Chapter 20: Flying Splashes
Compared to Philadelphia, Auckland's winter is actually very unlike winter, this warm city has 260 days of sunshine a year, even in the middle of the night, as long as there is no wind, walking on the street will not feel much cold, not to mention just after seven o'clock in the evening, two hours ago, it was still bathed in a brilliant sunset, and as the sky gradually darkens, this famous bar street in Oakland City is lit up with neon lights, reflecting the colorful brilliance in the bustling crowd.
Located at the intersection of two bar streets, the Oak Bar is famous for its iconic city – Oakland, which means "land of oak trees" in English, even in a tourist city full of bars of all kinds, and the city was an oak forest before it was born. Of course, the reason why Oak Bar is so famous is not entirely because of its name, but more because it is one of the gathering places for Warriors fans, as can be seen from the huge lightbox with the Warriors logo on the top of the bar sign, this giant guy stands majestically in the middle of Bar Street, above the bright yellow Golden Gate Bridge and the clear blue water are brighter under the interplay of neon lights and street lights, even at the end of the street.
Less than half an hour before the start of the game, the bar was already full of people, but there were many eastern faces, Oakland is located in the east of the San Francisco Bay Area, is the third largest Chinese community in the United States after New York and Los Angeles, there are more than 500,000 Chinese people in the territory, and there are many basketball fans among these people, at this time they are scattered in a group of people with various skin colors and facial features, and also wearing Warrior jerseys, it is not much abrupt.
In a row of bar chairs in the corner of the bar sat such a middle-aged man with rimless glasses, perhaps a white-collar worker who had been working at a desk in the office for a long time, his complexion was even fairer than that of some white people, and only from his facial features and dark pupils that were flatter and more delicate than Westerners, could he vaguely discern his bloodline as a descendant of Yan and Huang. Looking at the starting line-ups of both sides on the huge wide screen in the center of the bar, he took a small bottle of beer in his hand absent-mindedly, as if waiting for something.
"Hey, Ben, why did you come here today without clothes?" A slightly chubby and balding man squeezed out of the crowd with some difficulty, and greeted him loudly in fluent rice, perhaps because it was too crowded and too hot, and his forehead was covered with shiny sweat.
"Is there one?" The man known as Ben looked down at the neat plaid shirt on his body.
"Jersey! Jersey! Aren't we the Splash Brothers? The bald man turned around with some effort, showing him the huge "30" on his back, and the 3XL jersey was like children's clothing on his body, if it weren't for the quality of the jersey, it would have been blown up a long time ago.
"Oh, forgot." Ben put on a "I'm just lying, what can you do to me" face.
The bald man crossed his waist and was about to count him down, but was interrupted by the sudden burst of cheers from the crowd, he quickly turned around, the Warriors players had already begun to enter, he opened his arms and shouted loudly with the crowd: "Stephen Stephen!" The number 30 on his back shook somewhat exaggeratedly with his movements.
Ben looked at the arms standing in the bar, and waved them twice in some irritation, then raised the bottle in his hand and poured two sips, the cold liquor hitting his throat, making him cough loudly and involuntarily.
"Ben, there's really something wrong with you today," the bald man looked at his companion with some concern, "don't bring your work problems to the bar, this is the place, we're going to drink to your heart's content!" Shout as much as you want! Enjoy the victory to the fullest! GoWarriors! He roared a little excitedly, trying to cheer his companions along.
“GoWarriors!” Everyone yelled after him.
“Yeah!” The bald man turned his head and patted Ben on the shoulder triumphantly, "Okay, that's it, smile, good, keep it up, tonight must be our victory." He hammered his chest, and the fat on his stomach shook for a while.
"Bill, no, old money, I'm afraid tonight's victory, I can't share it with you." Looking at the 76ers bench flashing by on the big screen, Ben muttered in his heart.
……
"The 76ers are getting into shape fast! A long pass from McCarvey! Henry Simms's Hurry Up! This big man of 6'10" is as fast as a defender! Aerial relay slam dunk! 6-0! The 76ers' boys must have held their back after two straight losses on the road, so could it be that the two teams with the biggest difference in wins in the league today will give us a good role reversal? In the commentary bench, Kenny Smith mediated the game in his usual tone.
"I don't think the Warriors home fans think so." Barkley, as always, refuted his partner's point of view, which he was used to.
"As much as I hate this big-mouthed fat man, he's right!" The bald man waved his thick arms and shouted, immediately attracting applause from the surroundings.
