Countercurrent and become a superstar

Chapter 117: Characteristics of the times, being taught how to be a good person by the iron-blooded defense!
By winning the Christmas Day game, the Mavericks can be said to have received three blessings. In addition to ending their losing streak and resurrecting their injured players, they also returned to the top spot in the regular season.

The Dallas Mavericks, with high morale, returned to their home court for the next game. Despite the difficulties, they still defeated the tenacious Grizzlies in the second game with a score of 108-99, winning their second consecutive victory.

The second consecutive victory is coming, and the fourth consecutive victory is naturally not far away.

You ask why you don’t know how to count, where did the three consecutive victories go?
Don't ask, just ask about the next two games. One is against the Bucks, and the other is also the Bucks.

At this time, the Bucks, with a 15-15 record and a record of wins and losses, were ranked at the bottom of the playoffs. Compared with the strength of the Mavericks, they were a two-dimensional team.

There is no suspense. The Mavericks beat the Bucks twice in a row with scores of 109-91 and 112-103 respectively. Isn't this a four-game winning streak?

The Mavericks' December schedule ended with four consecutive wins, with a record of 12 wins and 4 losses, half a game ahead of the Lakers, two and a half games ahead of the Kings, and continued to be at the top of the regular season.

Entering the new year, that is, the January 2004 schedule.

The opponents watching the game still have a devilish schedule.

Among them are the Timberwolves, Pacers, Pistons, 76ers, Nuggets, Nets and Lakers.

In addition, there are the Kings in the second round and the SuperSonics with playoff qualifications.

Boy, two more games against the Jazz.

This team's strength is quite good, but it can't stand it. They have a plateau devil stadium.

It has to be said that the schedule arranged by the NBA league is a lot of challenges for the Mavericks.

Fortunately, after two months of running-in time, the Mavericks have developed a chemical effect among their players. What they need is elite players.

Devil's schedule?

Then come harder!

In the first game of the New Year in 2004, the opponent was the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Since the last time they played against the Mavericks and lost the game, the Timberwolves have adjusted their lineup, and the three-headed monster has shown a championship-level strength.

At this time, the Timberwolves played several winning streaks and unknowingly improved their record to 21 wins and 10 losses, which was only three and a half games away from the Mavericks' 24 wins and 6 losses.

Currently fifth in the Western Conference and seventh in the league.

Moreover, Basketball had the same number of defeats as the Spurs and Pacers, both losing 10 games. However, the Timberwolves had one or two fewer games and had relatively fewer wins, and could only settle for seventh place.

As long as they can defeat the Mavericks and hold back their opponents, the Timberwolves still have the resources to hit the league's No. 1 spot.

For the team, that means home court advantage in the playoffs. For small city teams aiming to win the championship, this home court advantage is too critical.

Garnett is currently averaging 24 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 2.2 blocks and 1.5 steals per game. Each of his personal statistics is at the peak of his career, and he has the potential to compete for the regular season MVP.

In particular, the Timberwolves' final record last season was the lowest compared to the teams of their main competitors Nowitzki and Duncan.

In terms of ratings, the team's record has improved significantly, which is a plus.

At this time, he is ranked first among the MVP candidates, and the advantage is obviously over Garnett.

As long as he has an advantage in the direct battle with Nowitzki, even if the final team record is not as good as the Mavericks led by Nowitzki, Garnett still has a great chance of winning.

In fact, if Nowitzki wants to win the regular season MVP, the only way is to break the Bulls' regular season record.

In other words, the Mavericks, who have already lost 6 games, have only room to lose 52 games in the next 3 games.

Therefore, a direct confrontation with Garnett's opponent is even more important for Nowitzki who wants to strive for personal glory.

While letting the Timberwolves lose as a team, he also hopes that Garnett will lose as well.

The game is on.

Both parties have understood each other's information, so the scene is very direct.

When the Timberwolves got the ball, the Mavericks' defense immediately focused on the three-headed monster.

Garnett chose to face the man. He needed to defeat Nowitzki head-on and give him as many extra points as possible.

Bang-dang——!
The hope is good, but with Nowitzki's top defense and the help of Finley and Qin Yang, no matter how hard Garnett can play, the water in the one-on-three attack will be very deep, and his iron-blooded big jumper will not be able to grasp it. live.

The strike missed.

Garnett's low post attack was targeted.

But for the sake of MVP, he had no choice but to fight. In the second round of the Timberwolves' attack, Garnett chose to continue taking action.

Then, the basket didn't tolerate him.

Although he averaged 24 points per game at the peak of his career, his personal scoring ability is actually not enough.

Bang-dang——!
“Still missed!!

Garnett faced the man, and it was still a one-on-three. This was not a good offensive choice.

If you try too hard, you will only be forced to have no happiness..."

At the beginning of the game, Garnett didn't understand offense, and Nowitz didn't understand either.

This is Garnett's strength, and his defense is at the league's smallpox level.

