warrior godfather

Chapter 611 Great Teams Don't Win the Finals

June 6, 4:[-] pm, Oakland, Oracle Centre.

There is still half an hour left, and G1 of the finals is about to start.

In the locker room of the home team, the expressions of the Warriors players were quite serious, and the endless laughter in the past disappeared. When it comes to the stage of the finals, no matter how good the psychological quality is, it is inevitable that people will feel nervous.

Zhang Yu and Cole stood in the corner, talking in a low voice, but the content had nothing to do with tactics.

"Ronan, did Stevens go to your house? You didn't reveal our tactics, did you?" Cole looked at Zhang Yu curiously.

"Steve, I didn't expect you to gossip like this..." Zhang Yu was helpless

"Haha, it's been spread on the Internet, what about you and Steven Smith staying late at night, sending him something, secret deals and so on." Cole laughed.

Zhang Yu spread his hands:

"How is it possible, that's all nonsense from the media, it's completely fabricated..."

Last night, Stevens went to Zhang Yu's house as a guest, and the paparazzi took photos, which quickly spread on the Internet and caused heated discussions.

Many third-rate media in the United States are the same as Huaxia’s marketing accounts. They don’t care about anything for the sake of traffic. The evidence of the transaction is that when Zhang Yu sent Stevens out, he gave him a box, which must be full of US dollars.

No one will believe this kind of illogical fabrication, but it is a good gimmick, with a sensational title, and a lot of clicks.

In fact, Zhang Yu just gave Stevens a box of high-end red wine, which was a gift from Mark Baum, but he has no habit of drinking, and has been kept in the wine cellar. This time Stevens visited , Zhang Yu borrowed flowers to offer Buddha, and sent them out.

After the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bulls had three days to rest. Stevens gave the team a day off and practiced for a day before flying to Oakland to prepare for today's game.

Last night, Stevens came to Zhang Yu's house as a guest, and Zhang Yu invited him to dinner.

After eating, the two chatted for a long time, mainly about the past of the Bulldogs, and did not talk about the finals.

Stevens just asked when he left:
"What tactics are you going to use tomorrow?"

"You're scared." Zhang Yu looked at Stevens with a smile.

"I didn't," Stevens denied.

"You're just scared, otherwise you wouldn't have asked this question at all." Zhang Yu's smile was even brighter.

"...you can say whatever you want, if you don't dare to say it, forget it." Stevens said stiffly.

"Haha, that's what I said, so what can you do? I will use the fifth junior tomorrow. Do you dare to replace Gasol and join the fifth junior to fight against me?"

"...Hmph, just wait and see, Wu Xiao is not invincible. Blatter also used Wu Xiao, but he still lost in the end."

"Come on, you know, warriors are not knights, and I'm not Blatter." Zhang Yu laughed.

"...Don't be too happy!"

Stevens left with a grim face.

In the finals, the Warriors and the Bulls had no secrets, and all tactics were on the surface, especially the Bulls, who played against the Cavaliers until the last minute of the tiebreaker, had already shown all their cards.

The most important thing is that Stevens and Zhang Yu are too familiar with each other. The three years when the two worked together at Butler University were also the three years when their tactical philosophy was finally formed.

Zhang Yu formed his own tactical concept on the basis of the original tactical literacy combined with the modern basketball concept of later generations, which deeply influenced Stevens. Stevens' unpredictable tactical response also gave Zhang Yu a great inspiration. .

The two absorbed each other's strengths, but because of this, Zhang Yu and Stevens knew each other's thoughts very well.

The finals haven't started yet, but they all know what tactics the opponent will use. Stevens' question seems to be lacking in confidence.

As Zhang Yu said, he knew what tactics Zhang Yu would use, but he still asked because he was really worried.

Zhang Yu's answer made Stevens completely give up. He knew that the Bulls could only fight hard, but no matter how strong the Warriors were, he would not give up.

When the Bulls were interviewed before the game, a reporter asked him how to deal with the death of the Warriors, and Stevens replied:
"Many teams are using five small lineups, but few teams have succeeded. The Clippers lost to the Warriors. The Cavaliers just lost to us. The Rockets are also a relatively different small lineup. They lost to the Clippers. . . It proves that the five minors are not invincible, we are confident to deal with the Warriors' five minor lineups, don't forget, we are the defending champions."

"A reporter photographed you as a guest at Coach Z's home last night. Can you tell me about the content of your chat?"

"It's nothing, it's just our past at Butler University..."

Rose was also asked about his relationship with Curry, and Rose replied:
"Stephen and I are also friends. I am very happy to compete with him in the finals, but I will not show mercy. We have reached the last step and will never give up. Defending the title is our only goal."

