The Power of Zone Defense

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No matter what others think, Curry is the one who has the upper hand against Durant.

Under the spotlight, Curry first changed directions in front of him. Durant had to take a step back to avoid Curry's shift. Then Curry stretched his left foot, trying to pass Durant to the right. He pivoted and changed his center of gravity. Curry immediately stepped back, not even aiming at the basket, and raised his hand to take a three-pointer!

Durant had been guarding Curry's three-pointer from the beginning. He reacted quickly and did everything he could to interfere. However, Curry's shot was too fast, and the small step back by Durant prevented him from using his foot speed to interfere with Curry's shot.

Durant could only watch as the basketball spun past his head, arcing high into the air, and fell cleanly through the net.

At 17:21, the point difference, which Durant had been trying to narrow with two tough shots, suddenly grew again.

"Yes! Curry hits a tough three against Durant! His shot is incredible!" said Mike Breen.

Jeff Van Gundy smiled and said: "Mark, did you see that? Durant can't defend Curry at all. He's not fast enough."

Mark Jackson's face looked a little ugly. He hadn't expected the slap to come so quickly, but he still managed to say:

"This shot was just an accident. I don't think Curry can make a shot like this every round."

At that moment, the Thunder launched an attack, and Durant was still running without the ball. This time, the Warriors put a lot of defensive attention on Durant, leaving Jeff Green, who was covering him, open to receive the ball. Fortunately, Chandler was mobile enough to interfere with Jeff Green's layup at the last moment, preventing him from scoring and securing the rebound.

Watching this, Brooks clapped in frustration while Liam smiled and gave Chandler a thumbs-up.

In fact, Brooks is not an ordinary coach. He didn't place all his bets solely on Durant but used his offensive threats to create opportunities for others, playing the role of "gravity manipulator."

But the difference between Durant and Curry is that Durant's three-point threat is much lower than Curry's. His off-ball movements are mainly concentrated within the three-point line, which can easily be solved.

Although Durant also runs off the three-point line without the ball, Liam's defensive strategy for him was to switch defenses when encountering a screen within the three-point line and fight through screens outside the line, giving him an opportunity to shoot a three.

With Durant's three-point shooting rate of 36.5% this season, tough shots don't scare anyone.

There are only two players in the world whom Liam doesn't dare give space to shoot threes. Fortunately, one of them is on the Warriors, and the other will probably join the Warriors next season.

When the Warriors attacked, Curry still found Durant through the pick-and-roll, and the Thunder changed defenses as usual.

Although Brooks didn't have much hope for Durant's help defense, he still had a lot of confidence in his individual defense.

Curry gritted his teeth, dribbled slowly, and stared at Spider-Man Durant in front of him. Liam's words echoed in his mind: "Take back your spotlight!"

After defeating the Clippers, Curry had been in great form. He completely broke through the rookie wall, and his scoring and efficiency had returned to pre-All-Star Game levels. He even went further, scoring four 30-point games.

Tonight, he continued his hot streak. To his eyes, it didn't seem like the basket was as wide as the sea, but it was as vast as Lake Michigan.

Curry narrowed his eyes and lowered his center of gravity. Since the boss said it, he must do it.

Curry used a change of direction again, but this time Durant didn't back up. Curry's three-pointer was firmly etched in his mind. Durant even took a small step forward and completely covered him.

Then, Curry paused, looked at the hoop, and dribbled the ball behind his back with his right hand, as if he was going to take a three. Durant quickly took another step forward, but Curry immediately pushed the ball forward and spun. He grabbed Durant's body and went around him to the left!

Durant hurriedly chased him to the side, trying to stop Curry, but Curry had already gained half the advantage with his body. He leaned back strongly, using his momentum to accelerate and passed Durant cleanly.

Krstic quickly approached to cover the defense. Curry slowed down, adjusted his pace, and took a shot just inside the free-throw line, avoiding Krstic's help. The ball spun smoothly in the air, arcing high as it swished through the net.

At 23:17, the Warriors' lead increased further.

"Mark, is this the luck you're talking about?" Jeff Van Gundy laughed. "Curry's luck is too good, right?"

