The Warriors' previous loss prevented them from sweeping their opponents, but in the fifth game of the series, Cole's coach re-sent Curry to start and directly sent the "Death Five" lineup, and the Warriors immediately received results. At noon on April 28, Beijing time, in the first round of the NBA Western Conference series, the Golden State Warriors sat at home, defeated the Nuggets led by Jokic 102-98, and advanced to the Western Conference Final Four after eliminating the opponent 4-1, and will be the winner between the Grizzlies and Timberwolves in the semifinals. Curry scored a team-high and all-game 30 points in the game, and the Nuggets' "Teacher Yo" became the biggest protagonist in the tragedy, he slashed 30 points and 19 rebounds, but still fell heroically, respectable and lamentable.
Curry finally returned to the starting position in this game after playing a few playoff games off the bench, back at home, And Kerr's coach sacrificed a "five-small lineup" to deal with the Nuggets, without an obvious interior number five player, but also played a very good effect. In the four games before this series, Kerr used the "Death Five" for only 32 minutes, but it was in this effective playing time that the lineup showed great power. In these four games, their shooting percentage reached 63.6%, their 3-point shooting rate was as high as 54.2%, they could score 147.8 points per 100 rounds, and they scored 34.4 points per 100 rounds. Since the "five small" players are healthy, why not use them directly?
Of course, the Nuggets are by no means vegetarians, and their performance in this game is quite tenacious, especially Jokic, which makes the Warriors suffer. "Mr. Yo" is in the lead position in almost all the technical statistics of the whole team, if the score of 30 is not ordinary, he grabbed 19 rebounds, which is a staggering number, 8 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal are also ranked first in the team. Of course, his 6 turnovers are also the most, after all, he has a lot of ball power. The most fatal thing is that Jokic received 5 fouls earlier, plagued by this, his playing time is not long enough, and he is a little afraid of defense at key moments, and finally the team lost by 4 points and bid farewell to the season. But the Serbian's performance is worthy of the team and the fans, and he deserves to be appreciated and can leave proudly.
Then there's Stephen Curry, whose absence at the end of the regular season lays the groundwork for a burst of playoff energy. Coach Kerr has to play suspense to let the league's highest-paid star play as a substitute, but everyone knows that he is only a fake substitute but Allah, and he has also made the most of the limelight in the previous few games, which is still the cornerstone of the team's attack. This game Cole also did not pretend, allowing Curry to return to the starting position, and there is no longer a limit to his playing time, and there is no need to stay longer at this time. In the 38 minutes of playing time, Curry shot 45.5% from both 2-pointers and 3-pointers, both of which are high levels. He shot five 3-pointers and scored consecutive layups when he was needed to score in the decider, without using his usual 3-point approach, which demonstrated Curry's offensive versatility and led the team to a 12-point reversal and sending opponents home.
The upcoming semi-final opponent is not yet determined, the Warriors can be patient and wait, the Grizzlies and Timberwolves play as fiercely as possible, it is best to play seven games, you can give the team more time to adjust, Curry and Thompson, Green, Wiggins, Jordan Poole and other teammates are ready, the current goal is to fight for another round, to reach the Western Conference Finals.
Text/Beiqing Sports Liu Ailin