This frees up Howard to stand in the penalty area and help defend without any scruples.
The Warriors' lineup is focused on defense and has many problems on the offensive end.
Howard stood inside, no one from the Warriors could break in, and the outside was also covered.
The Warriors' only way to score is for Livingston to post up Nelson.
But the Magic are not stupid. They don't let Nelson guard Livingston, but let Matt Barnes guard Livingston.
Nelson went to guard Laga Bell, who didn't have much ball-handling ability.
As a result, the Warriors' offense became annoyed and it was difficult to score a point.
Livingston could only bite the bullet and beat Barnes alone.
Barnes has a strong individual defense ability, and Livingston's shooting percentage can be imagined.
Soon, the Warriors fell behind by more than ten points.
Deng Fang had no choice but to call a timeout.
Substitute after the timeout.
The Warriors have no point guard on the bench and can only rely on Lopez's isolation.
Lopez is very efficient, and the Warriors are not far behind in the substitute competition.
But it is also difficult to regain the score.
At the end of the first quarter, the Warriors trailed by 12 points at 19:31.
In the second quarter, the Magic's offense became more fierce and their defense became more active.
In order to deal with Lopez, Howard came on the court early.
The situation is becoming increasingly unfavorable for the Warriors.
Deng Fang had to replace Livingston in advance.
It can't be done without a point guard.
Livingston can play pick-and-roll with Lopez when he comes up.
It was the Warriors' turn to attack. Livingston held the ball at the top of the arc, and Lopez came up to block Barnes.
Livingston dribbled the ball and took two steps to the side, and there was Howard in front of him.
However, Howard did not come out, but took two steps back.
Anyway, Livingston doesn't have three-pointers, so he can shoot whatever he wants.
Van Gundy reminded this many times before the game, but Howard still remembered it.
In this case, it doesn’t matter if you don’t want to invest.
If you don't shoot, others will retreat even more, and your teammates will have less open opportunities.
Livingston took a step inside, collected the ball, took off, raised his hand and shot.
Howard took a step forward and interfered in a signal way.
If it had been anyone else, Livingston would have taken action normally.
But in front of me is Howard!
He was the block leader and best defensive player last season!
Howard's jumping ability is beyond comparison with that of ordinary people!
A person's name, a tree's shadow.
Even if Howard doesn't exert much force, you are still afraid!
This is Howard's defensive deterrence.
Livingston jumped higher than usual and shot faster.
Nothing else, just to avoid Howard's block.
However, if you exert too much force when shooting, the movement will be deformed.
Especially when you are not physically strong enough.
Livingston also played in the All-Star Game.
Although the amount of exercise cannot be compared with Curry and others, he has just recovered from a serious injury.
Livingston is much taller than Curry and weighs less than Curry!
Curry is relatively thin in the NBA!
Therefore, in the same game, Livingston's consumption is smaller than others.
However, with the same intensity, Livingston is more likely to be injured!
Livingston first made a change of direction, and then made a pull-up jumper. Both movements were very wide.
He started jumping, but the moment he exerted his strength, Livingston felt something was wrong with his left knee.
Livingston had major surgery on his left leg!
Because he had surgery, Livingston always tried to protect his left leg during training to prevent it from being overstressed.
This is a human instinct and cannot be changed.
Once bitten, twice shy.
Because of this, Livingston's left leg is slightly weaker.
It's nothing at ordinary times, but it will show up once a critical moment comes.
Livingston felt bad and quickly threw the ball out, and it immediately fell to the ground.
Because his left leg was a little weak, Livingston deliberately let his right foot touch the ground first.
This time all the weight of the body fell on the right leg.
Livingston just jumped up with all his strength.
Caught off guard, Livingston's right leg couldn't withstand such a huge impact and suddenly twisted.
Livingston yelled "Ah" and fell to the ground.
Rashard Lewis grabbed a rebound under the basket, but he didn't care about it, passed the ball to Nelson, and ran directly to the frontcourt.
Nelson was faster and rushed to the frontcourt with the ball and made an empty basket.
Deng Fang quickly called a timeout.
Another injury!
What are you afraid of?
The Warriors have only one point guard left in Livingston.
Now Livingston is also injured...
The team doctor quickly came to Livingston and examined him.
After a while, Livingston stood up from the ground and limped back to the bench.
The team doctor came to Deng and said: "Livingston's right leg was twisted. There is no problem with the bone. It should be a calf muscle strain and he needs to rest for a while."
Hearing what the team doctor said, Livingston stood up quickly and said, "Coach, I can still play..."
Deng Fang reached out and interrupted Livingston: "It's okay. You can go back and rest. Your health is important. Winning or losing a game doesn't matter."
Livingston sighed, nodded, and limped back to the locker room with the help of the team doctor.
Indeed, as Livingston said, if he plays, he can still play.
But that's totally unnecessary.
Continuing to fight can easily aggravate the injury.
Besides, that would not bring out the true level.
Being timid will hurt the team.
More importantly, the Warriors have the capital to let their players rest and recuperate.
The Warriors are now 10 games ahead of the Lakers!
Even if they lose a few games, there will be no problem with the Warriors' first place in the Western Conference.
With Livingston out of the game, it stands to reason that only Prince will be the point guard.
But Deng Fang did not do this. He asked Azubuike to control the ball and Prince no longer played.
Not only Prince, Lopez and Jordan also stayed off the court, and Turiaf came on as center.
The entire third substitute lineup!
Deng Fang's meaning is obvious, we give up this game!
The team is more than ten points behind, Curry is not here, and Livingston is also injured. Prince, Lopez, DeAndre Jordan and others are physically and mentally exhausted, and their energy is exhausted. The Magic are well prepared and feel hot. In this case, there is no way.
It is necessary to fight hard.
So what if you lose a game!
Even though the main players are not here, the substitutes still play very hard.
This is the best moment to perform in front of the head coach!
Once you play well, you may get a few more minutes of playing time later on.
A few minutes more and the data will be much better.
And data means money!
More importantly, you can only stay with the Warriors if you play well next season.
That's the best result.
The substitutes played very actively, but they still couldn't do it against the Magic's starting lineup.
The difference in strength is too big.
Soon, the second quarter ended and the score became 42:61!
The Warriors trailed by 19 points.
In the third quarter, the Magic's main force only played 5 minutes before going down.
Van Gundy is not a fool, as long as he can win the game.
Everyone is hanging out in the NBA, so there is no need to be cruel.
What's more, Deng Fang is not someone to be trifled with!
