The December schedule is really not friendly to the Warriors. Not only has the quality of their opponents improved, but the schedule is also quite unscientific.
Before the game against the Bucks started, the Warriors had tried their best to play six consecutive away games. This was their seventh away game.
Seven consecutive away games are physically taxing for the players. At the same time, the team's winning streak is also a psychological burden for the players.
At this moment, Wang Feng finally understood why the Warriors in another time and space lost to the Bucks at this time.
The physical and mental pressure was a bit too much. Although Wang Feng's physical strength had been strengthened to over 90, he also felt exhausted after experiencing a wave of seven consecutive visitors.
"Guys, we can't give up the opportunity to break the winning streak so easily!"
Green applauded and said loudly: "Show up your perseverance and fighting spirit, grit your teeth and win this game! As long as we win this game, we can return to our home court! And it will be five consecutive home games, and we will take a break.
There’s plenty of time for that.”
Within the Warriors, Green is always the most passionate and active one, and he is right.
After surviving this hurdle, the Warriors' next schedule will be much easier. Maybe they can break the Lakers' 33-game winning streak and become famous in history!
This is extremely tempting for any player.
However...the Warriors' physical fitness is really on the verge of reaching its limit.
Problems quickly arose as soon as the game started.
The Warriors were able to win 24 consecutive games before, and the strong offensive firepower is only one of the reasons. Maintaining a strong offense while also having good defensive capabilities is the real key to winning.
Green and Wang Feng, two sharp defensive players inside and outside, formed a complete defensive system.
Although the Warriors focus on small-ball tactics and have an extremely fast offensive pace, so the average points conceded per game is relatively high, but in terms of defensive efficiency per 100 possessions, the Warriors can definitely rank among the top in the league.
However, in the game against the Bucks, the Warriors' defense completely collapsed in just the first quarter.
Bucks guard Michael Carter-Williams frequently broke through Curry at the beginning and attacked the Warriors' inside line. In the past, Green, who was responsible for covering up defense, was always a little slower than the opponent who took the first step and scored.
On the other side, Wang Feng also had problems on the defensive end.
His opponent in this game was not Antetokounmpo Antetokounmpo, but Khris Middleton, who mainly played the small forward position.
At the current stage of the Bucks, Middleton is still the team's leading scorer, averaging nearly 15 shots per game, more than Antetokounmpo.
As a forward player who focuses on mid-to-long-range shooting, Middleton's style is quite similar to that of mid-range shooting king Hamilton. He likes to make frequent runs without the ball to look for opportunities.
What Wang Feng fears most now is running without the ball.
It's not that his physical fitness is not good. Although Wang Feng's physical strength of 90 is not enough to allow Wang Feng to play the entire game like Kobe, James and other physical monsters and still be vigorous and vigorous, it is still enough to support a normal rhythm of NBA games.
The problem is that this wave of seven consecutive deaths consumes too much physical energy!
Whenever Middleton starts running and Wang Feng wants to speed up his pace to keep up with him, his legs feel like they are filled with lead.
In the first quarter of the game, Middleton took 5 shots and hit 4 goals, scoring 10 points in front of Wang Feng with a shooting rate of 80%.
The Bucks had no pressure on the offensive end and easily scored 36 points in the first quarter.
Fortunately, although the Warriors have problems on the defensive end, they still maintain their usual efficiency on the offensive end.
Curry scored 12 points in the first quarter, Thompson scored 7 points, Wang Feng and Green each scored 5 points, and the team entered the second quarter trailing by only 3 points with 33 points.
Seeing that the players' physical strength was severely depleted, Cole started a large-scale rotation at the beginning of the second quarter.
Ying Guodala, Livingston, Barbosa and others all appeared on the field, with Clay Thompson the only starting player on the field.
In fact, this lineup is not very weak, especially with Thompson and Yingodala leading the team, it can definitely compete with some starting lineups of teams that are not particularly strong.
However, in the second quarter of the game, Antetokounmpo broke out.
Antetokounmpo in the 15-16 season is far from the Greek monster he later became, but under the guidance of head coach Jason Kidd, he changed to a point forward and has already taken shape.
In the first quarter of the game, Antetokounmpo faced off against Green, and they didn't take too many shots. But in the second quarter, Green took a break, and Antetokounmpo's opponent became a skinny livingston, who immediately became tough.
Throughout the second quarter, Antetokounmpo took 11 shots and hit 7 goals, 2 of 3 free throws, and scored 16 points and 4 rebounds.
The Warriors could only rely on Thompson to support them. In the second half of the second quarter, Curry was replaced and tried to take over the game. However, all three shots missed and he failed to score a point.
The scores of the two teams were 34:25 in the second quarter, and the point difference at halftime had widened to 12 points.
What's worse is that as the game progresses, the Warriors, who already have physical problems, will be in even worse shape.
…
At halftime, the Warriors players returned to the locker room. No one spoke. Green, included, was all wearing towels and lowering his head to silently recover his strength.
Only head coach Cole was still holding the tactical board and making tactical arrangements for the second half.
"It can't go on like this..."
Wang Feng sat aside, frowning and thinking.
The team played lifelessly in the second quarter, and I'm afraid the situation will only get worse in the second half. If this continues, they will definitely lose the game!
According to the original historical process, the Warriors would have lost this game, and the winning streak would have been fixed at 24 consecutive victories.
But if that's the case...what's the point of him being on the Warriors?
In another time and space without him, Barnes served as the Warriors' starting small forward and still won the championship last season, and in the 15-16 season he achieved a record of 73 wins and 9 losses with the team!
In this time and space, Wang Feng relied on the help of the system and badges to successfully squeeze out Barnes and become the Warriors' new starting small forward.
Logically speaking, he is stronger than Barnes and should be able to make the Warriors stronger!
"Even a team like the Bucks, which is only ranked in the middle of the league, can't get over it... Then in the finals against the powerful Cleveland Cavaliers, won't they still be overturned in three consecutive games with a 3:1 lead?
"
Wang Feng's eyes flickered.
"No matter what! This game must be won!"
With this thought in his mind, Wang Feng directly entered the consciousness space and looked at his data panel.
It has been a month and a half since the end of the Asian Championships. After winning the Asian Championships, Wang Feng received 15 freely allocated points as a reward, and only used 5 points to strengthen his physical strength.
Now is the time to use up the last 10 freely allocated points!