NBA: Since James left the Cavaliers

On the sidelines, the players of the Mavericks silently watched this moment of success.

'German Tank' Nowitzki is one of the people who touched the deepest.

Half a year ago, at the same venue, he watched the Cavaliers win the O'Brien Cup as a loser.

At this moment, he recalled the scene half a year ago again in his mind, and felt very uncomfortable.

His deep eye sockets were slightly moist, thinking that he had been in the alliance for more than ten years, the high-spirited young man was gone, and there were more vicissitudes left on his face.

Although he doesn't want to think about it, after missing the championship last season, Nowitzki faintly felt that he might never be able to touch that trophy again.

"Dirk..."

'Old demon' Kidd yelled softly, he also felt uncomfortable, because like Nowitzki, he may never get it again.

The entire awarding process lasted for 10 minutes. After the ceremony, the two sides started the pre-match warm-up.

Nowitzki walked up to Long Rui quickly, and couldn't help sighing: "I have to say, I envy you very much now."

"At the end of last season, I hated you so much because you almost took the championship away from me."

"Even now, when I think about it, I hate you."

"However, your strength is worthy of this championship, and I am also convinced that I lost."

"This is the first game of the new season, and it is also a continuation of the battle between you and me. I will take revenge."

These words can be said to fully express the emotions in Nowitzki's heart.

He had hatred for Long Rui, but more of a respect, because Long Rui's strength made him admire.

"I know you won't let it go, but I like this attitude."

"We will fight again tonight, and I will not be soft."

This should be the so-called sympathy. Long Rui and Nowitzki are both enemies and friends, and they respect each other.

A few minutes later, the pre-match warm-up was over, and the two sides revealed their starting lineups.

Cavaliers starters: Stephen Curry, Long Rui, Jimmy Butler, JJ Hickson, Yi Jianlian
Mavericks starters: Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki, Brandon Haywood

The starting lineups of both teams have changed compared to last season.

The Cavaliers abandoned the combination of the two interior towers and lowered the height to a certain extent, but the overall mobility needs to be improved a lot.

The Mavericks still retain the Twin Towers, but the 'champion' Chandler is gone, replaced by blue-collar center Haywood.

His personal ability is limited, and there is still a big gap compared with Chandler, so the power of the twin towers is also greatly reduced.

In addition to changes in the interior, the Mavericks also have changes in the outside, they traded defense in exchange for the former 'slam dunk king' Vince Carter.

At his peak, Carter was omnipotent and was called a 'UFO', 'half-human, half-god' by fans.

Today's Carter is no longer as brave as he was back then. He is also at the end of his career, and his figure looks much stronger than when he was young.

The cruelty of the years is fully reflected in this Mavericks team. The five starting players are all in their thirties.

With the whistle of the referee, the first regular season of the 11-12 season officially started!

The two sides stood in their respective positions, and Yi Jianlian and Heywood performed a mid-circle jump ball.

As the basketball was thrown upwards, the two took off at the same time, but Yi Jianlian's jumping height was obviously higher than the opponent's. With a flick of his finger, he won the first wave of offensive power!

Long Rui held the ball and advanced quickly. After half a year, when the two teams met again, it was already a different look.

Standing in front of Long Rui was Vince Carter, a man who went down in history with a dunk.

After a season of tempering, Long Rui's various abilities have become more proficient. Facing the current Carter, he can easily pass him without even going all out.

Outside the three-point line, Long Rui signaled his teammates to pull away. The first attack in the opening game was still a familiar singles.

Carter knew how powerful Long Rui was. Even at his peak, he was not sure how to defend against him, let alone the current self. He could only do his best to defend against it.

However, the stadium will eventually become the world of the younger generation, and the slow movement of feet can't keep up with Long Rui's rapid rhythm.

He only felt a gust of wind blowing in front of him, and Long Rui's figure had already passed by him.

Breakthrough, dunk, immediately startled everyone!
Because this is not an ordinary dunk, it can be seen that half of Long Rui's arm is inserted into the basket!
This action is the classic one-arm hanging basket of Vince Carter in the dunk contest!
Long Rui chose this way to start the game as a tribute to Vince Carter.

However, this goal is not considered a score, and the referee also whistled Long Rui for a technical foul. The Mavericks will get two free throws and one throw.

During the 09-10 season, the NBA already had clear regulations that players were not allowed to hang on the frame for timeouts.

Long Rui understood this rule, but he still chose to do it. This has nothing to do with the game, but a tribute to Carter.

Although it was a technical foul, the fans burst into thunderous applause.

Vince Carter looked at Long Rui on the basket, smiled and shook his head, his mind was full of what he looked like back then.

Then, Carter stepped to the free throw line, made two free throws, and the Mavericks still had a chance to attack.

Kidd began to organize after sending out the sideline ball, and he still habitually gave the ball to Nowitzki.

After receiving the ball, 'Nuo Tianwang' faced Yi Jianlian directly. These two can be regarded as old rivals now, after all, they played many games last season.

After half a year, the two faced off again. Nowitzki glanced at Yi Jianlian and felt that he seemed to be stronger again.

Nowitzki sat with his back, and he pushed continuously, but found that it was difficult for him to push him away. Yi Jianlian's strength in the lower plate was obviously increased compared with last season.

Nowitzki couldn't help frowning, but he didn't panic, but immediately changed his offensive thinking, and the familiar 'Golden Rooster Independence' came out!

It was still difficult to block the shot, but the basketball missed after it was thrown.

Under the basket, Heywood and Hickson competed for rebounds, and Heywood had an obvious height advantage.

But just when he was about to grab the offensive rebound, a young teenager suddenly rushed out from the side, jumped high, and took the rebound over his head. This person was Jimmy Butler!
"here you go!"

Long Rui immediately offered encouragement.

After receiving the rebound, the Cavaliers quickly launched an offense. This time, Long Rui chose to score suddenly and give it to Stephen Curry in the bottom corner.

Outside the three-point line, Curry raised his sword and dropped it!