CIATB Chapter 380 The Achilles Heel of the Warriors Has Been Found?
Chapter 380 The Achilles Heel of the Warriors Has Been Found?
Chapter 380 The Achilles Heel of the Warriors Has Been Found?
The Warriors meet the Columbus Explorers in the final.
This is the first time the Warriors met the Columbus Explorers again after a year, and it was also the first time LeBron James met Li Wan again after a year.
Only this time, it was on the stage of the finals!
There are too many elements, so on the night when the Golden State Warriors were determined to enter the finals, the whole fiery atmosphere was already stirred up.
In addition to LeBron James saying "I feel we have adjusted to the best state", Steve Kerr also said when asked about the championship facing Li Wan and the Columbus Explorers again: "In the 10 years Before, the symbol of this league must be Michael Jordan, but after 10 years, the symbol of this era has become Li Wan..."
Li Wan has entered the finals 7 times in his career, and won all 7 championships. At the same time...in his career in the finals, he has never played a "tie-break"!
Meets all the criteria for Michael Jordan.
He also completed similar conditions one more time than him.
Even though Michael Jordan is an old teammate of Steve Kerr, he should know Michael Jordan better than others, and he also believes that Li Wan's achievements have gradually surpassed that of Jordan. At least, after 10 years, Jordan has Not the only option to represent this alliance symbol anymore!
"Beating him must be a very difficult thing, so we must regard this as our biggest challenge. This is the awareness we must have! This is not an easy series!"
Since Steve Kerr became the head coach of the Warriors and trained the "Death Five", he has always been the image of "King B", and he is rarely so cautious.
But when facing Li Wan and the Columbus Explorers, he showed a cautious side...
Not only him, Stephen Curry was also very cautious when he talked about his second encounter with Li Wan in the finals in an interview: "He is the 7th champion, the second best player in the history of the league, He's as dominant as Michael Jordan, and it's going to be tough for us to beat him, so we've got to have that kind of determination, and it's going to be a tough fight!"
They reacted similarly one after another, and LeBron James froze...
no……
You guys...
Are you playing with me?
I said there that we have adjusted to the best condition, but you guys are fine. Let’s just say that it is a difficult thing to beat Li Wan. Can I not know the difficulty?
but we...
Can we be more consistent?
His worry was not unreasonable. No, after the media published their speech the next day, he was directly ridiculed by the crowd:
"The person who was beaten 28-0 by Li Wan has the most confidence. What kind of Mark Twain novel is this?"
"To be honest, I really feel that LeBron James' self-confidence is like the sun, which will never go out. Where did he get so much self-confidence?"
"It's also a classic, rhetoric before the game and nonsense after the game. This is not the first time, and I believe it will definitely not be the last time!"
……
LeBron James used his own personal experience to prove to everyone what it means to have a "bad record and no right to speak"!
As his record against Li Wan in the Eastern Conference playoffs came to Harbin's 0-28, any words he said when facing Li Wan could easily be regarded as a joke.
In fact, looking at these words alone, it was normal. They just thought that their current state was very good, but because they were facing Li Wan, his words became a joke.
At the same time, the Columbus Explorers also arrived in San Francisco to prepare for the upcoming finals!
Golden State fans were thrilled, and wild expletives could be heard as the Columbus Explorers bus passed by.
No wonder they are so crazy...
LeBron James' contract will expire this summer, and Klay Thompson's second contract will also be completed for the third year. Thompson has player options in his hands. He can choose to jump out of the contract or continue to perform the contract.
In other words, it is very likely that this summer will be the last year this "five-star warrior" gets together. If they can win the championship this time, then everything is easy to say, it is time to sign a contract, and a big contract should be given to a big contract , we continue to struggle together.
But if you can't win the championship...
Then LeBron James must go, and it is still unknown whether this team will continue to undergo major changes.
Under such circumstances, you said that as Golden State Warriors fans, will they be more restless than usual.
