warrior godfather

Chapter 169 I really doubt whether you have the level of NBA players

After beating the Warriors, the Spurs played another 10 games. During this period, they first won two games in a row, followed by a two-game losing streak, then a three-game winning streak, and then a three-game losing streak. They played very steadily. It still ranks eighth in the Western Conference.

This time the two teams met, Popovich did not resort to the strategy of flanking Curry, and "Ludo" fell sharply.

And his choice was not wrong. After Curry experienced the outbreak at the beginning of the season, he ushered in a relatively sluggish period, and his hand feeling was not very good.

Although the Spurs' defense against him was not particularly tight, he only contributed 18 points and 5 assists in a satisfactory manner. He made 10 of 4 three-pointers. Compared with Curry's previous explosive performance, he undoubtedly wants to go far.

But the Warriors don't rely entirely on Curry to win the game now. Zhang Yu gave Azubuike, Reggie Williams, and Butler a lot of ball rights, and arranged for them to repeatedly attack the Spurs' weak forward defense, with remarkable results.

Although Duncan sits on the inside, no matter how strong he is in assisting defense and protecting the frame, he cannot defend all the opponents alone. His inside partner McDyess is a veteran over 35 years old and can't even jump. Playing with experience and awareness, facing the new force of the Warriors, they are simply unable to parry, and the Spurs can only rely on Duncan to support them inside.

But the Tigers couldn't stand up to the wolves. Although Duncan was brave, he quickly lost sight of one thing and lost the other in the face of the Warriors' repeated attacks.

Although Duncan turned around and blasted Biedrins in the low post, Parker and Ginobili also played bravely, but the firepower output was not as good as that of the Warriors.

In the end, the Warriors scored in double figures with 6 players, punched the old master to death, and defeated the Spurs 92:86.

Although the point difference is not big, it was a very tragic hand-to-hand battle. Relying on the young and energetic players, Zhang Yu maintained a high-intensity threat to the Spurs inside for 48 minutes and dragged down the Spurs. These old people won the victory.

The Warriors maintained a slight lead in the score and did not give the Spurs a chance.

After the game, when Zhang Yu and Bobo shook hands, they smiled and said:
"Greg, welcome to Oakland, would you like a drink?"

Popovich's face was livid, and he was obviously not as graceful as he was after winning.

The old man snorted coldly and said:

"Don't be complacent, we were just unlucky in this game, and it won't be the same result next time."

"I'm looking forward to the next matchup between the Warriors and the Spurs." Zhang Yu kept a faint smile on his face.

Old guy, let me win once, and I will let you experience the "winner's demeanor".

"Of course, be prepared..." Popovich nodded, and said seemingly casually, "That Butler in your team seems to be interesting. The Warriors have no shortage of strikers, right? What do you want me to do? "

Zhang Yu froze for a moment, then said with a smile:

"How about Ginobili? I'm short of a sixth man."

Popovich was also stunned, he shook his head and laughed:
"Manu is my old buddy, I'm afraid not... How about Jordan Hill? He has potential, he has performed very well, he is very suitable for the sixth man role, if it is not for Manu, I will definitely keep him It's a win-win situation, and it happens that you and I can make decisions, so think about it carefully."

Popovich looked very sincere, shook Zhang Yu's hand vigorously, and patted his arm twice with his left hand, showing that he was thinking about him.

Zhang Yu withdrew his hand calmly, and said with a fake smile:
"Then Parker, I think he and Stephen should be good in the backcourt."

When Popovich heard this, the smile on his face disappeared:
"I'll go back and think about it."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

Zhang Yu looked at Popovich's back with a smile on his face, and did not forget to say goodbye:
"Greg, don't forget to drink a glass of wine when you get back and get a good night's sleep."

Popovich paused, then quickened his pace and left quickly.

Hehe, old fox, wants to get wool from me, dreaming.

Zhang Yu entertained Popovich for a while, and the team won tonight, and he was in a good mood.

The reason why the Spurs are only ranked eighth in the West now is that the crux of the problem is that no one is available on the front line.

