warrior godfather

Chapter 321
Dec. 12, Oracle Center, 28:8 p.m.

After defeating the Bulls, the Warriors had a day off and will face the Knicks at home tonight.

The Warriors' early season schedule is not as tight as the Bulls', requiring a lot of back-to-backs, but it's not easy either.

Although the Warriors only had one back-to-back, they had only one day to rest against the Knicks and the 76ers at home, and then they had three consecutive games to challenge the Suns, Spurs, and Lakers. In terms of commuting, there is not much rest time, and after the Lakers, the Warriors will immediately return to the home court to face the Jazz back-to-back, and the rhythm is very tight.

This kind of encounter is not unique to the Warriors and Bulls. In the new season, the schedule of each team will become closer, and the average number of games per week will increase from 3.5 games in the past to 3.9 games. Playing about two extra games in a normal season and allowing for the necessary commuting time means that every team needs to play a lot of back-to-backs, and even at least one super back-to-back!
The grim face of the shortened season gradually revealed itself.

But this is not necessarily a bad thing for the Warriors.

……

After the start of the game against the Knicks, the Warriors quickly gained the upper hand.

Although the Knicks are sitting on the two front lines of Anthony and Stoudemire, their point guard is the little-known Tony Douglas, and Anthony only came to the Knicks in the second half of last season, and then the league fell into a suspension , He has not yet integrated into the team, the Knicks' offensive end has no coordination, and is full of a lot of individual singles.

The Warriors are best at defensive singles. Anthony's efficiency is mediocre under the strict defense of Butler and Leonard. Stoudemire is entangled with Green in the front and Chandler in the back. , And he can't play the face-to-frame offense that he is best at.

After the whole game, Stoudemire only made 14 of 5 shots and 10 of 6 free throws. He scored 16 points and 10 rebounds. His performance was very poor.

Anthony is a bit stronger, shooting 19 of 8 shots, 4 of 2 three-pointers, and 4 of 3 free throws. He scored 21 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, but his efficiency is very average and his output is not high enough to help the overall situation.

The Knicks' offense completely relied on the personal abilities of these two superstars. They were unable to play a strong individual performance, and the initiative immediately came to the Warriors. The pick-and-roll instigated by Li can easily penetrate the Knicks' defense and successfully feed Chandler consecutively.

To the surprise of the Warriors fans, Butler also stood up. He changed his low-key in the first two games and showed the results of his hard training in the summer. He made 19 shots, 10 of 5 three-pointers, 2 of 7 free throws, scored 5 points, 27 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. He was the most outstanding player in the Warriors and finally helped the team beat the Knicks 2:105. Harvest three consecutive victories.

Curry focused his energy on connecting the teams. He only played for 7 minutes at the 2th minute of the fourth quarter, scored 6 points in a row, pulled the score to more than 20 points, and then went down to rest. The audience was efficient. Scored 22 points, 11 assists and 5 rebounds.

Apart from the two, Clay also performed very well. He made 14 of 8 shots, 9 of 5 three-pointers, no free throws, 21 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. Together with Curry and Butler, he scored 70 points , is a major contributor to the Warriors' victory.

The three-game winning streak also allowed the Warriors to rank above the Thunder with the same three-game winning streak with a huge point difference advantage, maintaining the first position in the Western Conference.

……

On December 12, after a day off, the Warriors sat at the Oracle Center to face the 31ers who came from afar.

This is also the strongest opponent the Warriors have encountered since the start of the game.

The Clippers had a deformed lineup after the big change, and there was no running-in; the Bulls were exhausted after a fierce battle;

The 76ers are different. Like the Warriors, they have a large number of young players, Iguodala, Jrue Holiday, Spencer Hawes, Louis Williams, Thaddeus Young and Evan Turner is under the age of 26. They took advantage of this long offseason to improve their strength a lot and have abundant physical reserves.

It is precisely because of these young players who are more powerful than famous, the 76ers have a very deep lineup, full of vitality on both ends of the offense and defense. Since the start of the game, they have won three consecutive victories against the Blazers, Suns, and Jazz. Lost the attention of many people.

Although the sample of the three games is very small, it can't explain anything. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the 76ers won by relying on vitality and enthusiasm. There is still a lack of a star with enough weight in the team, but at this special stage, vitality and enthusiasm are the key to victory. The key, even if the record behind the 76ers will definitely fall back, they are definitely a tough nut to crack now.

