday is in excellent form this season, and his defense is particularly good. He averaged 19+7 per game in the regular season, which is the best performance of his career.

The thick eyebrows have finally entered their peak period, averaging 28+11 per game in the regular season, ranking third in the scoring list, leading the team to fifth in the Western Conference, and they are in the limelight.

The thick eyebrows and Holiday were one inside and one outside. Holiday led the defense against Lillard, and the thick eyebrows attacked. Lillard became more difficult to play the ball.

In G2, Stotts made adjustments. Green and the Blazers played short pick-and-rolls. Lillard would pass to Green whenever he encountered a pinch, and Green would handle the four-on-three situation.

This is what Green is best at, and after the Blazers have spent most of the season, Stotts found the correct way to use Green, and the Blazers got on the right track, rushing from seventh in the West to fourth in the West.

This season, Green averaged 12.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 8.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. He is very comprehensive and scored the most points in three seasons.

In order to sign Green, the Blazers sent Aldridge to the Spurs, and let Green deal the card at the top of the arc for half a season, but Lillard couldn't play off the ball at all, the effect was too poor, and the team fell into chaos for a while. In the middle of the game, Stotts gave up this idea and returned to the pick-and-roll.

Lillard regained the familiar pick-and-roll style of play, and the Blazers quickly returned to normal.

Green's tactical status has not been reduced either. He played pick-and-roll with Lillard, and hand-in-hand with McCollum. Using the double guns in the backcourt, he cut to the basket to complete the finish, and his output and efficiency were higher than last season.

It's just that Green's three-pointers still haven't been recovered, and his three-point shooting percentage in the regular season even dropped to 31.4%, which is completely unwatchable.

Fortunately, Green is an insider with a high degree of tactical participation. By covering his teammates and cutting down, he can reduce the drag on the space and cover up his shortcomings of inaccurate three-pointers to the greatest extent. How much impact.

In G2, the thick eyebrows raised their eyebrows to pinch Lillard. Green caught the ball and went down to deal with four-on-three. The Pelicans did not have a second serious inside line. The double-double data of 23 points and 11 rebounds broke the Pelicans' attack. The Blazers won 114:105 and tied the score at 1:1.

In G3, Stotts followed suit, and Gentry also made adjustments to let the thick eyebrows continue to pinch Lillard, and the others shrank the frame to test the Blazers' three-pointers from the outside.

So far, the two sides have changed from a tactical game to a competition of execution. The Blazers need outside shooters to make three-pointers, while the Pelicans need higher quality flanking to force Lillard to make mistakes and play defensive counterattacks.

The Pelicans, who returned to the home court, had home court advantage and took the lead. The pincers of Thick Eyebrow and Holiday caused Lillard to make 6 turnovers, and the Pelicans counterattacked many times.

The Blazers shooter didn't feel good and wasted several excellent open opportunities. The Pelicans finally beat the Blazers 117:101, leading by a big score of 2:1.

In G4, Lillard accelerated the speed of the ball, and the number of turnovers decreased. The Blazers outside shooter finally broke out, shooting 43.6% of the three-pointers, making 16 three-pointers, and defeated by 114:108 The Pelicans tied the big score at 2:2.

It was also on this day that the Warriors swept the Nuggets 4-0 and advanced to the second round.

It is obvious that the Blazers and Pelicans cannot decide a winner in a short period of time, and the Warriors ushered in at least 7 days of rest, so they can recharge their batteries and wait for work.

However, playing the Nuggets did not bring much consumption to the Warriors. Zhang Yu just gave the team a day off and resumed training soon.

At the same time, Zhang Yu began to study the game video of the Pelicans and the Trail Blazers while preparing for the draft.

In this year's draft, the Warriors have three first-round picks, one for themselves, one for the Blazers, one for the 76ers, and two second-round picks, one for themselves and one for the Timberwolves.

This year is also recognized as a big year in the draft, with talented rookies emerging one after another, and even called by the media as the golden generation comparable to 1996, 2003, and 2009, attracting much attention.

After the Warriors' vacation, Riley immediately found Zhang Yu and discussed draft matters with him.

Zhang Yu took the scouting report handed over by Riley and looked at Deandre Ayton, Luka Doncic, Trey Young, Mikal Bridges, Michael Porter, Colin -Sexton and other familiar names fell into deep thought.

Riley didn't rush, just sat there, quietly waiting for Zhang Yu to make a decision.

After a long time, Zhang Yu put the scout report on the table and said:

"Good rookies are all high picks. Our picks are a bit embarrassing. They are all in the middle and late stages of the first round. There are not many options... Let's see if you can trade up. At least a top 10 must come. The draft picks, the Celtics' draft picks can also be used. Since it is a big year, we must choose really useful rookies!"

(End of this chapter)