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Chapter 729 - 312. The devil’s schedule Southwest Division 4 consecutive away games_2

Chapter 729: 312. The devil’s schedule Southwest Division 4 consecutive away games_2

What are you guys talking about? Felton can’t understand it anymore. Just continue gossiping, "Last month I saw a news report saying Howard and Nowitzki were competing for the top scorer. I think it’s very likely to be true; Howard took 17.3 shots this season while Nowitzki dropped to 16.9, the lowest in six years."

Zhang Yang: "What kind of brain is that?"

Felton: "I also think his brain has issues. He’s lowering the average IQ of our black people. I don’t know where he gets his confidence from. He takes more shots than Nowitzki, but scores less than Nowitzki, and yet, he’s still competing. The title of the top scorer is based on skill, not just by grabbing the shooting rights."

Zhang Yang: "..."

Hill knew Zhang Yang didn’t want to continue this topic and said, "I’ve also heard about this; it seems like many Mavericks players support Howard, I can’t understand why."

Zhang Yang: "They became a laughingstock after being upset in the playoffs, and needed someone to blame. They don’t dare criticize the young general for fear of being benched, so they only target Nowitzki, who has a better temper."

Hill: "It’s so realistic!"

Felton: "It is very realistic, but one thing surprised me, the only one in the Mavericks who publicly supports Nowitzki is actually Terry. I thought he would be the one to jump out and compete for the top scorer. That was unexpected."

Zhang Yang: "Terry? That is indeed surprising, but it makes sense. He doesn’t care much about outside ridicule and slander. If he truly respects Nowitzki’s ability, that fits his personality."

Felton and Hill thought about it, indeed, Terry has many flaws, big mouth, dismisses everything, defiantly self-absorbed... but he doesn’t shift the blame.

After chatting with Felton and Hill, Zhang Yang originally planned to go greet Nowitzki, but in the end, decided against it.

During past competitions, Nowitzki would always enthusiastically greet his opponents; his current demeanor, obviously a result of being clobbered by the Warriors team just yesterday...

Let the Silver Horned King lick his wounds alone and slowly come to terms with it.

At 8 PM, the Bobcats’ away game against the Mavericks began.

The Bobcats players took this game as a regular season match, but the Mavericks came hard from the get-go, defensively vicious!

Nowitzki and Eddie Jones started off with "swish swish" two three-pointers, Josh Howard not wanting to be outdone, scored twice with stop-and-jump shots from close range, and Harris added a fast-break layup for two points. The Mavericks opened with 5 consecutive baskets leading the Bobcats 12 to 6!

Carlisle called a timeout, replacing Felton with Rondo to boost speed at the Point Guard position; substituted Perkins with Muhammad to strengthen defense around the three-second zone wings; and replaced Hill with Mike Miller to enhance side wing shooting support.

The head coach’s response strategy was clear, and the players executed it well. After the timeout, Zhang Yang and Okafor took over the offensive responsibilities.

Zhang Yang, facing the defense of Josh Howard who physically dominated him, mainly employed shooting off movements and went solo when mismatches occurred.

Okafor primarily took high-position and side wing off-ball screens before breaking off to shoot. When needed, he would go one-on-one against Nowitzki, with great effect.

The Bobcats’ offensive firepower noticeably increased, but defensively, aside from Rondo doing well to limit Harris’s quick counterattacks, positions 2-4 were still getting blasted...

This season, the Bobcats’ defense relied on man-to-man and double teaming.

Early in the season, the Bobcats’ coaching staff, management, and core players had multiple discussions and decided based on the actual situation: this season would prioritize offense over defense.

During training camp, preseason, and the early stages of the regular season, their adjustments on the offense progressed much faster than on defense.

Because they lost Gerald Wallace, the impact on their defense was more significant than on their offense; losing Wallace, the linchpin in their inside and perimeter defense, required a complete restructuring. However, offensively, although weaker, Gerald Wallace was replaceable. Zhang Yang, Okafor, Felton continued to improve offensively, Rondo, Millsap, Alan Anderson each made their strides, Jarett Jack and Muhammad could score, and with the introduction of Hill and Mike Miller, two forwards who could easily average double figures in scores if in a different team, greatly improved the offensive conditions from last season.

Hence, this season, the Bobcats opted not to rebuild their defensive system but rather, simplified it, ensuring basic defense with the focus on offense. However, due to their players’ decent individual defensive capabilities, maintaining basic defense, primarily man-to-man and double-teaming, their defense was still slightly above the league’s average.

Normally, the Bobcats’ approach of man-to-man and double-teaming in defense should suit well against the Mavericks’ unlimited iso-play style; this season their primary defense honed Xu Zhang, Felton, and Okafor’s defensive abilities significantly.

But tonight, the Mavericks players played like they were on steroids, fiercely attacking, and their shooting was excellent. Terry, Nowitzki, Eddie Jones, and substitute Stackhouse were all making perfect shots from the perimeter.

This caused Josh Howard’s drives to be unstoppable as the Bobcats’ wings didn’t dare to collapse and double team, leading to Hill and Mike Miller being repeatedly exploded by Josh Howard; even when substitute Barea drove, the wings hesitated to adjust.

At the end of the first quarter, the Bobcats were trailing the Mavericks by 4 points, 31 to 35.

Heading into the break, Felton, who had just been swapped out for a few frantic minutes, quaffed a big gulp of water and sprayed out, "Are those guys insane tonight? They’re playing so hard? We’re not the Warriors!"