Defending champion

Chapter 396 No. [-] in the West vs No. [-] in the West

Chapter 185 First in the West vs Third in the West

At [-] pm local time in Dallas, the western United States, the game between the No. [-] Dallas Mavericks in the West and the New Orleans Hornets officially started.

The warm-up between the two sides is over, and the game is about to start.

The players began to stand, and Jack stood next to Nowitzki.Marking Nowitzki is Jack's most important task today.

"Jack, even if you are a rookie, I will not show mercy?" Nowitzki fired at Jack at the beginning.If it develops according to the form of the league, trash talking will definitely become a compulsory course for players in the league.

Jack laughed, "Me too."

Nowitzki's expression became serious, "Then you have a try."

In the first few years of his entry into the league, Nowitzki was labeled as a softie because of his soft touch.

However, Jack knows much better that Nowitzki is definitely not a softie.It can be seen from the fierce battle between him and the Heat in the finals in his previous life.

Therefore, when Jack is fighting Nowitzki, he has to be extra careful.

Mavericks starting point guard German. Harris, shooting guard Jerry. Stackhouse, small forward Josh. Howard, power forward Dirk. Nowitzki, center Eric. Dampier.

Hilton and Eric Dampier jump ball, Hilton wins the jump ball and gets the ball to Butler, who hands it to Chris Paul.

The Hornets controlled the rhythm and opened up the frontcourt.

Nowitzki caught up with Jack in the low post.

Paul handed the ball to Butler, and Josh Howard was facing Butler.

Howard averaged 19.6 points per game this season.But compared to offense, Howard's fame is based on his defense. He is the most important part of the Mavericks' defensive system. He has amazing wingspan and speed, and he will not suffer when facing the league's top swingmen.

Therefore, he always bears the heavy responsibility of defending the opponent's front and back.And when misplaced to defend the opponent's inside player, he can also use his speed, wingspan and bounce to interfere with the opponent.

Facing Howard's defense, Butler didn't have the confidence to break through.

Butler had to pass the basketball in his hand.

The basketball came into Paul's hands. Paul dribbled the ball and was pressed hard by Harris and couldn't turn around. Peja Stockovic came up to cover.

Paul throws away Harris, and Stackhouse immediately steps forward to defend himself.

Jerry Stackhouse is also a great man. He once scored 29.8 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists in a single season with the Pistons.Relying on his good physical fitness and fierce fighting, he has been relatively successful in defense on the outside.

The Mavericks have a clear goal and pinch Paul to death.Their main purpose is to cut off the link between Paul and insider Jack.

Paul took the ball and jumped away from Stackhouse, and at the edge of the three-second zone, he made an emergency stop and missed a jumper.

Hilton was blocked by Dampier, but he grasped the timing of the rebound very well. He used his long arm to pull the basketball out from the inside. Peja grabbed the ball and lobbed it to Jack on the left.

The moment Jack caught the ball, without any pause, he immediately took the ball and turned to the baseline.He has made full preparations before receiving the ball, and there is only one option, and that is to attack.

The Mavericks put up an impregnable defense at the beginning of the game, and the Hornets didn't adapt for a while.

Therefore, as the core figure of the team, Jack must stand up.

Although Nowitzki's defense is not to the point of failing, it is only average. He is not good at using his feet to stick to the opponent, and his judgment on the offensive line is also average. Jack passed him in the first step.

When Nowitzki turned around, Jack had gone deep into the basket, jumped up, and dunked with both hands!
He pulled the basket, his body almost turned sideways, and his flying right foot almost kicked Dampier's face on the other side who wanted to defend.

2 to 0.Jack gave the Mavericks a blow at the beginning.

"The technique is so skillful, this guy's future is limitless!" Nowitzki was a little shocked.He has played against all the stars in the league, and Garnett was not so fast at his peak.Jack is the fastest big man he's ever seen in the league.

Nowitzki won the MVP, he will not be intimidated by an offense.Stoudemire also dunked in front of him many times. He laughed and said that he and the Mavericks were often the last ones. He got the ball at a high position and was ready to change colors!
Jack knew how Nowitzki played, he had perfect shooting skills, and the scoring range covered the entire half court.To disrupt his rhythm, start by keeping him away from the basket.He is very tight, and the center of gravity is very low, so that Nowitzki can't turn around easily. He can only dribble the ball with his back one step inside the three-point line. If he turns around and shoots here, he can still guarantee a high shooting rate. Just admit it.

"It's really tight, he is using me as a defender to defend." Nowitzki said in his heart.

Nowitzki didn't want to take a difficult shot, passed the ball to Harris, and waited for his teammates to pass the ball.

Jack ignored Harris and followed Nowitzki, who was running without the ball.

The Mavericks failed to get the ball back to Nowitzki several times. Jack could always get stuck in front of Nowitzki, force the pass, and was prone to turnovers.

