One Guard

phone-reading

The conversation between Carlisle and Kidd was known only to the two of them. On the training ground the next day, Kidd still guided Yiyang with all his heart and responsibility. And Yiyang, a taciturn guy, is still as obedient as usual.

Although Yiyang doesn't talk much, he respects and appreciates Kidd in his heart. Yiyang, who grew up in a "garbage dump" like Wood District, knows very well that no one in this world is obliged to treat you well. But Kidd, including anyone else on the Mavericks who helped Yiyang, made Yiyang feel warm. In this world, not all places are as cold as the Wood District.

As for Carlisle, he also urged Cuban to offer Kidd a new contract before the deadline. But this proposal was rejected by Kidd himself. His reason was that he wanted to put all his energy on the game now, and the contract matter would be discussed slowly in the summer.

Yes, the Mavericks' record this season is very good. Although it is impossible for the outside world to be optimistic about the Mavericks winning the championship, the Mavericks themselves have always regarded the championship as their goal. Whether it's Kidd or Nowitzki, whether it's Terry or Marion. This group of people is very clear that this season is the best time for them to realize their dream of winning the championship.

So, no one wants to be distracted. After the failures of the previous years, the Mavericks players have long understood a truth. In the fiercely competitive NBA league, even if you get the best record in the regular season, even if you get the supreme MVP trophy, it is useless, and it is not a reason for you to relax your vigilance.

Until the O'Brien Cup is hoisted, no matter how much you have achieved, you must not let your guard down. So although the whole world is now full of reports praising the Mavericks, the whole world is full of articles about Yi Yang scoring a triple-double. But on the practice court at the American Airlines Center, you don't see any complacency. Everyone is ready to fight, as if they are the team teetering on the edge of the playoffs in general.

The whole team is working hard, and that's what Carlisle is eager to see.

But at this moment, in addition to the Mavericks, every team has also started their sprint moment.

In the West, the top four teams are separated by less than five games. This gap is not irreversible. Every team is eager to get a better ranking to avoid early encounters with strong teams in the playoffs.

Of course, in addition to the teams in the West, the competition in the East is also quite fierce. The top four teams are all likely to switch positions after a few games. But now in the regular season, the Eastern and Western teams have to play against each other, so they are eager to tear each other apart when they encounter any opponent.

Now, it has almost entered the most intense stage of regular season fighting.

"How far is the Spurs ahead of us?" In Carlisle's office, he and assistant coach Stotts also began to study the rankings in the West.

"With only three wins, we will meet the Spurs this month. If we can win, we still have a chance to surpass them." Stotts replied looking at piles of data.

"The third place is the Los Angeles Lakers. Are they only one game away from us?" Carlisle looked at the record of the Lakers, which is a potential threat. From the current point of view, if the Mavericks maintain the second place, then the playoffs will most likely run into the Blazers after losing Roy. But if it is squeezed to third, it will be possible to meet the Hornets led by Paul ahead of schedule. Compared to Chris Paul. Carlisle would prefer to deal with Aldridge.

"Yes, there is only one win. We will also meet the Lakers this month. If they win, it is very likely to fall to third place." Stotts continued to add.

"By the way, don't forget the Oklahoma City Thunder. This youth army has been chasing after us. In short, this month will be very hard for the team."

"Hey, Denver lost Anthony, how much strength do you think they have?" Suddenly, Carlisle brought up another topic.

Currently, the Nuggets are ranked fifth in the Western Conference. Anthony laid a good foundation for this team in the first half of the season. But it's clear that since Anthony left Denver after the All-Star break, the Nuggets' performance has fluctuated. In other words, the Nuggets after the All-Star Game may not be as strong as they were at the beginning of the season.

"Nuggets? Lost Cameron, they should not survive the first round." Stotts replied confidently.

"Well... That is to say, if we fall to third or fourth, it is possible to meet the Nuggets in the first round. I don't think any opponent is more suitable than the Denver Nuggets!" Carlisle said Thinking about it, he tapped on his desk.

"Our goal this month is not to win all!"

"What's that?" Stotts asked curiously, besides winning, is it necessary to pursue failure?

"Our goal is to ensure that every player maintains his own good condition when he is healthy. Even if we lose some games now, it will not have a big impact on our playoff journey. In the next month and a half, we Strictly control the playing time of players, and if conditions permit, we will also learn from Popovich to implement the rotation system."

"I thought you would want to hit the first place in the regular season." Stotts smiled.

"Nothing is more important than the O'Brien Cup, buddy!" Facing the smiling Stotts, Carlisle, the academic coach, had firm eyes. The goal of the Mavericks this year is the championship. Besides, the ranking and other things in the regular season are not important at all.