Before the game, Li Wan also mentioned this point in an interview: "This will be their most explosive year. It is certain that this will be a difficult series!"
When Li Wan also described this round of the series as a "difficult series", the outside world is also looking forward to this round of finals.
After all, Li Wan already has 7 championships in hand, what kind of situation can make him feel difficult?
Hearing Li Wan's words, Steve Kerr was not happy, but frowned even more.
Li Wan's attitude shows that all members of the Columbus Explorers attach great importance to this game, and there is no possibility of them "sneak attacking".
Moreover, Li Wan took such a serious attitude...
This sentence alone was enough to make Li Wan's opponents feel their scalps go numb.
He really wanted to rush to Li Wan immediately, and cry out: "Brother, I really haven't reached this level, there is no need, brother, we are not as powerful as you think!"
The outside world is predicting this round of the series, let alone the finals or the Golden State Warriors. The media are quite divided in their predictions.
There are many media who are optimistic about the Warriors. Of course, more are optimistic about the Columbus Explorers.
The reason is still the reason...
Except for Li Wan, the overall state of the Columbus Explorers is somewhat unstable. This problem did not become a big problem when facing other teams. Now facing the Warriors, it is hard to guarantee that it will not become a breakthrough.
However, whether they are optimistic about Columbus or the media who are optimistic about the Golden State Warriors, they are very firm on one point:
The score of this round of the series will be very anxious, at least until Game 5.
There will be no sweeping situation for sure!
It is even very possible that in this round of the series, there will be a "tie-break" battle for the first time in Li Wan's career!
"Whether you admit it or not, the helpers around Li Wan this season are the group of people with the lowest average ability in his entire career!" This is the column of ESPN. Careful" put it where Carmelo Anthony could see it.
And when Anthony frowned when he read the report, he hurriedly said: "Hey, man, don't take it too seriously, it's not a big deal, what do these media know? They are just trying to make money The traffic is just made up there, you know, if they didn't write it like this, their report wouldn't cause any discussion!"
Anthony gave him a deep look, and left without saying a word.
Looking at the back of his departure, Tyronn Lu also showed a smile of "the plan was successful".
On June 6, amidst the constant reports from the outside world, the final day of the NBA 2-17 season also officially arrived.
The first game started at the home court of the Golden State Warriors.
This year the Warriors moved to a new home: Chase Center!
In the new arena, the enthusiasm of Golden State fans is even higher.
Boos flying all over the sky filled the ears of all Columbus Explorers players.
Carmelo Anthony looked at the whole person, very serious.
Li Wan also noticed this, but he didn't say anything.
He believes that Carmelo Anthony's career experience can face all situations, and he is so serious at the moment, there is only one reason, and he wants to maintain this attitude to meet tonight's game.
The Warriors entered the arena with a lot of momentum, especially after seeing Li Wan, their eyes were full of desire to fight.
They are eager to defeat Li Wan!
Becoming the first team in this era to give Li Wan its first defeat.
This will definitely have an impact on Li Wan. You must know that at this moment, he has just "become a god", and he has surpassed Michael Jordan in terms of honor.But if this round of the series is lost, then his previous advantage over Michael Jordan will be gone, and the media's opinion of him will become "the person closest to Michael Jordan". The reason is also very simple, that is Because Li Wan lost in the finals!
After all, he only got 7 championship rings, and he has not completed the second "three consecutive championships"...
Even if he has a "four consecutive championships", the American media will recognize Michael Jordan's achievements more.
One of the key factors is Li Wan's age. He is only 29 years old... This is the peak period of a player. Goat at this stage must not fall in the finals!
There are no shortcuts in basketball, and neither is goat!
The big screen at the scene quickly gave the starting lineups of both sides:
"Columbus Explorers: Li Wan at No. [-], Wiggins at No. [-], Carmelo Anthony at No. [-], Sabonis Jr. at No. [-], Adams at No. [-];
Warriors: Stephen Curry at No. [-], Klay Thompson at No. [-], LeBron James at No. [-], Green at No. [-], Pachulia at No. [-];
When the game officially started, the big screen at the scene gave close-up shots of Stephen Curry, Li Wan, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James in turn.
