warrior godfather

Chapter 796 The sword is unsheathed

Under the watchful eyes of 18064 spectators, after a grand admission ceremony, the Warriors and Celtics players came to the field. The much-anticipated finals are finally about to begin.

Zhang Yu and Cole came to the technical stage, smiled, shook hands, stared at each other for a few seconds, then let go and returned to their seats.

The two of them didn't say anything, but from the pupils of the other who were almost burning like flames, they revealed that they were bound to win this match.

This is a game that no one can afford to lose. Zhang Yu wants to prove that he is still the No.1 handsome player in the league, and the Warriors are still the strongest team. The most perfect tactics in the world.

At the same time, the players on the field were also looking at each other, as if lightning and sparks were about to emerge from their eyes, trying to overwhelm each other in terms of momentum.

The national live broadcast of the game is still in charge of ESPN, and the iron triangle combination of Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson sat in the commentary seat early.

Mike Breen held the starting list submitted by the two teams 10 minutes ago, looked at the players on the field, and introduced very quickly:

"The Celtics followed the regular starting lineup, Irving, Bradley, Leonard, Durant, Horford; the Warriors' starting lineup was different from G6 in the Western Conference Finals, Curry, Jaylen Kings, Covington, Lopez, the Finnish player Markkanen who shined in the last game sat on the bench, Covington took the fourth position, Coach Z did not because of Markkanen's outstanding performance Let him continue to start, but consider it more tactically..."

Before Mike Breen's voice fell, Lopez and Horford stood on both sides of the center line, and the referee's famous referee Mark Davis stood beside them, holding a basketball in his hand and a whistle in his mouth.

"Are you ready?"

Mark Davis made a routine inquiry to the two, and after they nodded, he blew his whistle and threw the ball into the sky.

Lopez has an advantage in height, overwhelming Horford and dialing the ball to the backcourt, the game officially begins!
The Celtics retreated quickly, fell behind the defensive formation, and waited for it. Only Bradley came forward, came to Curry, put one hand on his waist, and followed him closely.

He has only one task today, and that is to stick to Curry like a dog skin plaster, completely ignoring other people, no matter what Curry is doing, he must follow Curry every step of the way.

Curry bent down to pick up the basketball and dribbled it to the frontcourt. Lopez came to the top of the arc. Curry passed the ball directly and then ran to the weak side.

Jackson said in surprise:

"Curry doesn't play the pick-and-roll anymore? The Warriors almost didn't play a few passes and cuts in the Western Conference Finals. In the finals, they started to pass and cut again!"

When Cole saw Curry running without the ball, his eyes widened in surprise, he stood up from his seat, and turned to look at Zhang Yu.

He didn't expect that Zhang Yu let Curry play with the ball for a season, and in the finals, he started to play without the ball again.

But then, Cole saw Antetokounmpo, who was wearing a suit and sitting on the Warriors' bench, woke up and looked at Zhang Yu again.

Yeah, Giannis was injured, that's why he let Stephen run off the ball, Ronan, you have no choice...

Cole smiled, and simply came to the sidelines, made a gesture, and directed the Celtics' defense.

Although I didn't expect Zhang Yu to let Curry run without the ball, Cole has an advantage, that is, he is extremely well prepared before the game, will consider various possibilities, and then prepare targeted tactics.

In Zhang Yu's previous life, the Warriors under Cole's coaching rarely lost the first game of the series. Now he coaches the Celtics, and the Eastern Conference's three-round series also won G1.

But correspondingly, Cole's on-the-spot adaptability is much weaker, and there are often situations where the alarm clock is replaced, timeouts are not called, and tactics are rigid.

Because his character is very stubborn and firm, he is very confident in his pre-match preparations. He feels that it is not that his tactics are wrong, but that the players are not in place. As long as he plays according to the tactics he arranged, he will definitely win the game, so there is no need Make another adjustment.

……

After the Celtics players received Cole's instructions, the defensive formation was adjusted immediately.

Bradley still clings to Curry, not giving him the slightest space to catch the ball, and everyone else's attention is also allocated to Curry, ready to delay his running without the ball at any time.

Curry saw the opponent's changes in his eyes, but still ran to the weak side calmly, and then ran to the bottom corner with the help of Wiggins' cover.

