Chapter 104 Draw
"What the f*ck did I say before the game, sweep the Mavericks?
There is no team in the world that can sweep Zheng.

Look at Zheng's performance in the first game. He scored 32 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, which was the highest score in the game, but this was just Zheng's average level.

There's no way, his scoring ability is just too strong.

The Pistons' defense is indeed very good, but that is only for NBA players. Zheng is not in that category because he is a player from outer space.

Richard and the others have to wake up. If they continue to make big claims in front of the camera, all they will get is ridicule.”

Barkley, who successfully predicted the first game of the finals, said excitedly in the studio, "Oh my god, I finally got it right again."

If he continues to make wrong predictions, people will really think that Barkley doesn’t understand basketball!

And from this prediction, Barkley also discovered a truth.

As long as you choose Zheng Yang without thinking, the probability of predicting correctly will be higher, especially in key battles, Zheng will never let you down.

“No wonder Kenny has been so successful recently, it turns out he discovered this secret a long time ago!

But from today on, the title of the No. 1 Zheng Chui can only be mine!"

……

Winning G1 is crucial for the Mavericks. What is the key?

The key lies in morale!

Before the game, the Mavericks were the underdogs, and both fans and the media believed that the Pistons' defense was the only way to win the championship.

In this situation, if the Mavericks did not have the courage to be barefoot and not afraid of wearing shoes, their morale would have been low and their fighting spirit would have been sluggish!

But this kind of pride will dissipate little by little with failure. After all, no one can look at the loss in the finals so easily.

This is the finals. We are just one step away from lifting the championship trophy and winning the highest honor in the NBA!
If you fail at this step, you will have nothing, you will be a background board, and you will be the number one loser.

In the face of constant failure, no one can keep fighting.

Therefore, successfully winning G1 was a special morale boost for the Mavericks.

Of course, for Mavericks fans, winning Game 1 is also a very proud thing, after all, they have always been the underdog.

"Arrogant guys will pay the price!"

“我想底特律的家伙们该考虑如何在0-1的情况下逆转取胜了，然后他们就得0-2，0-3，0-4的情况了……

Oh, I forgot, if it’s 0-4, they will have to go home and sleep hahahaha!”

"Where should we start our championship parade? I think we should plan it in advance. Maybe we should set it on the third day after G4!

That should be a nice day!"

The fans made some funny remarks in front of the media. They knew that the so-called 0-4 was unlikely, but their main purpose in saying so was to disgust the Pistons players.

Who told them to be so rampant before the finals started?

They hung banners one after another in the city and even specially drew a large poster in which Zheng Yang, with a crown on his head, led a group of Mavericks players standing in the center.

The Pistons players in front were lying on the ground, unable to move.

This did not make the Detroit fans very angry. They immediately made a lot of counterattack posters and promised that when the Mavericks players came to Detroit's home court to play the game, they would definitely "welcome" them with the most violent boos.

……

G2's game time is June 6th. The two-day rest time has allowed the players on both sides to recover a lot of energy.

Before Game 2, the Pistons players were finally not so arrogant, and they didn't dare to say anything like limiting Zheng Yang's scoring to 20 or defeating the Mavericks in four games...

They all knew that this finals would not be as easy as they imagined!
However, they remain optimistic about this year's finals, head coach Larry Brown said in a pre-game interview.

“We have to admit that before G1, we did underestimate our opponents. After all, they are too young and this is their first time to make the finals.

This really makes it easy to underestimate the enemy.

But now we are well prepared, we will not let down the support and love of Detroit fans, and we will win this game successfully."

After warming up, the second game of the finals started soon. Fans who came to the American Airlines Center tonight brought some snacks and refreshing drinks to relieve the boredom of the game.

After all, this year's finals are really boring. I might fall asleep just watching the game.

But no matter how boring it is, they will come to support the Mavericks game. After all, this is the finals, and the Dallas Mavericks have never won a championship trophy in their history.

After the game started, the Pistons' defensive lineup was still one-on-four. As for the players defending Zheng Yang, Prince and Hamilton took turns.

This is a very smart move. Let two people take turns to defend Zheng Yang, which can not only form an effective defense but also consume Zheng Yang's physical strength.

Even if Zheng Yang can occasionally perform amazingly for a period of time, he will definitely not be able to maintain it for the entire game. The key to victory lies in the hands of other players.

This is what they want to achieve. The Mavericks want to attack, they can!

But it can't be Zheng Yang, it can be any other player on the Mavericks, including Nowitzki, but Zheng Yang must not be allowed to attack.

They just didn't believe that the other Mavericks could beat them.

If the other players on the Mavericks heard what they said, they would definitely feel unhappy.

Damn it, who are you looking down on for this?
Why can't we kill you by our own strength? I'm going to try!

But the subsequent performance of other Mavericks players made Larry Brown's plan succeed.

The Pistons' defensive formation is one-on-four. The best way to break the zone is to shoot from the outside. As long as you can make the shot, they have to come out to defend outside.

If the Mavericks want to break through and score against the Pistons' iron wall, apart from Zheng Yang, only Nowitzki can do it.

But in front of two dark and thick inside players, Big Ben and Roaring Heavenly Lord, Nowitzki's offensive efficiency will also be very low. So when Zheng Yang was closely watched and could no longer score so many points, the other players of the Mavericks chose to attack from the outside.

But the intensity of this game itself was quite fierce, and the Mavericks players' physical strength was consumed quickly, so their touch was not very good.

With a series of clanging sounds, they all turned into little blacksmiths in Dallas!
Zheng Yang couldn't score, and they couldn't score either, so after the first quarter, the Mavericks were 23 points behind with 18:5.

