Chapter 95 His balls are broken? My knee is also injured

The game against the Spurs will definitely be a tense battle. After all, in the original history, the Spurs were this year's championship team. They defeated the Suns, the Pistons, and finally won the championship trophy.

It’s not that easy for the Mavericks to defeat the opponent!
Before the game, the same old rules apply. After watching the Spurs' playoff videos several times, Nelson talked to everyone about the strategy for the next game on the plane to San Antonio.

"We played four games against the Spurs in the regular season, and I believe everyone is already familiar with the team style of our old rival.

During the playoffs, their team style remained the same.

On the offensive end, they focus on teamwork and create shooting opportunities by passing the ball and containing the inside line.

On the defensive end, they use their height and strength advantages to put layers of pressure on their opponents and limit their scoring.

In view of their offensive characteristics, when we are attacking, we should increase the speed as much as possible, speed up the tempo of the game, and avoid getting too entangled with them in positional battles.

When defending, we need to compress the inside as much as possible to limit Tim Duncan's performance, while protecting our rebounds and not giving them a chance to attack again.

Another point is that although the Spurs are a team-oriented team, don't forget that Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Robert Horry are all players who have outstanding individual performances at critical moments.

Therefore, at critical moments, we also need to do a good job of one-on-one defense.

In general, the Spurs are an extremely strong opponent, but we must have enough confidence in ourselves. Even the Suns, who ranked first in the regular season, lost to us 4-1. Is there any other opponent that can beat us? "

……

When the plane landed in San Antonio and the players took a bus to the hotel, Zheng Yang saw many banners hanging in front of stores through the glass.

Some have slogans written on them.

"Show those Mavericks guys some color!"

"2-0!"

Some are pictures of a knight riding a horse, and the horse's hoof is stepping on the Mavericks logo!

The meaning is naturally self-evident.

Zheng Yang was not angry after seeing this. Instead, he found it quite interesting. After resting for a while in the hotel, the bus took everyone to a nearby stadium for training.

……

On the evening of May 5, the SBC Center was filled with fans. Both inside and outside the arena, a large number of fans came to support the home team.

We have already reached the Western Conference Finals. If you don’t come now, when will you come?

The TNT hosts for today's game are Barkley and Kenny Smith. This pair of funny guys rushed to speak before the game started.

"In this game, I believe the Mavericks will get off to a good start."

"Kenny, shut up, I should have spoken first.

From all angles, although the Spurs have a certain advantage, I believe Zheng will lead the Mavericks to a good start. "

"Get out of my way Charles, I'm rooting for the Mavericks first."

……

Ever since the Mavericks beat the Suns last time and Kenny Smith avenged his previous defeat, from then on, whenever the Mavericks play, Kenny Smith will blindly support the other team.

The same is true for today's game.

Who cares about Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, or home-court advantage...

Anyway, with Zheng here, he has only one choice, and that is the Mavericks.

Just believe it without thinking, and Zheng will tell you the answer.

Seeing Kenny Smith so determined, Barkley was unwilling to support the Mavericks anymore. Although he was sprayed with saliva in the face by Kenny Smith last time, he felt that people can make mistakes and horses can stumble!
It doesn't matter if you make a mistake occasionally. Since the other party is so determined, you have to use your professional knowledge to tell him who is the man who understands football best on the planet.

So he snorted, and then spoke, deliberately raising his voice.

"Hmph, Kenny, you are definitely the man who knows the least about basketball in the world.

In my opinion, the Spurs will definitely win Game 1. I have no intention of offending Zheng or other Mavericks members, but I really can't see any possibility for them to win.

The Spurs are a team with championship blood and rich playoff experience. The more important the game is, the better their performance will be.

As for the Mavericks, judging from their regular season record, they are already at a disadvantage. Coupled with their lack of playoff experience and the fact that they are playing away from home, the result of today's game will only be a failure."

