NBA: Warrior godfather.

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That night, the Warriors took a special flight to Memphis. Liam didn't organize a high-intensity practice for the following day, allowing the players to rest well.

But it didn't help, and the Warriors still faced a tough game that night.

Rudy Gay, OJ Mayo, and Randolph of the Grizzlies played well, each scoring over 20 points and bringing serious firepower. Despite the Warriors having rested most of the day, they still felt the intensity in the second game of back-to-back matches. Fatigue and poor overall form took a toll.

To make matters worse, Chandler showed signs of a recurring injury. As a precaution, Liam replaced him halfway through the second quarter and didn't let him return to the game. This was also a major reason the Grizzlies were able to dominate inside.

Curry and Butler still showed no signs of recovery. Ron Adams' coaching helped them adjust their mentality, but they couldn't seem to get their form back.

In this game, Curry made only 4 of 14 three-pointers. He did manage two rare three-pointers but only ended with 15 points and 5 assists. His performance was poor, but his mindset remained solid. Even with his shots off, his determination to keep shooting never wavered.

Butler hadn't yet regained his physical condition, and his rhythm was sluggish on both ends of the floor. He couldn't keep up with the Grizzlies' pace and only scored 5 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists. His presence on the court was minimal, with the only notable moment being the two free throws he gave to OJ Mayo, which helped bring Mayo's total to 21 points.

Before the two could find their form, Chandler only played 8 minutes, and neither Azubuike nor Varejao returned. The Warriors essentially abandoned their starting lineup, and ultimately losing to the Grizzlies was not something that could be overlooked.

The lone bright spot for the Warriors was Danny Green. After coming on in garbage time in the final 7 minutes of the fourth quarter, he hit 4 of 6 three-pointers and scored 12 points, helping the team cut the deficit to under 20, making the Warriors' loss a bit more palatable.

Liam looked at Danny Green, who had performed well off the bench, rubbing his chin with his right hand and feeling quite pleased.

This season, Danny Green wasn't part of the Warriors' regular rotation. He only had the chance to play in garbage time, often playing fewer than 10 minutes per game and sometimes even missing multiple games in a row.

The reason for this was that the Warriors already had enough depth at forward and defensive positions, and Danny Green's three-point shooting and defense hadn't met Liam's expectations.

But Liam knew the heights Green could reach later and had high hopes for him. He asked the coaching staff to prepare a detailed and rigorous training plan for him. Now it seemed like the plan was starting to pay off.

After the loss to the Grizzlies, the Warriors finally concluded their road trip. They would now face the Suns, Grizzlies, and Mavericks at home — three more tough games.

On the flight back to Oakland, Liam solemnly looked at his phone. The game between the Thunder and the Raptors had just ended. The Thunder defeated the Raptors 115–89, and with this win, they successfully surpassed the Warriors in the standings, moving up to 7th place in the Western Conference, while the Warriors fell to 8th place.

In 9th place were the Trail Blazers, just 1.5 games behind the Warriors. Their momentum was also very strong, currently on a six-game winning streak.

If Roy hadn't been injured for a period during the middle of the season and just recently returned, which caused the Trail Blazers to hit a losing streak, their partnership with Aldridge would likely have kept them from competing for a playoff spot.

But Roy was Roy. After his return, he immediately turned the Trail Blazers' fortunes around. If this situation continued, the Warriors' playoff spot would be in danger.

"Stephen, when will you recover…" Liam murmured quietly as he looked at Curry, who was sleeping deeply with an eye mask and earplugs.

The Warriors returned to their home court, and after a day of rest, they faced the Suns at Oracle Arena on March 22.

Unfortunately, Curry's condition was still poor. He only made 3 of 10 three-pointers and scored 14 points. He had improved slightly compared to the previous month, with his shooting percentage creeping back above 30%, but it still wasn't enough to handle the Suns.

