After the final whistle sounded, Liu Xiu hugged and celebrated with his teammates and coaches excitedly.

Yes!

His strategy is right! His speculation is also right!

When he discussed with the coaching staff, he expressed his speculation that the young general had drained the strength of the Mavericks players after the All-Star break.

Even with the adjustments in the first round, the Mavericks were lucky enough to get 3 days of rest between the first and second rounds due to the 76ers and Heat dragging it to the tiebreaker, which was only a drop in the bucket for the overall consumption.

Because of this problem, the Mavericks will definitely not be able to return to their 16-game winning streak this season.

What's more important is his strategy against the Mavericks!

When he played against the Mavericks for the last time in the regular season, his strategy was not that effective. He still relied on his personal ability to withstand the Mavericks' counterattack and consume the Mavericks' physical strength. There is a big difference in winning in a battle of attrition.

The element of luck.

However, that was because at that time, although the physical pressure of the Mavericks had reached the limit, the invincible state of the Mavericks players' crazy winning streak was still there. Although the outlaws and Kwame Brown's defense against Nowitzki was effective,

However, the restriction effect has not reached the ideal state.

It's different now. It can be seen from Nowitzki's 47% shooting rate and 24.5 points per game in the first round. Nowitzki's state is completely different from the 51+44+91 shooting rate during the 16-game winning streak and he averaged more than 30 points per game.

Not on the same level.

This regular season, after discovering that the Mavericks began to focus on unlimited singles offense, Liu Xiu was discussing the response strategy with the coach. At that time, he thought that maybe next year, the year after, anyway, they might meet in the playoffs in the next two or three years. If

I am lucky enough to give the Mavericks a tough shot before Nelson's Warriors, and I feel happy just thinking about it.

As for why I didn’t expect to meet in the playoffs this year, it’s because the Mavericks were still wandering in the second half of the playoffs during the adjustment period at the beginning of the season. At that time, the Spurs seemed unbeatable in second place in the Western Conference, and the SuperSonics were the team.

Fourth in the Western Conference, Liu Xiu's imaginary opponent in the second round was Duncan.

Who would have thought that the Mavericks would win 16 consecutive games and almost take second place in the Western Conference?

But, it’s cool to meet early!

The experience of three games in the regular season this season, advancing early in the first round can be used to observe and study the Mavericks' play style and current state in the playoffs... I have made sufficient preparations, the right time, the right place and the right people, and finally it really clicked

The feeling of hitting each other is really cool!

…

The Trail Blazers and the Mavericks, two teams with 60+ wins, met. The play styles of both teams were not bad to watch. Even if Iverson stole the show in front of them, it did not affect the game's pretty good ratings.

.

Everyone thought this was a strong matchup of equal strength, with the same record. The last time they met in the regular season, they were inseparable. They both entered the second round with 4 consecutive victories... As a result, the Mavericks relied on the special force in the third quarter.

They had a slight advantage, and in the other three quarters the Trail Blazers steadily dominated the Mavericks!

Nowitzki's performance was shocking. Although he had 15 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block, he made 4 of 16 shots, 0 of 4 three-pointers, and 6 of 7 free throws. He only scored 12 points in 39 minutes!

Even if Terry scored 21 points on 8-for-17 shooting, Josh Howard scored 19 points on 8-for-18 shooting, and Stackhouse scored 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting, they still couldn't lead Nowitzki.

Regarding this situation, the media analysis concluded that the Mavericks have another physical problem.

Decide on the conclusion first, then the media will call it a logical and coherent analysis.

Anyway, when Liu Xiu saw the media's analysis the next morning, he felt that there was nothing wrong with it.

It's best that the Mavericks think so too.

But unfortunately, the Mavericks didn't think so. After a day's rest, on May 10, the Trail Blazers ushered in the second game of the series against the Mavericks at home.

The Mavericks made a very useful adjustment - putting Finley back in the starting lineup.

Devin Harris, a rookie, was able to average 9+3 per game when he played the Kings in the first round because he was always playing against the opponent's substitutes and couldn't even start as a starter, and Finley couldn't even play as a substitute.

It has not played a role in strengthening the strength of the bench lineup. The aging Finley is not much more effective on the court than Marquis Daniels.

Putting Finley back into the starting lineup gave the starters a more experienced teammate. The key is that the ball returned to Terry's hands during the starting period.

The little general's adjustment direction in this game - the opponent can't guard Terry, so use Terry as the first main point of attack!

This decision had a very prominent effect in the early stages of the game. Terry made 3 of 6 shots in the first quarter and scored 8 points and 3 assists in a single quarter, helping the Mavericks lead the Trail Blazers by two points 28-26 in the first quarter!

But as the game progressed, the Trail Blazers gave Nowitzki enough confrontational influence and safely handed Nowitzki over to Delfino or McDyess, then let the outlaws, Liu Xiu, and Pei

In a round-the-clock battle against Terry, whoever is more effective will be used.

What was more effective was the disruptive defense of the outlaws and Liu Xiu's blocking defense. Payton has been bad at dealing with Terry's type of opponent for ten years.

In the second quarter, the Trail Blazers' offensive end was half paralyzed. Liu Xiu threw from the outside and his teammates rushed for it, and only scored 22 points.

but!

The Trail Blazers relied on effective defense to prevent the Mavericks from scoring only 20 points in the second quarter!

