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When the red light went on, the fans at the scene left the court disappointed, while the generals on the Warriors' bench were smiling, a sharp contrast to the bored and silent Thunder players.
Since the last quarter, Durant had been sitting there with a gloomy expression, watching the Warriors rotate players on the court with great power. When the game finally ended, he reluctantly stood up and went to the court, shook hands with several opposing players, and walked straight to the player tunnel.
In this game, he had struggled, and in the second half, he was almost defenseless against Tony Allen, frustrated and in a bad mood.
After returning to the locker room, other Thunder players came in one after another. Durant looked up, and Westbrook didn't seem affected. He was still talking and laughing with his teammates around him. Harden seemed like a vagabond, with a slightly ambiguous smile at the corner of his mouth, and it seemed like something was turning over in his mind.
Seeing his teammates behave this way, Durant became even more upset. He was a basketball addict; his mind was always on basketball, and he generally spent his time with it. He also heard about Harden's hobby. The city was big, with only a few famous nightclubs, and there were people in the audience—who didn't know James Harden's name? Durant knew that it was Harden's personal hobby. He had no right to poke fun, but he hoped Harden would train well first, and then, after growing, it wouldn't be too late for him to indulge in his sensuality. When Harden first entered the league three years ago, he was a famous gym rat, and it only took three seasons for him to become the scoring champion!
Harden was talented, but he had played 20 games this season, averaging just over 10 points per game, with a low efficiency rate of around 43%.
Just as Durant's thoughts were rising, Jeff Green entered the locker room quietly, nodded to Durant, and greeted him. Durant's mood soured even further.
This was another character like a cat and dog!
Jeff Green was selected fifth overall and entered the league in the same year as him. He was expected by the team and had received plenty of ball-handling opportunities and playing time. Yet, after four years, he was still playing half-heartedly, usually scoring around 15 points per game, and his defense was average, unable to contribute much to the team. But he still played about 37 minutes. The slow growth of Harden was not unfamiliar to him.
After Jeff Green, Ibaka entered the locker room, and Durant's face softened. Ibaka trained diligently, played hard on the court, and tried to do his best. Durant was very satisfied with him.
But as he thought about it, the Warriors had just beaten him by 20 points tonight, revenge was far away, and Curry's performance was about to overshadow him, which made him feel irritated in his heart.
With a teammate like this, what could he do, even if he scored 30+ every game?
At that moment, Brooks entered, facing the defeated generals at home, but he had no intention of getting angry. He quietly said: "The responsibility for tonight's loss is mine; you don't have to blame yourselves..."
After his breath of encouragement and consolation, the atmosphere in the locker room improved slightly. Then, Brooks took Durant and Westbrook to the post-game interview and praised the Warriors again, taking all the responsibility upon himself and trying to draw attention to himself.
After the interview, the players went home, and Brooks, along with Presti, who had been watching the game tonight, met.
Brooks changed his friendly face before the player and said seriously:
"Sam, you can see it too; we lost badly tonight. It's time to make a change, and if this continues, even if we really make it to the playoffs, the team is destined to go nowhere. We need interior players, an interior line that can defend!"
Presti nodded slowly, his expression somber. He was no rookie who didn't understand basketball and could see Brooks' helplessness in the game.
The Thunder's interior void forced Brooks to contract the basket. Otherwise, the restricted area and backcourt rebounds wouldn't be properly protected, giving Curry the chance to score with a single block and win repeatedly from beyond the three-point line. After sending Harden away, the Thunder's exterior defense also dropped in intensity, and the defensive formation was dismantled by the Warriors' simple off-ball movement. The interior defense had to expand, but there was no one to protect the rim, and Chandler and Green had the chance to feast.
Brooks' intelligent wife was difficult to please, and the Thunder lineup's deformity made it impossible to balance offense and defense no matter what.
After seeing the situation the team was in, Presti also made a decision in his heart, sighed for a moment, and said:
"Scott, give Jeff more opportunities, design tactics for him, and review his stats."
Brooks' eyes lit up. He naturally understood the meaning of Presti's words and nodded repeatedly:
"No problem!"
