1056: The still strong five-man lineup
Link shook off Durant and Green at the same time and successfully threw the ball in.
This is tantamount to giving the Grizzlies a shot in the arm, and it also stopped the momentum of the Warriors to expand the score in time.
Watching Link tease Green and Durant, Wade couldn't help but shake his head.
This is nothing at all, Link played the Big Three at the same time.
Durant was naturally very unconvinced, he was scored by Link, and he was played like a clown, which really made Durant very angry.
So in the next round, Durant took the ball again and was ready to return the color.
However, this is not Steve. The situation Cole wants to see. His Golden State Warriors have never been a team that survives on singles.
It's not necessarily a good thing that Durant is stuck in a single with Link......
KD is full of confidence, and after defeating Link to win the championship last season, Durant is no longer afraid of Link psychologically.
He calmly dribbled in front of Link, and now he won't be tackled by Link because he has too much center of gravity on the dribble.
Over the years, Link is not the only one who has grown up!
Vallejo came to cover, and Durant broke through immediately.
Against most defenders, Durant only needs to borrow cover and make a pull-up jumper at this point, and it's all over.
However, Link didn't leave much room for Durant to shoot. The speed at which he got out of cover was still incredible, and he was back next to Durant almost immediately.
At this point, Curry had just earned a fleeting three-point opportunity by running off the ball.
But where can Durant still care about Curry, all he thinks about is how to beat Link.
Sure enough, Durant still went his own way with a pull-up jump shot. But this goal was seriously interfered with by Link and failed to score!
"Damn!" Kerr gritted his teeth, Durant was too angry.
Stuck in singles, maybe that's exactly what Link wants.
Others may try to avoid single-handedness with Durant, but unlike the Grizzlies, they wish the strongest man on the other side would single-handedly play Link.
"Get the ball moving, get moving!" Kerr had to shout loudly, he didn't name him directly, but he believed Durant should understand.
Durant bit his lip unwillingly, his desire to defeat Link with his own hands was still strong.
But the manager has spoken, and there is no way for him to sit idly by.
At this time, Steve. Cole also put Ian. Clark called to his side, ready to send him out!
Against the Grizzlies, Kerr wanted the five-man lineup to appear on the court early. The sooner you take the initiative, the safer the warriors will be.
No sooner had Kerr and Clark finished talking than Link scored again.
Link also broke through Durant this time by playing a pick-and-roll, but Durant didn't post back in time like Link.
And just like that, Link drove straight to the basket. And Vallejo simply didn't have enough speed to make up for the defense back, so Link easily scored a one-handed dunk to make it 4-5, and the Grizzlies quickly controlled the game!
Kerr shook his head, if Green had played the No. 5 spot on that shot just now, he would probably have made up for the basket.
Now it seems that there is no way to contain the Grizzlies without a five-small lineup.
So as soon as Link scored, Kerr called a timeout! Everyone was taken aback, the game had just begun, and they were going to pause to make arrangements?
Cole didn't want to wait, he didn't want to wait for one more round.
Even just playing anxiously against the Grizzlies, Kerr was very uneasy.
What he wants is to establish an advantage as soon as possible!
Sure enough, when the timeout came back, the Warriors immediately became a five-small lineup!
Next, the Warriors will unleash heavy punches with all their might.
Link looked at the five-small lineup in front of him and clenched his fists.
Last season, the Warriors almost eliminated the Grizzlies with this roster. The only difference between the Warriors' current death five and last season is Harrison. Barnes was replaced with Ian. Clarke.
Although Barnes is worth a lot more than Clark, in the Warriors, their function and contribution are basically the same.
In other words, the Warriors' set of death five is not weaker than when they won the championship last season.
When the Warriors came back on the attack, Link began to provoke Durant, "I've got two, KD." Come on, let's move on! ”
"Hahahaha, I'm not that stupid, Link. I know, you want to force me to go single with you. Unfortunately, Cole had just reminded me. ”
After Durant finished speaking, he immediately pulled to the bottom right corner. At the same time, Curry held the ball and played a pick-and-roll with Green.
Clarke and Thompson opened up space, and in an instant, the Warriors' flowing offense was back.
