Legendary star

Chapter 689

"Two seasons ago, many of us have been here, but that time, we failed, and many of us also left the Dallas we love and love because of that failure.'
"Today, we're back here again, and a lot of people are waiting to see our jokes, they don't believe we can win, they don't believe that we can beat the Pacers, because they envy us that we can stand on the highest stage in the NBA, they are jealous We can make an impact on the O'Brien Cup."

"I don't want to lose, I want to win, I want to go back to Dallas with the O'Brien Trophy!"

"I ask you, do you want to win?"

On June 2006, 6, in the locker room of the visiting team at Bankers Life Arena in Indianapolis, the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, Avery Johnson, was doing the final mobilization before the game impassionedly. Avery Johnson, who was not the head coach of the Mavericks, followed the Mavericks to the finals. Their opponents at that time were the same as today, the Pacers. However, the Mavericks led by the old Nelson failed in the finals. The luxurious division composed of five All-Stars who were in their prime also fell apart after the end of that season.

"Yeah, we want to win!" As the boss of the Mavericks and one of the few remaining players on that Mavericks team, Dirk Nowitzki jumped from his seat after Avery Johnson's voice fell. Nowitzki stood up, and Nowitzki will never forget the disappointment of his mentor Nelson after the loss in the finals. That is, from that time on, Nowitzki secretly vowed that he would become better and better. Strong, and must bring back a championship trophy for Dallas and Nelson.

"Championship, championship..." After Nowitzki took the lead, all the Mavericks players in the locker room stood up, and under the leadership of Nowitzki, shouted the championship slogan.

"The battle officially begins now, for the championship, fighters, let's go!"

Avery Johnson in the player era has a lot of experience in the playoffs. He also played three times in the finals, but as a rookie head coach who has only coached for two seasons, Avery Johnson has nothing to lead the team. Even after the Mavericks eliminated the Suns and entered the finals, Avery Johnson still felt inexplicably nervous.

Avery Johnson has no experience leading a team to the finals, but some people have, especially his teacher Popovich, who has three championships in hand, so last night, Avery Johnson gave Popovich Povich called for advice for a long time, and Popovich did not hide it, but taught him everything, from how to adjust the player's state and mentality, to how to solve some minor problems on the field, and even Popovich taught Avery Johnson what strategy to use to deal with Meng Xu.

"This finals, I must win!" After leading the Mavericks out of the locker room and looking at the court at the end of the tunnel, Avery Johnson said firmly in his heart.

. . . . . .

"Hello, viewers all over the world, this is the first game of the 2005-2006 NBA Finals brought to you by ABC Television Network. I am El Michaels."

"I'm Elvin Johnson."

"In this finals, the Dallas Mavericks and the Indiana Pacers met in the finals for the second time in the last three seasons. The Pacers contributed to a wonderful series, so we also look forward to the Pacers and Mavericks, can once again offer a basketball feast for audiences all over the world!"

"In today's game, the Mavericks' starting lineup has not changed much. It is still center Eric Dampier, power forward Dirk Nowitzki, small forward Josh Howard, two guards Devin- Harris, and Jason Terry."

Under Avery Johnson, the Mavericks have no one starting spot in the game except for Dirk Nowitzki, no matter who, as long as Avery Johnson thinks he is not doing his best on the defensive end. , or the state of the game is not good, Avery Johnson will take him off the field, and since entering the playoffs, Avery Johnson has continued to make adjustments and changes to the Mavericks lineup in order to This is to adapt to teams with various styles and tactics, but in today's game, the Mavericks continued the starting lineup of the last two games of the Western Conference Finals.

"On the Pacers side, the biggest change is that Jermaine O'Neal, who returned from injury, started the game. However, after Jermaine O'Neal started the game, the Pacers still started today at the fourth position. James Posey, the rest There is no change in the three positions, and the starting lineup from the Eastern Conference Finals is still maintained, Tony Allen, Tayshaun Prince, and Meng Xu."

When the referee Dan Crawford threw the basketball in the air, the first game of the finals officially kicked off. Got the basketball out of his head by Jermaine O'Neal.

Since Avery Johnson took office, the Mavericks' defense has changed a lot. It is no longer the Mavericks under the old Nelson who regard defense as nothing. However, the tradition that the Mavericks have maintained for more than ten years is not the same It can be completely reversed in two seasons, and there are not many defensive champions in the Mavericks, so I want to transform a team with the worst defense in the league into a team like the Spurs and Pistons in a short period of time. It is obviously impossible for a top defensive team, so in today's game, Avery Johnson did not expect to rely on defense to defeat the Pacers.

Avery Johnson's defensive strategy today is also very simple, that is, good steel is used wisely, let Josh Howard, the best defender in the Mavericks, defend Meng Xu alone, and Eric Dampier defend Jermaine - O'Neill, as for the others, let it go, as long as you do your best, after all, the Mavericks' biggest reliance is offense rather than defense.

"Senior, I've been waiting for this day for a long time." After the Pacers launched an offense, Josh Howard immediately stuck to Meng Xu's side. As a player from Wake Forest University, he became his senior Tim Duncan And Meng Xu, after becoming superstars in the NBA, Josh Howard will definitely have some ideas, but the old Neeson doesn't like to use rookies, so in the last finals, he was only a rookie. Josh Howard could only sit on the sidelines and watch Meng Xu kill all directions, watch Meng Xu abuse Antawn Walker and Antawn Jamison one after another, but he could only envy and envy, So after that finals, Josh Howard has been looking forward to one day being able to compete with his seniors on the stage of the finals.

"Haha, come on then, let me see your ability." Looking at the No. 5 jersey on Josh Howard's chest, Meng Xu smiled slightly. Although he was an opponent, Meng Xu had nothing against Josh Howard. Malicious, on the contrary, Meng Xu felt a little sorry for him.

After Meng Xu participated in the draft, Josh Howard, who was recruited into the team by Wake Forest University with a scholarship, put on the No. 5 jersey left by Meng Xu. Josh Howard, who played for Wake Forest for four years, He left a series of records in the Yoel Arena, the top ten in team history, the second player after Tim Duncan to reach 1000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 steals and 100 blocks. He also led the team to 25 With a record of 6 wins and [-] losses, in terms of Josh Howard's contribution to Wake Forest, it is more than enough to enjoy the treatment of Tim Duncan's retired jersey, but because of Meng Xu, the proposal to retire Josh Howard's jersey has never been possible. pass.

(End of this chapter)