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Chapter 316 - 153. Manu, did you offend Popovich?_2

Chapter 316: 153. Manu, did you offend Popovich?_2

The Bobcats, with Felton, Zhang Yang, Gerald Wallace, and Okafor, also took turns in isolated plays.

Both teams had big men over 120 kilograms anchored in the paint protecting the rim.

The difference was that the Mavericks focused on isolation plays, distributing the ball with wing players ready for long-range shots.

The Bobcats, on the other hand, had their guards drive in isolated plays while the forwards crashed the boards, cut to the basket, with Felton providing help on the flank, and Zhang Yang offering support from the top.

Bickerstaff chose this tactic specifically to counter the Mavericks’ fast-paced defensive rotations.

The ’fast-paced defensive rotation’ defensive system left by the old Nelson was indeed formidable, and Cuban, by spending money on the types of players needed, could ensure a top ten defense in the league.

Bickerstaff made the right tactical choice, as the Mavericks showed intense offensive firepower in the first quarter, but the Bobcats kept up, exchanging blows with the Mavericks!

The Mavericks’ starting lineup played the entire quarter, with Nowitzki scoring 9 points, Terry 7 points, Harris 5 points, Josh Howard 6 points, and Dampier getting 4 points from put-backs and alley-oops, totaling 31 points for the quarter.

The Bobcats’ starting lineup also played through the entire quarter.

Dampier guarded Okafor, and Gerald Wallace took over as the main offensive force on the front line, attacking the basket guarded by Nowitzki. When Nowitzki covered Okafor, Okafor took him one-on-one. Okafor scored 6 points for the quarter, Gerald Wallace 7 points.

Felton faced Terry, scoring with a solo three-pointer, another from the corner on an assist, a fast break layup after a pass from Zhang Yang, and drawing a foul on a close-range floater to make one of two free throws, scoring 9 points for the quarter.

Zhang Yang scored with a mid-range jumper after receiving the ball high up, hit a step-back three-pointer on an isolation play, and made another fast break layup, totaling 7 points for the quarter.

Together with Perkins’ put-back for two points, the Bobcats also scored 31 points for the quarter, tying the game with the Mavericks!

During the break, Zhang Yang stared at the big screen showing Nowitzki’s 3-for-5 shooting, including being 1-for-1 from three-point range and perfect from the free-throw line with 2-for-2, completely numb.

Nowitzki had definitely reached MVP-caliber, with his face-up isolation shooting skills hitting the ceiling.

At the end of the first quarter, Zhang Yang said to Nowitzki, "We both play like ’Bird’, let’s be friends," and Nowitzki, taken aback for a moment, replied with a "Sure."

Before the game against the Mavericks, Zhang Yang had thought about telling his forward teammates how to limit Nowitzki but after pondering it, he realized he knew only to ’stick close’, ’push’, and ’shout’; regarding how to actually implement this, he couldn’t make it clear because he didn’t know enough about Nowitzki’s current style of play. Perhaps after playing against him a few more times and studying more game footage of Nowitzki, he might come up with some strategies.

But for now, his half-cocked suggestions weren’t as good as Gerald Wallace acting on his own defensive instincts.

Nevertheless, in the first quarter, Gerald Wallace hardly had a chance to guard Nowitzki; he switched once and Okafor immediately let Josh Howard slip by, prompting a swift return to his original defensive assignment.

In the first quarter, the Bobcats’ strongest lineup exchanged blows with the Mavericks, but by the second quarter, the disparity in strength began to show.

The Mavericks brought in Stackhouse and Diop to replace Devin Harris and Dampier, which didn’t affect their offensive firepower much, and their fast-paced defensive rotations were still excellent.

The Bobcats’ defense wasn’t an issue, with the combination of Rondo, Matt Carroll, Gerald Wallace, Okafor, and Muhammad still performing well, but their offense took a serious nosedive.

What Zhang Yang had feared happened: Rondo had shone two days earlier against the Rockets with 10 assists in a single game and now attracted special attention from opponents.

Rondo was left unguarded on the perimeter, but after driving to the paint, his lateral passes were cut off, and with no teammates to help at the top, he was forced to shoot.

While he could ’cheat-step’ and surprise opponents, facing the interior defense, his shooting percentage was dismal.

In his second career game, the targeted Rondo hit rock bottom.

