Why Let Curry Run Without the Ball?
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After the Warriors completed their offense, Liam looked toward the Suns' bench across the technical area. Casually, Gentry also turned his head.
He smiled at Liam and nodded slightly, with a very friendly attitude. Liam looked at him expressionlessly and turned his head back.
The Warriors' running and shooting tactics were largely borrowed from the Suns' routines, and the Suns' tactics of running and shooting also learned from Nelson's style of play. It's along the same lines. Liam cannot simply ignore the mature and reliable tactics, and another set of tactics emerges.
Since the style of play is the same, it can only depend on the players' condition. That's why Gentry is confident in himself, with a superstar and two-time MVP, while the Warriors are a group of young players, and it's their first time in the playoffs. Who? Needless to say, their ability to adjust is stronger.
On the court, after a tight first round, both teams' offenses were like a dam that had opened its gates, spilling out frantically.
Both teams are ingrained with the counterattack gene. They accelerate when receiving the ball and can complete the offensive and defensive transitions in under 5 seconds. They act when an opportunity arises. A common sight is the three-point counterattacks in the transition from man-to-man defense. Only when there is truly no chance do they opt to fight it out on the ground.
Even in positional battles, the play is very fast. The shooters spread their wings, and pick-and-rolls in the 1/5 position in the middle are the most common routines for both sides. They do not give the opponent the chance to easily attack the basket.
The difference is that Stoudemire's defense is not as good as Chandler's, which forces the Suns to increase their defensive contractions, giving the Warriors many outside shooting opportunities.
Looking back, Liam used a small adjustment that allowed Anthony Tolliver to completely let go of Collins and stay inside to help defend. Although his defensive ability was average, there was one more person in the paint, delaying things enough for Chandler to catch up, and other perimeter players didn't need to be as intense.
As a result, the Warriors gave the Suns many open opportunities, and the defensive effect of the positional battle was immediate, quickly establishing a 5-point lead.
Gentry didn't stay idle. He immediately called a timeout and replaced Collins at the six-minute mark of the first quarter with Channing Frye. This added some spacing and prevented the Warriors' defense from becoming too ruthless.
This substitution yielded results. Anthony Tolliver usually collapses to help defend, but Channing Frye accepted the pass from Nash and hit an open three-pointer, punishing the Warriors.
The two teams were once again back to square one, but no head coach could tolerate letting the opponent score easily on the basket, and Gentry knew they would miss a corner three, but still insisted. Now, both teams' competition was for the shooter's understanding of open space and the discipline of defensive rotations.
As a result, fans saw a game that might have never been seen before in the NBA. Both the Warriors and Suns adopted a very modern small-ball lineup with a core ball handler + three shooters + one spacer. With similar offensive and defensive plays, it felt like two teams within a mirror, locked in a mirrored confrontation.
The first quarter passed in a dazzling clash between the two teams. The Warriors still took advantage of the few minutes that the Suns put Collins on the court, leading slightly with a score of 34-30, but a 4-point difference was just one three-pointer away in this game—nobody cared about this point difference.
After a brief break, the battle resumed in the second quarter. Both teams continued to attack according to the tactics from the first quarter. This was also the most concise and effective way to play, with a slight disadvantage. And Gentry wouldn't make any hasty changes.
But in terms of execution, the Warriors couldn't match the experienced and well-coordinated Suns. Curry's passes didn't compare to Nash's. His passes were brilliant, but Nash was a corridor-level playmaker. A clever pass at the most appropriate time to the right person, but Curry's control over timing, intensity, and angle of the pass was always just a bit off.
Furthermore, the running positions of other Warriors players sometimes overlapped, wasting several good opportunities. This was much less common with the Suns. The offensive efficiency of the two teams gradually increased, which was reflected in the Suns' score, which gradually expanded the lead.