If you want to break out of the West, you can't do it without a complete and healthy lineup.

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After Carlisle established his tactical goals, Yiyang could clearly feel that his playing time in each game was as punctual as clocking in and out of get off work.

Not only Yiyang, but everyone. Carlisle strictly controls everyone's playing time and will never let them waste any extra energy before the start of the playoffs.

The result of this is that at critical moments, people will always see Carlisle still pressing the main players not to let them play, which leads to the team losing.

For this, Carlisle naturally bears a huge amount of infamy. It is said that the academic coach's on-the-spot command is poor, and the substitution is not timely enough, etc. The speech once again swept the league.

But even so, the hard power of the Mavericks still allowed them to win many opponents and did not let the team fall out of the first group. But precisely because of the strict rotation, the Mavericks lost to the Spurs and the Lakers in a row in mid-March, falling from second in the West to third in the West. But in Carlisle's view, such a price is completely acceptable.

However, God just seems to like to joke with the Mavericks. Even though Carlisle tried everything possible to protect the players, injuries still came to him.

On March 16, in the battle against the Warriors, "Boxing King" Tyson accidentally sprained his knee. After diagnosis, the team doctor determined that the Mavericks defensive gate will miss all games in March.

Although Chandler will be back in mid-April, he will be able to catch up with the playoffs. But his absence still had a huge impact on the Mavericks.

Because of this, the Mavericks' record in March is very average. Although it is also the same as winning more and losing less, but the series of victories like the previous few months have never appeared again.

Time entered April, and Yiyang won the Best Rookie of the Month Award in the Western Conference again. And this also means that all the best rookie of the month awards in the Western Conference this season are all arranged by Yiyang. Griffin, the No. 1 pick of the Clippers in 2009, didn't even catch a single one.

As soon as the result was announced, Yiyang and the Mavericks, who had gradually faded from people's sight due to the decline in their record, became popular again.

You know, since the NBA established the Rookie of the Month award in the 81-82 season, only Ralph Sampson, David Robinson, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony And Chris Paul won all the Rookie of the Month awards. Therefore, Yiyang also became the seventh person in NBA history to complete this feat.

Looking at the names of the six people before Yiyang, many people couldn't help but imagine the heights that Yiyang might reach in the future. As for Kidd and Carlisle, these two guys are not just fantasy, they are creating legends!

The most commendable thing about Yiyang is that he still hasn't let people down at the end of the regular season. Some rookies may be very amazing at the beginning, but after all opponents are very familiar with them, they will sink or their performance will fluctuate.

But Yiyang is not, he is still able to achieve excellent performance so far. On April 3, when the Mavericks met the Golden State Warriors again, Yiyang scored 28 points, 10 assists and 4 steals, while Curry, who was facing him, only scored 12 points and shot 32% from the field.

Yiyang's continuous excellent performance coupled with Tyson Chandler's comeback allowed the Mavericks to catch up. Finally, in the last regular season game against the Mavericks and Rockets on April 13, they successfully won the game, leading the Oklahoma City Thunder by two stretches and maintaining their third place in the Western Conference.

In this game, Yiyang scored 16 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds, almost scoring another triple-double. His excellent competitive state also made Mavericks fans full of expectations for the rookie's performance in the playoffs. Carlisle and Yiyang were also looking forward to this. As Kidd said, in the playoffs, Carlisle may really try to get Yiyang into the starting lineup. After all, nothing can improve a player more than a real game.

When the last regular season game of the season ended, Yiyang was surrounded by reporters. There are not many high-ranked rookies who can play in the playoffs with the team in their rookie season. Among the top ten picks, only Evan Turner, Paul George, and Yiyang are lucky enough to make it to the playoffs. And Yiyang is undoubtedly the best of the three.

"Do you think you are ready for the playoffs?" The reporters only have one question to ask today, and this question is of course related to the playoffs!

Yiyang looked around and found that he had fought all 82 regular season games without losing a single game. However, this is just an "appetizer", and the truly cruel matchup in the NBA is about to come.

Yiyang didn't feel scared, but looked forward to it. Just like March Madness is the essence of the NCAA, the playoffs are the essence of the entire NBA season!

Back then, Yiyang and the Bulldogs could stage the myth of Cinderella in March Madness, so now Yiyang and the Dallas Mavericks may also make this summer crazy.

"I'm ready, I'm ready to try the scariest side of the NBA." Facing the reporters' questioning, Yi Yang answered in this way.

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