The invincible kryptonite of basketball

Fifteen minutes before the start of the game, players from both sides entered the arena one after another to start warming up.

Tang Tian and Butler greeted each other in the midfield, but it was just a greeting.

The two have a good relationship in private, but now as opponents, it is not suitable to have too much communication.

After the warm-up ended, the scene entered the opening ceremony, and the starters of the two teams were released one after another.

The Mavericks played with all their members, Deron and Butler on the outside, Harris and Nowitzki on the front, and Embiid at the center.

The same is true for the Pelicans, with Holiday and Tang Tian on the outside, Ariza and Davis on the front, and Jokic at the center.

Davis looked a little excited, and he jumped up and turned the ball back half court at the moment of the whistle, giving the Pelicans the first chance to attack.

The regular season is long, and so are the playoffs.

Now playing the first game of the first round, the Pelicans did not attack Tang Tian at the beginning, but Jokic organized in the frontcourt.

Stevens' purpose is also very clear. He doesn't want Tang Tian to be consumed prematurely, but wants to let others adapt to the intensity of the playoffs through the previous games.

In this way, after the Western Conference finals and even the finals, everyone's state can come out.

Davis's air cut was beautiful, and Jokic gave the ball in time. Davis jumped up and dunked the ball.

"Oh!"

But it may be that he was really too excited, and the goal he was determined to win unexpectedly went flying.

Embiid protected the defensive rebound.

The Pelicans retreated quickly, the Mavericks attacked the frontcourt, and Nowitzki played back with the ball in the low post.

Nowitzki's playing time is limited after his age, and Carlisle will play him as much as possible when he is on the court.

And when Nowitzki played back, the Mavericks' weak side had off-ball pick-and-roll three-pointers and air cuts.

As a tactical master, Carlisle's level is not weaker than Stevens.

Nowitzki turned around and leaned back after hitting a few times, and the iconic golden rooster made an independent shot.

Davis has a lot of defensive coverage, but he can't cover this kind of shot, so he can only interfere as much as possible.

"Shh!"

Nowitzki is an old driver even in the playoffs, and he has this opening shot.

In the positional battle of the Pelicans, Tang Tian played the No. 1 tactic, breaking through to attract double-teams and giving it to Ariza.

Ariza caught the ball and shook Harris, took the ball and flew in to kill, resisting Embiid's shot and causing the latter's foul.

But it's a pity that his two free throws were a bit too big, and the ball hit the back edge of the basket and bounced out.

The Mavericks still failed to fight back, and Nowitzki continued to hold the ball in the positional battle.

This time he turned and gave the ball to Harris, who made an empty cut, and the latter made a mid-range shot from a sudden stop.

Harris was a rookie in the same class as Tang Tian, ​​and his draft pick wasn't high, and he didn't get many opportunities in the first two years.

But he enriches his offensive skills one step at a time every year, and now he is also a player with super starting strength. With that emergency stop jumper, he is a bit like a poor man's version of Anthony.

The opening rounds became a microcosm of the first half of the game between the two teams.

Although Stevens had warned before the game, the Pelicans were a little too excited in the first game of the playoffs.

Excitement is a good thing, but too excited, just like Davis's dunk and Ariza's free throw, has become abnormal.

The Mavericks played steadily under the excellent performance of Nowitzki and Harris.

After halftime, the Mavericks turned away and led the Pelicans by 50 points 42 to 8.

Such a score makes the fans who support the Mavericks on the hotline very excited, and the black eight is expected!

ps: Little Eggplant had a fever today and came back very late in the afternoon, and the fourth update may be delayed, so I will write as soon as possible.

Chapter 8 How many floors does a bag of rice have to carry (fourth update!)

At halftime, the atmosphere in the Pelicans' locker room was a bit dull.

Before the start of the playoffs, they rushed to win the championship with full confidence, but they did not expect that the halftime of the first game would be like this.

This is the first to play the eighth. If this is so strenuous, then why should they compete for this championship?

Davis even lowered his head and didn't speak, as if he had changed from a sunny boy back to a cute boy.

Stevens quickly arrived in the locker room.

Seeing the state of the players, he smiled and said.

"Guys, don't look like that. The playoffs are a long, long journey. We have just taken the first step. Although it is a bit crooked, we can adjust our pace and we can still go well."

Stevens knew the first half wasn't normal for the Pelicans, and that the performance came from excitement.

But he didn't blame, but used other methods to appease and mobilize the emotions of the players.

This approach has played a certain role.

After reassuring, Stevens went on to lay out the tactics for the second half.

Tang Tian's offensive weight has been significantly increased.

Stevens wanted to mobilize the status of other players through the previous games, but things backfired. Now the situation is unfavorable, and he needs Tang Tian to stand up.

The opening game is very important, and the Pelicans cannot lose this game.

Stevens went back to the coach's office after setting up the tactics.

Seeing that Davis was not in a good mood, Tang Tian reached out to pat him, and pointed to the tattoo on his arm.