Mark Jackson said angrily:

"Alright, I have to admit it. It's very hard for Durant to defend Curry. You're right..."

On the sidelines, Brooks couldn't believe what he was seeing. Curry had easily passed Durant. Durant is a once-in-a-century genius!

He has the height of a center and a huge wingspan, but the flexibility of a small forward. This abnormal physical talent makes him a scoring machine and also gives him the potential to become a defensive player of the year.

Although Durant's help defense is not great, his individual defense is still above average. So why is Curry passing him so easily?

Brooks clicked his tongue. Should Durant stop switching defenses? But as a small forward, if he can't even defend guards, how can the Thunder set up their defense?

And with Durant's arrogant character, he won't accept this arrangement, but he can't let Curry get away with it like this...

Just as Brooks was in doubt, the Thunder and Warriors had already completed two rounds of confrontation, and Curry's three-pointer against Durant had given Brooks a sense of relief.

But then Curry managed to break past Durant, which made Brooks worry again. Would he change his defense?

Just as Brooks was struggling, the first quarter ended, and the Warriors led the Thunder by 6 points, 29:23.

Although Curry had a high success rate in individual matchups against Durant, Durant's touch that night was also incredibly good. His mid-range game was his domain. He repeatedly pulled up and scored over the heads of the Warriors players. He distributed the ball, leaving Butler, Matthews, and Varejao helpless.

Liam gave high-fives to the players coming off the court one by one and watched the replay of Curry and Durant on the big screen. If it hadn't been for Durant's improbable shot, the Warriors would have had at least a 10-point lead.

On the other side of the bench, Brooks smiled at Durant:

"Kevin, you did well. Rest up. The team will need you to score more later."

Durant nodded, breathing lightly, sweat dripping from his forehead.

He scored 13 points in the first quarter, 2 points more than Curry. Additionally, every attack required him to run off the ball. When returning to the defensive side, he had to guard Curry alone, which was physically demanding.

He also wanted to add points through simple offensive methods, but as soon as he had the ball, the Warriors double-teamed him. Apart from him, only Sefolosha was a semi-decent shooter in the Thunder's starting lineup.

Three minutes into the first quarter, Brooks substituted Harden into the game, but Harden was still very immature at the time and couldn't handle the big responsibility. Besides a three-pointer from Durant, he didn't contribute much and was extremely limited.

After Brooks spoke to the players one by one, he took the assistant coach's tactical board and started designing the plays:

"Russell, Jeff, Chandler definitely won't be on the court later. I need you to increase the interior impact..."

…

The first quarter break ended quickly, and both teams returned to the court. The Thunder formed a lineup with Westbrook, Ibaka, Harden, Collison, and Jeff Green, while the Warriors entered with Lowry, Big Z, Reggie Williams, Anthony Tolliver, and Azubuike.

Liam sat on the sidelines, quietly observing the Thunder's lineup, and smiled to himself:

"Stephen, looks like Brooks has the same idea as me. He wants to establish an advantage during the transition period."

Silas, sitting to his left, nodded:

"He gave Westbrook and Jeff Green a three-minute break in the first quarter, and now he lets them bring in substitutes, just to avoid Tyson."

"But Brooks should know what Ron is capable of. If Collison is replaced by Howard, no, even Bynum, his lineup would be enough to give me a headache. But not Westbrook and Jeff Green."

Ron Adams, sitting to the right, also smiled. He was very clear about the power of the defensive system he had built, especially since the Thunder's lineup still lacked shooters. Although the defensive abilities of the Warriors' substitutes were weak, with the system's support, there was no problem handling a few minutes of intensity.

Just as the three were talking and laughing, the second quarter began.

When the Thunder attacked, Westbrook took the ball and drove in, but after a few steps, he was flanked by Lowry waiting inside the three-point line and Reggie Williams on a 45-degree angle to the left. He had no choice but to pass the ball to Jeff Green.

After Jeff Green received the ball, he continued trying to force his way through. This was specifically instructed by Brooks, but Reggie Williams and Lowry ran at him again. It was

difficult for him to break through four hands with two fists, so he could only pass the ball back to Westbrook.