...
Just as the current undercurrent in the Thunder team was rising, the Warriors, as tonight's winners, had already arrived at the airport and boarded the special plane.
There is a joke that NBA players are either on the plane or on their way to the airport, especially when playing away games. To have time to practice during the day, it is normal for the team to travel at night.
On the plane, most of the Warriors' players were asleep. Those who weren't sleepy used headphones, listened to music, closed their eyes, and recovered. After the plane landed, they would rest until noon tomorrow and then train to maintain their condition.
The Warriors had two more games to play, and they needed to face the Mavericks and the Spurs in back-to-back matches, and then return to Oakland for a day of rest before facing the Heat, which was a tough schedule.
While the players rested, Liam wasn't idle. He and the coaching staff went to the front of the cabin, where a small meeting space opened up with a round table and seats around it.
Currently, among NBA teams, except for Mark Cuban, who spent a lot of money to buy a special plane for the Mavericks, other teams had reached an agreement with Delta Airlines to spend tens of millions of dollars annually on renting a plane for their away trips.
Delta had also specifically adapted the plane for these clients, including larger seats, meeting spaces for coaching staff, on-board kitchens, and more, for the players' and coaches' comfort.
At this moment, Liam sat with everyone, watching the video in front of him and discussing tonight's game.
The plane was bumpy. Even Silas, who was younger but already 35, couldn't sleep as soundly as the younger players, so he simply used this time to watch the video and prepare for the game the day after tomorrow, so he could rest well at the hotel tomorrow morning.
Liam was energetic yet tired. He also held a meeting with the coaching staff and instructed the crew to bring out the pre-prepared dinner and set it in front of everyone.
The players who were asleep had earplugs and eye masks, and no one lowered their voices deliberately. Silas and Bruce looked at the laptops in front of them, seriously discussing the gains and losses of the game, while Liam and Ron Adams were at another computer, watching Mavericks' game footage to tactically prepare for the game the day after tomorrow.
After a long while, the team gathered again to summarize and express their opinions. As per custom, Silas spoke first:
"The team's offense still has the same problem as always. There are only two real ball-handling points, Stephen and Jeremy. Jeremy's skills are limited, and Jimmy is barely half of that, but he can't lead the overall offense. Everyone else lacks the ability to develop the offense. Stephen still hasn't been defended, but we can't expect the opponent to defend Stephen all the time. After all, we know Stephen's abilities best, and if he keeps playing like this, I don't think any team can tolerate him shooting threes so easily..."
Silas said, and everyone nodded. He was getting straight to the point. The Warriors now appeared extremely intimidating, and their achievements were skyrocketing, like oil on fire and brocade flowers, but in fact, many dangers were hidden.
The Warriors' offense completely depended on Curry. Others hadn't grown yet and couldn't contribute much offensively. Other teams hadn't fully realized the power of Curry's three-point shooting, but Silas had been with Nelson Sr. for a long time and had been trained by Liam for another year. He saw Curry practice every day and had the deepest understanding of Curry's offensive destructive power.
Now that Curry had shown the momentum to score on the court, they were limited by the times and still lacked enough understanding of Curry's projection ability. But even though they were slow, one day they wouldn't be able to avoid attacking Curry.
The Warriors coaching staff didn't believe that anyone would continue to focus on the opponent's star and launch a three-pointer after a single block coverage. The cost of developing Curry's offense was too low, and the success rate was too high. For him to score 30+ throughout, it wouldn't be long before this was punished.
Then Ron Adams spoke, naturally talking from the defensive side:
"The team's defensive system, with Tyson and Draymond as the core, has been initially built, which is an important reason we can temporarily occupy first place in the league. Everyone has great defensive capabilities, with Tony, Jimmy, Wesley, and other defensive giants. The team's future defense is bright..."
He paused, took a breath, and continued:
"There are still some minor flaws. First, Draymond experience is still insufficient. Sometimes he overhelps defensively, and his defensive skills need to be perfected. But these aren't big problems. His defensive awareness and habits are excellent. As long as he's given time, he can solve these issues. With Tony, Jimmy, and Stephen, we can build a very defensive final lineup, but this lineup's spacing is too poor. Therefore, it still needs the growth of Klay, who is the key to balancing offense and defense in the closing lineup."
