no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 301 is over before it even begins?

During the opening ceremony before the game, the screens on both sides began to light up, revealing images of spectators watching the game online. Then the visiting team came on stage, and then the home team.

This is the home game of the Mavericks. When they take the stage, a synthetic cheer will sound.

The team members on both sides couldn't help but turn their heads and look at each other. This was an experience they had never experienced before.

After the opening ceremony is over, the starting lineups of both sides will be announced.

Lakers: Rondo, Danny Green, James, Anthony Davis, DeAndre Jordan;

Mavericks: Wright, DeRozan, Xu Yong, Gibson, Jokic;

Davis' long arm moved the ball back to the Lakers half, and the park's opening game officially began.

The Lakers came up and fed Davis the ball. After Davis hit Gibson with his back, he turned over and shot a jumper.

Gibson has rich defensive experience. He gave enough confrontation and then rushed forward, but Davis still hit the basket despite the defense.

His thighs are too... oh no, his size advantage is too great. Now in the league, not to mention the fourth and fifth positions, there are not many players who can restrict him on the defensive end.

In fact, he is stronger than Anthony Davis in Xu Yong's memory. After all, he always plays high-end games in a strong team like the Cavaliers, and plays low-end games in a team like the Pelicans. The impact of technology and confidence is different.

Or in other words, Davis is now the league's number one power forward, one of the league's top five players, only behind Xu Yong, Durant, Curry, Leonard and James.

Looking back, the Mavericks made a tactical attack. DeRozan received Xu Yong's sudden score and missed the mid-range jumper on the weak side.

Davis protected the defensive rebound, and when he looked up, he saw that James had already crossed the center line. The speed of this fast break was unparalleled in the league.

He shook his hand and gave the ball to James, and James performed the iconic James dunk.

After completing the dunk, James looked for the camera, showed his right hand and raised his biceps, making a signature [strong] celebration.

The domineering spirit leaked out in this scene, and it was a pity that there was no response from the fans when the stadium was empty.

After returning to the defensive end, Rondo began to direct the defensive position.

Green was asked to stand at the elbow to help defend Xu Yong who was off the ball.

Jokic broke through and passed the ball to DeRozan.

When DeRozan got an open opportunity this time, he still hit the frame after adjusting his shot.

Because of family reasons, he was unable to join the training camp organized by Xu Yong. He needed some time to regain his competitive status.

When James saw this, he once again rushed out of the three-point line in advance, with an uncontrollable smile on his face.

His confidence is not only because they have become stronger, but also because their opponents have become weaker due to the epidemic.

Looking at DeRozan's performance, he knows that this Mavericks team is no longer the first team in the league!

But when he rushed out of the three-point line, he realized that something was not right, because the expected pass did not come. When he looked back, he happened to see Xu Yong taking the ball and rising into the air, completing a one-handed pass. heavy deduction.

He spread his hands with a puzzled look on his face, then took off his braces and looked up at the LED display.

Although there are no fans at the scene, all the necessary parts will not be left behind.

The LED screen showed that at the moment of DeRozan's shot, Jokic rushed into the inside position in advance and grabbed the offensive rebound.

Although Davis reacted quickly and quickly defended to the basket without giving Jokic a chance to take a direct shot, Jokic turned around and hit the ground from behind without looking at anyone, and then hit Xu who was cutting in from the other side. forever.

When did Jokic become so good at grabbing the frontcourt?

"AD, pay attention to the rebound." After watching the replay, James reminded Davis when he returned to halftime.

Davis nodded.

The reason why he was willing to come to Los Angeles was not only because it would increase his business value, but also because Paul Rich's original words had successfully convinced him.

"LeBron is 35 years old. How many more years do you think he can play? He will release his rights in one or two seasons at most, and by the time he quits, you will be the boss of the Lakers, and you will be the next David Robinson and Tim Duncan.”

So Davis forgot about the unpleasantness and focused on assisting James.

The Lakers went to the position and continued to hand the ball to Davis.

Davis continued to play singles with his back to the basket, but this time Gibson challenged him physically in advance, preventing him from completing the shot immediately.

Moreover, DeRozan's defense also came over, and he was forced to pass the ball to Green on the outside.

Green's three-point shot after receiving the ball also hit the frame.

DeRozan is not the only one who has lost touch due to lack of training due to the epidemic.

