NBA: Warrior godfather.

Guys there is already content on patreon, if anyone wants to become a chunin or jonnin.

patreon.com/Chuga320 (More 50 chapters)

—————————————————————————————————————————————

After Liam and Larry Riley caught their breath, they met with Silas and Ron Adams the following day to discuss tactics against the Celtics.

This season's Warriors' schedule was truly brutal. Shortly after the season started, they would face a series of away games against strong teams. Immediately after Christmas, they'd have to play the Suns, Celtics, Lakers, Trail Blazers, and Nuggets — many playoff-level teams that sat atop the league standings. If the Warriors were as strong as last season, a five-game losing streak was almost guaranteed.

Jonathan handed over the latest Celtics information to the group of three, then took the initiative to step aside and grabbed a pen to take notes.

His job as an assistant wasn't easy, especially since Liam was both the head coach and the chief strategist. Jonathan not only had to communicate well with the video analysis room and help Liam prepare game strategies but also report on the Warriors' operations every two weeks. Summarizing the situation and reporting to Liam felt like working the job of two people at once.

But while it was a lot of work, he was gaining a lot too. Liam gave him valuable tips during games, letting him feel the atmosphere on the sidelines, and even occasionally offered him advice on how to train the team, which Jonathan found immensely helpful.

Moreover, the salary that Liam offered was far from bad, and Jonathan was happy with the job, eager to learn everything.

The three of them reviewed the information in silence. After a few minutes, Liam waved his hand and Jonathan switched on the projector in the meeting room. On it were the edited highlights from the Celtics' last three games, curated by the video analysis team.

Liam used the remote to fast-forward through the footage, quickly skimming through it, and smiled as he said:

"We're so lucky, it's another consecutive opponent. I should apologize to the league office, the schedule they've set up is just wonderful!"

Silas and Ron Adams laughed, and even Jonathan couldn't help but smile before returning to a serious expression.

They had heard Liam complain about the unfair schedule many times, but now, the results were really good.

Indeed, the Suns had been overexcited in the Christmas game and defeated the Clippers by 31 points. As a result, they were in bad form for the next couple of games and handed the Warriors two consecutive victories.

The Celtics had also faced off against the Clippers on the road last night, but they had a bit of bad luck. They ran into Baron Davis, a former Warrior and hero of the Black Eight, who showed his power by scoring 27 points, with Kaman hitting a mid-range jumper, scoring 24 points, and leading the Clippers to a 92-90 victory over the Celtics.

Moreover, both Ray Allen and Rondo had played nearly 40 minutes, which was very taxing and not conducive for back-to-back performances.

Baron Davis had been valiant in Los Angeles this time, taking the initiative to consume powerful enemies and create opportunities for the Warriors. If Liam hadn't known him, he would've invited him to a couple of meals as a thank-you.

Silas said:

"For us, it's enough to just play our tactics well. The Celtics are playing the second game of a back-to-back. They just had a tough game yesterday. We've got a good chance of winning this one."

Ron Adams nodded in agreement:

"Yes, we're not rivals to the Celtics. We don't need to invest more energy into them. We just need to be ourselves and give our best to win."

Both seemed indifferent to the game. Liam wasn't surprised and agreed:

"That's right. There's really no need to pay too much attention to them, but we can fine-tune the defense on the wing…"

This was the norm in the NBA. Even though the Celtics were a powerhouse, the Warriors were in the West and the Celtics were in the East, and the Warriors weren't competing for the championship with them. The two teams only played two games in a season, and it wasn't worth over-preparing for them.

On the other hand, division rivals were the biggest threats to one another. Often, the best teams lost to weaker teams from the other half of the league because of a lack of preparation.

The Warriors' coaching staff didn't make many preparations for the Celtics, but as the meeting was nearing its end, Liam suddenly said:

"Let's design more tactics for Andris. It's better to make his stats look better."

Silas and Ron Adams were stunned for a moment, then quickly realized what Liam was implying. Silas asked, surprised:

"Are you going to trade Andris?"

