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"...For the moment, the Warriors are still 0.5 wins ahead of the Mavericks, and although they lost to the Magic, the good form of the Warriors against the Timberwolves and Kings doesn't seem temporary. But the bad news is that the Mavericks, just like the Magic, also have many shooters with the nerve-wracking blade attributes, and the Warriors lost the game under the sudden outbursts of Richardson, Nelson, Turkoglu, and others. Compared to them, Kidd and Terry are even better three-point shooters..."
"The other bad news is that the Mavericks have Nowitzki, and the German tank has once again displayed the style of a king this season. As can be seen in the following stats, Nowitzki's impact on both the offensive and defensive sides has made strides compared to his previous seasons, and his technical traits only slow down the Warriors' front-line defense, which they are proud of. The Warriors need to be cautious about this, and Coach Liam might use the stranglehold formation he employed against James..."
"The center, Bogut, introduced by the Mavericks, has played a huge role, taking the Mavericks' interior defense to a new level, allowing Nowitzki to focus all his energy on the offensive side. However, in my opinion, it won't have much of an effect against the Warriors. Curry against Bogut, Nowitzki, a very mobile interior line, can give full play to the advantages of small and large. Carlisle should carefully think about how to defend against the Warriors' pick-and-roll offense; maybe he can use a strategy of trapping Curry..."
"Overall, Nowitzki's offensive effect against the Warriors' group of forwards, as well as Curry's misalignment with the Mavericks' interior defense, will be the key factor in determining the outcome of this game. Of course, the aging and short guard line is also a hidden danger for the Mavericks. Coach Liam might let Curry directly attack Kidd's defense, Bob and others, which could be difficult for Carlisle to handle..."
Lius carefully reviewed his freshly baked game preview from start to finish, smiled with satisfaction, and posted it in the original section of the Hupu forum.
It took him two hours to write it, and before that, he spent an hour watching Mavericks footage and gathering a lot of data, which had taken him three hours to prepare for this preview.
But the moment Lius pressed the release button, he felt that all this effort had been worth it.
Today is March 17th, and almost a month ago, he published his thoughts on the commercial rating of Tiger Pounce, which attracted a lot of attention from fans. From that, he came up with the idea of writing a basketball analysis article and quickly put it into practice.
Since then, Lius has been writing analysis articles about the Warriors' reviews and game previews every three or four days. Due to his skilled use of high-level data, clear logic, and humorous language, he quickly gained a large number of loyal fans, and his ID "Han Master" became well-known in the Warriors' fan circle.
Each article costs Lius several hours of rest and doesn't bring him any financial benefits, but in the process of writing the article, Lius gains a great sense of accomplishment that he doesn't get from his boring daily work. Although the creative process is exhausting, his love for basketball and the support from Warriors fans keep him going.
Soon, there was a response under the post:
"The owner has worked hard! Tiger Pounce needs such a professional post!"
"Isn't it easy to fight with the calf? Nowitzki is a softie, the Warriors defend so well, how many points can he score? The Warriors can definitely win."
"Pseudo-fans, don't look at this hard analysis, Lord Han made it very clear, Nowitzki contained the Warriors' defense, didn't you see it at all?"
"Hehe, you guessed it, I've always been too long to look, this guy with long hair and bad stench is useless."
"What kind of presence are you looking for if you don't watch it?"
"I'm willing, can you handle it..."
Lius looked at the controversy from the fans beneath the post, shook his head and smiled, not feeling as angry as before when his hard work was arbitrarily dismissed.
This month, it was a revelation, and he saw all kinds of strange comments. At first, he would get angry about others' contempt and ridicule, spending a lot of time and energy discussing with others. But later, he realized that some people couldn't be convinced, they spoke from their own positions, even if Lius didn't have data and facts in front of them.
So, Lius's mentality gradually became more "Buddhist," and he realized that his articles couldn't please everyone. As long as some people could understand the role of the data through his articles and see the game from a rational perspective, that would be enough.
He scrolled down, replying to the comments that encouraged him, and suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the time 23:14 in the bottom right corner of the screen.
