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)

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

Defeating the Raptors is not the end, but the beginning.

On April 6th, the Warriors continued their four-game road trip and arrived in Washington, D.C., to challenge the Wizards.

Against the Wizards, who occupied the second-to-last spot in the Eastern Conference, the Warriors showed no mercy. By the end of the first half, the point difference had ballooned to 23 points. In the third quarter, under Liam's strict orders, they kept pushing forward. Their efforts expanded the lead to 32 points in one go, completely putting an end to the game's suspense.

In the final quarter, Liam put out an all-bench lineup. These substitutes had no intention of slowing down, continuing to destroy the Wizards' defense.

In the end, the Warriors defeated the Wizards 133-102. Curry played only 25 minutes and efficiently posted a double-double with 24 points and 14 assists. Eight players on the Warriors scored in double figures, and the bench contributed a total of 62 points. It could be said that all soldiers performed well.

Liam was very satisfied with the result. The Warriors are not one of those dominant teams. They have a strong starting lineup, but their advantage lies in the depth of their roster and the power of the bench. They have great offensive potential. This advantage must be fully utilized, or else the Warriors won't go far even if they make it to the playoffs.

The Wizards were the sacrificial lamb for Liam. He wanted to maximize the team's condition, further intensify the gameplay, and let the team enter the playoff atmosphere.

On April 7th, the Warriors flew from Washington to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves. This was their second consecutive game.

After reaching the Western Conference Finals in the 2003-2004 season, the Timberwolves never returned to the playoffs. Their record had worsened year after year. Before Garnett left, they were last in the Western Conference, and now, after his departure, they've sunk to the bottom of the standings. This season, they occupy the last spot in the Western Conference, matching up with the Nets in the East. Both teams have been stuck in a losing spiral, refusing to give way to each other.

Facing such a "tank" team, even though the Warriors fought back-to-back, they still secured a bloodless victory, beating their opponents 125-106.

Since it was the second game in a row, Liam didn't ask the players to maintain too much defensive intensity. Instead, they exchanged blows with the Timberwolves. The Timberwolves' sieve-like defense was crushed. The Warriors ran and bombarded, playing fast. While the Warriors had a complete offensive system, the Timberwolves did not, and the offensive efficiency was vastly different.

After the whole game, 7 Warriors players scored in double digits. Curry mainly led his teammates. He played just 26 minutes, scoring a double-double of 21 points, while Azubuike had 23 points and Butler 18 points. Chandler did well, contributing 15 points, 17 rebounds, and 6 blocks, dominating the paint.

On April 9th, the Warriors finally returned to the West Coast, but instead of returning to Oakland, they came to Los Angeles.

This was the last game of their four-game road trip. They would play against the Clippers at the Staples Center and then wrap up this trip that spanned tens of thousands of miles.

The long flight had exhausted the players, but after playing against the Timberwolves, the Warriors had a rest day, giving them a chance to catch their breath.

They resisted the pressure and fatigue and defeated the Clippers 97-93 on the road, securing this precious win.

Curry, who had been struggling in the first two games, stood up. He trained Kaman and DeAndre Jordan, scoring 31 points. In the last 14.5 seconds, he even hit Kaman with a three-pointer, sealing the game.

This was his fourth 30+ point game since the All-Star break, and also his fourth 30+ game in the last seven matches. Over the last two weeks, Curry had been the league's top performer, earning back-to-back Player of the Week awards.

At this point, the Warriors began a seven-game winning streak, becoming the team with the longest winning streak in the league.

At the same time, both the Thunder and the Trail Blazers suffered losses. The Thunder first beat the Trail Blazers and the 76ers but lost to the Celtics 104-109 on March 31st.

Durant scored 37 points in this game, but the Celtics played an excellent all-around game under Rondo's leadership. The Big Three combined for 61 points, defeating the Thunder.

