One Guard

Although the Mavericks will not start the playoffs until April 20th, the playoff battles have already begun to spread on April 19th.

On the first day of fierce fighting, each team fought fiercely. Eight teams competed in four games. It is worth mentioning that the results of the three games all have one thing in common.

In the first game, the Nets, ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference, defeated the Raptors, ranked third in the Eastern Conference, with a score of 94 to 87. Immediately afterwards, the Grizzlies, ranked seventh in the Western Conference, actually dragged down the Spurs, who had won 62 games this season and ranked second in the league!

After the game, Popovich shook his head repeatedly. "I should really trade all those useless guys in the middle of the fucking season!" The old man faced the camera and was extremely angry.

But that's not all. In another game in the Eastern Conference, the eighth-ranked Hawks defeated the Pacers, who dominated the Heat. At this point, in three of the four games on the first day of the playoffs, teams ranked lower in the regular season defeated teams ranked higher.

The emergence of this phenomenon has also sounded the alarm for the teams that will compete on the 20th. No matter whether you have 69 wins or 49 wins in the regular season, in the playoffs, everyone is equal. Who wins and who loses has nothing to do with the regular season record. In the playoffs, we only pursue one thing, and that is strength! Only the stronger party can kill the enemy and save themselves.

And this special phenomenon undoubtedly caused the media to target the Dallas Mavericks.

"Last night's game fully demonstrated that the team ranked higher in the regular season may not necessarily win the final victory. I think the Dallas Mavericks must be quite nervous now. Because seven years ago, they lost to the eighth team in the Western Conference inside!"

"69 wins in the regular season is a great result. But this greatness is limited to the regular season. In the playoffs, everyone has a blank sheet of paper. Want to win? Then you have to take action in the regular season. The results will have no effect!"

"Three of the four games were won by lower-ranked teams, which shows that this is not an accident. I believe that the Warriors will burst out with tremendous energy in the playoffs. The Dallas Mavericks want to keep their home court. I’m afraid it’s quite difficult.”

Looking at the unfavorable news for the Mavericks, Yiyang simply turned off the phone screen. He couldn't quite understand what the Spurs' loss to the Grizzlies had to do with the Mavericks. Could it be that if the Spurs lost to the Grizzlies, we will definitely lose to the Warriors?

"Don't care about the nonsense from the media, we just have to play our own game. The Warriors seven years ago have nothing to do with the Warriors now. And we are completely different from the Mavericks seven years ago. So, Don't be burdened, play hard, victory will definitely belong to Dallas!" Carlisle looked at the players who were changing equipment and took the opportunity to adjust the team's mentality.

As soon as he finished speaking, Nowitzki stood up suddenly. Dirk didn't talk much today and his expression was quite serious. He was the first to change his equipment before Yiyang and was ready to go on the field to warm up.

Carlisle didn't call Nowitzki, he knew exactly what the big guy was thinking. Seven years ago, Nowitzki won the regular season MVP and led the team to an excellent record of 67 wins. Everyone believes that the Mavericks will eventually win the O'Brien Trophy.

However, they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The Mavericks became the laughing stock of the entire league, and Nowitzki was also branded a "softie." Wade even claimed at the time that Dirk was an "incompetent leader."

Because of this incident, the league postponed the regular season MVP award time, just to avoid the embarrassment of being eliminated in the first round of the regular season MVP. Dirk's reputation as a "softie" didn't finally dissipate until he won the championship in 2011.

This incident may be the darkest thing in Dirk's career, and it is the thing he is least willing to mention. Other stars change the league rules because they are too powerful. Dirk changed the time of the league awards because he lost too humiliatingly.

So Dirk is going to be so serious today,

Carlisle wouldn't be surprised at all. What this guy is about to face is the darkest time of his career!

Just a minute after Dirk walked out of the locker room, Yiyang also changed his equipment and followed him out. On the empty basketball court, Yiyang discovered Dirk who had already started shooting.

"Why is it so early today?" Yiyang casually walked onto the court and picked up a basketball lying quietly on the ground.

"Come on Yi, an old man like me doesn't need encouragement." Nowitzki smiled, he knew what Yiyang wanted to do. But verbal encouragement should be reserved for young people like Gobert. As a veteran, Nowitzki has long been unable to become motivated by just a few passionate words.

Yiyang scratched his head in embarrassment. He was really making a fool of himself in front of Guan Gong, and he was immediately seen through. He really wanted to motivate Dirk, but who could let himself be so stupid?

"You know, seven years ago, I almost became an idiot in everyone's eyes!" Dirk was still shooting while talking. Moreover, this does not seem to affect the accuracy of his shooting. "The most incompetent, tragic, and elusive MVP in NBA history. God, I don't even know how they came up with those words."

Dirk smiled bitterly and shook his head, the painful memories of seven years ago still vivid in his mind. As soon as he opened his eyes at that time, Dirk could see countless news about "crusade" against him. He really wanted to give up his MVP title to someone else. He would rather throw the trophy that symbolized honor to the bottom of Baiyan Lake.

mvp is like a curse, making Dirk live in stress and depression all day long.