In the end, in an offensive battle, the Warriors lost to the Suns 115–132, 17 points behind. The good news was that Butler had recovered a bit physically and regained his speed and defensive presence, but he still couldn't shoot effectively.

The Thunder also lost to the Spurs 96–99 that night, staying one game ahead of the Warriors. The Trail Blazers had no game, and the gap with the Warriors was reduced to just one game.

On March 24, the Warriors faced the Grizzlies at home. In this game, the Warriors took revenge and didn't repeat their performance from the Suns game. After a few days of rest, the back issues had disappeared.

With him in the paint, Randolph, Rudy Gay, and OJ Mayo got nothing going, and Curry's condition also improved slightly. He made 4 of 11 three-pointers and scored 24 points, attacking the basket and helping the team defeat the Grizzlies 110–97, snapping their losing streak.

But at the same time, the Thunder defeated the Rockets 122–104, still maintaining a one-game advantage over the Warriors.

The Trail Blazers had a fierce battle the next night. Roy fought for a double-double with 26 points and 11 assists, leading the team to a 106–104 win over the Suns. They were still one game behind the Warriors and three games behind the Thunder. A win kept their playoff hopes alive.

On March 27, the Warriors faced the Mavericks at home. Curry's touch dropped again. He made only 4 of 12 three-pointers and scored just 21 points. This performance wasn't terrible, but it was far behind Nowitzki's 32 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. The Warriors also lost to the Mavericks 95–104.

The next day, a much-anticipated game began. The Thunder hosted the Trail Blazers at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. This game was sure to have a major impact on the Western Conference playoff standings.

After more than two hours of intense competition, the Trail Blazers emerged victorious, defeating their powerful opponents 92–87!

Although Durant scored 29 points in this game, he lacked enough support around him. Only Jeff Green scored 14 points, and Westbrook made just 5 of 14 shots, totaling 12 points, which was practically negligible.

On the Trail Blazers' side, veteran Andre Miller stepped up and taught young Westbrook a lesson. He scored 26 points, 4 assists, and 6 rebounds. Roy also played very consistently, scoring 20 points and 7 rebounds. The two of them combined to break down the Thunder's defense.

This victory was crucial for the Trail Blazers. After the Warriors lost the previous day, they successfully reduced the gap with the Warriors to just 0.5 games and also cut the gap with the Thunder. The playoff situation in the Western Conference had become chaotic once again.

In March, Oakland entered the spring season. The thick clouds of water vapor drifting from the Pacific Ocean had wrapped the city in a layer of fog, whether it was morning or afternoon, with only a few hours in the afternoon when sunlight would shine through. "Sin City" gave people a warm feeling.

Early in the morning, Curry woke up, surrounded by fog.

He opened the curtains and looked out at the streets enveloped in mist. He stayed silent for a while, then turned around to pack his clothes and toiletries into a suitcase.

The Warriors had lost to the Mavericks the day before. The team had half a day of rest yesterday and only held a normal practice in the afternoon. Today, the team would head to Los Angeles to face the Clippers that night. Game 73 of the season. After that, the Warriors would travel to Utah to challenge the Jazz.

"Bzzz…"

Just as Curry was packing, his phone rang.

He picked it up and looked at it. A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth as he answered.

"Ayesha, why are you calling so early? It's the weekend, why don't you sleep in a little longer?"

Ayesha's lazy voice came through the phone.

"Ha... I just woke up... You're coming to Los Angeles today, how could I sleep? How many days will you be in LA this time?"

Curry briefly thought about the team's schedule and said,

"I can stay for a day and a half. Today is the 29th. We play the Jazz on the 31st. After the Clippers, we have a day off in between. We'll go to Salt Lake in the afternoon on the 30th. Honestly, if we didn't have to adjust to the altitude a day in advance, we'd definitely go on the 31st. Believe me, nobody wants to stay in that ghost town…"

Ayesha smiled softly and said with a longer tone,

"In that case, you can come out when you have time —"

Hearing Ayesha's playful and teasing voice, Curry felt strangely dry for some reason.