Lius stretched his stiff neck and turned off the computer:
"Tsk, it's eleven o'clock again, time to go to bed!"
...
"Good morning, Coach!" Green looked at Liam, who had entered the training field and said loudly.
The players, who had been laughing and chatting with each other, heard his voice and turned to greet Liam.
Liam responded one by one, walked in front of everyone, waited for the players to gather around, and fell silent before speaking: "Did you read all the scouting reports I sent you yesterday?"
"Look!" Everyone responded in unison.
Liam said: "The Mavericks are very tough opponents, especially after they've strengthened. We must not underestimate the enemy. Based on the current standings, we're likely to face the Mavericks in the playoffs, and the next three games with them could be a rehearsal for the playoffs. I ask all of you to play like it's the playoffs, and don't take it lightly! Understand?"
"Understood, Coach!" Chandler was the first to respond.
"Coach, I'll definitely do my best to defend Nowitzki!" Green said, determination in his eyes.
He had seen the scouting report and the detailed footage in the video room, and knew how tough the task would be.
"Don't worry, Coach, we'll definitely take down the calf!" Curry said with a bright look, clearly not taking Nowitzki seriously.
Liam nodded, waved his large hand, and ordered: "Alright, let's train, it's up to you tonight, don't disappoint our fans."
After everyone dispersed, Liam walked over to the coaching staff's side and organized today's training tasks. Then, several people took charge of their parts of the practice. However, Ron Adams was still slowly reading through the information in his hand, sticking to his usual habits, making the final confirmations.
"Liam..." he suddenly said.
"Huh? What's up?"
Ron Adams paused for a moment, then whispered:
"To be honest, I'm not too optimistic about tonight's game."
Liam chuckled softly: "Why? We've played against the Mavericks many times, we're well prepared, and with Stephen here, we're very dominant offensively. As long as we play normally, we have a great chance to win. Of course, defensively, we might suffer a little, but we also have a plan. Or are you worried about Klay and Jimmy's offense?"
Ron Adams shook his head: "No, I'm worried about the Mavericks' offense."
"The Mavericks' offense?"
Ron Adams lifted his glasses, raised his eyes slightly, looked at the Warriors players scattered across the training field, practicing seriously, and whispered:
"We might suffer a lot defensively, Nowitzki's offensive style is almost completely contained by Drummond, and the Mavericks' shooters are in great form this year. They're all old veterans, and the young players on the team are hard to handle. Their mentality seems a bit casual, and the situation could get tricky."
Liam looked at Ron Adams, a little surprised inside.
As a crossbar, he is very aware of the Mavericks' advantages this season, but he hadn't expected Ron Adams to have such a good eye and summarize the Mavericks' characteristics so clearly.
The Mavericks this year certainly have Nowitzki as the absolute core, and his high and low post blocks are almost the starting style for all the Mavericks' tactics. But other veterans who've rejuvenated their second life have also played a crucial role in the Mavericks' success.
In a sense, Nowitzki is the interior version of Curry. His offensive threat spans almost the entire 7-meter range from the basket, both with his back to the basket and facing the basket, with or without the ball, and he's a super offensive point that can attract most of the opponent's defenses.
So far this season, his plus/minus average in the regular season is a terrifying +16.3, and no one else on the Mavericks has had a plus/minus higher than +7, except for him. As long as he's on the court, the Mavericks win by anywhere from 6.7 to 25 points. When Nowitzki's off the court, the Mavericks lose by 4.9 points. With him or without him, the Mavericks are two different teams.
Of course, this doesn't mean to downplay the rest of the Mavericks. Nowitzki has played like a silver horn king, and his teammates have become more adept at using his ability to involve the defense, making accurate three-pointers from the perimeter. So the emergent shot from Nowitzki pulled by him isn't in vain.
Nowitzki, 33 years old, Jason Terry, 34, Marion, 33, Kidd, 38... they know their years in the league are numbered. They have too many regrets from their past careers that they need a championship ring to make up for it, and they only need that one ring to compensate.
