Since it was a lockout season, the time was tight. After the regular season, we only had one day of rest before the playoffs began.
On April 29, 2012, the game between the Warriors and the Mavericks started at Oracle Arena.
The Warriors and the Mavericks played a series in the playoffs last year, and the Warriors finally swept the Mavericks 4-0.
In fact, last year's Mavericks were very strong. Historically, the Mavericks also won the championship this season.
If the lineup is not changed and some reinforcements are made during the offseason, the Mavericks will still be quite strong.
However, this year's offseason, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban committed suicide and let go of Chandler, Butler, Stevenson and Barea and many other capable players. The strength of the Mavericks has also dropped a lot.
Of course, the Mavericks didn't do nothing. They also introduced two good players in Vince Carter and Delonte West.
However, Chandler's role on the defensive end cannot be replaced by anyone.
Without Chandler, Stevenson and Barea, Kidd, Nowitzki and Terry are all one year older, the Mavericks are even more annoyed on the defensive end.
In desperation, Carlisle had no choice but to hold high the offensive banner and put Nowitzki more in the center position.
Against such a team that focuses on offense but not on defense, the Warriors simply cannot take it easy.
What is the best thing about the Warriors?
attack!
The Mavericks shoot a lot of three-pointers, and the Warriors shoot even more!
The Mavericks rank 20th in the league in three-point shooting percentage, and the Warriors rank first in the league in three-point shooting percentage!
The Mavericks just threw more three-pointers. The Warriors not only had more three-pointers, they also scored more!
The Mavericks throw three-pointers because their athletic ability is poor and it is difficult to hit the basket. The Warriors throw three-pointers just because their three-pointers are accurate. The Warriors' athletic ability is not bad at all!
The Mavericks started the game with Delonte West, Kidd, Marion, Nowitzki and Haywood.
Although Heywood is a rough guy, we still have to let him come up and fight for a while at the beginning.
Otherwise, Nowitzki will have to defend Yao Ming!
Although Nowitzki can also face Yao Ming on the offensive end and cause trouble for Yao Ming, Yao Ming can also beat Nowitzki on the offensive end!
Nowitzki's Golden Rooster is independent and no one can guard him. Yao Ming also has absolute height and soft touch. Nowitzki can't guard Yao Ming either!
In terms of mid-range shooting alone, Yao Ming should be the only inside player who can rival Nowitzki!
Nowitzki's golden rooster is to avoid blocking shots. He only uses it when he has no other choice. If he had an absolute height advantage like Yao Ming, he probably wouldn't use the golden rooster!
It doesn't matter to the Warriors if two people explode at each other, but the Mavericks will never accept it.
Without Nowitzki as a key player, half of the Mavericks' offense would be paralyzed!
The Warriors' starting lineup remains unchanged, with Curry, Klay, Prince, Kirilenko and Yao Ming.
Compared with the Warriors' starting lineup, the Mavericks' starting lineup is too old!
For the Mavericks: Nowitzki is 34 years old, Kidd is 39 years old, Marion is 34 years old, Haywood is 33 years old, and Delonte West is 29 years old!
On the Warriors side: Curry is 24 years old, Clay is 22 years old, Prince is 32 years old, Kirilenko is 31 years old, and Yao Ming is 32 years old!
The youngest of the Mavericks' starting trio of Nowitzki, Kidd, and Marion is already 34 years old!
Although the Warriors have three players over the age of thirty, they are all in their early thirties.
The most important thing is that the Splash Brothers, the core backcourt duo of the Warriors, are extremely young and energetic!
Delonte West tried his best to chase Klay and could barely catch up, but what should Kidd do to defend Curry?
That's not to destroy Kidd's old bones!
How about letting Kidd chase Clay?
Forget it, Kidd will die faster that way!
If the Mavericks can barely cope with the inside battle, then there is absolutely nothing they can do about the outside defense!
In five minutes, the Splash Brothers got several open shooting opportunities through off-the-ball movement. They made 4 of 6 three-pointers and stopped the game immediately.
After the timeout, the Mavericks took down Haywood and Jason Terry.
If you can't defend, you can only attack!
The Mavericks lineup can compete with the Warriors in terms of three-point firepower, but it cannot compare in terms of athleticism and defense.
The Warriors let Yao Ming defend Nowitzki alone. With the Splash Brothers around, the Mavericks didn't dare to double-team Yao Ming.
The result is that Nowitzki and Yao Ming exploded with each other!
