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On March 18th, the Warriors arrived in Phoenix to challenge the Suns on the road.
The Suns are rapidly falling, and the giants who made it to the Western Conference Finals last season can't even cross the playoff threshold this season. They are now in tenth place, 5 wins behind the Hornets in eighth in the West, and with 13 games left, it's almost certain that they'll miss the playoffs.
Nash has struggled throughout the season, but he still can't avoid the tragedy of the fallen hero.
People are truly aware that the era of the "Wind Sons" has passed. Deron left Brooklyn and struggled in the muddle with the Nets, Paul did everything he could to bring the Hornets to eighth in the West, while Rose has the potential to win the MVP, Curry and Durant are fiercely competing on the scoring list, Westbrook has become one-half of the Thunder duo, Rondo controls the ball alongside the Big Three, and the replacement of old and new point guards seems to be coming to a close.
This game also became another test of this assertion. In a direct competition with Nash, Curry was powerful, cutting 37 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds with luxurious stats, while Nash did his best to revive the team but only played a performance of 22 points and 11 assists. The Suns lost to the Warriors 105-119.
Traditional point guards no longer seem to fit in this era, and it seems the point guards of the new era should be like Curry, Rose, and Westbrook, who can score high by themselves, rather than scoring just ten or twenty points per game and then handing out ten assists to complete the task.
People are gradually realizing that traditional point guards have a ceiling, no matter how strong Nash is, he has never touched the Finals floor in his life, Kidd seems far from his first championship ring, and Paul, once highly anticipated before the major injury, is also naturally a two-way guard.
In recent years, many talented point guards have emerged: Rose, Westbrook, Curry, Harden, and Wall, who were selected in high picks, and the league is increasingly favoring point guards.
Gradually, the name "prosperity of the point guards" was shouted, and many people predicted that when this group of talented point guards grew up, the NBA would enter an era of point guard dominance, which began to take shape with the rise of the Bulls, Warriors, and Thunder.
On March 20th, the Warriors arrived in Dallas to face the Mavericks, the second of their three-game road trip, and their final stop would be against the Spurs.
These three games, combined with the previous home game against the Mavericks, made up a devilish stretch of games, and fortunately, the Suns' decline gave the Warriors a chance to breathe.
In this game, the Warriors came with a will for revenge, swearing to avenge their home loss. The players were fully prepared and dared not underestimate Liam under the warning. But the old-spicy veterans and the fighting spirit of the Mavericks still made these young players feel the heat once again.
Nowitzki still crushed Green at the opening for the Mavericks, and Liam could only pinch him, but Carlisle quickly moved Nowitzki to the high post. Then, under Kidd's transfer and Nowitzki's ball, the Warriors' interior line, which was left vacant due to the pinch from above, was quickly penetrated by Chandler and Marion, who cut through the air.
Liam then asked Chandler to defend Nowitzki, which had some effect, but as the playoffs approached, Nowitzki's form improved more and more. His offense became more refined, and he was able to maintain decent scoring efficiency against Chandler.
And after Chandler was moved out of the basket, the people who protected the rim were Green and Butler. Kidd, of course, didn't miss this great opportunity, frequently sending second passes to Bogut and Marion. Green and Butler did their best to reduce the defense, but limited by their height and experience, their rim protection wasn't very effective.
Liam made another adjustment, replaced Green with Kirilenko to protect the rim, but Kirilenko was no longer at his best. His athleticism had significantly decreased compared to before. It was fine for him to help defend, but asking him to shoulder the great responsibility of protecting the rim alone wouldn't work.
Liam pondered and decided to let Green defend Nowitzki again, using his strong confrontation and long wingspan to interfere with Nowitzki's shooting rhythm. With Butler and Klay on one side, Chandler remained under the basket to protect the rim, ready to help defend at any moment.
He chose one of two poisons, to completely strangle Nowitzki and test the Mavericks' response capacity.
Essentially, Liam was not a team player; he believed in individual heroism and, between stars and role players, chose to empty out the role players, which was the same as Tyronn Lue squeezing Curry.
The difference is that Tyronn Lue won the bet, while Liam lost the bet in this game.
When the Warriors shifted most of their defensive attention to Nowitzki, Terry, Marion, Kidd, and Barea stepped up. They launched one three-pointer after another, continually exploiting the gap in the Warriors' interior line, cutting to the restricted area perimeter to score. Chandler had to fight with Bogut, and without the joint protection of the first line, it was invincible with two fists and four hands. The Warriors were on fire inside and outside.
