NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 495 A cracked script? (Daily chapter)
On Monday, April 2007, 4, head coach Nelson became a hot topic among basketball critics. To everyone's surprise, the 23-win Warriors won.

In the game that ended last night, the score was 97:89. Nowitzki, who was about to become the new MVP, performed extremely poorly and the Mavericks had no choice but to lose.

Not many people paid attention to this game. After all, the gap between 68 wins and 40 wins was too big, and the two teams were not on the same level at all.

But Nowitzki proved with his strength that he was indeed a wimp. The German was completely restricted by a series of targeted defenses such as front defense, tough double-teaming, and guarding left and right.

出场39分钟，17中5，三分线外3中0，罚球8中6，16分11篮板2助攻2抢断3盖帽3失误。

Nowitzki, who had a double-double, was questioned wildly after the game. The Warriors only had one big man, Al Harrington, in the interior, and Stephen Jackson played the power forward position.

Facing such a small lineup, Nowitzki failed to show his dominance on the offensive end and his performance on the defensive end was also mediocre.

What angered Mavericks fans the most was that at the end of the game, the bearded Baron Davis publicly mocked the designated MVP:

"All the players in the league know that no one is afraid of Nowitzki. He is very good, but he has never reached the MVP level."

"My good brothers Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes brought a winning culture to the team. The Warriors now also have championship experience. I will lead the team to defeat him!"

"."

Baron Davis, who is known as a reduced version of Li You, showed his power against the Mavericks' backcourt and delivered perfect statistics in last night's game:
出场44分钟，20中11，三分线外7中4，罚球8中7，33分14篮板8助攻3抢断1盖帽3失误。

Byron Davis's attack on the basket reminded the commentators of Li You's performance the day before yesterday. The Mavericks' defense was unable to limit him at all.

Head coach Don Nelson's tactics were mentioned again. The Knicks made 30 of 10 shots from beyond the three-point line. Only the Knicks in the league have such an outrageous number of shots.

No one laughed at this bombardier anymore. It only took one game for old Nelson to win respect. After all, the opponent was a team with a historic record of 68 wins.

Since there are only two games tonight, there is not much suspense between the Knicks and the Wizards. When TNT, the playoff broadcaster, was warming up for the game in the afternoon, the trio was still discussing last night's "miracle."

There haven't been many nationally televised games this season, nor any major trades. Add to that the exaggerated performances of the Knicks and Mavericks, and TNT's programming has suffered, and the trio has simply been unable to make a living.

After nearly a season of holding back, there was finally some fun. Regardless of the subsequent results, Charles Barkley, who was discussing the issue, smiled happily in the studio:

"I think coach Nelson can create miracles. Don't forget, he is the coach who knows Dirk Nowitzki's technical characteristics best."

“Although no one knows the details of his feud with the Mavericks, there is no doubt that the breakup was not a happy one.”

"Signing Matt Barnes and trading for Stephen Jackson during the offseason was undoubtedly a success, and they brought championship experience to the Warriors."

In the first round, this was the second game where the underdog defeated the overdog. Kenny Smith did not want to miss this opportunity. He did not object to his partner, but added with a smile:

"I agree with Chuck, Coach Nelson is right, modern basketball has changed."

"If Dirk Nowitzki can't adjust in time in the subsequent games, then he will face an embarrassing situation, God! I can hardly imagine such a situation."

Nelson, who attended the press conference, briefly explained his tactical strategy, which became a hot topic among the commentators today:
“I told Byron he needs to play like Lee!”

"The Warriors just need to give him the ball. Stephen and Matt know how to cooperate. They have been successful in the Knicks, which is why we made the deal."

Everyone knows that the Suns completely imitated the Knicks. Head coach Gentry copied and pasted tactics, and Stoudemire, who returned from injury, eventually helped the team get second place in the Western Conference.

Even though they have achieved such good results, head coach Steve Nash and Gentry never admitted in interviews that they were learning from the Knicks.

Nelson Sr. was the first to publicly admit to imitating others, and his frankness was even outrageous.
In the studio, Ernie Johnson did not comment too much on tactical issues. Nelson was also a well-known coach, so he had to maintain some dignity. His two partners were just watching the fun, so he could only analyze calmly:

"I think it's hard to be too convincing about one game. Don't forget that the Nuggets also beat the Spurs."

“For the teams in the top half, Game 1 is likely just a test.”

Charles Barkley, who was so frustrated, immediately interrupted his partner and continued to say in a sarcastic tone:
"Ernie, you should understand that a truly dominant team won't score 40 points against a 89-win team!"

"Look at the Knicks. They beat the Wizards by 50 points. Lee destroyed the Wizards' fantasy in one game."

"Nowitzki should do the same. He must set the tone for the playoffs instead of being limited by opponents to less than 20 points."

