At the beginning of the death entanglement, Curry followed me to slam dunk

Chapter 236 The fans who broke the defense

October 10, Warriors home court at Oracle Arena.

The Warriors' second game of the new season officially begins against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The starting lineup sent by the Warriors is——

Point guard: Stephen Curry, shooting guard: Jeremy Lin, small forward: LeBron James, power forward: Du Zhe and center: David Lee.

After a big win over the Rockets last game, the Warriors changed their lineup again in the second game.

The starting lineup actually included the little-known undrafted Jeremy Lin, which seemed a bit arrogant to Clippers fans.

But this is also a manifestation of the Warriors' extreme confidence in their own strength. They believe that the strength of several other players on the court is enough to make up for Jeremy Lin's weakness in this position.

The Clippers fielded a lineup of Eric Gordon, Baron Davis, Ryan Gomez, Blake Griffin and Chris Kaman.

Seeing Du Zhe, who was about to face off against him, Griffin couldn't help but feel a flash of fear in his heart.

During the year he was recovering from his injuries, he had heard Du Zhe's name so many times that his ears almost grew calloused.

In just one year, Du Zhe has grown from a little-known undrafted player to a top star famous throughout the league. Du Zhe has become the dream of all young basketball players.

Even a talented top pick like Griffin is no exception.

Lying on the hospital bed, Griffin fantasized countless times when he was bored, that he could be like Du Zhe, defeating six generals in five stages and winning the championship single-handedly.

Whenever he thinks of this, Griffin always gets goosebumps with excitement.

In the past year, although Griffin never played in a game, the media often compared him, the top pick, with Du Zhe.

This also gave Griffin a complicated emotion when facing Du Zhe.

He not only regarded Du Zhe as the target he was chasing, but also regarded Du Zhe as an object to challenge.

"Blake, you have to be careful. Du Zhe is not as easy to deal with as Aldridge in the last game!" Teammate Eric Gordon reminded Griffin worriedly.

Gordon has played against Du Zhe many times. At the World Championships, as a member of the Dream Nine Team, he witnessed with his own eyes the horror of Du Zhe's rampage.

As a young man on the team, he felt it was his duty to remind Griffin, the future star.

"Don't worry, I won't be careless. I just want to say that I am so lucky today to have a head-on conversation with a player of Du Zhe's level on the court!"

Before the game even started, Griffin was already so excited that he couldn't help himself.

Although the Clippers lost in the last game, Griffin had the upper hand against Aldridge.

Not only did he hit 14 of 8 shots on the offensive end, he also scored 20 points and 14 rebounds efficiently.

At the same time, the opponent Aldridge was defended in a panic, allowing the quasi-All-Star power forward to make 18 of 7 shots from the field, with a shooting percentage of less than [-]%, which became a stepping stone for his brilliant debut.

This also doubled Griffin's confidence. The battle with Aldridge made him discover that his strength was far beyond imagination, and those so-called NBA stars under him were nothing more than that!
With the confidence gained in the first game, Griffin also believed that he could make a difference in today's match against Du Zhe.

Of course, he doesn't expect to defeat Du Zhe like he defeated Aldridge yesterday, but as a challenger, he still wants to create something of his own.

And Du Zhe was filled with emotion when he saw the high-spirited Griffin.

In his first few games in the NBA, it was Griffin's slam dunk experience card that helped him get through the first few games, allowing him to perform reasonably well and gradually gain a foothold in the NBA.

There is somewhat of a causal relationship between the two of them.

In this case, Du Zhe also decided to give Griffin the highest respect and use all his strength to confront him.

After the start, Griffin was very excited and was obviously in a state of eagerness to try.

It's obvious that he wants to become famous through this game.

But facing Du Zhe, who was going all out, Griffin could never find a chance. Not only did he not score a point, but he also missed several three-pointers due to his defensive misalignment.

This made the young and energetic Griffin increasingly impatient.