But Liam still gritted his teeth and set up heavy troops on the line to strictly protect against Nowitzki. He didn't believe that these old Mavericks, who would retire in a few years, could overcome the offensive side.
Then the first half passed, the third quarter passed, and the middle of the final quarter passed, and these veterans really maintained an efficient offense, suppressed the Warriors, and even gradually expanded the point gap.
Liam's expression shifted from surprise to helplessness, and finally to numbness.
Now that he was at the table, he had to admit defeat, but if asked to choose again, he would not hesitate to flank Nowitzki.
In a moment when the Warriors' single defense couldn't limit Nowitzki, Liam would never allow a superstar to score wildly.
However, although the defensive wing was lost, the Warriors' offense was fine. Curry was hit by the Mavericks while on the court, but his ball was much more stable, and he controlled the turnovers. Klay also returned to normal this time, almost every open three-pointer was grabbed, and Butler firmly handled his part of the ball, sharing the pressure of Curry holding the ball to develop the offense.
But the Warriors' biggest disadvantage was that they were a newly formed team, full of inexperienced young players, lacking tacit understanding, with a high turnover rate, and cutting attacks. Their overall offense was far inferior to that of the Mavericks, who were mostly veterans.
Liam wanted to take advantage of the physical advantages of the front line to rush to the frontboard and relieve offensive pressure, but under the cooperation of Bogut and Marion, it didn't have much effect.
The Warriors didn't have a good way to break through the Mavericks' defense, but Liam wouldn't let the players force the pass to cut. The team's offense ended up falling into blocks and simple plays. The Warriors always had two points without space on the court, so the Mavericks didn't pay much when hitting Curry, and they could shrink in time when Butler broke through.
This goes back to the old problem of lack of ball handling and spacing points, which could only be solved when the rookies grew. In this game, the Warriors could only swallow the defeat once again.
In the end, the Warriors lost to the Mavericks 95-103. Although the loss wasn't much, the Warriors were firmly suppressed by the opponent throughout the game. Even though they made several waves, none of them were able to overcome or even tie the score.
Curry only managed 18 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds under the Mavericks' focus, Klay 15 points, Butler 17 points and 5 rebounds, and Green had 5 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block.
This is also the only bright spot in the Warriors' game. Jeremy Lin gradually showed the style of a sixth man, who could not only cut points on the court but also organize the team's offense. He was one of the few reliable points for the Warriors.
For the Mavericks, Nowitzki had 23 points and 7 rebounds. He didn't score much, but he involved much of the Warriors' defensive focus.
Apart from Nowitzki, the other Mavericks players performed well, with five players scoring in double digits. Terry had 21 points, Marion 15 points, Kidd made three three-pointers, and again registered an economic triple-double with 13 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds. Bogut had 11 points and 12 rebounds, and Barea also had 12 points and 3 assists.
Carlisle and Liam made the same decision, placing strong hits around the opposing team's main stars, but the Mavericks' role players stepped up, and the Warriors' role players stepped up partially, but didn't fully rise, so the Mavericks took the final victory.
After the game, Liam looked deeply at Nowitzki before leaving the court.
He had a hunch that the entanglement between the Warriors and the Mavericks wouldn't end so easily, and he would have to think again about how to deal with this tough German.
…
"Liam, are we really going to do this?" Silas asked worriedly.
"Of course," Liam said lightly, taking a sip of his milk coffee.
"But according to the current standings, the Spurs will be our opponents in the playoffs, and today is our last regular-season game against the Spurs. If we rest, we'll lose the chance to play against them!" Silas said with some emotion. "And the team is only 1.5 wins ahead of the Thunder right now. I think we should try to win every game and keep our home-court advantage over them."
Liam placed the milk coffee in his hand down and turned his head to look out the floor-to-ceiling window, the quiet and peaceful San Antonio street early in the morning. He smiled and said:
"Stephen, you know, according to the plan, fourth or fifth place is really the same for us. Anyway, the Nuggets are still six wins behind us, so we won't fall to sixth place, and we have one more game against the Thunder. As long as we win that game, the home-court advantage will still be ours."
After the victory over the Suns, the Warriors rushed to Phoenix overnight, and after half a day of acclimatization, they would face the first-placed Spurs in the West tonight.
Silas's expression froze, then he took a large piece of bacon and stuffed it into his mouth, saying somewhat dejectedly:
"Alright, but I still don't think we should let go of the game against the Spurs so casually."