This "camera language" corresponds to the gimmicks of the media before the game:
"Plan B" civil war, Stephen Curry VS Li Wan, and "Peerless Twins of the 03 Golden Generation" Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James.
Seeing the gimmick of the media's arrangement of this round of finals, LeBron James is naturally very upset.
Because Carmelo Anthony is the "second child" in the Columbus Explorers, getting involved with him, doesn't it mean that he is the "second child" of the Warriors, and Stephen Curry is the Warriors' number one card?
Hey!
If only I had known that I also signed "Plan B"!
But in fact, the media really don't make the distinction according to this.
The main reason is that Stephen Curry has won the regular season MVP and the finals MVP, while LeBron James has only one regular season MVP compared to him.Who is the bigger one, needless to say?
What's more, the Warriors rely on the system established by Stephen Curry. No matter how you look at it, this is Stephen Curry's team.
Although LeBron James has won more ball possession, the Warriors' tactics are really not who holds the ball, but who is the core of the system.
Just like the Pacers during the Reggie Miller era, can you say that the boss is Mark Jackson?
It's a very simple point of view, and before Stephen Curry did not clearly state that this is LeBron James' team like Wade, the media is more accustomed to admitting that Stephen Curry is the team that does its part." Absolutely big core!"
The buzzer sounds, and the game officially begins.
Adams successfully jumped to the ball, and Li Wan took the ball to the frontcourt to observe how the Warriors targeted him.
Seeing that it was only Klay Thompson defending him, Li Wan immediately signaled to open the singles.
However, the Warriors' defensive formation has changed. When Li Wan is about to attack with the ball, Stephen Curry on the flank will try to double-team him and force him to make an early shot. Watch out, you're going to double-team, aren't you, Stephen!
At that time, he called Wiggins to make a cross-run on the flank. He failed for the first time... I don’t know if he practiced such a move specially. Soon, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson bypassed each other .
In front of Li Wan was Klay Thompson.
But Wiggins ran back at this time and suddenly formed a pick-and-roll. Li Wan bypassed in an instant. Stephen Curry was unavoidable.
2-0!
Stephen Curry shook his head slightly, chewed the braces in his mouth, and calmed himself down.
But what he didn't expect was that Li Wan, who succeeded in one hit, would continue to find him for the spot. Not only he was looking for Stephen Curry, but the entire perimeter of the Columbus Explorers was looking for him. Hit this point.
The terrifying outside height with an average height of more than 2 meters makes Stephen Curry's height of 1 meters extremely helpless.
This is only a disadvantage in height, if you add weight, explosive power and other aspects...
You can imagine how miserable Stephen Curry was during this time.
At 5 minutes and 34 seconds into the first quarter, Stephen Curry's head had already begun to bury his head in the ground, and a bit of discouragement flashed across his face.
Fortunately, during this period of time, LeBron James did a good job of breaking through and transferring the ball, and the outside line also seized most of the opportunities.
The two sides are now 16 to 14, and the Columbus Explorers are only leading by 2 points.
Tyronn Lue took the lead in changing the formation, taking Sabonis Jr. off the field and taking Rajon Rondo on to control the field.
He wants to control the entire rhythm and prevent the Warriors from running.
His early substitutions are timed, and there will be about 1 minute left. According to the Warriors' substitution habits, they should take Iguodala to play the "five small" lineup.
Tyronn Lue's change in advance is to let Steve Kerr see:
Your thoughts are all under my control, I advise you not to act rashly!
Seeing that the Columbus Explorers are determined to press the rhythm, Steve Kerr's entire brows really frowned.
He is very clear that even if he takes the "small ball lineup" at this moment, he may not be able to gain momentum.