Ron Adams' perspective wasn't limited to the offense; he also thought about the team as a whole.
In the end, Liam summarized, thought for a while, and said:
"You're talking about a problem the team has always had, but tonight there was nothing difficult, and there really wasn't anything new... However, the Mavericks have more problems, and if they don't make changes, it will be hard for them to win against us. If they make some adjustments against Nowitzki, winning this game shouldn't be hard. After we return, we still need to intensify practice on the passing and cutting system, which can effectively make up for the team's lack of ball retention, of course, not for a small loss. Stephen's screening is the foundation of the team's offense."
"Also, we must be patient with Klay and Draymond's growth. I know Tony is a better starter, but Klay is the future of the team. There's no doubt about it, and more off-ball tactics can be arranged for him next."
"Won't you let him play more balls?" asked Silas.
Liam hesitated for a moment and said:
"You can let him play some simple mid-range back-to-the-basket shots, take a spot, and not consider anything else for now."
Afterwards, the group briefly discussed what should and shouldn't be done against the Mavericks before returning to their seats, waiting for the plane to land in Dallas.
Liam lay back in his seat, closed his eyes, and recovered, listening to the slight snoring in his ears, and placed his hands on his abdomen. However, the slightly rolling eyeballs under his eyelids showed that he hadn't truly fallen asleep.
After several recent meetings with the coaching staff, Liam Gonzalez has determined the approximate direction of the Warriors' development this season. The next step is to see how the team performs against strong opponents in these three games before making a final decision.
...
"Alright! Curry hits a three-pointer, and with just 1 minute and 10 seconds left in the game, the Warriors lead by 12 points, maintaining absolute control, and the Mavericks are in danger! This is Curry's tenth three-pointer of the game, and his 44th point, Curry is unstoppable tonight!"
The atmosphere in the American Airlines Center was terrifyingly quiet, and Mavericks fans looked at Curry, dancing in the middle of the court, their faces full of disbelief. Some shook their heads, some stared blankly, and even some diehard fans, who had broken the defense, scolded Curry with obscene language.
At that moment, the Warriors' away game against the Mavericks was nearing its end. After Curry made the game-winning three-pointer, Carlisle shook his head and sighed, then called a timeout, substituted in the bench, and admitted defeat.
As the announcer had said, Curry completely dominated the game, shooting 16 of 26 from the field, 10 of 17 from three-point range, 2 of 2 from the free-throw line, and securing a monstrous double-double of 44 points, 14 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Following Liam Gonzalez's instructions, Curry ran down the court, not looking at anyone else. His eyes were fixed on the slow-moving Nowitzki, blocking and dismantling him.
Carlisle tried everything, but nothing could contain Curry. Nowitzki's pace was too slow, and when Curry set up the pick-and-roll, it put him in the same or worse situation as Brooks: Nowitzki didn't step out, and Curry took the three-pointer directly; when he defended, Curry made a quick move and used his speed to pass him, putting King Nuo in a dilemma.
Nowitzki is the offensive core of the Mavericks, and Carlisle couldn't let him go, so Nowitzki had to accept Curry's repeated destruction on the court. His experience was so miserable that people couldn't bear to watch it directly.
The three-pointer from a moment ago, Curry's step-back three-pointer over Nowitzki, helped the Warriors completely seal the victory.
Even though Curry's three-pointer was terrifying, Carlisle insisted on a strategy where only Curry was defended, and didn't even let Nowitzki and Marion, who were against Curry, switch defenders until Curry scored his 34th point. But the result was that Curry's steady three-point shooting turned into a steady two-point defense.
