One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy. Superstar Time Part 1

At 6 minutes and 44 seconds in the first quarter, the Grizzlies couldn't hold on and called a timeout.

16 to 21, the Grizzlies were 5 points behind!

6 of 11 shots, the Grizzlies' hit rate was not bad, but the Warriors made 8 of 12 shots, which was impossible to defend! Among them, Curry made two three-pointers alone, and also attracted the defensive attention of the Grizzlies, creating excellent opportunities for other Warriors players.

With the Warriors' style of play, Curry can easily get three-point opportunities. Their lineup is prepared for Curry to score. Whether it is Curry's three-pointer or Gerald Wallace and Draymond Green's cut-in scoring, they have to be done in the counterattack, and Iguodala is the key organizer.

And it fell into a positional battle. Harden's singles are simply unsolvable. Even if Gobert doesn't care when Draymond Green pulls out, Harden breaks through Draymond Green and cuts in, or Iguodala cuts in after an off-ball pick-and-roll, and Gobert always has to take care of it.

The Grizzlies tried very hard to suppress their own rhythm and not be carried away by the Warriors.

However, as the saying goes, whenever there is a change in the game, the side with the advantage must be in a passive state. This saying is not without reason.

The Grizzlies, who undoubtedly have the advantage in strength, can only study the "strength" of the Warriors in a targeted manner, but cannot prepare for the "change" of the Warriors, because they have not adjusted yet, and it is difficult to predict, let alone prepare.

Fortunately, Sun Ce's singles are efficient on their side. He scored 8 points with 3 of 4 shots at the start, and had two assists, helping the team to keep the score tight.

After the official timeout, Coach Hollins replaced Sun Ce, Klay Thompson, Carter, Richard Jefferson, and Yi Jianlian, and attacked!

On the Warriors side, Curry went down to rest, and Harden, Barbosa, Harrison Barnes, Jared Salinger, and Draymond Green came on the court.

It was also an offensive!

In terms of offensive firepower, no team can compare with the Grizzlies' running and gunning lineup, but this is limited to the average level of the regular season for the entire season.

But the strength is not seen in this way. They can hit the team without resistance and score a lot of points.

But it is not easy to play against a team that can keep up with the speed, can put some restrictions on their running and gunning, and has a good offense.

The Warriors' Death Five is one of the teams that restrain their running and gunning style!

The Grizzlies can't defend this lineup at all.

Instead, they will be affected by the Warriors' defense. Harden, Harris-Barnes, and Draymond-Green are good at defense. Last summer, they got the Celtics' rebounding champion Salinger at a bargain price. Salinger, who didn't gain weight, is above the standard in defense and can defend from the 3rd position to the 5th position.

After the first quarter, the Grizzlies, who replaced Paul George with an offensive lineup, failed to narrow the gap, but were 3 points behind, 28 to 36, and the Grizzlies entered the intermission with 8 points behind!

...

8 points behind in the first quarter... This is a bigger gap than the last game when the Grizzlies led the Warriors in the first quarter!

And the Grizzlies were fully prepared, but the opponent scored 36 points in a single quarter!

Fortunately, the Grizzlies were confident in their own strength and did not panic.

Back to the bench, Coach Hollins, Sun Ce, and Paul George stood together, without speaking, thinking for a while, and looked at each other. Sun Ce said uncertainly: "Superstar ball?"

Paul George nodded: "Superstar ball."

Coach Hollins emphasized: "Superstar ball!"

The idea is surprisingly consistent!

Then there is no need to discuss it. Coach Hollins began to rotate, and the lineup of Sun Ce, Livingston, Carter, Aldridge, and Gobert was replaced.

As coach Hollins expected, after playing the entire first quarter, Draymond Green on the opposite side needed a rest, so Curry and Iguodala were replaced, while Salinger and Barbosa continued to play, and Thabeet was replaced at the center position.

The reason why Larry Sanders and Randolph did not play for a second in the first quarter and did not get a chance to play at the beginning of the second quarter was that coach Hollins predicted that the opponent would replace the big lineup. He did not intend to compete with the Warriors in team play. In a word, he could not beat them!

At the beginning of the second quarter, Iguodala continued to control the ball and organize the offense on the Warriors side. Salinger, who averaged 23 assists per game in the regular season this season, has a good elbow support ability. Curry can also show his first-class ability to organize offense when Harden rests. Thabeet eats cakes on the offensive end, and Barbosa can still run, shoot and dunk despite being 33 years old.

However, the Warriors did not expect the Grizzlies' rotation today to be like this. They thought Larry Sanders and Randolph should be on the field, and they can use their height advantage in the interior to make a fuss.

As a result, Barbosa's cut-in and Thabeet's dunk threat were reduced. Iguodala broke into the inside and was slapped by Sun Ce and flew to the backboard!

Under the interference of Iguodala who was blocked, Sun Ce failed to grab the defensive rebound and counterattack. The rebound was recovered by Livingston.

