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At 9:00 AM the next day, Liam woke up from his sleep.
The Warriors didn't have practice today; they had a morning off and were flying to Oklahoma in the afternoon to prepare for Game 3 against the Thunder.
The Warriors' first-round playoff schedule was sweeter, with one game every two days, giving them plenty of time to rest, while teams like the Heat, Mavericks, and Magic had a different story, playing one game per day with tight schedules and little time for adjustments.
It would make sense for both the Thunder and the Warriors, as young teams, to have a tighter schedule, while the older teams would have more flexible schedules. However, the low rankings of the two teams and their relatively low profile meant they didn't get the attention of higher-ranked teams, creating this strange situation.
Liam dressed and left his room. Tina was cleaning the study next door, and when she saw Liam get up, she quickly stopped what she was doing and went to the kitchen on the first floor to prepare food for him.
After a home game, Liam was used to sleeping well to relieve the fatigue, and he liked to eat hot food. Tina wouldn't prepare breakfast in advance like usual; she waited for Liam to wake up before making it.
While waiting for Tina to cook, Liam finished washing up, went to the bathroom, then slowly went downstairs and sat at the dining table.
There was already a stack of newspapers on the dining table. Liam usually went to the office to read the news, but when the team was on break, he had Tina prepare the newspapers for the next day so he could read them when he woke up.
It was still the age of print media; the mobile internet age had just begun, and while news could be read on phones, it couldn't fully replace the newspapers.
Liam took the top copy of "USA Today" and turned to the sports section, and the headline on the front page was about the Warriors vs. Thunder game from the night before:
"... Curry showed the world in this game why he is the scoring champion and Durant is not. Standing at only 6'3", he crushed 6'10" Ibaka with an incredible three-pointer and put on an amazing scoring show for the local fans, setting the record for the most three-pointers in a playoff game, with 10, breaking Ray Allen's previous record for the most threes in a single playoff game."
"It's worth mentioning that Curry made 305 three-pointers with a shooting percentage of 43.5% this season, breaking his own record set last year. This is the first time in NBA history that a player has hit 300 three-pointers in a single season. Stephen Curry achieved this in two years, and who knows how many more three-point records he will break in the future. We may be witnessing the birth of a legendary shooter..."
Liam carefully read through the "USA Today" report, then took the "San Francisco Chronicle" and turned to the sports section.
As the local paper, the focus naturally shifted to the Warriors, but the San Francisco Chronicle focused on the coaches:
"... We have to admit that Coach Liam completely outplayed Scott Brooks. Let's take a look at what Coach Liam did when Westbrook scored 14 points in the first half: he first had Klay slow down Westbrook, with Green, Chandler, or Kirilenko ready to help defend inside at any moment, never giving him the chance to easily attack the rim. So, he didn't hesitate to give the Thunder's role players the chance to take open three-pointers. Harden hit three threes, two of which came in this situation, but Coach Liam always stuck to defending Westbrook, even replacing Tony Allen in the fourth quarter to completely shut down his offense."
"On the other hand, Coach Brooks, who insisted on having Ibaka defend Curry when Curry hit five threes in the first half, may be a good defensive player, but when his defense had no effect, he should obviously have adjusted his strategy. But it's clear that Coach Brooks is not accustomed to changing his game plan, and that's the way he's been coaching. Let's thank him for his persistence; it was his persistence that 'helped' the Warriors win this game and reminded us how fortunate we are to have Coach Liam, who has brought the Warriors back into the light..."
Liam couldn't help but laugh as he saw the huge amount of praise in the latter part of the report, shaking his head and putting aside the San Francisco Chronicle.
The following papers were similar, with Curry's 42 points dominating the front pages of nearly every sports media outlet, many columnists writing post-game reviews of G2 between the Warriors and the Thunder, and the vast majority believing the Warriors would win the series.
Liam quickly flipped through all the newspapers, and Tina had finished preparing breakfast and brought it to the table.
"Thanks, Tina, thanks." Liam nodded politely, took the plate, grabbed a knife and fork, and began eating his late breakfast.
