Chapter 1779 After 5 Years, the Old Driver Is Finally Coming Back (Part 2)
The Cowboys turned into the Buffaloes, and the Mavericks became the most well-known pseudo-powerful team in NBA history. To put it bluntly, they are awesome in the regular season and garbage in the playoffs. Dirk has also become synonymous with the "soft girl" in the league, and the former "ga sister-in-law" 'Together they have become two monuments in the power forward world.
But the most uncomfortable thing is that as Gasol came to Los Angeles and formed the JKJ combination with Kobe and Ji Feng, and won three consecutive championships, almost no one mentioned the name Gasol. Under the influence of Feng, he became tougher and tougher as he played. Although Gasol's personal data has declined due to differences in lineup and on-court responsibilities, people have noticed both his on-court performance and results.
So the poor old driver became the only superstar who was still ridiculed as "soft".
But to be honest, before this season, there was nothing wrong with this statement. The Mavericks were really struggling. They hardly showed their regular season strength in the playoffs, and they never met people's expectations of them. .
As Dirk enters his thirties, and as the Mavericks replace the Spurs as the team with the oldest average age in the playoffs, no one thinks that the Mavericks will have a future, even if they stage the return of the king again this season. , all the way from seventh in the Western Conference to third in the Western Conference, 57 wins and 25 losses is also their best season record in the past three years, but no one is still optimistic about them.
However, after the playoffs began, the Mavericks showed a different mental outlook than in previous seasons.
Seriously, when the Mavericks players take the field in the first game of the playoffs, you won't associate them with the Mavericks from previous seasons.
Except for Dirk, everyone else, including the bench, has already been changed from top to bottom. Let’s take a look at this year’s Mavericks starting lineup. Center Chandler is 29 years old, power forward King 33, small forward Marion 33, points. Guard Stevenson is 31 and Kidd is 38.
How old is considered old? Mavericks tells you the answer.
This lineup was ridiculed before the start of the playoffs: "Did the Mavericks steal the Spurs' skill package?"
The last Spurs with such an old starter was ruthlessly eliminated in the playoffs.
Moreover, this lineup is not very powerful. Although Marion and Kidd have the reputation of being All-Stars, everyone knows that they are no longer at the level they used to be. Chandler was a rebounder in the Hornets. As for Stephenson, I'm sorry, he is just a tool for Terry to use as a false starter.
Of course, the Mavericks' substitutes are still good. Terry, Barea, Hayward and Butler can still be seen in the world. However, they also face the same problem. The old ones are too old and the short ones are too short. short.
Relying on this lineup, the Mavericks are still known as the weak persimmons in the first four.
In the first round of the playoffs, they faced the Trail Blazers, a once-famous youth team.
"This may be the only time the Mavericks are favored in the playoffs. After all, Roy and Oden of the Trail Blazers are not here."
Yes, facing the Trail Blazers with such an uneven lineup, the Mavericks struggled. Although they won with a big score of 4-2 in the end, the points difference in several wins was within 10 points. The Trail Blazers Fans even clamored that if they had no injuries and if Roy and Oden stayed fully healthy, the Mavericks would have no chance!
Yes, even Mavericks fans can't refute this, because the process of the game is indeed like this. Roy fought hard with his brothers for 6 games with an injured leg, playing closed, and with less than 60% condition. On the field, if it weren't for Dirk's unprecedented dominance, he would have been proficient in jump shots and back-up shots. Moreover, the newly released Golden Rooster has independently become a legendary existence, and the outcome is still unknown.
But the Trail Blazers can walk out of the court with their heads held high. This is also the final glory of the Trail Blazers and McIlroy.
To be honest, Ji Feng really feels sorry for Roy. This is the man who gave the league two meniscus. He deserves people's respect. Although he is far from his dream, at least he did his best.
The promoted Mavericks met the Grizzlies with great momentum. The Grizzlies, who had just finished the Black Seven against the Spurs, were now very powerful. The six games with the Spurs allowed everyone to see the difference in this Grizzlies. Moreover, there are Many fans are looking forward to the Grizzlies meeting Ji Feng's Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. This is definitely the most perfect script after 4 years.
However, the Mavericks, who were criticized in the first round, suddenly woke up in this round!
What the Grizzlies rely on to defeat the Spurs is, of course, their iron-blooded defense. The Black and White Bears have shown their power inside. Garfield's defensive support ability is top-notch in the league. Randolph's low-post offense is also very good. These two are currently among the few inside players in the league. There are many combinations that can rival the Lakers Twin Towers, at least the Heat are envious of them.
And this happens to be the most criticized thing about the Mavericks in the past. Their lineup often failed to defend. It was said that D'Antoni's Suns did not defend, but in fact the Mavericks did not give in too much, especially in the paint. It was simply The biggest joke in the West, the "Second Peak in the West" meme is definitely a classic and will be passed down forever.
However, in the first game, the boxing champion made the world aware of his abilities. In the last round, Randolph averaged 26.8 points and 9.7 rebounds per game and beat Duncan hard. But this round, when he met the boxing champion, he immediately It’s not working!
In the first game, he only scored 13 points and 6 rebounds, and his shooting percentage dropped to 45%. You must know that in the last round, Randolph averaged 56% shooting, which was a direct drop of 11%. You can read the charm of the boxing champion. Do you understand?
The most awesome one is the Mavericks point guard. Kidd originally had no advantage when meeting Conley. Conley performed very well in the first round. Compared with Parker, he was a weakling. But the Mavericks are smart because of that. They don't use Kidd to defend Conley, but use Barea, who is only 180 centimeters tall!
This trick worked wonders!
Conley was also caught off guard!
Important figures inside and outside were dumbfounded, but Dirk was as brave as ever, scoring 28 points in one game and 32 points in the other. The Mavericks won the first two games for the first time.
In the third game, the Grizzlies, who returned home, finally relied on Mayo's performance and Gasol's recovery to play a good game. However, in the end they managed to win the game 109-107 with a 2-point advantage through overtime.
But in the fourth game, the Grizzlies, who were struggling with their lives, had no luck in the third game. Nowitzki was crazy throughout the series, especially in the fourth game, not to mention directly pressing Gasol to the ground and rubbing him. The Grizzlies bench was reduced to the CBA level, with 42 points and 8 rebounds in a game with a shooting percentage of 65%. Dirk led the Mavericks to win the match point 3-1!
Mavericks, finally coming back!
In the fifth game, Ji Feng gathered his friends after training and watched together at home. To be honest, Ji Feng also admitted that he underestimated the Mavericks. He originally thought that the Grizzlies would create great difficulties for the Mavericks. After all, the Grizzlies The Bears have a really good lineup and are in good shape.
But I didn't expect the Mavericks to be so ruthless. They won three games by more than 12 points, and their shooting percentages were all over 53%. This is simply too buggy.