I have to say that Mavericks head coach Carlisle is really experienced and resourceful.
He expected that Deng Fang would remind his players to take three-pointers decisively and focus on breaking the zone defense, so he made arrangements during a timeout and changed the defense to man-marking.
It looks like a zone defense at first, but when Curry dribbles the ball into the frontcourt, it becomes man-to-man defense!
The Warriors were well prepared to break the Mavericks' zone defense, but they stopped playing with you!
The offensive options for zone defense and man-to-man defense are different, and the Mavericks' move made the Warriors very uncomfortable.
Curry ran without the ball for two rounds without finding an opportunity, and finally returned to the top of the arc to catch the ball and attack.
Facing Marion who was switching defense, Curry took a hasty shot and the basketball hit the rim and bounced out.
The game continues.
…
Obviously, the Mavericks were fully prepared, and the Warriors were somewhat inadequate in response.
It's not that Deng Fang didn't pay attention to it, but that his opponent was indeed extraordinary.
Almost all teams in the league use man-to-man defense, only the Mavericks use zone defense!
Zone defense places high demands on players. Even if the Warriors do a lot of targeted training, it will be difficult for their training partners to reach the level of the Mavericks in actual combat.
Coupled with the constant switching of the Mavericks' man-to-man zone defense, the Warriors were very uncomfortable.
The Mavericks were well prepared and defended the Warriors' outside shots very well.
Even in a zone defense, the Mavericks pounced very fiercely!
At least it looks fierce!
This is where the Mavericks players are experienced!
Curry was looked at badly, his teammates were hesitant to shoot three-pointers from outside, and their shooting percentage was very low. The Warriors' offense was not going well.
On the contrary, the Mavericks went smoothly under the leadership of Nowitzki and scored very quickly.
Kirilenko is indeed good at defending Nowitzki, but Nowitzki is feeling hot today, so he can shoot whatever he wants!
When a superstar is hot, you can't stop him!
Soon, at the end of the first quarter, the Warriors trailed by 12 points.
After the timeout, both teams replaced their substitute lineups.
The Mavericks got Barea, Jason Terry, Caron Butler, Peja Stojakovic, and Haywood.
Barea is not tall, only 1.83 meters, but he is very fast, can make sudden shots, is also very tough on the defensive end, and is a good player at drawing offensive fouls.
As the No. 2 player, Jason Terry is also not tall, only 1.88 meters, and is also very light. His characteristic is that he is very accurate in three-pointers. He can only shoot when he is crazy!
Caron Butler is very good at three-pointers and can shoot out of the blue. He was originally a starter, but he was put on the bench because he hadn't played in a game for a long time.
Peja is a pure shooter. His three-point shooting percentage in his career is as high as 40%. He has a fast shooting speed and coquettish movement without the ball. Even if it is placed in the history of the NBA, he will be ranked high!
Haywood is a defensive center. On the offensive end, he can only score by eating cakes. On the defensive end, he moves slowly, but he can still stand at the basket.
With three-point accuracy from the outside and a big center inside, the Mavericks' bench lineup is still very strong.
The Warriors got Lowry, Azubuike, Hayward, Tucker, and DeAndre Jordan.
Lowry, Azubuike, Hayward and Tucker all have three-pointers and better defensive capabilities. Jordan is also an enhanced version of Hayward.
In terms of personnel strength, the Warriors are better than the Mavericks in every position.
However, the Warriors have been at a disadvantage since the game started.
The Mavericks also used zone defense on the bench, and also switched to man-to-man defense from time to time!
This kind of defense also makes the Warriors substitute very uncomfortable.
The Warriors' starters have played together for two seasons and have a good understanding of each other. Even so, they were not used to the Mavericks' zone defense for the first time in the playoffs.
Not to mention a bench that only played together for one season.
The Mavericks did a good job defensively and performed well offensively.
The defensive abilities of the Warriors' substitutes are very good, but the Mavericks' substitutes felt hot today and were difficult to defend.
Especially the Jets' Jason Terry, who made unreasonable three-pointers one after another. No matter who the Warriors replaced, they couldn't stop him.
When a player is feeling hot, the defense is very passive.
The Warriors were forced to double-team Terry.
But Terry can also pass the ball. Under his leadership, the Mavericks blossomed and scored three-pointers like rain!
After 5 minutes of play in the second quarter, the point difference widened to more than 20 points.
Deng Fang called two timeouts in a row, but there was no improvement.
However, Deng Fang didn't pay much attention and continued to let the substitute play on the court.
You always have to face what you have to face, and the game can't always be smooth sailing!
Deng Fang was mentally prepared before the game. This game was not going to be easy to win!
If the starter is replaced at this time, the confidence of the substitute players will be hit.
The Mavericks didn't change their starting lineup either!
The substitute played well, so let’s continue!