The Mavericks managed to return to the championship stage after repeated setbacks because this group of veterans didn't give up on the championship, burned all their energy, and made one last sprint toward the O'Brien Trophy.
Heavy thoughts flashed through Liam's heart, but his face remained silent, only smiling softly:
"Ron, don't worry, just play our game. Whatever the result, it's good experience for the team. Don't forget, our time hasn't come yet, we don't have to rush."
Ron Adams remained silent for a moment, slowly nodded, and said with a slightly wistful tone:
"You're right, we don't need to rush... But you know what, Liam, I've been in this league for 21 years, been in six teams, seen almost everything. In the past, I thought one day I might coach a team, but then I gave up that idea and just wanted a championship ring. After many years, I haven't even played in the Finals."
He laughed at himself, lifted his hand to stop Liam, took a dark gray cloth out of his briefcase, tucked the briefcase under his armpit, slowly took off his glasses, cleaned them, and said slowly:
"But with the Warriors, I see a hope again."
Liam glanced at him, and for the first time in his career, he realized that even a seasoned coach like Ron Adams could have such feelings.
"Of course." Liam nodded lightly. "I believe you, too. Let's make it happen."
—We're going to win, Ron, and it won't be long. Liam said softly.
Ron Adams placed the dark gray glasses into the black briefcase, slowly put them on, and shook his head:
"No, Liam, you're right, we don't have to worry, I just turned 62 and still have plenty of time to train these kids' defenses, let the eagles go through the storm so they can fly further, don't worry, otherwise it will backfire, I've seen this kind of thing a lot over the years... Oh, yes, I forgot that you're also an impatient young man, boss."
He looked at Liam and smiled faintly, underneath his sparse eyebrows, a mischievous light sparkled in his light brown eyes, then he held his briefcase and slowly walked toward the training field.
Liam stayed in his place, looked at Ron Adams' slightly wrinkled back, pursed his lips, and followed the venerable elder.
…
"Nowitzki received the ball in the low post, connected a simple pass to Green with his back, and Gallinari was independent, and he shot, well, he made a two-pointer, and the Mavericks had a 10-point lead, with 1:32 remaining in the game, and it was a bad situation for the Warriors...
The soft voice of Jim Barnett traveled through the radio waves and instantly reached all the fans watching the Warriors game in the Oakland neighborhood.
The live commentator, who had worked for the Warriors for 25 years, loved his job immensely, but the huge disadvantage the Warriors were facing on the court prevented him from explaining the game to the audience with a relaxed mind.
At this point, the game between the Warriors and the Mavericks was approaching the final quarter, and the 10-point lead made the victory almost in the hands of the Mavericks.
In such an unfavorable situation, Liam showed no frustration, unwillingness, or helplessness, he stood aside with his hands on his chest and a calm expression, and calmly called a timeout after Nowitzki scored two points.
This was Nowitzki's 35th point of the game, Liam made all the adjustments he could, allowing Green, Kirilenko, and Chandler to take turns playing, and after everyone failed to do anything, they sacrificed a wrapping and holding strategy, but still couldn't stop the progress of the German tank, allowing Nowitzki to get a near triple-double of 35 points, 7 assists, and 8 rebounds.
Such a complete performance was unusual for Nowitzki, but he had been able to get such statistics regularly this season, and after many seasons of training, Nowitzki's ability to break through the defense had reached new heights, just when Kidd finally developed an accurate three-point shot after a long career.
Although Nowitzki is still used more as an end-point in the Mavericks' playbook, when the team needs him to start an individual play in the low post, his ability to play the ball when trapped in the area can determine whether the Mavericks' offense can develop smoothly.
Tonight, Liam bet that he couldn't find a teammate, but it turned out that not only could he find an open teammate, but he also passed the ball promptly and accurately, dismantling the Warriors' increasingly weak defense.
Looking at the players who returned to the bench frustrated, Liam secretly felt strange in his heart. Since the All-Star break, the Warriors had won many battles and had rarely seen a scene like this recently.
