warrior godfather

Chapter 785

May 5, 26:6 p.m., Houston.

There are still 6 minutes before the start of G11 of the Western Conference Finals. Thousands of Rockets fans sit together in the Toyota Center auditorium, forming a sea of ​​red and white with a few striking blues. It was a very small number of Warriors fans who came from afar, facing the fierce eyes and fierce boos and cursing of their opponents, cheering for the home team without fear.

At this time, on the bench next to the court, the Rockets players had just finished warming up, changed out of their training uniforms, put on their jerseys, lowered their heads and carefully tucked the jerseys into their waists, and at the same time listened to the head coach’s final tactical arrangement.

D'Antoni was wearing a dark gray Italian handmade suit, a retro crimson twill tie around his neck, and his silver hair was combed meticulously. the match of.

But this still can't hide his deep dark circles and puffy bags under the eyes. After the end of G5, the Warriors and the Rockets had a day and two nights of rest. D'Antoni only slept for less than 9 hours, and spent the rest of the time watching crazily The game video of the Western Conference finals, thinking about the game plan of G6.

In fact, his state throughout the entire Western Conference finals, just defeating the Warriors and the belief in winning the championship supported D'Antoni,

The extreme mental excitement prevented him from feeling physically exhausted.

Now, the Rockets finally ushered in the best opportunity. Antetokounmpo's injury gave D'Antoni a real hope, and even his voice became hoarse and trembling because of the urgency:
"Guys, we must win this game today! Although PJ is suspended, Antetokounmpo is also injured. The Warriors only have Curry as a scorer. As long as we lock Curry, the Warriors are over! Finals The ticket to the finals is right in front of us, we must not let go of this good opportunity, otherwise God will punish us! With [-]% fighting spirit and focus, we will be able to cross the threshold of the finals and touch O'Brien cup!"

"gogogo!"

"This is our home field, kill the Warriors!"

"We want to play in the finals, we want to win the championship!"

The Rockets players roared and roared, and the bench became extremely noisy in an instant. Only Tucker, who was wearing a suit, remained silent, with a hint of remorse on his face, turning his head from time to time to look at the Warriors on the other side of the technical table bench.

Yesterday, the league announced an additional penalty for his second-degree flagrant foul -- a fine of $35000 and a one-game suspension.

The result of this penalty looks very severe, and the maximum fine of 35000 US dollars, but it made the Rockets breathe a sigh of relief.

Tucker is a very important member of the Rockets' five small lineups. He can provide the Rockets with extremely tough defense and precise corner three-pointers. He is only suspended for one game and can catch up with the tiebreaker.

The $35000 was directly paid by the Rockets to help Tucker.

The result of Tucker's injury was very bad, but objectively it helped the Rockets a lot. Alexander, who is stingy, also showed a generous side at this time.

As for Tucker being suspended for one game, no one sees it as a problem.

G6 is the home court of the Rockets, and the Warriors do not have Antetokounmpo. According to the calculations of the Rockets' data analysis department based on the data model, the probability of the Rockets winning the game is as high as 85.4%. Tucker's absence is not so serious.

Only Tucker himself is still blaming himself for Antetokounmpo's injury. He is a very tough player, but his style of play is clean, not dirty at all, and he has never done anything to intentionally hurt people.

When other Rockets players were ecstatic because their hopes of advancing to the finals were greatly increased, Tucker was thinking about Antetokounmpo's injury, and even overwhelmed his desire for tickets to the finals.

At the same time, on the Warriors bench on the other side, the atmosphere was extremely dignified.

Although Zhang Yu inspired the fighting spirit of the whole team on the plane, huge difficulties still lie ahead. While the Warriors players ignite their fighting spirit, they will not underestimate the strength of the Rockets.

And this is the home court of the Rockets, which is naturally not good for the Warriors. The whole Warriors team is ready for a hard battle.

But this is not what makes the Warriors players most nervous. The tactics that Zhang Yu is deploying are the biggest reason for bringing them tremendous pressure.

They were used to following Zhang Yu's arrangements, but this time, Zhang Yu's tactics were so shocking that even the most determined Warrior players were shaken.

Zhang Yu was sitting across from everyone. Like D'Antoni, he had very little sleep these two days and spent almost all of his time studying the Rockets' tactics. But he was much younger than D'Antoni, and he only had The dark circles and bags under the eyes are not obvious.

A straight black suit makes Zhang Yu look much younger than his actual age, and even looks about the same age as Curry, who is 30 years old.