"Oh, Tina—" Liam suddenly turned his head to stop Tina, who was about to leave, and ordered, "Take out that dark blue training uniform I usually wear, I'm going to the arena later."
"No problem, anything else you need?" Tina asked quietly.
"No, go ahead and get to work."
Tina responded, turned around, and left, and Liam focused on his breakfast, cutting a piece of bacon and chewing it carefully.
Although the players were on break, he still had to go to the office to watch footage to prepare for the coaching staff meeting on the plane later that afternoon.
In the playoffs, a 2-0 advantage isn't enough to guarantee victory. While the outside world generally agreed that the Warriors would win the series, in order to actually achieve this goal, Liam couldn't relax in the slightest and had to be fully prepared.
If the Warriors wanted to continue "basking in the light," Liam always had to be meticulous.
April 23, 11:25 PM, Memphis, FedEx Arena.
As the headquarters of FedEx, Memphis is a major transportation hub in the United States, home to the world's busiest cargo airport and the 17th largest city in the country, but the largest city in Tennessee doesn't have the professional sports history to match its stature.
After the Grizzlies moved from Vancouver to Memphis, they still had the same lack of presence they had when in Canada, and they didn't accomplish much except a brief three-year stint under Pau Gasol's leadership.
However, this year, things seemed to have changed.
At this moment, the Spurs and the Grizzlies were heading into the final minutes of Game 3, with the Grizzlies leading the Spurs 88-84 with 1 minute and 40 seconds remaining in the game.
Grizzlies fans were on their feet, clapping and cheering for the team, their gray and white shirts connecting like a patch of cracked granite, as rough and tough as the Grizzlies' style.
Explosion!
On the court, the Spurs turned around in the restricted area, and Randolph's shot was blocked by Duncan. However, he immediately grabbed the rebound on the frontcourt, pressed fiercely on it, and lightly bumped into Duncan behind him. Before anyone else could help defend the block, he hooked his left hand, and the ball flew toward the basket.
But he pushed too hard, the basketball hit the rebound, bounced off the rim without touching the backboard, and the players on both sides rushed to the spot. Gasol fought through the crowd to get the ball, then Duncan, and finally, Parker grabbed it as he ran from outside.
As soon as the French sportscar stepped on the gas, he immediately ran toward the frontcourt, but ignored the Grizzlies players chasing him. Battier followed closely and extended his hand silently from behind. The basketball in Parker's hands flew out of his grip, and OJ Mayo tilted it down on the other side.
He dribbled slowly at the top of the arc to control the clock, and it wasn't until the last 7 seconds of the shot clock that he launched a three-pointer.
Bang!
The ball bounced off the rim, and Duncan pressured Marc Gasol to secure the rebound. Meanwhile, Parker scored two points with his best shot.
86-88.
Hollins immediately called a timeout, and the "defense" chants from the FedEx Center suddenly quieted down.
At the end of the timeout, Coach Hollins shouted at the players about to leave for the sidelines:
"Slow down, control the clock, don't rush, don't rush!"
Seriously following his manager's instructions, young Mike Conley dribbled slowly at the top of the arc until only 7 seconds remained on the shot clock.
Randolph lifted him for coverage, then let him go, and Mike Conley lifted the ball. But Duncan saw the moment, stretched his long arms, grabbed a spot with Randolph, and moved the basketball in the direction it came from.
Mike Conley quickly crouched to pick up the ball, and Ginóbili, who was in front of him, also jumped to grab it. The two tangled on the floor, trying to stretch their hands to grab the ball, but neither could control it for a moment. The ball rolled toward Randolph and Duncan.
Randolph, the attacker, was farther out of position than Duncan. He quickly bent down to pick up the ball, lifted his eyes, and saw that only 2 seconds were left on the shot clock. In a hurry, he raised his hand to shoot, but suddenly realized he was standing outside the three-point line!
But no one in the arena paid attention, and all eyes, both on and off the court, focused on the basketball until it hit the rebound and bounced off the rim.
91-86.
"Yes!!!"
The moment the ball went in, the Grizzlies ran to Randolph's side, celebrating wildly. Even the referee's whistle was drowned out.