Finally, at the end of the first quarter, Griffin used the pick-and-roll to successfully break through David Lee and get a chance to go straight inside.

Du Zhe on one side abandoned Kaman and hurried over to make up the defense, but it was already too late.

Griffin was overjoyed when he saw Du Zhe coming to make up the defense.

For him, deducting an empty blue is nothing at all, and it has no meaning.

Only by slamming others, especially those strong ones, can he get excited.

Today, Griffin will use this shocking dunk to officially announce his arrival to the entire league.

Thinking of this, Griffin's chest was full of pride, and he directly held the ball with one hand and bounced it up, intending to perform a violent gliding chop.

Du Zhe, the top and most popular player in the league, is undoubtedly the best background for his dunk.

Just as Griffin took off, he found that Du Zhe on the opposite side also jumped up at the same time, but the distance between Du Zhe and the basket was much farther than him.

This makes Griffin more confident. You know, he has never been afraid of anyone in a simple jumping competition.

The players on the field also stopped and watched the two flying men collide in the air.

Griffin's take-off distance was very precise, and he reached the highest point near the basket.

But that's all.

Although Du Zhe's take-off distance is farther than him, his bounce speed is faster, his time in the air is longer, and his bounce height is undoubtedly higher than Griffin's.

There is only a thin line between Griffin and the basket, but he can't get past this thin line.

"boom!"

Du Zhe used a clean big hat to push back the white monster.

Warriors fans who originally thought Du Zhe was going to be defeated suddenly burst into enthusiastic cheers, and the shouts of MVP resounded throughout the Oracle Arena.

Griffin collapsed on the ground, still recovering from the shock.

He has always been quite confident in his jumping, but the height, speed and ability to stay in the air that Du Zhe showed in that jump just now completely blew him away.

If the basketball goes out of bounds, the Clippers still have the ball.

After a simple tactic, Griffin caught the ball under the basket and prepared for a strong attack.

Unfortunately, before he could jump up, Du Zhe stood still because of the difference in wingspan.

After being blocked twice in one round, the anger in Griffin's eyes almost burst out.

Whether it was dynamic talent or static talent, he was completely crushed by Du Zhe.

Looking at Du Zhe, who was as unshakable as a towering ancient tree in front of him, Griffin felt shaken for the first time.But the game must go on.

In the next game, Griffin, who wanted to prove himself again, once again attacked the basket guarded by Du Zhe, but without exception, they were all blocked by Du Zhe.

At the end of the third quarter, Griffin, who was on the verge of collapse after being blocked, mustered up his last remaining courage and headed toward the basket without hesitation.

"Snapped!"

Not surprisingly, he was still greeted with a harsh hat.

This block completely destroyed Griffin's confidence.

He discovered that the bounces and explosive dunks he was most proud of turned out to be worthless in front of Du Zhe...

Facing the Warriors' counterattack, Griffin, who was slumped on the ground with his eyes distracted, mechanically followed his teammates back to defend.

But this is just a show. In fact, Griffin's mind is blank now. Faced with this situation because of his inexperience, he can only continue to play on the court like a walking zombie.

In other words, Griffin's Taoist heart completely collapsed in this contest with Du Zhe.

This is also a hurdle for Griffin. If he cannot overcome it, he will completely miss out on the top stars.

Clippers head coach Denagro was keenly aware of Griffin's changes, and quickly called a timeout to replace Griffin.

Griffin, who was substituted, covered his head with a towel in frustration and slumped on the bench without saying a word.

The media on the sidelines captured this scene in time.

Denagro knew that today's contest was a bit too early for Griffin, who had just stepped onto the professional stage.

He could only pray that this talented young man would be strong enough to break out of his cocoon and become a butterfly and get through this.

In the end, the Warriors once again defeated their opponents at their home court with a score of 106:88, winning their second consecutive victory since the start of the game.

In this basically unsuspicious game, the duel between Du Zhe and Griffin naturally became one of the few highlights.

