Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

June 5, Oracle Arena.

Today is Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. The Oracle Arena was packed with people, many of whom were fans wearing Warriors jerseys.

They have been looking forward to this game for a long time. Last season, the Warriors lost to the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Not only the Warriors players were unwilling to accept this, but the Warriors fans were also unwilling to accept this. They have been looking forward to the Warriors' revenge.

Now, the time for revenge has finally come.

"After a whole year, we finally got to this day. This time we will definitely win the Western Conference Finals and let the Lakers have a taste of being eliminated."

"Not just winning the Western Conference Finals, but winning the Finals and winning the championship."

"Of course we can. I heard that KD and Cousins ​​will both be back today. We have a five-star lineup. Are we afraid of the Lakers?"

"Is it true? Will KD and Cousins ​​really return today?"

"It should be true..."

At this time, the game had not yet started and the players from both teams had not yet come out. The fans in the stands were chatting in groups of three or four.

There was news before that Durant and Cousins ​​would both return for this game, which made the fans more and more looking forward to it.

After more than ten minutes, players from both teams finally came out.

When the Lakers came out, there was a huge booing from the audience.

A group of Lakers players walked over amid the boos, their expressions calm.

They have experienced this kind of scene more than once and are not unfamiliar with the Oracle Arena. They came here several times during the Western Conference Finals last season, so they are naturally not scared by the boos.

After the away players came on, the home players also came on one after another, and the boos in the audience turned into cheers.

Amidst warm cheers, Curry, Durant, Klay, Green, Cousins ​​and others came on stage one by one, and the big screen above the stadium also showed the lineups of both teams today.

At the same time, the on-site commentator was also giving a pre-match introduction.

Today, Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins ​​were both included in the active list. Although they did not explicitly say they would play, as long as they were included in the active list, there was a high probability that they would play. And when the Warriors players were warming up, the two were also warming up on the court. Cousins ​​also dunked two times and seemed to be in good shape, which made the fans excited.

......

After some warm-up, the game is about to begin.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr spread out the tactical board and arranged: "First of all, we must do a good job of defense. Zhuang Yu and Lopez are the offensive core of the Lakers. We must pay attention to defending them both."

"We still have to stick close to Zhuang Yu to prevent him from shooting three-pointers and force him to break through."

"Drummond (Green), once Zhuang Yu breaks through, you must immediately go up to defend..."

"DeMarcus (Cousins), your task is to defend Lopez and not let him score easily in the low post."

"besides......"

The Lakers have many scoring points, and even though the Warriors now have Cousins, defense is not their strong point. It is impossible to completely restrict the Lakers. They can only selectively defend Zhuang Yu and Lopez.

It's not just because Zhuang Yu and Lopez are the top two players on the Lakers in terms of scoring per game, but also because the two are an inside and outside combination. This offensive combination allows for a lot of tactical coordination, so the offensive power is very high.

For a backcourt duo like the Trail Blazers, since both players are guards, they don't have as many tactical combinations to play, and most of the time they still have to rely on their individual abilities to play one-on-one.

The reason why Coach Kerr did not say to defend Zhuang Yu, Lopez and Holiday is not because he looks down on Holiday, but because, firstly, they cannot limit the three core players of the Lakers at the same time; secondly, compared to limiting the combination of Holiday + Zhuang Yu, or Holiday + Lopez, it is naturally more meaningful to focus on limiting Zhuang Yu + Lopez.

Afterwards, Coach Kerr also made some arrangements for the offense.

He is not actually that worried on the offensive end. After all, the Warriors' starting lineup is there, and every position can handle the ball and score. There is no need to make any complicated arrangements. All he needs to do is get the ball moving and play as reasonably as possible.

......

Coach Scott was also making arrangements here.

"The other team has a gorgeous lineup, but that doesn't matter."

Coach Scott looked calm and said in a deep voice: "On the defensive end, we must first defend the opponent's three-pointers and not give them easy three-point shots. Force them to break through... In short, we cannot play at the rhythm that the Warriors like."

The two sides have faced each other more than once or twice, and the players know how to deal with it, and Coach Scott did not give too many explanations.

Coach Scott emphasized on offense: "Even though the opponent has Cousins ​​in the interior, he has just returned from injury and may not be in great shape. Brook, you have to play more decisively and play more singles in the low post."

"And this point about Curry..."

"Zhu, Zhuang, we must take advantage of Curry's defensive disadvantage. You take turns to single him out."

Zhuang Yu and Holiday also agreed.

