warrior godfather

Chapter 773 Accident
After the Warriors and Trail Blazers played the first three games, the ending is already doomed.

There were no surprises in G4. Green still couldn't make an open three-pointer. The Blazers have been playing four-on-five.

Curry and Antetokounmpo scored 64 points together, Curry 36 points, Antetokounmpo 28 points, the Blazers did not hold the inside line, nor did they hold the outside line, the Warriors beat the Blazers 124:105, 4:0 Swept opponents and advanced to the Western Conference Finals.

Such a result was unexpected by many people. Although the paper strength gap between the Warriors and the Trail Blazers is not small, but Lillard's first-round G7 god descended to the world, and Green's all-around performance in the first round of Tianwangshan's triple-double, still let the People have a little expectation for the Blazers, at least they should be able to stop the Warriors, right?

But the facts ruthlessly shattered people's illusions. Green not only failed to perform all-round performance, but became a complete burden. After four games, he averaged only 11.3 points, 4.5 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game, shooting 35.6% from the field and 26.3% from the three-point range. , more shots than points.

Lillard also failed to save the tearing city. The Warriors' defense and flanking tortured him unspeakably. Zhang Yu also knew his characteristics well. Chance.

Lillard's offensive magic ball is very serious. Breaking through the frame and three-pointers are the two most important scoring methods. He has never been able to practice a stable throw. Mid-range is his biggest weakness.

Zhang Yu placed heavy troops on the inside and on the three-point line, forcing Lillard to shoot the mid-range, which he is least good at.

McCollum is different from Lillard. He is best at mid-range shooting, even more accurate than three-pointers, but he is limited by his physical talent, lack of confrontation, and weak breakthrough ability.

When the Warriors defended McCollum, they clung to him, preferring to let him go to the basket rather than give him a shot.

McCollum is best at using the screen to pull up jump shots. After the shooting is restricted, the threat is greatly reduced. Like Lillard, he can only exchange shots for production.

In the final analysis, the star level of the Trail Blazers is still not enough, and there are technical limitations. They cannot score stably in the face of any defense, or drive teammates. As long as the best scoring method is restricted, there is no other way. With the addition of such a burden as Green, it is more difficult for the two guns to develop offense.

In Zhang Yu's previous life, the Blazers were also swept by the Warriors 2019:4 in the 0 playoffs, but the difference was that the Blazers at that time could still lead the Warriors by more than ten points at halftime, only to be reversed by the Warriors in the second half. It's not like now, being suppressed by the Warriors, without any power to fight back.

At that time, the Warriors' insiders were Green, Pachulia, and Looney. It was not difficult for Lillard to rush to the frame, and McCollum could also use the ball to target the Warriors' insiders.

Although Green does not have the ability to attack independently, Curry's offensive influence is too great. Curry is very powerful in chasing pick-and-rolls, and the Blazers' inside defense is not good. Also played the role of defense and card dealing.

But in the Trail Blazers, Lillard couldn't play without the ball, and Green's ability to deal cards was abolished. The Warriors had Antetokounmpo + Lopez inside. Green didn't have any chance to steal chickens, but was completely emptied by the Warriors. , It has completely become a burden, and the Blazers can only play four against five.

Going back to the defensive end, Green is not as effective as people think. Antetokounmpo crushes Green in terms of physical talent. Lopez has strength, technology, and shooting. He is also Green's most annoying inside type.

All Green can do is to use his astute defense to block a few gunshots and top Antetokounmpo in the low post.

He didn't even dare to switch to the outside line. As long as Green dares to switch defenses, it means that the two guns are going to defend the Warriors' inside line.

In this round of the series, Curry and Green faced each other directly many times, but Curry almost never played Green, and they always passed the ball to Antetokounmpo, who was more misplaced.

Curry is interested in competing with his old friends, but this is the playoffs, and Zhang Yu's tactics must be [-]% implemented, even Curry is no exception.

The experience of the Clippers is vivid, and they have already led the Blazers 2:0. As a result, Paul and Griffin were both injured.

Zhang Yu doesn't want to take any risk of Curry being injured. If he can use less of his personal abilities, he should use less of his personal abilities. It is best to rely solely on tactics to win the game steadily.