He licked his lips,

"Ayesha, I… I miss you. You're free tomorrow, right?"

The other end of the phone suddenly went quiet. Just when Curry felt

like a hundred claws were scratching at his heart, Ayesha spoke softly.

"Of course, I have the whole day free tomorrow, but it's a pity that someone only has half a day off…"

Hearing Ayesha's slightly resentful voice, Curry felt warmth in his heart and quickly said,

"The usual horse races will finish soon. Then I'll have time. I'll take you on vacation to Miami!"

"Aren't you playing in the playoffs?"

Curry was stunned for a moment and then responded,

"We still have to play the playoffs, so let's wait until they're over before we go on vacation…"

"Stephen, why don't we stop seeing each other?" Ayesha suddenly said.

"Why?" Curry asked, surprised.

"I think a lot of experts say your playoff situation isn't good, and you might not make the top eight. They also say it's because… your condition isn't great. If we meet, won't Liam be able to… satisfy you? You should rest well," Ayesha said carefully.

"Are you worried about this? We don't know what will happen, and after the game, the boss will definitely give us at least half a day off. He won't care about these things," Curry smiled.

He and Ayesha were devout Christians. After meeting, they would only hold hands and chat. They never did anything out of the ordinary. This was forbidden by their teachings and would not violate Liam's regulations.

"Well, I'm just worried that it will affect you, and there are too many reporters in Los Angeles. If they photograph us, they'll definitely make a story out of it. You don't know, there are so many things like this in Hollywood. I see it in the sports circle. Those reporters love making up nonsense…" Ayesha said, sounding worried.

Curry listened quietly to Ayesha's rambling thoughts, and a sense of peace and calm rose in his heart.

He recalled the scene from last year's draft. Ayesha had tightly held his right hand, and the moment he heard his name called by David Stern, his first reaction was to kiss Ayesha and hug his parents.

Since then, opportunities for them to meet had become rare. Curry was in Oakland, and Ayesha was in Los Angeles. Even though the distance between the two places was only a little over 600 kilometers, they were both busy with their own developments and could only rely on video calls and phone calls. Talking about the pain of missing each other was also how they had kept their relationship going when they were in college.

Unknowingly, they had been together for almost two years. Although both were just over 20, they had grown used to each other's presence. They were obviously a loving couple but had an unspoken understanding like that of a husband and wife—a kind of strange relationship.

When Curry and Ayesha were together, they often looked at each other, suddenly dancing with no conviction or imitating scenes from TV shows or anime, then laughing together, as if they were two people who had not grown up yet.

They seemed to have a small world that only belonged to them, an innocent and simple world that was only open to others.

"… Hello? Stephen? Are you listening?"

Just as Curry was immersed in the feeling of silence, Ayesha's slightly dissatisfied voice rang out.

"Eh? Oh… I'm listening…" Curry pulled himself out of the strange feeling and responded quietly.

"Where was I? Oh, yes, I don't think we should worry. I believe you'll get back to form and smack them hard when the time comes. Humph!" She said fiercely, though there was no real fierceness in her voice.

"Ayesha…" Curry whispered her name almost inaudibly.

"Eh?"

"You're coming to the game, right?"

"What do you think? The last time you came to Los Angeles, I had a play but didn't attend. How could I miss this time? I checked the schedule. This is the last time you'll come to Los Angeles for a regular season game," Ayesha said, a little offended.

Curry slowly replied,

"Don't worry, I won't disappoint you in this game."

"Humph, it better be that way, otherwise you'll be staying alone in Los Angeles…"

"Can you really stand it?"

"Looking at your performance, I don't want to see the headline that 'Stephen Curry is addicted to his relationship with Ayesha Alexander, and his condition has worsened severely…'" Ayesha mimicked the reporter's tone vividly.

Curry laughed and said boldly,

"Did you forget the last time I played against the Lakers? Look, this game will be remembered!"

End of this chapter

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