It was common practice in the NBA to allow players to improve their stats before being traded, giving potential buyers the chance to inspect the "products." Silas and Ron Adams had been around the league for many years and had seen plenty of these situations.

When Liam spoke, both quickly understood what he meant.

"Our center position still needs to be improved. Andris is good, but I have a better candidate in mind... Of course, this might not be possible, but we should prepare for it in case it happens," Liam was being upfront about the potential trade of Biedrins.

Silas said with some regret:

"Andris has a lot of potential, and we could develop more offensive moves for him. It's a shame to trade him now…"

Ron Adams agreed:

"As a center, Andris has too many limitations defensively. If there's a better center available, I support the trade."

One considered the matter from an offensive perspective, the other from a defensive one, each focusing on their responsibility.

After they finished speaking, they all looked closely at Liam, waiting for his next words.

Liam smiled and said:

"Details can't be revealed just yet. You'll know when the deal is done. What I can guarantee is that if the trade is successful, the new center won't let you down. He fits the Warriors' system very well. A better version of Driss."

The two were a bit disappointed that their curiosity hadn't been satisfied, but Liam wasn't going to give them any more details, so they reluctantly gave up.

Liam said seriously:

"Alright, the focus now is on how to help Andris improve his stats, not just scoring, but also rebounding and blocking shots."

Silas thought for a moment and said:

"This can be handled easily, but it might affect the team's overall strength…"

"No matter, as long as we can make Andris ' stats look good during this period, we can sacrifice some of our record!" Liam replied.

Game Night:

At 10:00 PM, Oracle Center was about to begin the home game between the Warriors and the Celtics. The arena was packed, and the fans were cheering enthusiastically, creating one of the best home court atmospheres in the league.

The players from both teams arrived at the court full of energy after taking a day off following their game against the Suns. However, the Celtics had just been through a fierce battle after their loss and hurriedly flew to Oakland during the night. Their condition seemed poor, and there was no fighting spirit.

This showed immediately at the tip-off. Biedrins easily jumped for the ball with minimal effort, and the Warriors were off to an attack.

Curry reached the top of the arc, ran a pick-and-roll with Biedrins, and passed him the ball as he cut to the basket. Perkins moved slowly and couldn't reach him.

As Biedrins ran back to defend, he high-fived Curry and yelled excitedly.

Before the game, Liam had told him that he would have more chances to play his part in the tactics. This made Biedrins, who usually played quietly, more motivated, starting the game with a dunk.

In the following games, Biedrins had a very strong presence. The Warriors focused mainly on the pick-and-roll between him and Curry on the offensive side, and Curry passed him the ball every time he had a chance, even taking a few risks on passes that were easy to misfire. Curry's messages to Biedrins were clear and firm.

Facing Perkins, who had just played a fierce game the night before, Biedrins wreaked havoc in the Celtics' paint area, throwing down dunk after dunk, as if he were flying through the air.

Sometimes, there wasn't a direct path to the basket, so Biedrins followed Liam's instructions and showed a small hook near the right side of the paint.

Though his moves seemed a bit clumsy and stiff, Perkins was unprepared for this and was hit multiple times.

Rivers, on the sideline, had been focused on defending Curry during their game against the Clippers. Who would have thought that Biedrins would take on such a heavy responsibility?

It wasn't until the third quarter that Rivers finally woke up and asked Garnett to defend Biedrins, which restricted him.

When Liam saw this, he immediately took Biedrins off the floor and replaced him with Big Z.

At that point, Garnett started to cause trouble in the Warriors' paint. The two-digit lead the Warriors had established in the first half was quickly erased, but Liam remained unfazed. It wasn't until Garnett left the game that Biedrins reappeared.

With these new tactics, Biedrins was unstoppable in the paint. Lowry and Watson remembered Liam's instructions and took turns feeding him the ball.

Although the Celtics had strengthened their defense in the paint and Biedrins' shooting accuracy wasn't high due to the tough defense, they couldn't keep up with

the volume of shots. The entire Warriors team kept passing him the ball intentionally.