But even so, the Warriors still encountered some twists and turns.

At 3 minutes and 2 seconds of the fourth quarter of G16, both sides were in five small lineups. The score was 112:116. The Warriors led by 4 points and held the ball at the same time.

Curry dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and played a pick-and-roll with Antetokounmpo. Green was delayed when he came up, and Lillard squeezed the screen to chase and pounce on Curry.

Prior to this, Curry had made 6 three-pointers, each of which was a difficult fairy ball. In the second half, he made 4 shots and led the Warriors to achieve a lead.

Therefore, as long as Curry takes the ball, the Blazers will be panicked, and they will defend Curry desperately.

Curry took his time and lobbed the ball to Antetokounmpo, who went down, and the latter caught the ball and cut inside.

Seeing this, Green hurriedly turned around and chased after him.

If this goal is scored, the Blazers will be 6 points behind. With only 2 minutes left in the game, it can be said that they have lost hope of a comeback.

The Blazers are empty inside, and everyone else is pinned down by the Warriors' shooters on the three-point line. Green is the last line of defense for the Blazers, but he is one position behind Antetokounmpo, and his height and wingspan are still at a disadvantage. , It is absolutely impossible to interfere with Antetokounmpo's shot.

Seeing that Antetokounmpo is about to complete the dunk, the Blazers lose the game, and the big score of 0:3 behind is about to become a reality. The past two games have been completely ignored by the opponent and ridiculed by the outside world. The accumulated resentment and resentment , completely broke out.

A dangerous thought rushed out from the bottom of Green's heart. He gritted his teeth, gathered all his strength, rushed towards Antetokounmpo, and slammed into him hard!

Antetokounmpo didn't expect at all that someone behind him would bump into him with a completely non-basketball action. He was jumping and dunking according to his own rhythm, and was directly knocked out by Green.

boom!
Antetokounmpo flew out of the baseline and fell obliquely. The outside of his left foot landed first. The force was uneven, and he sprained severely. He fell to the ground fatigued, covering his left ankle, with a painful expression.

The referee blew his whistle immediately, but hesitated and only called a common foul.

The Warriors players were not in the mood to argue with him, and rushed to Antetokounmpo to ask about his injury.

Zhang Yu was also extremely nervous, and turned around to wave to Schwartz who was on the bench. Schwartz hurriedly picked up the medical kit and was about to go to the court to check Antetokounmpo's injury.

Brown immediately walked towards the referee, protesting loudly that Green's foul was too heavy and should be upgraded to a malicious foul.

But at this moment, Antetokounmpo stood up with the support of his teammates, took two limping steps, and then returned to normal.

Schwartz asked if he needed to go on the court to check the injury, Antetokounmpo shook his head, and jumped twice, saying that he was fine.

Standing beside Schwartz, Zhang Yu looked nervous. Seeing that Antetokounmpo was not injured, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Seeing that Antetokounmpo was fine, the referee became more rigid and refused to change the sentence with a firm attitude.

Brown and the Warriors players no longer protested. The game has reached the most critical moment, and it is the business to make free throws for Antetokounmpo as soon as possible.

Moreover, the referee has been biased against the Blazers throughout the game, and protesting is useless. If the referee takes the opportunity to call two technical fouls and send the Blazers two free throws, it will be more harm than good.

Subsequently, Antetokounmpo made 2 of 2 free throws. The Warriors took a 6-point lead and maintained their advantage until the end of the game, beating the Trail Blazers 119:114 to get the match point.

After the red light came on, the Warriors celebrated their victory at the Moda Center, but no one noticed the flicker of pain on Antetokounmpo's face as he took a step.

During the interview after the game, the reporter wanted to ask Green about the foul, but Green did not participate in the press conference and could only ask Antetokounmpo.

Antetokounmpo did not accuse Green, saying that it was just a foul. He got a free throw and the Warriors won the victory. That's enough, and other things don't matter.

After the G4 game, Green finally participated in the press conference, and the reporter also asked about this late question.

Green replied:

"It was just a foul. I had to stop Giannis from scoring, and I was behind him, so it was impossible to interfere with his shot. Only in this way can I prevent him from scoring. My Giannis has no malicious intentions..."

