One Guard

The San Antonio Spurs were held scoreless in open play in the last 7 minutes of the quarter. The Mavericks players can rely on this data to brag about it for a lifetime.

No matter how much money Cuban spent on this lineup for the Mavericks last summer, it was money well spent to keep the Spurs from scoring in open play for 7 minutes.

The next day, the last seven minutes of the Mavericks' game were played on a loop on major sports TV stations. All experts believe that these 7 minutes are the standard defense that all teams need to learn.

Deadly defense, well-timed double-teaming, flexible defense changes and strong protection of rebounds. All the defensive priorities emphasized by the head coach, you can see in those seven minutes.

This seven-minute scene was broadcast on major TV stations for at least more than an hour. The news about the Eastern Conference Finals was only mentioned in passing.

This even gave fans the illusion that the game between the Spurs and the Mavericks was actually the finals!

At this point, James must be glad that he was in the East from beginning to end. If he came to the West, even a great player like him would probably not be able to complete the miracle of reaching the Finals for three consecutive years.

After winning the game, everyone on the Mavericks team is naturally very happy. They have become the darlings of the world, and no one will ever jump out to say that the Mavericks are not good and that the Mavericks are a pseudo-powerful team. They are very strong, and they are already strong enough to touch the O'Brien Cup again!

In addition to the victory in this game, team doctor Benjamin brought another good news to everyone.

"You mean, Vince's physical condition is ready to compete?" Carlisle looked at Benjamin's report, which pointed out that Carter's foot has healed.

"Yes, Vince's recovery is much faster than we thought. To be honest, as a 37-year-old veteran, his recovery speed is really scary." Benjamin gave Carlisle a positive nod, and now, Carter has been cleared from the injured list.

Carlisle looked through the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office at the players training on the training ground. Carter, as always, was talking and laughing with everyone, just like a kind old coach.

Yes, this guy has been away from the competition for half a year!

"In other words, I can send him to play in the next game?" Carlisle is still a little unbelievable. Carter's comeback time is a full half month earlier than before.

"if you want,

You can send him on now! Don't worry, Rick, we've given him a comprehensive evaluation and examination. Now Vince is as healthy as a hound eager to hunt! "

"Did you tell him?"

"Of course not. As I said before, we have to inform you about this kind of thing first." Benjamin smiled and then took the report back. Just when he turned around and was about to leave, the gray-haired chief team doctor suddenly stopped. "Rick, you're going to let Vince play in the next game, right?"

"I can't tell, maybe if necessary." Carlisle looked at the team doctor's solid back. He didn't know what kind of expression Benjamin was talking to him with now.

"Let Vince contribute if he needs to. He's 37 and a half years old Rick, I mean... he may not have much time left. Hahaha, of course, you're the boss , I just said that casually." Benjamin quickly restored his smile and left the office.

Carlisle smiled. He knew from the beginning that Benjamin was a Carter fan. When Carter was soaring in Toronto, Benjamin was still a member of the Raptors' medical staff.

He understands Benjamin's mood. Yes, everyone is talking now, "This may be Duncan's last year, this may be Ray Allen's last year." But few people think of it, this may also be the last year. Carter's final year.

Because Carter has disappeared from people's eyes for too long. Since coming to the Mavericks, his role has been as a pure shooter, continuing to shine with his 37.3% three-point shooting rate. Now he rarely attacks with the ball. If it weren't for Yiyang's occasional wonderful passes that make this veteran miss the feeling of soaring in the sky, people would even think that Carter is a veteran shooter.

Seeing Carter's unbridled smile on the training ground, Carlisle couldn't help but laugh along with him. How long can you and the fans see such a smile?

Carlisle shook his head. In fact, regardless of these factors, Carlisle did need Carter to return.

After Carter is gone, the Mavericks have been lacking a stable scoring point at the second position.

Tony Allen seems to only focus on one "skill tree". This guy uses all his talents on defense, and only occasionally steals a few points on the offensive end.

Nick Young is indeed good enough, and he is definitely a bright spot on the Mavericks' bench now. But the playoffs are about winning with stability. If you rely on occasional "convulsions" to win, you will only lose miserably in the end. If Nick Young fails occasionally, the Mavericks' bench will be stretched thin in terms of scoring ability.

Now that Carter can return, it means that Carlisle has more choices in terms of personnel. He can let Nick Young run unscrupulously on the court, or he can send Carter, who can still average 12 points per game, to shoot a few three-pointers.

Don't forget, behind the "first dunk king in history" is a North Carolina second position player with extremely solid basic skills. Carter is absolutely trustworthy on the court.

In the afternoon, as always, it was time for confrontation training. Old Carter walked off the court silently with a smile, freeing up this space for his teammates who needed to play. His smile was more like a bitter smile.

At this time, Carter would sit with Carlisle and Armstrong. If he hadn't been wearing a Mavericks training uniform, you would have thought that this guy with a gray beard was an experienced coach.

What's impossible? The guy named Tyronn Lue, who entered the league in the same year as Carter, was eliminated as an assistant coach of the Clippers in the previous round.

This time, Carter prepared the tactical board for Carlisle as usual and put the marker on the tactical board.

"Vince, do you want to come up and play?" Yiyang waved to Carter, but the "demigod" shook his head slightly. He is a very professional player, so he also knows very well that if he is injured During this period, when confrontation training can be conducted, you must follow the head coach's arrangements.

After a while, Carlisle and Armstrong walked out of the office. As usual, Carter brought a small bench over and sat next to Carlisle and Armstrong.

Carlisle picked up the tactical board and marker, but did not announce the start of training. Instead, he gave Carter a surprised look.

"Darrell, is this a new member of our coaching staff?" Carlisle pointed at Carter and asked his assistant, with an expression as if he and Carter were meeting for the first time.

"Huh?" Armstrong looked around confusedly. There was no one else here.

"That's the guy wearing a No. 25 vest and covered in sweat." Seeing that Armstrong didn't understand, Carlisle explained Carter's outfit in detail.

"You mean Vince? Damn it, you're confused." Armstrong looked confused. What song was Carlisle going to sing today?

"Vince? The guy named Vince on our team is a No. 2 player, not a coach. Tell me Vince, are you a player or a coach."

"I'm a player, boss." Carter didn't know what Carlisle wanted to do, so he could only answer in a straightforward manner.

"Since you are a player, go on the field and prepare. This is where the coach stays."

"Huh?" Carter was also confused. Although Carlisle usually liked to joke, he thought for a few seconds and really didn't find the funny point of this joke.

"I mean, you can play, Vince. Get ready, we will need you in the next game." Carlisle finally smiled, but Carter's mind went blank.

While Carter stayed where he was, Yiyang pulled Carter into the training ground.

"Welcome back, buddy!" Yiyang looked at the 37-year-old guy and laughed happily.