warrior godfather

Chapter 393 The Eye of Death
May 5, Glenview Community, 9:07 p.m.

Zhang Yu’s home was brightly lit. He was sitting in the living room with Larry Riley. The tea table in front of him was filled with fried chicken, cola, French fries and other food. On the TV screen were the Heat and the Celtics in full swing. The Battle of Tianwang Mountain.

"Wade, break through, shoot, hit! Beautiful lost step..."

In Mike Brin's magnetic voice, Zhang Yu picked up a glass of Coke, drank most of it, let out a long sigh of relief, picked up a handful of French fries, stuffed them into his mouth, and chewed:
"Well...the heat is not very good."

At this time, the Heat and Celtics game has been searched for the second half. The Heat lead the Celtics by 5 points and have a slight advantage in this real fight.

"The Heat lead by 5 points, so they still have the upper hand?" Larry Riley wondered.

Zhang Yu smiled and said:

"Although the Heat are leading, the scoring is all concentrated on James and Wade. One of them has 20 points and the other has 15 points. The others don't even score in double figures. Now it seems that the momentum is booming, but if the Celtics really don't care Regardless of the contraction, James and Wade will find it difficult to score so efficiently, and the Heat's shooters are not accurate today, and there is no space around them, and the Heat's offense is likely to stagnate."

"In contrast to the Celtics, their scoring distribution is much more balanced. The Big Three all have more than a dozen points, which is a little less efficient, but the offense is very stable. At critical moments, the Celtics are less likely to make mistakes. There is an advantage."

Suddenly, Larry Riley picked up a glass of beer in front of him, drank it down, then picked up a chicken nugget, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed it slowly.

Zhang Yu caught a glimpse of his movements from the corner of his eyes, and picked up a chicken nugget, stuffed it into his mouth, swallowed it in two or three mouthfuls, and praised:
"Yes, Larry, I thought you wouldn't eat the junk food."

Larry Riley picked up a few more popcorn chicken and put them in his mouth. Hearing this, he shrugged:

"I don't usually eat fast food, but I also loved fried chicken and chips when I was young... But I really didn't expect that you would eat these things. After all, you are the real top rich man."

Zhang Yu picked up a piece of wing root and ate it, saying:

"People's habits are hard to blame A-Bian. To be honest, I have never considered myself a rich man. I have no time to enjoy it except for watching videos every day. Except for this house and the Porsche I usually drive, I didn't even buy a car. Have you ever had something valuable... Oh, by the way, that Porsche was given to me by Mark."

"Maybe this is the reason why you can create such a career at such a young age." Larry Riley said with admiration.

Zhang Yu shook his head and laughed, and said nothing more.

What Larry Riley doesn't know is that he spent nearly 30 years as an ordinary person in his previous life. Many habits have long been branded on him, and it is difficult to change. The head coach is an extra time-consuming job. He has no time to enjoy a luxurious life due to his busy and energetic career.

Zhang Yu picked up the hamburger, kept talking, then changed the topic and said:

"Larry, how is the draft going?"

This year's draft lottery will be held on May 5, but that has nothing to do with the Warriors.

Last season, they traded the Cavaliers' first-round pick this year to the Jazz in exchange for the Nets' first-round pick last year, and selected Leonard with the seventh overall pick.

This year, the Warriors only have their own draft pick. According to the regular season record, it will be the No. 30 pick in the first round and the No. 60 overall pick, which are the worst two picks.

Today, Zhang Yu invited Larry Riley to come to his house as a guest. He wanted to take advantage of the fact that the first round of the series was over and the second round of the series would have to wait for a while to discuss draft matters with him.

When Larry Riley saw that Zhang Yu asked something serious, he quickly said seriously:
"It's advancing in an orderly manner. Although we don't have any top picks this year, the few candidates you asked the scouting department to pay special attention to are not rookies in the lottery. There should be no problem. In the past few months, Our scouts have been watching their performance."

Zhang Yu nodded slightly, as if he suddenly remembered something, and asked:

"There was no leak, right?"

