warrior godfather

Chapter 175 I need a center, a top defensive center! (5000 words)
Oakland, CA, Glenview Community.

At seven o'clock in the morning, the alarm clock rang. Zhang Yu opened his eyes, sat up, and stretched comfortably.

After spending Christmas Eve at Green's house, he returned to Oakland. Just as the Dell family came to Golden State, Zhang Yu went to spend Christmas.

This is the second Christmas he has spent with the Curry family, and they naturally welcome Zhang Yu very much. Although it may seem strange to spend this holiday with people other than his family, the Curry family has long since Zhang Yu is regarded as an outsider.

Jonathan naturally returned to his home by plane directly from Michigan. The overtime hours this time were not too long, which made Jonathan heave a sigh of relief. His mother fired at him several times and urged him to go home quickly.

Zhang Yu opened the thick curtains, snowflakes were floating outside the window, the ground, trees, and buildings were all white, with a thick layer of snow accumulated, and low-hanging gray clouds in the sky.

Auckland's climate is relatively mild, but this year it encountered a rare heavy snow, which added a touch of warmth to this Christmas with the snow outside the window and the laughter inside.

Since it was going to be Christmas, Tina also went home, so Zhang Yu could only simply make some breakfast, and after eating, he drove to the Oracle Arena.

Although the Warriors don't need to play the Christmas game, they need to face the Suns who came to challenge tonight.

As of now, the Suns rank third in the West with a record of 19 wins and 11 losses. The top two are the Lakers and Mavericks who have played extremely stable since the start of the game.

Nash is like an ageless monster, still firmly occupying the throne of the first point guard, leading the Suns to set off a storm of running and bombing in the league, which reminds people of the previous wind son who dominated the league.

Although he only averaged 17.4 points per game, he was able to send out a terrifying 12.5 assists. His passing ability has been perfected, and his shooting percentage is 50.7%+43.2%+93.8%, reaching 180 clubs, which is extremely efficient.

So even though Curry played a very good performance, the three-point production and efficiency are scary, but many fans still insist that Nash is a stronger shooter than Curry, the reason is that his efficiency is too high, He doesn't score much, just because he doesn't want to shoot.

This statement has won the approval of many people, but Zhang Yu does not agree with it.

Throughout Nash's entire career, he has maintained extremely high efficiency, with a low number of assists but a stagnant scoring output. He has never broken through 19 points in a single season.

His high efficiency is the result of careful shot selection. It is definitely not intentional non-shooting. No player will deliberately suppress his scoring output. Nash's ability lies there. He is a super point guard, but not a top scorer. .

As a helmsman, he can lead a team to victories and triumphs, but he can't take the ball at the critical moment, make a final decision, and end the game.

That's the crux of building teams around traditional point guards.

They are the engine of the team, the core of the team's offensive system, and the people with the greatest offensive influence on the field. They can fully drive their teammates and play an overall offense like mercury.

But under the intensity of the playoffs and the finals, the opponent will not give you the space to pass the ball. It is necessary for the star to stand up and score. Traditional point guards cannot do this. Their scoring ability is not strong enough. Scoring 30+ in one game, but unable to maintain a stable output of 30+ per game in a round of series.

This is also an important reason why the Nets with Kidd as the core and the Suns with Nash as the core cannot go to the end. The magician and assassin can win the championship because they have strong enough teammates around them.

This is also where Curry is different from them. No one will double-team traditional point guards. Opponents can't wait for them to attack by themselves throughout the game and don't pass the ball to teammates once. When facing Curry, opponents will resolutely double-team. Clamp him and don't give him a chance to make a move.

Of course, Curry is not as scary as he was at his peak, but his outburst against the Lakers made other teams frightened and attacked Curry one after another. Zhang Yu only hoped that this wave of heat would pass quickly. Otherwise, the Warriors' offense will be very uncomfortable.