However, this deliberate style of play allowed the Celtics to catch up with the score, and both teams finished the third quarter tied.

In the final quarter, Liam switched tactics again, bringing Anthony Tolliver to add spacing. This allowed Biedrins to return to his role as a workhorse.

When Rivers saw the Warriors' interior setup, he naturally wanted to create chaos in their paint area, but Liam instructed Butler, who was guarding Rondo, to stay on him for three steps, collapse the paint, and put pressure on their defense.

The Celtics were exhausted physically and mentally and could not score in such a congested environment. Rondo attempted several threes, but all of them were too far off with no one defending him. He gave up trying to shoot and the Celtics' offense was limited to the Big Three.

Meanwhile, the Warriors had four shooters on the offensive side. Garnett left his defenders open to help with the defense as usual, but Anthony Tolliver quickly punished him with a three-pointer, leaving Garnett with nothing to do but obediently hand over the ball from the corner.

Sitting back, watching Curry beat Perkins with plays big and small, Curry also ran a couple of pick-and-rolls with Biedrins to hammer the Celtics' defense.

In the end, the Warriors worked efficiently and defeated the exhausted Celtics 110-95, securing their third consecutive victory.

After the game, Curry played consistently well, and Rivers never resorted to double-teaming him. He finished with a double-double of 24 points and 13 assists.

However, the focus tonight was not on Curry but on Biedrins. He hit 12 of 18 field goals, all in the paint, 4 of 6 free throws, and finished with 28 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks — truly the star of the night.

Biedrins' 15 rebounds, in addition to his highest scoring output, was also due to Liam's tactical preparation.

This season, the Celtics had the league's 28th worst offensive rebound rate at 22.8%. They were poor at grabbing offensive rebounds. Liam had instructed his players before the game to always launch counterattacks whenever the Celtics missed, leaving Biedrins to grab defensive rebounds.

Just as expected, the Celtics players quickly retreated after every missed shot, fearing the Warriors would run a fast break. No one went after offensive boards, and Biedrins' rebound count soared.

As Liam watched the team celebrate from the sidelines, surrounded by cheering players, Biedrins was smiling, but Liam's expression was somber.

Biedrins had no idea that the team was preparing to trade him, and no one else knew that the important contributor who had helped the team win tonight might soon be leaving.

Looking at the happy faces of his players, Liam suddenly felt a pang of guilt in his heart — a feeling of betrayal.

Unlike Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson, and others, who Liam had no emotional connection with when trading, Biedrins had played 30 games under his guidance. He had trained him personally, watching him score, defend, block shots, and grab rebounds... He wasn't just a name on the roster, but a living person.

A player so dedicated, working hard every day, averaging a double-double, and playing well, would be left behind without knowing it. Liam felt he had betrayed Biedrins.

"Liam, what are you thinking about?"

Just as Liam was lost in his thoughts, a soft voice called out to him.

Liam turned around and saw Ron Adams approaching, smiling at him.

Liam sighed softly:

"Nothing, just the idea of trading Andris is making me a bit uncomfortable... He played really well, didn't he?"

Ron Adams adjusted his glasses and said quietly:

"I don't know who you're looking to trade him for, but I think you made this decision after careful consideration, and you believe it will benefit the team's development. That's what matters. There's never any warmth in the NBA. It's just a cold and ruthless pursuit of victory. As long as you win, you can trade anyone… You'll understand when you experience it more."

He patted Liam on the shoulder and slowly walked toward the players' tunnel.

Liam fell silent, looking up at the sky above Oracle Center, where two dark blue flags and one bright yellow flag hung.

They represented the three times the Warriors had reached the pinnacle of the league and won championships.

Amid the cheers of thousands of fans and the celebrations of the Warriors' players, Liam stood silently, his hesitation fading and growing more determined.

Everything was for the championship!

End of this chapter

Note: Hi if you really like NBA novels, you can support me either in this pg with stones, reviews etc, or in patreon since the niche of sports and specially NBA is very small is Webnovel since people prefer to read Naruto, Pokemon, comics etc.