After the timeout, Ginóbili committed a foul on the rim and made two free throws to score two points.
The Grizzlies continued pressing the clock, Randolph connected a simple shot to Duncan and missed two points, but Marc Gasol and Randolph fought hard to capture the rebounds in the frontcourt, drained the last few seconds, and didn't give the Spurs a chance to kill the game, helping the team defeat the Spurs 91-88.
When the red light went on, all the spectators stood up, and the Grizzlies' bench players also entered the court, surrounding their teammates in the center. Countless fireworks fell from the dome, and the entire FedEx Arena was in a frenzy.
Popovich on the bench raised his hand to brush away a colorful flower that fell on his head and watched the players leave the court with somber expressions. All the Spurs players bowed their heads slightly, not daring to look directly at their head coach.
"Humph!"
Popovich snorted coldly, his eyes narrowing slightly. He turned to look at Hollins, who was walking from the other side of the technical table, took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, stepped forward, and shook his hand quickly, then turned around and walked toward the players' tunnel.
On the way back to the locker room, Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer approached him and whispered:
"Gregg, we didn't have much luck in this game, but Randolph doesn't make that incredible three-pointer every game, and I don't think we need to worry too much about the Grizzlies."
Popovich shook his head and said solemnly:
"No, Mike, in Game 1, we lost by 3 points; in Game 2, the Grizzlies lost by 6 points; in this game, we lost by three points... Three straight games, hitting key moments, that's enough to prove this isn't a coincidence. Although the Grizzlies are eighth in the West, we're not guaranteed to win this series easily. One bad game could lead to a big joke... Of course, you're right, Randolph may never make another magical three-pointer like that in his career, but we can't take them lightly. The Grizzlies are our enemy!"
There was a hint of severity in his voice, and Budenholzer's heart trembled. He quickly nodded, "I see, Gregg."
Popovich then turned his head, quickened his pace, and murmured:
"Come on, I'm going to kick those little pups' butts... By the way, what's exactly the game between the Warriors and the Thunder?"
"Huh?" Budenholzer was surprised, but quickly reacted and explained, "Oh, yeah, Durant exploded, scored 38 points, Westbrook didn't score much, only 16 points, but his burst worked well, he dished out 9 assists. Harden hit 5 threes and scored 22 points, and as long as he and Durant are hot, the Warriors are very difficult to defend... Curry didn't feel too well, only scoring 22 points on 18 shots, and the rest of the Warriors couldn't share the load, only Jimmy Butler scored 17 points, and the others had just Chandler's 12 points. The Warriors are still a team that depends heavily on Curry offensively..."
"… Liam, Liam?"
"Huh?" Liam slowly opened his eyes and snorted, still groggy.
"It's 11:30, let's rest first, it's too late to watch these videos tomorrow."
Liam lifted his head, rubbed his stiff neck, and saw Silas standing beside him, looking at him with a concerned expression. He smiled weakly, but the smile unconsciously turned into a yawn midway.
"Ah... Alright, Stephen, let's go. I've read it practically for the first time."
Liam shook his head, turned off his laptop, and then slowly stood up, left the hotel conference room, and walked toward his room.
After losing Game 3 to the Thunder, the Warriors returned to the hotel where they were staying, and the players, naturally, returned to their rooms to rest after dinner. Meanwhile, Liam entered the hotel's conference room, watched the editors in the video room editing the game's highlights, and then studied the game footage from tonight carefully, but he unconsciously fell asleep, and Silas woke him up.
Silas's room was adjacent to Liam's, and the two walked together out of the conference room and headed toward the elevator at the end of the hall.
Their room was on the fourth floor, while the conference room was on the second floor, so they were heading there to take the elevator.
The two didn't speak along the way, and it wasn't until they entered the elevator that Silas comforted him:
"Liam, the Thunder isn't a weak team, they're just 2 wins away from us, it's normal to lose to them. Stephen wasn't in good form tonight, Durant and Harden felt incredible, it's so hard to play against them... And even then, we lost by less than 10 points. As long as the team gets back to normal, the next game definitely won't be like this."
