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Oakland, Oracle Center.
Tuk-tuk.
"Please come in," Liam lifted his head and said loudly.
The door to his office opened and Silas walked in, stopping in front of Liam's desk, bowing to hand him an A4 sheet of paper:
"Liam, this is the training plan for these next two days. Take a look."
"Alright, good job." Liam nodded, quickly glancing over the plan and agreeing, "Yes, just follow this. Focus on daily training to restore physical condition. You've organized it very well."
Last night, after the Warriors won on the road against the Trail Blazers, they rushed back to Oakland that night, and Liam gave the whole team a day off.
The long regular season had left the players tired, and with three days of rest before the playoffs, Liam hoped to take advantage of this opportunity to recover his players.
The players could rest, but the coaching staff could not, and they needed to prepare for the first round of the playoffs.
After Liam and Silas finished talking, they handed back the A4 sheet and resumed looking at the screen in front of them.
Silas turned, but then stopped and turned back, asking:
"Liam, there's one thing I don't understand. Last year, we agreed to stay in seventh place in the West to face the Mavericks in the first round, but you suddenly changed your mind to fight for sixth place in the West, even if it meant we'd be out in the first round... Why don't we fight for third place in the West this year?"
Liam took his eyes off the screen, looked at Silas' curious expression, smiled slightly, and said:
"I simply made the right decision."
—"The right decision?"—Silas repeated.
Liam nodded, saying:
"Of course, the battle for sixth place in the West last year was because I saw Stephen and his passion to fight, it woke me up at that moment. Letting go will always leave traces. I can't tarnish his spirit. The Warriors were too weak before, if you want to create a winning culture, you can't give up in every game. And that was the first season of our rebuild. The higher the ranking, the more confidence the entire team has, and it doesn't matter if it's a first or second-round playoff game."
Silas listened to Liam's narration, nodded slowly, and after he finished speaking, asked:
"And what about this year? Obviously, we have a chance to fight for third place in the West, and even though the Mavericks are very strong, we shouldn't give up."
He was still puzzled by Liam's decision to give Curry rest, and in the last regular season game against the Grizzlies, the Grizzlies fought hard for a playoff spot, yet the Warriors played at their normal pace.
This could be explained by the fact that Liam was conserving energy for the playoffs, but he didn't hide his tactics from the coaching staff, and Silas clearly understood his plan. It was to get the Grizzlies into the playoffs, and that victory allowed the Grizzlies to edge out the Hornets and secure the eighth spot in the West.
Liam smiled and raised his hand:
"Don't stand, sit and speak."
Silas took a swivel chair from the side, sat down in front of Liam, and suspiciously asked:
"If we can get through the first round, we're not sure whether we'll face the Spurs or the Lakers. Since both are tough matchups, why not fight for third place in the West? At least the Nuggets are much easier to play than the Thunder."
Before the trade deadline, the Nuggets and the Knicks completed a big deal. Anthony went to the Big Apple, and the Nuggets entered a rebuilding phase. Though they still entered the playoffs as the sixth seed in the West, their strength wasn't as good as before, which made Silas even more confused.
Liam understood Silas' thoughts very well. Aside from him, no one could believe that the Spurs would falter, and even the Grizzlies might not be able to find someone with this kind of insight. The common assumption was that the Spurs would easily handle or even sweep the Grizzlies, then face the next opponent with peak form.
"As I said before, the Grizzlies are going to be a major drain for the Spurs, and fourth place in the West is a better option than facing the Lakers in the second round, which could take us further in the playoffs." Liam said lightly.
His tone was calm, lacking any sign of hesitation, and Silas opened his mouth but didn't continue with the topic. Instead, he asked:
"Alright... But this time we chose an opponent. Won't it damage the spirit of the team?"
"I won't," Liam responded firmly.
—"Why?"
"Last time, we did everything to win, it was the regular season, Stephen had just entered the league, they had no experience. A higher ranking can give them more confidence. This time, we did everything to win because we need to fight in the playoffs. Only if we go far enough in the playoffs can our rookies gain more experience and confidence. This is also good for our next step in the free agent market. After all, a team in the first round, second round, and Western Conference Finals is completely different." Liam explained.
"Western Conference Finals..." Silas repeated in surprise, then looked deeply at Liam, "Liam, I don't know why you believe so much in the Grizzlies... On this current team, I'm the only one who has seen the Warriors slowly rise from the mire, and all of this comes from you. I hope you're right this time."
Liam furrowed his brows slightly:
"Stephen, why are you so worried about the playoff rankings this time? There's only one spot between third and fourth. As you said, it's tough to face the Lakers or the Spurs in the second round, but there's no real difference between the two."
Silas sighed softly:
"Liam, I don't want to, but the players saw what you were trying to say, especially the two games where you gave Stephen a rest and pushed the boat towards the Grizzlies. They asked me if you wanted that fourth spot in the West and voluntarily gave up fighting for third."
—"How? How did they know?" Liam's eyes froze.
