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Liam also pulled his starters with Mingjin, replaced the starters, and substituted the third-string team.
When Curry left the court, Liam hugged him and said with a smile:
"Stephen, great job."
This phrase was tough but not impolite. Curry had a really tough game, playing the first and third quarters, 8 minutes in the second quarter, and from the start to the last 3 minutes of the final quarter. He played a total of 41 minutes, and the playing time felt full. You know, even Gasol, who has played the longest in the Lakers, only played 36 minutes.
In those 41 minutes, Curry recorded a double-double of 32 points, 11 assists, and 6 rebounds, and didn't play much in the first half before finding his rhythm in the second half.
"Alright, I can keep fighting!" Curry raised his arm, flexed his toned muscles, and smiled.
His breath was a little heavy, but overall stable, and after a summer of training, his physical condition had greatly improved compared to last season. He wouldn't be exhausted after 37 or 38 minutes like last season.
Now Curry could easily play 37 minutes a game and still maintain a high level of performance, occasionally playing for about 40 minutes, and his efficiency wouldn't drop.
"Don't worry, there'll be a game for you to play in the future. Don't worry, I'll get back all the money I paid you!" Liam joked, patted Curry on the back, and asked him to sit down.
He looked to the other side and returned to his "meditative" state, with an indifferent expression, as if the Lakers were the Zen masters of the main side, and smiled faintly.
Playing step by step, the Warriors led by 10 points in the final 5 minutes, and the Lakers really had a chance to win, but I dare to fight you with a short rotation, are you brave enough?
From the start of the game, Liam intended to kill the main players, except for Curry. Chandler played 36 minutes, almost the same as Gasol, providing him with personal service throughout the process. He only scored 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks, but he was crucial for Gasol's defense.
Liam had a principle before the game: if the Warriors had the lead, meaning they couldn't drag the game to a critical moment and try to open the gap in regular time.
The Lakers have rich experience in competition, Kobe Bryant's clutch shooting ability is strong, and the young players of the Warriors are likely to make mistakes at that moment, giving the other side an opportunity. Liam simply let Curry play the second half until the victory was secured, and then he would replace him.
In fact, Liam was ready to let Curry play the second half; if the Warriors didn't open the gap this time, he would let Curry stay on the court the whole time.
Liam was different from Popovich and Kerr; to win, he would die by the main force, not to mention that Curry was still so young, full of energy, and now not exhausted. Would he let Curry play for 40 minutes when he's older?
For the current Warriors, every victory must be fought for. Liam has long stated that the regular season should be played like the playoffs, and the playoffs should be played like the finals.
And Liam sent him to say it was the third-string team, but in fact, only Whiteside, Anthony Toliver, and Danny Green usually didn't have a chance to play and could only dare to fight in garbage time. Jeremy Lin and Matthews were still on the court.
In the first three games, Jeremy Lin's shooting rate was only 37.5%, which was very inefficient. Although he was able to deliver 3.4 assists, he had 1.9 turnovers, and his performance was poor.
This was far from the level Liam expected from Jeremy Lin and far from his performance in training camp.
During this time, Jeremy Lin had been strengthening his strength training, watching his game footage repeatedly, and learning from it. But most importantly, he needed to gain experience and grow in the game.
As for Matthews, Liam told him to pad his stats. When Liam replaced him on the court, he said the reason was that there were too few small forwards, so he could only delay time. Matthews agreed and couldn't ask for the opportunity to pad his stats.
Garbage time passed quickly, and unfortunately, even in the garbage-time matchup, the Lakers still lost. Jeremy Lin was very confident in front of the Lakers' third-string lineup and passed a few seconds to Anthony Toliver and Danny Green, who hadn't played much in the first three games. At this moment, they were like tigers out of the cage, swearing to make the most of this rare playing time, hitting three consecutive three-pointers. Matthews could only run back and forth; it was Whiteside, relying on Jeremy Lin to block and dismantle, who ate two cakes and scored the first point of his career.
Silas watched the Warriors players on the court carefully, and after Danny Green hit his second triple, he nodded frequently and told Liam:
"Liam, Danny's three-point shooting seems to be improving again... Good! It's a beautiful steal too, and I think he deserves a spot in the rotation and not just garbage time... Oh, Hassan, this butter-fingered guy! He's still not ready to play at the NBA level and will need a lot of training... Anthony is a bit of a pity, but Yi has the athleticism and defense he doesn't have, and can only look at the water cooler."