Eventually, Curry hit a jumper from beyond the three-point line. Although Conley defends hard, a player like Curry can hit the ball even with a small amount of space.
"Here, this is the most efficient way for the Warriors to attack! The Warriors have relied on this trick to score high scores repeatedly this season. In the last game, they also scored 138 points in this way! Let's see how the grizzly bear copies! ”
Hubi. Brown instantly became nervous, and when Vallejo came off the court, the Warriors were immediately full of energy.
In addition to the offense, the Warriors' defense has also become very good after the Warriors changed to the dead five.
Durant continues to defend Link alone, but now, Durant is behind Clark and Green, two extremely fast-moving players.
Once Durant is breached, they will be able to switch defenses immediately.
Even knowing that there are defensive traps waiting for him, Link has to try. He tried to break through after shaking off Durant's center of gravity with a beautiful change of direction from the outside, but within two steps, Clark caught up!
At this time, Tobias. Harris sliced inside along the bottom line.
Link didn't hesitate and immediately handed the ball over.
But the mobility of the Warriors' five-man lineup allowed them to defend immediately after they reinforced.
Clark left Link to return to Harris, and in the meantime, Green had already made up for the basket.
Since Harris is also not an orthodox interior and does not have an overwhelming height advantage, his layup is knocked out of the frame under the interference of Green and Clark!
"Didn't make it, it's like a repeat of last season's Western Conference Finals!"
Green grabbed the rebound and made a long pass. Thompson catches the ball in the bottom right corner and shoots!
Due to the inertia after the fast run, when Thompson shot, he was not yet on his feet and was floating.
But this kind of ball is a complete piece of cake for Thompson, one of the "Splash Brothers".
"Brush!"
The crisp sound sounded again, and the Warriors hit two three-pointers in a row!
This extremely fast rhythm of offensive and defensive transitions makes it impossible for the Grizzlies to defend at all!
In an instant, the Warriors took a seven-point lead. Just one more defense and a three-pointer will allow them to stretch the margin to double digits!
"No matter how many times you hit, the result is the same! You can't beat me again, Link, no way! ”
Although it was not Durant who scored, Durant's mood was very high.
He was chattering in Link's ear, and this time, Link wouldn't interrupt him again.
The next few offenses, the Grizzlies played very badly.
Wade missed another three-pointer, making the Warriors' contraction even bolder.
Gasol tried to single Green, but was disrupted by Green's rough confrontation.
Conley wanted to share the scoring pressure from Link, but his finishing rate was not high today. Green was quick to make up and was able to get back to the basket in time every time.
Although Gasol got a few open three-point shots as a result, this sporadic resistance has never been able to turn the situation around.
Eventually, the match returned to Link's unlimited singles.
His solo play is indeed efficient, but compared to the Warriors' fast-paced offense, it seems to be too slow to score points.
In the ninth minute of the first quarter, Link went off. After losing that strong singles point, the Grizzlies' offense suddenly stalled.
After the 12-minute game in the first quarter, the Warriors scored 32 points! The Grizzlies only scored 21 points, and of those 21 points, Link alone accounted for 11 points.
The defending champion's five-small lineup is really terrifying!
"Oh no, this is probably the hardest first quarter the Grizzlies have played since the start of the season. The Warriors' defense is very targeted, and the individual ability of the players on the offensive end is not good. It looks like the Warriors will continue to score high scores today! ”
Hubi. Brin shook his head, and if he continued to play at this state, even if the Grizzlies could win this one, it would be difficult for them to win the entire series. Overall, the Warriors still have the initiative.
At this time, next to the Grizzlies bench, Joggle was crouching in front of Link.
He knew that if Link was consumed like this, the efficiency would definitely drop greatly by the critical moment in the fourth quarter.
Now, too, he has to make some changes.
"Link, let's do it anyway." Jogger looked at Link solemnly, and Link nodded silently.
Then, with a wave of his hand, Jogger called the big white fat man who wreaked havoc on the league's interior a few days ago, and Dinwiddie, who averaged less than 10 points per game this season.
The young guys of the Grizzlies, it's time to make a difference.