Wolves are generally called "copper-headed iron-boned tofu waist", and the Spurs are the same. There is no shortage of stars in the back line and inside line, but there is a great shortage of strikers. There is only one Richard Jefferson to look at, but in the season The high-end game in the post-match is difficult to be a big task.

If it weren't for helplessness, Popovich would not be willing to let the 33-year-old Duncan support the Spurs' defense alone, but he really has no choice. Apart from Duncan, there is really no one under his command to rely on.

In addition to being a defensive pillar, Duncan is also the thigh of the Spurs on the offensive end. At his age, taking on such a heavy responsibility consumes a lot of energy and his state fluctuates a lot. This is why the Spurs won a game and lost a game. s reason.

Popovich is also well aware of this, gradually shifting the tactical axis to the outside, but it still takes time to construct a new tactical system, and also needs to fill in the lack of forward defense. It has been adjusted for a long time, and it can be said that it has withdrawn from the championship sequence in the past two or three years.

Popovich has been worrying about where to find the answer to the Spurs' front line. It was not until he saw Butler that his eyes lit up. He was very satisfied with him and wanted to test Zhang Yu's attitude towards Butler.

From Zhang Yu's mocking answer, Popovich knew that Butler was not for sale for the Warriors. Even if it wasn't, it was unlikely that Zhang Yu would give him to a competitor in the same district, so he had to find another way.

The old man walked out of the Oracle Center, looked up at the twinkling stars in the sky, and his eyes flickered a few times. He took out his mobile phone from his pocket, called RC Buford, the general manager of the Spurs, and said in a low voice:
"How about the small forward I asked you to pay attention to, is there a suitable candidate?"

"San Diego State has a freshman who fits our profile and is doing well in the NCAA."

Popovich stared:
"What's his name?"

"Kawhi Leonard."

……

Every family has a hard-to-read scripture. When Popovich was the right small forward candidate and sent the Spurs' scouting team to search for talents in the United States, and finally saw a glimmer of light, the Warriors suffered another defeat.

After defeating the old and solid Spurs, the Warriors unexpectedly lost to the underdog Wizards in the East, continuing the rhythm of winning one game and losing one game.

There is nothing to say about this game. The Warriors team feels sluggish. The basket at the Oracle Center seems to have put a cover on the home team. Not only is Curry showing signs of recovery, he only made 9 of 2 three-pointers, and the others added up to 17-pointers. He made 5 of 30 shots, less than [-]% from the field, and all kinds of layups were also bizarre, giving the Wizards a victory.

After losing this game, the Warriors went to Memphis to challenge the Grizzlies away, and they played a game that Zhang Yu was very dissatisfied with.

I don't know if it's because of the approaching Christmas. The Warriors players are collectively out of shape. Except for Butler and Curry, who went all out as usual, everyone else looked absent-minded, as if their minds were not on the court.

The Warriors were interrupted and taken off in various ways on the offensive end, and there was an 8-second violation that Zhang Yu could not tolerate. The audience sent an astonishing 26 turnovers, setting a record for the number of turnovers in a single game in the season.

And in turn, they were blown away by the Grizzlies' black and white Shuangsha on the defensive end. Zhang Yu even called several timeouts, repeatedly emphasized tactics, and even cursed loudly, but it was useless. Later, he was so angry that he directly let the first The three teams played the fourth quarter, and finally let the Grizzlies beat the Warriors 96:78.

When Zhang Yu was interviewed after the game, the reporter asked him:
"Coach Z, at the end of the third quarter, the Warriors were only down by 10 points. It's not that there is no chance of a comeback, but you are in the third team. Why did you do that?"

Zhang Yu said expressionlessly:
"I'm the head coach and I want to do it, that's all."

"Are you dissatisfied with the starter's mistakes?" The reporter asked.

"No, they are just a little tired. It has nothing to do with who I send to the field. They do make a lot of mistakes, but this will not happen again in the future. I believe they will be able to adjust quickly." Zhang Yu understated brought this topic to the past.

But he showed a calm appearance in front of the media and tried his best to defend his players, but after returning to the locker room, his face immediately became gloomy.

He looked around the locker room coldly. Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to look at him. He slammed the tactical board to the ground with a loud bang, which startled everyone and looked up. .

