I’m Really Playing Basketball

Before the finals between the Bobcats and the Mavericks started, the United States and the entire NBA were talking about the Dallas Mavericks, the miracle Dallas Mavericks.

On May 31, 2011, at the pre-game press conference between the Bobcats and the Dallas Mavericks in G1 of the Finals, Chen Xiaozheng answered the questions raised by the reporters below with a smile.

Anyone who knows Chen Xiao knows that when he usually participates in these pre-game or post-game press conferences, most of the time he does not show such an expression.

"Chen, are you so happy because you didn't face the Timberwolves, Spurs and Lakers in this year's finals, but the Dallas Mavericks?"

"Of course not. I don't think the Dallas Mavericks are a better team to deal with than other Western Conference teams. You can't lie to me. I've watched all the Dallas Mavericks games starting from the Western Conference semifinals. They deserve it." Representing the Western Conference in the finals, Dirk is one of the strongest players in NBA history, and the Dallas Mavericks are also a very strong team. This finals is not easy, and this is why I am happy. I am very much looking forward to it and can’t wait to face this outstanding opponent.”

In the NBA, victory has never been about past reputation and strength, or the reputation of players and teams.

Just like the Mavericks, under the leadership of Nowitzki, successively defeated the Spurs and Lakers, the two strongest teams in the Western Conference.

According to the past reviews of these three teams, who would have thought that the Mavericks could finally break out of the siege, and rely on Nowitzki's personal performance to get through all the defensive players in the Western Conference.

Therefore, for Chen Xiao, the driver, a good friend, and the Mavericks team are really a very interesting opponent.

And many people think that the Mavericks' success in reaching the finals was all due to their drivers. This is actually very wrong.

The Mavericks' ability to reach the finals this time is definitely not just the result of Driver. Driver's state this year has given the Mavericks a super offensive weapon like Chen Xiao and Kobe Wade.

But if the performance of others is not good, it is still useless.

In this playoffs, the performance of the rest of the Mavericks can be described as reborn and united.

For example, the Mavericks' center, Tyson Chandler, Chen Xiao's former teammate and younger brother in the Cavaliers, a player that Chen Xiao trained single-handedly, during this season's playoffs, Chen Xiao watched the whole process, and this guy was in the paint. He actually had the feeling of covering the sky with one hand. When facing the Spurs and Lakers, he almost blocked most of the outside breakthroughs. That incredible defensive deterrent made Chen Xiao marvel and surprised. After all, he is Chandler. He knew very well that Chandler was very defensive, but he didn't expect it to reach this level.

There is also Chandler's inside partner Zach Randolph. After Zach Randolph went from the Grizzlies to the Mavericks this season, he feels as if his whole person has been washed away.

There was no way, because leaving the Bobcats, leaving Chen Xiao, and the failure of the Grizzlies' All-Star journey made him truly realize that the feeling he feels now is like the feeling he had with the Grizzlies in history.

When he first came to the Grizzlies, who would have thought that the bloated tofu in the NBA could become the NBA's No. 1 big man in those years, with excellent offense and defense. I don't know how many big men in the league trembled.

Now Randolph really feels like this, even stronger. After all, in this time and space, Randolph is more bumpy and has learned more.

In the past, when Randolph was with the Bobcats, although he was willing to defend and was no longer a bad guy, to be honest, Randolph was more reluctant to defend than to attack. Therefore, when Randolph was with the Bobcats, In fact, there are defensive problems, many of them, and there are also many conflicts with Bynum due to mutual defensive responsibilities.

But after going to the Mavericks, Randolph is really willing to defend. This season's regular season and playoffs, his defensive data are all career highs, and his defensive efficiency is also a career high, with Tyson Chandler. Le's cooperation is very tacit.

Tyson Chandler is responsible for covering the sky with one hand, and he is responsible for being as immovable as a mountain. The defense of these two people not only destroyed the Spurs' inside line in the Western Conference semifinals, but also defeated Gasol when they played the Lakers in the Western Conference finals. Brother's insiders can't be fixed.

These two are definitely the number one inside team in the Western Conference now, and even in the entire league, they are definitely the top team.

It can only be said that the Mavericks definitely made a fortune by trading Josh Howard for him from the Grizzlies.

