Curry's Deficiencies

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The next game became a moment for the role players of both teams to shine. Caught up in the playoff atmosphere, even the battle between the reserves became intense. Neither side showed signs of letting up, and no player dared to fight recklessly. Know that the playoffs are not a stage for personal expression. The most important thing is to implement the coach's tactics to the letter.

Two minutes later, the game finally ended. The Warriors defeated the Suns by 16 points, 106-90, taking a 1-0 lead in the series.

At this point, the American Airlines Center had become much emptier. Many Suns fans opted to leave early when the team had no hope of winning. Otherwise, they would be stuck in the parking lot after experiencing a disappointing game, and that would drive these Phoenix fans crazy.

But the Suns players kept basic etiquette, especially Nash. He went onto the court and hugged each of the Warriors players one by one. He smiled appropriately and showed no frustration or anger after losing the game.

Just after Nash greeted the Warriors players, Liam Gonzalez approached him. A look of surprise crossed Nash's face, then he also showed a kind smile:

"Coach Z, congratulations on winning this game."

Liam looked at Nash in front of him with many emotions in his heart. If anyone could be called the most graceful person in this league, it was undoubtedly Nash. Leaving aside his personal life and odd free throw habits, Nash's style of play was extremely clean and honest. He was also very likeable, never resorting to dirty tactics, and never turned his back after a loss.

"Steve, I'm here to apologize to you…" Liam said in an apologetic tone, "What I said to the journalists didn't represent my true meaning. In my heart, you're the most important person in the league right now. A great point guard."

The method of provoking the generals was useless, and Liam stopped pretending.

In this game, Nash didn't take charge of anything. He had no desire to prove his scoring ability. He didn't fall into Liam's trap. He still played in the way that was most familiar to him, focusing on getting his teammates involved. He scored 18 points in the game with a double-double of 13 assists, his scoring was exquisite but very efficient. If it wasn't for the poor shooting from other Suns players, Nash's assists would have been even higher.

The facts proved that for players who were indifferent to statistics and had an extremely clear understanding of the game, any verbal provocation was useless.

Nash smiled and said:

"I thought you were going to say that Steph is the best point guard."

He looked at Curry beside him, and Liam smiled:

"No, he's still a newcomer, but I believe he'll become the best point guard in the future."

"Uh, with all due respect, is he really a point guard?" Nash asked quietly.

He gave a curious look. Liam understood what he meant, smiled slightly, and said:

"Of course, it's not just about putting the ball in the hands of teammates to organize an offense. There's a way to organize called off-ball organization. We'll see it next season."

"Off-ball organization…" Nash repeated quietly and shook his head without leaving a trace.

He had never heard this before and didn't think there could be a point guard who could drive the team's offense without the ball. However, Nash didn't directly refute Liam. He smiled politely and said:

"Coach Z, this series is not over yet. We won't lose the next game so easily."

After saying that, he turned around and walked toward the players' tunnel.

Liam watched Nash walk away and remembered a moment from his previous life when Irving got injured by accident, and Nash's very elegant speech after the Nets lost the playoff tiebreaker to the Bucks. That Nash, as a coach, was exactly like the current Feng Zhizi—calm and graceful.

But the difference is that coaches are different from players. A coach cannot afford to be graceful.

Liam didn't know if his appearance would change Nash's future fate. Nash might still be the head coach in the future, but maybe he wouldn't. But if Nash ends up with the Warriors after retiring like in his previous life, Liam would tell Nash one thing: he would have to waste his grace and courtesy to become a good head coach.

…

In the post-game interview, Curry received enthusiastic praise from the journalists. He exploded in the third quarter, scoring 22 points in just one period. He finished with 39 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals in the game. Efficient. He made 7 of 12 three-pointers, very productive and efficient, but he made many mistakes, and his flaws didn't stay hidden. He was the most dazzling player in the eight games of the first round.

The exchange between Liam and Nash after the game was also enthusiastically captured by the journalists. When asked about it, Liam also changed his earlier statement and said that although Nash didn't score many points, his performance couldn't be compared to Curry's. Up and down, he was great in another sense. If the Suns weren't in such bad shape, it would have been difficult for the Warriors to win.

Another journalist asked Liam what he thought of the next game. Liam said that the Warriors would never take it lightly, but it was enough for them to steal a win as visitors, and the Suns had a good chance of winning the next game.

This left the journalists a bit confused. When he wasn't playing, Liam had an arrogant attitude. However, after defeating his opponent, he became cautious.

Jonathan also had this question after Liam was interviewed and returned to the locker room, he asked:

"Boss, we obviously won the game, why do you speak as if we were the ones who lost?"

"Do you really think we're stronger than the Suns?" Liam looked at him.

Jonathan hesitated and shook his head:

"Not necessarily, but in this game, we had an overall statistical advantage; barring mistakes, it's not like we didn't have a chance to win the first round of the series."

After joining the Warriors, under Liam's influence, Jonathan became very passionate about data and liked analyzing it. During the game, he often recorded real-time data on the field and did simple analyses. Liam also encouraged Jonathan to express his own opinions, even though they were rarely adopted...

"You're right. In terms of data, the Suns were behind us in this game, but data is dead, and people are alive. In the next game, the Suns won't play like they did today, and we won't play like we did today—except for mistakes," Liam said.

"In this game, the Suns' overall three-point shooting percentage was only 25.4%. Although this was the result of crazy three-point shots in the last quarter that lowered the percentage, it was still much lower than their regular season level of 35.5%. Even considering the increased intensity of the playoffs, I think 33.5% is a more reasonable number, and in the next game, we shot 40.4% from three. I believe those 13 turnovers will be much more."

