One Guard

Chapter 796: Starting candidate

"Chapter error, click here to report"

After the battle with the Utah Jazz, Hayward attracted countless fans, even though he lost, he was honored. Their spirit of persisting until the last moment and never giving up endeared them to many fans.

Of course, the one that attracted the most attention in this battle was Yiyang who shined on the defensive end. If we were to guard Paul and Harden, it was just good luck. Then if Hayward is defended continuously, it will be enough to illustrate the problem.

Hayward is a strong forward with advantages in height and weight. Yiyang was able to prevent this, but luck could not explain it.

Yiyang's strong body makes his already formidable defense even tighter. People always say that Yiyang's career has reached its peak. However, in fact, this three-consecutive MVP is still getting stronger!

At this point, the Mavericks finally achieved ten consecutive victories, completely eliminating the shadow of the defeat in the opening game. The Dallas Cowboys' iron heel has begun to wreak havoc across the league again.

On November 18, Yiyang, who had just finished playing Hayward, immediately met another of his college friends. Brad Stevens said that Isaiah Thomas will fight Yiyang to the end.

The fierce battle between the Celtics and the Mavericks in the penultimate game of the regular season last season is still regarded as a classic. In that game, Stevens maximized the power of his head coach, raising high expectations for the seventh-ranked team in the Eastern Conference.

This season, the Celtics have really gotten rid of their image as a "weak team". In the past ten games, Stevens' Celtics have won six games! After Isaiah Thomas became the core of Stevens' staff, his performance was also gratifying.

In the past ten games, Thomas, who is only 1.75 meters tall, averaged 22.6 points, 6.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game! He has undoubtedly become a star point guard. Under Stevens' system, Thomas is playing even better than last season!

No coach dares to use a guy who is only 1.75 meters tall as the core, but Stevens dares to do so, and has achieved good results. Just like back then, no one dared to offer a full scholarship to a child with yellow skin. But Stevens just dared, and he created a legend.

Thomas's steady improvement has made everyone look forward to this game. But it turns out that Thomas is not enough for the Celtics to become a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference.

In this game, the Celtics have been struggling to chase points. The score difference between the two sides is not big, basically fluctuating between 4 points and 8 points. But the Celtics just couldn't get over that small hurdle anyway, and they were always under pressure from the Mavericks. Seeing that they are about to catch up, the point difference will be widened again.

Isaiah Thomas' performance today is still gratifying. Under the restrictions of Yiyang, a defensive monster, he still scored 18 points. Of course, the hit rate is only 32%. However, compared to Paul and Harden, Thomas is already the best among the guards who have played against Yiyang recently.

Against Yiyang, as long as a defender's shooting percentage does not fall below 30%, it is considered a success!

In the end, the Celtics lost. They chased for 48 minutes, but they just couldn't close the gap of just a few points.

"Coach Stevens should be lucky that against a team like the Mavericks, the less he loses the better he wins!"

"They only lost by 4 points, which is something to be happy about. They only lost by 4 points against the Mavericks, which shows that the Celtics are still very good!"

The commentators were praising the Celtics for how good they were, as if the Bostonians were winning. After all, now, there is nothing to say about the Mavericks winning. It's news that the Celtics have been able to resist for so long.

The strength of the Mavericks has made the entire league accustomed to it.

In the games after November, the Mavericks achieved a series of devastating victories and had a completely winning month.

17 consecutive victories, 17 wins and 1 loss, including defeating strong teams such as the Spurs and Thunder.

Of course, Yiyang's defense did not make Westbrook and Tony Parker feel comfortable. 28% and 34% are the shooting rates of these two guys when they faced off against Yiyang.

After the end of November, the Mavericks ranked second in the Western Conference. The number one ranking is the Golden State Warriors with 17 wins and 0 losses! Yiyang did not become the best player in the Western Conference in November. This award was intercepted by Curry!

Such a result caused the entire alliance to explode! The Mavericks had obviously achieved such terrible results, but they were still beaten by the Warriors!

"This season, there are two super teams in the league. The Warriors and the Mavericks. I really can't believe what they will do to this league!"

