One Guard

After seven seasons, the Dallas Mavericks finally entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Seven seasons is enough time to change too many things.

Nowitzki is the only member of the Mavericks team that won 67 games seven years ago. The Phoenix Suns, who were in first place seven years ago, are now unable to even make the playoffs. The Celtics, who were struggling last in the Eastern Conference seven years ago, have experienced the glory and dissolution of the Big Three during this period. The Seattle SuperSonics completely disappeared from the league, and the Miami Heat changed the rules for winning the championship. The Lakers won two consecutive championships, Yao Ming retired, and Rose was born.

In seven years, the league has undergone tremendous changes. Some teams have experienced ups and downs, and some have withdrawn from the stage of history. But some things never change.

The Spurs and GDP still dominate the league, and Kobe Bryant still wears the purple and gold jersey. But people would never have imagined that 7 years later, the Mavericks, who once again won the first place in the Western Conference with 60+ wins, would meet the eighth-ranked Warriors in the Western Conference again!

"This is simply God's will. Otherwise, how could there be such a coincidence in the world?"

"Seven years have passed since the Mavericks ranked first in the Western Conference, but they still faced the Golden State Warriors. To use a Chinese idiom, this is called enemies on a narrow road!"

"The Mavericks cannot escape bad luck and meet their nemesis Golden State Warriors again. Maybe we can witness another great Black Eight miracle happen?"

Overnight, all the media exploded. This amazing coincidence makes the playoffs full of excitement before they even begin.

But a very abnormal phenomenon is that almost everyone is not optimistic about the Mavericks, who are ranked first in the Western Conference and have achieved a terrifying record of 69 wins. It seems that something like the "Black Eight Miracle" is destined to happen to the Warriors.

Yiyang sometimes can't figure out who is first in the Western Conference and who is eighth in the Western Conference. Even with 69 wins, the Mavericks, who have always failed in the playoffs, still have not won the favor of the media.

On April 17th and April 18th, the entire league will have a truce. Until April 19th, the NBA playoffs will be in full swing. The Mavericks' first playoff game won't start until the 20th.

Although there are no games to watch these two days, the ratings of TNT TV station have remained high. Because every year, the special programs they do before the playoffs are very interesting and eye-catching.

In the past two years, the most talked about teams on the show were the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder. But this year, everyone's topic is back to the Dallas Mavericks!

"Compared to the Eastern Conference, this year's Western Conference playoffs have been very exciting from the first round. The Clippers and Rockets collided with each other from the beginning. Between the Thunder and Trail Blazers, the outcome is not easy to say. The San Antonio Spurs are the best. Easily, Popovich shouldn't have much trouble facing the Grizzlies without Tony Allen. Of course, these are just appetizers. The first round of the Western Conference playoffs is undoubtedly the most anticipated one. This is it!" In the recording room of the show, as soon as Charles Barkley finished speaking, the Mavericks and Warriors team logos appeared on the big electronic screen behind him.

"The Dallas Mavericks, No. 1 in the Western Conference, met the Golden State Warriors, No. 8 in the Western Conference. This game has transcended the meaning of the playoffs itself. This is a historical issue. I believe that Mavericks fans have not forgotten it seven years ago. The painful scene when they suffered a brutal defeat at the 'Black Eight' before." Barkley looked excited and seemed to be looking forward to the start of this game more than the fans.

"Problems left over from history, hahaha, this is really a vivid name. However, it is indeed too coincidental. Seven years ago, the Mavericks won more than 60 games, and seven years later today they did it again. Seven years ago The Warriors barely made it into the playoffs at the last minute and were ranked eighth. This year, they were overtaken at the last minute and ranked eighth in the Western Conference. Now, with such similar situations, the two teams meet again. I have to say, this is fate. Ah!" Kenny Smith looked at the rankings and data from seven years ago,

If this thing hadn't really happened, he would definitely not believe that such a coincidence would happen in this world.

"Getting back to the subject, judging from the performance of the two teams this season, do you think it is really possible for the Warriors to create another black eight miracle?" Kenny Smith's question made the show become a little more serious. It's not enough to just laugh and laugh on the show. O'Neal and Barkley also have to provide some professional analysis so that the show can continue.

"In my opinion, history is very likely to repeat its old path!" O'Neal gave his answer without thinking.

"I must first admit that 69 wins is a very great result. I have never won so many games in a season in my entire career. But the results of the regular season can only be regarded as a reference. If Whoever wins more in the regular season will be promoted, so there is no need to hold the playoffs. The league can now award the O'Brien Cup to the people of Dallas." After O'Neal finished speaking, he paused deliberately to let the audience know. Digest what he said. After that, O'Neill put on his black-rimmed glasses and looked at the information in his hand.

"In fact, since the 21st century, only 3 of the 13 NBA championships have been won by the top seed in the regular season. From this, it can be seen that the strength of the NBA teams after the 21st century is even closer. The variables of the game are also greater." O'Neal showed a convincing data, and when Shaq took it seriously, it seemed to be something like that.