He briefly commented on the performance of several players on the court. Liam also nodded slightly to agree; Silas's opinion was basically the same as his. Danny Green's progress was surprising; obviously, he hadn't been idle this summer, and the other two could only be responsible for watching the water cooler due to their own factors or the team's, daring to fight in garbage time.
Liam stretched his legs, supported his chin with his right hand, thought for a moment, and said:
"I'm not worried about Danny's progress. He's going to be an important part of the team in the future, and soon he'll have a place... Well, when the next game starts, give him a few minutes in the second quarter to get used to playing with the bench."
When Silas heard this, he took out a piece of paper and wrote it down. Besides being responsible for the Warriors' offensive tactical adjustments and the regular rotation of the lineup, Liam arranged it, and Silas was the one who reminded Liam, acting as Liam's "alarm clock."
In the end, after the game, the Warriors defeated the Lakers 119-92, including a 10-point victory by the Warriors in garbage time, turning a great win into a bloodbath. Otherwise, the Lakers would still have had a decent face.
But there's no way around it. This is the same as the embarrassing record created by Paul in the playoffs when the Nuggets also sent a third-string team, but the Hornets' third team couldn't turn things around, and those marginal players from the Nuggets, naturally, couldn't keep their hands off, each one worked hard to kill the Hornets, and finally gave Paul's career a stain that could never be erased...
On the Lakers' bench, Kobe Bryant looked up at the somewhat embarrassing score and shook his head helplessly. If it had been a few years earlier, a big loss would have just made him look tough.
But now that Kobe Bryant has matured, he knows his body is still fatigued from competing in the Finals all year, let alone his teammates, and Bynum isn't here, and losing to a new team like the Warriors isn't that unacceptable.
He stood up and hugged the Warriors players one by one, offering a few words of encouragement from time to time. When it was Curry's turn, Kobe Bryant smiled:
"Stephen, you're playing great, and honestly, I didn't think you'd be a good starter for the All-Star Game. Even though you beat us here, now, I'd love to see us play together next year."
Curry was stunned for a moment before realizing what Kobe Bryant meant and smiled:
"I hope that's the case, and I'll definitely pass more to you and help you win the MVP."
This season's NBA All-Star Game would be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and Kobe Bryant obviously recognized Curry's strength, believing he could be selected as a starter for the All-Star Game this year based on his own ability, rather than being forced to start by Chinese fans like last season's All-Star in Dallas.
After Curry, Kobe Bryant shook hands with Klay, looked at the young man in front of him with a little expression of interest, and said with a smile:
"Klay, say hi to your dad for me. You played well, despite your terrible defense."
Kobe Bryant off the court was completely different from on the court, without the confrontation with Klay.
He met Mitchell Thompson, and he also knew Klay. Klay often came to the Staples Center to play when he was a kid and had played one-on-one with Lakers players, but with Kobe's character, he naturally wouldn't argue with a kid, and this was the first time they played against each other.
Klay smiled and hugged Kobe: "Thanks, I'll tell him. Actually, I should be watching this game from the barrier. He told me before the game he'd come to see me beat you, and he made a bet with me."
—"How? What did you bet on?" asked Bryant curiously.
Klay shrugged and said casually:
"He told me you'd beat me until I cried, and I said, don't talk about that, I definitely won't. Obviously, he lost, and I'll go back and ask him for that 100 bucks."
"Haha, looks like I should try a little harder..." joked Kobe, then said seriously: "But seriously, I like your mentality, especially your decision on three-point shots. But I have to remind you that if you want to be a good shooting guard, ball-handling skills, mid-range shooting, and defense are essential, and you should've put those exercises on your agenda earlier."
Klay's face darkened imperceptibly and he vaguely said, "Thanks for the reminder, but my dribbling is a bit poor... Well, very poor. It might take me a long time to improve it a bit."
If it weren't for his dribbling, Klay wouldn't be a pure off-ball shooter. And who wouldn't want to shake off an opponent after a flashy move and power through them with a violent dunk?
"Really? Then double the practice. Once isn't enough, twice isn't enough, three times, and one day, you'll be competent at attacking with the ball," said Kobe Bryant very seriously.
Klay was a little stunned, then nodded slowly and said with the same seriousness:
"You're right, I'll train hard."
End of this chapter
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