"Hey Charles, if the regular season record can determine the winner of two teams, then there is no need for the playoffs, and the Mavericks will not be able to surpass the Suns and enter the Western Conference Finals.

As for the so-called big game experience, away games...

I only believe what I see with my own eyes. Whenever Zheng and his teammates face crucial games, their performance will only get better.

They don't care about the so-called championship blood. Damn championship blood. They are a bunch of young people and will not be afraid of these things.

I'm glad that Charles didn't support the Mavericks with me. This makes me realize that there is still a huge gap between you and me.

I don’t want people to think you’re a commentator on the same level as me.”

After criticizing Barkley last time and getting rid of his inner demon, Kenny Smith returned to his poisonous state. His tongue skills are also not weak. It is not so easy for Barkley to gain points in the verbal attack stage.

Hearing this, Barkley snorted disdainfully.

"Just wait and see. When the game is over, you will know how ridiculous your current statement is."

"Everyone will know who the clown is in a moment."

……

The game time has arrived and players from both teams come on the court, ready to start tonight's game.

I won’t go into too much detail about the Mavericks’ starting lineup, let’s take a look at the Spurs’ starting lineup.

"French Sports Car" Tony Parker, "Stone Buddha" Tim Duncan, "Demon Sword" Ginobili, center Muhammad, and Bruce Bowen who is left with only one egg.

When Bowen saw Zheng Yang again, there was anger and a little fear in his eyes.

He remembered the pain in his lower body that day, which was the greatest pain he had ever experienced in his life.

That kind of pain will be engraved in his heart for the rest of his life. His eyes flickered, and he was hesitating whether to retaliate against Zheng Yang in this game, which would both avenge himself and win this series.

Do you want to vote for this?
Zheng Yang didn't know what he was thinking, but he knew that with Bowen's evil character, he might do something bad to him.

So during the jump ball, Zheng Yang said to him with cold eyes.

"I know you don't like me, but I advise you to be more careful on the court.

I am only 19 years old this year. I will win countless championships in the future, so I don’t care whether I can win it this year.

What I mean is, if you dare put your feet under me again when I jump, I will make sure your other egg breaks.

If you make me unable to stand up, Eric or Josh will do it for me, and you better make sure you never stand on this court again in your life. "

Zheng Yang threatened. In fact, he still didn't want to have a conflict with this guy. It was not because he was afraid of him, but he was worried that it would affect his game.

This year is a good window to win the championship, and he doesn't want to miss it.

However, if Bowen really dares to do something dirty like tripping him, he will definitely do what he says, even if he faces the risk of being suspended.

Anyway, he is still young, so just ban him!
After hearing Zheng Yang's threat, Bowen's face turned ugly. As a villain in the league, he had never been threatened like this before.

But to be honest, after the other party said this, he was indeed a little scared.

This guy is indeed different from those players in the league who can only complain to the referee. This guy really dares to be ruthless, and when he is ruthless, he can do it without any loopholes, like the last time Bowen even broke an egg.

That guy didn't even get any punishment, and he even spread his hands and acted "innocent" in front of the media.

"I don't know how it broke. In fact, my knee was also injured. I went to the hospital for a check-up. Fortunately, there was nothing wrong with my knee."

Thinking of this, Bowen decided to be honest for now. There was no need to provoke such a ruthless person.

After warning Bowen, Zheng Yang ignored him, but he was still a little wary.

Anyway, it is Bowen's own business to make the choice. If he dares to do it, he will be extinct!
During the jump ball phase, Dampier had a slight height advantage over Muhammad on the opposite side, so he got the ball before him.

After Zheng Yang got the ball, he passed it to Jason Terry, who dribbled across half court and began to observe the situation on the court.

Judging from the Spurs' current position, they should adopt a man-to-man tactic. Since it is man-to-man, the first attack should naturally be carried out by Zheng Yang.

Bowen was still facing Zheng Yang, and the two had already started a fight before Zheng Yang received the ball.