Westbrook then turned at a 45-degree angle on the right side, trying to avoid the help of Reggie Williams, but Anthony Tolliver came over from the inside, and Lowry couldn't cover him. Ibaka stood at the free-throw line.

Ibaka was open, but he still hadn't practiced long-range shooting and didn't pose much of a threat beyond the free-throw line.

He hesitated for a moment and didn't take the shot. Instead, he passed the ball to Harden in the corner. After receiving the ball, Harden took an immediate three-pointer but missed as Azubuike interfered. The rebound was grabbed by Big Z, who was guarding the basket.

"Harden missed the shot! The Thunder's offense took 20 seconds, but they still couldn't break through the Warriors' defense. Instead, they gave the Warriors a chance to counterattack," said Mike Breen.

Jeff Van Gundy said with a deep voice:

"The Warriors defended the zone and increased the pressure on the ball handler. Westbrook and Jeff Green tried to force their way through, but they were thwarted by the double-team. The Thunder is in trouble."

Mark Jackson agreed:

"Yes, we all know that breaking zone defense requires shooters. The Warriors are defending a second and third zone. There are gaps in the defense at the 45-degree angles on both sides of the three-point line. But unfortunately, there are no qualified shooters in the Thunder's lineup except Harden, and they have no way to exploit this vulnerability."

On the court, the Warriors completed an attack during the three-man commentary. Lowry and Big Z collected and passed the ball to Big Z, who scored a mid-range shot.

At 23:31.

Looking back, Brooks also noticed the Warriors' zone defense. He ordered Harden to move to the 45-degree position as a response, but the Warriors immediately switched to a 3-2 zone defense and moved heavy forces to the top. They boldly left both sides of the court open, with Ibaka and Jeff Green in the corners, but Harden still couldn't get a clean look.

Under the Warriors' zone defense, the Thunder couldn't get inside and had to pass the ball from the outside. Eventually, Westbrook took a three-pointer at the buzzer but missed, prompting laughter from the Oracle Arena.

Jeff Van Gundy said: "The Warriors' defensive strategy is very flexible. Coach Liam must have made specific arrangements. When Harden is at the top, they defend the 3-2 zone. When Harden is in the corner, they switch to the 2-3 zone. In short, they're not giving open shots."

For the next 4 minutes, the Thunder struggled against the Warriors' zone defense, with their offense suffering repeated setbacks. Except for Lowry and Azubuike, the Warriors' substitutes were all below average defensively, but they rotated and attacked frantically, exerting maximum physical effort and using more to prevent less in localized areas, with significant effects.

When the Thunder's offense felt frustrated, the Warriors seized the opportunity to launch a defensive counterattack. Reggie Williams sprinted down the court, with Anthony Tolliver and Big Z containing Collison and Ibaka. The Warriors completed a full penetration to the basket.

At 8 minutes into the second quarter, Brooks saw the point difference increase to 16 points. Finally, he couldn't hold back anymore, called a timeout, and replaced Durant.

He had wanted to call a timeout earlier to make adjustments, but Durant is not invincible and needs rest. The Thunder also lacked a support shooter or a player who could break the zone defense, so calling a timeout would have been futile.

Brooks actually wanted Durant to rest for a while, but with the difference close to 20 points, he simply couldn't stay still. If he allowed Durant to rest again, the game would be over, and the entire Thunder team might have to call it quits too soon.

There was no choice but to push Kevin a little harder.

After Durant returned to the court, he immediately made an impact. He repeatedly succeeded on offense, helping the Thunder stabilize the situation. The Warriors couldn't counter the defense, and the point difference gradually shrank.

Liam remained composed and didn't make any adjustments because Brooks had brought Durant back into the game. It wasn't until 5:15 when he transferred the starting lineup back onto the court.

At that point, the point difference had shrunk to 7 points, but after Curry came back, he ran a pick-and-roll with Durant and nailed a step-back three, extending the lead. The point difference was back up to 2 points, and the Thunder's momentum was suppressed again.

The remaining minutes of the second quarter passed as the scores of both teams alternated. Durant showcased his power after re-entering, making an unstoppable mid-range jumper. He scored 12 points in a single quarter, helping the Thunder close the gap. The score reached 45:51 as the teams went into halftime.

End of this chapter

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