Liam opened his mouth, wanted to speak, but stopped. In the end, he just nodded and didn't say anything.
After the elevator reached the fourth floor, the two returned to their rooms. After Liam washed up, turned off the lights, and laid down on the bed, he felt an exhaustion spreading from within, making him want to fall asleep quickly.
But while his body was tired, his mind kept replaying the scene of tonight's game between the Warriors and the Thunder, and he couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
In the dark, he tossed and turned for a while, suddenly opened his eyes, sat up, turned on the nightstand lamp, grabbed his phone, found Stevens' number in his contacts, dialed it, and waited silently for the other person to pick up.
Liam waited a moment, and Stevens' voice, heavy with sleep, came from his phone:
"Hello?"
"It's me."
—"Liam?" The voice on the phone suddenly rose in surprise.
—"Yes, I wanted to ask you something, Brad." said Liam.
—"What's up? Go ahead." said Stevens, a bit surprised.
The two had also kept in touch frequently before, but they knew they were both busy with their work, so they usually spoke when they didn't have games, and this was the first time Liam had reached out so late.
"You should know we lost to the Thunder tonight, right?"
Stevens chuckled:
"Of course, I've watched all the Warriors' playoff games, and you guys lost kind of badly tonight."
Liam smiled bitterly and nodded:
"There's no way, as long as Stephen is a little off, it's hard for us to play."
Stevens wondered:
"You should know better than anyone that once Stephen is off, he'll soon get pulled out, so don't worry at all. Or are you afraid you won't beat the Thunder?"
Liam sighed lightly and said:
"You said it, I don't know, I've never really worried about the series against the Thunder, but this game exposed a lot of problems, much more serious than I thought before, and it's directly related to how far we can go in the playoffs in the end. I've been watching the game footage since I got back to the hotel tonight, trying to find a solution."
—"Have you found a way?" asked Stevens.
Liam shook his head a little disappointed:
"No, aside from Stephen, I haven't been able to find a second reliable possession point, whether it's blocking or passing, he's the only engine on the Warriors' offensive side. As soon as his form drops slightly, the Warriors' offense becomes unsustainable. If we want to win, Stephen has to score 30+ every game, unless someone else steps up, but that's difficult. Jimmy's strength is limited, and playoff defensive intensity is high, it's hard for them to maintain their current performance: Klay, for example, missed two games in a row."
—"Didn't you talk to your coaching staff?"
—"No... Well, to be honest, I know this problem can't be solved right now, I just wanted to talk to you... Sorry, Brad, for disturbing your sleep." Liam paused and said apologetically.
There was a one-hour time difference between Indiana and Oklahoma, and Stevens must have fallen asleep a long time ago, waking up from his sleep.
Of course, Liam did this because he knew that March Madness had ended, and Butler's enrollment work would have to wait for a while to start, and Stevens had been inactive recently, so Liam called him.
"Hehe, why didn't you say this when you dragged me into watching video all night? I didn't need sleep then?" Stevens mocked.
"Uh..." Liam's voice froze, and he didn't know what to say for a while.
"It's alright, don't talk about that useless stuff. I just drank red wine at home and watched two playoff games, one was the Pacers against the Bulls, and the other was you against the Thunder. I wasn't that tired, at least it was much easier than being on the sidelines and watching your team lose." Stevens said with a chuckle.
Liam leaned back on the pillow, smiled wryly, and touched his nose. Stevens still knows the flavor...
Just when he was thinking about this, Stevens' confused voice came through the phone:
"However, it's not that the problem you mentioned can't be solved, at least part of it can be solved, and you used it in the last game, I don't know why you're still upset."
"Huh? What are you talking about..." Liam straightened his body, sat cross-legged, and came to his senses.
He felt that the drowsiness that had been haunting him seemed to dissipate, and he vaguely thought of something, but he didn't have a definite answer.
Stevens said directly:
"Simply put, since the Warriors don't have a second possession point aside from Stephen, why not give him four defenders and let him go solo? The 76ers used this tactic to make it to the Finals, and the Warriors can fully replicate the 76ers' strategy. Larry Brown let Iverson attack solo, and you let Stephen handle the scoring, with Butler by his side as a helper, which is a bit better than the 76ers."