Even without using dirty moves, Bowen is still a very good defensive player. Of course, a large part of his defense comes from the strong physical confrontation he gives to his opponents.

Before Zheng Yang received the ball, Bowen began to confront him. The two of them kept blocking each other, their arms entangled and exerting force on each other.

The referee on the side took a look and didn't say much.

This was the playoffs in the early 21st century, where did all those body whistles come from?

Although Bowen's defense is good, it is obviously impossible for him to prevent Zheng Yang from even catching the ball.

After locking Bowen's chest with his elbow, Zheng Yang successfully received the pass from Jason Terry. The other Spurs players did not prepare to double-team him, obviously thinking that Bowen alone was enough to deal with Zheng Yang.

After receiving the ball, Zheng Yang glanced at the time. There were 13 seconds left, which was enough for him to attack.

He first held the ball in a triple-threat posture. Bowen was obviously afraid of his shooting, so he stuck very closely to him from the start.

After Zheng Yang took a step back to create space for attack, he changed direction and broke through to the right.

Bowen did not take the bait and continued to follow, but Zheng Yang continued to use his rhythm changes to shift his center of gravity.

After an emergency stop, he suddenly accelerated again. After being half a body length ahead of his opponent, he used his physical advantage to successfully enter the paint area.

He threw the ball in before Spurs center Muhammad came over to help.

"Your defense is damn good. You almost blocked me."

After successfully scoring the ball, Zheng Yang started trash talking to Bowen, and Bowen responded unyieldingly.

"Yes, some rookies are lucky enough to score a goal and then think they can do anything, but they don't know that will be his only goal of the game."

"A lot of people have said this to me, but now they can't even see the back of me."

It was the Spurs' turn to attack. Just as Nelson said before the game, after many passes, Ginobili successfully found an opportunity to cut and then drove into the inside with the ball.

After the fake pass shook off Dampier, he easily scored the ball.

2-2!

In the next round, Zheng Yang no longer insisted on individual singles. In fact, deep down he recognized Bowen's defense.

As mentioned before, a good defense does not necessarily mean that the opponent cannot score a goal. Making the opponent expend more energy to score a goal is also a good defense.

Obviously, Bowen did a good job in the last round, whether it was the physical confrontation with Zheng Yang before receiving the ball, or forcing Zheng Yang to constantly adjust the offensive rhythm after receiving the ball, which made Zheng Yang consume more physical energy.

It may not be obvious once or twice, but after a long time, when it comes to the fourth quarter, Zheng Yang will find that his physical strength is completely insufficient for him to become the team's offensive weapon at the critical moment.

Zheng Yang certainly understood what he was thinking, so after Bowen vented his anger in the first singles, he no longer insisted on playing singles.

Instead, he switched to an off-ball role, getting shooting opportunities through movement and pick-and-roll.

In this case, the physical energy consumed is much less.

At the same time, when the team protects the defensive rebounds, Zheng Yang will also play more fast break counterattacks. The Spurs still seem to be somewhat insufficient in defending Zheng Yang's fast break counterattacks.

Although the Spurs did a good job of defending in positional battles, when Zheng Yang rushed on a fast break, it was difficult for the Spurs to limit him except by fouling.

After the first quarter, both teams failed to successfully widen the score gap. After all, their strength was close, and both teams had enough star players. It was unlikely that they could widen the score gap in just one quarter.

In the first quarter, Zheng Yang made 7 of 4 shots and scored 8 points. Except for the first ball which came from a single play, the rest of his shots were either from running to receive the ball or from fast breaks.

Nowitzki's performance in this quarter was also quite good, with 7 points and 4 rebounds, and he was not at all inferior to Duncan in the conversation.

This guy is playing basketball with great enthusiasm, partly because of Duncan and partly because of Zheng Yang.

This is a star-studded series, and Nowitzki, who is equally proud in his heart, is unwilling to be just a small foil.

He also wants to carve out a niche for himself!
(End of this chapter)