Nine Hundred and Thirty-Seven: The Night when the Buddha's Light Shines

Fans are already very familiar with the Warriors' starting five.

Curry, Thompson, Barnes, Green and Bogut, it was this starting lineup that allowed the Warriors to win 66 games and reach the top of the Western Conference.

To be precise, we are still one step away from reaching the top of the West. But this step, in the eyes of Warriors fans, is not far away.

As for the Grizzlies, the starting lineup consists of Link, Butler, Iguodala, Harris and Gasol.

Conley continues to be injured, and Link continues to play the one position.

Judging from the starting lineup on paper, the Grizzlies are still very strong. But the Grizzlies' biggest problem now is that their lineup depth is very limited due to serious injuries.

The only four players on the Grizzlies bench who can play are Dellavedova, Tony Allen, Whiteside and Ezeli.

The injuries to Carter and Conley have made the Grizzlies' outside rotation somewhat difficult. Originally, the second and third positions were the two positions where the Grizzlies had the most abundant reserves. However, after Link was transferred to the first position, the Grizzlies lost another candidate for the second and third positions.

The four people who can play on the bench are not weak in strength, but their shortcomings are also obvious - they have no independent offensive ability, and they are weak in defense and attack.

Dellavedova, Tony Allen, Ezeli and Whiteside are all defensive players. When it comes to offense, one is rougher than the other.

Therefore, Link often had to be replenished, which caused him to consume a lot in March and April.

Therefore, the Grizzlies were forced to this point by the Warriors even though the starting lineup still looked strong.

It has to be said that injuries are indeed a team's biggest enemy.

Although injuries have caused huge damage to the Grizzlies' overall structure, fans still believe that the Grizzlies have the possibility of defeating the Warriors.

The reason is simple, Grizzly Bear has Link!

Moreover, if Link plays the one position, God knows if Curry can still perform well.

Lillard, Westbrook and Paul know this very well, and they have all been prevented from becoming autistic by Link.

Even a defender with extraordinary abilities would have to lose half of his power in front of Link.

Therefore, the direct confrontation between Curry and Link has become a highlight of this game.

After the Warriors won the first possession of the ball, the live camera immediately gave Curry a close-up.

How much of Curry's strength can be displayed when facing Link will be the key to whether the Warriors can win the game!

Almost the whole world is watching the duel between Link and Curry, as if this game is a 1V1 between Link and Curry.

But Warriors coach Steve Kerr doesn't think so. He is a head coach, and an excellent head coach.

Unlike the fans who are watching the excitement, Cole's task is not to give the fans the game they want to watch, but to find ways to win the game.

Cole has already believed that Link is a powerful player since he was commentating on the Grizzlies game last season. Even he must admit that in terms of personal ability alone, his top player Curry cannot compare to Link.

Let Curry go head-to-head with Link? That is tantamount to chronic suicide!

But basketball games are not simply 1V1. A certain player's personal ability is not guaranteed to win.

When the Warriors started their first offense, Cole's eyes were not on Curry, but on Klay Thompson!

Today, Thompson is one of Cole's trump cards!

After Curry passed halftime, Link did not press closely, but he also did not give him an extra step of space.

Crossing the midfield line is the shooting range. It is no exaggeration to describe Curry with this.

Link's distance on the defensive end was just right, not allowing Curry to break through easily, but also preventing him from taking easy shots.

It is not an easy thing to maintain this sense of distance. Many players have been playing basketball all their lives, but they don't know how to handle it.

Naturally, this is not something that everyone can do. Otherwise, Link would not have been the best defensive player last season.

Curry knew he was being watched, but he was not in a hurry and waited for Thompson to get into position.

The "elementary schoolboy" knows that someone can score for him!

At this time, Klay Thompson, who was ambushing in the right corner, suddenly used Green's off-ball screen to sneak into the three-point line.

Curry immediately passed the ball, and the ball was delivered to Thompson at the perfect time.

The tacit understanding between the "Splash Brothers" is unquestionable. They all understand each other's playing habits very well.

After Thompson received the basketball, he made a floating shot without completely standing still.

Thompson knows very well that if he waits to stand firm before shooting, the fleeting shooting opportunity will be blocked by Butler.

Therefore, you can't stop for a step, whether you are standing firm or not, you have to throw after catching the ball.

For most players, floating shots are something that makes shooting more difficult.

But for Thompson and Curry, there is almost no difference between floating and standing!

Thompson caught the ball and shot. Although his body was floating, his entire body shape remained stable and his shooting movements were not affected in any way!

Jimmy Butler immediately blocked Green after getting rid of him, but no matter how fast he was, he couldn't move faster than Curry's pass or Thompson's shot.

Butler's interference was eventually a step too late, and Thompson's floating shot hit the net!

After the ball scored, Cole waved his fist excitedly!

When a coach's tactics work right from the start, he can't help but be excited!