Zhang Yang rested for over four minutes before coming back on court, and finally, Rondo got an assist. In the Mavericks’ high-speed rotating defense system, only a running shooter like Zhang Yang could seize the good opportunities in Rondo’s eyes.

In the second quarter, the Mavericks’ score was lowered by the Bobcats to 25 points, but they held the Bobcats even tighter, allowing them only 21 points. By halftime, the Mavericks were leading the Bobcats by 5 points with a score of 57 to 52!

In the third quarter, the Mavericks continued to apply pressure. Nowitzki was heavily guarded by the Bobcats, leaving Terry and Stackhouse to step up, both scoring 7 points apiece, leading the Mavericks to a quarter score of 24 to 20 and extending their lead to 9 points!

In the final quarter, the Bobcats’ backcourt duo fired up, driving the team to outscore with 26 to 21, but still fell short of a comeback.

Nowitzki went 8 for 15, including 2 for 3 from beyond the arc, along with a perfect 6 for 6 from the free-throw line, scoring 24 points with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block. Terry contributed 22 points, Josh Howard 18 points, Stackhouse 15 points, Harris 15 points... With a narrow victory of 102 to 98, the Mavericks won over the Bobcats by 4 points!

On the Bobcats side, Felton scored a game-high 27 points, and Zhang Yang also put up a solid 23 points. Okafor had 18 points and Gerald Wallace scored 17 points, the four of them combining for 85 points, but the rest of the team only managed 13 points together.

Facing the Rockets’ fierce rotation, the Bobcats found themselves at a disadvantage not only in individual capability but also in teamwork compared to the Mavericks, leading to a collective failure...

...

Before playing the Mavericks, Felton had talked with the team about the game against the Rockets, warning his teammates not to think they were very strong just because they slaughtered the Rockets. The teammates listened, but most didn’t take it to heart.

After the game against the Mavericks, they realized that what Fetty Wap said was right.

Although they won by 5 points in the final quarter, their offense relied on Felton’s 8 points and Zhang Yang’s 5 points towards the end. The Mavericks couldn’t stop Felton, and Zhang Yang’s high positioning created good opportunities for his cutting teammates.

As for wing shooting, other than Felton’s one corner catch-and-shoot three-pointer, the rest of the wings were almost completely shut down by the Mavericks’ fast-rotating defense.

The defense managed to hold the Mavericks to 21 points, largely because the Mavericks players were tired, facing the second game of a back-to-back, with starters playing the entire first quarter and the Bobcats causing the Mavericks a lot of trouble in the second and third quarters on the defensive end.

After slaughtering the Rockets by 31 points, the Bobcats players had indeed become a bit complacent.

Now, with Felton’s admonition, losing to the Mavericks on the second game of a back-to-back has helped the Bobcats’ players calm their restless hearts.

Zhang Yang felt the change in his teammates’ mentality and praised Fetty Wap for a job well done.

The day after playing the Mavericks, the Bobcats arrived in San Antonio, rested for a night, and then on the 4th, they went to the AT&T Center to face the Spurs.

At 7:40 pm, as the players from both teams entered the arena, Zhang Yang noticed a change on the opposite side—Ginobili was standing outside the player tunnel, not starting!

After the entrance ceremony, Zhang Yang and Ginobili came to the sidelines for a chat.

After last season’s All-Star Game, the two exchanged contact information, and although they had little communication since, they both had a favorable impression of each other.

The two first talked about the changes to the "divisional rules."

Since last season, the Nuggets Team finished with 44 wins in the third seed of the West, which was the same record as the eighth seed, the Kings. It was a bit outrageous, so before the regular season started, the NBA Rules Committee announced new divisional ranking rules. The division winner still had to be in the top four of the conference standings, but no longer necessarily in the top three. The top four would consist of the three division winners plus the non-division-winner with the best record, with specific rankings determined by the teams’ records.

Last season, the Spurs and Mavericks were the two teams with the best records in the West, possibly the strongest in the entire league, but they could only be seeded first and fourth. They met early in the second round, fought fiercely to Game 7, and despite having an exciting battle, neither team reached the Western Conference Finals. As a result, the old divisional ranking rules were criticized by the media and fans.

Such a scenario would not happen again, with both teams continuing last season’s lineup. This season, both teams could again be the teams with the best records in the West, and if they met in the playoffs, it would definitely be in the Western Conference Finals.

As they were chatting, Zhang Yang suddenly asked, "Manu, did you offend Popovich? You’re only 29, and you’ve been demoted to the bench."