Larry Riley immediately shook his head and said:
"Don't worry, the secrecy measures of the scouting department are very well done. The people who are sent out are all unfamiliar faces. Several veteran scouts with well-connected and deep experience have not deliberately watched their games. They just took advantage of the focus of the battle , went to investigate a few times...this is their scouting information."

As he spoke, he took out a folder from the briefcase on the corner of the sofa and handed it to Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu took it and opened it to see that there were several thick documents inside. He nodded approvingly:
"Very good, remember, when inviting them to tryouts, you should fish in troubled waters and try not to attract the attention of other teams. If necessary, you can put a few smoke bombs to mislead their attention."

Larry Riley laughed and said:

"No problem, whoever made you famous has become the focus of attention of other team managements. You can't keep a low profile."

In the past three years, Zhang Yu has never failed in the draft. Every first-round pick selected has shown potential beyond his or her pick.

Curry, Clay, Butler, Green, and Leonard were all first-round picks selected by the Warriors themselves. In just two or three years, they realized their potential and were successively selected to the best team, All-Star, and Rookie of the Year The lineup has become the mainstay for the Warriors to reach the top of the league.

Danny Green, Thomas Jr., Parsons and other second-round picks failed to enter the rotation, but in the limited playing time, they played a gratifying performance. They can only play in garbage time, purely because of the Warriors. The depth of the lineup is too strong, the competition is fierce, and it is difficult to get a chance.

Even Anthony Toliver, who has faded out of the rotation, has a good long-range shot. He can score three-pointers in regular season garbage time. A surprising performance.

Wesley Matthews, Reggie Evans and others who have left the Warriors have also gained a firm foothold in their respective teams, and their performances are better than some first-round picks.

As the Warriors' draft results became more and more dazzling, people gradually realized that Zhang Yu's draft vision was so vicious!

Some media specifically listed all the rookies selected by Zhang Yu after he took over the Warriors, even Hayward, who was recruited when he coached the Bulldogs, was listed, all of which were included in his "record" in the draft, and combined with these rookies With the current performance, I finally came to a conclusion-Zhang Yu has a very good eye for seeing people, but what is even more commendable about him is his ability to pan for gold in sand. Many rookies who are not optimistic have changed after coming to the Warriors. Potential new star!

There is no doubt that this ability to "turn waste into treasure" is even more rare than betting on super geniuses without thinking. I feel more and more regretful about missing these potential new stars.

After beating their chests and feet, they unanimously ordered the scouting department to pay close attention to the Warriors' draft trends, trying to find out which rookies the Warriors are optimistic about, and determined to pay attention to cutting off the Warriors.

That's why Zhang Yu asked Riley Riley to take confidentiality measures, prevent fire, theft, and peers. This is the motto of every scout, and for the Warriors scouts, this is their first criterion.

……

Zhang Yu flipped through the documents in his hand and briefly browsed the scouting reports.

"Jay Crowder, 22 years old, forward, from Marquette University..."

"Khris Middleton, 21 years old, forward, from Texas A&M University..."

"Will Barton, 21 years old, guard, from the University of Memphis..."

"Kyle O'Quinn, 22 years old, center, from Norfolk State University..."

"Kent Bazemore, 23 years old, guard, from Old Dominion University..."

"Jai Michael Green, 22 years old, forward, from the University of Alabama..."

pat.

Zhang Yu didn't take a closer look, but simply looked at their physical conditions, university data, and technical characteristics, then closed the folder and put it aside.

Larry Riley was a little surprised and asked:
"Ronan, don't you take a closer look? These reports were specially sorted out by the scouting department. They took a lot of thought and are of great reference value."

"After they participate in the trial training, I will make a comprehensive evaluation based on their trial training performance, and I have been following their games and know them very well." Zhang Yu explained.

Larry Riley put down the beer in his hand and looked at Zhang Yu in surprise:
"Ronan, I didn't expect you to be so busy and still have time to pay attention to the draft."

Zhang Yu smiled, but didn't answer. Of course, he couldn't tell Larry Riley that he had watched these young people play many games in his previous life, and he probably knew their technical characteristics better than himself.

"Ray Allen, three points, hit! The Celtics tied the score!"

