warrior godfather

Warriors fans who are no longer worried can finally enjoy the game with a calm mind.

And it's not just the Warriors who are in trouble inside, the Rockets are also in trouble inside.

Tucker was suspended for one game, and the Rockets' eight-man rotation became more urgent.

But unlike Zhang Yu, D'Antoni doesn't trust other Rockets players. He would rather send a super-five lineup with Mbah a Moute at center than use Anderson, who proved to be just a target in the Huoyong duel.

The Rockets' rotation lineup in the second quarter consisted of Paul, Gordon, Gerald Green, Ariza, and Mbah a Moute. Three guards + two forwards, the smallest lineup in NBA history, was born.

But Rockets fans are not worried about this. The Rockets' defense does not rely on the inside line. Although Paul and Gordon are short, they are very tough in confrontation, and they don't suffer much on the defensive end.

Moreover, the Warriors' inside line is Looney + Covington. Apart from being a little taller, their scoring ability is not very strong. Curry is not on the court, and they lack stars to lead the team.

After the start of the second quarter, as one would expect, Paul took possession of the ball and began to trouble Looney.

The Rockets held the ball on the first offense, Paul and Mbah a Moute played a pick-and-roll, and Looney switched directly to Paul.

This old-fashioned, blue-collar insider always seemed to be frowning, but his eyes were very determined, shining with a sharp light.

Like Markanen, Rooney was also found by Zhang Yu last night and got the chance to come off the bench. He was equally happy and worried.

But unlike Markanen, he is delighted that he can help the team, and worried about whether he will hinder the team. As for personal data and performance, it is completely out of Rooney's consideration .

Looney is very clear that he is just a blue-collar, and he is not destined for gorgeous statistics. His job is to bite, entangle, and collide with the opponent's inside line in a corner where no one pays attention. He will try his best every minute. Good defense and rebounding -- they are as important as his life.

So after getting the opportunity to come off the bench, his first consideration was not whether he could perform an amazing performance, but whether he could defend well and make up for Antetokounmpo's absence.

Now, the time to test him has finally come, and the opponent has changed from those blue-collar insiders who also came off the bench to one of the most powerful point guards in NBA history, Chris Paul with the title of "God of Point Guard".

At this moment, all eyes were on Looney, and he finally stood under the spotlight, but his face was still so sad, as if there was always an unresolved depression in his heart.

Paul looked at Looney's dignified expression, but he didn't care in the slightest.

This is G6 of the Western Conference Finals, no matter how unknown the opponent is, he will not relax.

The Rockets dispersed, and Paul changed direction twice in a row, trying to shake Looney away, but Looney followed Paul's footsteps in time, without giving him any room to shoot.

At this time, he has not gained weight like he did later, and his resistance is slightly weaker, but his pace is very fast, enough to keep up with the footsteps of the elderly Paul.

Paul followed up with two dribbles under the crotch, but Looney was still unmoved.

He has his own defensive method, always staring at Paul's crotch, footsteps and shoulders can be deceiving, but the breakthrough must require the crotch to drive the legs to exert strength, which cannot be deceived.

Paul tried several times, but couldn't shake the space. In the end, he could only take a shot with Looney's long arm, hit the iron in the mid-range shot, and the rebound was protected by Covington who shrunk to the basket.

The Rockets' super five small lineup can stretch the space a lot, but it is very weak in rebounding.

Mike Brin was surprised;
"Looney succeeded in single-handedly defending Paul, but Paul couldn't move around at all!"

Mark Jackson was also very surprised:
"I didn't expect Looney to show a very good defensive ability, but this may also be luck, or Paul is not ready, we need to look again..."

On the court, the Warriors attacked, and Wiggins took on the responsibility of Antetokounmpo leading the rotation, holding the ball in singles, dribbling a two-step emergency stop jumper, and missed under Ariza's interference.

But Looney played his rebounding talent, saw the landing in advance, and then took advantage of his height and arm length to pick off the offensive rebound over Mbah a Moute's head.

Mbah a Moute hurriedly jumped up to block, but Looney also knew that his athletic ability was poor, so he didn't make a tip-up at the first time, but waited for Mbah a Moute to take off, then wiped past him and made a layup, 32: 33.

Mike Breen exclaimed:

"The tip from Looney! After he came on the court, he was very good on offense and defense."

Looking back, Paul continued to pick and roll against Looney, but Looney's footsteps were very flexible and his judgment was very accurate. Paul was still unable to move out of space, and he did not hit a very difficult postback until the end of 24 seconds. Upside down jumper, 35:32.

Although Paul succeeded this time, there were very few cheers in the audience. The Rockets fans looked dignified, but sporadic Warriors fans gave Looney applause.

D'Antoni's face was also very ugly, which was in sharp contrast to the smiling Zhang Yu on the other side of the technical stage.

Paul hit Looney twice, was blocked once, and was forced to shoot a fairy ball once. Although he made the shot, Looney's defense was also very successful.

Van Gundy frowned for an unknown number of times today:

"Looney's defensive effect is so good, why didn't Coach Z let him play before? If he starts instead of Lopez, Paul will definitely not be able to play so easily in the first few games."

Like Van Gundy, Warriors fans have the same doubts in their minds.