In an interview with the media after the game, Carlisle confessed:
"The position where Curry starts the pick is too high. He starts the pick and rolls a step outside the three-point line, I can't let Dirk go, I really need him to protect the restricted area. Everyone saw it, it was useless before he changed the library. Curry's small and big skills are incredible... What? Why don't I wrap Curry? Are you crazy? Are you saying I should let my power forward go out and wrap up a guard, completely abandoning the defense under the basket and leaving the other players to defend three-on-four? That's not a good idea, I won't stop defending the area for a moment, I'd rather believe Curry can't make such a difficult three-pointer than let Chandler and Green slip into the area for a dunk..."
The next day, Liam Gonzalez couldn't help but shake his head and smile when he saw a newspaper report about Carlisle's interview.
To be honest, he understood Carlisle's thoughts very well. In the season before his rebirth, despite Curry playing an otherworldly performance, averaging nearly 38 points per game in a single month, the Warriors encountered a team with an interior core, and opposing head coaches like Mike Malone and Rivers still chose to crouch inside to defend Curry.
Against defenses like the Nuggets and 76ers, Curry scored 49 points and 53 points respectively, hitting 10 three-pointers in each game...
They, like Carlisle, were betting it was impossible for Curry to shoot so many three-pointers by himself, but at this point, they were all wrong.
And Curry, who was already famous at the time, still had a coach who took such a big bet. The head coach of the Trail Blazers, Stotts, was obsessed with single-defense on Curry and couldn't leave him alone. Not to mention Curry, who hadn't yet played any famous games!
Liam Gonzalez just hoped that this situation could last for a long time, so that Butler, Klay, and Green could continue to grow behind Curry. The day when everyone matured would be when the Warriors truly won the league.
But Liam didn't know how long Curry could eat the "era dividend." There would definitely be a head coach like Tyronn Lue who would stand up and wrap Curry frantically. Based on Liam's experience from his past life, George Karl didn't wrap Curry, Rivers didn't wrap Curry, and Popovich didn't wrap Curry, but the head coaches in the league wouldn't let Curry shoot aimlessly.
Last season, the Spurs had a special reason to wrap Curry. On one hand, Curry's battle against the Lakers shocked the outside world, and on the other hand, the Warriors' interior was too weak at that time, and rival interior players could expand freely without hesitation.
And with the existence of Chandler and Green this season, Liam didn't need to put a double base. Outside of Curry, there were also players who could handle the ball correctly, and the opponent wouldn't dare to expand unexpectedly. Liam didn't believe that the Spurs would still dare to pinch Curry like last season, that would be their own death!
But the next day, Popovich gave Liam a good lesson, making him understand what "ginger or spicy old" really meant.
Not long ago, the Warriors had a battle with the Spurs and lost that game. Popovich was very meticulous in transforming the Spurs. The entire team changed the losing streak from last season and surged forward, currently ranking second in the West, just 1 win behind the Warriors. They were biting hard, and if the Warriors lost again that night, the two teams would be in different positions. This game was about the battle for first place in the West, and it had drawn the attention of the entire league.
And this game didn't disappoint. From the first quarter, the offense entered a fast pace. Popovich and Liam had expected it. They let Duncan, whose mobility had decreased, crouch inside, giving Curry plenty of space to shoot. Curry was very competitive, repeatedly hitting three-pointers after tough covers, and scored 23 points in the first half, which made the Spurs fans at the scene exclaim in amazement.
But while Curry was shining, the Spurs took the lead on the scoreboard. Popovich sent Parker, Ginóbili, Bonner, Richard Jefferson, and Duncan to form a "star-packed" lineup, which caused Green to struggle to match a space weakness. At this point, Green was far from his peak defensive abilities. He was diligent in helping with defense at the beginning, according to his previous habits, but often made mistakes, and the timing was off. The Spurs hit a lot of open three-pointers.
Later, Green simply stopped defending, Parker and Ginóbili trapped Curry, and Klay was repeatedly torn apart. At the same time, they broke the Warriors' non-implicit defense with passing.
So after the first half, the Spurs had the lead, up by 7 points, 57-50.
Liam wouldn't just sit still in this situation. He replaced Tony Allen in the second half to shore up the defense, but Popovich immediately changed his strategy, exploiting the weaknesses of Chandler, Green, and Tony Allen on the Warriors' court. The defense relentlessly pinched Curry, making the Warriors' offense suffer great losses!
