warrior godfather

Chapter 244 Meet the real chapter on the field
November 11, Chicago.

The Windy City in winter is worthy of this title. The cold wind howled past. Zhang Yu, who got off the bus, was blown head-on by the wind. He shrank his neck and walked quickly into the United Center with his head bowed.

"This terrible weather..." Jonathan, who was walking beside Zhang Yu, complained in a low voice, which happened to be heard by him.

Zhang Yu said softly:
"Let's go, I'm leaving here after playing tonight. Milwaukee is also very cold, but the wind is not as strong as Chicago."

"Ah, boss, I didn't mean that..." Jonathan froze, and quickly explained a few words. He didn't want Zhang Yu to think he was complaining about work.

Hearing Jonathan's flustered voice, Zhang Yu smiled and comforted him:

"There are still two days before I can go back to Auckland, and then I will have time to rest and work harder."

He understood Jonathan's complaints, not only Jonathan, everyone in the Warriors team should be in a bad mood today, including Zhang Yu himself.

Since defeating the Jazz at home on November 11, the Warriors have embarked on a five-game streak in the Eastern Conference.

On November 11, the Warriors traveled thousands of miles to Detroit on the shores of Lake Erie to challenge the Pistons away.

This season, the Pistons management still pinned their hopes on the "Prince" Rodney Stucky, thinking that he would be the team's savior, so they were still as bad as ever. The Warriors won this game effortlessly.

After the game, the Warriors flew to Toronto by special plane in the early morning, and they will challenge the Raptors back-to-back the next night.

The Raptors who lost Bosh are not weak, at least they are vulnerable. DeRozan has not succeeded in the top position. He only scored 11 points and 5 rebounds in the game against the Warriors, and his efficiency was not high. He was traded by the Warriors To the Raptors' Lowry, he performed very well.

His long-range shooting has been greatly improved compared to last season. Although it is not up to the level of his peak period, at least he will not be easily let go. He scored 17 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. The comprehensive data has caused a lot of trouble for the old club.

Lowry's performance is not a flash in the pan. Since the start of the new season, he has averaged 14.5 points, 5.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. Team focus.

But the strength of the Raptors was insufficient after all, and the whole game was more than 10 points behind their opponents. In the end, the Warriors beat the Raptors 114:96 and won the game.

It is worth mentioning that in the post-match interview, Lowry specifically thanked the Warriors for training him, especially Zhang Yu for his guidance, which made him understand the importance of shooting and has been practicing shooting hard. A big reason for rising to prominence with the Raptors.

But back-to-back is just the beginning of the Warriors' Eastern road trip. After defeating the Raptors and winning 7 consecutive victories, the Warriors flew from Toronto to New York non-stop.

The Knicks this season are no longer a useless "mud". The joining of Stoudemire has allowed the Knicks to have an All-Star player in his prime again after many years. D'Antoni also took office in the Big Apple City, New York It has been a long, long time since fans have felt the taste of hope again like this summer.

And the Knicks did not let the fans look forward to it in vain. After the start of the new season, they achieved a record of 5 wins and 2 losses, ranking third in the Eastern Conference. Although no one knows when they will fall, New York fans finally saw the ball. The hope of the team's rise.

In this game, the Warriors also unfortunately became the ghosts of the Knicks. The continuous long-distance air commuting and back-to-back games made the Warriors exhausted and in poor condition. Insufficient, no targeted tactics deployed.

In this case, the Warriors were caught off guard at the beginning of the game, trailing the Knicks by as much as 14 points, and then tried hard to recover the score, but to no avail. The basket at Madison Square Garden seemed to have blocked the Warriors. Inside, the Warriors players couldn't make any shots, and fell behind by 21 points after the first half.

In the third quarter, the generals of the Warriors finally recovered, but they still couldn't prevent the Knicks' offense.

In the first 4 minutes of the fourth quarter, the bench lineups of the two sides were evenly matched. The two points recovered by the Warriors were returned by the Knicks. In the game, the Warriors finally lost the game 96:110.