They have never seen Zhang Yu get so angry. It is not that the Warriors have never lost before. When they made mistakes in training, Zhang Yu also got angry, but he just yelled a few words, but he was not like today. With a murderous aura, he shot two cold lights, making the players who were glanced at feel as if they were being held back by two sharp daggers, and their hairs stood up.

Only Curry and Butler saw Zhang Yu like this when they were in college, and they knew that the boss was really angry, so they sat there obediently. Although they performed the best in this game, they didn't dare out, for fear of being noticed by Zhang Yu.

They remembered that after the game when the bulldog team was in a sloppy state, they were first ridiculed by Zhang Yu, then scolded bloody, and finally they were arranged to overload the training volume, and they felt the feeling of wanting to die , Since then, no one dared to distract in the game.

At that time, Zhang Yu was just a head coach, and under the pressure of the basketball operation department and the board of directors, he took up the time of the Bulldogs players for extra training. Now he is the boss and the head coach. Knowing what punishment he's going to inflict gives their teammates long memories.

After Zhang Yu broke the tactical board, he didn't say anything. Instead, he was silent for a while before saying coldly:
"I'm very disappointed with your performance!"

He paused for a moment, kicked the tactical board hard against the wall, and made a loud "bang", everyone was caught off guard and trembled.

"It's nothing to lose, it's nothing to miss a shot, it's a normal phenomenon, no one can guarantee that a game will not lose, every night you hit every shot...but you guys sent 26 turnovers, this is simply crime!"

Zhang Yu's voice gradually increased:

"We don't play pass and cut. You don't need to find teammates for every ball! The Grizzlies are not a very aggressive defensive team. On the contrary, their defensive strategy is very conservative! In this case, you can actually send out With so many mistakes, I really doubt if you have the level of NBA players!"

Everyone shrank their heads and fell silent under his roar, not daring to refute, and they also knew how badly they played.

"I don't know if you are all focused on Christmas, but I can tell you clearly that if the next game against the Hornets cannot be won, I will also arrange training on Christmas Day, and it will exhaust you training!"

Everyone looked up at Zhang Yu in surprise, showing an unbelievable look.

That was Christmas, a festival to celebrate the birth of Jesus, how could training be arranged!

Zhang Yu showed a "gentle" smile:

"Why are you so surprised? Don't forget, I'm from Huaxia, but at Christmas, if you can't beat the Hornets, I will do what I say! Anyone who doesn't want to come is fine. Don't even think about playing this season, you can stay at home every day spend Christmas!"

His tone was cold, and everyone felt even colder after hearing it.

Zhang Yu is not another head coach. He is the owner of the Warriors. If he says that they are not allowed to come, then they really don't have to come.

After he finished speaking, he glanced coldly for another week, turned and left the dressing room, and closed the door heavily with a "bang".

In the room, everyone looked at each other, and it was Silas who broke the deadlock:

"Although Ronan's words were very serious, he was only very angry for a while. After all, you did make a lot of mistakes... I don't think he will arrange such a heavy training for you, but if you really lose to the Hornets, Forget about Christmas break."

His understatement not only did not comfort the Warriors players, but made them even more frightened.

"So, guys, focus, win the Hornets, and go back to Oakland and have a pleasant Christmas!" Silas laughed.

Curry looked at the crowd and saw that no one had the intention to speak, so he stood up first:

"The boss didn't make it difficult for us. The Hornets are only ninth in the West. Everyone cheer up, we must be fine!"

Big Z followed up and said:

"We have to make up for today's poor performance...Come on, take the Hornets!"

The words of the two made the others more or less ashamed.

In this game, they were the two most stable players. Curry's state improved further. He scored 24 points and 7 assists, and made 45 three-pointers with a 4% shooting rate. Big Z scored 11 points and 12 rebounds. Double-double, performance is also very good, but now like everyone else, facing the danger of being punished.

Azubuike stood up and shouted:

"Take down the Hornets and go home for Christmas!"

Everyone got up one after another, formed a circle, and roared out loudly:

"Take down the Hornets and go home for Christmas!"

Outside the dressing room, Zhang Yu leaned against the wall, and when he heard the faint shouts coming from the room, he smiled and walked away quickly.

(End of this chapter)