In addition, Tony Allen is another starter of the Mavericks. Tony Allen's offense in the Mavericks is no different from that in the Heat, but his defense in the Mavericks is definitely more eye-catching. As the Mavericks outside line His defensive core, whether he was defending Ron Howard in the semifinals or defending Kobe in the Western Conference finals, was eye-catching, or very good.

He can't attack, but he can also make the players he's guarding not attack, which is quite annoying.

There is also the starting point guard, Devin Harris. This old rival that Chen Xiao knew when he was in college is now playing really well with the Mavericks. He is very fast, has very good skills, and has great breakthroughs. He is so strong that he is the sharp knife and tearer of the Mavericks' big lineup.

To be honest, Randolph is a hammer and Nowitzki is a flying knife. If there is a sharp knife missing from this lineup, it will have no lethality.

And Devin Harris is definitely one of the sharpest knives in the NBA. Some media and experts have even tested it. In this year's playoffs, Devin Harris's breakthrough speed and ability to counterattack and advance from the backcourt to the frontcourt with the ball. The speed is the fastest in the entire league, faster than James, Rose, and Wade.

And this is why the Mavericks can easily defeat the Lakers and Spurs, regardless of the fact that the Mavericks starting lineup has Chandler and Tony Allen, two players with huge offensive flaws.

But because of Randolph, Nowitzki and Devin Harris, from the inside to the outside, from top to bottom, the Mavericks' offense has 360-degree coverage with no dead ends.

By the way, this season, Harris scored 44% of his three-pointers in the playoffs. In the G5 game against the Lakers, the Mavericks defeated the Lakers with 35 points. Devin Harris made a three-pointer. The Lakers made 6 of 6 shots. The Lakers, who had completely lost their defensive mentality, were shot through by Devin Harris. This shows that he definitely has the ability to beat a "drowned dog" at the three-point line.

And in addition to the starting lineup, the Dallas Mavericks' bench is also very strong this year.

Not to mention Chen Xiao’s good friend Jason Terry, who also had the best performance of his career in the playoffs this year, averaging 17 points and nearly 18 points per game, shooting 48% from the field, and even higher three-point shooting percentage. 45%. Chen Xiao is a good friend of Terry's agent. He knows Terry's playing style very well. With this guy's playing style, his shooting percentage in the playoffs is less than 40% most of the time. This season, his shooting percentage in the playoffs actually increased by 10 percentage points compared to last season. Let's put it this way, with Terry's offensive method, you can't guard against his shooting percentage.

You can't guard Nowitzki in the starting lineup, and you can't find a player who can defend him.

And the substitute has Terry, a player you can't guard. You can imagine how frustrated the teams in the Western Conference were when they played the Mavericks this year.

The driver's golden rooster is independent of all kinds of unreasonable advances.

Terry's super unreasonable super shots and all kinds of unreasonable goals.

In every Mavericks game, there were a bunch of fairy balls.

Those magic balls, seriously, are very demoralizing.

And more importantly, the Mavericks don't just have players who are very good at playing fairy ball.

There are also very stable players like Chen Xiao and Durant, and that is Grant Hill, who is 39 years old this year.

Hill was part of Cuban's five-star strategy when he went from the Magic to the Mavericks. Now he has played with the Mavericks for seven seasons. This guy is definitely a model who gets better as he gets older.

In the past two seasons, he can still play 30 minutes per game for the Mavericks. He can shoot three-pointers that he could not do before. In these two seasons, his shooting percentage has reached over 40%, and what is even better is his one-on-one shooting. The mid-range jumper, fadeaway jumper, mid-range area and long-range two-point area all have a hit rate of over 45%, which is very stable.

When playing against the Lakers, when he faced Kobe, he could even replace Nowitzki in a limited time to score points with Kobe. And in those limited minutes, his scoring performance with Kobe was so exciting that you couldn't watch it. No matter how much worse he is than Kobe.

This is very important for the Mavericks. Everyone knows that the driver's current physical fitness is problematic, and Terry is still too aggressive in his play, so when the driver needs to rest during regular time, who can be in the position? Carrying the banner of the team's offense is very important, continuous output and continuous threat.

And Grant Hill really carried the banner in the playoffs this season.