Continue to fall into positional battle.

Livingston advanced to the frontcourt. Sun Ce wanted to receive the ball and play one-on-one, but Iguodala went around him. Livingston wanted to pass to Aldridge, but Aldridge was also gone around. Thabeet, whose defensive efficiency ranked first among centers in the regular season this season, was guarding the basket. Cutting in was not working, so Livingston chose to do it himself!

After searching around, Livingston looked at Sun Ce, who immediately went up to pick and roll for Livingston. Livingston broke through with the pick and roll. Iguodala did not switch defense, but double-teamed Sun Ce with Barbosa after the pick and roll. Sun Ce also actively ran to the left at a 45-degree angle. Livingston broke through to the mid-range, and was ready to shoot when Salinger made up for the defense, and made a mid-range shot!

30 to 36, the Grizzlies narrowed the gap to 6 points!

When it was the Warriors' turn to attack, Iguodala was much more cautious this time. In the last round, he wanted to take advantage of his lack of offensive threats and sneak a layup, but was blocked. This time he did not force it, and broke through to the inside and passed it to Salinger. As Sun Ce went inside, Aldridge went to the free throw line to block Barbosa who wanted to cut in from the middle, and Salinger was left empty.

After receiving the ball, Salinger made a close-range jump shot, 38 to 30, and the Warriors widened the gap to 8 points again.

This did not affect the Grizzlies' pursuit of points. They were unlikely to defend the Warriors to death. They could only try their best to make the Warriors shoot in positions they were not good at. The Warriors had already memorized the shooting areas that each player was good at. The reason they did not defend well in the first quarter was that they played a big lineup in the first half of the first quarter and did not defend in the second half.

Sun Ce received the serve and advanced to the frontcourt. Facing Iguodala's single defense, he looked for Carter to pick and roll!

This made Iguodala and Curry hesitate. Both of them can cut and shoot!

Originally, Sun Ce wanted to break through after the pick and roll, but Curry's action was very hesitant, afraid of being passed. Sun Ce reacted quickly. After the pick and roll, he chose to take a three-pointer according to the position of the defender...

The ball-holding pick and roll expert level 5 was triggered! The three-point evaluation was temporarily upgraded from A+ to S by two small grades! The most important thing is that thanks to the Warriors' playing strategy in the first quarter, although the Warriors' own offense was flying, it also gave Sun Ce endless singles opportunities, allowing Sun Ce to develop his touch!

Sun Ce made a three-pointer after the pick-and-roll, plus 12 points in the first quarter, Sun Ce's personal score increased to 15 points! At the same time, 33 to 38, the Grizzlies kept the score close!

The first thing the Grizzlies have to do is to use the superstar ball to keep the score close, and then start from the defense!

Sun Ce's touch in the first quarter was cultivated by singles. Similarly, the Warriors, who played so well in the first quarter, especially in the last 5 minutes of the first quarter, almost did not encounter fierce defense, also had a good touch. Just like Salinger just now, he is a versatile forward swingman who shoots accurately from the free throw line but doesn't shoot much, and has enough scoring efficiency at the basket, but he passes more in the elbow area. The close-range jump shot just now is not his forte, but he also made it.

But this kind of ball is no different from a fairy ball for Salinger himself!

The Grizzlies' defense is not focused on locking down the opponent's offense. They will miss open positions when they make up defense, assist defense, and double-team. But who to miss, who to miss, and where to miss... all depend on the on-the-spot choices of the players on the court. The Grizzlies' overall defense is excellent. Occasionally, they miss the wrong person, but it rarely happens. They do a great job in choosing!

This greatly compresses the Warriors' shooting options, and the Warriors' offensive efficiency begins to decline!

On the other hand, the Grizzlies did not send out the highly mobile inside combination of Larry Sanders and Randolph. The Warriors did a good job of defending the basket and close-range defense. The Grizzlies' offense can only focus on mid-range and long-range. When Sun Ce scored a three-pointer, their three-pointer was not effective.

But Sun Ce and Livingston began to show their power in the mid-range!

Livingston is a new force. He will not play for a lot of time. He will only play for more than ten minutes. His role is to help the team score with accurate mid-range shots.

As for Sun Ce, he started to play hard on both offense and defense after the second quarter!

I originally thought that tonight was the second home game and they won the first game, so they might have a psychological advantage, but plans cannot keep up with changes. The Lakers' loss gave the Warriors great confidence. The opponent took an unconventional approach and made the Grizzlies so passive. Sun Ce's original idea of ​​relying on the home advantage and team strength to win the game steadily was shattered. .

In this case, it is not his fault that he cheated. Since he was ready to cheat, he must do his best before cheating!

At 5 minutes and 11 seconds in the second quarter, the Warriors called a timeout and entered the official timeout. During this time, the Grizzlies played a wave of 17 to 12, chasing the score to 45 to 48, and the Warriors' lead was only 3 points!