The Warriors were having breakfast in the hotel restaurant, with Liam and Silas sitting by the window, and the assistant coaches and trainers like Bruce and Ron Adams, including Jonathan, sitting at the next table.
Ron Adams and Bruce's table was closest to the two. After hearing their conversation, Ron Adams looked over and said with a somewhat solemn face:
"Liam, I think Stephen is right. We can use this game to test the Spurs' tactics. According to the current standings, if we pass the first round, the opponent should be the Spurs. We should prepare early."
Bruce also looked over, although he didn't say anything, he nodded slightly, obviously having the same idea as Silas and Ron Adams. Jonathan, on the other hand, silently watched from the side, maintaining his duty as an assistant, and didn't say anything.
Earlier, Liam told them that the team's goal this season is to be fourth in the West, not to compete with the Mavericks for third place, and that he would rest Curry for tonight's game against the Spurs, which surprised the coaching staff.
Although second place in the West belongs to the defending champions, the Lakers, who are strong, the Spurs are also old but strong. Their core lineup of GDP is still there, and this season is a strong Nirvana, not easy to deal with. They didn't understand why Liam made that decision and hurriedly asked for the reason.
Liam explained:
"The Grizzlies' style is very moderate for the Spurs. If they can finish eighth in the West, the Spurs will have to shed their skin if they don't die in the first round. And as long as we can beat the Thunder in the first round, we'll be much better off in the second round against a Spurs team with more vitality."
And our likely opponent will be the Grizzlies... Liam added silently in his heart.
His reasoning was reluctantly accepted by the coaching staff, but they were still very skeptical about Liam's statement. Until now, the Spurs and the Grizzlies have faced off three times, with a 2-1 record, and they have the advantage. They don't believe the Grizzlies are limited by the Spurs.
Silas looked at the standings and suddenly said:
"But the Grizzlies are now ninth in the West, and they might not make the playoffs."
Liam smiled slightly:
"We still have two games against the Grizzlies."
Everyone fell silent, understanding what Liam meant. He was going to take the Grizzlies to the playoffs, let them take advantage of the Warriors, and then the Warriors would reap the benefits.
Silas stayed silent for a moment and then murmured:
"But isn't it a little hasty to expect the Grizzlies to consume the Spurs? After all, the Grizzlies are only eighth in the West…"
In response to Silas's questioning, Liam certainly couldn't say that the Spurs would fall off. As long as the Thunder passed, the Warriors only needed to defeat the Grizzlies to enter the Western Conference Finals, which was much more profitable than fighting to the death with the Lakers.
Liam could only rely on his absolute authority and prestige to force the implementation of this plan, and the coaching staff could only implement the rules, but they still had doubts in their hearts. Silas presented his opinion again today.
This time, however, he changed his angle. Instead of persuading Liam to fight for third place in the Western Conference, he wanted him to give up the idea of taking a break and play a real game against the Spurs to prepare for the playoffs, which was also the common idea of the coaching staff.
But on this matter, Liam and the coaching staff still disagreed, and he said slowly:
"Stephen has played all season long, and the load on him was too great. Resting him in the rotation was really for the sake of the playoffs, and this decision has been made. Take your time, I will go ahead first."
After speaking, he took half a cup of hot milk coffee and drank it all, pushed the plate in front of him, nodded to everyone, and got up to leave.
Seeing this, Jonathan hastily shoved the remaining half of the fried egg on his plate into his mouth, chewed several times, swallowed, followed Liam, and left the restaurant, leaving only the coaching staff members looking at each other.
The two walked toward the elevator one after the other, waiting for it to come down. Jonathan spoke hesitantly:
"Boss... Why don't you tell Coach Silas that it's to help Stephen fight for the scoring title?"
As Liam's assistant, Jonathan never leaves Liam's side, and Liam never distances himself from him. Yesterday, Jonathan was helping Liam sort through the team documents he wanted to approve when he overheard Liam talking to Larry Riley on the phone.
After returning to the home court, Curry's data was a bit slow, and the score was around 25 points in some games. He only scored 30+ points when playing against the Kings, while Durant deliberately increased his shots, scoring more than 30 points per game, and his average points per game overtook Curry by 0.2 points.
With only 10 games left in the regular season, Curry would have to make a final sprint if he wanted to win the scoring title.