Had Liam not replaced Matthews to strengthen perimeter defense, and Chandler being inside, the Warriors' overall defense was strong, successfully disrupting the Suns' offense many times, and the point difference would have even increased to more than 10.
Still, Nash tore apart the Warriors' defense with a wonderful pass, propelling the overall offense of the team. At the end of the second quarter, he led the Suns to a 6-point lead with a score of 67-61 against the Warriors, winning the quarter.
When the players from both sides left the court, Gentry smiled and high-fived the players one by one. Although the point difference wasn't large, the Suns had already controlled the game's pace. If it continued this way, the point difference would keep growing, and the Warriors would be defeated. It was like boiling a frog to death.
Gentry looked at Liam with a bit of pride. "Young man, you were so arrogant before the game with your nonsense. Can you see the Warriors' situation now?"
…
On the other side of the technical area, Liam wasn't as joyful as Gentry, but he also didn't look upset because they were trailing. He smiled, greeted the team members, and then walked toward the players' tunnel first.
After the Warriors' team returned to the small visitors' locker room, Jonathan entered last and consciously closed the door.
Liam waited for everyone to rest for two minutes, then stood in front of the group, clapped, and said loudly: "Everyone did a good job in the first half. We're only 6 points behind. This is nothing. Two points are nothing. You can make up for it with just one three-pointer. I'm very satisfied with your performance."
Everyone smiled and was also proud of their performance. In the first half, the clash didn't seem intense, but the game's pace was incredibly fast. Both sides were constantly moving, and suddenly, the offensive and defensive roles would change, requiring quick decisions. Both offense and defense could not make too many mistakes; otherwise, there would be problems in the team's offensive and defensive links, giving the opponent a chance to capitalize on them.
Although the Warriors made many more mistakes than the Suns, being able to compete with the Suns, who had a super playmaker, was already an extraordinary performance from the Warriors players at such a good level. Whether they could keep up was another matter.
Liam waited for a while and continued:
"But after all, we're still behind. We need to catch up in the second half, so we need to make adjustments... Kyle, you'll replace Wesley later and play according to the tactics we practiced... Stephen, are you not going to get unlimited shooting rights? I didn't see your shots."
After Liam finished speaking, Lowry was happy and nodded with a towel as a headdress and explained: "The team's overall offense is playing very well. I don't think I need to do much more."
He had only taken 7 shots in the first half, hitting 4 of them, including 2 three-pointers, and 2 out of 2 from the free-throw line. He scored 12 points, which was quite satisfactory. He also had 6 assists, but he also had 3 turnovers. His overall performance was relatively average.
"That's fine, but in the second half, I need you to step up and score. Stephen, it's time to show your skills without the ball. You can also play with Nash alone or play small and big after the pick-and-roll. Whenever you feel it's the right moment, it's fine. You can also pass the ball, but you need to reduce the errors… But don't look at others, keep moving, and stay alert to receive passes from Stephen anytime. What I want is a dynamic attack, not one-on-one play, do you understand?"
"Coach, I understand," Curry nodded seriously.
"No problem, coach!" the others shouted.
…
At the same time, in the wide and luxurious home team locker room, Gentry praised his players with a relaxed expression: "Guys, you did a great job in the first half and will continue working hard in the second half. Those young guys want to use our method. It's impossible to beat us because we have Steve, the best point guard in the NBA. Let's keep playing at our pace in the second half! I hope we can beat our opponent cleanly. This is just an appetizer. The goal is to win the championship, and it's not worth the Warriors spending too much energy on us."
"Got it." "Don't worry, coach!"
All the Suns players responded, while Nash smiled and nodded. His expression was very calm. Only his chest slightly rising and his sweat-soaked hair showed that he had led the team to a wonderful performance in the first half.
He was a true gentleman, a player who always stayed calm and rational, never losing his composure, except when shooting free throws.
…
While Liam and Gentry were preparing tactics or feeding their players with chicken soup, the commentators were also busy. The TNT team reviewed the first-half stats of the Warriors and Suns and analyzed them.
