One Guard

Dirk Nowitzki hit a three-pointer, widening the point difference between the two teams to 9 points from the beginning. Mark Jackson had to call a timeout in advance. His players were completely blindsided by the Mavericks' fierce offensive. If they continue to let things go, the Mavericks won't be able to score 11-0 or 12-0.

The spotlight was on Dirk. He scored seven points in a row. It seemed that he had returned to 2011, the period when he was omnipotent.

However, at the end of the bench where no one was paying attention, Yiyang had a faint smile on his face. Assisting Dirk to hit a three-pointer, I don't know why, this is always his most comfortable moment on the court.

Seeing Dirk come out of the shadows and perform in such an excellent state against the Warriors, Yiyang was also overjoyed. How could the Mavericks' road to the championship be without Dirk's strength?

The timeout ended quickly, and there were no substitutions on the Warriors' side. In fact, Mark Jackson has no one to replace. Whether it's Speights or Draymond Green, the two short inside men on the Warriors' bench have no height restrictions on Dirk. Carlisle really wants to see how Mark Jackson can contain Nowitzki's performance.

The Warriors' first attack ended in a blackout. Curry's mid-range shot was blocked by Yiyang's face-blocking defense, and the Warriors hit the ball again. This was already the second missed shot by Curry today. Yiyang's tight defense did not give Curry any space. It seemed that the Warriors didn't even have any room to fight back.

The two sides switched offense and defense. When Carlisle looked at the court, it turned out that Mark Jackson's arrangement was just to let the 2.11-meter Jermaine O'Neal guard Dirk's side. O'Neal Jr. is indeed much taller than David Lee, but if he wants to guard Dirk now, he might be thinking too simply about the German.

But when Nowitzki received the basketball again and prepared to attack, he realized that things were not as simple as he thought. Seeing Dirk holding the ball, David Lee immediately double-teamed him. If one person can't guard him, Mark Jackson will send two people!

"Double-teamed, the defense was very tight, and Dirk had no chance to hit the ball!"

It was difficult for Nowitzki to keep the ball after the tight defense of the two. Just as he was about to pass the ball back to Yiyang, David Lee reached out and poked the basketball away, avenging the steal just now.

"The Warriors' tactics were very successful. Dirk looked a little confused when facing the double-team defense. The Warriors counterattacked, Curry passed the ball to Klay Thompson, and before Tony Allen could catch up, Klay directly Chasing three-point shot! Beautiful, three-pointer! This is the Warriors' ball, and their performance from beyond the three-point line is amazing! It seems that after a timeout, the Warriors did slow down." O'Neal made a big play Tongue, if the Warriors were defeated so easily, wouldn't all the bullshit he boasted in the past two days be nonsense? Although they are actually just gibberish.

Although he encountered a double-team, Dirk is still the most important offensive point for the Mavericks. When another turnaround jump shot was blocked by David Lee and O'Neal, Carlisle rushed to the court and gestured.

Yiyang knew that it was time for him to appear.

Dirk Nowitzki returned to the defense with heavy steps. When Yiyang had already run back to his own half and stood with arms spread out, Dirk had just crossed the midfield line. You can clearly see the traces of time in his steps. After all, this guy turns 36 in two months.

At the age of 36, he is definitely considered an advanced age among professional players. No matter how great a star is, his dominance will inevitably decline when he reaches the age of 36.

You might say that Dirk's average numbers this season are as good as they have been in more than a dozen years, and that's right. But data is data, and a player's dominance over the game may not necessarily be reflected by data.

In 2011, this level of double-teaming may only slow down Dirk's scoring pace. But today in 2014, Dirk was a little overwhelmed when faced with double-teaming.

But fortunately, Carlisle doesn't need to worry too much.

Because the current Dallas Mavericks don't need Dirk to dominate the game.

The task of dominating the game is usually given to Yiyang.

Stephen Curry dared to swear on his health that he had never seen such a terrifying defense. When Lillard was defended by Yiyang and was forced to say the classic phrase "This kind of defense is something I have never seen at any time in my career," Curry thought Lillard, the rap boy, was exaggerating.

But from the current point of view, it is indeed difficult for Yiyang to handle after entering the playoffs.

There was no other way. In order to get rid of the defense, Curry had to resort to the "elevator door" tactic.

But this time, when David Lee and O'Neal closed the "elevator door", the referee's whistle also sounded in time.

Sure enough, an offensive foul was committed. When Mark Jackson's elevator door tactics become more and more popular, the league can no longer sit back and ignore this obvious mobile screen. Occasionally, once or twice, the referee can turn a blind eye. But the entire game relies on fouls to score goals, and it is impossible for the referee to allow such a thing to happen.

Now, the elevator door tactic has been banned by the alliance. If Curry wants to get rid of Curry today, it seems he can only find another way.

The Mavericks resumed their attack, but Nowitzki was still tightly defended by David Lee and O'Neal. Dirk held the ball and attacked for several consecutive rounds, which seemed to make everyone on the Warriors forget one thing. Nowitzki is only the Mavericks' second scorer this season. After the leading scorer dunked a basket in the opening game, he kept "playing dead".

Yiyang gradually slowed down his pace after approaching the three-point line. He seemed to be observing the movement of his teammates and seemed to want to pass the ball.

Iguodala pulled out of the crowd. Yiyang turned to look at the strong No. 9, but suddenly accelerated without warning!

"Whoosh!" Curry only felt a gust of wind blow by, and Yiyang disappeared. Turning his head to look, Yiyang had already reached the three-second zone.