Davis judged the spot of the basketball at this time and wanted to fight for it, but Gibson blocked him in time. Just when he struggled to get rid of it, Jokic had already reached out with his long arms and pocketed the ball.

And before the Lakers could react, Jokic almost threw a long pass.

Over there, Wright was already out of the three-point line. After receiving the ball, he made a quick break layup.

Davis looked a little stunned at this time.

He couldn't feel it at the beginning, but after the attack and defense, he suddenly realized that the overall condition of the Mavericks team members was obviously better than them, as if the epidemic did not make them weaker, but made them stronger. Already?

When he thought about the possibility of such nonsense, he immediately shook his head in denial.

Can't the Mavericks still organize training during the epidemic? That is against the alliance regulations.

Davis thought so at this time, but as the game continued, his feeling became stronger.

In fact, not only him, but also the Lakers players felt it.

The players of the Mavericks can not only maintain a high level of concentration on the court, but also move and react very quickly.

Especially Xu Yong.

When the game reached the middle of the first quarter, Malone saw that DeRozan was temporarily unable to find his form and replaced him with Dorian Finney-Smith in advance.

Smith was the Mavericks' undrafted pick in 16. He is 2 meters tall and has a wingspan of 01 meters. He has excellent physical fitness and basically no offense. He relies on defense to gain a foothold in the league.

Like Wright, he is a beneficiary of Jokic's arrival. He has received more outside shooting opportunities and can even start in some games.

As a result, he received a three-year, 3 million contract extension from the Mavericks in the summer.

Then this signing proved to be a great deal, because this season he averaged 3.1 three-pointers per game, shot 37.5% from the field, and has grown into a qualified 3D player.

DeRozan now has almost no three-point ability, and Smith's appearance has greatly increased the Mavericks' offensive space.

And because of Davis, Jokic couldn't perform well inside, so he chose to withdraw to the outside to open up space and support the ball.

This adjustment means that Xu Yong will become the main offensive point on the court.

Moreover, it is still Xu Yong’s favorite mode.

Wright, Smith, Jokic, and even Gibson all developed certain three-point abilities while playing for the Timberwolves.

Moreover, Xu Yong can play with or without the ball, which is more comfortable than playing with the Bulls.

Of course, the most important thing is that he is in the best condition among everyone in the game.

Let’s not talk about the closed training camp he organized before, let’s just talk about the impact of the epidemic.

The epidemic virus will have certain sequelae. Even NBA players will have reactions. They cannot be seen in normal times, but they will show up in the whole game. After all, after the [vertical jump rule] is cancelled, the intensity of the league's confrontation is visible to the naked eye. Increase. But Xu Yong does not have this problem because he is immune to injuries.

Xu Yong first used an explosive first step to pass James and score a layup on the inside. Then he used Gibson's screen to get rid of James and hit a mid-range jumper without the ball. Then he directly held the ball in the high post and turned around with his trademark back-up shot. The defensive hit against James also caused a foul.

James was so angry that he took off his braces and cursed.

All of this was completely different from what he imagined!

And he still doesn’t understand why this happened!

It is clear that DeRozan is in a sluggish state after missing consecutive shots in the opening game, but why are the other players on the Mavericks team in better shape than the last?

With 2 minutes left before the end of the first quarter, the score on the field has reached 32 to 21.

The Lakers were on the verge of danger. Davis took the ball and broke through the inside to cause damage. He made two free throws and barely narrowed the point difference to single digits.

At this time, fouls occurred on the court at the same time, and both sides entered the rotation.

Davis had a cough when he came off the court. In the first quarter, he scored 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal, and 2 fouls. He was full on both offense and defense, and of course he was very physically exhausted.

When he got to the bench, he slumped there and gasped for air. Being "Yang Guo", he felt that he was getting tired more easily than before.

Seeing this, James stood up and came to his side, reaching out and patting his shoulder to encourage him.

Glancing at James, Davis smiled bitterly.

James, who faced Xu Yong, had no achievements on the offensive end except for a few fast breaks. As for the defensive end... let's not talk about it.

"Don't worry, leave it to me." Seeing Davis' reaction, James stretched his muscles and said.

Davis was stunned for a moment, and then saw James proactively asking Walton to continue playing.

Davis didn't know what to say for a moment.

After seeing James' actions, Xu Yong also stood up.

Ma Long didn't say anything when he saw the person, he just nodded.

Xu Yong walked straight to the technical stage and saw James, who looked stunned and whose steps had slowed down from brisk to brisk, looked at each other.

