NBA: Warrior godfather.

Guys there is already content on patreon, if anyone wants to become a chunin or jonnin.

patreon.com/Chuga320 (More 50 chapters)

—————————————————————————————————————————————

Under a disdainful look from Jeff Bower, the Warriors handed over the ball and the game began.

Lowry received the pass, moved it steadily past half-court, and signaled to Anthony Tolliver to come up and cover.

The latter immediately ran from inside. Okafor, fearing his long-range shooting ability, hesitated and finally followed him.

In Jeff Bower's rotation, Okafor typically rests for a few minutes in the first quarter and comes in to lead the bench in the second quarter.

The interim head coach isn't a pure pushover. He still has something to offer. He wants Okafor to lead the bench lineup to defend against Big Z. Who knows, maybe Liam isn't ranked as Big Z?

But Anthony Tolliver doesn't even have the height of Big Z, and his defense is even worse. Jeff Bower has already imagined the scene in his mind where Okafor wreaks havoc on the Warriors' basket.

But for now, the Hornets must defend this ball first.

Anthony Tolliver's slightly thin body makes his coverage quality quite average, and the Hornets' defender is only lightly blocked by him.

But Lowry relied on his explosive power and the brief gap to accelerate and suddenly dashed past Okafor, getting half a body ahead.

Lowry ran towards the free-throw line, but instead of attacking it directly as usual, he turned around and passed the ball to Anthony Tolliver beyond the three-point line.

He was guarded by the Hornets' backup point guard, Bobby Brown, who was only 1.88 meters tall. After receiving the ball, Anthony Tolliver ignored him and raised his hand to shoot a three.

Bobby Brown did everything he could to block the shot, but the height difference between them was too great. He couldn't interfere with Anthony Tolliver's shot. He could only watch as the ball sailed over his head and swished through the net.

26:29.

Looking back, Okafor highlighted Anthony Tolliver in the low post, and the Warriors attacked directly with three players inside to form a double-team on Okafor. He had to pass the ball, and Devin Brown caught it and scored a three-pointer.

26:32.

The Warriors had the ball again, and this time Watson and Anthony Tolliver came in to run a pick-and-roll. After breaking free, he passed the ball to Anthony Tolliver. This time he didn't shoot the three-pointer directly but ran towards the basket. Devin Brown entered and made an easy layup.

28:32.

When Jeff Bower saw Anthony Tolliver score 5 points in a row, his expression changed slightly. He stood up and shouted:

"Don't change the defense, don't give No. 43 the chance to miss!"

Liam clapped with a relaxed look. Anthony Tolliver's stance is basically a three-pointer. He rarely does anything other than shoot threes, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have the skills of other inside players to shoot a triple. The defender, who stands at 1.88 meters, remains very relaxed.

Back on defense, the Warriors resolutely attacked Okafor and allowed the Hornets to shoot from the outside. This time Bobby Brown missed the shot. Although the Warriors had a significant height disadvantage, they collectively protected the rebound, but there was no opportunity to break out.

Lowry wasn't in a hurry and constantly made his way into the offensive zone, continuing to play pick-and-roll with Anthony Tolliver. This time Okafor stayed inside, and Bobby Brown decided to ignore the defense, giving Lowry space to shoot.

But Lowry didn't shoot. His three-pointers were so good that Liam had prohibited him from shooting threes during the game unless he had to shoot due to a 24-second violation.

He looked at Liam. Liam gestured with both hands to push the door. Lowry waved his hand. The other Warriors players began to slowly move toward the corner, with Okafor following closely behind. Jeff Bower told him not to give space to Anthony Tolliver for a three-pointer.

Once everyone was in position, Reggie Williams came inside, received the pass from Lowry, and without stopping, attacked the rim!

At that moment, Okafor was guarding Anthony Tolliver at the baseline, and the Hornets' basket was unprotected. After using his explosive power to shake off his defender, he walked toward the paint and successfully dunked.

30:32.

Jeff Bower looked at Okafor in dissatisfaction, but Okafor could only spread his hands helplessly. You told me to guard against Anthony Tolliver...

Liam looked at the court with a smile and nodded in satisfaction.

All of this was within his expectations. Anthony Tolliver's three-point shooting percentage isn't too high, only 38.7%, but he's very decisive with his shots, averaging 1.8 threes per game, making him a significant spatial threat.

