Volume 4: Golden State Prosperity

Leonard and Durant could do nothing against each other, but that also showed that his scoring ability was no worse than Durant's. Other than taking a five-point lead at the start, the Celtics had trailed the Warriors on the scoreboard ever since. But now, Antetokounmpo's teammates were Curry, Klay, Leonard, and Olynyk—two elite shooters, a top-tier wing scorer, and a quality stretch five. "This is the first time in your career that you've come off the bench. How does it feel?" Leonard also played with ease. Dennis's attempt to get him traded that summer had failed, but he had not neglected his training. He became especially fired up whenever he faced top wings like Durant, James, Butler, and Paul George. Pull-up shooting could be divided by form into left-foot launches and right-foot launches, and Durant was particularly skilled at the left-foot launch. The success rate of this move was extremely high. Whether Leonard lowered his shoulder before spinning forward into a fadeaway, lowered his shoulder before stopping suddenly and stepping back for a jumper, or drove with a same-foot step, lowered his shoulder, and followed with a floater, Durant had no answer for him. But when Durant used this move, Leonard was equally helpless. His advantage lay in off-ball movement, but if the Warriors could settle their offense directly through isolation, why go to the extra trouble of running passing and cutting actions? Yet not everyone believed Green would remain obedient forever. Many thought he was merely holding back for now, and that this ticking time bomb would explode sooner or later. The outstanding performances of Leonard and Antetokounmpo greatly encouraged Warriors fans. The Warriors guarded Durant one-on-one throughout, but after Kerr loosened the defense on Curry in the third quarter, he was punished for it. When the Celtics tried