Chapter 111: Don't go, okay? Zheng!

In the six preseason games before the start of the regular season, the Mavericks had a mediocre record of four wins and two losses, which was neither good nor bad.

After all, you can't praise a defending champion team for playing well after losing two games in the preseason.

But after all, it is the preseason, and the team is mainly focusing on training, so it doesn’t matter if they lose two games. The regular season starts on November 11st.

The Mavericks' first opponent in the new season is the Suns. On paper, this season's Suns are weaker than last season.

After all, of the five starters last season, both Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson have left the team, while core player Stoudemire is resting due to injury.

According to the original history, he only played three games in the 05-06 regular season.

In the 05-06 season, Nash won his second MVP in his career and is one of the few people to win two consecutive MVPs. So why did he win the MVP this year?
After all, their record this season is not as good as the previous season, and they are only ranked second in the Western Conference.

The reason lies in injuries. The judges took into account that Nash's presence helped the Suns maintain such high competitiveness when the team's core player Stoudemire was basically absent for the entire regular season.

This shows his influence on the game and the team!
So they finally chose to give the MVP award to Nash, making him the new two-time MVP winner!
Before the game started, the entire Suns team played smoothly with Nash's coordination and scoring, and new players Raja Bell and James Jones integrated into the team well.

On the other hand, the Mavericks, normally speaking, should have played better after experiencing the baptism of the championship.

After all, their main players are very young and are in a stage of rapid growth. After winning the championship, their strength should be further improved.

But the reality was quite the opposite. The entire Mavericks team struggled throughout the game, according to Yu Jia in the studio.

"This team is like a man in a coma. They look strong, but they can't exert their strength at all."

And when you watch the whole game, you will know that this is not because the players are in bad shape or have bad touch.

It's more like they can't play basketball anymore.

As for the reason, of course it has something to do with the change in the team's offensive focus. After all, their main players have stayed with the team this season and there is no running-in period.

Originally, the Mavericks used Zheng Yang as the offensive core, and the players around him were accustomed to this style of play.

But now that the team's offensive focus has changed, their functions on the court have changed.

For example, when Zheng Yang was attacking before, they might have to stand aside and receive the ball and shoot, but now they may need to help Nowitzki set the screen.

After all, Zheng Yang and Nowitzki are two completely different players. It is impossible for them to adapt to Nowitzki in the same way as they adapt to Zheng Yang.

So now the players are confused on the court, and they don’t know what they should do.

There is another reason why the Mavericks are struggling, and that is the condition of Nowitzki.

After Zheng Yang came to the Mavericks, especially last season when he grew into the team's offensive core and attracted most of the opponent's defensive attention, Nowitzki actually played very comfortably.

After all, his offensive environment is generally not bad!
And now, when he has become the only core of the team and is needed to take the lead in the team's offense, the pressure he faces has suddenly become much greater.

Although the Suns are better at offense than defense, these guys are NBA players after all, and they will not allow Nowitzki to do whatever he wants in their interior.

Therefore, under high-intensity defense, Nowitzki's performance was not good.

As for Zheng Yang, he is probably the most relaxed one on the field.

Anyway, the team doesn't need him to attack, so he can just stay aside and become a fixed-point shooter.

As for defense, he is sometimes strong and sometimes weak, but he just does it according to his own ideas. If he wants to be more serious, he will defend more actively. If he wants to be more relaxed, he will defend more loosely.

He doesn't have too many ideas now. He just does as much as he can with the money he's paid. He currently only earns more than 4 million a year, so why should he work so hard?

How could the struggling Mavericks be a match for the Suns? Therefore, there was no suspense in the final game, and the Suns successfully won the season opener with a score of 105:117.

郑阳全场12投8中，拿到18分8篮板3助攻0失误，而诺维茨基全场28投12中，拿到28分8篮板5助攻，失误则是有6个之多。

Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson's first game as coach ended in a loss.

When the game ended, Avery Johnson stared at Zheng Yang with a dark face. No one likes that their first time ends in failure, and Avery Johnson didn't like it either.

But isn't this the result they want? Let Nowitzki become the only core of the team and let Zheng be his background board and stepping stone.

Hasn’t Zheng Yang already helped them?

Aren't they satisfied yet?

To be honest, Zheng Yang doesn't really care how the team will perform this year. Anyway, he has already won his first championship and fmvp, and he has proved his strength.

He is still young, he is only 20 years old, he doesn't mind delaying for a year!
Since the head coach and the boss don't like him, he will just become their stepping stone.

Just hope they like the end result!

……

The Mavericks' schedule at the beginning of the new season can be described as a devil's schedule. After playing against the Suns, they will have to play against the Spurs, Pistons, and Heat.

These three teams are all championship-contending teams and are all tough opponents!

Originally, Mavericks fans predicted that the Mavericks would not win all the first four games of the season, but would at least have a record of 3 wins and 1 loss, and if that wasn't possible, it would have to be 2 wins and 2 losses.

But the final result was a slap in their faces. The Mavericks lost all four games in the first four games of the season!

And it wasn't a close defeat. The score differences in all four games were more than 5 points, and we didn't compete with our opponents until the very last minute.

The four consecutive losses at the start caught everyone off guard, and someone definitely needs to take the blame. Who could it be?
The team's new coach Avery Johnson would naturally be the first choice. After all, the starting players are still the same as last season, but the head coach has changed from old Nelson to Avery Johnson.

