On the sidelines, Celtics' head coach Gentry was equally shocked at this mont.
Especially in the next play.
When Qin Yue, like a fierce tiger, tore through the Green Army's defense once again despite Horford's tough defense, Gentry couldn't help but waver about continuing to trust Horford.
Horford is certainly a trustworthy player.
But tonight, Horford is facing Qin Yue.
Gentry knows well that when your opponent is a god, no matter how trustworthy a mortal is, he cannot compete against a god with his mortal body.
Fortunately, the Warriors' head coach Malone, whom Gentry previously thought was reckless, solved this problem for Gentry with a substitution.
At Oracle Arena, Nash ca on, Curry went off.
On the court, in Nash's first offensive possession, the Warriors' other players reestablished contact with Qin Yue under Nash's guidance.
And most importantly, with Nash taking over the organizing role, Qin Yue's offensive prowess instantly magnified exponentially.
At the top of the arc, after the "Qin-Nash pick-and-roll," Horford, who needed to hedge for Durin, could no longer stay entangled with Qin Yue like before.
Qin Yue quickly rolled down.
Upon seeing this, Nash imdiately completed the connection with Qin Yue with a crowd-splitting bounce pass.
Although the more aggressive Curry is indeed a better fit with Qin Yue.
However, when Qin Yue focuses on offense, the stronger passing ability of Nash is clearly the better support for Qin Yue.
In the Celtics' restricted area, Qin Yue completed a powerful one-handed dunk.
At the technical table, Gentry was forced to call another tiout.
After this tiout, Gentry subbed in Tony Allen for Carter.
As a defensive specialist, Teacher Tony's impact was imdiate.
Taking over the defense of Nash for Durin, Teacher Tony didn't even need Horford's help to hedge, using foresight and defensive experience, he bypassed the Qin Yue mountain several tis.
But conversely...
Teacher Tony's offensive disruption was also astounding.
Because during this period, Allen's offensive play was primarily focused on cutting to finish at the basket, so when it was the Celtics' turn to attack, the Green Army was essentially playing four-on-five.
With Brown and Qin Yue guarding the interior together, the least they feared was a forward player with no shooting ability.
Isn't it just a cut?
No matter how he cuts, as long as he has to end up at the basket to finish the play...
Then Brown and Qin Yue just need to ensure during switches that one player is always there to protect the rim, forcing Teacher Tony to challenge one of this top pick duo.
Additionally, with Carter, the most accurate outside shooter, off the court, the Warriors' restricted area, which had already been crowded, continued to shrink its defense.
Even if I'm asking the simplest question, at a ti like this, where else can Teacher Tony cut into?
In Qin Yue's view, to effectively use a player with such a distinct style as Teacher Tony, you must match him with an appropriate lineup.
Historically, the reason Teacher Tony thrived with the Grizzlies was mainly because Little Gasol and Randolph had the ability to open up space, providing ample cutting room for Teacher Tony.
But before Horford developed his three-point range...
The Celtics couldn't possibly have Duncan and Horford vacate the paint for Teacher Tony, and have these two powerhouse big n move outside, especially when they could threaten the Warriors in the restricted area.
From the Warriors' bench, unaware that Gentry once considered him reckless, Malone laughed and said, "Alvin Gentry has been making foolish calls all night, the Celtics have gotten themselves into a ss, we've got this ga in the bag!"
The first half's result confird Malone's judgnt.
At half-ti, it's 53 to 65.
The Warriors lead the Celtics by 12 points.
In Malone's eyes, Gentry's biggest mistake in the first half was his relentless focus on trying to limit the Warriors' offense.
Sure, "defense wins championships" is one of the most famous sayings in the NBA.
But in the previous Western Conference Finals, even Phil Jackson gave up trying to beat the Warriors through defense.
Facing the Warriors, the Celtics indeed needed to fortify their defense.
But if Gentry hoped, like last season's finals, to drag the Warriors into a trench war where only physical combat and close-quarters battle decide victory...
Then in Malone's view, he's a bit wishful-thinking.
"The tis have changed," Malone sighed during half-ti, "and we are leading the trend of this era!"
If the earlier NBA resembled the trench and positional warfare of World War I.
Now with rule changes, today's NBA has developed and progressed into the mobile warfare of World War II.
In basketball, defense is always crucial.
But as shooters are getting more accurate and shooting further on the court...
With each rule change in the NBA being more favorable to offense, Malone knows well that the NBA has quietly stepped into a new era.
After half-ti, Gentry gradually realized that they could only rely on offense to beat these Warriors, and he fully demonstrated his talent and insight in offense.
With Gentry's adjustnts, the Celtics took the initiative to speed up, and boldly utilized Eddie House, a player good for nothing but threes, to provide space for other Green Army players.
As the external brain for the future Steve Kerr in Qin Yue's mory, Gentry in this ga didn't really, as Malone thought, try to drag the Warriors into a trench war.
It's just that Qin Yue's impact on the ga far exceeded Gentry's expectations.
This made Gentry, who was leading a team into the finals for the first ti, inevitably flounder in his personnel decisions and tactical directives.
To put it plainly, if Gentry also had the trump card of Qin Yue, would he appear so clueless in front of Malone?
For example, in the third quarter when the Celtics were about to build montum, Malone didn't need as much contemplation as Gentry.
He just needed to call a tiout and look at Qin Yue with a deeply affectionate gaze, after the tiout, Qin Yue would naturally handle everything for him.
On the court, it's the Warriors' offensive possession.
This ti, facing Horford who's clinging tightly to Qin Yue, even the referee, who's been making reverse star calls against him, had no choice but to blow the whistle decisively.
However, just as the referee blew the whistle, on the sidelines, Gentry witnessed firsthand a despair-inducing scene.
Qin Yue, much like O'Neal of old, powerfully forced the ball into the basket even with Horford hanging on him.
"Al was already going for the foul," Gentry exclaid in frustration, "If he can still score like this, what else can we do?"
At this mont, the frustrated Gentry sharply contrasted the ever-composed Malone on the Warriors' bench.
At the free throw line, Qin Yue made the extra point, and in the subsequent defensive possession, he rotated out to the periter and swatted House's dream of scoring.
At Oracle Arena, in one offensive and one defensive play, Qin Yue once again demonstrated his dominance as the most outstanding player in modern NBA.
At the sa ti, he left Gentry in utter dismay, "One second he was under the basket, the next he's lunging at the periter, are we playing against aliens tonight?"
That night, Gentry's despair persisted until the end of the fourth quarter.
Final score, 112 to 124.
Throughout the ga, Qin Yue, who continually astonished Gentry, totaled 45 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 blocks, and 2 steals.
After the ga, regarding Warriors' head coach Malone's opinion that the Celtics mainly lost due to their poor command, while the Warriors won primarily because of proper direction...
Gentry, who rarely engages in altercations with opposing head coaches, indignantly retorted, "Can anyone tell what specific tactics Mike Malone used in the ga?"
"Wasn't it just giving the ball to the ssiah? How can he claim the Warriors won solely because of his command?"
...
PS: Bad news, it's short and spans days for updates.
Good news, after finishing daily observations, the recovered Ah Qiao will resu double updates starting on the 22nd (today)! Dear reader patrons, see you at 4 PM!
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