The Warriors can bear this result, but the Mavericks cannot.
Yao Ming only needs to play one game, what about Nowitzki?
Even if Nowitzki can play the entire game, he will have physical problems in the second half!
Besides, the Warriors also have the Splash Brothers!
The Mavericks switched to a smaller lineup, and the defensive end can barely cope with the Splash Brothers' off-ball movement. What happens after a while?
In order to free Yao Ming and make him play easier, after Yao Ming and Nowitzki played two games each, Deng Fang began to let Curry and Yao Ming cooperate in pick-and-roll.
Let’s see how you defend!
Switch defense?
Then Curry can easily challenge Nowitzki!
Double-team Curry?
Then Yao Ming will feel comfortable!
Assist in defense?
Do you really think Clay is a jobber?
No matter how the Mavericks defend themselves, they will be annoyed!
The Warriors have no solution on the offensive end and have also made changes on the defensive end.
Deng Fang asked Yao Ming to guard Marion and Kirilenko to guard Nowitzki!
This move is the same as that of later Cavaliers, who used their center to defend Iguodala.
Iguodala's three-pointers at critical moments are still reliable, at least much better than Marion's.
This move directly restricted the Mavericks' offense!
The score difference is getting bigger and bigger!
Soon, the first quarter ended and the score became 39:26, with the Warriors leading by 13 points!
It's time for Nowitzki to take a break in the second quarter. Now the Warriors have an even greater advantage!
Although they are all substitutes, the Warriors' substitutes are no worse than the Mavericks' starters!
The Mavericks' starting lineup can still compete with the Warriors for a while, but the bench can't keep up with the Warriors' rhythm at all.
Three minutes into the second quarter, the point difference opened up to 20 points!
Nowitzki had to appear again.
However, Nowitzki's appearance cannot change much of the situation on the court, and the Mavericks are still very passive.
The game went very quickly, and after halftime, the Warriors led by 28 points!
Nowitzki performed well. With his excellent touch, he scored 25 points in the first half.
However, under the defense of the Warriors, the rest of the Mavericks were completely restricted. The top scorer was Jason Terry. He played 16 minutes and only scored 8 points.
On the Warriors side, the whole team blossomed. Curry and Yao Ming scored 15 points and 13 points respectively. Curry also sent out 5 assists and Yao Ming also got 7 rebounds!
There is no way, the Mavericks can't guard against the Warriors' offense!
There was a scene of celebration at Oracle Arena, and the fans were as happy as if they were celebrating a holiday.
Despite the big lead, the Oracle Arena was packed and no fans left the venue early.
Ku Ritian hasn’t shown off his power yet!
Besides, no matter how big the score difference is, it is not considered garbage time for the leading side!
This is what the home fans want!
If you can win by 50 points, you can't win by 49 points!
Even if all substitute players are playing on the court, the fans at the winning home court will be happy to watch!
Those who abuse others never feel bored, only those who are abused feel bored!
Cool is just one word!
This is also the reason why Warriors home tickets are sold at sky-high prices.
The game started quickly in the third quarter. The Mavericks persisted for more than 5 minutes. Curry suddenly found his touch and made three consecutive three-pointers to directly open the point difference to 35 points!
No matter how good a defensive player is, there are times when his mind wanders.
What's more, Curry's offensive methods are complex and diverse, making them difficult to guard against.
You stick close to Curry from the backcourt, and when they get to the frontcourt, you hand the ball to your teammates and you move without the ball.
Everyone on the Warriors is creating opportunities for Curry, and everyone is constantly setting up pick-and-rolls for Curry.
No matter how good the defensive player is, he is passive. No matter how strong one person is, he cannot withstand the opponent's entire team!
As long as you are blocked, you have to substitute.
And as long as the defense is replaced, the effect will definitely be much worse. After all, it is impossible for everyone in a team to defend well.
Even if the player he is chasing is very good and never loses track, or his teammates are strong and can help defend and cover positions, Curry can also cooperate with Yao Ming in the pick-and-roll.
In short, with the cooperation of a group of powerful teammates, it is impossible to completely guard Curry.
The score difference widened to 35 points, and the game lost its suspense.
The Warriors are not a bad team. If you want to recover these 35 points, it will be impossible!
Even if you are a bad team and your morale is high when you are ahead by 35 points, it will be difficult for you to get back the point difference.
Everyone is an NBA-level player, and even if there is a gap, it is not much different.
Several starters from the Mavericks played on the court for a few more minutes, and the point difference did not narrow, but actually widened by a few points.
