Reborn in 96, I started by taking charge of the Dallas Mavericks.

After figuring out that the Mavericks were playing a run-and-gun style, the Rockets noticeably slowed down their offensive and defensive pace.

Chen waved his hand to Kobe, and Nash stepped forward to press and force Manilon to the sideline.

Double-teaming is usually a treatment reserved for star players, and Manilon never expected that he would be double-teamed in the first quarter.

In the rush, Manilon caught a glimpse of Barkley standing at the free-throw line out of the corner of his eye, and with all his might, he passed the ball through the gaps in the crowd.

Snapped!

Just as the basketball was about to fall into Barkley's hands, a large hand suddenly grabbed the low-flying ball before Barkley could reach it.

Ben Wallace's defensive instincts extend beyond rebounding and blocking shots; he's also adept at stealing.

Ben Wallace made a steal and immediately passed the ball to Kobe, who was on a fast break.

Kobe received the ball and drove the length of the court to finish with a powerful dunk.

11:26

As Kobe vented his frustration with a dunk, it also signaled the start of the Mavericks' comeback.

"Here it comes!" Seeing the Mavericks launch a fast break, Coach Zhang Weiping slammed his hand on the table. "If we had played like this earlier, we would have been done for. We wouldn't have been down by 20 points."

Sun Zhengping, who was standing to the side, also praised, "Indeed, Coach Chen Fang's substitution was very useful, breaking the scoring drought right away."

"This roster has both offense and defense; it remains to be seen how the Rockets will respond."

Seeing that Kobe and others had finally stabilized the situation on the court, Coach Bu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He made a big decision to come to Dallas, and he didn't want to be ridiculed for it.

"Well done, Ben!"

On the way back on defense, Kobe gave Ben Wallace a high-five to celebrate.

With Ben Wallace on the defensive end, he can focus more on the offense.

"Don't worry, I'll handle the rebounds, just keep shooting!"

Ben Wallace was well aware of his role; his task on the court was defense and rebounding, while offense was left to the more talented Kobe Bryant.

The Rockets rallied and inbounded the ball from the sideline.

This time, Manilon successfully dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and passed it to Drexler at the top of the key before Kobe and Nash could double-team him.

As the core of the Rockets' perimeter offense, Drexler was naturally someone Kobe had to personally guard.

“Clyde, you’re getting old. I’ll tell you that the NBA is mine from now on.”

Drexler, who was past his prime, did feel that his physical condition was declining year by year, but after years of playing in the NBA, he had no right to be mocked by a rookie.

Drexler smiled slightly. "Is that so? Then I'll see what you're really capable of."

As soon as he finished speaking, Drexler bent down and started moving, trying to take advantage of Kobe's brief moment of distraction to get rid of his defense.

But Kobe, being young, reacted very quickly and immediately blocked the attack.

Drexler showed no surprise, a sudden stop and a crossover dribble to create space between himself and Kobe, assuming a shooting stance.

Seeing that things were not going well, Kobe jumped up instantly to try to block the shot.

But when he jumped into the air and saw the smile on Drexler's face, he knew something was wrong.

"Damn it, he tricked me."

At 34 years old, Drexler may not be as fast or jumpy as Kobe, but he has an advantage that Kobe doesn't have: experience.

As a veteran, his experience on the court is far superior to that of Kobe, a rookie.

Like in this play, he calculated that he was not as fast as Kobe and could not jump as high, so he deliberately waited for Kobe to jump.

Just as Kobe landed, Drexler moved in and threw the ball.

At the same time, the referee's whistle blew.

Kobe knew he had definitely committed a foul, so he didn't argue with the referee. After landing, he quickly turned his head to look at the basket.

The basketball travels a distance in the air before hitting the backboard and making a basket.

2+1, the referee signals that the goal is valid, and an additional penalty will be awarded.

"Who just said I'm old, and who said they are the future of the NBA?"

Kobe snorted and silently stood outside the three-point line.

He understands that talking trash is pointless; the most effective way to respond to an opponent's provocation is to let the basketball team do the talking.

Drexler made his free throw, widening the gap to 18 points once again.

After switching sides, the Mavericks went on offense.

Nash quickly crossed half-court, instantly picking up the pace, and before the Rockets could finish their defense, he hit a three-pointer.

The point difference was instantly reduced back to 15 points.

Despite being hit by two fast breaks in a row, Coach Tomjanovich remained unfazed. The Rockets were still leading by 15 points, and they were even missing Hakeem Olajuwon.

Most importantly, there was very little time left in the first quarter.

Besides, the preseason is not the regular season. The preseason is a game to experiment with tactics and fine-tune the lineup, so there is no need to fight for every point.

The two sides went back and forth like this, each taking one and the other responding.

The first quarter ended quickly.

The final score of the first quarter was 20-30, with the Mavericks narrowing the gap to just 10 points thanks to the performance of their rookie five.

After a five-minute break, the second quarter began soon after.

In the second quarter, the Mavericks still had their rookie five on the court.

The Rockets replaced Charles Barkley and Clyde Drexler with Hakeem Olajuwon, who will lead the team alone.

At the start of the second season, Chen Fang continued to employ the run-and-gun tactic, and the players gradually found their rhythm, completing an offensive cycle in an average of 8 seconds.

On the defensive end, following Coach Bu's instructions, they double-teamed Dream incessantly, leaving other players open.

After all, the Rockets' roster clearly tells the Mavericks that their offensive focus is Hakeem Olajuwon.

Whenever Hakeem Olajuwon got the ball in the paint, he would be surrounded by at least two Mavericks players.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas was the primary defender, Ben Wallace provided help defense, and the rest of the team cut off Dream's passing lanes.

Relying on their defensive performance, the Mavericks launched several fast breaks and quickly scored, further narrowing the gap.

After the Mavericks scored another fast break, Coach Tomjanovich finally called a timeout.

"The opponent's defense is very targeted. On the offensive end, we need to reduce mistakes and increase the success rate, and try to avoid being countered by the opponent."

"Clyde, you're up in a bit. You handle the ball and run pick-and-rolls with Hakeem. If you have an opportunity, attack yourself; if not, pass to Hakeem who's cutting to the basket..."

While Coach Tang was busy setting up tactics, Chen Fang was also giving tactical instructions to the Mavericks' bench players.

"Kobe, you should come off the court and rest for a bit. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, you should rest too..."

Before Chen Fang could finish speaking, Kobe hurriedly said, "Boss, I can still play. I don't need to come off the court."

Upon hearing this, Chen Fang frowned and suddenly shouted, "Are you the coach or am I the coach? Should I listen to you or me?"

When Chen Fang suddenly lost his temper, everyone was stunned for a moment, and the air seemed to freeze.

Kobe didn't dare to even breathe loudly.

Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Chen Fang earnestly told Kobe, "Kobe, I understand how you feel, but basketball is not a sport for one person, but a sport for five people."

"No matter how good you are, you still need the support of your teammates. Now you should rest well and trust your teammates. They won't let you down."