Liam had no intention of consoling everyone this time. Recently, the team had developed a bit of an arrogant attitude due to consecutive victories, and it was gradually spreading. Only with the help of this blow of defeat could they be sobered up.
He took the tactical board and marker and calmly said:
"We'll fight for three points later, grab one as quickly as possible, and everyone retreat as coverage, standing along the three-point line one by one, creating a shooting opportunity for Stephen...
The timeout ended quickly, Klay passed the ball to the sideline, Curry received the ball, and dribbled towards the frontcourt, using consecutive picks to run toward an open shot.
But Carlisle tightly protected the three-point defense for the Warriors, and all the Mavericks players stepped on the three-point line to defend, preferring to let the Warriors run toward the interior for an empty basket rather than give them the chance to shoot triples.
But Curry couldn't stop and relaunched the offense, time was running out, and the Warriors had to make the most of every second, using his super-fast shooting speed to avoid Marion's interference and force three-point shots.
Brush!
"Oh God was on the Warriors' side, Curry scored a three-pointer with Marion's long arm, and the Warriors trailed by 7 points, we still have a chance!" Jim Barnett's eyes lit up and he said excitedly.
Inside the arena, the fans watching Curry cheered nervously as the offense took less than 10 seconds, and the Warriors had 1 minute and 24 seconds remaining to chase points, which gave them renewed hope of winning.
Curry looked at the basketball he shot into the net, exhaled a long sigh, and, as he shot, his vision was covered by Marion's long arms, and the ball was launched entirely by feel, and it was unclear if it would go in.
But soon, the Warriors' fans at the scene calmed down again, Kidd pressed the top of the arc for more than ten seconds, and Nowitzki blocked and dismantled, and then Nowitzki from the outside shot a three-pointer, and the Mavericks led the Warriors by 10 points with 1 minute and 3 seconds left, that was a three-pointer that killed the game!
In the next round, Curry tried to grab the three-pointer again, but ended up hitting iron under the strict defense of the Mavericks. Chandler grabbed the rebound in the frontcourt, but Klay's three-pointer still missed, and the Warriors completely lost hope of chasing points. Liam no longer made futile efforts, signaling to everyone to allow fouls and let the time run out.
In the end, at the end of the game, the Mavericks defeated the Warriors 106-96, leapfrogging the Warriors into third place in the West, while the Warriors fell to fourth place in the West.
Curry's performance in this game was not good. The Mavericks focused their defense on him, and although the Mavericks veterans were slow, they maintained the integrity of the defense with excellent tacit understanding, taking advantage of the Warriors' spatial deficiencies while pinching Curry, they also kept up the defensive intensity against the rest of the Warriors.
Curry had no good way to get to his emergent shot, so he could only use off-ball offense and the Mavericks' occasional defensive errors to cut points, and when trapped, he passed the ball to his teammates. He only shot 8 of 13 from the field, 3 of 5 from three-point range, and 2 of 2 from the free-throw line, scoring 21 points, 11 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.
However, Butler made the difference in the mid-range, shooting 8 of 15, 2 of 4 three-pointers, 2 of 4 free throws, scoring 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists, and was the only Warrior, besides Curry, to score more than 20 points, but now he could only digest those balls at most.
Besides the two of them, the highest scorer for the Warriors was Big Z, with 14 points, who was in excellent form tonight, frequently scoring from mid-range through his pick-and-roll with Jeremy Lin.
And Klay was inaccurate again today, shooting 4 of 12 from the field and 3 of 9 from three-point range, scoring only 11 points.
Additionally, Jeremy Lin had tempered throughout most of the season and had fully adapted to the NBA environment, earning 9 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds in this game, perfectly qualified for the backup point guard role, organized the team's offense, and supported the Warriors' offensive wing with Curry and Butler. However, his shortcomings in projection still limited his scoring.
As for the Mavericks, Nowitzki scored 38 points, 7 assists, and 9 rebounds with magnificent stats, completely breaking through the Warriors' interior defense, and Green, who was still young, was completely powerless against Nowitzki.