He is too comprehensive, and Nowitzki can't attack him offensively, he can't attack him at all.

"Oh, Nowitzki chose to play support.

He provided a screen for Tan Yang and received Tan Yang's pass. Instead of getting ahead, he passed the ball back to Tan Yang who cut through the basket and attacked the Timberwolves' basket at close range..."

Swish-!
The knife fell and the ball went in. Qin Yang went to the basket for a layup and scored two points.

Garnett wanted to block Nowitzki's offense and had no choice but to withdraw.

There will be flaws in the protection of the basket in the penalty area.

After Tan Yang scored, Nash also used the same attack method to break through and lay up, sending the damn basketball into the basket.

After the Mavericks took the lead, they continued to build on their success and beat the Timberwolves 4-0! !
Bang-dang——!
In the next game, faced with defensive targets, Garnett didn't waste any time.

He chose to attract the defense and then pass the ball out from the outside. Madman Sprewell's three-point shot was useless.

Still hitting the iron and missing.

Two of the Timberwolves' three-headed monsters were pinned to death by the Mavericks' defense.

However, the Timberwolves have a three-headed monster on their roster.

And it is impossible for Nash to defend Cassel.

In the subsequent game, Cassel chose to break through head-on, shred Nash's defense, and easily scored two points with a mid-range jumper.

Immediately afterwards, Cassell broke through Nash, reached the penalty area, assisted Gary Trent to leap high under the basket, made an alley-oop, and scored a two-point slam dunk.

No way, this is the damage that Nash does to the team defensively when he is in the lineup.

He couldn't even wait for support from either Finley or Tan Yang.

Nash's defense is so bad that it breaks down at the first touch. What can you do to wipe his butt?
No way, the defensive containment of the Timberwolves' three-headed monster created a gap in Nash.

As the Mavericks concentrated their defensive energy on Cassel's containment and distributed the ball, the madman Sprewell found him went berserk again.

After receiving the ball from the left wing, he suddenly rushed to the basket and penetrated the Mavericks' defense. Then, he also assisted Gary Trent's dunk under the basket and scored two points.

Good guy, Olowokandi, the parallel import No. 98 pick in , was absent due to injury, and Gary Trent, who came on as a substitute, became a surprise player among the Timberwolves' role players.

No problem, the cake made by his teammates was so sweet that it was very difficult for him to vomit.

Moreover, the Mavericks' shooting also gave this person an ocean of offensive opportunities. The three consecutive hits that helped the Timberwolves in the beginning made the Mavericks' defense very passive.

After all, the Mavericks invested their defensive energy on the three-headed monster, but they did not regard the offense of the other two role players of the Timberwolves as alive.

Who would have thought that the mediocre Gary Trent would be so aggressive offensively.

Just when the Mavericks' defensive strategy started to loosen up, Garnett disappeared, took the ball and attacked, and then went berserk.

In Nowitzki's body, the score is 2+1, and the lethality is called a leverage.

Then, just when the Mavericks returned to their original defensive tactics and blocked the three-headed monster again, Garnett singled out in the low post and assisted the madman Sprewell to score a three-pointer that continued his firepower.

Can't prevent it, can't prevent it at all.

The attack of the three-headed monster of the Timberwolves still failed with a point of Arrancar.

Sure enough, the triangle attack is the most stable attack.

As long as the Timberwolves only have two offensive cores, their offense will be pressed down.

However, in an era when the Big Three are the standard equipment for the championship, the Mavericks' makeshift defense really can't prevent their impact.

After the first quarter, 25 to 30, the Mavericks were 5 points behind.

However, the three-headed monster of the Timberwolves, after all, the two-headed monster is no longer young.

It was impossible to control the main force in the rotation battle. The depth on the bench could not withstand it, and they were hit by the Mavericks' dimensionality reduction, and they were given a score of 33 to 24.

At the end of the first half, the Mavericks took a 4-point lead.

In the third quarter of the game, Cassel's guns were out of control, making 7 of 6 shots, 1 of 1 three-pointers, and scored 13 points in a single quarter.

It's a pity that the offense of Garnett and Sprewell was suppressed, and the role players really couldn't decide the game.

Although they can break out in the first quarter of the game, they can't continue to play and output again.

The Mavericks' offense continued to fire in the third quarter, beating the Timberwolves with a score of 33 to 26. At the end of the three quarters, the Mavericks' advantage had become 11 points.

The advantage fell to the Mavericks.

Om-!
The buzzer sounds and the game time is over.

The score was 123 to 112. The Mavericks had an 11-point advantage, ending the Timberwolves' 4-game winning streak and extending their winning streak to 5 games.

Cassell made 20 of 14 shots, 6 of 3 three-pointers, and 4 of 3 free throws. He kept his identity as a point guard and revealed his identity as a shooting guard. He matched up against Nash and scored 34 points, 5 assists, and 6 rebounds. The stars are getting older and stronger, showing great fighting ability.

