warrior godfather

Chapter 287 Those who win the inside win the world, and defense wins the championship

After finishing the preparations, Zhang Yu and Jonathan left the office, took the elevator down to the first floor, left the office area, walked a long way through the internal passage, and came to the home team locker room.

Zhang Yu pushed the door open, and the players who entered were also preparing for the game.

Butler sat alone and put on his shoes seriously, while Whiteside, Danny Green and other players at the end of the bench chatted in low voices.

Green and Tyson Chandler discussed defensive tactics with great interest, while Kirilenko and Tony Allen listened and offered their opinions from time to time.

Jeremy Lin is asking Yi Jianlian for advice on Chinese pronunciation. He has been learning Chinese for a season. Although he is not very proficient, he is already able to communicate with Zhang Yu in simple Chinese.

Curry took a small bag of popcorn and tossed it one by one to eat. He had a great time by himself. Clay sat next to him and watched him eat the popcorn quietly, but his eyes didn't go away. Focus, don't know what to think.

When everyone saw Zhang Yu coming in, they greeted him one after another. Zhang Yu responded with a smile, came to the place where the coaching staff was standing, and had a final meeting with them before the game.

After a brief discussion, the coaching staff finally decided on the tactics to be used in the game and would not change them. Zhang Yu walked slowly to the players and chatted with them.

"Jimmy, fight hard, today is a tough battle, you need to play..."

"Tyson, what are you talking about? So happy, let's listen... Oh? Are you teaching Drummond your experience? In this case, Drummond, I also give you a piece of advice-you have to be right It’s Zach Randolph, he’s a star, you’re a rookie, the referee will definitely hold you tight, don’t argue with the referee…”

"Ah Lian, get ready, your playing time may not be too long today, but you have to give your best every minute of playing, which is completely different from the intensity of confrontation against the Thunder..."

"Jeremy, you played very well in the last round, and you will continue to work hard today. I have high hopes for you..."

Zhang Yu turned around and came to Curry. He nodded to Clay who was sitting there quietly, and he turned to look at Curry regardless of Clay's no response at all:

"Is the popcorn delicious?"

The popcorn in Curry's hand has bottomed out. He shrugged, poured the last handful of popcorn into his mouth, threw the bag into the trash can next to his seat, and complained:

"Boss, can you use another kind of popcorn? Why is the popcorn in the Oracle Center so unpalatable..."

Suddenly his eyes lit up and he said:

"Hey, boss, why don't you change the name sponsor of the arena!"

"Huh? What did you say?"

Curry carefully counted with his fingers:

"Boss, I ate all the popcorn from all the teams. The most delicious one is the Mavericks, then the Nets, the Heat can be shot in third, and the Oracle's is not bad, barely ranked. Let’s make it into the top ten, let’s not talk about the Lakers and Clippers, if it wasn’t for Ayesha in Los Angeles, I really don’t want to play at Staples…”

He clicked his lips in disgust, looked straight at Zhang Yu, and said:
"Look, the Mavericks and the Heat play at the American Airlines Center, and their popcorn is so delicious, let's change it to the American Airlines Center too!"

"Stephen, you really love to eat popcorn..." Zhang Yu's face was dark, "The title can't be changed for the time being, the contract signed by Oracle Group and the team will not expire until I build a new ball." After the embassy, ​​if American Airlines bids high, they can name it."

Curry's attention quickly shifted to the words "new arena" and exclaimed:

"New arena? Boss, are you going to build a new arena?!"

His voice was a little loud, which attracted the attention of several players nearby. Zhang Yu waved his hand and said:

"I just have this plan, and it's still far away from actually building an arena."

"Oh, well..." Curry was a little disappointed, but he immediately remembered another thing, and smiled happily:

"Hey, boss, I heard Ayesha talk about an interesting incident on the set during the video call with Ayesha yesterday..."

After chatting with Curry, Zhang Yu gathered all the players together, boosted their morale, and finally emphasized the tactics of this game:

"When defending, pay attention to shrinking the inside line. You can miss three points, but you must guard the penalty area. This is the basis for us to win. You should know who can let go and who can't let go. If you forgot, look at your hand again. According to the scout report here, if anyone releases someone who should not be released, or jumps on someone who shouldn’t, just wait for the training volume to be doubled tomorrow!"

