Amidst the cheers from the fans, the starters from both sides remained on the court.
Warriors starters: Curry, Thompson, Barnes, Green, Izzy.
This Warriors lineup looks strong, but Zeng Xingyang knows very well that if they capture Durant this season, their strength will be elevated to another level.
The lineup with Durant is considered the strongest in history.
But this hasn’t happened yet, Zeng Xingyang hopes this time Durant has some backbone.
Losing is acceptable, but please don’t announce joining the opposing team after being unable to beat them.
That’s just disgusting.
No matter what Durant was thinking initially, Zeng Xingyang himself could never do such a thing.
Besides, they’re already struggling in the Devil’s West.
Adding more fuel to the fire, how can anyone survive?
Nuggets starters: Nelson, Harris, Zeng Xingyang, Galinarli, Jokic.
Jokic lost the jump ball to Izzy.
Curry received the ball, bounced twice, making his body appear more relaxed.
Curry dribbled across the half-court, Zeng Xingyang closely following Barnes.
Harrison Barnes, standing at 2.03 meters tall, has the standard build of a small forward with excellent mobility and athletic ability.
His style is clean and crisp, dribbling is simple and efficient, with high basketball IQ, capable of performing both offensively and defensively with comprehensive skills.
Though Barnes isn’t a superstar, he’s a decent small forward, averaging 12 points and 5 rebounds this season, with a three-point shooting rate as high as 38%.
Initially, Mike Malone had Zeng Xingyang guard Barnes, hoping he wouldn’t chase Curry from the start, as that would consume a lot of energy.
Role players should first consume Curry.
Originally, Walton’s first attack tactic was for Barnes to attack, but under Zeng Xingyang’s defense, even receiving the ball was very difficult for Barnes.
As the season progresses, Zeng Xingyang’s defense experience continuously grows, almost reaching Level 5.
Now Barnes finds it tough to shake off Zeng Xingyang.
However, the Warriors rarely rely on personal strong offense; Green quickly came out to make an off-ball screen for Barnes.
Barnes quickly ran out to receive Curry’s pass.
Galinarli quickly shouted, then ran out to defend Barnes.
Against a team like the Warriors, you can’t allow them opportunities for three-point shots, otherwise, it would be disastrous.
After Barnes received the ball, he realized it was not easy to attack, and swiftly passed the ball to Green on the right side of the free-throw line.
Despite Curry being the point guard, Green is actually the facilitating core of this team.
Zeng Xingyang matched up against Green.
Zeng Xingyang was also speechless, often feeling like he was defending from the 1 position all the way to the 5 position.
Green didn’t have strong offensive desires, he held off Zeng Xingyang, observing the surroundings.
On the other side, Curry and Thompson cross-positioned.
Nelson and Harris didn’t coordinate their chase defense well, causing them to bump into each other.
Thompson cut inside, and Green made a bounce pass to Thompson.
Thompson easily scored an open basket.
The Golden State commentator quickly shouted, "Beautiful cut and positioning, the Warriors easily scored two points."
"On this play, Zeng Xingyang limited Drummond’s personal offense, but couldn’t stop him from assisting his teammate."
"This is beautiful teamwork."
After making an assist, Green glanced at Zeng Xingyang, showing a disdainful expression, "I envy rookies like you, who can learn to play smart basketball from Drummond on the court, without having to pay tuition."
Green started showing off his verbal skills, blowing words at nearby Zeng Xingyang.
Unlike many players Zeng Xingyang has faced, who remain silent, Green is very adept at trash-talking.
In a single possession, he might throw out a few insults.
Veteran Nelson was a bit concerned, fearing Green could continuously mess with Zeng Xingyang’s mentality.
If Zeng Xingyang gets provoked, tonight’s game would only become tougher.
"Hey, Zeng, you got played, hahaha."
Fans from the baseline continued to trash-talk.
Zeng Xingyang felt a bit speechless, not fearing the trash-talk but rather being surprised by the Warriors’ teamwork.
Green’s pass to Thompson’s layup was incredibly smooth, without a hint of hesitation.
But Zeng Xingyang didn’t marvel for too long, quickly running forward.
Getting trash-talked and mocked isn’t a big deal, just trash-talk back later.
The Warriors played good defense, with Thompson chasing Harris, and Barnes closely following Zeng Xingyang.
Curry worked hard to defend Nelson, and Green adopted a half-fronting method to defend Jokic.
Green clearly understands how the Nuggets initiate their attack; as long as he stops Jokic from getting the ball, the Nuggets are forced to let Zeng Xingyang initiate a positional battle attack.
If Zeng Xingyang carries the ball to initiate, Barnes could limit it.
Nelson passed the ball to Zeng Xingyang, who ran out to receive on the right side.
Barnes quickly followed, and the Warriors defense looked very tight; when everyone thought Zeng Xingyang had no solution...
Zeng Xingyang chose a reverse lob pass to the basket.
Aren’t you fronting, Green?
Then I’ll lob high to Jokic.
Zeng Xingyang’s pass height was just right; Green jumped with effort but couldn’t reach the ball,
Jokic raised his hand and caught the descending ball, taking a step towards the basket, a fake step pause; Green and Izzy both fell for it, Jokic easily adjusted the rhythm and scored a hook shot steadily.
"Beautiful reverse lob pass, Zeng Xingyang precisely delivered the ball to Jokic."