warrior godfather

Chapter 701
On April 4, the playoffs officially kicked off.

In the first round of the competition, the games of several major championship teams were not very attractive.

The strength gap between them and their opponents is too great, and the matchup between the mid-range teams in the playoffs is the most exciting and exciting.

Among them, the series between the Thunder and the Clippers is the most eye-catching. People want to see what new scoring king Wei Shao, who averaged 30+ triple-doubles per game in the regular season, can achieve in the playoffs by leading the team alone. grades.

Thunder fans are looking forward to this, hoping that Westbrook will continue to be a lonely hero and lead the Thunder to create new miracles.

但让人大跌眼镜的是，威少G1仅仅23投6中，三分11中3，罚球8中7，得到22分11篮板7助攻，命中率只有可怜的26.1%。

The Thunder is Westbrook's one-man team. Westbrook didn't perform well, and the Thunder naturally couldn't win. They lost 87:118 to the Clippers by 31 points and fell behind by a big score of 0:1.

In the regular season, he showed great power, but in the playoffs, Westbrook caused a lot of doubts. Warriors fans and Rockets fans ridiculed him. Is this kind of performance worthy of mvp?

In G2, Westbrook hit the bottom and rebounded, made 43 crazy shots, hit 17 goals, made 11 of 2 three-pointers, 18 of 15 free throws, scored 51 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in a super triple-double, but the Thunder lost 111:115 to clippers.

This is a crazy game. Westbrook's shots, statistics, free throws, and field goal percentage are all extremely crazy. It can be said that he is against a team by himself.

Although the Thunder fell behind by 0:2, the 50+ triple-double restored Westbrook's reputation, and the Thunder fans also regained their confidence.

This is the omnipotent Westbrook!

The approaching score seems to have inspired Westbrook, allowing him to find the only way to win, and that is to take everything.

G3，威少24投11中，三分1中0，罚球14中10，砍下32分11助攻12篮板，率队以115:113险胜快船，将大比分扳成1:2。

The Thunder successfully defended the home court, and the fans were encouraged, looking forward to Westbrook's continued counterattack.

But G3 was the only series the Thunder won.

随后的两场比赛中，威少分别砍下35分14助攻14篮板的三双、47分11篮板9助攻的准三双，但雷霆却输掉了比赛，大比分1:4，被快船绅士横扫。

Rivers found a way to defend the Thunder, put down the rhythm, let Westbrook play casually, put shots to prevent breakthroughs, Westbrook was not allowed to shoot, so he could only rush in and force the frame, let him attack for a whole game, and he could win How many points?
This move caught Westbrook's life.

Westbrook's three-pointers have improved a lot this season, and his shooting percentage is only 34.3%. In the playoffs, he dropped further. In the series against the Clippers, his three-point shooting percentage was only a poor 26.5%.

In the life-and-death battle of G5, Rivers deployed heavy troops inside, Westbrook couldn't break through, and made 18 three-pointers frantically, only making 5, wasting a lot of open opportunities.

Although he scored 47 points, he took 34 shots and 17 free throws. He took up more than one-third of the Thunder's possession by himself, but did not provide enough output. In the end, the Thunder still lost 99:105 to the Clippers.

After the Thunder were eliminated in the first round, Westbrook's reputation quickly polarized.

Those who support him think that he can get 37.4 points, 10.8 assists and 11.6 rebounds in the playoffs. After losing the next few games, the point difference is within a few centimeters, and the mvp is well-deserved.

Those who don't like Westbrook think that his 38.8%+26.5% shooting rate is too hip. The average triple-double is completely based on the right to shoot and 14 free throws per game. He was defended like this in the first round. What to get mvp.

There are not many people who hold this view, and some media and commentators are also criticizing Westbrook's efficiency.

In the post-match interview of G5, a reporter asked this question, and Westbrook said:
"I don't care about these things at all. I just play. A lot of people say that I have a low shooting percentage. I don't take it seriously. I play to win. As long as I can win, I can do anything. My job, I never play for the numbers."

Westbrook's generous speech aroused applause, but his efficiency is there, and those who want to spray will still spray.

But soon, Thunder fans found a basis to excuse Westbrook.

Westbrook's biggest mvp competitor, Harden, had a mixed performance in the first round.

火箭首轮4:2淘汰了灰熊，哈登打出了33.2分7助攻6.4篮板的豪华数据，但他的命中率只有41.1%+24%，场均14.6次罚球，和威少不相上下。

Harden has become a shield for Thunder fans. Westbrook's efficiency is not good, but Harden's efficiency is also very poor, and Westbrook's data is even better. He is still more qualified to be elected as mvp than Harden.

Rockets fans said that Harden may not be as good as Westbrook in terms of statistics, but the Rockets have advanced to the next round, which is beyond Westbrook's reach, so the mvp should still go to Harden.

But when it comes to efficiency and record, Warriors fans will not be sleepy.

Harden and Westbrook both won in the first round and lost in efficiency, but Curry's performance in the first round of the series was flawless.