Although his role as a center weakens the Warriors' interior defense, he can pull the Hornets' center out of the paint, giving the Warriors' powerful forwards a lot of space to break through.

As for the defense... Liam was prepared for his defense to be penetrated from the moment he set up this lineup!

Unlike old-school thinkers like Jeff Bower and Charles Barkley, Liam dares to give up defense as long as the gains are substantial. He doesn't believe that the Hornets' backup perimeter can outplay the Warriors. If Curry had a perfect body and hit shots with 100% accuracy, then he would accept it.

In the commentary box, Reggie Miller smiled and said:

"Charles, the Warriors are about to tie the game. Do you have anything to say?"

Barkley looked at the Hornets players with a look of disdain and angrily said:

"The Warriors are so deep that I think the Hornets will punish their defense with open shots..."

If Bobby Brown knew what Barkley said, he would definitely cry. It's unclear if it was because they were in bad shape or because Barkley was showcasing his strength, but in the following minutes, the shooting percentages of these bench players dropped. It wasn't enough to cause any real trouble for the Warriors' increasingly smaller big men.

If Liam were to speak, it would be because the Warriors players actively returned to their positions and rotated quickly, successfully interfering with the Hornets' outside shots.

Jeff Bower didn't make any adjustments. When both teams' starting lineups returned to the court, Liam's small-ball lineup successfully outscored the Warriors. The Warriors led the Hornets by 3 points, 41:38.

After the Warriors stopped using a small lineup, both offense and defense resumed their usual style, focusing on running and shooting. The Hornets also continued to target Varejao, and both sides returned to an offensive situation.

The Warriors' generals slowly started heating up and weren't as dominant as they were in the first quarter. They were no longer at a disadvantage in terms of scoring, and both teams were inseparable.

Brush!Paul found Varejao again through the pick-and-roll, then, during the military drill, hit a steady mid-range jumper.

On the sidelines, Silas wondered:

"Liam, Anderson can't guard Paul anyway, why not align with Varejao to add some spacing?"

He didn't mention the double team. Paul's ball-handling ability was too strong. Liam didn't take the initiative to expose the open space in front of him and always stuck to the strategy of unlimited defensive switches.

Of course, this is also because Paul's offensive capacity is limited. His scoring alone cannot defeat the Warriors. Liam can accept his military drill inside the Warriors' line.

"Being able to defend a little is different from not being able to defend at all," Liam said.

The difference between Anthony Tolliver and Varejao's defense is the difference between air and paper. Liam can't allow Paul to face Anthony Tolliver's aerial defense, which is like handing him two points.

Liam sighed softly:

"We're so short-handed at the power forward position..."

This summer, he's secured many guards and forwards for the Warriors, and Biedrins is also supporting the interior. But at power forward, he reluctantly uses the mediocre Varejao and Anthony Tolliver, who have clear advantages and disadvantages.

He can propose satisfactory candidates for other positions, and Azubuike isn't a big obstacle, but power forward is bound to be the Warriors' greatest weakness.

This season, the power forward issue is destined to remain unresolved and can only be addressed in the future.

The first half ended with a gradual increase in scores. The Warriors were 2 points behind the Hornets at 54:56 as they entered halftime.

In the home team's locker room, Jeff Bower served chicken soup to his players:

"Great job, everyone. We've suppressed our opponents. Chris, you've got unlimited firepower in the second half. Play the way you think is best. Let the young guys see what 'Wei' means! Guys, keep your spirits up, do your best, and go home with seven straight wins for Christmas!"

Jeff Bower's words weren't anything new, but his passionate speech was contagious, and it successfully inspired the fighting spirit of the Hornets players.

In the visiting team's locker room, Liam calmly pointed out a few minor mistakes the team made in the first half, and everyone promised not to repeat them in the second half.

After finishing his speech, he looked at the players' slightly nervous expressions and chuckled quietly: "Why, are you nervous? Are you afraid you won't win against the Hornets and won't be able to get home for Christmas?"

Everyone hesitated for a moment and then nodded slowly.

Liam smiled and said:

"You played well in the first half. If you keep playing like that, you won't lose... Let me relax the conditions a bit. If you play according to the tactics in the second half and don't make any big mistakes, even if you lose, it won't affect your holiday."

