Draymond Green, a second round pick in 12 years. During his college years, he showed his versatility to the fullest.

In his junior season, Green played his 11th triple-double in the history of the NCAA. In his senior season, he became the third player to score two triple-double in the NCAA Championship after "Magic" Johnson and Oscar Robertson.

He was selected into the All-American best team with top talent such as Anthony Davis, but due to his mismatch and excessive age, Green's draft prospects are not favored.

Green's height was only 1.98 meters in the draft joint test, and most teams lack confidence in him being the NBA insider with this height.

He lacks the height that an inside player must have, nor the speed of an NBA-level small forward, so it is difficult to transform.

This leads to Green's possibility that he may not even find a true suitable position in NBA.

Moreover, even in college, Green often lost in confrontation with elite players. This proves that his ability to fight is not the best choice.

It can be said that no one has ever thought that such a guy could succeed in NBA.

Until this summer, Steve Cole's arrival changed the fate of this second round pick.

In fact, when the Warriors coaching staff first changed their blood, Green was quite frightened.

He finally gained the trust of Mark Jackson, and he didn't know if the new coach would value him so much.

After all, he is just a trivial second round pick.

Fortunately, Cole quickly talked to Green and did not hide his love for Green. In Cole's mind, Green was the key to winning the championship with that avant-garde lineup.

So Green spent a summer of hard work.

He has been constantly improving his ability to protect the basket and trying to shoot more three-pointers.

His efforts have also paid off in this new season. Starting, 30 points, double-double, all-around... all kinds of praise voices were used on this once inconspicuous little character.

Cole even personally informed David Lee a few days ago, "Obviously, our lineup is very effective now, because three-pointers are becoming more and more important in the league, and there are fewer and fewer powerful forwards who are proficient in low-level singles. This is a smaller and faster league, and we need to be ahead of the times."

To put it bluntly, it is to tell David Lee, "Even if you return from injury, the starting position is still Green."

Cole decided to abandon David Lee and chose Green for two-time All-Star fourth position. This was a very bold move, and Green was also very grateful.

He once publicly stated in a media interview that "Coach Cole cares about the most is winning, which has nothing to do with data or reputation, just win."

Therefore, Green also hopes to use his performance to give back to Cole's trust. Both sides are trapped in a virtuous cycle. Cole uses Green to build his ideal style of play and lineup, while Green gives back to Cole with passionate performance.

Cole did not restrain Green's somewhat overly passion, and even supported her very much.

"We are a quiet team, but Green has given the team a new breakthrough, and we need a reckless person like him."

Cole never shy away from talking about his love for Green in public. Even if most people don't agree, Cole is still very willing to praise his players.

The mutual trust between these two guys made the Warriors play their own style.

Indeed, the core of the Warriors is Curry and Thompson. But Green is like a hub, connecting these two top offensive players together.

He is not the most dazzling one, but it is definitely very important to the Warriors.

So, the Warriors won 16 consecutive victories and got a terrible start of 20 wins and 3 losses. The Grizzlies, ranked second in the West, have two wins less than the Warriors!

Now, this terrifying warrior finally extended their "claws" into the territory of the defending champion.

And Draymond Green, an important hub, finally met the enemy he wanted to "kill" the most.

"We have thought before, can we leave here alive?" Through the glass of the team bus, Green looked at the Federal Express Arena and muttered to himself.

"In the past? We were always a little short of victory." Curry, who was sitting next to Green, smiled slightly. Strictly speaking, the Warriors were not as simple as the Grizzlies.

In all the matches between the two sides last season, the Warriors were able to close the score difference to single digits.

"Haha, but it's different now. We will let those guys who are high above taste the power and let them know that we are no longer the same selves we used to be." Green stared at Link's huge poster outside the stadium and clenched his fists.

Today, he will definitely spread his passion throughout the audience!

※※※

Grizzlies players have never been so nervous since the beginning of this season.

Golden State Warriors, this can be said to be the strongest opponent the Grizzlies have encountered this season.

16 consecutive wins are not a result that can be achieved casually. This long winning streak record shows the Warriors' rapid growth.

Therefore, before the game started, the atmosphere in the locker room was very serious. Even Tony Allen and Whiteside, who usually like to joke, were unexpectedly quiet today.

"In this game, we need to attack the Warriors' inside. At the same time, block their shooting outside the three-point line. The Warriors are a team with balanced offense and defense, so don't be blinded by their too short inside height. The defense of those guys is quite excellent. So be careful when rushing to the basket."

Dave Joggel emphasized the precautions for this game over and over again. He hasn't been so concerned about a certain game for a long time.

In most cases, the Grizzlies can easily solve their opponents. But the Golden State Warriors have to say that these are individual cases.

As soon as Link changed his shoes, he saw Old Carter standing up and preparing to warm up on the field.

Old Carter is more active today than ever before. As a veteran who came on the bench, he is not the protagonist today.

But Carter was prepared for the game as if he was the leading star of the Grizzlies.

Carter neither had any conflicts with the Warriors players nor had any connection with the Warriors. This game should have no special significance to him.

But Carter made every effort to make a big move, which made you not tell that he was a veteran in his forties.

"Link, accompany me to warm up."

Just as Link was thinking, Carter walked to him.

"Okay, let's go find the feel." Link readily agreed to Carter's invitation, and the two of them walked out of the locker room first.

When Carter and Link stepped onto the court, many fans had already arrived at the scene. Although there was still a long time before the game began, the fans seemed to be thirsty.

This is a battle they have been waiting for for a long time!

"Tonight will be very lively." Carter looked around and raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

"You seem to be very excited?"

"That's of course, this is the final battle between the first and second in the West. We are facing a team that has just won 16 consecutive victories. They are very strong, indeed very strong." Carter said, looking at the championship pennant at the dome of the eyeball arena.

"In other words, they are also likely to be the biggest obstacle for us to reach the finals this season. Just like the outside world hype, this is the preview of the Western Conference Finals." After saying that, Carter shot the basketball in his hand, and the basketball fell into the net obediently.

As one of the four former points guards, Carter is perhaps the most inconspicuous of them in hard honor.

He longs for championships and fights. After the Nets' career, Carter joined the Magic who had just played in the Finals, eager to help the team win the championship ring.

As a result, the Magic was eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals the following year and did not even have the qualification to compete for the ring. After that, the finals were getting further and further away.

Two years later, Carter joined the Dallas Mavericks, who had just won the championship, hoping to help this championship-level team create new glory.

What happened? The Dallas Mavericks became one of the worst defending champions in NBA history, and they didn't even get through the first round in the second year.

Vince Carter seemed to be cursed. Any champion team he joined seemed to have problems of one kind or another, and it would be difficult to create glory again.

This year, when I came to the Grizzlies, I thought everything was safe, but the curse seemed to be fulfilling again.

The Grizzlies suffered injuries one after another, and the Warriors suddenly rose without warning. It seems that Carter's script will reincarnate as tragic as before.

But Carter is not a person who tends to fate. If this is his fate, he will try his best to break it!

Only by defeating the Warriors and winning the Western Conference Finals preview will the Grizzlies have the chance to reach the finals and Carter will have the hope of embracing honor.

He didn't want to just wait for death just because he was just a veteran. He also wanted to do his part in defeating the Warriors! Therefore, Lao Ka was so excited today.

Link saw Carter's thoughts. The eager look when the guy looked at the championship banner had already explained everything.

Link didn't ask any more questions and continued to shoot from outside the three-point line with Carter.
Chapter completed!