Mark Jackson pondered for a moment and gave his own guess:

"Looney can switch defenses, but he can't protect the frame. Coach Z should pay more attention to Harden's defense. Lopez can cut off the connection between Harden and Capela, and can also limit Harden's breakthrough. The role of Looney Bigger. And the Warriors had Antetokounmpo before, and the defense and frame protection were top-notch. They didn't need Looney to play in the transition, and they could also guard Paul without Looney playing..."

In the remaining time of the transition period, Paul's pick-and-roll against Looney's success rate was not high, but the Warriors' offensive efficiency was also very average, and they failed to overtake the score.

Without Antetokounmpo, the Warriors have no offensive strengths inside and can't deal with the Rockets' weak inside defense. Wiggins, Brogdon, and Bogdan's singles capabilities are relatively average. It is difficult for the super five small lineup with strong replacements to make a difference.

Fortunately, Looney's offensive rebounds provided the Warriors with 3 additional offensive opportunities. Looney made a tip-up. With the precious 1 points, the Warriors can cling to the score.

At 7 minutes and 12 seconds of the second quarter, as Wiggins caused Ariza to foul and stood on the free throw line, the game entered a dead ball state. D'Antoni took the opportunity to switch back to Harden, followed by Zhang Yu, and Curry went into battle.

Wiggins made 2 of 1 free throws, and the score came to 39:39. The Warriors tied the score, and the two sides returned to the same starting line.

After Harden returned to the court, Paul rested, Capela was also replaced, and Ariza rested.

When Zhang Yu replaced Curry, he also replaced Lopez and Markanen, replaced Wiggins, Brogdon and Looney, moved Covington to the third position, and continued to play the Warriors' size Advantage.

The Warriors' defensive strategy has also been changed back to squatting inside, shrinking the defense, squeezing the screen on the line, and sticking to the penalty area.

This suits the Rockets' appetite. Three-pointers are the most important and best offensive method for the Rockets, but the Warriors gave the Rockets a chance to shoot three-pointers, allowing the Rockets' shooters to use their skills.

Except for Harden who still has a bad touch and repeatedly missed three-pointers with step-back steps, everyone else continued their excellent touch in the first quarter, hitting consecutive three-pointers, and while igniting the atmosphere of the Toyota Center, they also slowly pulled away. Points difference.

But it is worth mentioning that under the scene of burning oil, there are also shadows quietly growing.

Of the 6 three-pointers made by the Rockets in the second quarter, 4 were made in the first 9 minutes. In the last 3 minutes, the core lineup composed of Harden, Paul, Gordon, Ariza, and Capela, the three He made 8 of 2 shots and 1 of 4 shots in the last 0 minutes. The touch gradually declined.

D'Antoni also noticed this situation, but he didn't take it seriously.

In his view, this is just a normal phenomenon of the Rockets players' physical decline after the fierce battle in the first half. After the intermission recovers, the Rockets' three-point shooting percentage will return to normal levels.

Harden, who didn't feel good, didn't make a three-pointer in the second quarter, but he took advantage of his home court to make a foul with a jumper and a big loop. There was also a three-point foul. He made 5 of 1 shots in the second quarter. But he scored 8 points, scored 18 points in the half, and completed the basic scoring task.

Only Capela was completely invisible. Both Lopez and Markkanen had no brains to receive the basket. Capela had no chance to eat cakes, and he couldn't grab rebounds. He even grabbed 4 frontcourts by Lopez and Markkanen. Rebounds, lost a total of 7 points.

These 7 points are no less than timely help for the Warriors. When Curry was brainlessly flanked by the Rockets and it was very difficult to score, the offensive rebounds and the excellent performance of the role players became the Warriors' life-saving straw.

In the second quarter, Curry made 4 of 0 shots and still didn't score a point. D'Antoni played a one-point quadruple. Curry was injured by Antetokounmpo and under the huge pressure of leading the team with a single core. Well, while there were two good shots, they missed.

However, as more and more shots were made, Curry gradually found the touch, and the last two shots were only a hair's breadth away from the hit.

Zhang Yu believes that as long as the scoring valve is opened and this layer of window paper is pierced, Curry's scoring will continue to come.

What Curry is best at is making consecutive difficult three-pointers in a very short period of time. As long as he finds the state and enters the rhythm, he is the most explosive scorer in the NBA, bar none.

But this requires an opportunity, the arrival of the first three-pointer.

In the first half, Curry didn't score a point, and the overwhelming taunts came oncoming, and the Warriors fans were also anxious, but Zhang Yu was as steady as Mount Tai, and never put half a point of pressure on Curry.

Curry himself is not in a hurry. Since he can't make a shot, he can help the team from other aspects, such as passing, defense, rebounding, running... Curry is perfect in all aspects except scoring. He scored 7 points in the half. With 8 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, covering up his name, people must immediately think of Green.

While Curry was doing a good job of supporting, the rest of the Warriors stepped forward.

Markkanen continued to score 2 three-pointers in the second quarter, Lopez also scored 1 three-pointer, Wiggins, Jaylen Brown, Covington, Rooney, Bogdan and other players who played , got points.

It was also the efforts of the role players that made the Warriors only 59 points behind at 67:8 after halftime when Curry had zero points, retaining the hope of a comeback.

With extremely firm belief, they did everything in the face of adversity, waiting for the arrival of Curry's first three-pointer, waiting for...the opportunity to come back!