"We can see that in the first half, the Suns made 13 three-pointers with a shooting percentage of 34.6%. For them, this is a normal low level, while the Warriors made 15 three-pointers with a shooting percentage of 41.2%! This is a very scary level, but still, the Warriors are 6 points behind."
Barkley said: "The Warriors had 4 more turnovers than the Suns. They wasted many good opportunities. Nash recorded 6 assists in the first half without a single turnover. He gave Curry a good lesson."
Kenny Smith agreed:
"Yes, Nash controlled this game. He was leading the Warriors by the nose. In the second half of the second quarter, the game's pace became faster and faster. The Suns could still play at this speed, but the Warriors were starting to complicate things and making frequent mistakes. This was the main reason they were outplayed by the Suns."
"I'm looking forward to seeing the adjustments Coach Liam makes in the second half. He definitely won't let the game fall into the Suns' pace," said Reggie Miller.
…
The 15-minute halftime passed quickly, and the players from both teams returned to the court after a brief break.
The Suns' lineup at the start of the third quarter consisted of Nash, Hill, Richardson, Stoudemire, and Channing Frye, while the Warriors' lineup was Curry, Lowry, Butler, Varejao, and Chandler.
The Suns had just replaced their pseudo-starter Collins, which was also their custom, while the Warriors undoubtedly made many more changes. There was no space between their five-player lineup.
Kenny Smith was surprised:
"Oh, the Warriors replaced two shooters and replaced them with a backup point guard and a workmanlike power forward."
Reggie Miller frowned and said: "In this case, the Suns can shrink the interior without scruples. This will make it difficult for the Warriors to run pick-and-rolls, and it'll be hard to send the ball into the Suns' paint to complete plays."
Buckley shrugged:
"Maybe Coach Liam wants to solve the problem outside the three-point line? Then there's no need to go inside, which could make the Suns' increasingly contracted defense ineffective."
"But he replaced two shooters. The Warriors only have Butler and Curry on the court who can shoot three-pointers. How can they solve the problem outside the three-point line?" Kenny Smith asked.
"The Warriors have Stephen Curry, and that's enough. Why do you think I'm wearing his jersey to comment on the game?" Barkley pointed to the jersey he was wearing.
"Charles, I must remind you that Curry only scored 12 points in the first half, and you can only say his performance was quite satisfactory..." Kenny Smith said.
Buckley interrupted:
"They tricked you, Kenny. As long as Curry wants to score a three-pointer, he can do it anytime, anywhere."
"... Charles, when did you become a Curry supporter?"
"Exactly! Today, I'm wearing his jersey!"
The players on the court, naturally, were unaware of the discussion between the two. The Warriors threw the ball in from the sideline and launched their first offensive play of the second half.
Curry dribbled the ball into the offensive zone, while Channing Frye and Nash were already positioned near the paint, always ready to shrink in to help defend, completely ignoring Varejao and Lowry.
But Curry did not initiate another pick-and-roll. Instead, he handed the ball to Lowry, who was outside the three-point line at a 45-degree angle to the left, and ran towards the corner. Curry had no choice but to run!
Gentry looked at Curry with some confusion from the sidelines and quickly remembered the scene from the previous game where Curry ran without the ball. However, the Suns had not prepared a plan for this, because during their 10-game winning streak at the end of the season, Liam—whenever a dual point guard lineup was deployed—discussed with the coaching staff, and believed that Curry, who was recovering in form, would definitely take on the role of the primary ball handler.
Liam would not allow Curry to play without the ball again, so there was no defense against Curry's off-ball tactics.
But now it seemed that Liam had obviously not given up on this tactic.
Not only was Gentry surprised, but Barkley in the commentary booth also shouted in disbelief:
"Why let Curry run without the ball? Isn't this a waste of Curry's strong ball-handling ability?"
End of this chapter
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