“SplashBrothers! SplashBrothers! "All of the home fans at Oracle Arena are calling out their heroes, the Splash Brothers, the hottest backcourt duo in the league right now, and it's a fitting word to describe their feel, the Warriors are leading the best 24-5 start in the league, sitting at the top of the league, and today facing the 76ers, who are bottom of the league, despite a bad start, fans still have a lot of confidence in the home team.
In the cheers of the fans, the Warriors finally showed their league-leading strength, and in the next 5 minutes, they began to bombard the 76ers' basket outside the three-point line.
"Jakar!" Coach Brett Brown stood up and yelled at Jakar Sampson, who was sleepwalking, "Do you want to be replaced?" ”
Before the game, Coach Brown arranged a very heavy role for Jakar Sampson on the defensive end, 2.06 meters he is 2 inches taller than Klay Thompson, such a height difference is enough for him to limit the opponent's catch-and-shoot shots, plus Thompson's own independent offensive ability is weak, and he is not good at making fouls, when the wind is not good, he also loses most of his deterrent, which is exactly what Coach Brown expects.
However, Jakar Sampson slapped the coach hard with his botched performance, and it's no wonder Brett Brown is going to lash out.
In fact, the Warriors and the 76ers have a similar approach at the tactical level, with the former having more than 100 rounds per 48 minutes, which is the most in the league, and the latter being the same, playing 99.2 rounds per 48 minutes. But in these 100 rounds or so, the Warriors can achieve an average of 110 points per game, and even win by more than 10 points per game. The 76ers only have a pitiful 99.5 points, and even the only team in the league that scores less than 100 points per 100 rounds, which explains the current situation of the two teams, compared to the Warriors, the 76ers are not inferior in athleticism, what they lack is the teamwork and offensive ability that the former relies on to win, many people think that relying solely on outside projection can not really grasp the initiative of the game, but the Warriors have used their maverick style of play to slap many experts in the face, and they can only get their face back on the 76ers.
"Oh, let's see what the 76ers bench players are up to...... With 1:30 left in the first quarter, they didn't even stand up to celebrate...... This is Tony Roten, who looks like he has just eaten a lump of charles' poop, and this is K.J. Mike Daniels, who has picked up another Gatorade, which is already the third cup of the game, is that what he really wants to do in the league? Jeremy Grant, who looks like he's picking at his feet...... I'm about to vomit all night of my overnight meal...... Rookie Ding, what is our emoji emperor doing? Is he in a daze? Wow, it seems that only 5 games have allowed him to integrate into the atmosphere of this team and do a good job. Kenny Smith looked at the crowd on the 76ers' bench and complained that his mind was no longer on the game.
"Kenny, you're pretty dark, too." Barkley leaned back in his chair and shook his head, apparently losing interest in arguing with his partner.
There was a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere in the Oak Bar, the Warriors set off a wave of 14-6 scoring after 18-5, and quickly opened up the difference, after the first quarter, 32-17, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green all sat on the bench, although they had long expected that the game would be one-sided, but it should have been in the third quarter, at least the second quarter, but the first quarter was not over, they had started the pretend mode.
Looking at the close-up of the 76ers bench on the big screen, Ben secretly clenched his fists amid the chaotic laughter around him.
Ding Wei was not in a daze as Kenny Smith said, and after two defeats, he was able to calmly face any possible situation, even if it made him very unhappy. Although the gap between the two sides is separated by a Mariana Trench on paper and in the first quarter, Ding Wei insists in his heart that this is the style of the Warriors, and they can play this score against any team, but it does not mean that they will definitely win the game, at least so far they have lost to five teams, and the most recent one is the second-to-last Lakers in the league and without the star Kobe Bryant?
"Xiaomeng, can you give me a replay of this game?"
"Do you want to be ordinary, or are you spliced and analyzed?"
"Do you just say it's a public chapter or a VIP chapter? I want a VIP, the tall one with stunts, and I don't have much time to waste right now. ”
"It seems that you are in a good mood, don't be surprised by the change, boy, 10 energy points, a freshly baked game, you use it slowly."
Ding Wei sweated for a moment, how could he feel like he had entered the Tongfu Inn.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The Nets are still splashing, and the Warriors players and fans don't know that Oracle Arena today is about to give birth to a miracle that they will still fear from the bottom of their hearts when they think about it years from now.