But after recalling those past events and looking at Yiyang again, Dirk's expression regained his composure.

"But do you think what happened seven years ago is going to affect me? Look at how we've struggled over the past few years. We won a championship, we had another winning streak, we won 69 games ! We have changed so much, so I believe that such a tragedy will never happen again." After finishing speaking, Dirk smiled instead. You can't see anxiety, nervousness or fear on his face, only a kind of indifference and confidence after seeing everything clearly.

"So, you don't have to worry about me, either. When I get to the court, I will never show mercy! I have experienced the worst things, and nothing can make me flinch!"

Yiyang nodded silently, yes, when had Dirk ever made himself worried? During the regular season last season, Nowitzki's condition plummeted due to injuries, and his scoring average hit a new low since his rookie season. But as soon as the playoffs arrived, Dirk seemed to be resurrected with full blood, and followed the team all the way to the Western Conference Finals before finally falling.

As Dirk said, the Mavericks have struggled over the years. A mere Golden State Warrior is nothing to be afraid of!

※※※

As the warm-up time got longer and longer, more and more fans gathered in the American Airlines Center Arena. The fans rushed into the field and shouted Dirk's name to cheer the Germans on. He is the only player on the Mavericks who has experienced the Black Eight incident seven years ago, so he should also be under the most pressure.

Whenever a fan did this, Dirk would smile and wave kindly to the stands. He thanked these people for their continued support, and he thanked these people for protecting him after he was nicknamed a "softie."

In today's game, Dirk cannot let himself down or let the team down. Likewise, he doesn't want to disappoint his fans.

Golden State Warriors? If you think you can bring me down like you did seven years ago, you are totally wrong!

We are extremely powerful now!

At 8:30 pm on April 20, this most anticipated duel finally started with the referee’s whistle.

Until the first second of the game, everyone agreed that the Mavericks were doomed. But as soon as the game started, the Mavericks shocked everyone!

Due to Australian Bogut being reimbursed for the season, the Warriors had to use Jermaine O'Neal as the starting center. Jermaine O'Neal was once one of the most powerful inside players in the league, but after suffering from injuries for many years, the guy who was once affectionately known as "Little O'Neal" also lost his edge.

Dalembert easily won the basketball from O'Neal, and fierce shouts erupted in the American Airlines Center Arena. In the 2013-2014 season, the Mavericks officially started on the road to the championship!

Curry, as always, defended Yiyang tightly, although the one people talked about the most before the game started was Dirk. But Curry knows very well that Yiyang is the real soul of the current Mavericks team.

Ever since he failed to kill James, Yiyang has become extremely bloodthirsty, and his desire to score is much higher than before.

Today was no exception. Seeing that Curry was so attached, Yiyang reached out and asked the Haitians to set up a cover for him.

Curry's thin body naturally cannot allow him to get around the pick and roll in time, and Jermaine O'Neal's speed cannot be compared with Yiyang. When he moved sideways to prepare for defense, Yiyang had already passed him easily. .

Just like that, Yiyang stopped one step inside the free throw line and shot a jump shot. This shot will definitely give the Mavericks a good start in the playoffs!

However, perhaps because of being too excited, Yiyang shot the ball a little hastily. The basketball did not fall into the net as people thought, but hit the right side of the basket and bounced outside!

"My favorite pull-up jump shot actually missed. It seems that the Warriors really have an invisible restraint on the Mavericks!" O'Neal shook his head. Seven years ago, Nowitzki, who played almost perfectly in the regular season, was It was because he met the Warriors that his condition declined.

Is it possible that today, seven years later, Yiyang will follow Dirk's old path?

Just when everyone thought the Mavericks' offense was over, Nowitzki jumped up high, stretched out his long arms, and suddenly grabbed the offensive rebound behind David Lee!

"It's Dirk, he actually grabbed the offensive rebound without being in a dominant position!"

David Li turned around in surprise. As soon as he turned around, Dirk had already passed the ball back to Yiyang.

After receiving the ball, Yiyang made a fake shot, slightly deceiving Curry's center of gravity to move forward.

Seeing Curry move, Yiyang immediately retracted the basketball, hunched over like a cheetah and quickly broke through from him!

Entering the paint, facing the panicked David Lee, Yiyang took off directly towards him and prepared for a dunk!

Before David Li could jump up to stop him, Yiyang's body suddenly collided with his.

This huge impact made it difficult for David Lee to stop him. With his arms raised high, he was blocked by Yiyang and completed a dunk!

"A dunk over another man! Hahaha, right from the start, he kicked off the exciting playoffs with a dunk over another man! Shaq, didn't you say that the Warriors have an invisible hold on the Mavericks? Fortunately, there was restraint, otherwise he might have flown directly out of the dome of the American Airlines Center Arena just now!" Barkley waved his arms excitedly, and Yiyang's dunk seemed to break the so-called The Black Eight Curse.

Yiyang stretched out his hand and high-fived Dirk who struggled to grab the offensive rebound. The two partners, inside and outside, frowned and looked extremely fierce.

Want to create the Black Eight Miracle again? OK, step over our corpses! If, you can.