The reason why Zhang Yu did this is also very simple. The game against the Knicks was held last night. After the game, the Warriors immediately flew from New York to Chicago to prepare for the game against the Bulls tonight.

That's right, in the Warriors' five consecutive trips to the East, there were actually two back-to-backs!
This is also the reason why the Warriors’ opponents, except for the Bulls, are all underdogs in the East, but they are still the devil’s schedule, and the league also makes it puzzling for the Warriors to come to the Great Lakes to play the Pistons first, and then go to Toronto, Canada to play the Raptors , and then flew to New York on the east coast, and finally returned to Lake Michigan, and went to Milwaukee, which is only 600 kilometers away from Detroit, to play the Bucks for the last game, highlighting a twists and turns. .

To be able to send out such a tossing schedule, with two back-to-backs in the middle, the league office also took great pains. Their work attitude that fully considers the players quickly won the unanimous "praise" from the entire Warriors team. These days, the Warriors players There is no less show of indifference to the alliance.

But no matter how much he talks in private, the game still has to continue. Zhang Yu strategically gave up the game against the Knicks yesterday in preparation for winning today's game against the Bulls.

Unlike the negligent research on the Knicks, Zhang Yu ordered the scouting department to pay close attention to the Bulls' movements at the beginning of the season, collect the videotapes of each of their games, cut them carefully, and carefully analyze their tactics.

Not only the Bulls, but the Warriors scouting department is very concerned about the games of the Lakers, Mavericks, Spurs, Thunder, Celtics, Heat, Magic and other strong teams. These are the potential opponents of the Warriors in the playoffs, especially the Western Conference. Several teams, public relations departments and scouting departments even carefully collect news reports and trade rumors related to them every day to evaluate the stability of their locker room, the character of their coaches and players, and fully prepare for future games.

Zhang Yu doesn't know how other teams do it, but he believes in the principle of "know yourself and know your enemy, and you can win a hundred battles". , but opportunities are always reserved for those who are prepared. If you wait until the time to sharpen your guns, it will definitely be too late.

Therefore, Zhang Yu attaches great importance to this game against the Bulls. This is one of the only two opportunities for the Warriors and the Bulls to meet in the regular season this season. After this game, the next game between the two sides will have to wait nearly three months later. It's February 3th.

The Bulls, currently ranked first in the Eastern Conference with 5 wins and 2 losses, are the first really strong team the Warriors have encountered this season, and it is also a good opportunity to test the Warriors. The video of the game made full preparations for tonight's game, and even neglected the study of the Knicks to a certain extent.

After coming to the locker room of the United Center, Zhang Yu made it clear to the players what he meant:
"How strong the Bulls are, I won't go into details. I have repeatedly emphasized how to play tonight's game. The only thing you have to do is to win the game with all your strength. As long as you can win the Bulls today, you will have a day off tomorrow. , and after playing the Bucks and returning to Oakland, continue to have a day off!"

The players instantly became excited and shouted:
"Boss, don't worry, we will definitely win!!"

"Chong Chong Chong, for the holiday!"

"No one can stop me from going on vacation..."

Zhang Yu couldn't help smiling as he looked at the locker room, which looked like a group of demons dancing wildly.

No matter how much the salary of NBA players is, they are still laborers who rely on manual labor to make money, and as long as they are laborers, there is no one who does not want to take a vacation, especially if no deductions are made.

In many cases, the head coach does not need to pour much chicken soup. As long as there are two more days off, the players will naturally go on the field and work hard.

Of course, Zhang Yu can only do this when he holds the power. Generally, head coaches do not have the right to give players a holiday. They can't do it even if they want to use the holiday to motivate the players.

……

Just when the Warriors players were motivated by Zhang Yu's few words, Thibodeau was also giving a pre-match speech in the home team's locker room not far from the visiting team's locker room.

The rookie coach coached an NBA team for the first time this season, and he built the Bulls into an impregnable defensive team, currently ranking first in the league, and it is a time of prosperity.