"So, I think the possibility of the Golden State Warriors once again creating a black eight miracle is very high, even more than 80%. We all know how strong the Warriors are this season. They have two incredible young players in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. People. David Lee, a long-term member of the 20+10 Club, is not a fuel-saving lamp. Coach Mark Jackson is definitely not the kind of coach who does nothing. If the Warriors were not suffering from injuries in the middle of the season, they would never be ranked only in the rankings. Eighth in the West!”

"Come on, Shaq, it's still 80%. Can you tell me how you got this chance? To put it bluntly, you are just talking nonsense!" Before O'Neal could finish speaking, Barkley interrupted him annoyingly. speak.

"You said that the Warriors have a strong lineup, isn't this year's Mavericks' lineup on paper not strong? Last season, you could still say that the Mavericks were a 'garbage dump' of old, weak, sick, and disabled, but this year, the Mavericks' lineup is Not worse than other teams in the league. Needless to say, MVP's strength never needs to be questioned. Dirk's condition this season is also much better than last year, and in the playoffs, Dirk's performance is often even better Excellent. I don’t need to explain how dedicated Iguodala and Tony Allen are. In the playoffs, these two players will become one of the two most desperate people in the league! What do you think of the Warriors? Will there be another miracle of eight? I can also say that the Mavericks may directly sweep the Oaklanders!"

What Barkley said is actually not much more reliable than O'Neal. If the Mavericks want to sweep the Warriors, the difficulty may not be much worse than the Warriors performing a black eight. .

However, the attitudes of these two guys represent the thoughts of outside fans very well. Some people believe that this year's "script" will follow the historical trajectory, and the Warriors will once again create a black eight miracle.

Some people believe that the Mavericks, who have won 69 games, will make it all the way to the finals. Although the Mavericks' performance in the past two months has been average, it still cannot conceal the strength of the league's No. 1 team.

Before the game even started, fans started a crazy scolding war on the Internet. No matter which view you support, you have your reasons.

The outside world has been making a lot of noise, but neither the Mavericks nor the Warriors have expressed their stance on this.

They all know that their opponents are not easy to defeat. If the Mavericks are not prepared enough, they may be kicked out by the Warriors in the first round.

The Warriors also know that defeating the Mavericks in the playoffs is not as simple as outsiders think.

Yiyang has not watched any programs or news in the past few days, just to prevent his preparation for war from being affected.

In the last two months of the regular season, Yiyang was very frustrated. The failure of a game-winner on James still affects him to this day.

Yiyang didn't want to lose again. In the playoffs, a real battlefield, every loss was very fatal.

Therefore, in the past two days, Yiyang spent much more time in the training hall. After regular training every day, Yiyang would take Gobert and practice with him for two hours.

Two hours later, Yiyang would take the initiative to stay and study the Warriors game video with Carlisle.

It wasn't until eleven or twelve o'clock that the two of them reluctantly left the court. This kind of life lasted until April 19, the night before the first game between the Warriors and the Mavericks.

After watching the game video and walking out of the gym with Yiyang, Carlisle lit a cigarette for himself to relieve the pressure caused by the large amount of work.

In April, the temperature had warmed up, but the cool breeze blowing through the middle of the night still made Carlisle shiver.

"Seven years ago, maybe no one thought that they would be defeated." Carlisle stared at the dark sky and blew out smoke rings.

"Do you think we will lose?" Yiyang asked.

"No, I just feel that things in the world are unpredictable." Carlisle shook his head, threw the cigarette he had only taken a few puffs to the ground, and then stamped it out. The Golden State Warriors are indeed not an ideal opponent. Encountering such a big obstacle in the first round is the last thing Carlisle wants to see.

"Don't think so much. Everything will have the answer by this time tomorrow." Yiyang smiled at Carlisle and walked towards the underground parking lot. "Want me to give you a ride?"

Carlisle didn't answer, but followed directly. He looked up at the huge poster hanging outside the American Airlines Center. Seven years ago, the Mavericks didn't have Yiyang!

The whole world is waiting to see the Warriors create a miracle, and the whole world believes that the Mavericks are the eighth-best upgrade package in the Western Conference.

But will history really develop along the same trajectory as before?

Regardless of whether others believe it or not, Yiyang is dismissive of this statement.

Yiyang doesn't care what people outside say. After four years in the league, in which year have the Mavericks been favored?

Labels such as being a regular season team, a pseudo-strong team, and collapsing as soon as the playoffs arrive have been attached to the Mavericks, and they can't be torn off no matter how hard they try.

In this case, Yiyang simply stopped tearing it apart.

You can interpret it however you like, the only thing I want is to win the game! There is no point in talking too much. If you have a fight, you will know everything.

The first opponent in the playoffs encountered a strong enemy. The Mavericks' 2014 playoffs seem destined to be quite difficult.