Chapter 89: The Battle of Christmas and the Knights
Although the Warriors won the championship last season, many people believe that luck played a large part in their victory.
The opponent Cavaliers in the finals was almost full of injuries. The Big Three of James, Irving, and Love only had James left. Although the Warriors won the championship, they were somewhat unable to win.
After the season ended, the Warriors did not make any reinforcements to the existing lineup. They only renewed players whose contracts were about to expire, and in order to free up salary space, they also traded away All-Star power forward David Lee.
Although David Lee has gradually been reduced from an All-Star insider to a substitute role player during the 14-15 season, he can still provide the Warriors with 8 points and 5 rebounds per game.
David Lee left the team without a replacement player, which caused the Warriors' management's summer work to be criticized before the start of the new season.
Before the start of the preseason, the Warriors were only ranked third in the championship odds list, with the Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs ranking first and second respectively.
The vast majority of people, including many ESPN commentators, are not particularly optimistic that the Warriors can defend their title in the new season.
The Warriors' performance now leaves everyone speechless.
They have not lost a game since the start of the season, and their 27-game winning streak ties them with the second-longest winning streak in league history.
This team showed an incredible level of strength!
And no one doubts that in the next game, the Warriors will surpass the Heat's 27-game winning streak and attack the first consecutive winning streak in history!
On December 23, the Warriors faced the Utah Jazz away from home.
109:85 Easily won.
The team's winning streak has officially reached 28 consecutive wins!
Successfully breaking the second consecutive winning record in history made all members of the Warriors rejoice, but at the same time, the real challenge finally arrived.
The Warriors' 29th game of the regular season is a challenge from the Cleveland Cavaliers at home.
If anyone can stop the Warriors, which has won 28 consecutive games, most fans will give one answer - the Cavaliers.
They lost the championship to the Warriors in the Finals last season, turning the two teams directly into rivals. Both the Cavaliers' players and fans were quite dissatisfied with the result of last season.
"If Kyrie and Kevin were here last season, what does the Warriors mean? The championship should belong to us!"
"Kill the Warriors! Interrupt their winning streak and let them know who is the true king of the alliance!"
"Haha, I'm laughing so hard. I really thought you didn't have any injuries. The Warriors are now 28-0. How many games have you Cavaliers won now? The winning rate is less than 70%. Even the Spurs, who are second in the Western Conference, can't compare. That's all.
Dare you touch the porcelain warrior?"
"Come on, come on, James' 27-game winning streak has just been surpassed. Now it would be good for James to personally send the Warriors to take another step forward. It will definitely be exciting to step on this stepping stone!"
Before the game even started, the fans of the two teams were already quarreling with each other before the game.
It must be admitted that the NBA is really good at playing. The game between the Warriors and the Cavaliers is the Christmas Day game on December 25th.
The Christmas game is considered one of the traditional performances of the NBA. Every time, there will be a battle between the more controversial rival teams, such as the Heat and the Spurs, the Heat and the Lakers, the Lakers and the Clippers, the Celtics, etc. in previous years.
Now, it's the turn of the Qiyong Battle to come into people's sight.
The Christmas game + the reappearance of last season's finals + the Warriors' ability to continue their winning streak brought this game to unprecedented attention.
Both teams also attach great importance to this game.
Before the game, in the locker room, Cole looked around at the players and said in a deep voice: "This game is very important to us! It is not only to maintain the winning streak, but also to rectify our reputation! I believe everyone understands,
How many people outside believe that our championship last season was due to injuries to our opponents? Can you accept this result?"
"Of course not! We want to use this game to prove that we should have been the champion last season and we deserve it!"
The same situation also happened with the Cavaliers.
Neither the Warriors nor the Cavaliers want to lose this focus game!
Wang Feng knows that according to the original historical course of this game, the Warriors had the last laugh, but the current situation is slightly different.
The warriors of another time and space had a record of 27 wins and 1 loss before this game, but now they have a record of 28 wins and 0 losses.
Wang Feng was a little worried that the butterfly effect would cause many variables in this game. Facts have proved that his worries were correct.
As soon as the much-anticipated Christmas Day game began, the Warriors immediately fell into a passive position.
The Splash Brothers, the core of the team's offense, both performed abnormally. Curry made 1 of 5 in the first quarter and Thompson made 1 of 4.
The double stars performed abnormally. The team's offense was blocked in the first quarter and they immediately fell behind. Fortunately, Wang Feng and Green felt pretty good, so the point difference did not widen quickly.
"Sure enough, is this the legendary Murphy's Law? Is it the psychological burden brought by the winning streak, or is it the eagerness to prove last season's championship that leads to some urgency?"
Wang Feng doesn't know the reason why Curry and Thompson's hands are inaccurate, but if they sit back and watch, this game will definitely be lost.
Another person who had the same idea as him was Warriors head coach Cole.
Last season, when the Splash Brothers felt cold at the same time, the Warriors would most likely lose.
But this season, things are slightly different.
Seeing that the situation on the court was still unable to open up, Cole simply called a timeout and made tactical adjustments.
"Wang Feng, you will be the main attack later!"
Cole said to Wang Feng: "In the rest of this game, you don't need to assist in defense. James leaves it to Draymond (Green) and Andre (Ying Guodala), and all the energy is on
Just focus on offense, the team needs your scoring to open up the situation!"
After hearing Cole's words, Wang Feng nodded immediately without thinking. "No problem! Coach!"
Playing as the team's first scoring point and main attacker, this is Wang Feng's unprecedented first time with the Warriors. There is no doubt that Wang Feng's efficient and stable scoring during this period has won the recognition of Cole, and even had a previous relationship with the Bucks.
The team's standing up during the game played a key role.
Wang Feng has never thought about being a role player all the time, so he must seize this opportunity, not to mention the opportunity is really rare! Because the player Wang Feng is facing at this time is J.R. Smith.
The Cavaliers have really prepared a lot for this game. They deliberately let Dellavedova, who successfully restricted Curry in last season's finals, start. Irving was replaced at the shooting guard position, J.R. Smith played small forward, and James moved to power forward.
Position, Love will go to the center position.
Perhaps it is precisely because this targeted starting lineup has successfully limited the performance of the Splash Brothers, but facing J.R. Smith is considered the optimal solution for Wang Feng, after all, the opponent is not a strong defensive player.