Due to the heavy snow, Zhang Yu drove very slowly, and it took a full half an hour to arrive at the Oracle Arena.

When he entered the training hall, the players had already arrived and were training under the guidance of Silas and Ron Adams.

Zhang Yu looked at Silas, who had personally come off the field to demonstrate to Butler, and laughed.

He is very satisfied with his chief assistant coach. Silas has a gentle personality, is good at handling the relationship with players, is very good at guiding players in training, is keen on tactical details, and is very qualified as an assistant coach.

But he has a flaw, that is, his ability to adapt on the spot is relatively poor, but Zhang Yu is the one who makes decisions for the Warriors. This is not a flaw for Silas, as long as he is not the head coach.

In Zhang Yu's previous life, he went to the Rockets as the head coach. He had a very poor record in the first season and successfully helped the Rockets get the second pick.

Although the Rockets' strategy that season was to play poorly and losing was the result the management wanted, there is still a big difference between losing and losing.

The Rockets under the coach of Silas, the loss is meaningless. In addition to letting young players let go of the game, the team's offensive and defensive systems can be said to be a mess, and no progress can be seen. A bad team like Daigo can't be compared.

On the other hand, under the leadership of Kerr, the Warriors also performed poorly for a season and got the second pick, but the Warriors make people feel that this is a team with a system and a solid foundation, and the loss in a season is just accidental. , It is still a strong team in its bones.

He didn't disturb the players' training, but just looked around the field and found that the players were in very good spirits after spending a holiday, so he went upstairs.

He came to his office, picked up the newspaper that Jonathan had put on the table, and flipped through it.

There were five games in yesterday's Christmas War, the most eye-catching of which was naturally the "23vs24" peak matchup.

In this game where the Cavaliers went to Los Angeles to challenge the Lakers, Kobe scored 35 points, but only made 33 of 11 shots, and his efficiency was terrible.

On the opposite side, James scored 26 points, Mo Williams turned into a super sixth man and scored 27 points, and Stephen Jackson also scored 17 points. Only Monta Ellis played abnormally and only scored 13 points, but it was enough for the Cavaliers to win The next game.

This victory also consolidated the Cavaliers' No. [-] ranking in the league, followed by the Lakers.

Zhang Yu carefully read the report on the game, then found the replay of the game from the computer, and focused on Monta Ellis' performance.

Looking at it, a smile gradually appeared on the corner of his mouth.

The Cavaliers draft pick in his hand must be worth a lot.

Monta Ellis couldn't break through Kobe's defense at all. Even if he broke through, it would be difficult to finish facing the Twin Towers. And he was never a player who was good at three-pointers. He shot a few three-pointers outside. It all ended in blacksmithing.

The Cavaliers' opponents in the playoffs are mainly the Magic and the Celtics, both of which are strong defensive teams. Zhang Yu doesn't think Monta Ellis can perform well under that kind of intensity.

And Mo Williams has already proved that he is useless in the playoffs, and Wu Sheng is no longer young. Don't look at the fact that the regular season is monstrous, but when the playoffs see the real chapter, James should cry.

The other few games were less popular than the Cavaliers vs. Lakers. The Celtics beat the Magic in a strong dialogue, and the Heat beat the Knicks. Zhang Yu just glanced at it and put it aside.

None of these Eastern teams are competitors of the Warriors. Only the games between the Nuggets and the Trail Blazers and the Suns against the Clippers made Zhang Yu focus on it.

In addition to the Clippers, the other three teams are direct competitors for the playoffs with the Warriors. Zhang Yu always pays attention to their movements. The team’s video analysis room has stored a lot of their game videos. When you meet them, you can use them directly.

Zhang Yu asked Jonathan to find the video of the Suns game against the Clippers, and he studied it carefully.

In this game, the Suns bloodbathed the Clippers with 124:93. Under Nash's dispatch, 7 Suns scored in double figures. The scene was very brutal. , scored 15 points efficiently, blowing up the Clippers inside.

