warrior godfather

Chapter 786 Gambling

After the start of the game, the Warriors took possession of the first wave of the ball and took the lead in launching the offense.

Amidst the boos, Curry dribbled to the frontcourt and played a pick-and-roll with Lopez.

The Rockets' flanking attack immediately greeted him, Ariza squeezed for cover, Capela jumped out, and the two rushed towards Curry like hungry tigers.

Curry did not hesitate at all, and distributed the ball to Lopez, who was demolished.

After Lopez received the ball, Capela did not pounce on him immediately, but waited for a while, and waited for Ariza to return to Curry before letting go of Curry and pounced on Lopez.

But this period of time was enough for Lopez to complete the adjustments, made a three-pointer and went into the net hollow, 3:0.

"Bang! Lopez's three-pointer, the Warriors made a good start." Mike Breen said.

Van Gundy frowned and said:

"Capela ignored Lopez's three-pointer. His rotation was too slow and gave Lopez too long to adjust."

The Rockets fans on the sidelines were also very puzzled, and various doubts such as "what" and "oh no" continued to sound.

But D'Antoni on the sidelines looked normal, not angry at Capela's choice.

This is his plan, double-team Curry with all his strength, never give Curry a chance to score, and even let others open wide for this reason.

Previously, the Rockets' defensive strategy had always been to switch defenses infinitely, but after Antetokounmpo was injured, D'Antoni changed his mind.

The Warriors have only one scorer left in Curry. As long as Curry is locked, the Warriors will have no other offensive launch points.

As for whether flanking Curry will give the Warriors other players a chance to score, D'Antoni is not worried.

The inaccuracy of the Warriors players in G5 gave D'Antoni confidence. Even if they were accurate, could they still be all accurate?
The Warriors are just a nine-man rotation. As long as there are two or three inaccuracies, and Curry is locked up, they will not be able to match the Rockets' offensive firepower. It will not be difficult for the Rockets to win.

So emptying the three-pointer seems to be a bad move, but for the current Rockets, it is the best choice, not one of them.

On the court, the Rockets attacked, Harden and Capela picked and rolled, Lopez squatted, and Wiggins went around the screen, giving Harden room for a three-pointer.

But Harden did not directly shoot a three-pointer. Compared with Curry who can shoot a three-pointer in any position anytime, anywhere, Harden's three-pointer requires preconditions.

He doesn't like to use the screen to shoot a three-pointer directly, but prefers to dribble first to find the rhythm, and then take a step-back three-pointer.

Zhang Yu is very aware of Harden's habit, so he let Wiggins go around the screen when defending Harden's pick-and-roll. Anyway, he would not directly shoot a three-pointer.

Harden held the ball in place, waited for Wiggins to come around, waved Capela back, and then started a single.

Compared to pick-and-rolls, he now prefers singles. He has become obsessed with the pleasant feeling of breaking through the opponent's defense after a chic and freehand operation.

Faced with Harden's various actions, Wiggins chose to put half a step away, giving Harden a certain shot space, and giving priority to defensive breakthroughs.

Harden dribbled the ball under his crotch, but Wiggins was unmoved. Harden didn't find a breakthrough opportunity, so he could only choose to step back and make a three-pointer. Wiggins' interference was a little slower, but Harden's three-pointer Still missed, the rebound was protected by Lopez.

Mike Breen said:

"It's a pity that Harden missed a three-pointer. Wiggins didn't interfere and gave him room to shoot."

The round transition, Curry continued to play pick-and-roll with Lopez, the Rockets flanked, Curry split the ball, Lopez caught the ball and made a three-pointer, the rebound was grabbed by Capela and passed to Harden.

Harden dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and directly singled out Wiggins.

Wiggins still chose to take half a step away. Harden felt that he was being provoked, his original casual expression sank slightly, he sneered, and his thick, dark beard shook twice.

He first dribbled the ball with two crotches, then lowered his shoulders and pretended to break through, tricking Wiggins into shifting his center of gravity back, then suddenly received the ball and retreated, making a three-pointer.

Wiggins couldn't interfere enough, and a three-pointer went into the net, 3:3.

"Yeah!!"

"James, you are my god!"

"MVP! MVP!"

Shocking cheers sounded from the auditorium, Harden glanced at Wiggins proudly, and in the process of withdrawing to the backcourt, he made a signature stir-fry action to celebrate the goal.

Wiggins was unmoved, just shrugged, and ran to the frontcourt with his head buried.

Standing in front of the Warriors' bench, Zhang Yu looked at Harden's complacent look, smiled, and shook his head.

Harden's step-back three-pointer just now was very beautiful, but Zhang Yu could see clearly from the side, but his shot seemed a little forced, and he made the shot with a certain amount of luck.

And can Harden have such luck every time he makes a shot?

Harden's three-point shooting percentage in the playoffs was only 34.4%, and his three-point shooting percentage on step-back steps was only 30.4%. This is the data from the three-round series sample so far, which is very convincing.