But Pachulia is about to reach the critical point of his physical fitness. Just look at the arrangement of the Columbus Explorers at this moment. Stephen Curry was temporarily let go by them and began to target Pachulia's slow movement If there is a problem, carry out the "small fight big" on the outside.
During this period, the Columbus Explorers' offensive frequency began to decrease, but the overall efficiency came to the best period of time tonight.
At 8 minutes and 34 seconds, Steve Cole, who had no other choice, chose to bite the bullet and play Iguodala.Tyronn Lue replaced Adams at the same time and took Kwame Brown.
Steve Kerr signaled LeBron James to try to rush two first to see if he could bring the rhythm up.
As a result, after the first round, he knew: he must not be able to rush!
Rajon Rondo and Li Wan are two "court masters" holding the ball on the field, how could they get into a mess...
At the end of the first quarter, the Columbus Explorers finally opened the point difference to 5 points.
It is worth mentioning that the player with the highest score in the first quarter of the Columbus Explorers was not Li Wan, but the serious-looking Carmelo Anthony, who scored 11 points.
Li Wan has only scored 8 points so far, including 4 of 3 shots and [-] of [-] free throws. The efficiency is very high.It was also because of his continuous offense that Steve Kerr had to make defensive arrangements against him, restraining Li Wan, who was in the opponent's defensive formation, restraining his "desire to attack", and creating a good offensive environment for Carmelo Anthony.
Of course, it must be said that Carmelo Anthony's overall state is also very good, especially the two goals against Stephen Curry and Pachulia that were misplaced, all of which were scored.
Grab all the opportunities.
This also made Steve Kerr extremely headache.
The Columbus Explorers showed their "absolute defense" in the third game of the Eastern Conference finals, which made Steve Kerr's original conjectures about Li Wan's arrangement all overturned.
And now Carmelo Anthony is blowing up on the first night of the Finals...
Don't talk about him, anyone will have a headache.
Tyronn Lue's suppression of Steve Kerr in terms of tactics and personnel arrangements continues.
In the second quarter, Tyronn Lue rarely kept Li Wan on the court, because Steve Kerr also liked to use LeBron James to connect the first and second quarters.
Watching Li Wan play, Steve Kerr really wanted to yell at Tyronn Lu:
How many times have you watched my video?
Steve Kerr feels that Tyronn Lu is more familiar with his arrangement habits on both ends of the offense and defense than he is.
LeBron James didn't look very good either. After the first quarter, Klay Thompson scored the highest score on the Warriors' side. He made all three catches and shots, including two three-pointers. point.
Stephen Curry was targeted miserably and became a loophole on the defensive end. He was anxious to make up for his mistakes on the offensive end. In the first quarter, he took a total of 7 shots, hit 3 goals, and made 3 three-pointers. , scored 3 points, and then LeBron James' 0 points...
The Columbus Explorers made him sick tonight on the defensive end!
They completely copied the Spurs' defensive system, with Wiggins leading the defense, but at 45-degree angles on both sides, double-teaming will definitely be arranged. At the same time, Tyronn Lue's interior arrangement tonight is also Kwame Brown. Or Adams chooses one, let them stand on the field in turn, and compress the space inside, which is equivalent to saying a total of "three lines of defense", not to mention his "Middle East breakthrough", even if he really opened a tank, it may not be reckless. go in.
He had no choice but to choose to shoot.
But this thing...
Not to mention the defender, even he doesn't trust him very much.
The most important thing is that he has been away from the Heat for two years. With the urging of Pat Riley there, his shooting ability has been greatly improved. After coming to the Warriors, he himself has to admit that he The main focus is on the maintenance of the body, and there are so many neglects of shooting.
As a result, after a high-intensity confrontation, his overall shooting percentage will drop...
I thought that he must be more relaxed now that he is in the rotation stage of the game, but I didn't expect it!The opponent actually put Li Wan directly, and fought against him during this time...
So targeted!
This is also playing with a hammer!
He knew very well that even if he turned on the "Full Power Zhan" mode, he would not be able to beat Li Wan in scoring points...