When the Warriors were interviewed before the game, the reporter relayed Stevens' words to Zhang Yu and asked him his opinion. Zhang Yu laughed and said:

"Brad is very confident, but the Warriors are not the Clippers, nor the Cavaliers, let us wait and see, basketball will not lie."

"Ross scored 35 points in the tiebreaker of the Eastern Conference Finals and made the only buzzer-beater in NBA history. How do you evaluate this goal? Do you think he will make a lore in the finals? ?”

"This is one of the greatest lore shots in NBA history. The Bulls are a great team. Rose played the greatest tiebreaker performance. It's amazing, but he can't make a lore shot in the finals. We The battle will be resolved within six rounds."

"No tie-break?"

"Of course, great teams don't play tiebreakers in the Finals!"

……

Zhang Yu made a bold statement, saying that the Warriors would beat the Bulls within six games, which made Bulls fans very dissatisfied, thinking that Zhang Yu was looking down on the Bulls.

Do you, Coach Z, understand the gold content of the Game [-] lore in the Eastern Conference Finals?
Most neutral fans also think that Zhang Yu is too arrogant. The level of excitement and drama of the tiebreaker is far stronger than that of the Warriors who swept their opponents 4:0 in three consecutive rounds. powerful.

In the eyes of most people, the harder it is to win, the more exciting the game, the more valuable it is, the easier it is to win, the more one-sided the game, the lower the gold content.

But the Warriors fans agree with Zhang Yu's words very much. It is a ridiculous thing for a 74-win team to play a tiebreaker with a 65-win team. When does winning become more difficult and more valuable?
Shouldn't the easier it is to win, the stronger the strength and the higher the gold content?

Although the tie-break lore is shocking, it has to compete with the opponent's state and luck. If you are not careful, you will lose the game. It is more dominant to crush 4:0.

The two sides were arguing endlessly on the Internet, but the Bulls fans and the neutral fans united, and the Warriors fans quickly fell into the disadvantage.

The more the Warriors win, the more people hate the Warriors. Even the Cavaliers fans who were just eliminated by the Bulls turned to support the Bulls to win the championship.

They can tell the difference, Curry beat James twice in the finals, Rose only beat James once - last season doesn't count, and losing to the championship sounds better than losing to the runner-up.

So the Cavaliers fans, who were still at odds with the Bulls fans just now, immediately changed their appearance, joined the Bulls' camp, played against the Warriors, and boasted that Rose worked harder than Bulls fans.

Their thinking is very clear. Although Rose has won the championship, Curry, who is still 2 championships + 3mvp, is a greater threat to James, and the possibility of winning another championship is also higher. He is James' biggest opponent and is also the priority. object.

But what distresses Cavaliers fans is that the Warriors' performance is too good, and Curry's honor is too hard to find black spots.

After thinking about it, they can only seize Curry's head-shaking celebration to blackmail him, accusing him of "disrespecting the opponent", "looking annoying", "far less domineering than James", etc., but it is just scratching the surface, Warriors fans I don't care at all.

But the counterattack of the Warriors fans was much sharper. They came up with difficult words such as "Siya King", "Liu Bulang", and "Decided Zhan", which easily made them fly into a rage.

The fans are tense, but the players are much more harmonious.

The Warriors and the Bulls have a deep relationship. Stevens went to Zhang Yu's house as a guest before the game. Ross and Curry also boasted about business. Butler faced his old club, and all the usual ruthlessness disappeared. Only nostalgia and thanks were left in his mouth. The most ruthless sentence is nothing but "I will go all out after I play, this is my greatest respect for the Warriors."

……

In the locker room of the home team, the Warriors players sorted out their equipment. Zhang Yu came to the center of the room and glanced at everyone in turn:
"I won't repeat the tactics. I have said it many times in the past few days, and you have also practiced many times. It is not the first time you have played in the finals. You all have experience. Well, except for Omer, Giannis, Kay Wen, Andrew, Spencer, Robert..."

"Boss, are you sure we have experience?" Curry complained in a low voice.

"Hahaha……"

Regardless of whether Zhang Yu called their names or not, everyone laughed, and the tense atmosphere in the locker room gradually relaxed.

"Then let me just say a few words—" Zhang Yu smiled, "Don't be nervous, remember, we won 74 wins and just completed three sweeps. We are the strongest team. No one is our opponent. Go to Now, take back our champion and complete the final coronation ceremony!"

"Yes, sir!"

The players responded with a bang, shouted a slogan, and filed out of the locker room with morale like a rainbow.