Zhang Yu looked at the cooperation between Nash and Stoudemire over and over again, and his expression gradually became serious.

Then he asked Jonathan to find the video of the game between the Lakers and the Cavaliers, fast-forward to watch it, and carefully watched the round of James attacking the frame and the Lakers' twin towers in the low post.

Finally, Zhang Yu glanced at the time, unknowingly more than three hours had passed, and it was 11:[-]. He leaned back, leaned on the chair, and fell into deep thought.

Zhang Yu has a plan for the future of the Warriors.

He doesn't expect to achieve any good results this year. As long as he can reach the playoffs, he is high enough. He mainly uses the game to train the young people in the team, especially Curry and Butler.

Many players in the Warriors are not in Zhang Yu's plan and are destined to leave or be marginalized.

In Zhang Yu's mind, the iron triangle formed by Curry, Green, and Clay will be the cornerstone of the Warriors. If the Warriors want to truly build an offensive and defensive system, they need to wait until next year's draft.

It is impossible for him to leave a successful path and take a new path instead.

In his previous life, Clay participated in the 2011 junior year, while Green participated in the 2012 senior year. After that, it took two or three years to practice, allowing the Warriors to span several years. Formed a core lineup and then skyrocketed in 2014.

But the two didn't want to be older rookies, just because they were not favored, so they had no choice but to continue playing in the NCAA and participate in the draft after the data improved.

If possible, everyone would like to participate in the draft immediately after freshman year, earn money in advance, and get NBA training earlier.

After Zhang Yu made a promise to Green, of course Green would not be so stupid as to wait for his senior year before running for the election.

Faced with the personal recruitment of the Warriors owner and head coach, Green immediately stated that he would train hard according to Zhang Yu's request and sign up for this year's draft.

Mary Green even assured Zhang Yu that if Green couldn't reach his goal, she would break Green's leg.

After Green is settled, only Clay is left. Zhang Yu has ordered Larry Riley to arrange scouts to contact Clay and get preliminary feedback.

Clay is different from Green. Green is a short and strong power forward who is generally not favored by others. Even Hansbrough, who has killed all quarters in the NCAA, was selected by the Pacers with the No. 15 pick after his senior year, let alone Green.

And a shooter like Klay has always had a good market in the draft. He dragged himself into the draft until his junior year, not because he was worried that no team would pick him, but because he wanted to enter the NBA with a higher pick.

Clay's father, Mitchell Thompson, was also the No. [-] pick. He won the championship with the Lakers and has a lot of connections in the league. It is not difficult for him to enter the NBA.

So Clay's response was not as positive as Zhang Yu imagined. Mitchell Thompson, who was in charge of his draft, focused on the draft pick that the Warriors could give and the training plan for Clay, which scouts couldn't answer. , Zhang Yu could only ask Larry Riley to contact him.

This kind of old fritters in the NBA circle is destined not to be as easy to deal with as the Green family who are eager to change their destiny, but there is still plenty of time before next year's draft. I believe it will not be a problem to get Clay. After all, he is not a top pick like Irving Hot, the Warriors are still very attractive to him.

And if Clay, Green, and Butler can be successfully selected, the Warriors will have a solid team to build the team. After a good training, they can start the small ball era and compete with the pack in the Central Plains.

But there is a prerequisite for that, which is to make good use of the bonus of the rookie contract.

In the previous life, Clay and Green entered the league relatively late. Curry was frequently injured in the first few years of his career. After his rookie contract ended, he signed a child labor contract. The cost-effective contract of the three is an important factor in the rise of the Warriors.

And now that Curry has got rid of the fate of the glass man, Clay and Green are likely to enter the league after Curry. Their rookie contracts overlap. As, when they play out, the Warriors need to renew four potential new stars, and will soon become a high-paying team, with only basic salary and rookies around the four.