However, compared with other teams, the 76ers are full of vitality and cooperate well enough, but in front of the Warriors, their advantage is gone.

From the beginning of the first quarter, the Warriors resolutely implemented the strategy of unlimited defense changes. Even Chandler would switch every screen, not giving the 76ers any chance to play tactics, and strive to dismantle every offensive pick-and-roll and screen. Come on, force them to end the offense with singles.

And this happened to hit the 76ers' weakness. Except for Louis Williams, the rest of the 76ers' ball-handling ability is relatively average. The offense relies heavily on fast breaks and cooperation. Last season, the highest scoring average was 15 points. Elton Brand, the old captain of the team, scored in double figures in the other four starters, but all of them were only a little more than 10 points, which shows the lack of scorers.

Facing the Warriors' unlimited defense changes, the 76ers were unable to cooperate. The success rate of singles was very low, and they soon fell into a scoring shortage.

Looking back, Curry frequently picks and rolls against Spencer Hawes and Elton Brand, or misplaces small players to play big, or feeds cakes to Chandler inside. The success rate is extremely high, allowing 76 It is difficult for a person to form a conversion of the ball while the ball is live, and it is difficult to play a fast break. He must always guard against the Warriors taking the opportunity to counterattack after their offense is blocked.

In addition to Curry's pick-and-roll, the Warriors' passing and cutting have also achieved good results. The 76ers started with Spencer Hawes and Elton Brand as two insiders, and Nicola Vuche as the substitute Vicky and Thaddeus Young have poor mobility. Curry and Clay use the cover of their teammates to run, and they can easily send out open positions. Although Iguodala, Jrue Holiday and other 76ers outside players The chase is tight, but if there is a gap, Curry and Klay can make three-pointers, so that they can only look at the ball and sigh.

In the case of both offensive and defensive advantages, the Warriors have been leading the 76ers by about 15 points, firmly grasping the initiative of the game.

The 76ers only tried their best to set off a counterattack in the first half of the fourth quarter. The head coach Doug Collins sent the core lineup to the field in advance and gave it a go. Facing the Warriors' rotation lineup, the 76ers narrowed the point difference to less than 10 points .

But that's all, Zhang Yu switched back to the main force 2 minutes early, and the Warriors played a 2:13 offensive climax within 4 minutes, extinguishing the momentum of the 76ers' counterattack.

The momentum has been exhausted, and the fighting spirit has disappeared. The 76ers have no room for a counterattack, and the game has entered garbage time. Doug Collins surrendered.

In the end, the Warriors defeated the 115ers 102:76, achieved four consecutive victories, and remained on the throne of the Western Conference.

In this game, Curry did not paddle like the previous three games. He made 18 of 12 shots, 12 of 6 three-pointers, 3 of 3 free throws, scored 33 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds and 1 steal, leading the team to victory.

In addition to making use of dislocations, Curry hit the inside line of the 76ers. When the 76ers launched a counterattack in the fourth quarter, he singled Zhu Holiday 2 times in 4 minutes without missing a single shot. He scored 10 points in a row. Show the peerless demeanor of a superstar, use powerful scoring explosive power, kill the game in one fell swoop!
This is the role of superstars. Curry stood up at a critical moment and changed the trend of the game. As a civilian team, the 76ers had no stars who could stand up to compete with Curry and lost the game.

Iguodala is highly expected by 76ers fans, but he has body, defense, passing, and vitality, but he didn't score. He played 37 minutes and only scored 15 points through piecemeal methods such as air cuts and fast breaks. Points, does not help the overall situation of the 76ers.

"Little AI" is not the real "AI" after all, and Iguodala is not the new "answer" the 76ers are looking for.

Louis Williams has the ability to score. He scored 20 points in the game. When Curry scored 10 points in a row, it was he who scored the 76ers' only 4 points and kept the 76ers alive.

But he has no offense and no defense, so he is only suitable to be the sixth man. The points he got on the offensive end were quickly paid back on the defensive end. Butler chased and hit two balls, and the 76ers lost the momentum of chasing points. .

After the game, Doug Collins looked at the frustrated players, shook his head and let out a long sigh.

If the 76ers want to rise again, they still need to go through a long process.

……

On January 1, the Warriors came to Phoenix to challenge the Suns away.

