warrior godfather

Chapter 753 The playoffs are the real stage
After the Warriors won a wave of nine consecutive victories, they became the team with the most consecutive victories in the current league. As a result, Curry won two Western Conference Player of the Week awards in a row, surpassed Harden in the latest MVP rankings, and climbed to the top. to No.1.

This is also Curry's third consecutive game with 3+ points. If it weren't for the ease of playing the Lakers, the two games would be three-quarter clock-in and off work. This would be Curry's eighth consecutive game with 30+ points.

Since this period of time, Curry has been the hottest star in the league, leading the Warriors to sweep away the decline and break all doubts and criticisms.

12月27日，库里再度攻下30分10助攻4篮板2抢断，勇士主场以126：101大胜爵士，豪取十连胜。

But in this game, Bogdan accidentally injured a leg muscle in a confrontation and will have to rest for at least two weeks.

Fortunately, the Warriors have a large reserve of backcourt personnel, and there will be no shortage of personnel.

On December 12, the Warriors defeated the Hornets 29:111 at home, ushering in eleven consecutive victories.

库里砍下34分8助攻6篮板1抢断，卡鲁索顶上替补二号位，拿到5分4篮板1助攻4抢断1封盖的奇葩数据。

Caruso didn't score many points and rebounds, but 5 of the 3 rebounds were offensive rebounds. He scored 6 points for the Warriors. He was very active on the defensive end, and he was excellent in defense. He got the highest 4 steals in the game. Won the love of Bay Area fans.

He is the kind of player who will do his best on the court and is always full of fighting spirit. His statistics are mediocre, but as long as he watches the game, he will definitely like Caruso's performance.

On January 1, the Warriors challenged the Mavericks in an away game. Zhang Yu continued to reuse Caruso and gave him 2 minutes of playing time.

Caruso lived up to Zhang Yu's trust, played better than the previous game, hit 2 open three-pointers, scored 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, filled the data column, and ran all over the court ,everywhere.

But the Lone Ranger's resistance was tenacious, and the three-pointers felt hot. Six players scored in double figures and made a total of 19 three-pointers. The three-pointer percentage was as high as 44.2%, and once established a lead of more than 10 points.

The Warriors didn't panic at all, they played steadily, and slowly waited for the Lone Ranger's feel to fall back, catching up with the point difference a little bit, and achieved a lead in the fourth quarter, and played until the critical moment.

In the last 7 seconds, Barnes made a mid-range shot, and the two sides tied at 122:122, with the Warriors holding the ball.

Zhang Yu did not call a timeout, Wiggins made a free throw in the backcourt, Curry caught the ball and dribbled it to the frontcourt, Markanen set up a screen for Curry in the center line, Nowitzki hurriedly saved the three-point line, but it was too late Night.

Curry used the cover to pull up and shoot, a three-pointer hollowed into the net, 125:122, leaving only 1.3 seconds for the Lone Ranger.

The Lone Ranger also had no timeout, Matthews sent a bottom line ball, Dennis Smith threw a super long three-pointer from the backcourt, without touching the frame, the red light came on, and the Warriors won [-] consecutive victories.

The Lone Ranger players ended in frustration, but the Warriors players were not in a better mood.

In the second quarter, Covington turned around too hard during a retreat, accidentally twisted his ankle, and directly withdrew from the game.

In the third quarter, Antetokounmpo jumped high during a defense and collided with the Lone Ranger player. When he landed, he fell on his shoulder and the pain was unbearable. Although he recovered after a while, Zhang Yu was cautious. For the sake of safety, I chose to let him go back to the locker room for further examination.

In one game, two generals were lost, which is why it was so difficult for the Warriors to complete the reversal.

But it's no wonder the Lone Ranger, the Lone Ranger's defensive intensity is very low, basically no defense.

诺维茨基守了一整场蹲坑，库里一个单挡掩护就是机会，全场24投14中，三分17中10，罚球4中4，狂砍42分11助攻4篮板1抢断的超级两双。

Next year will be another big draft year that the media will crazily publicize. The Lone Ranger is obviously doing badly this year. Both Covington and Antetokounmpo were injured in normal confrontations, so they can only admit that they are unlucky.

It is worth mentioning that before this game, the Chinese name of the Lone Ranger team was still "Mavericks", and it was changed to "Lone Ranger Team" during the intermission.

This was not changed by the Lone Ranger casually. They discussed with the NBA Huaxia Headquarters and the Warriors. They changed the name specially when the Warriors were a guest in Dallas.

Zhang Yu was also happy to let the Lone Ranger play, and even pulled Zhou Qi, which added some excitement to the Lone Ranger's name change ceremony.

After the game, the Lone Ranger's name-changing ceremony aroused heated discussions in China. The only translated name voted by Huaxia fans was extremely expressive and loved by Huaxia fans. Zhang Yu and Zhou Qi participated in it, which made them quite proud.

This is respect, the Chinese name should be announced by the Chinese!
Some Warriors fans also have a good impression of the Lone Ranger because of this, but those old Mavericks fans have complicated feelings.

The most miraculous black eight in NBA history was given to the Lone Ranger by the Warriors. They will never forget this shame.

But when they thought that the Mavericks eliminated the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, Nowitzki won the crown, completely got rid of the title of soft guy, and even signed the wall he smashed, these fans were relieved.

The past has passed, and now it is the Warriors' world. The Lone Ranger changed his Chinese name just to attract more Chinese fans. How could it be possible to ignore the traffic of the Warriors, the number one home team in China?
This is Zhang Yu's generosity and willingness to be a free host. Mark Cuban also knew that he owed Zhang Yu's favor, so he tried his best to invite Zhang Yu to dinner after the game, but Zhang Yu declined his invitation.