If it wasn't Avery Johnson, then who was it? "We don't want Avery, we want our championship coach, and we need you, Coach Don Nelson.

Come back! We need you to help us win another championship."

Dallas fans began to make constant demands in front of the media, they didn't like this black coach, he was too young, he didn't have any experience, he was not suitable for this team.

They just want old Nelson!

Avery Johnson, who suddenly became the target of public criticism, felt a little aggrieved. Damn it, what does this have to do with me?

I have already done everything I should do, why do you blame me?
You should blame others!
Avery Johnson didn't want to be the scapegoat, but he needed to find someone else to take the blame.

Who to call?

First of all, it definitely couldn't be Nowitzki. He is the core of the team now and the blame cannot be put on him.

Blame Zheng Yang?
This is not appropriate... No, why can't he take the blame? Damn it, the team lost because of him.

He has to take the blame for this!

So at the next press conference, when faced with the question from a reporter, "Where do you think the problem lies with the team facing four consecutive losses?" Avery Johnson shrugged.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with our tactics, you know, we're still the same as last season.

As for why we are facing the current predicament, I think we should think carefully about whether there is a problem with our tactical execution.

I don't want to blame our players, but you know, there's not much a head coach can do. We can only do what we should do. As for what kind of impact it will have on the game, it's more important for the executors to play a role. "

Avery Johnson's remarks immediately caused a public outcry, and everyone was wondering who Avery Johnson was talking about.

Soon, everyone thought of Zheng Yang, because Zheng Yang did not play well in these four games. After four games, his average score was only 20 points, which was totally inconsistent with his level of strength as a scoring champion.

In addition, considering the previous incident when the Mavericks suppressed Zheng Yang, everyone was wondering if there was something wrong in the Mavericks' locker room?
And what role did Zheng play in this?
Zheng Yang, who suddenly became the target of criticism, would not take the blame obediently. When he was interviewed by the media on his way to the stadium, he said directly.

"I also don't understand why we played so badly, there were definitely problems with our team.

As for some people saying that I didn’t score enough points, just look at how many times I touch the ball in a game. Combined with my shooting percentage, my performance is already good enough.

If I can only take ten shots in a game, but you ask me to get 30+ or ​​40+, then I think you may be a little crazy!
I don't like to say negative things, but I have to say that I don't feel like I get the respect I deserve here.

I've given a lot to this team, but now, it feels a little strange to me. I love the fans here, they are the most loyal fans in the league.

But I think maybe I need to see some other places.”

On the one hand, Zheng Yang expressed his current team situation, and on the other hand, he also expressed his thoughts on the trade.

He has never been opposed to playing for other teams. This is a business league. If you don't meet a team owner who is willing to respect you enough, it's best not to be too loyal.

Because it will hurt you!

And Cuban obviously won't be the boss who is only fond of him, so Zheng Yang would rather play somewhere else. Anyway, he is now famous, and no matter where he goes, there will be teams wanting him.

Zheng Yang's words immediately caused a huge uproar in the league. If the Mavericks didn't play well, that was the Mavericks' business, but if Zheng Yang wanted to seek a trade, that would be the business of the entire league.

Who wouldn’t be jealous of this delicious piece of cake!

Given this guy's ability and the commercial value behind him, there are definitely many teams willing to trade for anything as long as they can get him.

While other teams were starting to go crazy, Dallas fans felt like the sky was falling.

Zheng Yang is leaving?
This kid who started his professional career in Dallas, this young man who won the scoring title, the best first team, and the Finals MVP, this hero who helped the team win the championship, actually lost confidence in this team after just one offseason?

Oh my God, how did the Mavericks bully this kid? The kid who had never complained in front of the media actually said that he wanted to leave the team?
He must have suffered a lot of injustice. In places where the camera cannot see, he must have been bullied and oppressed by many people, otherwise he would not have wanted to leave this city.

God finally let us have him, but those blind guys pushed him to another team!

What do they want to do?
Do they think last season's championship was their credit?

Could it be that all the fat has grown into their brains, making it impossible for them to figure out things that they could figure out with their buttocks?

The extremely angry Dallas fans started to rant wildly. They launched a barrage of attacks from top to bottom. Neither the Dallas management nor the team's head coach escaped.

Others don’t understand how deep the feelings of Dallas fans are for Zheng Yang. Although this guy was not selected by them, he was traded to the Mavericks the next second after he was selected by the Clippers.

Many of his firsts in his career were achieved with this team, and he also helped this team achieve many firsts.

His playing style on the court is so gorgeous, he treats his fans so warmly and gently, he has no flaws from head to toe, he is the most perfect person in the world.

Dallas fans watched him grow step by step, from a rookie to an All-Star, to a scoring champion, to a champion, to a Finals MVP...

They thought he could stay in this team for ten or twenty years, but now, in just the third season, those fat guys bullied him so much that he wanted to leave.

They felt sorry for Zheng and for this kid. He helped them win the first championship in team history, but they failed to protect this kid.

They just want to keep the child as much as possible. They don’t know whether the child will give him another chance, but they just want to try again!

They can't bear to part with this child, they don't want to see him wearing the jersey of another team. They can give him everything he wants, but they just hope he doesn't leave here!

Don't go, okay? Zheng!

(End of this chapter)