Everyone seemed happy, and Biedrins smiled: "Coach, we'll definitely do our best to win this game!"

Of all the people here, Biedrins was the happiest.

His parents and family were in Latvia and could only visit a few times a year. Only during Christmas did his family have time to come and spend the holidays with him. Christmas vacation was the time Biedrins looked forward to the most.

After the second half of the game started, the crowd was surprised to see both teams burst out with high competitive energy. The intensity of the confrontation increased, the offensive and defensive pace accelerated, and both sides fought for every ball, making the scene even more tense.

Boom! On this side, David West played against Varejao in the post, his jumper was interfered with, and the ball missed the rim.

Boom!

Looking back, Butler took the ball and headed to the basket, but he was met with a solid block by Okafor.

The scene from the first half vanished. The Hornets wanted to secure their seventh consecutive win. Paul was inspired byJeff Bower's words to win the MVP, and Varejao felt more comfortable after the military-style training.

The entire Warriors team wanted to get home for Christmas vacation. Although Liam had promised that even if they lost, as long as the performance wasn't humiliating, they wouldn't be deprived of their holiday, everyone still wanted a happy Christmas vacation after winning.

The third quarter was a fierce confrontation. The Warriors' shooting percentage plummeted. The Hornets players committed fouls early, not giving their opponents easy opportunities to score. They paid more attention to the game.

But they were ruthless whenever they committed fouls and preferred to send their opponents to the free-throw line rather than let the Warriors rush to the basket.

There were many scenes of players falling to the floor. The intensity between the two sides grew stronger, and the Warriors players became more aggressive throughout the game. Furious, they defended Paul twice in a row, with a hard cut to his arm.

Paul wasn't one to shy away from contact. He kept making small moves on the defensive end, pulling on jerseys, tripping, bumping into waists, and using hidden elbows... He used various methods in the corner where the referee could see.

Paul had been named to the Defensive Team for two consecutive years despite being only 6'0" (1.83m). He was selected last year as well, likely due to his real Stockton-like passes, and his defense was tough and experienced.

Under these circumstances, the scoring pace for both teams naturally slowed down. By the end of the third quarter, both teams were tied at 73:73. The Warriors relied on their advantage in free throws to tie with the Hornets.

At the start of the final quarter, both Liam and Jeff Bower were put on the bench, and the starters stayed off the court to rest for the final battle, which again changed the dynamics on the court.

A lineup with Anthony Tolliver as the center was destined to be out of contact with the confrontation. The Warriors shrank back frantically to keep the interior clean but inevitably left open spaces on the outside.

Although the Hornets didn't have two backup shooters on the bench, they could still hit open three-pointers under the intensity of the training.

The two teams fought fiercely, and the score quickly climbed. When the starters returned to the court, the Warriors led the Hornets by 3 points, 88:85.

During the substitutions, Liam sighed softly: "Pure offense won't work after all. We've penetrated the Hornets' interior line, but still haven't managed to open up the lead. When we score, the opponent also scores, so we can't win the ball."

Ron Adams, who was next to him, looked into his eyes and nodded: "Yes, the team's defense needs to improve even more... but we need more defensive players, especially inside. If you can give me good interior defense, most of the team's defensive problems can be solved."

This kind and gentle old man was the creator of the Warriors' aggressive defensive strategy.

Ron Adams was very good at creating a defensive system suited to the existing lineup of players. The Warriors lacked height, so he compensated for it with speed and intensity, speeding up rotations, collapsing the interior, and preferring to leave open three-point shots for the opponent rather than let them drive to the basket.

With his help, the Warriors achieved the 11th best defensive efficiency in the league, placing them in the middle and upper ranks. This was already an improvement for a team that focused on offense but neglected defense, and lacked interior height and confrontation. Quite commendable.

Liam saw that the issue had come back up and realized the team's interior problem needed to be resolved. This was crucial for whether the Warriors could go further in the season.

He watched the game on the court, but his thoughts flew far north, and he made a decision in his heart.

Isn't it Christmas? I can't help it!

End of this chapter

Note: Hi if you really like NBA novels, you can support me either in this pg with stones, reviews etc, or in patreon since the niche of sports and specially NBA is very small is Webnovel since people prefer to read Naruto, Pokemon, comics etc.