The COVID-19 pandemic is fierce, and all teams except the Jazz have had an unequal number of players and coaches. The Suns, Eagles, Lakers and other teams have been affected by the lineup's untidy record, but the same lineup is not neat, but the Warriors can continue to win and firmly rank first in the West.
Today, the Warriors beat the Jazz 123-116 on the road, the referee's blowing scale was not friendly to them, coach Steve Kerr and Iguodala have received technical fouls, they lost their cool in the third quarter and once buried a 16-point advantage and were overtaken to 8 points, but with the bravery of the fourth quarter, the Warriors completed the turnaround.
You know, today's Warriors still lack the core players at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, Draymond Green, and the top scorer on the bench, Damian Lee. In addition, Cole's think tank is 3 people less, and the chief assistant coach Mike Brown and 2 other assistant teachers are in quarantine.
From December 18, when Jordan Poole became the Warriors' first player to be recruited, the Warriors have a total of 6 players, in addition to rookie Moody, Injured Wiseman, Wiggins, Poole, Lee, Green are the main players in the rotation lineup. That is to say, in the last 7 games, the Warriors have been playing in the case of an untidy lineup, but even so, the Warriors still won 5 games.
Other teams have been tormented by the epidemic and complained bitterly, like Trae Young and Nate McMillan complaining about why the league has not suspended the season in the continuous losses, but the Warriors can calmly cope with the peak of this wave of the epidemic, they play with an uneven lineup, while continuing to harvest victories steadily. Why do warriors have such confidence?
Kerr has Stephen Curry as the hole card, of course, the primary reason, curry's overall efficiency this season is indeed not as good as in the past few seasons, but his overall output is always on the line. Green is not there, Curry with the ball to block the demolition, empty-handed running position to play the ball attack is indeed a lot more difficult, but Curry still has a way to score points, while using his own pull to create opportunities for teammates.
Throughout the game, Curry shot 28 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists from 6 of 12 from three-point range, don't look at Rudy Gobert on the offensive end, using his height advantage to turn the tide and grab a lot of offensive rebounds, but because Curry (and other Warriors players) continued to use blocks against Gobert on the offensive end, Gobert's contribution on the offensive end was basically offset by the points lost on the defensive end.
In the second quarter of 8 minutes and 30 seconds, Curry and Looney blocked head-on, and Gobert let go of Looney to defend Curry, and opened his hands to firmly cover Curry. But Gobert's defense also gave Looney the opportunity to block down, and Curry hit the ground to find Looney, who easily made a layup.
In the third quarter of 9 minutes and 25 seconds, Curry continued to block and dismantle Looney, this time Gobert first saved the opportunity not to give Curry a direct shot, giving Mike Conley time to return to position, and then Gobert withdrew to defend Looney's block down. The distance that Gobert put and the moment he gave up were enough for Curry to form a shot, and Curry hit a three-point shot.
Including the key moment in the fourth quarter, Curry's equalizing three-pointer was also playing Gobert. He ran without the ball using Looney cover to get out of the defense, Gobert was completely defenseless, and Curry hit a three-pointer.
Curry's three-point shots are actually basic operations, and it is more gratifying that Curry did not blindly shoot three points when the game was deadlocked, he once used a breakthrough to challenge Gobert to make free throws, and once directly hit the vacuum area of the Jazz defense line, compared to many previous games, Curry's shot choice today is more reasonable.
The Warriors hold the King Bomb, but the Warriors do not rely on the King Bomb. Wiggins scored 25 points, 4 assists and 2 steals, and he proved with his performance that he could not only add to the team's opening stage, but also send charcoal. At a critical moment in the fourth quarter, Wiggins used a mid-range shot, three-pointer, and breakthrough to score 8 consecutive points on a 2+1 basis.
One of Wiggins's most eye-catching rounds came from 40 seconds before the end of the game, in this round, Gobert was against the unstable projection of Iguodala, Wiggins played a block against Gobert, forced into the bottom corner by the Jazz's "Ice defense" He distributed the ball to Iguodala, Gobert was obviously more jealous of Iguodala's breakthrough, and as a result, Iguodala hit a three-point shot in mid-air.
Otto Porter, who started in Green's place, once again showed an eye-catching performance, contributing 20 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals. After a major injury, Porter has long been unable to play the third position, he is much slower, and now he plays more of a big forward and a center in the small ball. But on the offensive end, Porter's role in pulling away space is still obvious. Porter's peak was top 3D, and his three-point shooting ability was unquestionable, and the surprise he brought to the Warriors was that in the Warriors' increasingly magic offensive system, he filled the Gap in the Warriors' mid-range range.
This season, Porter can be called the Warriors' first mid-range shooter, and we all know that the Jazz's defensive system is to pinch three-point and basket, put in the middle distance, and Porter seized the opportunity to shoot 5 shots in a single game. Throughout the game, the Warriors hit 11 of them, nearly half of which came from Porter. In contrast, the Jazz have made very few shots this season, and their shooting distribution is the same as that of the Rockets of that year, and they have only 7 shots in the whole game. Originally, the shooting was not as good as the Warriors, and even his best three-point shot could not shoot the Warriors, and the Jazz could only admit their fate.
Of course, Poole, who has just returned from isolation, veteran Iguodala, rookie Cuminga (who played 6 minutes to defend Clarkson was obvious), Gary Payton Jr. (excellent in defending Mitchell) and so on have all contributed to the Warriors' victory. As the schedule progressed, the warriors' management's offseason operations and the internal digging of the coaching staff were increasingly recognized.
That's the scary thing about the Warriors, whether the Warriors have a few players missing, whether Curry is there or not, they can play the same way. Like today, Green is not defending well with the Warriors, but their offensive system is still working properly, with 46 sports goals and 39 assists, which has taken team basketball to the extreme.
In the past, Cole was always complained that he did not maximize the value of Curry, and many people complained that Cole was too particular about team basketball. Kerr doesn't want to make the most of Curry's value, he just hopes that the team doesn't rely too much on Curry's performance. Rather than the superstar solo dance, he wants the team to blossom more and attack in a way that is more difficult to predict by opponents. After witnessing the Warriors' performance in recent times, those who question Kerr should be able to understand Kerr's good intentions, right?