Chapter 160 The fierce battle is in full swing, and the score is anxious!
Sure enough, the change in mentality led to a qualitative change in the performance of the Mavericks generals on the court.
The most obvious thing is the decisiveness on the offensive end.
As soon as Nowitzki came up, he hit Griffin continuously in the low post.
One ball turned over and he succeeded, the other ball turned around and he faked a shot, causing Griffin to foul, and made two free throws, and then used a golden rooster to independently reach 21.
In just two minutes, King Nuo scored 7 points by himself, helping the team to a 7:0 climax.
35:32, the Mavericks narrowed the point difference to 3 points!
It is worth mentioning that after this shock wave passed, the Mavericks players did not show many happy expressions, but remained serious and focused.
"Keep up the firepower, every attack must pass Dirk's hands!"
Carlisle shouted to his players from the sidelines.
The Mavericks generals nodded.
Up to this point in the game, they already know that the team's only advantage on the court is Nowitzki!
Whether facing the first-year Griffin or the defensive hero Tucker, the German tank has an absolute advantage.
Of the two opposing Rockets players, one lacks experience and the other lacks talent, neither of whom can match Nowitzki.
In other positions, the Mavericks are more or less at a disadvantage.
For example, at the point guard position, Kidd has more skills and experience than Lowry, but lacks athletic ability.
Moreover, due to the lack of defensive ability of the team's shooting guard Jason Terry, he was unable to defend the Rockets' wing players. As a result, Kidd was forced to defend Pickle who was taller than him.
But even if Terry had to guard Lowry, it would be very difficult.
Xiaogangpao is strong and younger, so he has a clear advantage in this matchup.
The reason why Carlisle, the head coach of the Mavericks, insists on letting Terry, who is weak on defense, stay on the court is to bet on the explosive touch of the Jets and provide the team with explosive scoring power!
At the shooting guard position, the Mavericks made adjustments in the second half.
Carlisle asked Marion, who performed well in the transition period, to stay on the court and exclusively defend McGrady.
Although it is impossible to guard a superstar, it is undeniable that Marion's defense will make T-MAC's offense much more difficult!
Finally, there is the center position. Although Tyson Chandler was crushed and dunked by Yao Ming in the opening game, he is a defensive-level defender after all.
Dayao had an advantage against him, but it was not a one-sided situation.
Under the defense of the boxing champion, Yao Ming's low-post attack success rate is much lower than the season average, but overall he is still the dominant side.
Taken together, in the comparison of the five positions, only Nowitzki's fourth position has a clear advantage for the Mavericks.
Carlisle knew very well that if he wanted to turn this game over, the only way was to let King Nuo Tian perform a single-point blast.
Once they successfully defeat Griffin or Tucker, the Rockets must respond.
Either continue to adopt a single defense and bet that Nowitzki can't break out for the whole game; or change the defensive strategy and double-team, then the Mavericks' outside shooters will have a chance!
Of course, all these ideas are based on King Nuotian's ability to explode at a single point.
Carlisle has full confidence in his love, and Nowitzki has responded to the coach's trust with his performance on the court.
In the box, Shen Fei looked calm.
After two rounds in the second quarter, he knew the Mavericks' intentions very well.
Shen Fei is actually looking forward to Nowitzki's performance.
In his previous life, he was busy with work and did not watch the entire playoffs of the year when the Mavericks became gods. He only watched some highlights.
But now, Shen Fei has finally seen how powerful King Nuo Tian is.
"Now let's see if our star can respond..."
The Asian young man murmured to himself.
............
The game continues
Rockets serve from the baseline.
At this time, the Rockets have replaced all their main players back on the court, and McGrady has also returned to his more skilled shooting guard position.
Different from the sleepy look in the past, t-mac now has firm eyes and a focused expression.
After Lowry dribbled the ball across half court, he handed the ball over to McGrady.
T-mac took the initiative to raise his right hand, signaling Yao Ming to step forward to pick and roll.