After halftime, the Trail Blazers chased the score to 48-48, a tie!

In the third quarter, the Trail Blazers have the advantage!

In this quarter, they continued to limit the Mavericks' scoring. The Mavericks' offense was based on singles and scoring, and they had very few assists. During the regular season, after the Mavericks' style of play completely transitioned to the Little General system, they only averaged 18.6 times per game.

In assists, they rank in the middle and lower reaches of the league, but in this quarter, they are no longer in the middle and lower reaches. The Mavericks' passing is extremely bad! There is only 1 assist in a single quarter!

The little general panicked during the halftime break and kept emphasizing offense and strengthening singles. The anxious mood affected the players. The players only focused on taking shots. The team scored 8 out of 21 shots in a single quarter, including 3 three-pointers.

1, plus 6 of 10 free throws, scoring 23 points.

This is not the biggest mistake of the young general. He does have many scorers. With a few random hits, he can score 23 points under the Trail Blazers' defense. The depth of the lineup and the strength of the stars have been well demonstrated.

The little general's biggest mistake was that he focused solely on offense. His narrow field of vision was once again highlighted, and he forgot about defense!

Liu Xiu had 5 points and 3 assists, Randolph had 7 points, Flying Squirrel scored 7 points after playing 5 minutes, Payton had 4 points and 3 assists... The Trail Blazers had 10 assists in a single quarter in the third quarter, scoring 32 points!

After three quarters, the Trail Blazers led 80 to 71, almost opening the point difference to double digits!

The double-digit point difference didn't wait long. At the end of the quarter, Kwame Brown scored 2+1 with a make-up dunk at the beginning, and also scored an extra penalty, opening the point difference to 12 points in one fell swoop!

In the final quarter, the Trail Blazers suppressed the Mavericks throughout the game, and the point difference remained above 10 points. Although they could not directly seal the victory, they did not give the Mavericks a chance to come back.

By the middle of the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers vice president and coaching staff were already chatting.

Coach: "Our warden is still very good. The little general's tactical reserves and ability to build a team system may be better than mine. Only Lionel in our team can compare with him, but his coaching ability... humph

, let the warden make adjustments on the spot, it will definitely be better than him."

This time it was the vice president who was more direct: "The young general's ability to build a system is indeed very powerful. Even a mad scientist can't play with the lineup. He uses it very well. He amplifies the advantages of the Mavericks players and avoids the disadvantages, but it may only be possible."

Limited to the Mavericks' lineup, we can no longer find a team like the Mavericks. Our lineup of 100 million won't be enough.

Coaching ability... is it my illusion? The general's system is clearly designed to maximize BIG-King's personal abilities, but he doesn't seem to know that his unlimited singles tactics revolve around BIG-King, and he doesn't know that they rely on BIG-King.

-King can play so well only because of his personal ability. Maybe he thinks his system is a multi-core system where everyone is a soldier..."

The coach immediately answered: "Yes, that's it. He used Terry to replace BIG-King's first core tonight and tried to use Terry to win the game. I really didn't expect this. If someone asked me to use Little Flying Squirrel

If he comes to replace the warden as the main offensive point on the outside, I will definitely think that he is crazy..."

Suddenly, a voice came out: "Coach, did you forget that I am sitting next to you?"

The coach turned his head and saw the resentful face of the little flying squirrel, and he was immediately shocked! Is this the legendary bad-mouthing behind his back that was discovered?

Gotta relieve the embarrassment!

The coach said: "Oh, Damon, when did you sit next to me? I didn't even see you."

"It was you who asked me to sit next to you and said that I might be needed at any time!"

…

The increasingly showy coach made the little flying squirrel explode. At the end of the fourth quarter, the little flying squirrel went up and hit two three-pointers, helping the Trail Blazers score 105 with more than 1 minute left.

Scored 88, the Trail Blazers secured the victory!

1 minute and 33 seconds, 17 points difference, even if Warden and Miller come, the Trail Blazers are not afraid, they don't defend, they can just let the opponent throw.

At 10:25 pm, the final whistle sounded.

For the Mavericks, Terry made 8 of 17 shots, including 4 of 7 three-pointers, plus 4 of 5 free throws, finishing with 24 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists.

Nowitzki made active adjustments and scored 20 points and 12 rebounds on 7-of-16 shooting. He actually played well, but tonight was not the main point of attack for the young general, and his independent adjustments were wasted.

In addition to the two of them, Josh Howard, who scored 10 points, and Stackhouse, who scored 10 points, both scored in double figures.

But their team only scored 91 points. The worst thing is that their team only had 11 assists.

The Trail Blazers had 31 assists as a team!

Liu Xiu made 9 of 18 shots and scored 24 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Randolph made 12 of 19 shots and scored 30 points and 10 rebounds. The Flying Squirrels had 16 points, Rahim had 14 points, and Payton had 10 points and 10 assists.

May Brown and the Outlaws both scored 7 points...the team scored 109 points!

109 to 91, the Trail Blazers defeated the Mavericks, making the score 2-0!

…

In one game, it might be an unexpected situation or an extraordinary performance, but both games were played against each other. Paul Allen believed what his vice president said - they had a perfect way to deal with the Mavericks, and they just happened to

Defeat the Mavericks!

After the two home games, when the home and away games alternated, the 'New Paul Allen' and the 'Rose Bay Prison' set off for Dallas!
To be continued...