Chapter 218: Warrior’s Struggles.
The Warriors' offensive attempt ended fruitlessly, and the arena's energy reached a boiling point.
"Whoop that trick!"
The familiar chant reverberated throughout the FedEx Forum.
Zach Randolph went back to work in the low post, taking on Draymond Green again. But this time, the Warriors' three-guard lineup started showing its defensive strengths. Their rotations on help defense became notably quicker.
As Han Sen watched, he found himself re-evaluating Mark Jackson while simultaneously lowering his opinion of Steve Kerr.
Elevator screen plays, developing Green, and enhancing defensive rotations with small-ball lineups—many of the innovations credited to Kerr were, in fact, refinements of foundations Jackson had already laid.
But the Grizzlies had fully found their groove. After a series of swift passes, the ball ended up in Han Sen's hands. Facing Green, Han executed a flawless fake, spun past him, and finished with a smooth step-through layup.
Green's inexperience on defense was laid bare.
Han Sen, scoring the basket, looked back at Green with a sly smile.
"You should start learning some Chinese," he said.
Green froze for a moment, confused by the comment.