Liam listened to Stevens' words, twisting the corner of the blanket with his left hand, and the fog in his heart gradually dissipated, revealing the hidden answer behind it.
His eyes grew brighter, and he murmured to himself:
"Yeah, why didn't I think of that..."
Stevens hit the nail on the head and said:
"I don't think you couldn't think of it, you just want to use the playoffs to train the rookies!" Actually, you can completely shorten the rotation and increase Stephen's, Tony Allen's, and Andrei Kirilenko's playing time. Stephen's style of play is the least likely to get injured. He's young, energetic, and honestly, 39 minutes is a little less, I think 42 minutes is about right."
Liam disagreed with Stevens' statement:
"No, I think the playoffs are the best time to train the rookies, and this type of high-intensity game with an intense atmosphere can accelerate their growth."
Stevens replied:
"Really? I don't think so. What's the difference between the playoffs and the regular season? It's just a little more intensity in the confrontations, a slightly looser scale of referees, and a bit more playing time. If the strength isn't enough, the playoffs will expose those weaknesses. Can rookies be trained better than in regular season games? This is obviously impossible! Liam, listen to my advice, cut the rotation. There are no points to score, it's better to let Stephen choose himself. And don't forget, Stephen is also a rookie. If the Warriors want to go further, his growth is the most important. If you want to train a rookie, the most important thing is to train Stephen."
After Stevens finished speaking, Liam fell into deep thought.
His right hand holding the phone tightened gradually, he nodded slowly, and said:
"Brad, you're right, I know what to do. Stephen's stellar performance made me ignore the fact that he's still a rookie. In fact, he's only played one playoff game and needs a lot of series training. He benefited a lot from last year's series against the Suns, and if we go far enough this year, Stephen will have more to gain."
Stevens laughed:
"Yeah, the playoffs have a training effect, but that's for a great scorer like Stephen. If he can adapt to the intensity of the playoffs, he's definitely going to improve a lot next season, and that's the best news for the Warriors."
Liam said excitedly:
"Yes, and I've thought for a long time about how to play these playoffs. Listen to me, wait for the Grizzlies... after the Spurs are black-eight."
Stevens interrupted: "Wait, Grizzly Black Eight?"
"Uh, I mean the Grizzlies are very likely to be Black Eight, and when that time comes, after we get past the Thunder, we'll fight against the Grizzlies like this..."
"Liam, you still have a lot of confidence, but are you ignoring the offensive capabilities of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol? And it's hard for the Grizzlies to want to be Black Eight. Don't look at how the Spurs are at a disadvantage now, but as long as Popovich does his thing..."
The two forgot that it was the middle of the night, and they were in full swing discussing the upcoming developments in the Western Conference playoffs and the tactics of each team.
In a daze, Liam felt as if he had returned to the time when he was at Butler University, watching videos with Stevens in the office until late at night.
At that time, the Bulldogs hadn't won the championship, and he wasn't as famous as he is now.
Now, everything had changed, he no longer coached the Bulldogs, Stevens had taken his place and became the famous Coach Liam in the U.S., but he and Stevens could still passionately and purely discuss basketball late into the night, just like before.
"Brad, come and help me, I'm serious, just agree, and the Warriors' top assistant coach position is yours." Liam said suddenly.
Stevens was stunned, as if he didn't expect Liam to say this, smiled, and said:
"Liam, I'm already a head coach. I can't go back to being an assistant coach."
Liam remained silent, knowing what Stevens meant. How could a strong head coach in the NCAA go to an NBA team and take a lower salary to be an assistant coach?
He also knew it was impossible, but the nostalgia of the old days made him impulsively extend the invitation.
Stevens noticed Liam's silence, and the three-year partner made the two understand each other very well, chuckling:
"Win a championship, Liam, don't lose Butler University's face. The champion coach of the Bulldogs—how can he be just an ordinary coach in the NBA? When you win the championship, I'll come to the NBA and be your opponent. And when the time comes, everyone will know that our pitbull's head coach is the best coach!"
End of this chapter
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