Everyone nodded again and again, Zhang Yu continued:
"The core of the offense is two words - screen, whether it is a pick-and-roll or a pass, the inside players must make a solid screen. Screening is the foundation of everything. We have to target the Grizzlies inside for 48 minutes and let them defend. Consume their stamina, if they don't come out, shoot them to death! You have also practiced the changes after the cover in the past two days, whoever blocks the person will stand still, and the amount of training will be doubled tomorrow!"

Everyone relaxed a lot when they heard this sentence. In the training content of the Warriors in the past two years, the movement of off-ball players has always been the focus. They have initially cultivated the awareness of active running. However, space has not been considered an important reason for congestion.

After Zhang Yu finished speaking, the players left the locker room and came to the court to warm up.

Many spectators have been sitting in the auditorium one after another. They skillfully put on the T-shirts covering the back of the chairs and watch the players warm up. Most of their eyes are focused on Curry.

Under the eyes of everyone, Curry started his fancy operation.

He came near the bottom line and took the two basketballs passed to him by the trainer. First, he dribbled the two balls vertically at the same time, then pulled the balls horizontally in the same direction, then pulled the balls horizontally in the opposite direction, and then pulled the balls in the same direction. Pull the ball vertically... until one ball is dribbled under the crotch + one ball is changed in front, and finally one ball is changed in front + one ball is changed in the back. The whole process of dribbling is extremely powerful, the dribbling speed is extremely fast, and the rhythm changes Unpredictable, the action is clean and neat, and it is highly ornamental, causing many fans to exclaim.

Subsequently, Curry conducted pass training, full-distance throwing training within the three-point line, fixed-point shooting training, and jumping and squatting shooting training. There are very few, almost every goal is hollow into the net, the whole process is smooth and pleasing to the eye.

But this is not what the fans want to see the most. After these trainings, Curry picked up the basketball and slapped it towards the player tunnel. Applause also rang out.

When Curry came to the entrance of the player tunnel, almost everyone in the audience looked at him, including the Grizzlies warming up in the opposite half and Hollins standing on the other side of the technical table.

Curry handed the ball to Oracle Center court security Johnson, who took the basketball and shouted loudly with a smile:
"Are you ready, Stephen?"

In his rookie season, Curry made a bet with him before a home game that he could make a three-pointer from the entrance of the player tunnel. Li has always maintained this habit.

Curry nodded, and Johnson passed the ball. After receiving the ball, Curry took two steps, raised his hand and threw it from his chest. The long distance from the entrance to the basket, under the eyes of everyone, fell straight into the net!
"Oh oh oh~"

"Yeah!!"

"Stephen, can you sign me, you are so handsome!"

After the goal was scored, the audience in the front row, including the fans who came down from the top of the mountain to watch Curry warm up, clamored. Curry himself also excitedly clapped security Johnson and ran around the half court.

But when the audience was crazy about Curry's ultra-long three-pointer, Hollins frowned as he watched Curry and his trainer play basketball like bowling, football or even golf on the other side of the court.

He is a very traditional old-school coach. He governs the team like an army and has very strict requirements on the players under his command. Even a well-known assassin like Randolph can be trained by him to be a model veteran. Behavior is very offensive.

Like Larry Brown, he believes that players should regard the game as a war and treat the game with the most serious attitude, rather than playing "happy basketball".

In Hollins' mind, basketball cannot be happy. If he wants to win the championship, he must go through a painful and long struggle.

But it is Curry, the representative of happy basketball in the new generation, that makes Hollins feel the most difficult.

After the Grizzlies eliminated the Spurs, Hollins began to watch the Warriors game video that night and studied it until late at night. The next day, he discussed repeatedly with the coaching staff, but he was still at a loss for Curry.

The image of Curry's repeated military training with Ibaka in the first round was deeply imprinted in Hollins' mind. The Grizzlies played four games against the Thunder in the regular season. He knew Ibaka's defensive ability very well. Ibaka, who is known for switching defenses, allowed Curry to score 35.1 points, 5.3 assists and 4.7 rebounds on his head. Curry's first-round performance was crazy, unmatched by all stars.