He smiled, while James frowned.

Under Xu Yong's careful care, it was not easy for James to score two points.

Of course, it is difficult to completely restrict him, because at this time, James' awareness of fast breaks has reached the point where he has already rushed out of the three-point line as soon as the opponent's shot is taken.

The evolution history of James' fast break ability is also the epitome of his career basketball skills.

It is difficult to guard against such a fast break man, because compared to guarding him, it is obviously better to go 5-on-4 in the frontcourt, or directly rush for offensive rebounds.

The Mavericks continued to open up the score during this substitute transition period.

Rose was in quite hot form during this period, and he seemed to have regained his former style with his sudden inside and outside shots.

Part of Davis's outstanding performance was due to his strength, and part of it was due to his previous injury, which happened to be healed by the epidemic.

The same is true for Rose. He played only about two-thirds of the games for the Mavericks before, and many games were played with injuries.

Now that he has been raised, he will be alive and well when he comes back.

By the end of the half, the Mavericks had opened the point difference to 17 points.

To be more precise, it should have been 20 points, because Davis hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer before the midfield buzzer sounded.

The game entered halftime, and Davis was still standing outside the three-point line with his hands on his knees and breathing heavily.

After seeing this, Wharton came over, patted his back and showed concern for a while, and he nodded frequently.

After Walton left, he straightened up and looked up at the score, and then couldn't stop shaking his head.

他第二节继续火力全开，半场轰下27分7板3盖帽2抢断3犯规，得分超过了球队的一半。

But even so, the team is still lagging behind by such a big score, and he really can't help it tonight!

On the other hand, on the Mavericks team, the players were high-fiving and shouting one by one when they came off the court, not to mention being happy.

Although there are Patil's records as motivation and entertainment facilities as entertainment, the three months of closed training generally requires people's patience.

Most of them persevered, as if their hard work finally bore fruit tonight.

You ask them if this fruit is sweet? That is truly the sweetest and most delicious thing in the world.

After the halftime break, the overall situation of the game did not change much. The Mavericks always firmly grasped the initiative on the court.

However, big changes have taken place on the Lakers side.

First of all, it was because the Mavericks adjusted their defensive strategy and began to attack Davis in advance; secondly, Davis consumed too much in the first half and his physical fitness obviously began to have problems.

This forced the Lakers' offensive focus to focus on James, and James had to start holding the ball.

He began to frequently call Davis to play pick-and-rolls. Davis did not have much physical fitness, and his steps became a little sloppy after the pick-and-roll.

As a result, James did find some scoring opportunities and scored the ball, but it did not have much impact on the situation on the court.

In the end, the Mavericks defeated the Lakers 121-98 and got a good start in the park's opening game.

数据统计方面，独行侠队7人得分上双，徐永、约基奇和德罗赞都只打了三节，分别贡献了29分6板4助攻、16分10板13助攻、17分4板。

Rose scored the most points off the bench, with a season-high 23 points, 5 assists and only 1 turnover.

For the Lakers, James scored the most points. After scoring only 8 points in the first half, he scored 25 points in the second half and 33 points in the game.

Davis only scored 2 points in the second half and contributed 29 points.

At the end of the game, the two teams held a post-match handshake.

James didn't leave early this time, not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't, because there were no fans at the scene, and they were the kind of people who had no place to hide under the camera.

However, James' performance during the handshake ceremony was very surprising. He did not keep a straight face, but acted relaxed, and he was not pretending.

Xu Yong was shocked at first, but soon he laughed in relief.

Although the game was lost, James did not lose.

The team's highest score, 25 points at halftime. What else can you ask of James like this?

In the second half, his thick eyebrows disappeared, and James was alone.

Well, Xu Yong can think of the news content after the game on FOX.

But the more this happened, the more relieved he became.

How valuable is the park championship?

This was a topic that was discussed more by fans in his previous life.

Some people say that the gold content is low because the closed and concentrated games reduce the fatigue of travel and travel, allowing veterans and glass-like players to fully rest. The Lakers at the time took full advantage of this.

Some people also say that the gold content is high because the Lakers were the best team in the Western Conference at the time, but the home and away games in the park became a formality, and the Lakers failed to take advantage of their home court.

Xu Yong can't comment on this level, but after tonight's game, he can draw the conclusion that the strength of this Lakers team is indeed the weakest among the previous championships.

(End of this chapter)