Although Zhang Yu opened his "eyes of the sky", rookies need to be cultivated, and the difficulty for the Warriors to compete for the championship will only increase.

Zhang Yu originally wanted to hoard some 3D players. This is a very scarce resource in the small ball era, and it also fits the Warriors' tactics very well.

But today he watched the game video from the perspective of a bystander, and he suddenly woke up. His strategic judgment seemed to be wrong.

Although he holds the nuclear arsenal that opened the small ball era and completely subverted the concept of basketball, this by no means means that the inside line is not important.

In his previous life, the next ten years belonged to James, Curry, Durant and Leonard. These four stood at the top of the league and won nine championships in this decade.

There is no doubt that James is the biggest winner. He broke into the finals in a total of 9 years, won 4 championships and 4 FMVPs, dominated the Eastern Conference, and secured the No.1 position in the league.

Looking at his opponents in the finals, of the 5 losses, except for the two years when he faced Yu Yuyong and had no chance, the other three were lost to teams with big centers.

The 2011 Mavericks had top defensive center Tyson Chandler, who was named Defensive Player of the Year the following year.

Not to mention the Spurs in 2014. Duncan, who was still young, was on the inside. In addition to sweeping the Cavaliers in 2007, Duncan has always been James' sufferer. In the 2013 finals, the Spurs only lost to the Heat.

The starting center for the Warriors in 2015 was Bogut. Although this person's personality and game quality are extremely poor, he is very strong on the defensive end.

It is worth mentioning that in the 2016 James Finals against the 73-win Warriors, Bogut injured his left knee in G5 and missed the next three games. The Cavaliers seized the opportunity and played three consecutive games. Completed a super big reversal when falling behind.

In the other two finals that James won, one was against the Thunder, with the little-known Patrick Perkins at the center position, and the other was against the Heat, with Adebayor at the center who was suitable for the small ball style. G1 was also affected. Injury, the performance after the comeback is not good.

It can be seen that James is most afraid of a team with a big center, especially James in the Cavaliers 1.0 and Heat 2.0 periods. At this time, there are not enough shooters around him, and there are flaws in the space. The existence of a big center can effectively contain it. his offense.

There is no doubt that James will not join the Warriors. He will be one of the biggest opponents of the Warriors in the future. If the Warriors want to reach the top, they must overcome James.

In this way, a defensive big center is an essential configuration. Zhang Yu will not forget that although James was swept 4:1 by Yu Yuyong once and 4:0 once, he played very well in the finals. Amazing performance, the data is very gorgeous, and the four famous catchers of Yu Yuyong took turns to fight, but none of them had very good results.

Zhang Yu watched the scene of James attacking the inside of the Lakers on the screen, but missed a layup under the interference of Bynum, which made Zhang Yu more determined in his mind that the team must have a big center!

Biedrins is good, but he can't guard James at all, which was very clear against the Lakers.

He is suitable for offense in the small ball era, and also suitable for defense in the small ball era, but he is not suitable for defending against James.

Green has basically been acquired by Zhang Yu. He will be the answer to the fifth position of the Warriors' small lineup. What the Warriors need is a heavy shield that can withstand the impact of James, not a light center like Biedrins.

Zhang Yu is a resolute person, otherwise he would not have personally recruited Green as a head coach. After he made a decision, he overturned his previous plan without the slightest hesitation, picked up his phone, and gave Larry Riley Dial it.

"Hey, boss, what's the matter?" Larry Riley's voice quickly sounded from the other side of the phone.

Zhang Yu said in a deep voice:
"Larry, I'm going to make a deal."

"Trading?" Larry Riley's voice was a little surprised, then he calmed down and asked, "What bargaining chips can we offer? Who is the target of the transaction?"

"I gave Andris and the draft picks, and what I need is a center, a top defensive center!"

　I watched a game today, I was a lot late, I am very sorry, 5000 words are here, and I still owe [-]...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)