Davis looked at the championship trophy, hesitated for a moment, then nodded, his eyes became firm again.

Back from the halftime break, neither team adjusted their lineups.

The Mavericks took the lead in the second half.

"Defense! Defense!"

As soon as the second half started, the fans cheered for the Pelicans in unison.

The situation in the first half was unexpected, but the fans are still full of confidence in the team.

Nowitzki asked for the ball in the low post. Davis did not blindly defend at this time, but chose to defend halfway forward.

His wingspan is very long, and Deron on the outside dare not drop the ball in.

Nowitzki tried to bypass the half-circle several times, but failed. Deron saw it and gave the ball directly to Butler.

Butler holds the ball, Embiid improves the high pick-and-roll, and Butler accelerates to the basket after switching to Jokic.

"boom!"

Butler's attention has always been on Jokic, and he didn't notice the help defense on the weak side.

Davis showed his defensive coverage, and after the defense came over, he slapped the fan and flew the ball off the court.

After he blocked the shot, he roared excitedly on the spot.

There was also loud cheers at the scene.

No one knows what happened in the midfield, but the state Davis showed in the second half was obviously better than the first half.

The Mavericks sent a sideline kick, but there was not much time left in the attack. Harris made a quick shot from outside the three-point line and missed a shot.

Davis turned around and received the long defensive rebound.

The Mavericks retreated quickly and did not give the Pelicans a chance to play a fast break.

Holiday took the ball to the frontcourt and gave it to Tang Tian, ​​and stretched out his hand to indicate the No. 1 tactic.

The other players pulled away, Tang Tian caught the ball and faced Butler.

The hard training brothers are old acquaintances, and they are very familiar with each other.

Tang Tian knew that Butler's defense was currently among the top in the league, but Butler's short wingspan limited the latter's defensive upper limit and was also a breakthrough point.

A breakthrough feint after a tentative step, followed by a direct pull.

Butler tried his best to interfere, but the interference from short hands was limited.

"Shh!"

Tang Tian's three-pointer hit the net.

The scene cheered again.

Tang Tian didn't score many points in the first half, only 10 points, but the lack of points was not because he was in a bad state, but because Stevens' tactical requirements required fewer shots.

He made 6 of 4 shots in the first half, and his touch was not bad at all.

The Mavericks' offense, after receiving Nowitzki's off-ball pick-and-roll, Harris received a pass from Deron.

He's really level off the ball.

However, Davis was very fast, and he swooped up to interfere enough. After his shot was interfered, he shot out of the frame.

Davis turned around and grabbed another defensive rebound.

He started from defense in the second half, and his state has slowly recovered.

The Mavericks failed to make consecutive offenses in the second half. Carlisle was a little anxious, got up and walked to the sidelines to remind the players of their defensive positions.

After his teammates pulled away, Tang Tian continued to play Butler with the No. 1 tactic.

This time, after taking a tentative step, he accelerated and broke through to the right.

Butler was not fooled by the three threats, he defended in place.

However, Tang Tian chose to break through the emergency stop and shoot backwards.

The interference that Butler tried to save was correct, but it was a pity that he was short-handed and hit Tang Tian directly.

After the referee blew the whistle, Tang Tian still made the shot, and the ball went in after bouncing twice at the front of the basket.

This is still a 2+1!

There were endless cheers, and Butler put his head in his hands.

His defense was good enough for this ball, but Tang Tian's personal ability was really too strong.

After a steady hit and penalty, Tang Tianxia scored 6 points in the first half, helping the Pelicans narrow the point difference to 2 points.

Embiid's low singles shot by Jokic was missed by Ariza's defense interference.

After returning from the second half, the Pelicans significantly increased their defensive strength, and the Mavericks' offense stagnated somewhat.

After Embiid failed to make a shot, he was a little annoyed, and his defense speed was a little slower, and the Pelicans directly played defensive counterattacks.

The Pelicans played 4-on-3 in the frontcourt. Tang Tian received Holiday's pass and directly put the ball into the basket against Deron's defense.

The score was tied!

Mavericks' offense, Deron broke through the basket for a layup and was blocked by Tang Tian chasing him.

Jokic protected the defensive rebound, and the Mavericks still didn't score!

The Pelicans' fast break had no chance and turned to a positional battle.

Tang Tian was double-teamed with the ball.

Carlisle knew Tang Tian's current passing ability, but Tang Tian's hands were too hot right now, so he couldn't do without double-teaming.

Tang Tian didn't pass the ball right away, he chose to change direction to the right and go in the middle.

Embiid at the free throw line saw it and directly assisted in the defense. This is a three-person double-team pocket formation.

Tang Tian sent the ball to Jokic with a behind-the-back ground pass.

Embiid returned to defense.

But Jokic didn't stay with the ball in his hand, and the next second he flicked the ball and threw the ball directly above the basket.

Tang Tianren moved with the ball, grabbed the ball with his right hand, and scored with a one-handed alley-oop dunk.

The Pelicans overtook the score!