One Guard

"Dirk exited the field, and he walked to the player tunnel with the help of the team doctor! God, let us pray that the German is okay.. For more latest chapters visit: ШЩЩ.⑦⑨XS.сОМ . For Coach Carlisle, It must be very tricky. Dirk's injury and retirement will completely change his control over the game!" Jeff Van Gundy couldn't help but feel his heart ache when he watched Nowitzki exit.

When he was still coaching the Rockets, Yao Ming and McGrady's injuries and retirements made the bald commentator worry. Therefore, Van Gundy understands Carlisle's mood very well at this moment, and this guy must be in a state of anxiety at the moment.

Although Nowitzki is not the whole of the Mavericks, he is undoubtedly the most important point in Carlisle's tactics. Many arrangements are based on the presence of Nowitzki. Now that the team has lost Dirk, this also means that the Mavericks have to overthrow all the things they have practiced in the past few days!

Immediately after losing Dirk, the first problem came. Who should take Dirk's place? Normally, Dirk gets a lot of playing time. Carlisle can use Marion to play the fourth position for a period of time, or he can use the lineup of two centers for a period of time. Anyway, it's only a few minutes, and in a few minutes, Nowitzki will be back.

But now, instead of taking a rest, Dirk was injured and retired. This means that Dirk will not come back for the entire game. Who will replace him has become a very difficult issue.

In the end, Carlisle waved his hand and replaced French center Petro, allowing him and Chandler to form a double center formation. The insiders on the bench don't have much threat on the offensive end. Carlisle might as well replace with someone who can protect the basket and stabilize the defense first. As for the offense, Kidd and Yiyang now have a very heavy burden on their shoulders. Without Dirk, how the two can handle the team's offense smoothly is the biggest problem for the Mavericks' offense.

The game restarted, although Dirk's injury had nothing to do with Ibaka just now. But Ibaka's desperate forward pounce still made the referee call him a defensive foul. The Mavericks sent the ball to the sideline, and after Dirk left the field, they would organize their first offense.

Now on the field, Carlisle has sent a double point guard of Yiyang and Kidd, plus Marion. It stands to reason that this is a very aggressive lineup. However, due to Dirk's injury, the Mavericks' inside threat was greatly reduced in an instant. The Thunder's weakness on the defensive end is precisely the inside. In this way, the Thunder also have the capital to overtake the score.

Kidd dribbled outside for a few seconds, and neither Petro nor Chandler had much shooting range, so the tactical options were naturally much less. Marion and Yiyang can only find a gap through two inside pick-and-rolls without the ball. Outside offense is the only chance for the Mavericks now.

However, since Petro and Chandler have no self-scoring threat, the two insiders of the Thunder can defend Yiyang and Marion at any time to slow down their running speed.

In this way, after running several tactics, neither Yiyang nor Marion missed the chance.

Kidd simply beckoned and called Petro to pick and roll for himself.

Through the pick-and-roll, Petro temporarily got rid of Westbrook. But he knows that Petro's screen quality is average, and Westbrook's physical fitness is very good. It won't be long before that number zero will be in front of him again.

So following this opportunity, Kidd made a sudden pass and hit the ball into Yiyang's hands.

Sefoloza, who is now facing Yiyang, is not a soft persimmon. On the contrary, this guy who is extremely unstable on the offensive end has won respect and a contract precisely because of his strong defense.

Sefoloza himself is taller than Yiyang, and this guy's physical talent is extremely outstanding. It is not an easy task for Yiyang to beat him in singles.

Yiyang rushed forward after receiving the ball, and he pushed forward with difficulty against Sefoloza with his shoulders. Although it seems to be breaking through, Yiyang is only pulling the line of defense for his teammates.

Sure enough, seeing himself stepping into the penalty area, Durant hesitated, wondering if he should come to make up the defense. Taking advantage of the hesitation of No. 35, Yiyang passed the ball, and the target was Marion who was outside the three-point line on the left!

Marion catches the ball and shoots. Although Durant is a little far away from Marion, this guy's abnormal wingspan still allows him to interfere with Marion's shooting in time.

"Damn it!" Marion cursed inwardly the moment he made the shot. He bets that this guy's height is definitely not as high as the official data says.

Under Durant's interference, Marion missed a three-pointer. Petro tried his best to push away Ibaka and grabbed an offensive rebound, but was called a rebound foul by the referee, and the Thunder still owned the ball.

After that, the Thunder aggressively attacked. In the past, people thought that Nowitzki was just a "soft guy" on the defensive end, but when there was no Nowitzki, those neutral fans discovered that the German was so important on the defensive end.

This time, Westbrook was not in a hurry to attack the frame himself. Because he saw that his Congolese teammate Ibaka had already started an air cut, and Petro, who was facing Ibaka, couldn't keep up with the rhythm at all!