Harden can regain his touch in some games, but in most cases, his three-pointers are very iron.

Zhang Yu didn't know if Harden was accurate today, but Antetokounmpo was injured and the Warriors' defensive system was severely damaged. He could only bet that Harden was not accurate in three-pointers.

This is the best way for the Warriors to defend Harden now. As for the result, it can only be left to fate.

……

In the next round, Curry asked Lopez for a pick-and-roll, and Lopez missed a three-pointer. Van Gundy said:
"Lopez is not a real shooter after all. If the Warriors pin their hopes on him, it would be a miscalculation."

Looking back, Harden singled out Wiggins, was interrupted for a breakthrough layup, and the rebound was accepted by the recovered Curry.

Curry was severely flanked on the offensive end, but his physical consumption was also small, so he could focus more on the defensive end, and he was very active in recovering and protecting rebounds.

The Warriors attacked, and Curry no longer asked Lopez for a pick-and-roll, but Markkanen for a pick-and-roll.

Van Gundy cheered up:
"Let's see the effect of Markkanen's playing. According to the Warriors' tactics just now, he should also be shooting outside..."

Before he finished speaking, after Markkanen finished covering Curry, he dismantled it to the top of the arc, and Curry passed the ball in time under the pincer attack.

It was Mbah a Moute who was facing Markkanen. He just emptied Markkanen to pounce on Curry, and then waited for Ariza to squeeze through the screen before pounced back on Markkanen.

The Rockets have completely emptied Lopez, who has been famous for a long time, let alone Markanen, a rookie?
With Mbah a Moute's mobility, he can return to his position in time at the first time, but he still chooses to restrict Curry first, does not give him a little space, and waits for Ariza to be in place before returning to Markkanen.

This gave Markkanen plenty of space to shoot. He was not in a hurry like a rookie who was dnp for 5 games.

brush!
The basketball crossed a wonderful arc and fell straight into the net, 6:3.

When Markkanen shot, Curry kept watching his movements closely. After he made the shot, Curry immediately greeted him and slapped him hard:

"Good job!"

Markkanen shook Curry's hand vigorously:
"Thank you, Stephen, I was able to make this three-pointer because you attracted the Rockets' attack..."

After finishing speaking, he looked towards Zhang Yu on the sidelines, saw Zhang Yu nodded approvingly, grinned, showing some jagged teeth, and then retreated to the backcourt.

Last night, Zhang Yu found him, gave him the starting position, and explained today's tactics in detail to him:

"...Defense is that simple. In addition, you have one task on the offensive end, which is to pick and roll, then roll outside, and shoot three-pointers. You don't have to worry about the Rockets' defense. They will definitely pinch Stephen. You There won’t be any defense around you, so you can shoot with confidence and don’t be afraid of not being able to make the shot. I guarantee that it will be as difficult as your training. This is the first step, and then…”

After hearing Zhang Yu's words, Markkanen was only dubious in his heart. After playing today, he was also faintly worried about the Rockets' defense change in the deepest part of his heart.

But after Curry and Lopez hit the pick-and-roll, he wasn't worried at all.

The Rockets even emptied Lopez, let alone him as a rookie?

So after covering the outside demolition just now, Markkanen was very relaxed and even adjusted his rhythm before taking a three-pointer calmly.

With this mentality, the three-point shooting rate has also improved a lot, and the first shot is hollow.

Round transition, Rockets attack, Harden finally passed the ball to Paul.

Paul picks and rolls to find Lopez, and Lopez changes his way of squatting in the pit and switches to Paul.

But this can't prevent Paul, it just adds some difficulty to Paul's offense. After two changes of direction, Paul swayed out of space and made a steady mid-range shot, 6:5.

Mark Jackson said:
"The Warriors are dangerous. In the past 5 games, Paul's pick-and-roll against Lopez has been very effective. Today, the Warriors do not have Antetokounmpo. The interior defense relies more on Lopez. Paul will have more opportunities."

Van Gundy agrees:

"Yes, compared to offense, Antetokounmpo's injury caused a greater loss to the Warriors' defense. After all, Curry can also create a lot of scoring opportunities, but Antetokounmpo is the core of the Warriors' defense. His The absence will make Coach Z have to increase the playing time of Lopez, Markkanen and even Looney, and Paul's small play will be a sharp weapon against them..."

When Warriors fans heard the analysis of the two, their hearts tightened, and they were deeply worried about the Warriors' defense.

Without Antetokounmpo, the Warriors' offense had problems. If there is another problem with the defense...

They don't dare to think about it anymore. Paul's superb performance in G1 is still vivid. If it happens again today, no Warriors fans can bear such a blow.

And in sports bars large and small in Houston, Rockets fans gathered here, and after Paul made a mid-range shot, they all toasted.

They remember more clearly than Warriors fans how majestic Paul was in G1, and they also remember the heartache and unwillingness after losing G1.

But now, Antetokounmpo is injured and absent, and Paul is unstoppable. They seem to see the dawn of victory and shine into the Toyota Center.

(End of this chapter)