Volume 5: Unrivaled

After Curry scored, he reverently pointed to the sky, thanking God for His protection. Playing it safe meant security, which also meant no threat; when Irving received the ball, Jaylen Brown had already fought over the screen and gotten in front of him. Kerr had learned this from Zhang Yu: when using a small lineup, the wings collapsed more toward the paint to protect the boards and make up for the lack of height. "Only Curry can make a shot like that. It's an absolutely terrible shot selection—for anyone other than Curry!" This was not difficult, because the Warriors had a 2.13-meter center who moved slowly. His playmaking was not especially good, but with the vision afforded by his height and the repeatedly drilled offensive sets, it was no challenge for him to get the ball to an open teammate. Leonard had also learned from Durant's experience and was especially careful when passing, choosing the safest possible moment. Durant had no room to shoot and passed to Horford. Lopez could not recover in time; Horford adjusted and launched a three-pointer. 8:5. Van Gundy frowned, glancing suspiciously at Wiggins before looking toward Zhang Yu, who sat smiling on the sideline, but he said nothing. Durant held the ball in the low post while Irving and Leonard cut through the defense, tearing at the Warriors' formation in search of scoring opportunities. Although he was a quarter-step behind Wiggins, his powerful defense meant that gap was nothing and entirely within his control. Though he had not expected Zhang Yu to have Curry play off the ball, Kerr had one strength: his pregame preparations were extremely thorough. He considered every possibility and prepared targeted tactics for each one. The Celtics rushed back on defense, falling into formation and waiting in full readiness. Only Bradley