As a substitute, he averaged 29 minutes per game in this year's playoffs and averaged 13 points per game with a 48% shooting rate. This performance is very outstanding.

In addition, there is a little man named Jose Barea on the Mavericks' bench. He really dares to play and score at critical moments, and his performance is also very impressive.

By the way, another substitute forward of the Mavericks, driver's substitute, Chen Xiao's junior, and the junior who once shocked Chen Xiao's three-point shooting ability, Novak.

After Novak arrived in the NBA these years, he actually had a rough time compared to other seniors. After all, he was also a superstar in the NCAA when he was in the NCAA.

But when he arrived in the NBA, he failed miserably. Chen Xiao originally wanted him to join his team many times, but he refused.

Although Novak's development in the NBA is not very smooth, with his background and three-point shooting ability, it is not difficult to make a living in the NBA.

After coming to the Mavericks this season, he definitely played the best performance of his career.

In the Western Conference Finals, the Mavericks were able to beat the Lakers with a decisive victory in G4, scoring the score 3-1, thus breaking the mentality of the Lakers players. Novak definitely contributed a lot.

Because, in this game, the man who beat the Lakers was Novak. The two sides were tied at 98-98. Kobe tied the score with a three-pointer with 5 seconds left in the game. In the next round, Novak Received a pass from the driver and beat the Lakers from beyond the three-point line.

By the way, Novak's three-point shooting percentage in the regular season this season was 75%, while in the playoffs, his three-point shooting percentage was 57%.

Of course, Novak played a lot of time during the regular season and averaged only one three-pointer per game, but even so, his 75% shooting rate was scary.

Also, in the playoffs, Novak's playing time has increased, and he has averaged 2 shots per game. Under such circumstances, he can still maintain a shooting rate of close to 60%, which is indeed incredible.

Of course, the Mavericks dared to let Novak, a completely defenseless player, play more games in the playoffs, mainly because the defensive system of Tyson Chandler and Randolph was set up inside.

Novak doesn't have to worry about being broken through behind him. The opponent goes directly to the blue, so the Mavericks dare to use Novak more.

In fact, the reason why Novak has not performed well since coming to the NBA is that the previous teams failed to wipe his ass.

Naturally, his defense cannot allow him to play much on the court.

In the NCAA, when Marquette University is on defense, everyone shrinks and everyone shoots from the outside. Who can beat Novak?

It can be said that the NCAA rules were specially customized for Novak, which is why he was the first player in the NCAA in the NCAA.

After all, Novak is really good at shooting. Judging from his decisiveness and determination when beating the Lakers, his mentality is also very good.

This is a natural shooter, but he has not found the soil that suits him, and this is why Chen Xiao wants to get Novak to his team every offseason.

Chen Xiao knows Novak very well. He is definitely one of the most underestimated players in the NBA.

By the way, historically, Novak has played 22 playoff games in his career, shooting nearly 49% from the field and nearly 46% from the three-point range.

He has played 11 seasons in the regular season and nearly 500 games in his career. His three-point shooting percentage is as high as 43%. His highest three-point shooting percentage in the regular season was over 56% in the playoffs. The highest season was more than 67%.

Although such data is actually of little significance considering Novak's playing time, it can still be used as a reference.

This is a very good shooter.

He was so good that Chen Xiao's mentality exploded.

Well, Chen Xiao still often competes with Novak for three-pointers in the offseason and holidays. Not to say it's terrible, but he still wins less and loses more. This guy is a god of open three-pointers, especially during training. The open three-pointer is so amazing that it makes people's scalp numb.

After attending the pre-game press conference, Chen Xiao showed disdain for those reporters and experts who still underestimated the Mavericks.

Such a Mavericks, you actually said that they reached the finals by luck?

Let's put it this way, it is indeed difficult for this Mavericks to win a very high number of games in the regular season, but in a series of up to seven games, any team in the entire NBA history that can defeat this Mavericks, Actually there aren't that many.

Because the Mavericks are very similar to the Bobcats. The Bobcats are a perfect team in every aspect from defense to offense.

The Mavericks are a team that has everything on the offensive end.

"Miracle Dallas Mavericks?"

"It's not a miracle that they made it to the finals."

If you're not careful, Bobcat will really lose.