Although the Thunder won three consecutive games afterward, they lost to the Nuggets 94-98 in consecutive home games on April 7th. Durant scored 33 points against Anthony and was highly efficient, but couldn't defend against him, allowing Anthony to score 28 points. The two basically matched each other point for point.

But Anthony has Billups as a teammate, and Durant's partner is Westbrook. The veteran Billups firmly controls the game's tempo, while Westbrook, in comparison, is like a rookie still learning the ropes of basketball.

In the final moments, Billups got free from Westbrook's defense without the ball and nailed a crucial three-pointer to seal the win.

These two losses raised the Thunder's record to 47 wins and 32 losses, while the Warriors, based on their four consecutive victories, surpassed them with 48 wins and 31 losses, one win ahead. Their ranking rose to 7th in the Western Conference.

The Trail Blazers lost an important head-to-head with the Thunder, but they followed it up with four consecutive victories against the Knicks, Clippers, Kings, and Knicks, reaching a record of 46-33. They were just one win behind the Thunder and two wins behind the Warriors.

Unexpectedly, the Spurs joined the mix. They were two games ahead of the Thunder and in a favorable position, but suddenly their form collapsed. After defeating the Lakers, they lost to the Magic, Kings, and Suns. With a 48-31 record, they were tied with the Warriors but occupied the 6th spot in the Western Conference due to the tiebreaker.

Now, all eyes in the league were on these four teams. The largest gap between them was just two games between the Trail Blazers and Spurs. These four teams were competing for three playoff spots, and the rankings were so close that it was bound to cause a stir.

And with only three games left for each, the Thunder, Trail Blazers, and Warriors each had one game against each other. These three games were critical battles, essentially worth two games, and had been scheduled for nationwide broadcast, with all eyes on these matchups.

The Spurs had it a bit easier and didn't need to face their competitors directly, but they still had to play the Grizzlies, Nuggets, Timberwolves, and Mavericks. The schedule wasn't easy, and there was a real chance they could fall off the cliff.

For a time, the playoff picture in the Western Conference was rapidly changing.

April 11, Oakland

Tonight, there's a game between the Warriors and the Thunder at home. A large crowd had gathered outside the Oracle Center. While the arena is always packed for a Warriors game, today there were even more fans outside, watching the game on the big screen. The arena was full of fans who couldn't get tickets, and they would cheer for the Warriors until the end of the night.

The stadium was already packed, and the season ticket holders became the object of envy. The ticket prices for this game skyrocketed, and scalpers had even tripled the price for the lowest-tier tickets in the third deck. In the past, those tickets had cost nearly two hundred dollars each. You could only buy them if you were quick; otherwise, you had to settle for watching outside the arena.

It wasn't surprising that fans were so excited for this game. Before the game, major American media outlets had repeatedly hyped it up, constantly emphasizing the importance of the winner gaining a significant advantage for the playoffs.

Liam said in an interview with reporters before the game:

"The victory belongs to the Warriors. We won't disappoint the local fans. I've figured out a way to beat the Thunder. They have no chance of winning."

Brooks was much more reserved: "We'll do everything we can to win. This is a very important game for us... Liam's statement? I admit the Warriors are a strong team, but we won't back down..."

This left the reporter feeling somewhat unsatisfied. For such a highly anticipated game, involving playoff spots, the current head coach didn't seem to have much fire. Only Coach Liam dared to speak boldly.

Had Liam known what the reporters were thinking, he would have certainly told them to leave a message on Durant's Twitter. Maybe they'd get something out of it.

Durant had yet to show his true temperament, still giving the impression of a well-behaved "good boy" to the world. The reporters weren't very interested in him. On the other hand, Westbrook was very frank in interviews. He didn't hide his thoughts and was very popular among journalists.

A reporter asked Westbrook:

"Liam said the Thunder has no chance of winning. What do you think about that?"

Westbrook immediately mocked and said: "Who can't talk big? Let's see the actual results on the court."