However, contrary to the predictions of various media before the game, Griffin, the No. [-] overall pick, was unable to fight back under Du Zhe. The originally expected pin-point duel against Maimang turned into a simple one-sided defeat.

Fans who support Du Zhe naturally talk about his luxurious hot pot feast.

But Du Zhe's continuous high-profile performances have also made many people fearful. His appearance is like a dazzling star, eclipsing all other superstars in the American basketball world.

Many American fans who are self-centered began to criticize Du Zhe's too outstanding performance.

Although he won the championship all the way last season, he ultimately appeared as a challenger and climber in the eyes of American fans.

As a challenger, Du Zhe's image in the eyes of American fans is undoubtedly inspirational and worthy of respect.

But this season, when they found that the status of Du Zhe and the Warriors he led could not be shaken, many fragile American fans broke the defense.

Especially today, the scene where the local American genius Griffin was manipulated by Du Zhe deeply hurt the hearts of many American fans.

Griffin's talent is obvious to all, and he may, like Durant, become a leader in American basketball in the future.

But now, such a young talent has been severely beaten by Du Zhe.

Although strength is respected on the basketball court, American fans, who claim to be the best in the world of basketball, really cannot accept the NBA being ruled by an outsider.

It would be fine if this person was a European player, but Du Zhe comes from Asia, where basketball is weak.

For a time, the verbal and written criticism against Du Zhe began to rise again on the American Internet, and the vanguard in the vanguard was naturally the Los Angeles fans.

Of the two teams from Los Angeles, it goes without saying that the Lakers had a bad relationship with Du Zhe, and many fans of the Clippers were quite unhappy with Du Zhe after this battle.

In this way, the two fans who originally disliked each other are now standing in the same trench.

At this time, in the American basketball world, an anti-Du Zhe wave was undercurrent.

It was not only opponents but also teammates who were worried about Du Zhe's performance.

After LeBron James witnessed this brutal duel at close range, he increasingly felt that joining the Warriors was the right choice.

Otherwise, given his strength, if he really had to face off against Du Zhe, the scene would probably be ugly.

…………

Two days after defeating the Clippers, the Warriors headed to the road to prepare for a matchup with another Los Angeles team, the Lakers.

Although Kobe Bryant was reimbursed and the team did not make any major trades this summer, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. The Lakers can still maintain the majesty of the former giants.

Gasol and Bynum are on the inside, and the two of them can be considered a high-quality combination in the league.

Although Artest on the outside can't hide his downward trend, he is still a good defensive gate.

Coupled with the presence of Odom, a super sixth man, the Lakers' lineup as a whole is quite competitive.

It's just that compared with the past, the overall strength of the Western Conference's strong teams has further improved. Amidst the ebb and flow, there is still a big question mark as to whether the Lakers can enter the playoffs this year.

In the first two games, the Lakers lost both games. After losing Kobe, the team seemed to suddenly not know how to play.

The triangle offense that they relied on in the past suddenly has no one to end the offense.

In today's game, they faced the Warriors at their home court, and the Lakers were in danger.

Seeing that they are about to lose their first three games in a row, the morale of the Lakers team is sluggish, and they have completely lost the domineering and calmness of the former team of kings.

…………

Before the game, Lakers head coach Phil Jackson called Kobe Bryant.

"Kobe, today's game is very important to the team. If you have time, I hope you can come to the sidelines to watch the game."

"I believe the team members will be able to revive their morale when they see you!"

After hearing Jackson's words, Kobe on the other end of the phone was silent for a long time.

He knows it's his responsibility as a team leader to show up and boost morale when the team gets off to a bad start.

But why did he invite him to watch the game against the Warriors...

At the thought of witnessing Du Zhe beating his team, Kobe couldn't help but close his eyes in pain.

After an awkward silence.

"Okay...Phil, I'll go..." Kobe struggled to say these words, and then hung up the phone in pain.

(End of this chapter)