Since O'Neal Jr. and David Lee were both wrapped around Dirk, the Warriors' basket was temporarily unguarded. This fleeting opportunity was more than enough for Yiyang, who was as fast as lightning.

David Li just started to move towards the basket, but Yiyang's tomahawk dunk had already been completed. This dunk was so powerful that the basketball stand could not stop shaking. Yiyang's dunk is like this, with both height and power. It has both elegant beauty and violent aesthetics.

The Warriors' defense only lasted two rounds after returning from the timeout before it was broken again! Guarding Dirk Nowitzki will not make the Warriors' situation safer, because now, the Mavericks are no longer Dirk's team.

Four years into the league, he has already become a superstar. When the Mavericks used Caron Butler and draft picks to bet on this kid, no one thought he could achieve such an achievement.

An Asian defender with no three-pointers and a skinny body was initially considered inferior to Spain's Ricky Rubio. At that time, when the Mavericks decided to trade, people generally thought that Cuban was losing his mind because of losing.

But now...

Curry is still looking for opportunities, but Yiyang still refuses to give in. Curry, who does not have any physical advantage, is not easy to break through Yiyang. If you want to shoot, you can't get space to shoot.

In fact, when the Warriors were beaten 9-0 just now, in addition to Dirk's aggressive offense, Yiyang's defense was also an important reason why the Warriors fell into passivity. But just now, Dirk's light was so dazzling that people ignored it.

Only now, when the spotlight returns to the Mavericks' true star, do people realize how amazing his defense is.

There was no other way, Curry hit the ball to Clay. However, when Clay faces Tony Allen, the pressure is not much less than Curry.

In the end, it was David Lee's mid-range jump shot that saved the Warriors' offense. But with David Lee, can the Warriors really survive until the end?

The Warriors continued to double-team Dirk, but they did not dare to let anyone come up to double-team Yiyang. Once a double-team is formed, what the Warriors will gain is not a successful defense, but a defensive vulnerability.

Yiyang's passing ability is superb. The biggest reason why he was selected with the third overall pick was because of his incredible passing ability. A rash double-team can only add one assist to Yiyang.

But after four seasons of experience, Yiyang's current scoring ability is not much worse than passing.

Curry stayed as close to Yiyang as possible, intending to use endless physical contact to interfere with Yiyang's dribbling. But basketball seems to have become one with Yiyang, moving freely between his hands.

Yiyang safely handed the ball to Iguodala, an emerging force that cannot be ignored on both offense and defense for the Mavericks this season.

Handing over the basketball, Yiyang cut in empty-handed, with Curry chasing after him.

Just when Yiyang had already stepped into the three-second zone, the No. 1 guard suddenly stopped, turned around quickly, and ran towards the three-point line. An extremely sudden reverse run, Yiyang's off-ball offense was also very brilliant.

His never-ending running and sudden stop-and-start counter-runs all remind people of the classic guard of the Pistons - Richard Maskman. The Unstoppable Hamilton.

In the 2004 Finals between the Lakers and Pistons, even Kobe was tortured by Hamilton's running. In the 2011 Western Conference Finals, this No. 1 guard also made the "Black Mamba" miserable.

When he came out to catch the basketball, Curry was still one step away. Yiyang stared at the basket and prepared to shoot. Curry directly threw himself out. Only in this way could it cause interference.

However, when Curry took off with all his strength, he realized that he was really the stupidest idiot among the ten people on the field.

This has to mention Yiyang's other specialty, the fake act of worshiping Buddha.

How many people did Yiyang fly past while worshiping Buddha? According to ridiculous estimates, all point guards in this league have been passed over by Yiyang. His realistic worshiping movements often deceived Tony Allen in the training ground. And Tony Allen is already the best perimeter defender in the league.

After deceiving Curry, Yiyang got inside. Clay took a step forward to interfere, but Yiyang did not stop for a jump shot. The experienced O'Neal stood between the free throw line and the basket to block Yiyang, but Yiyang did not take off on his own.

In front of O'Neal Jr., Yiyang casually threw the ball toward the basket. Is it an alley-oop? No, neither Dirk nor Dalembert are the kind of insiders who can successfully complete alley-oops. Yiyang's careless throw was actually a throw.

The basketball passed over O'Neal's fingers, fell backwards, and hit the net accurately. Big O'Neal on the commentary table shook his head. Perhaps in this league, only Paul and Parker can match Yiyang's elegance in shooting.

The basketball went into the net, 13 to 3. The Warriors struggled for a while, but in the end they were unable to prevent the point difference from developing into double digits.

Offense with the ball, running without the ball, precise passing, fancy breakthroughs, iron-blooded defense... In the past, people rarely saw all these qualities in a point guard. Nash may pass the ball well enough, but the iron-blooded defense has nothing to do with him. Iverson may be impactful, but his off-ball offensive threat is not that great.

Four years ago, no one could have imagined that Yiyang would become such an all-around point guard. Defending Nowitzki is just the tip of the iceberg in containing the Mavericks. Now Mavericks has long been carried on Yiyang's shoulders!

The Mavericks now belong to Yiyang's team. Nowitzki more often plays the role of assisting Yiyang.

In the American Airlines Center Arena, never underestimate the fighting power of the German. As long as he is still here, he will always defend the land of Dallas.

As for Yiyang, he is not just satisfied with defending. This guy wants to bring all the honors in the world to Dallas with his own hands!

Yiyang and Dirk have both shown their terrifying strength today. The Warriors' Black Eight Miracle has no chance of success under the obstruction of these two guys.

As soon as the first quarter started, the Warriors fell into a passive position. Yiyang and Dirk cannot let the Mavericks experience another darkness...