"In the last game against the Warriors, Chandler blocked you several times. This time, you'll be facing each other again. Anything you want to say?"

Westbrook hesitated for a moment. He still remembered those blocks from Chandler. He wasn't easy to handle.

He scratched his head and reluctantly said:

"I was careless in the last game. Tonight, I'll show my strength."

But even Westbrook didn't believe it, because according to Brooks' plans, he wasn't going to have many opportunities to act tonight.

In the Thunder's visitor locker room, the players were making final preparations for the game. Head coach Brooks stood before everyone and made the final pre-game speech:

"We've been through a tough season, and now we're standing on the doorstep of the playoffs. I still remember the regret in my heart when we finished near the bottom of the Western Conference at the end of last season. I kept thinking—if I hadn't been the head coach in the second half of the season, could we have made the playoffs?"

"Now, I finally get to coach for a full season. What makes me happy is that, through the collective effort of everyone, we have really seen the dawn of the playoffs! As an extremely young team, you should all be proud of what you've achieved. You're competing in the highly competitive Western Conference, surrounded by powerful teams!"

Brooks clapped his hands, and the Thunder players smiled. As a team with an average age under 24 in the starting lineup, they had finished near the bottom of the Western Conference last season, but now they were on the brink of making the playoffs. It was a remarkable achievement.

"However," Brooks became more serious, "we're not the only team that has rapidly rebuilt. Our opponent today has also made great strides this season. Their star player, Stephen Curry, was even selected to start in the All-Star Game. And their head coach, Coach Liam, is the only head coach and owner in the league, and he's only 26 years old—he's even younger than Nenad!"

Kostic smiled as Brooks pointed at him, and Brooks continued:

"There's no doubt that the Warriors are a strong team. They defeated us in the last game. Their defense is tough, and their offense is also highly efficient... but can we give up?"

"No!" the Thunder generals shouted in unison.

"Yes, that's right! Every night, I watch tapes late into the night and rack my brain for strategies. It's not just about sending the Warriors to the playoffs! Today, we need to show the world who the best team is! I dream of going to the playoffs and receiving cheers and applause from the fans—do you want that?"

"Think!"

"If you want that, you have to defeat our opponents and keep the initiative for the playoffs firmly in our hands!"

"You must win!"

In the home locker room, the atmosphere was different from the Thunder's. Liam stood at the center, smiling. Others were chatting and laughing quietly, checking their jerseys and shoes from time to time in the room.

Bang, bang, bang.

Liam clapped his hands, caught everyone's attention, and casually said:

"Do you all remember the tactics I set up?"

"We remember!" everyone responded in unison.

Liam smiled and said:

"Are you sure you can win this game?"

"Yes!"

Liam slowly said:

"Alright, I won't go into the details about the importance of this game. Although losing this game won't immediately disqualify us from the playoffs, our fate will be in the hands of others. I don't want to see that happen, so we must win today!"

"There are many benefits to entering the playoffs, but I won't list them all. I'll just say one thing: many of you are on minimum contracts. If you perform well in the playoffs, your next contract could be richer than you ever imagined!"

After Liam finished speaking, everyone's eyes changed, especially those who hadn't been drafted or were second-round picks.

"Let's win this game. We're a team with a seven-game winning streak, and our opponent has a fatal flaw. If we play according to the tactics I've set, we won't lose."

Liam moved to the middle, raised his right hand, and clenched it into a fist. Everyone gathered around him, clenched their fists, and joined in.

"1, 2, 3, Let's go Warriors!"

Under Liam's leadership, everyone shouted the chant together, their faces filled with excitement.

Silas opened the door at the right moment, and the players filed out. Liam slapped high-fives with each of them until only he and Silas remained in the room.

Liam wrapped his arm around Silas's shoulders, smiled, and walked out the door:

"Let's go, I want to see the Warriors make the playoffs with my own eyes!"

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.