In the series between the Warriors and the Spurs, Zhang Yu continued to use the high-position pick-and-roll + ball-holding singles in the regular season, supplemented by a small amount of off-ball running and passing and cutting. He swept the Spurs 4:0 and advanced to the second place. wheel.

Before the start of the playoffs, some Green fans said that the Warriors will miss Green's defense and organization. He is the core and soul of the Warriors' offensive and defensive system.

Antetokounmpo seems to have performed very well, but under the intensity of the playoffs, the Warriors will fall into a difficult battle without Green's scheduling and defense on the defensive end, as well as the combing and connection on the offensive end.

At that time, Zhang Yu will still transfer Green back to the starting lineup. His role cannot be reflected by the data, and the Warriors cannot do without Green at all.

But it turns out that Green's benching has no effect on the Warriors. If there is an impact, it is that the Warriors' offense has become smoother and more efficient.

At the peak of Green's offense, he was just a space-oriented power forward with a three-point shooting rate of about 38% and an average of about 14 points per game.

Antetokounmpo, on the other hand, is a heavy siege hammer with an average of 20+ per game. He overwhelms the river and the sea in the penalty area, and provides the Warriors with a strong impact and lethality.

In the first round against the Spurs, Antetokounmpo's performance was even better than the regular season. He averaged 21.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.5 blocks and 1.8 steals per game.

Except that his passing skills are not as good as Green's and his defense is inferior, Antetokounmpo has crushed Green in other aspects.

On the contrary, when Green came off the bench, he somewhat dragged down the Warriors' offense.

He couldn't shoot the ball, he didn't dare to shoot three-pointers, he couldn't finish inside, and he didn't dare to attack by himself. The only option was to pass the ball.

Popovich's vision was vicious, and Green was emptied on the defensive end. When the other Warriors passed the ball, Green could only embarrassingly dribble twice, and then stopped the ball on the spot. No one around him defended and did not attack. Get the ball out and reorganize the offense.

After a few times, Dinwiddie, Bogdan, and Wiggins would rather make strong shots against the defense than pass to Green.

As soon as Green gets the ball, he only knows to direct his teammates to move, and everyone else has to run around him.

After a few laps of hard work, they finally ran out of space. Green passed the ball and they made a shot. Green was more excited than anyone else. Seeing his complacency, it seemed that he was the biggest contributor.

But he just stopped the ball on the spot, waiting for his teammates to run around desperately, and finally passed the ball.

Teammates run out of space and score goals, and he gets assists; teammates don't run out of space, he passes the ball out earlier, and stays in place to watch the show. It's not his fault that others can't score alone.

This style of play is nothing in the regular season. The intensity of the game is low, the defense is lax, and there are many opponents. The Warriors players can run out of open spaces by running casually. Green is good at passing the ball and can always pass the ball in time. , with a high success rate.

However, in the playoffs, the defensive intensity is strong, the confrontation is fierce, and the Spurs' defensive discipline is good, so it is difficult for the Warriors to run out of space.

But Green only has the function of passing the ball on the offensive end, and he wants to express himself. If his teammates can't get out of the open space, he will pass the ball forcibly, which is easy to be intercepted by the opponent.

That is to say, the Spurs lineup is too old, lacks vitality, and cannot fight back, otherwise the Warriors will have no time to retreat.

After a few rounds, the Warriors' rotation players soon didn't want to run.

Zhang Yu was also not used to Green, so he took the ball back from him, stopped playing passes and cuts, and played pick-and-rolls instead.

He used Green as a purely defensive blue-collar, reduced Green's participation in offensive tactics, and at the same time increased the playing time of the dead five, using the super offensive firepower of the four stars to cover up Green's shortcomings on the offensive end.

This is Green's only contribution to the Warriors. He serves as the center of the Death Five and can provide top defense and support. At the same time, Curry, Clay, and Leonard's super shooting ability will not make him an offense. end of the burden.

This is also the only reason why Zhang Yu did not trade Green last summer.

The Death Five has little effect in the regular season. The four major stars rely on their personal abilities to be invincible. But in the playoffs, the Death Five with Green is still the Warriors' strongest card.

But it was because the Warriors' offensive firepower was so strong that Zhang Yu dared to put Antetokounmpo and Green at the same time as the two space-traveling points.

If there was one less Tsunami brother, Zhang Yu would not hesitate to abandon Green at the critical moment.

His drag on the offensive end is too great. As an insider, he is only about 2 meters tall. He is not good at finishing at the basket, and he has lost three-pointers.

In the playoffs, the defensive intensity was high and it was difficult to score. As soon as Green came on the court, he played four-on-five on the offensive end. No matter how good his defense was, no matter how good his passing skills were, he could not make up for the damage caused to the team's offense.

Passing and cutting is the most suitable tactic for Green, but there is no room for passing and cutting in the playoffs.

Zhang Yu solved Green's problem, and the only obstacle for the Warriors to win disappeared. They went straight sets and swept the Spurs.

Curry mainly plays with the ball, averaging 36.2 minutes per game, scoring 27.7 points, 7.6 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.3 steals. The three shooting percentages are 51.4%, 46.8%, and 93.5%.

(End of this chapter)