NBA: Starting with James Harden

Although they won the game by a narrow margin, the schedule did not give the Mavericks a chance to breathe.

In the latter part of the season, the Mavericks' schedule is still very dense.

The injuries and physical fitness of the Mavericks created a major problem for Carlisle's deployment.

Butler and Nowitzki were almost absent for the same period of time, which was too difficult for the Mavericks. On

March 22, the Mavericks met the Trail Blazers, a Western Conference playoff team, at home. The

Trail Blazers were full of injuries this season. Roy, Aldridge, Oden, and Fernandez all suffered injuries and missed many games, but with the support of Miller, Batum, Camby and other tough guys, they still successfully made it into the top eight in the Western Conference!

The Mavericks were unlucky. Except for Oden, their injured players have returned in recent games, and the Trail Blazers are in a stage of morale surge.

It was so cool for such a Trail Blazers to meet the Mavericks, who had won consecutive games but had average morale.

The battle between the Trail Blazers and the Mavericks aroused the enthusiasm of the Airline Arena.

The Mavericks did play very tenaciously, but under the leadership of the yellow man Ba Luoyi and the All-Star center Aldridge, the Mavericks, who were missing two starting players, still had to swallow the bitter fruit of defeat at home.

108 to 104

Li Zhen did use all his S-level strength in this game. He scored 42 points again in the whole game, 40+ in three consecutive games, setting a rookie record, but everyone can see the gap in strength between the two teams. The Blazers have a deep lineup, and the current Mavericks are weaker than them.

With the average performance of other teammates, it is difficult for Li Zhen, who is fighting alone, to save the defeat.

McMillan was angry many times in this game. He didn't expect that his team almost couldn't win against such a Mavericks. The Blazers didn't win this game comfortably. The Mavericks

' winning streak was terminated, but their darkness has just begun.

Nowitzki and Butler still have 10 days to pay.

In the next 10 days, they have to play 7 games.

Warriors, Hornets, Nuggets, Grizzlies, Magic, Thunder, Grizzlies....

Except for the Warriors and Hornets, who are a little easier to play against, the other teams are all strong teams at the playoff level.

These teams will not show mercy to the Mavericks. They will seize every opportunity that may cause the Mavericks to fall in the playoff rankings.

Of course, Carlisle's idea is also very simple. If there is a chance to win, he will do his best. If there is no chance, he will just arrange a rotation.

With this idea in mind, the Mavericks team started a new game again.....

On March 24, the Mavericks faced the Warriors again at home. In Carlisle's opinion, this was a must-win game.

The veterans did not take a break, so they went all out.

Curry was still the same Curry, just cuter and still weak.

The Warriors were not the Warriors of the future. The record of 20 wins and 51 losses clearly showed that they were aiming for the No. 1 pick. They had no hope of making the playoffs this season, so they just wanted to train rookies.

Although the Warriors were not strong, the two teams fought hard to the end.

In the final moments, Li Zhen and Curry had a three-point battle.

With Li Zhen's three step-back three-pointers, the suspense of the game ended!!!

110 to 115.

Li Zhen's three step-back three-pointers in the last two minutes created a climax.

Although Li Zhen had a good touch in the final moments, his performance was lower than that of other games in terms of the overall performance.

This also allowed Li Zhen to score only 36 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds.

The word"only" shows how high the media's expectations of Li Zhen were.

Li Zhen's streak of 40+ games was ended, but the team won, Li Zhen was still very happy.

After the game, Li Zhen talked with Curry for a long time. Curry scored 33 points and 6 assists today, and his performance was also very good.

Curry admired Li Zhen very much:"Brother, your three-pointer is great. Let's train together in the summer. I want to ask you for advice on the step-back three-pointer."

When Li Zhen heard that Curry wanted to ask him for advice on the three-pointer, he wanted to say, brother, are you kidding?

Li Zhen refused:"Sorry, Stephen, I have an appointment with Kobe for special training."

Curry was a little regretful:"OK, then next time, my summer is very long."

Curry was still very envious of Li Zhen's ability to play in the playoffs.

After the regular season, he had to go fishing.

Li Zhen replied:"No problem, I can do it when I have time."

After exchanging contact information with Curry, Li Zhen returned to the locker room to take a shower.

Carlisle will take him to a press conference next. The

Mavericks' public relations are now focusing on building Li Zhen's star image.

In various public occasions, they try to let Li Zhen face the media.

For the Mavericks management, Li Zhen is a new market development point, and he can become a new basketball idol.

Under the Mavericks' deliberate promotion, Li Zhen became the core of the Mavericks' future. They hinted to the media that sooner or later the team will be built around Li Zhen.

This attitude also allowed the Mavericks to get sponsorship from multiple brands across the ocean.

The market behind Li Zhen is also playing a role......

The Mavericks' publicity is beneficial to Li Zhen personally, and his agent Pelinka has also contacted many companies that want Li Zhen to endorse.

Such as Wrigley chewing gum, Durex Love condoms, diesel engines, sports drinks, clothing, etc.....

Except for the undetermined sneaker brands, after discussing with Li Zhen, Pelinka asked Li Zhen to take most of them.

Neither Pelinka nor Li Zhen felt that they had to take on any very high-end brands.

Li Zhen was not that kind of person. Their idea was basically to take on whether the brand was reliable and whether the contract amount was appropriate.

Of course, more importantly, it depended on how much time Li Zhen would take.

Some endorsements only required Li Zhen to shoot two commercials a year and then promote them in public. Li Zhen took these very readily.

But some endorsements required Li Zhen to attend multiple commercial activities in a wide range of locations. Li Zhen didn't take them because he thought it was too troublesome. Li Zhen didn't want to be disturbed too much by things outside the court. He wanted to focus more on the court.

The price of Li Zhen's endorsement contract is also very high now, ranking first among rookies. On average, a commercial endorsement will give Li Zhen 2 million US dollars a year, which is almost catching up with Li Zhen's current annual salary. Of course, this is not a sneaker endorsement. Li Zhen's sneaker endorsement is not something that can be won with 2 million.

Now no one thinks that Li Zhen's next contract will still have an annual salary of 3 million...

Considering the market, age and performance, Li Zhen's net worth is almost the same as that of an All-Star player.

The media predicts that Li Zhen's next contract is likely to be higher than 15 million.

Most of the endorsements are accepted through online communication with Pelinka by phone, and then the final confirmation and signing will be completed. This does not hinder Li Zhen's game.

On the plane, Li Zhen calculated the amount of the endorsement contract he signed, and he will receive more than 8 million US dollars in the next month.....

We are multi-millionaires too!