unfinished glory

Chapter 103 Opponents
After waiting for three days, on November 11, the Spurs ushered in a challenge from the Cavaliers at home.

Facing the visiting "Little Emperor", the Spurs didn't give any face. A big score of 112:76 gave the ambitious James a cold water in the new season.

After teaching James, the Spurs rushed to Dallas to play against the Mavericks.

Although they are both neighbors in Texas, the battle for the playoffs last season caused a tie between the two teams.

Before the game, Cuban, the owner of the Mavericks, couldn't help but talk out loudly: This year's Mavericks are stronger than before, and they want to give a good look to the "coming from afar" Spurs.

In the face of the media's doubts about referees last season, Cuban was furious, saying that he would beat the Spurs upright and let people know who is the best team in Texas.

Popovich specifically confessed to Li Chongxiao before the game and strictly prohibited him from making any response to the media.

After a season of contact, he knew that this kid was the one who escaped the most in the team, and if anything caused trouble, even if Li Chongxiao didn't do it, he would definitely not be able to get his share.

At the start of the game, Nesterovic still failed to jump the ball successfully, allowing the Mavericks to get the first offense. Nowitzki seized the opportunity and scored a shot.

At the beginning, the German showed good form. In the first few rounds of offense, he made 4 of 4 shots and scored 8 points.

The overall offense of the Mavericks is also good, playing more methodically, and more importantly, their defense has made great progress.

In the team system created by "Little General" Johnson, even Nowitzki, the core of the team, has to undertake certain defensive tasks.

In the first quarter, the two teams played calmly, and no one targeted Li Chongxiao. There would be hatred between the teams, and most of the time, the players lived in peace.

Only Cuban jumped up and down outside the court, anxiously asking the players to give Li Chongxiao a little color.

After the first quarter, Popovich confirmed one thing. The Mavericks did not weaken because of Finley's departure. Instead, they became stronger under Johnson's training.

This made Popovich scratch his head. There are more and more strong teams in the West, and it is more difficult to defend the title.

Not surprisingly, there are at least three teams competing with the Spurs for the Western Conference championship this year: the Suns and the two neighbors in Texas.

After the Suns lost to the Spurs last season, the lineup has changed a lot.

Although they failed to keep Joe Johnson during the offseason and lost Quentin Richardson later, the joining of the titan Raja Bell not only made up for what Quentin Richardson left behind. The scoring loophole also brought a tough defense.

And the departure of Quentin Richardson, even more for Stoudemire in exchange for Kurt Thomas who can relieve him of the pressure on the inside.

However, the Suns were unlucky because before the start of the new season, Stoudemire underwent minimally invasive knee surgery because of cartilage damage in his knee, and he is expected to return around the All-Star Game.

The Rockets picked up Finley for nothing, giving the team a third support point after Yao Mai.

Although their inside line is somewhat weak, Yao Ming has grown into a super center. After scoring 45 points in the opening game, he scored 42 points in the second game against the Kings. He scored 87 points and 28 rebounds in the two games.

When McGrady, who was dozing off, woke up, the Rockets' combat power was unprecedentedly strong. After all, everyone has experienced the terrifying strength of the OK combination and understands the power of super inside + super outside.

As for the Mavericks, they have learned how to defend, and they already have the capital to compete for the championship.

And unlike the Rockets' weak bench lineup, many Mavericks players are not well-known at first glance, but in the game, they are all the kind of "who is this player, he looks so strong" strength.

The main lineups of the two teams are evenly matched, and the substitute lineups are also equally strong. It is still difficult to distinguish between the two teams in the third quarter.

Li Chongxiao played relatively normally today. So far, he has scored 16 points. Apart from showing his breakthrough and singles with the ball, there is nothing special about him.

The turning point of the game came soon. In an attack, the Mavericks missed a shot and did not grab an offensive board. When the players were all about to attack or return to defense, Duncan, who got the rebound and was about to pass, suddenly looked pained. He fell to the ground holding the ball.

Li Chongxiao, who was ready to respond from beyond the three-point line, was taken aback. He was about to go over to check the situation, but saw Nowitzki, who was closest, reached out and took a ball from Duncan's arms. Duncan fought back the pain and dodged.

Seeing this, Li Chongxiao, who was burning with anger, sprinted and pushed Nowitzki out of bounds, and fell into the pile of photographers.

Then he bent down and asked Duncan what was the matter.

When the referee saw that Li Chongxiao had pushed Nowitzki away, he knew something was wrong, so he ran over and stood in front of him.

Sure enough, the Mavericks players on the field exploded, and the grumpy Terry and Josh Howard rushed over immediately. Li Chongxiao stood up and clenched his fists without fear.

He wasn't alone, of course, as Horry soon came to support and put his arm around Josh Howard, while Terry was blocked by the referee.

A large group of staff blocked the two teams, so this fight did not start.

Nowitzki on the ground was ignored, so he could only get up by himself.

Seeing that the fight was over, Li Chongxiao protected Duncan and sent him to the sidelines with the medical staff.

The team doctor asked Duncan what was wrong, and the reply was that the plantar fasciitis had worsened.

At this time, the scene of Duncan's injury was shown on the big screen at the scene. After he got the rebound and landed, he didn't see any problems, and then suddenly fell to the ground without anyone touching him.

Seeing this scene, Dallas fans thought it was Duncan's fake injury and booed everywhere.When the scene where Nowitzki bent over to snatch the ball regardless of Duncan who fell to the ground was broadcast, and then was pushed out by Li Chongxiao, the scene was even more cursed.

Cuban, who was watching the game in the front row, almost flew to the referee's face with saliva.

The team doctor quickly judged that when Duncan landed, his foot was shaken, causing fasciitis to attack, and he was unable to play in this game. He recruited two big men and helped Duncan to the locker room.

After the situation stabilized, the referee watched the video and found that Li Chongxiao was the only one who made the move, so he called him in and gave him a technical foul without hesitation.

Regarding this foul, Li Chongxiao had nothing to say, so he took it lightly.

After this interruption, although the Spurs players are still playing, their desire to attack has been greatly reduced, and they are all worried about Duncan's injury.

Under the ebb and flow, the Mavericks quickly gained the lead.Although Popovich scolded him later and recovered some points, he still lost the game.

After the game, Popovich hurriedly ended the press conference with Ginobili and rushed back to San Antonio to wait for the news.

The next day, according to the doctor's judgment, Duncan's injury this time was the same as that at the end of the regular season last season, and he needed some time to recuperate.

But the disease has occurred several times. The doctor judged that when Duncan recovers, he needs to reduce the intensity of the game.

In the past few seasons, in order to fight against the inside group of the Western Conference team, Duncan gained a lot of weight, and his style of play has become more and more like a center.

Now that the sequelae are coming, the doctor's suggestion is to reduce his weight to reduce the chance of relapse after the injury recovers, and it can also prolong his career.

(End of this chapter)