Chapter 1274: Chapter 403: We Believe

Raja Bell and Bowen indeed put a lot of pressure on Roger, their defense against Roger was clear-cut. Raja Bell was responsible for the pressure, Bruce Bowen was responsible for the help defense, and Tim Duncan was responsible for protecting the basket.

This solved the Spurs’ long-standing problem of “lack of external pressure points.”

Roger’s scoring was suppressed to only 26 points. Although he dished out 11 assists, Manu Ginobili’s performance of scoring 22 points during the transition still led the Spurs to their final victory.

Of course, the fighting strength of the Warriors was astonishing.

People thought that losing Amar’e Stoudemire would lead the Warriors to collapse as they did in the preseason against the Knicks, but in the end, the Spurs only narrowly defeated the Warriors by 6 points.

Every player on the Warriors was extremely active, each bursting out with outstanding form.

Except for Gloves.

Gary Payton complained about the referees at the post-game press conference: “I seem to get called for a foul every time I touch the Argentine. I don’t know how this happens, it’s like the whole world is targeting me.”

After the opener, the Warriors’ record was inconsistent.

They achieved a three-game winning streak in the following games, but then experienced a two-game losing streak against the Lakers and Nuggets.

This unstable record stems from the Warriors’ playing style.

Erik Spoelstra eventually decided to start Stephen Jackson or Boris Diaw at the power forward position, abandoning the traditional twin towers. He allowed for more ball handling and played a one-star-three-shooter tactic.

Thus, the Warriors’ victory depended greatly on the players’ shooting touch on the day.

Because all teams would definitely double-team Roger fiercely, the others would get plenty of three-point opportunities.

This season, the Warriors have leaped to become the team with the most three-point attempts.

If the touch is good that night, the Warriors can easily win.

If the touch is bad that night, it’s difficult for the Warriors to secure a victory.

In this era, the Warriors’ playing style is unconventional, even more so than the Dallas Mavericks.

As we all know, the Dallas Mavericks are the team with the most bizarre tactical design and lineup construction, Mark Cuban is obsessed with piling up stars, and head coach Avery Johnson is obsessed with letting the stars take turns with isolation plays, not caring much about the team’s defense. But even so, his isolation tactics mainly arrange for finishes in the mid-range and near the basket, which is the most mainstream offensive method in the league at present.

Three-point shots? Although over the years the tactical status of three-point shots has increased, old-school thinkers like Larry Brown who despise three-point shots are being eliminated by modern basketball. Still, no team prioritizes three-point shots as a primary offensive means.

The Warriors did this, with one game reaching up to 35 three-point attempts, while the three-point attempts per game for each team this season stood at 16 times. Ranked second in three-point attempts, the Seattle SuperSonics, with sharpshooters Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, average only 19 three-point shots per game.

Erik Spoelstra kept increasing the team’s three-point attempts each game until after ten regular-season games, the Warriors achieved a 5-5 record.

This is likely the worst start to Roger’s career season; the experiment proves that no matter how much you increase attempts, the shooting touch from three-point range is uncontrollable.

If you want the team to consistently win all games, you must grasp the controllable aspects.

Hence, Erik Spoelstra decided to maintain the three-point strategy unchanged while adopting a more aggressive double-team pressure tactic.

He requires each Warriors player to utilize mobility to pressure the ball handler, forcing them to pass, and creating turnovers.

This strategy is nothing new; Phil Jackson had already popularized this in Chicago in the ’90s.

Therefore, the advantages and disadvantages of this strategy are obvious. The advantage is it can create plenty of turnovers, the downside is it drains physical energy significantly.

Erik Spoelstra plans to solve this issue with frequent rotations, increasing some playing time for bench players while reducing playing time for starters.

Reducing player playing time is never easy, especially for a team that has already won two championships. Players wearing rings often only desire more, not less.

But for the Warriors, this won’t be a problem, because everyone in this team knows the importance of “unselfishness.” Everyone has sacrificed for others, and everyone has benefited because of teammates’ sacrifices.

For the sake of winning, for defending their title, the starters are willing to slightly reduce their playing time.

In the “Golden State Gangsters,” everyone is united.

And the upcoming 11th regular-season game will be used by Erik Spoelstra to test whether this strategy can work.

This experimental subject excites Roger, because next, the Warriors’ destination is Cleveland.

The host there has declared that he will not lose to Roger again this season.

Cleveland, Quicken Loans Arena.

Fans here finally have reason to cheer for the Little Emperor.

Team owner Daniel Gilbert clapped wildly in the stands like a seal performing at an aquarium.

Facts proved that all his efforts were worth it.

On the court, LeBron James is hugging Larry Hughes and Andrei Kirilenko, just now, they used extreme defense to choke the Seattle SuperSonics, ultimately winning 112 to 85.