The fans in Dallas were quite excited and enthusiastic at the beginning, and they kept clapping and clapping, but the game itself was boring and the shooting percentage was not high. In addition, the Mavericks kept missing shots today, so they were not very enthusiastic about cheering.

Therefore, the cheers afterwards were not as loud!
NBA Commissioner David Stern, who has been following the progress and ratings of the entire finals, also noticed that this year's finals was not very impressive.

Yes, with the Pistons' style of play, no matter which team comes out from the Western Conference this year, it will be impossible to make the game look good.

But there is nothing that can be done about it. He can't possibly deprive the Pistons of their qualification for the finals or ask them to change their style of play immediately!

However, what made David Stern feel a little balanced was that although the game was average, the ratings this year were still good, especially today's G2, which had a higher ratings than G1.

The reason is very simple. Although this game is not very interesting to watch, it is indeed full of suspense!

Everyone wants to see whether the second-year rookie Zheng Yang can win the first championship of his career after winning the scoring title, the best first team and other honors.

Especially, can they step on last year's champion Pistons to get to the top?
Originally, the suspense was not that great. After all, everyone thought that the championship would definitely be won by the Pistons. But after the Mavericks successfully won G1, everyone realized that the strength gap between the two teams was not as big as imagined.

And it’s different from what everyone knows, the team that has more potential to win the championship is not the Pistons, but the Mavericks!
Driven by strong curiosity, even if the game makes everyone sleepy, everyone is still willing to stay in front of the TV to see who will win the game.

Another reason for the high ratings this year is that the fans of the two teams are so dramatic. Whether it is the slogans they shout out during media interviews or the posters they make, they are all very interesting.

The Mavericks players didn't feel good in the first quarter, and there was nothing Nelson could do. It is the coach's responsibility to arrange tactics, but to what extent they can be implemented depends on the players themselves.

He could only continue to remind everyone to pay attention to defense and protection of rebounds. If the offense cannot score, there is another way to win, which is to prevent the opponent from scoring either.

As long as no one can score, the suspense of the game will remain.

The second quarter continued, and the Mavericks players still had poor outside shooting, while the Pistons played smoothly. Hamilton exploded in the second quarter, making 6 of 5 shots and scoring 10 points.

The player defending Hamilton on the Mavericks side is Dachou. This guy's physical strength is among the best in the Mavericks, but when he meets Hamilton, he is like a dwarf compared to a giant.

The latter is like a perpetual motion machine, running around the court, constantly looking for opportunities.

Da Chou doesn't understand why some people would run around the court several times just to catch the ball and shoot once. The effort and reward are completely disproportionate.

If it happened to someone else, they would have cramps and have to lie on the sidelines to rest before the game was even halfway through.

But Hamilton is an exception. This guy keeps running and shooting, and can also defend Zheng Yang all the time, but he just doesn't get tired. He doesn't sweat as much as Dachou.

"It's fucking hell!"

Da Chou cursed while panting.

Hamilton, who scored 10 points in a single quarter, shouted arrogantly at Zheng Yang.

"See? I got ten fucking points, and we're going to win this game.

Don’t think that you are sure to win just because you are lucky enough to win one game. It’s impossible!
The victory will only belong to the Detroit Pistons."

Zheng Yang smiled disdainfully.

"What the f*ck are you so excited about? Have you ever scored only 10 points in your life? Do you know what the media will say about me if I score 10 points in a single quarter?
They will say that Zheng was not in good shape today and only got 10 points!
If you're so proud of it, I can give you a certificate before the next game."

Hamilton's expression froze, and for a moment he didn't know how to refute.

It does seem a bit like showing off one's skills in front of a scoring king to brag about one's own scores.

In the following games, the Pistons were unable to widen the gap. After all, their offensive touch could not always be on point, but the Mavericks were also unable to catch up with the score as the home fans wished.

After repeated hand-to-hand combat, the game time slowly returned to zero, and the away Pistons finally won the game 88:80.

The fact that the Mavericks only scored 80 points showed how bad their touch was in this game. When Zheng Yang was unable to break out and score, the other players of the Mavericks failed to take over the game and they lost the game at home.

This is a pity, because next they are about to move to Detroit, and the Detroit fans who have been eyeing them have been waiting there for a long time.

It will only be more difficult for the Mavericks to win those two games.

In the post-match interview of G2, Larry Brown finally smiled.

“Yes, we have found a way to win.

I know how strong our opponent is. They are the Western Conference champions and they have performed very well this year, but the final victory will only belong to the Detroit Pistons.

We won't miss the next two games, which are very important for us."

Hamilton also shrugged in the post-race interview.

"We did lose the first game, but that was only because we were not fully prepared. Obviously, when we are in good shape, no team can stop us.

Our opponents are young, maybe they can win the championship in the future, but not this year."

As for Zheng Yang, he also mentioned the loss of this game in the post-match interview.

“Only the winners have the right to speak, and I don’t want to make any excuses for this game.

We did lose, we didn't perform better than our opponents, especially me, I didn't play as aggressively as I should have.

But if we say we will definitely lose this series based on the loss of one game, I think that is a bit unfair.

Don't forget, our total score is still 1-1 and we are back to the same starting line.

As for the fact that it will be difficult for us to win when we go to our opponent's home court?
I don't agree with that statement. You know, I really like listening to the cheers of my opponent's fans at their home stadium. The louder they cheer, the more excited I get.

Please continue to pay attention to our games, we will win this championship, I promise! "

(End of this chapter)