"Beautiful coordination, this is the characteristic of the Warriors' offense. If you observe carefully, you will find that the Warriors rarely use their personal abilities to solve problems on the offensive end. Of course, I am not saying that Curry and Thompson's personal abilities are not strong, but Behind every shot they take, there is the support of perfect and complex tactics. The Warriors' offense will never be a one-person offense. All five people are running and covering each other. In this way, they can Easily get comfortable shots.”

On the commentary stage, Mark Jackson was full of witty words.

Last season, he originally directed the team in Cole's position. But this season, his and Cole's positions have swapped. He said as he matured, Cole picked up the pointer.

But Mark Jackson doesn't feel sad. He is very happy that the team he laid the foundation for can shine.

The Warriors had a perfect opening offense, and once they fell to the defensive end, the Warriors were unambiguous.

Kerr will not let Curry go head-to-head with Link on the offensive end. Likewise, he will not let Curry go head-to-head with Link on the defensive end.

If Curry is asked to defend Link, it will undoubtedly be hitting a rock with an egg.

After Link controlled the ball and attacked, he found that the confident Draymond Green was standing in front of him!

Curry defended himself in front of Jimmy Butler. Of course, Butler's offensive power is not bad either. But Cole believes that only Link can kill the Warrior!

In that game at the end of March, the Warriors relied on this move to secure their victory in the end and defeat the Grizzlies.

Today, Cole is up to his old tricks again. Draymond Green, this is Cole's second trump card!

"Aren't you going to step over my body? Come on, I'm waiting for you!"

As soon as Link got close to Green, the guy started chattering nonstop.

In the game when the Warriors' 16-game winning streak was ended, Green had a ball that was knocked directly away by Link, and then watched as Link easily attacked the basket.

In Green's mind, that was the most humiliating defense he had ever experienced.

From then on, every time Green defended Link, he was very excited.

Being hyper not only means that Green will be more serious, it also means that Link will suffer more physical pain.

The whole world knows that Draymond Green's defense has nothing to do with the word "clean."

Link did not call for cover, but hoped to maximize the team's offensive efficiency by organizing the offense.

So, he finally used a subtle pass to the ground and sent the ball to Tobias Harris who cut inside.

Harris bravely broke through for a layup, completely ignoring the "North Carolina Blackhawks" beside him.

But he forgot that the Warriors' center is also a guy who is not easy to mess with.

Australian Andrew Bogut rushed forward without reservation. Seeing Bogut looking so menacing, Harris chose to throw.

The basketball passed Bogut's fingertips, but Harris wasn't so lucky.

He was knocked directly to the ground by Bogut's shoulder, and his throw was too hasty and missed the target by a hair.

As soon as he came up, Harris was given a slap on the wrist. The "brothers" Bogut and Green had no intention of restraining themselves!

While Harris was still lying on the ground clutching his head, Bogut grabbed the rebound and handed the ball to Curry.

Curry, Thompson and Barnes went down in three directions, and all the Grizzlies' attention was focused on the three of them.

But in the end, Curry, who broke into the free throw line, threw the ball behind his head and sent it to Green.

Green received the basketball at the top of the three-point arc and was unguarded!

Harris, who was originally guarding him, had just taken a dirty trick from Bogut, and now he was just getting up.

Link quickly turned the gun and rushed towards Green, but it was too late.

Green took the shot calmly and hit a hollow three-pointer into the net!

5-0, the Warriors had a perfect start!

"If I can keep going like this today, you will become a corpse!"

After scoring, Green squirted at Link again, and the cheers in the stands of Oracle Arena were very enthusiastic.

From the beginning, the Warriors' momentum completely overwhelmed the Grizzlies. Everyone was jumping up and down excitedly, as if celebrating victory in advance.

Cole raised the corners of his mouth slightly. Thompson and Green, his two key points in winning today, were both in good condition. He wanted to see how Link would win today!

The Warriors can defeat the Grizzlies once, and they can defeat them a second time, and a third time!

After the Warriors started with a perfect 5-0, there was no interruption in their firepower.

Curry only made 2 of 4 shots in a single quarter, scored only 6 points, and had no record of three-pointers.

It has to be said that Link's restriction on Curry was indeed very successful.

But Thompson was completely blown away. He had been holding back his energy before the game. He wanted to settle old and new accounts with Link. He made 4 of 4 shots in the first quarter and scored 11 points with a 100% shooting rate. point!

Kobe was sweating profusely off the court, and Thompson's touch today was chilling. He thought to himself that even he might not be able to do anything about Thompson today.

After all, that guy who looks unattractive has already performed miracles more than once this season.

Once he performs like this, it means that the Warriors' opponents will suffer.

In the first quarter, with Thompson's 11 points and 100% shooting percentage, the Warriors led the Grizzlies by 9 points 30-21!

Everyone knows that game time saved the Grizzlies. If Thompson had played a few more minutes, the Grizzlies would have definitely fallen behind by double digits! !

But Warriors fans were not in a hurry. In the second quarter, they had plenty of time to slowly torture the Grizzlies.

On the night when "Buddha's light shines", no one will be spared!