This time, Curry is resting in rotation to save his physical strength and, at the same time, avoid strong teams to prevent his average score per game from dropping. It also gives other rookies the chance to get some practice. The Warriors' "dependence on Curry" is a bit serious, and Liam wants to see what level the Warriors can play at against strong teams without Curry, which also ties into the coaching staff's summer training strategy for the players.
Of course, this decision was made by Liam in line with the team's plan and would never harm the team's interests in reviewing Curry's stats.
Liam looked at the changing numbers on the elevator floor and said softly:
"It's very simple, I'm here to maintain the purity of the coaching staff."
—"Purity?"
"The coaching staff should focus on the aura, not off-the-court matters, Jonathan. Remember, if you become a coach in the future, you'll focus all your attention on training and tactics. The stats of the stars, the commercial factors, those are things the general manager should consider."
—"Wow..."
Ding——
At this moment, the elevator arrived at their floor. The door slowly opened, and Liam entered, followed by Jonathan.
The elevator was empty, and after they stood up, they turned to face the slowly closing door. Jonathan asked suspiciously:
"Boss, then why are you thinking about these things?"
"Nonsense, what did you just call me?"
"Boss, alright, I get it, boss."
...
That night, the Warriors faced off against the Spurs away and lost 92-116 without Curry.
But Liam looked at the game data sheet, and instead of showing anger after the team's defeat, he displayed a slight smile.
The best player for the Warriors was Butler, who made 9 of 21 shots, including 2 of 6 three-pointers and 5 of 7 free throws, scoring 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Liam was very satisfied with Butler's performance, and when Curry returned, he could pass him the ball more, and with Curry drawing defensive attention, Butler's efficiency wouldn't be as poor.
Klay made 5 of 14 field goals and 3 of 9 from three-point range, scoring 15 points. In this game, with Curry's absence, the Spurs intensified their defense, his offensive environment was poor, and to handle the ball, Klay made several tough shots, reducing his efficiency.
But Liam also saw many bright points from Klay. He had completely adapted to the NBA's competition, had much more experience in running without the ball, and his teammates were very tactful. The defensive wing was no longer the simple young rookie. As long as he was given time to improve his shooting and strength, his performance would take a leap and reach its peak soon.
Green's stats were the same as usual, 3 of 6 shots, 1 of 3 three-pointers, 7 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, and 5 turnovers, filling up the data column, but none of them were double-doubles. Without Curry's containment and passing targets, Green's turnovers rose to 5, just one less than his assists. His lack of scoring options was also undeniable.
There's no doubt that Green needs to keep improving his passing and offense. His three-point shooting is still inconsistent, his individual scoring ability is close to zero, and his passing isn't refined enough, which Liam has noted down in his notebook to address during the summer.
However, Green's defense had improved at an astonishing rate after a season. He seemed exceptionally gifted on that side of the court—tough, resilient, clever, and relentless... Green seemed born to defend, excelling in individual defense, maximizing assistance defense, no dead ends on the switches, and after the season, he would join the defensive lineup.
The most surprising player for Liam was Jeremy Lin. After taking Curry's starting position, Lin quickly adapted to his new role. He wasn't at all scared of the big stage, stayed calm and composed on the court, and confidently commanded the positions of the main players, shooting and passing resolutely without hesitation.
He finished the game with a double-double of 17 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, and 1 steal on 6 of 10 shooting, 1 of 3 from three, and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line, with only two turnovers.
Lin's excellent performance had something to do with the Spurs' lack of defense against him, but Lin's ability to finish with his right hand, create damage, and play pick-and-roll was evident in the game. When he practices his long-range shots, he will be a very good sixth man.
Yi Jianlian's performance made Liam feel very gratified. He shot 4 of 6, 1 of 2 from three, and recorded 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block.
After joining the Warriors, Yi Jianlian lost his starting role and the ball didn't come to him much, but he didn't complain at all. He trained diligently, did his best whenever on the court, and worked hard to contribute in his role—helping the team with its best defense, securing rebounds, covering and switching defenses, spacing the floor, and responding to passes. He didn't care about stats, and he was deeply loved by the coaching staff and his teammates.
Yi Jianlian was still young and had potential to unleash. As long as he took it step by step, though he wouldn't say he'd become a star, he would definitely be a high-quality role player who perfectly fits the small-ball era.
Liam left the data sheet on the table, his fingers lightly tapping it, his eyes shining brightly, and he whispered to himself:
"With 10 games left, the end of the regular season is near. I can't wait to see the playoffs and the summer come."
End of this chapter
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