Carlisle waved his flag, retreated his troops, replaced him with a substitute, and accepted defeat.
The Warriors also put on a bench.
The game played very quickly, and the final score was fixed at 139:102, with the Warriors winning by 37 points.
The big score in the series also became 1:0.
After the whole game, Curry was the best performer for the Warriors. He scored a total of 38 points, 9 assists, and 9 rebounds.
Nowitzki of the Mavericks also performed very well. He scored 32 points, 3 assists, and 12 rebounds in the game.
But apart from Nowitzki, no one from the Mavericks scored in double figures.
For the Warriors, 7 players scored in double figures!
This is not a close contest at all, it is a complete massacre!
…
At the same time, other matches in the first round series also had winners and losers.
The Spurs, second in the Western Conference, defeated the seventh-placed Nuggets 132:103.
Due to Duncan's aging, the Spurs began to focus their offense on the outside.
The Spurs introduced several very good outside shooters during the offseason. This season, their three-point shooting percentage ranks second in the league, as high as 39.3%!
This is a very scary data!
It has to be said that although Popovich is very old, his brain is still very good. He keeps pace with the times and constantly changes the team's playing style according to the situation.
Backed by their ultra-high three-point shooting percentage, the Spurs also have a pretty good record, ranking second in the league, second only to the Warriors.
The Nuggets and Spurs are exactly the opposite. Their three-point shooting percentage ranks 25th in the league, and the team's season three-point shooting percentage is only 33.2%.
After losing Anthony, the Nuggets have completely become a civilian team.
Ty Lawson, Afflalo, Gallinari, Harrington, Faried, Sr. Miller and Nene are all very good players, and everyone has two skills.
Since there are many people who can play and the average age of the team is not too old, the Nuggets play in a very open style, just like a track and field team, running all over the court in every game.
The Nuggets' belief is: If I can't shoot you to death, I will run to kill you!
Such a team has no big problems in the regular season and its record can be guaranteed, but it won't be the case in the playoffs.
The first is that they don't have a one-stop star.
In the playoffs, the defensive intensity increases, and it is very difficult for ordinary players to score. If there are no stars at this time, the team will be very struggling on the offensive end.
A thousand armies are easy to get, but a general is hard to find. This is the saying.
In addition, the Nuggets' over-reliance on fast-break counterattacks can easily be restricted in the playoffs.
Especially when facing an experienced team like the Spurs.
…
In another game, the Thunder defeated the Clippers 98:89.
The Thunder have made a sudden appearance this season and have a very good record.
With four young talents in Durant, Westbrook, Harden and Ibaka, the Thunder have a very good offense, and their points per game also rank among the top 3 in the league.
The Clippers are completely different.
Although with Paul, the Clippers have become an alley-oop team in the new season, the Clippers' scoring average is not high, ranking only 15th in the league.
The Clippers know that it is impossible to defeat the Thunder through offense. If they want to win, they can only slow down the pace of the game and fight with the Thunder's half-court.
These two teams can basically match each other in every position.
The two insiders of the Clippers are Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, while the two insiders of the Thunder are Ibaka and Perkins.
Jordan and Ibaka are matched up, and Ibaka is not much behind Griffin.
Griffin's advantage is not playing in the back, his advantage is jumping and speed, which happens to be Ibaka's advantage as well.
The Clippers have Paul in the backcourt, and the Thunder have Westbrook in the backcourt.
Paul is calm and collected, Westbrook is full of impetus, and the two of them can basically exchange their money.
There are no problems at the guard and center positions. The reason why the Clippers lost the game was on the forward line.
Because the Thunder’s strongest point is its forward line!
Durant can be said to be the strongest offensive player on the center line in the league.
Whether it's Caron Butler, Randy Foye, or Nick Young on the bench, the Clippers' defense is very poor.
Even a strong defensive player would have a hard time facing Durant, let alone these three!
The Thunder won this game almost by relying on Durant's single-handed blast and defeated the Clippers.
Durant made 15 of 21 shots and 7 of 9 free throws in the game. He was extremely efficient and scored 41 points, 5 assists, and 7 rebounds.
Although Griffin also scored 23 points, Ibaka opposite him also scored 19 points.
Although Paul sent out 11 assists, he only scored 15 points.
Although the title of court master sounds good, it also reflects Paul's lack of scoring ability at critical moments.
This is also the gap between Paul and Curry.
In the playoffs where defense is very intense, as a superstar, your biggest task is to score!