Leonard came up and delayed for a while, and waited for Bradley to squeeze through the screen before turning around to guard against Wiggins.

After Wiggins screened for Curry, he took advantage of this gap to cut inside, and Lopez also sent the ball in time.

His coping ability is not very good, but with the advantage of vision brought by his height, according to the tactical routine that he has practiced many times, it is not difficult for him to give the ball to his teammates without interference.

After Wiggins received the ball, Leonard followed up, reaching out to cover his shooting space.

Although he was a quarter ahead of Wiggins, with his strong defensive ability, this gap is nothing at all, and it is completely within his control.

But Wiggins did not go straight to the basket, but threw the basketball 45 degrees to the opposite side during the breakthrough process!
It turns out that when Curry and Wiggins were running tactics on the weak side, Jaylen Brown and Covington on the strong side were also running off the ball.

When the Celtics' defensive attention was all on Curry on the weak side, Jaylen Brown used Covington's cover to temporarily throw off Irving's defense and get an open opportunity.

Wiggins has been paying attention to the movement here, and immediately passed the ball over. Jaylen Brown caught the ball and shot it. Irving had no time to interfere, and the three-pointer went into the net, 3:0.

"Bang! A three-pointer from Jaylen Brown! The Warriors' off-ball movement is very subtle and gave the Celtics a heavy blow!" Mike Breen said passionately.

Van Gundy praised:
"Worthy of being a warrior, worthy of coach Z, although I haven't used Chuanqie for a long time, but once I use it, it's still so pleasing to the eye!"

Cole watched Jaylen Brown make a three-pointer, and heard the cheers that suddenly grew louder in his ears. His face was very ugly, and he said loudly:
"Focus! Don't give your opponent a chance!"

His favorite tactic is pass and cut, yes, but that doesn't mean he wants to see his team beat by pass and cut.

The Celtics players on the field nodded and their expressions became dignified.

They are either former Warriors players or old opponents of the Warriors. They are no strangers to the Warriors' passes and cuts, but every time they face passes and cuts, they still feel very strenuous.

A warrior has been immersed in Chuanqi for too long, just like a swordsman who has perfected a sword technique, even if he doesn't use his sword for a year, as soon as he draws his sword, he will inevitably see blood.

The Celtics are now the most pass-loving team in the league, but due to the short lineup time, they are still not comparable to the Warriors, and their defense is not in place.

Round transition, the Celtics attacked and also played a pass and cut.

Durant held the ball in a low post, and Irving and Leonard interspersed with running positions, tearing up the Warriors' defensive formation, looking for scoring opportunities.

This is not a very difficult thing, because the Warriors have a big center with a height of 2 meters 13 and a slow movement.

With the help of Horford's cover at the top of the arc, Irving ran out of an open space. Durant's eyes lit up, and he immediately raised his hand and passed the ball.

But at this moment, Wiggins boldly gave up defending Leonard, shrunk to the middle, blocked Irving and Durant, and directly blocked the ball!

The Warriors immediately turned from defense to offense. Wiggins quickly moved forward with the ball, and Irving chased and defended, but was easily blocked by Wiggins and succeeded in a one-handed dunk, 5:0.

Mark Jackson said:
"Durant's pass was too casual and was directly cut off by Wiggins. This kind of ball is very demoralizing."

Van Gundy frowned, looked at Wiggins suspiciously, and then looked at Zhang Yu who was sitting on the sidelines smiling, but said nothing.

After Durant dunked Wiggins, he raised his hand to indicate that it was his fault, but others did not blame him, and Horford even comforted him.

Owen sent the baseline ball, Leonard dribbled the ball halfway, and also went to the low post to observe the running position of his teammates.

The Celtics still follow Cole's arrangement, aiming at the shortcomings of Lopez's slow pace, and run tactics around Horford.

Leonard also learned from Durant's experience. He was extra careful when passing the ball and chose the safest timing.

Safety means safety, which means no threat. When Irving received the ball, Jaylen Brown had squeezed through the screen and came in front of him.

Irving looked up at the timer. There were 8 seconds left in the attack time. He waved his hand to signal the others to disperse. He singled out Jaylen Brown, broke through to the penalty area, and made a throw, 5:2.