Kenny Smith on the side also laughed. Although his old partner's statement was a bit exaggerated, he still did not object. Instead, he cooperated and added fuel to the fire:
"What do you want to say Chuck? Are you questioning MVP?"

The league took the initiative to promote Nowitzki during the All-Star Game this season. Apart from Gasol, he is the second European player to start in the All-Star Game.

In order to add drama to the playoffs, ESPN even advertised early on, "A showdown between historical teams", "73 wins vs. 68 wins", "A battle of revenge".
The Mavericks have the second-highest salary in the league. Mark Cuban paid $8800 million for this lineup. The big-mouthed boss always brags about it on his blog.

The high luxury tax was not in vain, the referees also took care of the Mavericks, and Nowitzki almost got a perfect script.

"No, of course he can win the award with 68 wins. I think there is something wrong with the MVP selection."

"Although Lee doesn't need this award anymore, the media that voted for it are deliberately ignoring him. I think people should respect individual performance more."

"Vote for whoever is better. The MVP trophy should not become a tool."

Charles Barkley's remarks directed the finger at the league's star-making movement. Garnett and Duncan, who won awards in recent years, are indeed not as good as Li You and O'Neal before them.

Last time, Li You led the team to 73 wins and won the unanimous MVP. This time, there is no novelty, so he is promoting another star. Ernie Johnson will not sing a different tune and took the initiative to end this topic:

"Lee is only 29 years old. He is still on the rise. I believe he will win more honors."

"We have received news that Arenas still failed to make the activation list tonight. Coach Eddie Jordan said he will increase Brandon Haywood's playing time."

"This is good news for the Wizards, and their rebounding should improve."

The Wizards who were warming up at Madison Square Garden in the afternoon were in low spirits. New York reporters were too lazy to interview them, and the sports sections of the morning newspapers were all mocking the Germans' performance.

78:128, the Wizards suffered a crushing defeat in Game 1. No one made any big statements after the game because they knew the series was over.

The Wizards' only scorer, Antawn Jamison, performed well and received the "Lee You Recognition Award", but most commentators still blamed this low-key core player.

出场41分钟，26中9，三分线外6中1，罚球10中6，25分9篮板1助攻1抢断1失误。

Although Antawn Jamison fought hard in garbage time, he still couldn't save the team.

ESPN, as the broadcaster of tonight's game, did not do too many interviews with the Wizards. After confirming that Arenas would not return, everyone was waiting to interview Li You, and the topic of MVP was even hotter.

Brendan Haywood only played for 5 minutes in garbage time in the last game. He thought the coach's decision to increase his playing time would attract more attention, but no one cared about him at all.

With a discontented look on his black face, Haywood couldn't help but complain in a low voice as he watched Jamison silently practicing shooting: "What are these reporters doing? We are playing in the playoffs with the defending champions, and they are discussing that German."

"Antoine, you should fight for your rights and complain more. Everyone knows the whistle in New York. You have to put some pressure on them!"

The 50-point defeat made Antawn Jamison's bald head lose its former luster. Perhaps because he didn't sleep well last night, the low-key star glanced at his teammates and said in a muffled voice:
"Complain? And then lose by 30 points? Even the coach has lost confidence. I don't think this will solve the problem."

Daniels on the sidelines remained silent. He made 11 of 2 shots in the last game and scored 7 points from free throws. As the team's organizational brain, the defeat was inseparable from his contribution.

The chattering Brandon Haywood tried to inspire his teammates' fighting spirit, but unfortunately no one responded. Even Arenas, who is always loudmouthed, lost his temper.

Since the disastrous defeat, Arenas has not mentioned anything about returning from injury and seems ready to focus on fishing.

After the game started at 19:30 that night, the Wizards entered into a familiar rhythm.

Antawn Jamison and DeShawn Stevenson both shot very decisively, but in the eyes of New York fans, these two just couldn't break through and just shot randomly.

Especially DeShawn Stevenson, his missed shots allowed the Knicks to seize the opportunity to launch consecutive transition offenses.

Instead of slowing down the pace of the game, the Wizards ran madly, with a simple and rough offense, and two players just kept missing shots when they had the ball.

At the end of the first quarter, at 15:36, head coach Eddie Jordan's face became even darker, and the suspense of the game was lost just after it began.

安托万-贾米森4中1，拿到2分，德肖恩-史蒂文森6中1，三分线外3中1，怒砍3分.
Brandon Haywood, who came off the bench, performed the best, scoring 3 points by tipping in the frontcourt and making 3 of 6 shots.

Madison Square Garden was already boiling with excitement. The vulnerable opponent made the New York fans at the scene feel happy. During the intermission, they shouted happily along with the DJ. Tonight was another big victory.

Mike Breen and Hubie Brown were still on the ESPN commentary desk. The old coach could only speak politely when commenting on the game, and finally couldn't help but complain:
"It was a wrong choice to go against the Knicks. The Wizards lost their game rhythm."