Zhang Yu was worried about the injuries of Antetokounmpo and Covington, and was not in the mood to make friends with Mark Cuban.

The next day, after inspection, the injury reports of Antetokounmpo and Covington were presented to Zhang Yu.

Fortunately, both of them are not seriously injured. Covington has a sprained ankle and will be absent for 2 to 3 weeks. Antetokounmpo has a slight shoulder contusion. He will be fine after a few days of rest and will be able to return to the game soon.

Zhang Yu breathed a sigh of relief, but he had to pay attention to the continuous injuries of the players.

According to team doctor Schwartz, the frequent injuries of players should be due to the fact that the Warriors have played too many games in recent years. Each season is played for eight months in the regular season + playoffs, and the players are too exhausted.

In the past, the Warriors had a deep lineup, and the players could withstand it. This season, the team has too many newcomers, and the rotation has become shorter. Recently, Zhang Yu has pursued wins for Lopez's trade, further shortening the rotation, and player consumption If it increases, there will be continuous injuries.

In fact, this is the normal state of NBA teams. Each team can enter the rotation lineup with only about ten people. Some teams even have eight or nine people. Over time, injuries often occur. Some coaches especially like it. Fuck the main force, more injuries.

In the past few years, the Warriors have had a very good lineup and are too strong. Zhang Yu also likes long rotations and has few injuries. Instead, it is a special case.

Now, Zhang Yu had two choices in front of him.

One is to continue the short rotation and squeeze the potential of the core lineup, just to allow the basic salary and rookies to fill in the leftovers. This will maintain the Warriors' winning percentage, but it will increase the risk of player injuries
The second is to change to a long rotation, reuse substitutes and rookies, let the main players rest for a while, and reduce the possibility of injury, but in doing so, the Warriors' record is likely to decline.

Zhang Yu chose the second approach without hesitation. Compared with trading, he cared more about the health of the players. The Warriors' record is also at the forefront of the league, so they don't need to worry about the playoffs or fight desperately.

The Rockets are the ultimate representative of short rotations. D'Antoni likes to use those eight players to play. Important games must be eight-man rotations. Usually, the playing time for other players is very little, and Rockets players often suffer from injuries.

This is also the characteristic of D'Antoni's team. When he was coaching the Suns, Lakers, and Knicks, the team was full of injuries.

If the Warriors want to compete with the Rockets for No. [-] in the Western Conference with their current lineup, they must continue to shorten their rotation to match the strength of the Rockets, but Zhang Yu will not fight for this false name, and Curry will not get injured because of the MVP.

The Warriors mainly focus on fast breaks and counterattacks, while the Rockets play creepy singles. The Warriors' game rhythm is faster, with stronger running and confrontation, which consumes more players and has a higher risk of injury.

There are often players who can't adapt to the Warriors' game rhythm, consume too much, get accidentally injured in games against the Warriors, and even have no confrontation with injuries.

Zhang Yu will never increase the risk of injury to the Warriors players. He would rather have a decline in the regular season record than enter the playoffs in full swing.

Defending the title is the only goal of the Warriors. The regular season is to compete for a ticket to the playoffs. There is no need to work hard for a ticket.

The next day, the Warriors challenged the Rockets in back-to-back away games. Zhang Yu used a long rotation of 11 players to play against the Rockets' eight-man short rotation.

Curry still had no solution, gathered the ball and scored a super double-double with 37 points and 12 assists, beating Harden's 31 points and 9 assists.

But Zhang Yu strictly limited Curry's playing time, and only changed at the right time. He was determined not to let Curry play in advance, but D'Antoni always let Harden play 2 minutes earlier than Curry, and established an advantage first. It's too late to fill in the hole.

Due to the injury spread by Antetokounmpo, Markkanen started the game, Aminu replaced the fourth position, and Hart replaced the third position. The Warriors' lineup became much smaller, and the inside defense became weaker. It was riddled with holes by rockets.

The Warriors lost their only barrier inside. Even though Wiggins and Markkanen both stood up and scored 23 points and 17 points respectively, filling Antetokounmpo's scoring gap, the weakness of the inside has kept the Warriors behind. Rocket.

In the end, the Warriors lost to the Rockets 104:117, ending their [-]-game winning streak.

The Rockets' revenge succeeded, and the Rockets fans had the upper hand in the turn-based system, showing off their power, but the Warriors fans were not convinced.

Curry scored 34+37 in 12 minutes. Harden scored 40+31 in 9 minutes. His efficiency is not as good as Curry. If Curry also played 40 minutes, the Warriors would definitely win!
The media is also very puzzled by Zhang Yu's alarm clock substitutions. Antetokounmpo, Covington, and Bogdan are injured and retired. The Warriors' core lineup is greatly weakened, and Curry's time is not increased. This is one game worth two games Talk directly, doesn't Zhang Yu want to be No. [-] in the West?

All of a sudden, doubts and criticisms of Zhang Yu flooded in from the outside world. Half a year ago, Zhang Yu, who was still NBA No. 1 handsome, was labeled as "not as good as Rivers".

Faced with doubts, Zhang Yu was not afraid. In the post-match interview, the reporter asked the Warriors about the rotation of this game. He replied:
"I don't think there's anything wrong with my rotation, it was a great game, Steph got a rest, the young guys got a workout, no one wants to see a loss, but the health of the players is more important than winning or losing. , The playoffs are the real stage, what the Warriors need is a ticket to enter the playoffs, after standing on the stage, it is the Warriors' performance moment!"

(End of this chapter)