Soon, after the second quarter, the score difference reached 32 points!
The Warriors only scored 45 points at halftime, falling behind by more than 30 points!
This is an extremely rare scene!
That's the number one warrior in the league!
The Warriors averaging 118 points per game!
Even the commentator on the scene couldn't believe the score in front of him!
But Deng Fang didn't care much.
The Warriors felt bad, and it was the first time they encountered this kind of defense. It is understandable that they performed poorly.
As long as the Warriors get familiar with the Mavericks' defense, it'll be fine.
Soon, the intermission ended and the game continued.
The second half started with a duel between the starters.
Obviously, facing the Mavericks' defense again, the Warriors were much better than they were in the first half.
During the halftime break, Deng Fang communicated with the players frequently in the locker room and drank a lot of chicken soup:
They use zone defense as a last resort!
We have an advantage physically!
Be brave and cast!
The weakness of zone defense is its inability to defend against three-pointers!
Their defense was all a bluff!
Can't cover our shots!
For us, losing 30 points is nothing!
You can get it back in one game...
Under the influence of Deng Fang's chicken soup, the Warriors players started the offensive mode as soon as the game started in the second half!
Curry took the lead in the charge, and his teammates were also very decisive and took very determined shots. They either broke out or shot!
However, after a sluggish half of the game, the Warriors still didn't feel very good and their shooting percentage was a bit low.
Fortunately, with the help of his teammates, Kirilenko found a feel for defending Nowitzki, and it was not so easy for Nowitzki to score.
When the Mavericks have Marion and Chandler, two non-shooting players on the court, the Warriors dare to help defend against double attacks.
Anyway, Marion’s three-pointer is just a matter of chance!
Anyway, Chandler poses no threat when he leaves the penalty area!
Both of them hanging around the penalty area?
That's better. There are four people near the penalty area, Nowitzki can't break through, and Kirilenko can defend his shot with peace of mind!
Nowitzki was guarded, and the Mavericks could only rely on others to fight piecemeal.
The game lasted 5 minutes, and the score difference only narrowed by 5 points!
Deng Fang called a timeout. After the timeout, Tucker replaced Laga Bell, and the Warriors resumed the pick-and-roll.
Lopez comes up to pick and roll with Curry!
Aren't you a zone defense?
Then I'll hit the pick-and-roll!
If two of you hit the person at the top of the arc, do the people behind you dare to come up?
In that case Curry will kill you!
As long as the people behind you also come up, your zone defense will be difficult to fight.
As long as you switch to man-marking, it will be easy to handle!
Lopez blocked DeShawn Stevenson, Curry dribbled to the side, and Chandler had to change defense in front of Curry.
Curry made no preparation at all, raised his hand and shot!
A big center can't go anywhere fast no matter how fast he is!
The basketball drew a beautiful arc in the air and hit the net!
This is Curry's first three-pointer of the game!
Finally found an opportunity!
The alert Carlisle immediately called a timeout!
This is not a good sign!
In the first quarter, Curry tried to break the Mavericks' zone defense without the ball. As a result, the Mavericks were well prepared and Curry did not get a chance to take action.
Now that Deng Fang has reacted, pick-and-roll is still the best!
This is what Carlisle is most worried about.
The best way to break a zone defense is to pick and roll!
Especially when you have a ball handler like Curry!
Force you to switch defenses!
If you don't change defense, you will be killed!
Change defense...you will still be thrown to death!
Of course, you can also choose to die suddenly...
After the timeout, the Mavericks replaced Peja Stojakovic, a sharpshooter!
Carlisle's idea is simple: I don't have much to do on the defensive end, but I can increase my firepower on the offensive end!
Anyway, I'm almost thirty points ahead. As long as I can score, there's nothing you can do!
As soon as Peja came on the court, the Warriors really didn't dare to double-team Nowitzki.
Kidd, Stevenson, and Peja stand outside the three-point line, and the threat is still great!
However, under Kirilenko's defense, Nowitzki's touch was not as good as in the first quarter, and his scoring efficiency was not high.
The Mavericks' scoring momentum slowed down, and the Warriors took the opportunity to hit a 12:3 spurt!
Curry has completely found his touch!
The Warriors still play pick-and-roll, forcing the Mavericks to switch defenses!
Chandler pounced outside, and Curry burst into the penalty area and scored!
There is someone inside to help defend, and Curry passes the ball to assist his teammates to score!
If the Mavericks double attack is slower, Curry will directly take a three-pointer!
In just 3 minutes, Curry threw in 2 three-pointers, scored 2 points on a layup, and assisted his teammates to score 4 points!
Lopez and Kirilenko each dunked under the basket once!
12 points are all related to Curry!
The difference between the two teams was suddenly only 18 points!
Carlisle called a timeout again.