Dayao arrived quickly and used his thick body to trap Marion firmly for McGrady.
However, Chandler had excellent defensive awareness and blocked T-Mac at the first opportunity.
Marion, who was delayed by the pick-and-roll, reacted quickly and immediately retreated to prevent Yao Ming from suddenly passing.
However, they still missed a step.
No one expected that after completing the pick-and-roll, Yao Ming did not follow down the ball, but chose to shoot outside.
McGrady flicked his wrist and passed a behind-the-back pass to Dayao.
When Yao Ming set up a high turret and was about to take action, the two core defensive players of the Mavericks reacted, but it was too late.
I saw Dayao lift his heel slightly and shoot...
The basketball left his fingertips and spun at high speed, drawing a beautiful arc in the air...
"Shua~"
Hollow into the net!
38:32, this goal not only "stopped the bleeding" for the Rockets, but also made the Toyota Center, which had been dormant for some time, become excited again!
In the CCTV commentary box, Yang Yi duly commented: "The pick-and-roll of the Yao-Mai combination this season is more difficult to defend than in any previous year! Not only have the two stars recovered physically, but they have also developed three-pointers with Yao Ming. It’s about projection.”
Yu Jia took over and added: "This season, Yao Ming averaged 3.2 three-pointers per game and hit 38%. He is already a good shooter!"
"The Utah Jazz, the backbone of the Rockets back then, had a trick that was very difficult to guard against, which was center Okur's three-pointer. Who would have thought that now our Yao also has this skill package."
............
His eyes returned to the field.
After the Rockets hit a three-pointer, the Mavericks players inevitably felt some frustration.
Fortunately, Nowitzki, the core of the team, immediately shouted loudly: "We have no problem defending, don't be discouraged, just pay attention to Yao's three-pointer!"
Kidd also agreed: "Concentrate on attacking, they can't guard us at all from the beginning of the second quarter!"
With the encouragement of the two big guys, the other players nodded and returned to the attack.
After the transition between offense and defense, Nowitzki once again asked for the ball in the low post.
This time, the Rockets changed their defensive strategy.
The moment Nowitzki caught the ball, George suddenly stepped forward and formed a double-team with Griffin.
The driver reacted quickly, collected the ball immediately, and lifted it up.
At the same time, he quickly scanned his teammates and found that Kidd was in a vacant position.
This is the answer given by the Rockets - allowing Kidd, who has less stable shooting in the Mavericks, to get shooting opportunities.
Nowitzki trusted his teammates very much and immediately passed the ball.
The old Kidd was calm after receiving the ball, and even dribbled the ball for a while. After fully adjusting, he chose to take action...
"Shua~"
Basketball goes hollow into the net.
At 38:35, the Mavericks continued to chase the score.
In the VIP box, Shen Fei shook his head silently.
In the last video analysis meeting, he did not emphasize the threat of Kidd's three-pointer, but now it has more or less had an impact.
As the saying goes, every family member has a treasure, and Kidd is a big "treasure" for the Mavericks.
Shen Fei actually admired him very much.
As a veteran in the point guard world, Kidd's status is definitely at the top of the list.
To use an analogy with a current star, it's probably Paul's low position.
But unlike Paul, Kidd decisively chose to quit when he got old and become a green leaf in the Mavericks.
He changed the way he played with the ball in his hands in the past and handed the ball more to his teammates, but he put a lot of effort into the defensive end and open shots.
Shen Fei clearly remembers that this year's Kidd had a good three-point shooting percentage in the regular season, and he went even further in the playoffs!
If any team dares to let this former "blacksmith" shoot, it will definitely pay a heavy price.
"It depends on whether Mark Jackson can adjust in time..."
Shen Fei murmured to himself.
He still has great confidence in Mark Jackson.
As a manager, Shen Fei can only provide as much advice as possible on the tactical level, but it still depends on the performance of the head coach to respond to situations on the spot!