After the huge entrance ceremony, all the Warriors and Bulls players came to the field, ready to jump the ball, and the game was about to start.

Both teams are regular starters, the Warriors are Curry, Clay, Leonard, Green, Asik, and the Bulls are Rose, Dunleavy, Butler, Gasol, Noah.

Just before Butler came on the court, he deliberately came to the front of the Warriors' bench and hugged Zhang Yu. Zhang Yu said with a smile:

"Jimmy, are you having fun with the Bulls?"

"Very good, the team atmosphere here is very good, Brad also takes good care of me, but Derek is a little bored."

"Congratulations, you finally got what you wanted."

Butler let go of his hand, opened his mouth, hesitated to speak, and just nodded.

When he left the Warriors, he wanted to be the core of the team, but after Stevens flew to Oakland and had a long talk with him all night, Butler changed his mind and did not go to a team where he could be the boss. , but chose to join the Bulls.

Although the Bulls have Rose as the core of the team, which is not much different from the Warriors, Stevens promised Butler that Rose will not play too much time due to potential injuries, and his tactical status will become more and more important. , will slowly become the de facto boss of the bulls.

However, Rose's playing time has not decreased in the past two seasons, and Butler began to doubt whether the cake Stevens drew for him was true.

Stevens quickly found Butler, saying that he really wanted to increase load management and further reduce Rose's playing time in the regular season, but the management didn't allow it. He wanted Rose to be as full-time as possible while buying better tickets. , Rose himself disagrees, he also wants to get more personal honors, and then hit the mvp.

Stevens couldn't change the management's decision, and Butler regretted following Stevens' advice.

If he stayed in the Warriors, he would still be able to compete for the championship, but he wanted to become one of the Bulls' dual cores while competing for the championship, and then become the actual boss of the Bulls, so he accepted Stevens' recruitment.

But it was too late for Butler to regret it. He still has three years in his contract with the Bulls, and the last year is a player option. He will not have the opportunity to make another choice until 2017.

Before that, he could only wait in the Bulls for a chance to take the top position. The only thing that gave Butler comfort was that he got a super maximum salary, which was also a status symbol. At least the Bulls did treat him as one of the core.

……

"Di-"

As the referee blew his whistle, Asik overpowered Noah and moved the ball to the Warriors' backcourt. Clay picked up the basketball and passed it to Curry, and the game officially began.

Today's game was broadcast live across the United States by ABC, and China's CCTV5 and Tencent Sports also broadcast it.

In Tencent Sports' live broadcast room, Duan Ran and Su Qun were in charge of explaining today's game. Duan Ran said:
"Okay, the game has started. The final starting lineups of the two teams are the same as the ones announced before. It hasn't changed... Clay missed a three-pointer. It's a pity that the Bulls counterattacked - a good shot, Rose made a layup..."

His tone was calm, even giving people a feeling of weakness. Rose picked up a long rebound and made a fast break layup, which was no different from Clay's three-pointer in his mouth.

Su Qun became more passionate:
"Hey, Rose made a fast break for a layup, which is a bit fierce! The Warriors were also unlucky, and the long rebound fell directly into Rose's hands. Clay didn't keep up. He had to follow up a little bit more. Rose His speed is really too fast, we can't let him push and counterattack..."

He subconsciously advises the Warriors, and his words are clearly biased towards the Warriors, which is also the general position of Huaxia commentators.

On the field, the Warriors unexpectedly fell behind in the opening game, but they did not panic at all. They still moved in an orderly manner and launched a pass and cut attack.

In the 6 minutes before the opening, Curry did not attack with the ball. After halftime, he handed the ball to Green and Asik, allowing them to support in the high position, and then ran off the ball with Clay.

The Bulls' defensive attention was focused on Curry and Clay, delaying every screen, not giving Splash a chance to shoot a three-pointer, and the inside rotation shrunk, but it still inevitably missed two Leonard's air cuts.

However, the Bulls generally have a high rotation rate. The Warriors can't shoot from the outside and can only rely on air cuts to the basket or mid-range scoring. They are concentrated on Leonard and Asik, which is not efficient.

When the Bulls came up, Rose, Butler, and Gasol took turns to attack with the ball, interspersed with some simple tactical moves, which were concise and clear, and played the leading role of the stars, which was completely opposite to the Warriors' tactics.

Soon, the Bulls gained the upper hand relying on a more stable offense. At 6 minutes and 12 seconds into the game, they led the Warriors by 15 points 8:7.

"Di-"

Zhang Yu called a timeout, the trial was over, and it was time to show the real thing.

　Make up for today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)