NBA: The God of Basketball Begins with Precise Scoring

Chapter 16: Kerr's tactical changes fail to work; how can the Warriors break the deadlock?

Because throughout the entire season, the Warriors have primarily used a twin-tower lineup.

In the early part of the season, the Warriors focused on training rookie center Wiseman. However, despite his physical talent, Wiseman's basketball awareness was terrible. He would even block his own teammates on pick-and-rolls, which was simply absurd.

When he was on the court, the Warriors' record was a complete mess, and netizens even joked that "only Wiseman could stop Curry."

Some even went so far as to say that Curry's lifelong rivals are three Jameses: LeBron James is his biggest opponent in the Finals, James Harden is his biggest opponent in the Western Conference playoffs, and James Wiseman is his biggest opponent in the regular season.

Later, Wiseman got injured and was replaced by blue-collar center Looney in the starting lineup, which greatly improved the Warriors' record.

However, throughout the entire season, the Warriors rarely used a small-ball lineup; their twin-tower lineup was the one they gelled best.

No one expected that Li Xingchen would suddenly emerge at the very end of the season, even in the last few seconds of the second playoff game.

Knowing this player had such great potential, Kerr would have definitely given him more playing time during the regular season to experiment with and refine different lineup combinations.

Of course, on the other hand, it's also because the Warriors' record was tight at the end of the season, so Kerr really didn't have the margin for error when experimenting with lineups.

This meant that when he wanted to try a new small-ball lineup in the playoffs, he had to be forced into it without any room for trial and error.

As the head coach, making tactical changes at such a crucial moment, especially with a lineup that has never appeared in the regular season, puts him under a lot of pressure.

But he wasn't afraid. He was a head coach known for his boldness in using players, and moreover, he had been with the Warriors for six years and had already won three championship trophies, making him a highly accomplished player. This was one of the reasons for his boldness.

"Li, you go in! Rooney, rest. With their lineup right now, we have to use our small-ball lineup to compete with their offense. They have too many three-point shooters; our twin towers can't contain their offense at all."

"Rooney, I hope you can understand that I substituted you out so early not because you played poorly, but because the opposing lineup somewhat counters you. They have Gobert protecting the paint, which means there aren't many opportunities under the basket; and they have too many players who can shoot from the outside, so with your lateral quickness, you'll definitely be at a disadvantage defensively."

Rooney nodded without saying anything more.

As a blue-collar center, he is very clear about his role. With very obvious strengths and weaknesses, he is always moved to wherever he is needed. In some games, he may play for more than 30 minutes, but in other games, he may not be able to play at all. He is now obviously in the latter situation.

The opposing team fielded a lineup with Gobert and multiple three-point shooters, so it would be too easy for him to be at a disadvantage.

Rooney didn't seem to feel anything, but another player on the bench was frustrated.

That's Jordan Poole.

Before playing the Jazz, he anticipated the current situation on the court. Given the opponent's lineup, Kerr was very likely to bench Rooney and risk using a small-ball lineup to compete with the opponent's offense.

And when the Warriors use a small-ball lineup, isn't the most suitable person to fill Looney's position the Jordan Poole?

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. No one knows how Li Xingchen managed it, but he played so well in both matches that he's now clearly a higher priority in the coach's mind...

Of course, zero people care about Jordan Poole's opinion.

After the timeout, Li Xingchen replaced Rooney on the field, Green played center, and Wiggins and Bazemore moved up to the forward positions.

Both of them are actually swingmen, mainly playing the shooting guard and small forward positions. Given their size, they would be at a disadvantage if they played the power forward position. Fortunately, the Jazz do not have any large or particularly outstanding power forwards, so there shouldn't be any major problems in the short term.

Seeing Li Xingchen being substituted on so early has sparked a lot of discussion among domestic fans.

"Wow, our Xingchen brother is on stage!"

"That's good. It's only been four and a half minutes. It's not time for a normal substitution yet. In the last game, Achen was only substituted on after eight minutes."

"Kerr is still as daring with his player selection as ever. Looks like he's going to unleash his 'death lineup' to go toe-to-toe with the opponent's offense. To be honest, it feels quite risky. Is it really okay to put Wiggins, with his small frame, at the power forward position?"

"Achen has something. You could tell from the last game that Kerr wanted to use him more. Although he didn't start, he played for 24 minutes. You have to know that he only played three quarters in the last game. Even Curry only played for 28 minutes."

"Seize the opportunity, Li! Keep up this performance, and you might just secure a starting position next season!"

"Why call him 'Little Li' anymore? To show respect, I suggest we all change it to 'Big Li' from now on!"

……

The Warriors had possession of the ball in the first possession after the timeout.

Meanwhile, Jazz head coach Snyder also made a lineup change!

He substituted Bojan with Ingles, clearly sacrificing offense and strengthening defense to some extent, seemingly anticipating that Kerr might field a small-ball lineup.

It's hard to say who has the better or worse in the battle between the two coaches, but both have made bold changes. Now it depends on how the players perform on the field.

The Warriors' offense still started with the classic "Curry pick and roll".

Gobert did not move up to help defend, and Royce O'Neal did not intend to force his way through the screen. Instead, Mitchell, who was closest to Curry and originally guarding Bazemore, quickly moved to help defend him. As for Royce O'Neal, he went around the screen and filled in Mitchell's original defensive position.

Unlimited switching!

With the Jazz's current roster, apart from Gobert, the other four players can switch on defense indefinitely, which can be said to be a tactic specifically tailored for the Warriors' current multi-shooter lineup.

Of course, even the tightest defensive switching will create gaps, but in reality, apart from top shooters like Curry who can seize such narrow gaps and shoot quickly, no one else can do it.

Therefore, as long as the Jazz can quickly cover Curry, it doesn't matter if they are a little slower in defending others, as long as they are not completely out of position.

When a pick-and-roll didn't create a shooting opportunity, Curry tried to drive to the basket, but because Gobert was always retreating to help defend in the paint, it became even more difficult for him to score.

Ultimately, the Warriors passed the ball around several times without creating an opportunity. With the time limit for the offensive possession about to expire, Wiggins, who had just received the ball, had no choice but to force a mid-range shot under the defense, but unfortunately missed.

He wanted to try and grab the offensive rebound himself, but Gobert, who was a full 15 centimeters taller than him, wouldn't give him that chance, as he protected the defensive rebound very well.

In the first possession after the timeout, the Warriors' offense failed.

Cole's tactical change doesn't seem to have achieved the results he expected!