Silas smiled bitterly:
"You tried your best to win all the previous games, but you rested Stephen when playing against the Spurs, and didn't make adjustments when Randolph and Marc Gasol attacked you. That's completely inconsistent with your usual style. They're not stupid, how could they not see it? But they didn't dare to ask you directly, so they came to me to confirm."
Liam shook his head helplessly:
"Alright, I was negligent."
Though he usually paid attention to communication with the players, the majesty of the head coach was still there, even Curry was close to him with awe, and the daily training of the Warriors was coordinated by Silas. He had a lot of rapport with the players, acting as a bridge between Liam and the team.
Silas responded firmly:
"To be honest, Liam, this kind of opponent selection still isn't ideal. A truly strong team would disdain to do something like this. If we don't achieve the expected result, it will cause a very serious reaction, especially since we have many rookies on the team. It will seriously damage their confidence and even affect their desire to win."
Liam sighed softly:
"I don't know. Otherwise, I wouldn't have changed my mind last year. But before the team really grows, I can only use small tactics to get what I want. Wealth and danger. If all goes well, this team will mark the beginning of a transformation, which will be a crucial step in our progress."
Silas looked at Liam with a sincere expression, nodded slowly, stood up, and said in a deep voice:
"Alright, I'll calm the players' emotions and let them prepare for battle peacefully. After all, there are some things only I'm suited to say."
"Thank you for your hard work."
Liam watched Silas leave and turned back to the screen, which displayed an ESPN opinion piece speculating that the Warriors might be choosing their playoff opponent. The article read:
"... Coach Liam suddenly seemed inflexible, ceded two games, and appeared to focus entirely on helping Stephen Curry compete for his first scoring title. He succeeded, and the Warriors moved to fourth place in the West. Coach Liam's actions make me suspect he's controlling the standings and choosing his playoff opponent, but I can't think of his reason for doing this. The Thunder is a tougher opponent than the Nuggets. Is it like playing against the Spurs? Obviously, this is impossible..."
After reading the article, Liam smiled and logged out. This type of statement doesn't dominate the mainstream; after all, no one thinks Liam would give up that easily.
He quickly clicked on the official ESPN team standings.
The top eight in the Western Conference playoffs are the Spurs, Lakers, Mavericks, Warriors, Thunder, Nuggets, Trail Blazers, and Grizzlies.
Needless to say, the top five teams have firmly secured playoff spots since the start of the season, led by the Spurs with a record of 61-21, and the fifth-place Thunder with a 54-28 record, which isn't too far behind. The Lakers and Mavericks have the same record, but the Lakers occupy second place in the West due to their win-loss advantage.
The Nuggets, Trail Blazers, and Grizzlies form the second group in the West, with the Nuggets at 50-32, the Trail Blazers at 48-34, and the Grizzlies at 47-35. There's a small difference, but the Hornets are also in the mix, with a record of 46-36, narrowly missing the playoffs.
After that, there are the Rockets, who compete for the playoffs every year. Despite the return of Yao Ming, the Rockets' record and draft selections haven't been up to par.
The Suns finished eleventh, marking the end of an era. The "Son of the Wind" could no longer carry his team to a storm in the league, and management kept making bad decisions that buried Nash's hopes of competing for a championship.
Above the Suns, the Jazz, Clippers, Kings, and Timberwolves are all in rebuilding mode. Only the Timberwolves had a better record, finishing with 17 wins and 65 losses.
The Cavaliers worked hard to match the Timberwolves but still had four more games to play, with a record of 21-61, placing them at the bottom, unable to surpass the Timberwolves.
Above the Cavaliers are the Raptors, Wizards, Nets, Pistons, and Bucks, making up the lottery area in the East.
The Nets, closely monitored by Liam, had a record of 29-51. The addition of Matthews helped them win five more games, but those five victories didn't change their ranking. The Nets still occupied the sixth spot from the bottom, and the first-round pick the Warriors received from the Nets remained valuable.
Ahead of the Bucks, the Pacers, eighth in the East, are a resilient team that has shown extraordinary potential, helping them return to the playoffs after a four-year absence.
The Hawks, Knicks, and 76ers make up the third group in the East, occupying fifth, sixth, and seventh spots, respectively.
Anthony's arrival in New York immediately led the Knicks back to the playoffs, while the Hawks and 76ers reached the playoffs through their own efforts, earning respect from the outside world. However, not many were optimistic about their performance in the playoffs.
Fourth are the Magic, who have declined since reaching the Finals in 2009. Only Howard fought to stay, and the team did everything they could to secure home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs.
The Bulls, Heat, and Celtics form the top group in the East, with the top three spots almost consistently controlled by these three teams. The Bulls have remained in first place in the East all season, narrowly ahead of the Spurs with a record of 61-21.
Liam sighed as he looked at the standings. The league's pattern wasn't much different from what he remembered, and the Warriors' rise only made the Hornets miss the playoffs, reshuffling the lower half of the West playoff standings, while the East saw few changes.
"Wait, two years is still too short. Give me a little more time, just a little more..." Liam murmured to himself, exiting the browser and clicking on the Thunder game video to focus on his daily work as head coach.
End of this chapter
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