Garnett played 46 minutes, made 28 of 11 shots, scored 27 points, grabbed 22 rebounds, and sent out 8 assists, a top-notch performance that was close to a triple-double.

It's just a pity that it's still not enough.

Even if Sprewell scored 23 points, Gary Trent scored 22 points, and four people scored 20+ points, they still couldn't match the offensive firepower of the Mavericks.

The question is, the sixth man of the Timberwolves only scored 6 points, and he is also the fifth highest-scoring player in the Timberwolves. With the offensive firepower of this bench, what can you use to compete with the Mavericks in terms of offensive firepower?
The Mavericks' sixth man Jamison scored 6 points, and Josh Howard scored 11 points. With these two alone, the Timberwolves' bench strength was completely lost.

Moreover, the Mavericks' starting lineup is also very brave. Let's put it this way, Nowitzki and Tan Yang scored 52 points together. Well, Nowitzki scored 32 points. Tan Yang just scored 20 points and had 11 assists. The Timberwolves didn't lose unfairly.

After all, their bench strength is not good, and they are also hit by injuries. It is not easy to be able to play like this.

Next, in the second snowfall of 2004, oh no, it was the second game, the Mavericks failed to pursue the victory.

They actually lost to the Jazz at home in Plateau with a score of 94 to 108.

Jazz star AK47 Kirilenko scored 21 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists, with mediocre statistics.

However, Laga Bell, who joined this season, became the surprise player in this game, scoring 25 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, catching the Mavericks, who were already in poor condition, off guard.

Among the Mavericks, only Nowitzki scored 20+ points, and the others' offensive power was quite average. In the Energy Solution Arena, the combat effectiveness of all teams was reduced.

And all the players on the Jazz team have improved several levels of strength.

After falling and rising, the Jazz relied on their home court advantage to bring the two sides to a level of strength. Then, they defeated the Mavericks with their stronger defensive skills.

At the end of this campaign, the Jazz had 18 wins and 16 losses, advancing to eighth place in the Western Conference and touching the edge of the playoff floor.

The Mavericks' record became 25 wins and 7 losses. Although the Lakers also lost, they continued to maintain the top position.

But it is already impossible to hit the Bulls' regular season record.

On January 1, the Mavericks, who returned home, defeated the Warriors, who also played run-and-gun, with a score of 7 to 120, returning to the track of victory.

It's just a pity that the next trip is to the east.

The first stop was against the Pacers, who ranked first in the Eastern Conference and fourth in the league.

The score was 80 to 92, and the Mavericks were taught by the Pacers' iron-blooded defense.

This kind of score is the characteristic of this era.

The previous games where hundreds of points were scored in a single move were not regular game scores.

From the first quarter of the game, the Pacers used the defensive intensity of a championship to defend the Mavericks.

So, with O'Neal watching over him, Nowitzki shot 20 of 7 and scored 20 points.

纳什在名不见经转的安东尼约翰逊的看防下，11投3中，拿10分6助攻4篮板。

沃克10投2中，芬利11投2中，贾米森9投2……

尽管覃洋11投7中，三7投4，进账18分7助攻5篮板，依然改变不了小牛队投篮战被防死的结果。

No way, the Pacers have Artest and Reggie Miller, plus O'Neal, they are also the Big Three. Under Rick Carlisle's iron-blooded defense, the Mavericks simply cannot adapt to the Pacers' playing rhythm and defensive intensity.

It makes sense to lose.

Especially since this is the home court of the Pacers, with increased defensive intensity and the blessing of the home whistle, it makes sense that the Mavericks can't shoot.

After losing to the Pacers, the second stop was against the Pistons, who also played a tough defense.

The Mavericks survived.

109 to 102! !
Good guy, the Pistons couldn't guard the Mavericks, who were in hot shooting form, and actually chose to attack the Mavericks.

Then, it exploded.

At this point, Rasheed Wallace hasn’t gotten it yet.

The Pistons couldn't suppress Nowitzki and couldn't do anything defensively. The rhythm of the game could only fall to the Mavericks.

Playing at an unfavorable pace, Larry Brown simply cannot play reasonable basketball.

It's no surprise that the Mavericks had the last laugh.

The third game of the Eastern Conference was against the Knicks.

The score was 127 to 121. After double overtime, the Mavericks finally defeated the Knicks, making Marbury's terrifying performance of 38 points and 14 assists a no-show.

The Knicks, who traded assists with the Suns, have assembled a very capable starting five, including Uncle Mutombo, Big Bird II Van Horn, Kurt Thomas, mid-range shooting king Houston, and lone wolf Marbury.

In addition, there is sixth man Penny Hardaway on the bench.

To be honest, the Knicks' lineup is not bad, but it is a pity that basketball is not a one-person sport, and it will not change quickly because of Marbury's joining.

The Knicks failed to play the basketball they wanted. It was not easy to push the exhausted Mavericks to this point. Losing is more reasonable.

……

(End of this chapter)