The reporter asked again:

"In this round of the series, your field goal percentage was only 35.6%, and your three-point percentage was only 26.3%. How do you feel about your performance?"

Green's expression changed, but luckily his face was already dark and would not get darker. He said in a low voice:
"I know how bad my performance is. I have to take responsibility for the loss. If I can make two more three-pointers, the result may be completely different...I will not defend myself. I will play well this summer. Training, getting ready for next season. You know, I'm not without a shot, I just lost it temporarily, but when I need it, I can get it back, I promise, I'm still the most versatile big Forward, my journey with the Blazers has just begun..."

Stotts, Lillard, McCollum and other Trail Blazers players were also asked by reporters about Green's performance. They did not blame Green, but instead encouraged them.

Lillard said:
"Drummond didn't perform well in this series, but without him, we would have been eliminated by the Pelicans, and we didn't even have a chance to play against the Warriors. He is the core of the team's defense and our locker. Chamber leader, brought valuable championship experience to the Blazers. We can't negate Green with a series of games, I believe he will find his shot and make greater contributions to the team..."

When it was the Warriors' turn to be interviewed, Curry and Zhang Yu were also asked this question.

Curry naturally defended his old friend. He will never speak badly to his brother. Even if Green is not standing opposite the Warriors, but standing next to him and playing such a performance, Curry will still not change his attitude towards Green. trust.

Selflessness is a good thing, but excessive selflessness becomes cowardice.

Curry grew up in a very favorable environment, with strict family education, and developed a gentle personality. When getting along with others, he trusted his teammates too much, and was even a little cowardly. Sometimes he even put brotherly loyalty above the interests of the team.

When Green and Leonard were traded away, Curry was very reluctant, and even called Zhang Yu, begging if he could keep them, or at least Green, but Zhang Yu gently but firmly refused, Had to give up.

Now that Green has come to the cusp of the storm, he has been criticized and criticized by thousands of people, and Curry has to defend him even more.

Zhang Yu's answer was much sharper:

"This is an era of three-pointers. Everyone has to shoot three-pointers. Unless you are a superstar, you have the privilege. Drummond must find the three-pointer, otherwise he can only be a blue-collar. He is not yet 30." At the age of [-], he is at his peak, I hope he can get back to his form, even if it will make the Warriors' opponents stronger..."

With both the enemy and us speaking for Green, the hostility of Blazers fans towards Green has weakened a lot, and fewer people have sprayed him.

After the Blazers were eliminated, all the fake Trail Blazers fans moved thousands of miles away, leaving only real Trail Blazers fans. They also got used to Green's poor performance and slowly accepted the reality.

After all, they are not Warriors fans. They have seen many champions, and their eyes are not so critical. They were extremely angry with Green because of the provocation of the coalition forces, and the scene of Green's game was too irritating.

But after the series is over, without being tortured by Green's clumsy three-pointer, calm down and look back at the Trail Blazers' season. Green's contribution is beyond doubt.

The Blazers have a small family and a small business, and the fans are used to failure. They can only hope that Green can get back to his form. Even if he hates Green, he can only hypnotize himself and wait patiently for Green to practice another three-pointer.

If it were Warriors fans who are used to winning, they would have scolded Green to death long ago, and even now there are many Warriors fans. Fortunately, Zhang Yu sent Green away last summer, otherwise the Warriors would have to endure Green's drag on offense.

After this round of the series, the rangers among Warriors fans were completely extinct, and no Warriors fans missed Green anymore.

He is a warrior of merit, but only of the past.

Antetokounmpo is the present and future of the Warriors.

After the end of this round of the series, it also means that the Warriors have completed their renewal. The old Warriors have died, and the new Warriors set sail.

Sweeping opponents for two consecutive rounds has also greatly increased the number of people who are optimistic about the Warriors defending their title.

Only the Warriors completed a sweep in the first two rounds, and the other favorite teams lost at least two games. Looking around the league, the Warriors who turned around and were relegated turned out to be the most dominant.

No one questioned Zhang Yu's vision and courage anymore. Barkley, Bill Simmons and other commentators who were not optimistic about the Warriors' offseason trade were pulled out and whipped the corpse repeatedly. up.

(End of this chapter)