Chương 176: Chapter 176: Phoenix Warriors
The next afternoon, Curry and Thompson arrived at the US Airways Center.
The Suns had already prepared the number 30 and 11 jerseys for them, and they received a welcome that Wade Dong had not experienced. The entire team was waiting for them at the entrance of the arena.
It's worth noting that when Wade Dong joined the team last year, he had taken a taxi and had to ask around before finding his way to the training court to meet Coach Kidd.
"Hello everyone!"
Curry and Thompson stood at the arena entrance, greeting their new teammates, still a bit shy.
"Welcome to the Phoenix family!"
Wade Dong was the first to step forward and hug Curry and Thompson, "From today onwards, we are one team!"
"One team!"
Curry finally smiled.
After being informed of the trade late at night, Curry and Thompson had been feeling down.
Now, standing in front of the US Airways Center and seeing the enthusiasm of their new teammates, their gloom disappeared.
No player could refuse to join the Suns at the end of the season. The Suns currently have the best record in the league, and many experts are predicting that they are the favorites to win the championship. Joining the Suns at the end of the season is no different from picking up a championship ring for free.
Everyone led Curry and Thompson into the arena, "Come and get familiar with your new teammates and the new arena."
Coach Kidd said, "Everyone, warm up first. We'll have a scrimmage later."
"Okay."
Curry also knew that they needed to gel with their teammates before the game.
All the players started jogging around the court, followed by some simple stretches to warm up their bodies. Then, the scrimmage began.
Coach Kidd arranged the teams as follows:
Wade Dong, Nash, McGrady, Tucker, and Gortat formed the "Wade Dong Team."
Curry, Thompson, Green, Middleton, and Frye formed the "Curry Team."
This was Coach Kidd's plan. He did not intend to start Curry and Thompson, so the bench team's strength was not much weaker than the starting lineup.
Hearing Coach Kidd's arrangement, Curry and Thompson looked at each other.
Usually, in team scrimmages, the starters play against the bench players. But they were not grouped with Wade Dong, which seemed to indicate that Coach Kidd planned to have them come off the bench in the upcoming games.
Curry and Thompson were determined to perform well in this scrimmage to secure their place on the Phoenix Suns.
Wade Dong did not interfere with Coach Kidd's arrangement, but seeing the lineup, he smiled, "Phoenix Warriors?"
Curry, Thompson, and Green together—wasn't this the prototype of the "Splash Brothers"?
"The game will be divided into two halves with no breaks in between," Coach Kidd said. He then called the Curry Team to the side to discuss tactics.
As for the Wade Dong Team, Wade Dong would be in charge of tactics.
Wade Dong gathered his teammates and said, "Their five players are not to be underestimated. Pay attention to defending Curry and Thompson's three-pointers. If we lose to them, we'll be embarrassed."
"We won't be embarrassed," Nash joked, "The starters losing to the bench players is not something we haven't experienced before."
McGrady curiously asked, "The starters can lose to the bench players in a scrimmage?"
"It has happened once," Nash explained to McGrady, "Not many people in the Suns know about this, but on the day Wade Dong joined the team, he led the bench players to beat the starters."
"Impressive~"
McGrady gave Wade Dong a thumbs-up.
With Nash and McGrady's interruption, Wade Dong didn't have time to analyze tactics, and the scrimmage began.
...
"Beep!!!"
Walik blew the whistle, temporarily acting as the referee.
The scrimmage did not have a jump ball; instead, the Curry Team started with a baseline inbound.
Curry dribbled the ball up the court.
Earlier, Coach Kidd had said that even though it was just a regular scrimmage, the Curry Team needed to play with confidence and try to beat the Wade Dong Team.
Moreover, on Curry's team, Thompson, Middleton, Frye, and even Green all had scoring abilities. In contrast, on the Wade Dong Team, Nash and McGrady were not playing seriously, so most of the offense would fall to Wade Dong.
The Wade Dong Team employed a 3-2 zone defense.
This defensive strategy effectively limited the outside shooting of Curry, Thompson, and Middleton, as the Curry Team's main scoring threats were from the perimeter.
Curry dribbled the ball, and Wade Dong came up to defend him.
Curry passed the ball to Green and prepared to cut to the baseline. Wade Dong stayed close to Curry.
At this moment, Green was positioned in the free-throw area for support. Curry cut to the baseline and then made a backdoor cut, passing between Green and Middleton to the three-point line.
"Huh?!"
Wade Dong smiled, "Elevator door tactic?"
Wade Dong was very familiar with this tactic. After Curry passed between Green and Middleton, the two immediately closed the door, standing together. Wade Dong had to stop abruptly to avoid running into them.
However, Curry found himself open at the three-point line.
"Swish!!!"
Curry launched a three-pointer, and it went straight in.
"Nice shot~"
Wade Dong touched his nose, surprised that his own tactic had been used against him.
"Beautiful shot!"
Coach Kidd, standing on the sidelines, excitedly shouted, "Keep it up, beat the Wade Dong Team!"
Being able to execute this tactic smoothly was partly because Wade Dong and McGrady were not playing serious defense. However, Curry was still pleasantly surprised; this felt great.
Coach Kidd also noticed that Curry, Thompson, and Green had great chemistry.
The Wade Dong Team was on offense.
Wade Dong received a pass from Nash outside the three-second area and faced Green's defense. He casually attempted a turnaround jumper.
"Clank~~~"
The ball hit the rim and bounced out.
Wade Dong patted Green on the back, encouraging him, "Good defense~"
"Hehe..."
Green scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit embarrassed at being praised by Wade Dong.
In reality, this shot had little to do with Green's defense; it was simply a miss by Wade Dong.
Without using the "lucky potion," no one could guarantee a 100% shooting percentage, and Green's defense was indeed solid.
The rebounded ball fell into Curry's hands.
Curry immediately pushed the ball up the court and, facing Nash's defense, launched a chase-down three-pointer.
"Swish!!!"
Another perfect shot!
6:0!!!
The Curry Team took an early 6-point lead.
Coach Kidd stood on the sidelines, taking notes, "Curry's three-pointers are very similar to Wade Dong's."
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