In an ESPN show, Mike Breen proposed the term "superteam." This kind of team is generally much stronger than other opponents in the league. The Warriors and Mavericks are both in this case. The Cavaliers, led by James, are not classified as a super team.

People even predict that this season is likely to have two teams with 70+ wins for the first time in history!

"As long as the Mavericks and Warriors stay healthy, I believe this miracle is definitely possible!"

Mike Breen sprayed poisonous milk, and in the first game in December, someone from the Mavericks fell down.

"Dwyane Wade! He covered his knee in pain!"

On December 1, the Dallas Mavericks challenged the Portland Trail Blazers away from home after the starting five were all disbanded. In the fifth minute of the third quarter of the game, Wade hit McCollum with his knee when he broke through, and then fell to the ground in pain.

Carlisle was angry and angry. This injury was purely an accident and cannot be blamed on McCollum. He doesn't know how long Wade will be out injured. But judging from Wade's expression, the injury may not be serious this time.

Wade is still averaging 19 points per game this season and is the Mavericks' well-deserved second scorer. Without a very important star, the Mavericks' offensive power is bound to be greatly reduced.

Fortunately, the Mavericks still won this game by 3 points. But what about the next game? Carlisle didn't think he would be lucky forever.

After the game, under Benjamin's careful examination, the Mavericks officially announced that Wade would be injured for at least 3-4 weeks. The "Flash"'s knees are extremely fragile. It is incredible that Wade was able to play 74 games healthy last season. You know, in the past five years, Wade can basically only play 50-60 games each season. It was precisely because of Wade's unexpected health last season that the Mavericks were able to create the myth of 74 wins.

"If I had been more forward-looking when I was a sophomore, maybe I wouldn't have so many injuries today. My knee problems basically started at that time. The medical technology and concepts 12 years ago were completely different from now. At that time, everyone said that I could have a 20-year career, and maybe my knees wouldn’t have problems. Everyone was thinking about how to get me back on the court as soon as possible. But the fact is... ugh... ..."

When interviewed by reporters, Wade could only sigh helplessly. Wade was also very unwilling to be injured for a month at the critical moment of chasing the Warriors. But injuries are something no one can control.

Sure enough, after losing Wade, the second scoring point. On December 4, the Mavericks' undefeated streak finally came to an end.

Facing the fierce firepower of the Houston Rockets, the Mavericks, who lacked a second scoring point, found it difficult to compete. Although Yiyang scored a season-high 39 points, he was unable to defeat four opponents with one punch, and the Mavericks eventually fell at the Toyota Center.

With 18 wins and 2 losses, the Mavericks' winning streak was ended by Harden. The Warriors still lead the league with a terrifying record of 19 wins and 0 losses! Although the record of 18 wins and 2 losses is still excellent, this game still sounded a wake-up call for Carlisle.

Using Tony Allen as the starting No. 2 position actually doesn't work well. Although the Mavericks' defense will be very tight, the offense will only rely on Yiyang and Dirk. Neither Iguodala nor Gobert have strong scoring abilities.

The lack of scoring points makes the Mavericks easily targeted by the opponent. No matter how powerful Yiyang is, he is not a superman who can use cheats. Facing a tight defense, you might ask Yiyang to score 39 points in every game.

Now, Carlisle must find someone to fill the void of Wade's absence. If left alone, Carlisle believes they won't even be able to see the Warriors' taillights in a month.

But who should play the starting No. 2 position? Old Carter? God forbid, if Carlisle doesn't want Carter to retire early, it's better not to let him sit in the starting position.

Bazemore? Bazemore does meet the requirements, but his attack power seems to be a little lacking.

Jose Barea's three-point shooting is very suitable to partner with Yiyang, but if this guy comes on the court, defense will become a big problem, and he is not suitable for starting.

Where's Mark? Mark's problem is the same as Bazemore's, insufficient attack power.

It seemed that Carlisle's eyes finally fell on Deron Williams.

After so many years, will this starting combination of two point guards still come after all?

"Add bookmarks for easy reading"

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like