But there was no smug expression on his face, but he always maintained a serious expression, which is the same as his ten-year assistant coaching career. Maybe only a wonderful defensive round by the Bulls can make him smile. .

At this time, he was looking around the bull generals solemnly, and said calmly:

"Although the Warriors just lost to the Knicks yesterday, that is not their true level. They are number one in the Western Conference and have won one more game than us. Everyone must cheer up, concentrate, and do a good job in every defense , we have a chance to win this game, we still stick to the established defensive strategy, I have said what we should pay attention to before, and now I want to emphasize it again, the first is the rebound..."

Later, Thibodeau explained in detail how to do a good job on the defensive end, including basic minor adjustments to the Warriors' offense, but briefly mentioned the offense at the end:
"...The Warriors' defense is also very strong, especially the combination of Chandler and No. 23 Draymond Green, which makes their inside defense tougher, but I believe in your impact, especially Derek, we still Try to attack the inside as much as possible, hit the ball to the basket, and at the same time look for opportunities in the middle distance, the three-pointer is just an option, there is really no chance to shoot a three-pointer..."

Finally, after a long speech, Thibodeau finished his pre-match arrangements, and it was time for the Bulls to enter the field for warm-up.

The Bulls players who had listened quietly for a long time breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly got up and left the locker room. It was absolutely torture to listen to Thibodeau talking in his flat voice for a long time before each game.

Although Thibodeau gained the support and conviction of everyone in a short period of time. His enthusiasm for basketball and obsession with work made the players believe in his professional ability, but his dry pre-match The speech was really boring, which made people want to skip this link.

But unfortunately, Thibodeau, who followed Rivers to win the championship, did not learn from Rivers the ability to give players chicken soup. He prefers to learn from Jeff Van Gundy, who he has followed for many years, and emphasizes defensive details before the game. Rather than containing some illusory slogans, even his disciples are a group of young players.

Among the Bulls players leaving the locker room, Rose was the last one. He lowered his head and walked silently. No one knew what this shy boy was thinking.

"Derek, this game depends on your performance."

There was a familiar voice in Rose's ear, and a familiar touch on his shoulder.

He looked up, and Thibodeau came to his side, patted his shoulder, and said earnestly.

Before every game, Thibodeau would say this to Rose.

"Okay, coach." Ross's expression didn't change much, but the corner of his mouth was slightly hooked, and he nodded.

After hearing Rose's answer, Thibodeau exhaled lightly as before, with a smile on his face:

"I can rest assured that."

Afterwards, the two fell silent tacitly, walked out of the locker room one after the other, and walked into the court, exactly the same as before the previous seven games.

But after walking a short distance, Rose suddenly asked:
"Coach, will we win this game?"

"Hmm..." Thibodeau turned his head, looked at Rose in surprise, pondered for a while, and said slowly, "I don't know, I can only say that if we defend well, we will have a chance to win any game. Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

Since Thibodeau coached the Bulls, Rose has never shown any doubts about victory, but today, he saw hesitation in Rose's eyes.

Rose raised his eyes slightly, looked into the distance, and said calmly:
"It's nothing, I just have a reason to win this game."

Yesterday's call with Curry comes to mind:

"Hey, Derek, I'm in Chicago, but it's a pity that I have to fight back to back with you, so I can't let you invite me to dinner."

"Didn't I invite you when you came to Chicago in May?"

"That's different, it has to be on the road."

"Actually, that's fine too, otherwise it would be a bit embarrassing to eat together after losing the game."

"That's right, I can't let you lose the game, and I have to pay for a treat. I will treat you next time."

"Stephen, it's you who are embarrassed, not me, because I will win."

"No, no, I don't think so. We won one more game than you, and we won the Lakers. Who are your opponents..."

"Goodbye, let's see Zhenzhang on the field!"

　Thank you for the half-dream, half-crazy, half-crazy m reward!
　　Well, the attempt to update the 8000 daily failed, I'm guilty...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)