As long as Nowitzki is in the Mavericks for one day, there is no doubt that he will become the core of the Mavericks' tactics.Therefore, if the Hornets want to win, they must cut off the connection between Nowitzki and the Mavericks.

Seeing that the 24-second attack time was about to come, Howard forced a shot from the outside and missed it. Hilton grabbed the backcourt rebound. Before he landed, he heard Jack yelling: "Fast break!"

As soon as Howard's shot touched the basket, Jack had already started rushing towards the Mavericks half court.Nowitzki was left far behind, and Hilton threw the ball to the frontcourt with one hand when he landed.

Looking at Jack's receding back, Nowitzki muttered to himself: "Why do I feel that I am fighting against a 211cm point guard."

The Mavericks only had point guard Harris return to the defense. He found that Jack's speed was not much worse than him. There were only two big men in the league who could do this level before, LeBron James and Josh Smith.Harris has a slight advantage in speed, but at 85 kg, he and Jack can't compete in terms of strength.

Jack jumped up high and caught the basketball in front of the free throw line. After landing, he rubbed his shoulder against Harris. Harris, who retreated, stumbled and sat on the ground, sliding more than one meter away.

Jack kept moving, took a big step forward with his right foot, took off with the ball in his right hand, leaped over Harris' head, and smashed the ball heavily into the basket. 4 to 0.

Jack turned back to defend, and Harris was still sitting in the penalty area in a daze.

The step of Jack's jump almost scared him to the urine. He slipped and separated his legs, and Jack stepped on the middle of his legs, only one foot away from his crotch.If that step is a little bigger, he is likely to end up with the Celtics' "Big Brother" Tony Allen, and he can even go directly to the WNBA.

Stackhouse pulled Harris up and asked, "How are you? Are you all right?"

Harris took a deep breath and sighed: "I'm fine, but this guy... is really not human! It's too scary, and my "brother" is almost gone."

Jack disrupted the Mavericks' pre-game deployment, and two consecutive dunks greatly boosted morale.

Back on the defensive end, Jack followed Nowitzki again and tried his best.Against Nowitzki, he feels happy. Only a truly strong man can arouse Jack's desire to conquer.

Nowitzki turned around with the ball, made an emergency stop and missed a jumper, and Butler took the backcourt rebound.

The Mavericks quickly returned to defense. Jack's fast break reminded them just now. Except for Dampier, the others didn't even have the desire to grab offensive rebounds.

The Hornets attacked, and Paul on the outside was also strictly guarded. Paul handed the ball to Peja.

Peja is defending Peja in the high position with the 198cm tall Stackhouse. Peja Stockovich has an obvious height advantage. He immediately took advantage of this advantage, moved a step to the left and then made an emergency stop jumper, and the ball went in again. up.

6:0.

The Mavericks' on-site commentator expressed concern about the Mavericks' defense. The Hornets have turned their backs, and the Mavericks' offense cannot be opened.Bystanders can see that Nowitzki can't keep up with Jack's speed, and Stackhouse can't guard Odom's jumper.

Nowitzki knew that he had to stand up to stabilize the morale of the army at this time. He asked for the ball in the low post, and Peja defended it.At this time, Nowitzki and Peja had a misplaced defense.

Nowitzki leaned back against Peja, dribbled two steps, handed the ball to his left hand and turned around quickly in the middle.Peja raised his right hand high and defended close to his body. Nowitzki took a big step with his left leg and stopped suddenly with the ball in both hands. Back jump shot, the ball hollow into the net.

6:2.

Nowitzki does not jump high, but there is nothing he can do with Peja. This is Nowitzki's trick "Golden Rooster Independence".

This unique style of jump shot makes him nearly impossible to block.After turning around, he jumped back with his left leg support, and at the same time bent his right knee, maintaining a buffer zone between him and the defender, leaned back sharply, and opened a distance from the defender, adding up In the end, at least a space of about 1.5 meters was created. It can be said that the opponent can only watch him make a shot, hoping that he does not feel good.

Nowitzki's independent shot, like Jordan's fadeaway shot, will become one of the most misunderstood tricks in the league's top weapons.

Jack saw the whole process of this trick at close range, and thought: This should call Nowitzki a foul at all, and it will almost form a pedal on the football field.If the opponent rushes forward, the ecstasy kick of his right leg when shooting is likely to kick on the opponent. This is an offensive method that puts a lot of psychological pressure on the defender.However, the league acquiesces to this trick. As long as Nowitzki doesn't lift his legs too high, he won't be called a foul, and he doesn't play this kind of high leg every time.

If he shoots the ball and I have to rush forward and hit his leg, what will the referee do?Seeing Nowitzki's ecstasy move, Jack was looking for a solution in his mind.

Jack can't guarantee that he won't use this trick on himself.Therefore, Jack must be prepared in advance.

(End of this chapter)