"23 of 6, their shooting percentage in the first quarter was terrible. The only thing worth praising was their control of turnovers."

Mike Breen had expected the game to be one-sided. After taking a look at the technical statistics, he smiled and talked about his personal data:

"In the first game, Li played only 32 minutes and scored 41 points efficiently. He was in good shape tonight and performed better from beyond the three-point line than in the previous game, hitting two three-pointers in the first quarter."

"Coach Eddie Jordan didn't double-team. Now it seems that there may be a problem with their tactical execution."

"With a big lead, Rajon Rondo may get more opportunities. We can look forward to the performance of this rookie."

On the Knicks bench, Rondo, who was about to play, had mixed emotions. This was very different from what he had expected for the playoffs, and the opponent surrendered too early.

Assistant coach Mike Malone was still instructing the players who were about to play. Unlike the previous game, the Knicks made a large-scale rotation at this time.

JR Smith didn't mind this kind of game. His contribution was essential to the 50-point win in the last game. When he was sorting out his jersey, he saw Rondo's serious expression and immediately greeted the newbie:

"Watch your pass! I don't want to have to adjust after catching the ball."

In the eyes of New York fans, JR Smith hugged Rondo's shoulders and had a cordial conversation, but the newbie was in a bad mood after being loudly reminded, and he nodded without saying anything.

Since Michael Finley plans to return to Dallas next year to share his championship experience, the coaching staff knows they can't keep the veteran and has reduced his playing time in the playoffs.

The three frontcourt players in the rotation are Prince, Dio and Gazuric. D'Antoni will let Dio play center in garbage time, and then Finley will come on the court.

After the start of the second quarter, Wizards' Antawn Jamison continued to lead the team without rest. In his first attack, he bounced out to the right wing and faced Prince who was switching defense. He received the ball and made a jump shot but missed.

The three-pointer missed, and Rondo picked up the long rebound. For a moment, cheers broke out in the stadium again.

In the transition offense, the Wizards had problems retreating on defense. Roger Mason, who came on as a substitute, retreated too quickly and failed to establish a defensive position on the three-point line on the left wing.

Antonio Daniels did not interfere with Rondo, who rushed across the center line and immediately found JR Smith who was following up.

He threw the ball the moment he received it, and as the basketball went into the net, JR Smith waved his arms and celebrated happily, and several Wizards players who were retreating stopped in frustration.

Fortunately, Antawn Jamison responded quickly in the offense, slipped to the left blocking area along the baseline, received the pass and made a jump shot facing the defending Dio.

With a big lead, Rondo also wanted to show himself. After Dio passed the ball to him from the top of the arc, Rondo received the ball again and broke through Daniels who was defending at the bottom line.

Although he broke away from the top defense, Brandon Haywood's assist interference at the basket disrupted the low shot, and the basketball hit Jamison's legs and went out of the baseline.

Gazuric pointed at the air at the newbie, indicating that he should pass the ball. Rondo could only raise his hand in frustration to indicate that it was his own problem.

The game was still going on. The ball was kicked out from the baseline. Prince received the ball in the right blocking area with the help of his teammates. He faked a dribble, let the ball go, deceived the defense, stepped back and shot a jump shot, easily scoring from mid-range.

"It looks like it will be hard for the Wizards to turn the game around tonight. The boys are in excellent form."

"It is said that Coach D'Antoni did not organize too many training sessions. Maybe this is the confidence of a championship coach!"

Mike Breen watched D'Antoni, who was sitting in his seat and smiling, start his usual bragging mode. Hubie Brown noticed that head coach Eddie Jordan was still yelling, and the old coach felt a little sympathetic:

"Facing such a rotation lineup, the Wizards have no absolute advantage."

"Hopefully, we'll hear Arenas will be back from injury when we get back home."

As time passed, although the Wizards put in their main lineup in advance, they failed to narrow the gap. Li You officially returned with 5 minutes and 21 seconds left in the second quarter. At the end of the half, the game completely lost suspense.

At 38:67, Madison Square Garden was filled with jubilation, and New York fans at the scene once again celebrated the victory in advance.

The Knicks were in a good mood after winning the game. Artest didn't care about the opponent tonight, but continued to gossip with gloating:

"Matt texted me that Nelson showed them the video of Nowitzki again and they are confident that they can beat their opponent."

Hill didn't have such a bad taste, and he wasn't interested in a discussion. Looking at Li You who didn't even break a sweat, he asked curiously:

"Lee, do you think the Warriors have a chance?"

Gasol and his friends also became interested. Everyone was familiar with the league's propaganda. Li You noticed that everyone was looking at him, shrugged his shoulders and said jokingly:

"Tyson came here to defend Tim Duncan, don't you all know that?"

"."

(End of this chapter)