Who will be the role players now that everyone's been reborn?

On the court, with Chen Dong's three-pointers and strong playmaking support on the Suns' offense, when Nowitzki called for the ball in the low post, Jim Jackson actively helped defend in the paint, and the ball was passed to Josh Howard on the perimeter, which the Suns did not care about.

Ultimately, it all boils down to a battle of outside shooting, which is exactly what the Suns want to see.

Nowitzki moved to the high post to get the ball again. Chen Dong closely guarded him to prevent his drive but not his shot or pass. Nowitzki took a step back and then hit a fadeaway jump shot, which was his signature move, and his shooting rhythm was very smooth.

And then, bang—!

The basket, however, refused to let Nowitzki score.

God was on the Suns' side. Marion grabbed the rebound, passed the ball to Nash, and then made a long pass across the entire court to find Chen Dong, who was cutting down the court. Chen Dong received an assist from Nash, rushed to the basket, and leaped up for a powerful shot.

Clang!

"With such physical defense, such fast break speed, and such scoring ability, how could other team managers let Chen Dong fall out of the first round of the draft?" Barkley exclaimed on the commentary stage. "If you have such vision, I can be a team manager too."

Anyway, the money was free.

"You can't say that. Ultimately, the draft selects future talents."

Although Chen Dong's immediate combat strength is considerable, his potential is already limited. The reason why his debut performance was so explosive is because, after a pause, Kenny Smith concluded decisively, "that's because he hasn't been fully analyzed yet."

Without top-tier talent, if the rookie wall appears, breaking through it will be a difficult problem for Chen Dong.

"So now it belongs to Chen Dong," Barkley joked. "The future belongs to gifted freaks like LeBron James?"

Kenny Smith, standing nearby, smiled without saying a word.

On the court, the Mavericks remained calm. Nowitzki set a screen on the perimeter, and Terry drove to the basket, easily scoring a layup.

When Chen Dong was called up to defend Nowitzki, the Suns' tallest player on the court was Marion, and he needed to guard the 2.11-meter Dampier, so he had to help defend and block the shot.

Comment: It's practically useless.

In the next possession, Terry drove hard to Nash's left side, dribbled between his legs, stepped back, and released a three-pointer, which went straight into the bullseye.

Swish! ! !

With the rebounding advantage of their twin towers in the paint, Terry could run rampant on the perimeter, which was the Jets' favorite offensive rhythm. And then, unsurprisingly, Nash was blown out on the perimeter.

Chen Dong's occasional brilliant defensive moves in the paint could lower Nowitzki's shooting percentage, but the size difference was more than one or two stories, making him impossible to stop unless one was a martial arts master!

Not everyone can use Stephen Jackson's 2.03-meter height to contain Nowitzki's offense like that. After all, Jackson's physical strength directly targeted Nowitzki's weakness in physical confrontations!

As a result, Chen Dong, a rookie on defense, was no surprise and was completely outmatched in the paint.

At the end of the first quarter, led by Nowitzki with 11 points and 3 assists, shooting 4-for-7 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free-throw line, the Mavericks led the Suns 31-27, temporarily establishing a 4-point lead thanks to home-court advantage and the absolute dominance of their twin towers in the paint.

陈东4投3中，三分3中2，首秀出场6分钟便砍下8分1助攻1篮板1抢断，表现惊艳了所有人，8分进帐看着单薄，却是6分钟比赛时间里拿到了，后面还有6个6分钟，陈东本场首秀有砍48分的大魔王之资!!!

With 3 out of 4 shots made, a shooting percentage of 75%, much higher than Kobe's average shooting percentage of 45%, Chen Dong's scoring efficiency far surpasses any of the four great shooting guards, well, if you calculate it this way in basketball!

Trailing by 4 points, D'Antoni was not very satisfied. He was too wary of the Mavericks' bench depth and knew he couldn't afford to have a close game with them.

Therefore, Chen Dong, who performed brilliantly at the end of the first quarter, was placed on his 8-man rotation list. He was also eager to discover more fresh and immediate players from other new recruits. Kurt Thomas, James Jones, and Diaw were also included on the list, and finally, the undisputed sixth man was the Brazilian lightning Barbosa.

This substitution carries a gamble. With four new players on the field at the same time, it could easily lead to tactical chaos, and Barbosa is not a high-quality playmaker.

Sure enough, in the first minute of the second quarter, Barbosa's aimless drive resulted in a turnover, a charging foul that changed possession.

Immediately afterwards, Barbosa passed the ball to Dio to organize and support, but seemed hesitant. His passing intention was too obvious and was intercepted.

Barbosa's subsequent pass was too low and of poor quality. James Jones received the ball in an open position, paused to adjust, and in that instant, lost his one-on-one jump shot opportunity. In a hasty attempt, he shot over the defender, but the three-pointer missed under pressure.

In the third minute of the second quarter, Chen Dong automatically went up to the ball, reaching out his hand to ask for it. "Stop your clumsy passing and give me the ball!"

"Give it to him!!" D'Antoni shouted from the sidelines. If Nash hadn't had a weakness in stamina, he would never have let Barbosa control the ball. Without speed, he wouldn't be able to play basketball at all.

On the left wing, beyond the three-point line, Chen Dong received the ball and immediately lifted up. Doug Christie, who had personally witnessed Nowitzki's three-point shooting ability, dared not be careless and rushed over to block him. However, he watched with wide eyes as Chen Dong, who had gathered the ball and made a breakthrough, faked him out and drove straight into the paint. As he drove, he feigned a real drive and, just as Diop reached out to steal the ball, he burst up with all his might, slamming the basketball in with one hand while also drawing a foul from Diop.

"andone!!"

"Chen Dong went berserk, single-handedly tearing through the Mavericks' entire defense!"

"The offensive choice for that ball was so imaginative, as easy as picking flowers in the backyard."

"What luck! They just traded Joe Jenson and then drafted a player like Chen Dong with their pick—they've really hit the jackpot!" Barkley raved about his former team's micro-management, while Kenny Smith, standing nearby, thought Chen Dong was still using tricks. "When any player has a shooting spree, their one-on-one ability will elevate abilities that aren't originally theirs!"

"See, our defense has been exposed!"

They were very active in helping on defense, but due to their inferior physical attributes, they committed unnecessary fouls, giving the Mavericks two free throws.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Diop slapped the commentators in the face with two missed free throws, showing them that so-called talent is not only visible talent, but also invisible talent that can affect the game.

At this moment, Chen Dong is using his basketball IQ to dictate the pace of the game!

A talented player like Diop, with top-tier physical gifts and an average score of less than 3 points per game, could easily be allowed to decide the outcome of a game by taking on zero opponents.

When it was the Suns' turn to attack, Chen Dong received the ball on the wing and quickly passed it back to Barbosa, who suddenly surged forward with lightning speed, easily tearing through the Mavericks' defense and scoring a layup.

Don't show your true skills too easily, or others will find out you don't have any real skills!

Shooting relies heavily on talent and touch. Although Chen Dong had an amazing scoring performance of 11 points on 4 out of 5 shots, whether he can make the next shot is too uncertain, and he can't be sure of it.

By showcasing your ball control and playmaking abilities, you can make your opponents less able to figure out all your skills, thus creating more space for future attacks.

Moreover, Barbosa is a sharp weapon in the rotation lineup. His strengths and weaknesses are too obvious. A simple back pass can create attacking space for Barbosa to showcase his speed talent.

Chen Dong has the air of a commander who uses his hexagonal abilities to connect the entire team's offensive strategy!