Peja's defense is indeed not good!
Peja is helpful on the offensive end, but he concedes more points on the defensive end!
After the timeout, Chandler and Peja come off the court, and Marion and Caron Butler come on!
Nowitzki plays the fifth position, and Marion plays the fourth position!
Compared with Chandler, although Marion is not accurate in three-pointers, he still has a certain shooting ability.
More importantly, Marion moves quickly and is much better than Chandler in breaking out of a trap or switching defenses against Curry!
Suddenly it was Lopez who defended Marion!
There is no way, if Lopez is allowed to defend Nowitzki, he will definitely be killed!
Nowitzki still singled out Kirilenko at the waist, and the Warriors did not dare to help defend this time.
Although Peja is missing, Caron Butler's three-pointer is not bad either!
What's more, Marion can barely shoot.
Although there was no help in defense, Lopez was still slow on his feet and was cut to the basket by Marion. He received a pass from Nowitzki and scored two points.
Deng Fang immediately called a timeout.
After the timeout, the Warriors replaced Lopez and replaced him with Azubuike.
Curry, Azubuike, Prince, Tucker, Kirilenko, a super small lineup is online!
Kirilenko defends Nowitzki, Tucker defends Marion, Prince defends Butler, Azubuike defends Kidd, and Curry defends Stevenson!
Every matchup is fine!
Now Kirilenko can defend Nowitzki's shot with peace of mind!
Tucker's speed is not slower than Marion, and Prince and Azubuike can also help him defend appropriately!
On the offensive end, the Warriors turned to a pick-and-roll between Kirilenko and Curry.
Nowitzki's defense is far worse than Chandler's!
Nowitzki's defense isn't bad, but it's not much better.
You can still deal with the inside players, but not the outside players!
Chandler can barely guard Curry, but Nowitzki has nothing to do!
For three consecutive times, Curry took advantage of Nowitzki's slow defense to shoot a three-pointer!
Two out of three!
The score difference immediately reached 12 points!
There are 2 minutes left in the third quarter.
Seeing Curry at full strength, Carlisle had nothing to do.
People are just like this, what can Carlisle do no matter how powerful he is?
Chandler can defend or not attack, Nowitzki can attack or not defend!
If you don't use Marion to defend, it won't work. If you use Peja to attack, you can't defend!
The Warriors have four defensive heroes!
Even Curry has no problem facing the Mavericks on the defensive end!
The game continues.
On the offensive end, Nowitzki was restricted by Kirilenko, and two of his three shots were blocked!
On the defensive end, Nowitzki also tried his best to not give Curry a chance to shoot a three-pointer!
But Curry didn't care and started to continuously break through to the basket and score!
The Warriors have four shooters on the perimeter!
Even in a zone defense, the Mavericks did not dare to completely shrink inside.
Two are out from the top of the arc, and three more are standing in the penalty area. How to defend outside?
Zone defense is not all about three-pointers!
Even if it's a bluff, you still have to show off!
Kirilenko and Curry were on a pick-and-roll, and there was only one Marion near the Mavericks penalty area. Curry rushed to the basket and shook Marion, and scored 2 points with a pull bar!
Marion didn’t dare to come early!
There was Tucker next to him!
The second time, Curry still decisively rushed to the basket and scored two points for a layup.
The third time Curry rushed to the basket, Marion was prepared in advance and jumped up to block Curry's layup.
Unexpectedly, Curry chose to pass the ball this time, and Tucker received the ball and dunked!
…
The Mavericks' offense stalled, while the Warriors kept scoring.
Carlisle called two timeouts in a row to no avail.
Soon, the difference between the two teams was only 3 points!
There are 28 seconds left in the third quarter.
Kidd dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, and after more than ten seconds passed, he started a pick-and-roll with Nowitzki.
Nowitzki blocked Azubuike, and Azubuike immediately squeezed past Nowitzki.
Kidd was well prepared this time and shot a three-pointer directly.
The basketball hit the basket with a "dang" sound and bounced far away!
Curry rushed out from outside the three-point line on the left, picked up the basketball and ran towards the frontcourt!
There are 3 seconds left in the third quarter!
Marion and Butler were on both sides of the corner, Stevenson was outside the 45-degree three-point line on the left, and only the old Kidd was in front of Curry.
Kidd ran back with all his strength!
Curry is much younger than Kidd, and he crossed the midline in a few steps.
Make an emergency stop and shoot a three-pointer!
Kidd was on guard, knowing that Curry was likely to shoot a three-pointer.
But he didn't expect Curry to throw it after passing the center circle!
Kidd wanted to stop when he saw Curry shooting, but he rushed forward too hard and was caught off guard. Old Kidd stumbled and fell to the ground!
The basketball drew a beautiful arc in the air and hit the net!
Curry tied the score with a super long three-pointer!