When the two teams faced off in the Western Conference Finals last year, the Lakers targeted the Warriors' inside line and Curry on offense.

Of course, Curry's defense is not that bad, but his height and athleticism are a disadvantage, especially when facing teams with outstanding outside players, his defense is a weak point for the Warriors.

Last season, the Lakers kept targeting Curry for one-on-one play. No matter who it was, as long as they faced Curry, they would resolutely play one-on-one, and the effect was very good.

This time it's the same.

If Curry defends Holiday, then Holiday will have to play one-on-one decisively, or Zhuang Yu and Holiday will screen each other, and after the defense is switched, Zhuang Yu will play one-on-one against Curry.

The Warriors must understand this, and they will have help defense and backup defense.

However, once the Warriors assist and make up for the defense, there will be loopholes in their defense against other Lakers players. As long as Zhuang Yu and Holiday pass the ball, their teammates will have a chance.

In fact, the Lakers are not the only ones doing this.

In the past few seasons, the Warriors' opponents have used this tactic in the playoffs.

Especially the Cavaliers team at that time, not only Irving and James would single out Curry, even JR Smith would single out Curry.

"Okay, that's it, go ahead."

After some arrangements, Coach Scott clapped his hands and signaled the players to go on the court.

......

Players from both sides come to the field.

The Lakers still have their regular starters, including Holiday, Zhuang Yu, Korver, Anderson, and Lopez.

The Warriors sent out Curry, Klay, Durant, Green and Cousins. Not only did Durant and Cousins ​​return, but they also started.

Amidst cheers, both sides started jumping the ball.

Lopez touched the basketball first and hit the ball to the backcourt, where Holiday controlled the ball and started to advance.

After arriving at the front court, Holiday glanced at the Warriors' defense, then looked at Zhuang Yu, who gestured to him and moved to the right to pull the opponent away. Holiday understood, lowered his center of gravity and played against Curry, first with a crotch dribble, then suddenly accelerated.

Curry hurriedly retreated and moved sideways to get in position first, but Holiday then dribbled the ball between his legs again, changing his stance and giving Curry a physical confrontation, forcing Curry to take a step back. He took this opportunity to break through.

"really......"

Green thought to himself and hurried forward to provide defense.

The Warriors were mentally prepared for the Lakers' one-on-one attack on Curry from the beginning, and they were not panicked at the moment.

Green stood in front of Holiday, and Holiday did not choose to shoot himself, but instead made a ground pass to Anderson.

Anderson grabbed the basketball and dribbled forward, and Cousins ​​immediately turned sideways to block Anderson. At the same time, Durant moved inside to help Cousins ​​defend. He stood in front of Lopez and cut off Anderson's passing route.

However, the Lakers had already prepared a response strategy. Lopez did not wait in the interior, but moved to the left to provide cover for Zhuang Yu.

With the help of this screen, Zhuang Yu got rid of Klay's defense, and Anderson passed the ball, not to Lopez, but to Zhuang Yu.

"not good."

“He’s going to shoot a three.”

In the audience, fans cheered loudly.

The Warriors players also reacted, and Durant immediately turned around and pounced on Zhuang Yu, but it was too late.

Zhuang Yu jumped up immediately after receiving the pass from Anderson outside the three-point line. He ignored Durant who was rushing over. With a flick of his wrist, the basketball flew out from his fingertips, drew a beautiful arc, and finally went through the net with a swish.

Several Warriors players looked at each other and couldn't help but frown. They couldn't let Zhuang Yu score like this at the beginning.

On the offensive end, Curry first called for a pick-and-roll, then broke through and passed the ball to Durant.

But Durant did not play one-on-one. After getting the ball, he first made a fake shot, then broke through and passed the ball again.

Durant was facing Korver, who obviously couldn't defend Durant, so as soon as the Lakers saw Durant get the ball, they immediately went up to help defend.

At this time, Green and Clay ran alternately, Green helped Clay block Zhuang Yu, and Durant passed the ball to Clay, who took the ball and shot a three-pointer.

Swish!

Also enter.

The score was tied at 3:3.

In the next few rounds, the Lakers still targeted Curry, with Holiday and Zhuang Yu taking turns to single out Curry.

Once the Warriors assist in defense or make up for the deficit, the two players will pass the ball to the teammate in the best position, making the Warriors somewhat passive.

Fortunately, the Warriors played well on the offensive end.

After all, the Warriors had a complete lineup at that time and could score at several points, so the Lakers didn't dare to let them go easily.

The two sides fought to a draw.