He held the tactical board in his left hand, but it was blank and nothing, and the marker pen in his right hand did not take off the cap. He looked up and glanced at everyone one by one, his eyes were bright, and he said loudly:

"...I know, you must be worried about whether the tactics will work. I tell you clearly that the Rockets will definitely play like this. I have seen through D'Antoni's ideas. As long as you execute the tactics well, we will definitely win! Think about it Well, when did I miss it? 9 years ago, the Warriors were still the bottom of the league. Now, the Warriors are a super dynasty team with five championships in six years. I have never missed it. It is the same this time. What you need to do , Just trust me and devote yourself to the game without distraction, this is the only way to win!"

Zhang Yu's words seemed to carry a kind of faint magic power, making the Warriors players fall into memories, but except for Curry, no one else had experienced the era when the Warriors were weak, and they didn't have a deep feeling for Zhang Yu's role in the rise of the Warriors.

But they are used to the strength of the warriors and Zhang Yu's exhaustive strategy.

Facing the hard facts, the hearts of the Warriors players finally settled down, cast aside all doubts and wavering, firmly united under Zhang Yu's command, and set foot on the field.

Even if they still think Zhang Yu's tactics are too appalling, Zhang Yu's glorious resume of always being right and never making mistakes in the past has won their trust.

And this is the source of the Warriors' strong discipline and execution ability. What people like to do most is to chase success, and even superstitiously believe in success, and players are no exception.

……

"Di-"

With the whistle of the referee, Lopez overwhelmed Capela, dialed the ball to the backcourt of the Warriors, and the game began.

The Warriors' starters are Curry, Jaylen Brown, Wiggins, Markanen, Lopez, and the Rockets' starters are Paul, Harden, Ariza, Mbah a Moute, and Capela.

ESPN is responsible for the national live broadcast of this game, and the iron triangle Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson are sitting in the commentary booth.

10 minutes ago, they just got the starting list of the two teams and had a heated discussion about it.

There is no doubt that their attention is focused on Markkanen. This young Finn who hadn't played for a minute in the Western Conference Finals was put on the starting lineup by Zhang Yu after Antetokounmpo was injured. The location is beyond everyone's expectations.

The three of Van Gundy were surprisingly unanimous in their opinions, and they were not optimistic about Markkanen's performance. No matter what the reason was for Zhang Yu, an inexperienced rookie suddenly took on such a heavy responsibility on the stage of the Western Conference Finals to replace a superstar. The superstar vacancy is really too hasty.

However, they only questioned Markkanen's starting lineup, but no one made a conclusion, because Zhang Yu, who never made a mistake, made this choice.

Even if this seriously violates the basketball philosophy of Van Gundy and Jackson, they still dare not draw any definite conclusions.

Zhang Yu slapped too many people in the face, they have also been slapped many times, and their speeches have become more and more cautious.

And the more entertaining TNT commentary doesn't have to worry so much. After seeing the Warriors' starting roster, Barkley said directly:

"The Rockets are sure to win. The Warriors have no one available. Markkanen, who was dnp, is in the starting lineup. Coach Z has no means. We can congratulate the Rockets in advance for advancing to the finals!"

He has been slapped in the face a lot, so he is not afraid anymore and dares to say anything.

In fact, this is also the reaction of many Warriors players seeing the home team's starting lineup. Even fans who are optimistic about Markkanen's future development are full of concerns about whether he can be qualified for the starting position in the Western Conference Finals.

The director also knew what the highlight of the game was. The broadcast camera frequently focused on Markkanen, giving him close-ups one after another. Even the freckles and pores on Markkanen's face were clearly presented in front of every audience.

But what surprised the audience was that they couldn't see the tension on Markkanen's face. The Finnish ice skate was just like his nickname. Under the high brow bone, the eyes were cold and sharp, mixed with a trace of excitement about to break through the ice .

When everyone is worried about Markkanen's performance, he is full of expectations for the upcoming game.

Last night, the Warriors came to the Four Seasons Hotel where they were staying. The players entered their rooms to rest. In the dead of night, Zhang Yu knocked on the door of Markanen's room.

He made Markkanen an offer he couldn't refuse - to start today's game.

At first, Markkanen, like these commentators and audiences, was worried about whether he could be qualified for the starting position.

The reason why he was dnp in the Western Conference Finals was that he was not good at defense, had enough enthusiasm, and lacked experience. He neither protected the frame nor switched defenses, so he was easily targeted by Paul and Harden.

But Zhang Yu's words dispelled all Markkanen's concerns.

According to Zhang Yu's arrangement, he doesn't need to worry about his defense at all.

Because... Zhang Yu's defensive tactics don't require any defensive experience at all!
(End of this chapter)