"Yes! From Irving's throw, this is a very exciting goal, but Jaylen Brown's defense is also very good, which gave Irving a lot of interference. This is the intensity that the finals should have!" Mike - Brin said.

After Irving scored a goal, his heart beat a little faster.

Jaylen Brown's defense was very hard, which caused him a lot of trouble, and it took a lot of effort to score.

Cole also frowned. Although Irving scored the goal, he scored it in singles, which was not to his liking.And just the second after Irving scored, Lopez was about to serve the bottom line, and the Warriors quickly advanced to the frontcourt, trying to catch the Celtics by surprise.

However, under Cole's training, the Celtics retreated quickly and maintained their defensive formation, but Curry seized the opportunity to adjust the center of gravity when Bradley braked, and made a move two steps away from the three-point line. Pull up and shoot, super long three-pointer hollow into the net, 8:2.

"Bang! The ultra-long three-pointer from Curry hit it on the first shot. It seems that he is in a very good state today." Mike Breen said.

Van Gundy exclaimed:

"Only Curry can make a shot like this, it's a very bad shot selection - put it on anyone but Curry!"

After Curry scored a goal, he also pointed to the sky devoutly, thanking God for his blessing.

On the night when the Warriors needed victory most, he felt his hands were hot, and he made this bold attempt.

This can't be called a scoring opportunity at all, but Zhang Yu gave Curry unlimited firepower today. He can shoot anytime, anywhere as long as he wants, and he feels good, so this time it was even more difficult than a positional battle. Ten times faster break.

Looking back, the Celtics still played pass and cut, but under Cole's command, this time it was replaced by Horford to deal the cards.

Before Durant and Leonard dealt cards well, Cole decided to get back on track, let Horford be the pivot, and the Big Three moved to give full play to their superb shooting skills.

Irving and Leonard cooperated on the weak side without throwing off the defense. Their Jaylen Brown and Wiggins were one of the Warriors' best forward defenders, and they chased and defended very hard.

Then Horford and Durant made a hand-to-hand cooperation at the top of the arc, and Lopez rushed over directly, and Covington pinched Durant.

Durant had no shot space and passed it to Horford. Lopez had no time to return. Horford adjusted and made a three-pointer, 8:5.

"Beautiful!" Cole clapped vigorously, with a smile on his face.

This is the offense he wants to see, find the open space by passing and cutting, and then easily make a three-pointer.

Cole saw his team play such a freehand offense, no less than drinking a glass of mellow wine, and had a wonderful feeling of being intoxicated.

But on the other side of the technical stage, Zhang Yu nodded slightly, as if applauding Horford's three-pointer.

He was not angry because of the Warriors' defensive failure, but a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

On the court, the Warriors attacked, and Curry did not look for opportunities to force a three-pointer, but stood down and played a pass.

As before, he is still used as bait, attracting the Celtics defense, and then creating opportunities for teammates.

Only this time, the Celtics guarded against the Warriors' role players much tighter, followed closely, and did not give a single vacancy.

Seeing that 24 seconds were about to expire, Wiggins, who received the ball last, could only choose to single out Leonard. Under strong interference, he made a mid-range shot and hit the iron, and the rebound was grabbed by Durant who recovered.

This is what Cole and Zhang Yu learned. When they were in a small lineup, the striker shrank more to protect the rebounds and make up for the lack of height.

The successful defense this time also made Cole very excited. He punched hard and applauded loudly.

He was originally a very passionate person, and his opponent was the Warriors, so he was even more excited.

On the court, the Celtics tried to launch a counterattack, but the Warriors retreated faster, and Lopez's fight for offensive rebounds further delayed the Celtics' counterattack speed, so they could only fight on the ground.

Horford dealt the card at the top of the arc and handed over to Irving. Lopez did not pinch again. Jaylen Brown squeezed the screen very fiercely, which gave Irving a little interference, and Irving missed a three-pointer.

But Cole didn't care, the opportunity had come up, but he just missed the shot.

As long as Lopez is on the floor, he's always been a defensive weakness, and the Celtics have a steady stream of open looks to exploit.

What he's more interested in now is how the Warriors' passes will be played.

He glanced at Zhang Yu with satisfaction in his eyes.

Ronan, the five little ones are the truth, as long as I don't get on top, don't get led by Stephen, and lock up your role players, how can you run out of space?

(End of this chapter)