Hollins thought again about Randolph and Marc Gasol's big defense and small ability...

No, he didn't dare to think about it at all. Black and White Shuangsha's powerful low-post offensive ability is based on weight and strength, and this happens to be the biggest disadvantage when defending outside players.

What makes Hollins most helpless is that the Grizzlies' offense is completely centered on the Twin Towers. He knows that the two are at a disadvantage in defense, but he dare not withdraw them, and the Grizzlies' offense will collapse.

This is only a problem on the inside. If the Grizzlies have a strong defensive player on the outside, they can also limit Curry, but Mike Conley is still immature, Battier is a striker, and he is not suitable for defending Curry in the whole game. When Lin Si had a headache, he also regretted it very much.

If the Grizzlies could sign Tony Allen last summer, he wouldn't have to worry so much, but Tony Allen not only didn't come to the Grizzlies, but signed a contract with the Warriors. He didn't need to think about it, Coach Z would definitely reuse Tony Allen Len, who came to guard the Grizzlies' perimeter players, made him feel double regret.

In the past two days, Hollins racked his brains, but he still couldn't think of a good way to defend Curry. In the end, he stopped thinking about it.

As a defensive champion in the player era, the ferocity accumulated over the years made Hollins make up his mind to take me as the main player, and use the inside offense that represents the traditional glory of the NBA and the tough and iron-blooded strangulation defense to compete with the Warriors He didn't believe that Curry could keep going.

After decades of professional career, Hollins chose to believe in the basketball concept that brought him championships, All-Stars and head coach positions after some inner doubts and worries.

Those who win the inside win the world, and the defense wins the championship.

It's just that Hollins seems to have ignored one thing intentionally or unintentionally. Although the Grizzlies have inside and defense, the Warriors don't only have shooting.

……

The warm-up time soon came to an end, the Oracle Center was gradually filled with spectators, the atmosphere in the arena became hotter, the fans were still immersed in the frenzy of defeating the Thunder in the first round, and the Warriors played again in the second round The Grizzlies ranked eighth in the Western Conference, which made them even more excited. They seemed to have seen the Warriors advance to the Western Conference Finals, but they completely forgot that the Spurs, which were defeated by the Grizzlies Black Eight, were the strongest team in the Western Conference.

"The starting lineups of the two teams have come to the field. The Warriors are still the starting combination of Curry, Clay, Butler, Green and Chandler. The main lineup of the Grizzlies has not changed compared with the first round. Mike Conley, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Sam Young and OJ Mayo are the combination that Hollins has used for six games, and it is also their most common starting lineup in the regular season..."In such a fiery atmosphere In the middle, Mike Brin's voice was subconsciously amplified.

The game was broadcast by ESPN, and they sent a team of Mike Breen and Jeff Van Gundy to the Oracle Center for a live broadcast.

Mike Breen quickly and clearly introduced the situation of the two teams:
"From the point of view of statistics alone, there is undoubtedly a huge gap between the starting players of the two teams. Curry is the scoring leader in the regular season. He even staged a crazy scoring performance of 35+ in the first round against the Thunder. In the first round, they only scored 21+9, while Marc Gasol had a double-double of 14+12. There is a big gap with Curry in terms of scoring. Of course, their strength lies in defense, not just scoring."

Jeff Van Gundy nodded and said:

"This has something to do with the difference in the opponents of the two teams in the first round, but after the double inspection of the regular season and the playoffs, Curry is recognized as a super scorer, and everyone is looking forward to it. He faced the Grizzlies, which are known for their defense. , What kind of performance can they play. And Randolph and Marc Gasol, as the famous twin tower combination, the collision between them and the defensive champion Chandler will largely determine the direction of this round of the series... ..."

"Okay, game on - Marc Gasol beats Chandler for a jump ball, the Grizzlies get the ball on first down, the ball goes to Mike Conley..."

With Mike Breen watching, Mike Conley dribbles across half court and the Grizzlies attack.

(End of this chapter)