Mike Brin's voice suddenly became high, reaching Zhang Yu's ears. He looked up at the game carefully for a while, and said:
"Rivers is pretty smart. He shrinks the inside line in time, and the Heat are hard to beat..."

While the two were talking, the game between the Heat and the Celtics was also at the end of the third quarter. The Celtics tied the score with Ray Allen's difficult hand-off three-pointer, and their morale was greatly boosted. , playing Miami's American Airlines Center in silence.

Looking back, James and Bosh played a pick-and-roll, trying to hit the Celtics penalty area to score, but the Celtics shrank to the basket, completely blocking his breakthrough space, and James could only distribute the ball to the outside.

Chalmers in the bottom corner hesitated after receiving the ball before shooting the open three-pointer, but the basketball bounced out of the basket and fell into Garnett's hands.

Previously, his three-pointers were 4 of 1, which was extremely inefficient.

Larry Riley withdrew his gaze and said gloatingly:

"It will be interesting if the Heat get eliminated in the first round."

Zhang Yu smiled and said:

"This is not necessarily true. After all, the Celtics' Big Three are old. Garnett has rested for such a long time, and his condition is unexpectedly good. However, Pierce and Ray Allen started the playoff mode early at the end of the regular season. , It consumes a lot, and the Heat's chances of winning are still greater, but even if they can beat the Celtics, there are Pacers behind, which is also a tough bone. Layers of skin."

Larry Riley's eyes lit up:
"Then isn't our chance here?"

"You think long enough!" Zhang Yu shook his head and laughed, and then said seriously, "The Clippers and the Lakers are not good at it. Our primary goal is to reach the Western Conference Finals. We can't be too ambitious."

"You're right, I'm a little impetuous." Larry Riley nodded, and his expression became serious.

He stopped dwelling on this topic and asked instead:
"Ronan, in fact, I have always had a doubt. We only have two draft picks. You have too many targets. Do you want to trade a few second-round picks? If necessary, I will contact other teams now. Prepare early."

Zhang Yu took a sip of Coke, ate a few French fries, pondered for a while, and said:

"I don't need it for the time being. I will talk about it after the trial training. I want to see their current combat power level and then choose the most suitable one for the team. It is still too early to trade draft picks. But pay more attention, Kyle O. The four of them, Quinn and JaMychal Green, if nothing else happens, will be selected from among them in the end."

"Jay Crowder, Khris Middleton..." Larry Riley repeated in a low voice, with a puzzled expression, "Ronan, we have Jimmy, Kawhi, and Chandler, and we have Choose so many flanks?"

"Are there many?" Zhang Yu smiled, and his eyes suddenly became distant, "Larry, in this league, there are never too many wings, especially wings with both size and shooting. We already have Stephen and Clay. , The back line only needs minor repairs, but the striker needs to pay attention to replenishment at all times, otherwise it will be too late when the wings are really needed."

"Okay, I understand." Larry Riley nodded in response, but there was still some doubt in his tone.

Seeing this, Zhang Yu explained one more sentence:
"By this time next year, you'll understand."

Afterwards, the two stopped talking about work matters, and watched the increasingly intense and anxious battle between the Heat and the Celtics, talking and laughing happily.

In the end, as Zhang Yu said, the Celtics withstood the pressure, relying on a more stable offense, prevailed at critical moments, and won this crucial Tianwangshan battle with 94:90.

Although James and Wade scored 30 points and 27 points respectively, none of the other Heat players scored in double figures.

On the other hand, the Celtics had 5 players score in double figures, and more points blossomed. Garnett, who returned from injury, scored a double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds, leading the team to win the match point.

After the game, Zhang Yu looked at James leaning on his knees in the live broadcast, staring at the Celtic players who left the field, his eyes were full of evil spirits, and he couldn't help feeling a witness to history in his heart.

Is this the "Eye of Death"?

I just don't know, the Heat met the Celtics early in the first round, will history repeat itself?

Zhang Yu smiled slightly and looked at James meaningfully.

In this playoffs, maybe James needs to show his "eyes of death" more than once.

(End of this chapter)