Since last season, the Suns have not been the powerful team that can stir up the situation in the league. This season, they have declined even more.

Previously, the Suns played against the Hornets, 76ers, Hornets and Thunder in a row, and only achieved a record of 1 win and 3 losses, ranking last in the Western Conference. It is foreseeable that this is likely to be the final ranking of the Suns at the end of the season.

Facing such a Sun, the Warriors naturally took no effort and won a victory without bloodshed.

Nash is 37 years old this year and is very old. He can still send exquisite and sophisticated passes on the offensive end, but the threat of independent offense has been greatly reduced, and he is no longer suitable as the number one star of a team.

In this game, he sent out 13 assists, but only scored 12 points. The support of Phoenix fans for him is still as firm as ever. .

However, it is difficult for Nash to lead the Suns to victory, especially when facing the Warriors.

The sun is playing fast, and the Warriors are faster than them.

The Suns shoot three-pointers, and the Warriors can shoot three-pointers better than them.

While the Suns did not defend, the Warriors did.

From the beginning of the first quarter, the Warriors crushed the Suns in all directions. After the pick-and-roll, Curry could not send a pass directly to the basket like Nash did in the gap, but he was able to pull up and make a three-pointer with the ball; Nash Sophisticated to control the rhythm of the game, play fast if he wants to play fast, and play slow if he wants to play slow, but his teammates can't score goals. Instead, the Warriors can easily keep up with the rhythm of the Suns, firmly occupying both offensive and defensive ends. With the upper hand, the audience led by a big score until finally winning the game with 127:110.

The Suns' offensive resources are really scarce. Their top scorer is the blue-collar "Polish Hammer" Marcin Gortat, who hardly poses any threat to the Warriors' restricted area. More seriously, the second half was a little relaxed.

Zhang Yu also tacitly agreed with their actions.

The regular season is very long, and it is impossible to give every effort in every game. If he can win while paddling, Zhang Yu is also happy to see it.

In such a big victory, Curry clocked in three quarters, made 13 of 8 shots, 9 of 5 three-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, and easily scored 23 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. The Suns' defense was useless in front of him.

When Curry was paddling, Butler showed his power, shooting 20 of 11 shots, 6 of 2 three-pointers, 10 of 8 free throws, scoring 32 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists, which made the Suns' weak striker suffer.

Clay also played very well, shooting 13 of 7 shots, 10 of 5 three-pointers, no free throws, scored 19 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, and made a total of 10 three-pointers with Curry, completely defeating the Suns' perimeter defense.

After the game, when Zhang Yu and Nash hugged and greeted, they clearly saw the fine wrinkles and tiredness on Nash's face.

That chic and elegant son of the wind, after all, did not escape the invasion of time.

……

On January 1, the Warriors came to San Antonio to challenge the Spurs away.

After the start of the game, the Spurs' performance was not very good, only achieved a record of 3 wins and 2 losses.

The GDP combination is still so tacit, but the long suspension prevented them from getting back to their competitive state immediately, and their bodies were a little rusty.

Moreover, Ginobili also sprained his ankle in the Spurs' game against the Timberwolves. He needs to rest for about a week, and the Warriors have a greater advantage.

Faced with such a Spurs team in poor condition and incomplete lineup, Zhang Yu gave full play to the impact of the Warriors' young players, pushed the fast break with all their strength, reduced positional warfare, set off a counterattack storm, and rushed the Spurs' sluggish defense. After getting mixed results, they finally won the game with 108:92, winning six consecutive victories!
Although the Warriors were too obsessed with pushing and counterattacking and sent up to 16 turnovers, the flaws were not concealed. The Spurs could not lay a solid line of defense. The veterans in the formation were also dragged down by the Warriors' counterattack and fast break, and collapsed in the third quarter. the trend of.

They struggled until the fourth quarter, when Zhang Yu put on a vigorous substitute lineup and made a strong charge. The Spurs collapsed completely, and the Warriors easily won the victory.

If the Warriors don't play fast, but fight the Spurs one by one, they can win. After all, the Spurs are in a low period of state, but they will never be so easy.

After the game, Popovich and Zhang Yu shook hands, the old coach carefully looked him up and down several times, and then said:
"Ronan, are you going to make something big?"

　To make up for yesterday's, there are more tonight.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)