During the rotation period in the second quarter, as he expected, Li Wan played very clearly against the defense line without Iguodala, Klay Thompson and Green.
Steve Kerr had no choice but to put Iguodala back on the court.
Tyronn Lu saw that Steve Kerr had increased the strength of the court, so he stopped pretending and put back all the main players except Carmelo Anthony at 3 minutes and 24 seconds of the second quarter. field.
LeBron James felt that familiar suffocation again.
But after the main players on both sides returned to the field in the second quarter, the Warriors' outside shooting began to pick up. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson hit three-pointers successively.
During this period of time, the Warriors' scoring momentum was very fierce.
Tyronn Lue decisively called a timeout, and then put Carmelo Anthony, who had been resting for about 4 minutes, back on the court at 35 minutes and 6 seconds of the second quarter.
Li Wan began to score continuously in the second quarter. When the main players came back, he had already scored 12 points. At this moment, Tyronn Lue replaced Carmelo Anthony. The Warriors' defense became more scattered. Klay Thompson in front of the opportunity to start "military training".
This affects Klay Thompson's state on the offensive end.
Stephen Curry is gradually becoming "unsupported" by himself.
Steve Kerr chose to call a timeout and replaced the defender in front of Li Wan.
The scene that had become noisy just now because the Warriors stopped the Columbus Explorers was quiet again now. They didn't expect that the Columbus Explorers counterattacked so fast. It only took 2 minutes. Completely upside down.
Drexler said: "During this period, Li Wan scored 7 points in a row!"
Bill Walton thinks it's not all because of Li Wan's momentum on the offensive end, but also because Tyronn Lue's tactical arrangement tonight is much faster than Steve Kerr's, and it is extremely targeted .
There is also a difference between a champion coach and a champion coach!
From a tactical point of view, letting Green defend Li Wan really played a role in keeping Li Wan from attacking.but……
It also pitted Klay against Carmelo Anthony!
Klay Thompson has the height of a striker, and he doesn't suffer from defending Carmelo Anthony, but facing Carmelo Anthony's excellent offensive skills, he just can't defend.
Fortunately, Carmelo Anthony's efficiency declined during this time.
but……
The Columbus Explorers are also guaranteed rebounds!
Kwame Brown resisted the "scumbags". At the moment, the players of the Columbus Explorers on the court are Li Wan, Rondo, Anthony and Wiggins, all of whom are good rebounders.
For the Warriors, although Klay Thompson has the height of a striker, his rebounding ability is not very good. He averaged 3.8 rebounds per game in the regular season. In the playoffs, his average rebounds per game increased, but only 4.1 rebounds!
Even compared with Rondo who came off the bench, his average rebounds per game are not enough!
Not to mention Stephen Curry, although he averaged 5-6 rebounds per game, it seems that he is already at the level of a striker.But most of them are rebounds completed when the formations of both sides are scattered during the transition from offense to defense.
But tonight, Columbus suppressed the whole rhythm to death, and he had no chance to "fish in troubled waters".
The second quarter was almost over, and he just grabbed a rebound.
In "Jungle of Muscles," his rebounding ability is on display.
What's more, tonight, he was constantly targeted by the Columbus Explorers from the outside. In addition, he can maintain a large amount of offense on the offensive end, and his physical fitness does not allow him to frequently rush for rebounds.
In short, with more than 2 minutes left in the first half, Kenny Smith said: "This game has shown us how to limit the Warriors!"
It is to keep pressing the position, so that the whole rhythm cannot run.
The problem with the "Death Five" is always that they are not tall enough.
Pachulia, a guy who can't become a starter in any team, can start in the Warriors because his height is what the Warriors desperately need!
Of course, Kenny Smith added: "But it is definitely not easy to suppress the Warriors' offensive rhythm!"
What is the configuration of the Columbus Explorers on the field now?