Westbrook simply threw the ball into the air, and Petro quickly jumped up, but how can his jumping ability compare with Ibaka, who is known for his athletic ability?

Although Nowitzki can't jump high, if Dirk is defending, he will definitely get stuck first, preventing Ibaka from making a successful air cut, and directly denying the opponent a chance to take off.

But Petro is far behind Nowitzki in terms of reading the opponent's offense by more than one grade.

Ibaka received the basketball easily, and then pressed it into the basket with both hands! All the fans in the Chesapeake Energy Arena stood up and cheered. This dunk seemed to sound the clarion call for the Thunder's counterattack!

Petro may be able to resist the opponent's impact as a "meat" and "stick" at the basket to protect the basket, but if you want him to run and defend, it may not be so useful.

"Be patient, it's only one goal, it's okay!" Carlisle began to shout into the field, the coach felt that the situation was slowly getting out of his control.

Under Westbrook's close pressing, Kidd still took the ball across the half court calmly. The experienced old guard looked at the positions of the Thunder's two insiders Ibaka and Krstic. They put all their attention on the breakthrough of the outside line. Can't play the role of attracting defense.

Kidd made a gesture, and then went straight to the ball! The basketball brushed against Westbrook's head and flew into Yiyang's hands with a gust of wind.

Yiyang made three threats with the ball, and Sefoloza hurriedly opened his arms in fright. He knows how deadly the No. 1 defender's breakthrough is, so he must not be distracted when defending him!

Just when everyone thought that Yiyang would be the end point of this attack, Yiyang suddenly slapped the ball to the ground.

In order to stabilize the center of gravity, Sefolosa spread his legs apart. Taking advantage of this, Yiyang passed the basketball from Sefoloza's crotch!

Everyone's defensive attention was immediately diverted, the basketball bounced back, and the old Kidd who cut inside just arrived!

Kidd took out the basketball firmly with both hands, and then faced two insiders who hadn't had time to make up the defense, and directly made a three-step layup.

If Nowitzki is here now, Ibaka will definitely not dare to act rashly. But when his matchup is Johan Petro, there are not so many worries.

I saw the Congolese took two big strides and stepped to the basket. Ibaka also jumped up while Kidd took off. But the difference in jumping height between the two is so big that Kidd is completely covered by the second-year forward!

Ibaka didn't give Kidd this veteran face. He swung his right hand hard and directly slapped the basketball that Kidd just shot out!

Durant, who is tall and long, catches the slapped basketball before Marion, and the Thunder's transition attack is immediately formed.

Don't look at Durant's height as an inside player, but this guy runs as fast as an antelope. Yiyang was the only person who reported that he was biting behind Durant in a timely manner, but the huge height gap between Yiyang and Durant made him less of a threat to chase and defend.

Yiyang's only way to stop Durant now is to foul, but with Durant's height and wingspan, even if Yiyang fouls, he is very likely to score the ball.

Instead of letting the opponent get a chance to hit a three-pointer, Yiyang simply gave up the jump to stop it. Durant succeeded in a one-handed dunk, and the Thunder instantly narrowed the point difference to two points!

"Dirk's absence has had a huge impact on the Mavericks. In the blink of an eye, the Thunder's lead has been wiped out. Someone has to step up now, someone has to step up and stabilize the situation. If this continues, the Thunder will very likely Turned the situation around in one fell swoop." Van Gundy is well aware of how important it is for the Mavericks to stabilize the situation. But for a team that suddenly lost its star, it is not easy to adjust so quickly.

In the next attack, Yiyang finally tried to attack by himself.

He tried to run out of space, and then raised his hand to Kidd for the ball. In fact, this is not a very good opportunity, because Yiyang did not completely throw Sefoloza away. But the current situation does not allow Yiyang to think about it.

Yiyang shoots as soon as he catches the ball, but Sefoloza's interference is very timely. This guy is worthy of being a defensive champion, and he is very capable against a rookie like Yiyang.

"Boom!" The sound of striking iron remained, and Yiyang's mid-range and long-range jump shot ended in failure. Westbrook grabbed the rebound himself and then pushed hard.

Marion's well-timed foul prevented Westbrook from attacking the rim, but it also inevitably sent him to the free throw line.

In the quiet environment created by the Thunder fans, Westbrook made two free throws to help the Thunder officially equalize the score!

Carlisle immediately stopped the game. In the few minutes after Nowitzki stepped off the court, the Mavericks did not score a single point or defend a single goal. He'll have to make some adjustments, and the Mavericks can't stop without Nowitzki.

When the referee blew his whistle to signal the timeout of the game, Yiyang threw the basketball to the ground unwillingly.

After Christmas, the team encountered such a big trouble. It seems that the NBA really does not have a smooth road to go.

If he wants to win without Nowitzki, Yiyang must overcome greater difficulties than before...