NBA: Warrior godfather.

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Fifteen minutes passed quickly, and both teams returned to the court to continue the second half of the game.

Liam made an adjustment. He replaced Azubuike with Lowry.

Compared to the chaotic impact of Azubuike, the Warriors needed more ball handling and organization, which Lowry could provide. Though he still had a tendency to attack the basket recklessly at times, as a point guard, his overall presence was more beneficial than Azubuike's, especially as a secondary playmaker when Curry was tightly defended.

Curry also changed his style of play under Liam's instructions. He no longer insisted on running pick-and-rolls; instead, he combined both on-ball and off-ball movement. In fact, he shifted into a split position.

When the Warriors lacked interior support, Curry could only work with two point guards if he wanted to play off the ball. Players like Biedrins and Varejao didn't have the same range and support abilities as Gasol. Even if Curry ran relentlessly, he couldn't always catch passes in certain situations.

After Curry went off the ball, the Lakers found it harder to defend him tightly. Kobe had the body type of a standard swingman and wasn't as agile as Curry. The other Warriors players weren't great passers but could set screens, although each of them struggled in comparison, repeatedly blocking Kobe from behind.

This was part of the special training regimen organized by Liam. In the Warriors, everyone had to learn how to cover each other, including Curry.

During training, if someone slacked off, watching their teammates' movements without covering or getting involved, they would immediately experience the "Liam blow-dryer treatment," followed by more intense drills.

For players like Biedrins and Varejao, the coverage drills were mandatory. Though their size and athleticism meant they were never the best defenders, they still did their best.

Of course, Curry and Butler had already ingrained the habit of covering each other from their college days.

But for the rest? Covering? Isn't that the job of the interior players?

Under Liam's loud instruction, the external players began to understand the importance of moving and covering teammates, especially Curry.

But Phil Jackson had already given his players strict instructions: no matter how the Warriors played, they had to stick to Curry like glue and switch defenses during pick-and-rolls and screens, forcing him to drive. The Lakers had Bynum and Gasol inside, but they couldn't let Curry take an open three!

With this almost extreme defensive strategy in place, Curry would still struggle, even if he was running off the ball. The Lakers' defensive discipline was so tight that they focused entirely on Curry, switching seamlessly on every screen, giving him space to shoot threes but forcing him to score little by little with cuts and drives.

Phil Jackson watched Curry struggle on the court and smiled.

"Popovich did it first, so I won't hesitate anymore," he thought. "Who doesn't know that if you keep Curry under control, you win half the battle against the Warriors? But other head coaches haven't taken him seriously enough. They still think of him as a rookie and haven't doubled up on him."

This wasn't because of arrogance. In Liam's past life, Curry had never faced a double-team in the early years of his career. Even in 2016, he was often allowed to run with just a single screen and had a record-breaking shooting season.

It wasn't until he met Tyronn Lue that people learned what a "Lue Double" defense looked like...

Though Curry was still a rookie, his performance had been so outstanding that he could already compete with the league's top superstars. His unique style of play, which transcended eras, had shown just how deadly he could be.

Of course, this was all thanks to Liam's guidance. He had asked Curry to transition to a point guard role in his first year, avoiding many detours. Over three years of college, he specifically trained Curry in ball handling, shooting, and passing—skills that far exceeded Curry's abilities in his previous life.

More importantly, Curry had embraced the mentorship of Brand Payne during the summer.

This real-life coach from Curry's previous career had been introduced to him by Liam three years earlier.

Under his guidance, Curry focused on strengthening his core and eye-hand coordination, carefully refining his skills, and boosting his shooting ability. His physical condition now rivaled that of the Curry who had spent three or four years training in the NBA in his previous life, and he no longer had to worry about injuries.

With his improved strength and style of play that was ahead of its time, Curry used irrational three-pointers to climb into the top three of the NBA's scoring list.

By now, Curry boasted an unprecedented shooting percentage of 45.7%, averaging over 10 three-pointers per game, making 4.6 of them. His performance marked the most insane shooting production in NBA history, cementing his status as the most terrifying shooter in the league.

Given this situation, Popovich only started treating Curry like a superstar after seeing him play over a dozen games and then forming a double-team to stop him.

Popovich was a supreme pragmatist and would only choose tactics that were useful for victory, without worrying about face-saving or unnecessary considerations. Just like how he didn't give Duncan any preferential treatment despite his superstar status, Popovich's focus was always on results.

After Popovich led the way, Phil Jackson no longer hesitated. After seeing Curry's ambition to break the record at Staples, he copied Popovich's tactics.

"Haha, Popovich did it first, so I'm not going to hold back!" he thought.

After Curry was tightly double-teamed, the Lakers continued to play consistently, and the triangle offense began to flourish. The role players gradually found their rhythm and slowly opened up the lead.

Fortunately, after Curry was neutralized, Kobe's offensive drive inexplicably dropped to less than half, and his offensive presence wasn't as high. Otherwise, the Warriors would have fallen even further behind.

Brush!

Gasol faced a double-team from the Warriors and passed the ball to Fisher outside. Fisher didn't shoot but passed it on to Kobe.

Kobe faced Butler's defense and scored his signature mid-range jump shot.

With only 5 minutes left in the third quarter, Kobe's basket made the score 79-89, with the Lakers leading by 10 points.

With Curry tightly guarded, the Warriors scored only 14 points in the third quarter, including 4 points Curry managed to steal.

Lowry tried to attack the basket, but Bynum's defense in the paint was impenetrable, so he repeatedly missed.

Without his drive, the Warriors' offensive threat diminished significantly, and their attack stagnated.