Li Wanjia and Rajon Rondo, to put it bluntly, these are the two most stable guards in the league now, as long as they want to, this rhythm will not be fast.
Even Chris Paul may not be as stable as them.
because……
Paul in the playoffs knows everything!
Either there is selfishness, or there is an injury, in short, in terms of making people regret, Chris Paul has never made people regret!
Such a configuration is not something that ordinary teams can have.
The conditions for achieving it are too harsh, which makes only the Columbus Explorers in the entire league able to rule the Warriors in this way.
At the end of the first half, the Columbus Explorers have opened the point difference to 8 points.
It doesn't look like a big point difference, but what is more critical than this is the rhythm of the entire Warriors being held back.
For the Warriors, bringing speed is the root of everything.
If the speed cannot be increased, the number of offensive and defensive transitions is not enough, the sense of separation between the two formations will not be so obvious, and the Warriors will have a lot less chance of getting open shots.
No matter what the tactic is, its essence is to help players gain space to shoot!
Steve Kerr pinned all his hopes on LeBron James.
If the speed cannot be raised, then the star's personal ability can only be used to continuously score.This is also a very useful measure to stimulate changes in the opponent's defense.
But what is said here, changing the defensive formation through the personal ability of the stars is not just something that basic super giants like breakthrough points can do.
Now it is the finals, and the teams standing on this stage have nothing, and their tactical quality must be the top.
A team without tactical literacy will not be able to play effective tactics. This is a sure thing.
It's just a simple breakthrough, and it can't achieve the goal of completely changing the opponent's formation!
Clay can't count on this kind of thing, and Green can't count on it even more. Stephen Curry has a very good "small fight big" ability, but it is only when he is "small fight big", facing Li Wan or Wei Wei. Kings, either way, he can't finish well.
This is why he is said to be an "atypical super giant".
He does not have the top physical fitness of the general super giant level, nor does he have the top ball-handling singles ability of the general super giant level.
LeBron - James has become the only candidate!
LeBron wants to say no, because the Columbus Explorers made it clear today that they are giving him strength. If they also realize that the Warriors want him to play singles and use his singles to solve the problem...
Then his efficiency may plummet!
Is LeBron, who has a shooting percentage in the [-]s, still the "King of Efficiency"?
He suddenly missed Wade a little bit!
If his good Anda is still there, then at this time, at least Wade will share the pressure for him, so that at this time, the whole team will not point to him to play alone.
As long as fans who have watched LeBron James' games will find such a situation, LeBron James seldom uses continuous individual singles to help the team score even when it is a critical moment and needs to chase points. The method is always to choose the most beneficial way for the team on the field. Pfft, sorry, I laughed, it is the way that is most beneficial to him.
So when Steve Kerr lets him play with the ball and puts all his hopes on him, it can only be said...
A little sick and rushed to the doctor!
It's impossible for him not to see that LeBron James is not a Jordan-like guy.
There is only one situation where he can be counted on to take a lot of shots, and that is when he feels that he has a smooth hand tonight, or when it is the last game, he has to prove his strength, and it is because his teammates are too good that he loses the game.
The first game of the finals is obviously not at this time yet.
No, after the start of the third quarter, his style of play was still the same as the first half, with all kinds of breakthroughs. If someone got in, he would try to attack, but if he didn't get in, he would immediately throw the ball into his field of vision. The best guy in the range.
His vision is really good enough!
This is not blowing or black!
Maybe it's also a habit of "throwing the pot"...
But in this way, his efficiency is preserved, but the entire formation of the Columbus Explorers has not changed at all.
Steve Kerr jumped in a hurry, but LeBron James still didn't mean to change his style of play. The Warriors missed the last chance because Li Wan's "nervous knife" was triggered!
With 5 consecutive three-pointers, the game point difference instantly came to more than 16 points.
The suspense of the game completely disappeared.
119 to 101, in the first game of the finals, the Columbus Explorers took the lead at the Warriors' home court!
Big score 1-0!
(End of this chapter)