Jonathan was stunned for a moment and nodded thoughtfully. When he regained his senses, Liam had already walked away. He quickly followed:

"Boss, do you want to analyze the data from a large sample?"

"Of course, this is a very simple truth. It's just that your exposure to data analysis is too short to realize it. If you accumulate some experience, you'll naturally understand," Liam said.

The NBA now places much less emphasis on data than future generations will. Only after the small-ball era arrives will each team fully realize the importance of data and seek the most efficient style of play. The lineups and tactics of all teams will also become more and more similar, which is the impact of data analysis.

"Then, do you mean we'll lose to the Suns tomorrow?" Jonathan asked.

Liam nodded as he walked:

"Yes, don't forget, this is the Suns' home court. It's already a surprise to me that we won the first game. The Suns will definitely bounce back, and our form will definitely decline. So let's vaccinate them first, so they won't be too affected if they lose."

"Boss, you have such good intentions!" Jonathan said with admiration.

Liam shot him a sideways glance:

"Stop flattering me, don't forget to work with the video editor when you go back to edit the game video. Mark the key parts and send it to me; by the way, also send one to Silas, don't give it to Coach Adams. There's really no room for improvement in the defense."

"Alright…" Jonathan's head dropped.

Editing videos was a laborious task. Although he could learn a lot in the process, he'd get frustrated if the video editing took too long.

"By the way, boss, didn't you say this game was affected by the players' condition? Doesn't that have any reference value…" Jonathan suddenly looked up and looked at Liam with enthusiasm.

"Of course not," Liam's response crushed Jonathan's hope of being vague, "You have to understand that any playoff game has ten times the research value of the regular season!"

"Alright, boss, I understand!" Jonathan quickly nodded.

…

Time flies, and the first-round playoff games continue every day. Curry's 39 points dominated the headlines for most of the day before giving way to the Bulls vs. Cavaliers and Jazz vs. Nuggets games the next day.

Just one day later, on April 20, the second matchup between the Warriors and the Suns began.

Since the Warriors had secured a big win in the first game, this game attracted many Warriors fans to the American Airlines Center to cheer on the team.

But to their disappointment, the Warriors were soundly defeated by the Suns, and the series was tied 1-1.

As Liam had told Jonathan the day before, the Suns marked the beginning of a strong rebound after losing the first game. Many shooters like Channing Frye, Hill, and Richardson had more or less regained their touch. Nash's exquisite passes were not in vain. The Suns' overall three-point shooting percentage also rebounded significantly. Although it was still low compared to the regular season, it was the inevitable result of the higher intensity in the playoffs.

The Warriors were not in the same good form as the last game. It was impossible for them to shoot 40% from three for two consecutive games. That was not the normal level of Warriors shooters in this game. Including Curry, the feel of the Warriors players had diminished to varying degrees.

Both teams were now playing similar tricks. In terms of the four statistics with the most impact on offense, the most impactful for the Suns and Warriors were effective field goal percentage and turnover rate. Neither team was particularly strong in shooting rate or offensive rebound rate.

Thus, due to the ebb and flow of shooting efficiency, the Suns controlled the game throughout, and the Warriors' turnover rate was higher than in the previous game. The disadvantage grew even more, and they eventually lost to the Suns, 106-124.

The Warriors could still score, but the Suns scored better, which is why the Warriors lost.

But Curry still delivered full statistics: 30 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds. The Suns lacked an elite perimeter defender, and their overall defense was not systematic. This was the type of opponent Curry thrived against. Although his efficiency as a perimeter shooter decreased, he strengthened his drives and mid-range shooting to secure his scoring production.

It's just that Curry's drives at this point were not comparable to his peak. He needed to strengthen his ability to confront and mainly relied on outside shots to develop his offense.

In Liam's previous life, Curry's drives to the basket never represented more than 20% in the first six seasons, and his shooting in the near and mid-range stayed around 20% all year long, although it was very efficient. In those two areas, his output was very average, and he was more likely to score from long-range. The scoring in this area represented about 30% of his shots for several consecutive seasons. It wasn't until Kerr became the Warriors' head coach that Curry quickly became a magical shooter, and his three-point shooting ratio increased significantly, further improving his already high scoring efficiency.

Of course, Liam didn't allow Curry to go off-course. After Curry entered Butler University, he forced him to give up mid- to long-range shots, retaining it only as an offensive fallback. He only used it in critical moments when he needed to attack, and normally focused on the three-point line and the basket.

After getting used to this style of play, Curry brought it to the NBA. However, due to the significant increase in confrontation intensity, Curry's finishing efficiency at the basket remained, but his production decreased.

This was inevitable. Almost all rookies had to go through this process. These NBA teams were not NCAA teams where players over 2 meters could play center. All teams placed great importance on penalty defense. Even a monster like Rose was repeatedly frustrated in the opponent's paint and suffered countless big blocks in his rookie season. Let alone the thin Curry.

Additionally, in this game, the referee slightly relaxed the whistle scale, which was even more disadvantageous for Curry. Many times, when he drove into the paint, he was met with tough confrontations from his opponents and fell to the ground repeatedly. The referee didn't care much when blowing the whistle. They were very stingy.

It's just that Liam couldn't protest because the referee wasn't targeting the Warriors. Their standards were consistent. When Warriors players ramped up the confrontation intensity, the referees didn't blow the whistle.

Of course, it's true that the Suns relied more on shooting in this game and attacked the basket less frequently, but this can only be said to be the Suns taking full advantage of their home-court advantage, which allowed them to score three-pointers. Why couldn't the Warriors?

After the game, Liam looked at the score on the big screen, heard the wild cheers from the Suns fans in his ears, took a deep breath, stood up, and walked toward his frustrated players.

End of this chapter

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