On the next play, Curry attempted to run off the ball, but the Lakers' defense was all over him. Lowry was put two steps behind him, Fisher was ready to defend Curry at any moment, and the others kept switching off defenders. With no space to shoot, Lowry couldn't find a passing lane either.

Finally, Lowry attempted a three, but the ball hit the rim and bounced out. The rebound was grabbed by Bynum.

From the sideline, Liam looked at Lowry, who missed the three-pointer, and sighed.

"When playing against Lowry, you have to deal with crowded spaces. With Azubuike, the team lacks a secondary ball handler," he thought. "The Warriors' lineup looks good on paper, with tons of shooters and offensive potential. But when facing a superior team like the Lakers, their flaws are exposed."

"It looks like a trade might be necessary before the season's over..."

"Bip--"

Just as Liam's internal thoughts swirled, Kobe's isolation move resulted in a foul from Butler, and he stood at the free-throw line.

Liam didn't dwell on it for too long and took advantage of the dead ball opportunity to replace Lowry with Azubuike.

The Warriors' offense still wasn't fully settled, and Lowry's passing still needed work. He wasn't as mature as he would be later. Curry had some fleeting opportunities but couldn't get the pass off in time, staying stationary to reserve space. It was better to put in Azubuike and let him try to make an impact, maybe he would work some miracles.

As the Warriors made substitutions, Butler stood by the free-throw line, looking at Kobe as he made his first free throw. His hands rested on his knees, reflecting on his foul, with a strange glint in his eyes.

Just now, Kobe had crossed the line, stopped near the free-throw line, and raised his hands to shoot. Butler jumped to block the shot like a startled bird, but Kobe grabbed the ball again. As soon as he leaned back, he threw the ball casually, and the referee's whistle blew.

Butler, naturally, didn't object to the foul. He had been fooled by Kobe's realistic fake and had made contact with Kobe after his jump. It would have been strange if the referee hadn't called the foul.

But Butler felt that, in that moment, it seemed like he could do the same thing Kobe had done.

Butler had never been a person to settle for the status quo. He had worked hard on defense and three-pointers in college. Although his talent wasn't extraordinary, his relentless effort made him one of the best 3-and-D players in the NCAA.

After joining the NBA, while improving his defense and three-point shooting, he also sought to develop his ball-handling skills.

Butler wasn't content with just being a role player throughout his career. He wanted to become a star.

When he shared this ambition with Liam he felt uneasy.

He was self-aware and knew his talents were limited, worried that his coach wouldn't agree with him focusing on anything outside defense and three-point shooting.

To his surprise, Liam fully supported his idea and had Curry's coach, Brand Payne, design a training plan to systematically improve his ball-handling ability.

Butler would always remember what Liam said to him at the time:

"Jimmy, the Warriors are a young and immature team. They only have Stephen as a ball handler. The NBA is different from the NCAA. If the team can't evolve, they won't go far. And the team needs another ball handler. I've never thought of you as just a role player. Your hard work is your greatest talent! I hope one day you can become the Warriors' second ball handler—handling the core!"

Butler had never imagined his coach would have such high expectations for him.

He said nothing and his expression didn't change much, but in his heart, he made a decision. He would work on his ball-handling skills and never disappoint his coach's expectations!

From then on, Butler dedicated himself entirely to training, following the plan set out by Brand Payne and never slacking off.

Although the results weren't as fast as Curry's, who was personally trained by Brand Payne, Butler's diligent work allowed him to cover his weaknesses. He never left the gym until he finished his tasks, often training for over 10 hours each day.

Miraculously, his body didn't suffer under the intense training, and his muscles grew stronger every day.

When the training camp began, Liam saw Butler's physical test results and learned about his summer workouts. He sighed:

"He really is someone who can withstand the cruelty of Xibo..."

After such intense training, Butler's ball-handling ability was finally starting to take shape, and it showed in the practice games.

Liam once thought about giving Butler the ball in isolation, but after watching Curry's ball-handling skills, he felt that Butler's weren't quite there yet, so he chose to continue refining his skills before giving him that opportunity.

But after Kobe fouled Butler today, the idea of letting him handle the ball became even stronger.

In training games, Butler often drew fouls and was very good at this technique.

Butler hadn't done this on purpose. He felt like he was born to create confrontations and could easily generate contact while attacking the basket.

Brush!

Just as Butler's mind wandered, Kobe sank a solid second free throw, making the score 79-91, and the gap increased to 12 points.

The Warriors had the ball, and Curry dribbled up the court. He found Butler at a 45-degree angle to the left of the three-point line.

Curry was a little surprised since Butler had rarely handled the ball since their college days as roommates.

Curry turned to look at Liam. Liam hadn't organized any specific plays for Butler, and Curry didn't dare to make a decision on his own.

Liam had strict requirements for player execution and would never let them act outside their role on the court.

Naturally, Liam noticed Butler asking for the ball. His mind raced, but finally, he nodded to Curry, signaling that Butler could have the ball.

Whether Kobe had provoked Butler or Butler just felt he could help the team break the stalemate with his ball-handling, Liam wouldn't stop him.

As he had told Butler, he had never seen him as just a role player, and he hoped he could eventually become the Warriors' second ball handler.

To develop a ball-dominant offense, training on the court was necessary. Even though Liam desperately wanted the win, if he could use this game to help Butler grow as a ball handler, it would be the first step in his development. Even if they lost, Liam was willing to make that trade-off.

After getting Liam's approval, Curry passed the ball to Butler.

On the court, Butler had no idea what the others thought of him handling the ball. He stared at Artest with a determined look.

Butler thought long and hard, but in the end, he decided to take the ball himself. Now that he had made the decision, he was determined to make it work!

End of this chapter

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