Liam had to sigh, Popovich was worthy of being called the "old stubborn," who always said, "I hate three-pointers," and silently turned the Spurs into the most accurate three-point shooting team in the league. He was always ready to do whatever it took to win.
Just like when the ball possession core prevailed later, Popovich transformed Dejounte Murray into a guard who averaged nearly a triple-double per game. At this point, he saw Curry eating the "era dividend," so when the conditions were right, he decisively attacked again.
In Liam's past life, when the Spurs and Warriors faced off in the 2013-2014 playoffs, Popovich didn't target Curry. That was because Mark Jackson placed enough shooters around Curry, so Popovich didn't dare to attack. He also plainly said after the series, "Curry is the Jordan of today!"
And now, Curry was playing that very performance, and in Liam's opinion, this should touch the final result for Popovich. So he didn't hesitate to opt to pinch Curry when the Warriors didn't have enough shooters.
In this situation, Liam could only bitterly smile and replace Green with Butler, adding more space. This time, Popovich didn't just contain Curry; he actually wrapped him up, and Klay's backcourt was again torn apart by Parker and Ginóbili. Although Curry also exploited Parker in return, the lack of Green to help Curry distribute the ball made the Warriors' passing efficiency much lower than the regular passing of the Spurs. On offense, the Warriors were gradually falling behind.
In the end, although Curry scored 36 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds, the Spurs won the offensive battle, defeating the Warriors 117-102, and also surpassed them in the West with this direct competition between the two teams.
After the game, when Liam shook hands with Popovich, he bitterly smiled: "You beat me again."
Popovich chuckled: "You can tell, we're not the same as we used to be."
Liam nodded, groaned for a moment, and said: "Greg, I've got a gift for you. I hope you like it."
Popovich was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "A gift? Is it red wine? We can have a drink together."
"No, it's a book… Jonathan, help me get that book!" Liam turned around and called.
When Jonathan heard this, he quickly approached with a book from the bench and handed it to Liam.
Liam then handed the book to Popovich:
Popovich stared at Liam for a moment and smiled: "Alright, thanks for the gift. I'll put it on my bookshelf, and when I'm interested, I'll definitely read it."
With that, he raised the book in his hand, still wrapped in plastic, and turned to leave.
It's no wonder that many people are courteous; they are also friends. No matter how young Liam is, he is also the owner of the Warriors, and Popovich would never ignore what Liam gave him.
...
After the loss to the Spurs, the external criticism of the Warriors suddenly increased. The first place in the West was too eye-catching, and how much praise the Warriors had received before and how much ridicule they now faced. Especially Curry's playing style, which is particularly fandom-driven, in social media, Warrior fans and many newly-emerged Spurs fans immediately started a debate, but fell at a disadvantage.
In all the basketball forums around the world, the games were rotating. The Warriors had been winning before, but after finally losing one, those who were not used to watching the Warriors immediately showed up.
Warriors fans had to stay behind after the loss of the home team, but this changed quickly when the Warriors faced a team ridiculed across the U.S. and the world: the Heat.
On the night of their loss to the Spurs, the Warriors hurried back to Oakland to face the Heat challenge at home.
It was the Warriors' first game this season against the Heat, and Oakland fans finally got to see the luxurious lineup of the Big Three, with tickets selling out faster than before. The Oracle Center was packed on game day, and even outside the arena, there were large crowds watching the game on a giant screen outside.
I have to say that, although the Big Three group makes almost everyone, except Heat fans, feel disdain, their "popularity" is still extremely high.
Unfortunately, the Heat has not achieved results matching their high popularity. As of now, the Heat's record is 13-8, only ranked fifth in the East, and there's no atmosphere of a king dominating the league. They're ridiculed.
However, in Liam Gonzalez's eyes, the current Heat is the most terrifying. On November 28th, after their 9-8 start, they had a 45-point win with only players involved, and since then, the Heat has won 4 consecutive games, and the horror of the Big Three combination has begun to show. Now, it's the Warriors' turn to face the threatening Heat.
End of this chapter
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