Zhiba NBA

Chapter 201 (two hundred) the backbone of the calf
The Mavericks are no longer the league joke they were two years ago.As Yuanfei said, the Senegalese rough man Desagena Diop they signed in the summer, although his ability is mediocre, is exactly the talent that the Mavericks need.Diop is 2cm tall, but his wingspan has reached an astonishing 213cm. This outstanding talent ensures that he has a good ability to block shots and protect the frame.Due to his rough skills, almost no shooting ability, and even inaccurate free throws, the parent team, the Cavaliers, did not want to renew his contract at all.The Mavericks picked up a bargain and signed him with a three-year contract of 229 million. The salary in the first year was only 3 million, which can be described as high quality and low price.

At the beginning of the season, Diop was just a small substitute behind Dampier, and the pick was even under the big bamboo pole Bradley.But as the season progressed, Little General Johnson felt more and more that this simple and rough black guy was really easy to use.A few days ago, the Mavericks lost to the lowly Knicks after an overtime accident. Johnson angrily reprimanded Dampier for not being correct enough, and instead put Diop on the starting lineup.The result was surprisingly good. In the first game Diop started, the Mavericks swept the Nets with 33 points and beat the Bucks with 19 points.Because the team went well, he was able to continue to start.

The game is about to start, and the main players of both sides have appeared on the stage.The Rockets rested Jefferson and replaced him with Turkoglu in the starting lineup.The Mavericks' five-man team is Diop, Nowitzki, Howard, Adrian Griffin and Terry. Finley, the original starting No. 2, has been fired (most of the salary is still paid by the team).No wonder Yuan Fei complained about the high salary and low ability of the Mavericks players. Among the five highest paid players in the team, only Nowitzki is the starter.Van Horn fell too much to play the ball, Finley has gone to the Spurs, and Dampier and Stackhouse are on the bench.Instead, players with a basic salary like Griffin and rookies like Josh are the starters.

Diop beat Yao Ming with a jump ball, and Howard got the ball.Although Yao Ming is much taller than his opponent, Diop has outstanding long arms and has a unique advantage in jumping the ball.The Mavericks' first attack was accidentally handed over to the humble Griffin, who missed a jumper.Bosh grabs the rebound.

The Rockets handed over to Reed to fire from outside, which also missed.Diop took the rebound and handed it to Terry to launch a quick counterattack. Adrian Griffin rushed into the Rockets penalty area first, and Terry passed the ball immediately.

"The opponent seems to be very targeted, just staring at Reid to play." Adelman frowned. Reid is indeed a defensive loophole in the Rockets' starting lineup.

But this time Adrian was not greedy for credit. He attracted a bit and returned it to the outside line. Terry ran to the bottom corner astutely, but Billups was two steps behind and did not keep up.Terry made a three-pointer!He trotted again in celebration with his arms outstretched, and the Jets took off again.

"Damn it!" Billups said angrily, as if he wanted to single out the short Terry.Howard was ready to step forward to help defend, but Billups made a false pass and passed it to Turkoglu, who made a three-pointer and scored a tie!

"The appearance just now was just acting!" Howard finally understood.With a calm team brain like Billups, he won't just care about the gains and losses of a ball.

Howard lost face and wanted to fight back. He used his speed advantage to forcibly break through Lao Te's defense. Reid went up to help defend and stretched out his hand, fouled!Howard made two free throws.

Yao Ming hit Diop in the low post singles and the score was still equal.

Nowitzki finally made a shot. He caught the ball and made a jump shot from inside the free throw line. Bosh reached out to block the shot, but Nowitzki's shot was very high and the arc was very high. He threw the ball and scored!

Bosh wanted to return one, but unfortunately he missed the CIC.Terry slowly advanced to the frontcourt and suddenly pulled up and shot, but Diop jumped up and pulled the ball out. Nowitzki got the ball and made a 10:5 three-pointer.

The Rockets players seem to be a little distracted, and their tactics are relatively simple.After a few simple passes, Turkoglu took the ball and made a shot, but still missed.Here Howard assisted Nowitzki to make another shot, and the CIC made another shot!
After the opening, Nowitzki's state was like a god, and then he caused consecutive fouls, and he scored 2+1.After the first quarter, he scored 13 points including two three-pointers and three free throws.The Mavericks lead 33-16.

Since the opening of the new season, this is the first time the Rockets have been beaten in the first quarter.Yao Ming was a little impatient, and kept asking for the ball to play singles, but he made a mistake in his busy schedule and was intercepted by Diop.Terry assists Howard for a layup.

Due to Jefferson's rotation, A Shuai had to send Roy as a substitute for the 3rd position, which gave Howard more opportunities to perform.Roy is one size smaller, and it is a bit difficult to confront him head-on. Howard made his fouls consecutively and went to the free throw line many times.The Rockets fought hard for a long time, but failed to narrow the point difference.

Now Spann was also in a hurry, and rushed into the penalty area to force a layup, but Diop's giant palm that covered the sky and the sun took the shot, which made Spann lose his temper.

Cuban nodded from the sidelines.He finally understood what Yuan Fei said was the central spine that the calf lacked.In Diop's unpretentious rough guy, he saw the future of the Mavericks.

Nowitzki also returned to the field after a break, and the Mavericks played more and more high-spirited.Diopla comes out and sets a screen for Terry, blocks Billups and rolls.Terry passed his hand to Diop, and then turned to run to the outside line. Przybilla was unable to react in time and was dunked head-on by his opponent.This is the first time Diop has scored in this game!
Yuan Fei suddenly said: "Replace the main players and train the young players."

"It's not time to give up yet, is it? It's only the first half." Yao Ming said puzzled, "We have worked so hard to win 24 consecutive victories."

"Is the winning streak important?" Yuan Fei asked back.

Yao Ming pondered for a while, then raised his head and said, "It's not important, the championship is more important."

"That's right, so let's train young players. They will play an important role in the playoffs." Yuan Fei smiled: "Our Rockets can afford to lose."

"Insist on letting the starter finish the first half, Yao is ready to play." Adelman came out in time to smooth things over.

At the end of the second quarter, Nowitzki hit two consecutive three-pointers and scored 23 points in the first half alone.At the beginning of the second half, the Rockets sent Varejao, Johnson and even Barrett at the end of the bench one after another, announcing their abandonment of the game.

106:79, the Mavericks bloodbathed the Rockets away, ending their winning streak.The Rockets' record was finally fixed at 24 games, temporarily ranking second in NBA history.

(In history, the Mavericks put Diop into the starting lineup and played a wave of 13 consecutive victories, so that the record surpassed the Spurs and became the number one in the Western Conference. They did not lose to their opponents until back-to-back games in the Denver Plateau. Since then, Diop has secured a starting position.)

(End of this chapter)