Moreover, Kidd had a triple-double with 11 points, 14 assists, and 10 rebounds, firmly controlling the tempo of the game, Terry hit five three-pointers and scored 19 points, and Marion had 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals.
Liam rubbed his chin, raised his head amidst the chaotic noise of the court, and silently stared at the data bar on the big screen.
After a while, he entered the court, shook hands with Carlisle and the Mavericks players, and walked toward the locker room with the players and coaching staff.
After entering the players' tunnel, Liam walked ahead without saying a word, and others dared not speak, and the atmosphere was very gloomy.
After returning to the locker room, Liam said nothing, just asked Curry, Butler, and him to go for the post-game interview as usual, leaving the other players to look at each other in the locker room.
After the interview, Liam, Curry, and Butler returned to the locker room, and the other players also packed up, looking at the head coach with some anxiety.
They knew how poorly they had done tonight, not because they lost, but because the winning streak had made their attitude a bit relaxed, and Liam had called three timeouts in the first quarter to get the atmosphere back to being tense.
Liam looked around and said in a deep voice:
"Do you know the gap between you and the truly strong team?"
Everyone lowered their heads in embarrassment, and Green's expression was even more depressed.
"Pay attention, Drummond!"
Green was surprised, looked at the head coach, and Liam continued:
"It's not your fault that you couldn't stop Nowitzki, you did the best you could, and in my opinion, you were the best performer tonight, and you don't need to feel guilty."
Green took a deep breath and nodded, the expression of frustration and shame on his face diminished considerably.
Liam looked at Curry:
"Stephen, do you know how many turnovers you had today?"
—Seven, seven. Curry scoffed.
Liam scoffed:
"I thought you didn't know."
Curry lowered his head further.
His passes in the first quarter were very casual, and he committed four turnovers in one quarter, allowing the Mavericks to capitalize on several fast breaks.
"Tomorrow, for half an hour more, is there a problem?"
"No problem, boss!" Curry replied quickly.
"Jimmy, tell me, what was your free throw percentage today?" Liam turned his gaze toward Butler.
—50% ... Butler murmured.
"Practice 100 free throws!"
"Yes!"
"Klay, what's your three-point percentage?"
"30%..."
"Then you should know what you'll be doing tomorrow, right?"
"Understood, coach, I'll practice a hundred three-pointers."
"Jeremy ..."
Liam went through the names of everyone one by one, pointing out their shortcomings in today's game, and everyone admitted their mistakes convincingly.
At the end, he said coldly:
"In a few days, we'll still fight against the Mavericks, let me see your progress, I've said it many times, it doesn't matter if you win or lose a game, but you must play according to the tactics set, and there must be no problems with your attitude! Some games can be casual, but the Mavericks are not such opponents! I don't know if you've been influenced by the media, or if you're stuck in last season, thinking we can casually beat the Mavericks, don't think that in the future, the Mavericks are our number one enemy this season!"
His voice fell, there was silence in the locker room, everyone listened to Liam's words, and the players' expressions became serious, obviously taking in Liam's words after the loss.
"Alright, let's all go back, train hard tomorrow, prepare for the game against the Suns the day after tomorrow, and everyone's extra training must be completed."
Liam felt that the time had come, waved his hand, and everyone was excused, and after greeting him, they left one by one.
In the end, only the coaching staff remained in the locker room, Liam looked at Silas and the others, his cold expression disappeared, and he shook his head a little tiredly:
"These guys... They're really carefree."
Silas relieved Silas:
"It's good if they lose this game, it might make them take it to heart."
Bruce also said:
"That's right, it's better to lose now than later, there's still room for adjustment, the only regret is that we lost to the Mavericks, which put us in fourth place in the West."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but show a look of regret on his face.
Liam raised his hand, rubbed his face, and said in a muted voice:
"Falling to fourth place in the West isn't necessarily a bad thing."
—Eh? And everyone looked at him confused.
Liam lowered his hands, his tired color disappeared, his eyes regained their shine, he smiled faintly, and said:
"This season, we're going to be fourth in the West!"
End of this chapter
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