One Guard

Except for Chris Paul, there may be no one who can bring such great defensive pressure to Curry. How stressful is it? It was so big that just seeing Yiyang still on the court made Curry feel less excited.

Chris Paul's injury in the Western Conference semifinals allowed Curry to completely let himself go. But in this round of the game, Yiyang seemed not to let Curry play comfortably. The Mavericks replaced all the main players, except Yiyang who remained on the court.

Carlisle did this on purpose. The Mavericks had already got the match point and there was no need to conserve energy. If you can win this game, it is of course the best to win. If you give up victory in order to save your physical strength, it will be called a loss that outweighs the gain.

At this time, the Mavericks' lineup is Yiyang, Mudiay, Kuzma, Dirk and Majori. This is a very weird lineup. Carlisle actually sent out two slow inside players!

As for the Warriors, except for replacing Green with Jordan Bell and replacing Durant with Iguodala, nothing else has changed. Curry and Thompson are still on the court, and it seems like this Mavericks lineup has no chance at all!

However, when Yiyang slowly advanced past halftime, the fans in the Oracle Arena became inexplicably flustered.

Before the timeout ended, Yiyang whispered a few words to the four substitute players after Carlisle arranged the tactics. He looks like a coach.

Thompson opened his arms nervously, stopped outside the three-point line, and gestured. His leisurely look was in sharp contrast to Thompson.

At this time, Mudiay came over from the bottom corner, looking as if he was going to have a hand-to-hand fight with Yiyang. Curry is already ready to switch defenses. If Yiyang wants to fight him, then go ahead!

But when Mudiay actually ran in front of Yiyang, Yiyang swung the ball over his head. He didn't let Mudiay get the ball, nor did he break through by himself. Instead, he lobbed the ball to Nowitzki. , the 40-year-old Nowitzki who is about to disappear from people’s hearts!

"Dirk is holding the ball in the low post, and only Jordan Bell is guarding him!" Mike Breen then realized that Yiyang had emptied the strong side. Now, everyone on the Mavericks is crowded to the weak side, completely attracting the Warriors' defense. In other words, Nowitzki will not be interfered by the second defensive player at all!

"Dirk, we all know that he is one of the greatest stars of the Dallas Mavericks. We also all know that without Dirk, there would be no Mavericks' first championship in 2011, and there would not even be three consecutive championships. ! But now I choose to let Dirk play Jordan Bell alone, wouldn’t it be very difficult?”

Kevin Harlan raised questions, but Mike Breen had no comment. He only knows that Yiyang will not do anything he is not sure about.

He helped Dirk open up the defense and passed the ball to Dirk in singles. It must be because he was sure!

Dirk is indeed old, and his back attack cannot shake the young and strong Jordan Bell. After two hits, he found that he couldn't stand it, so Dirk turned over and shot a jumper!

The young and energetic Bell also stepped forward to block the shot. Every young player would be extremely excited to face the legendary star who has entered his twilight years. Because if they win, their fame will skyrocket!

But when Jordan Bell pounced on him, Dirk did not take action. Instead, he paused and then deliberately moved towards Bell.

Bell, who was in the air, had no time to dodge and collided with Dirk. The referee's whistle blew, Jordan Bell committed a defensive foul, and Dirk was going to the free throw line!

"Damn, old fox!" Cole yelled. He thought the Mavericks had some sophisticated tactics, but he didn't expect them to be so simple and crude.

Yiyang went up to give Dirk a high-five. Ever since Yiyang entered the league, there has been no shortage of seniors around him. From Terry, Kidd, and Peja at the beginning, to Cardinal, Carter, Dirk, and Wade later, and of course, Iguodala and others...these veterans are in Yiyang They occupy an important position in their careers, and it is precisely because they have been with them for a long time that Yiyang has always believed in one sentence.

Although they are old, they are not useless!

Kidd calmly handled the ball and defended key points time and again, Cardinal's desperate defense against Bosh many years ago, Terry's fatal three-pointer, Carter's corner kill, Peja's precise shot, and Dirk and Wade's superstar-like performance during his three consecutive championships was deeply imprinted in Yiyang's mind.

So he believes in the veterans and their experience and strength.

"Good job, Dirk, for hitting him like that."

"Haha, do you still need to say that?"

The Chinese and the Germans, the two old partners who brought Dallas to the top of the league, lightly high-fived each other, and then Yiyang watched Dirk stand on the free throw line. The skill of shooting has been deeply rooted in Dirk's bones. Maybe Dirk is not accurate in shooting during the confrontation. But free throws are as easy as playing for Dirk.

Two free throws were made. No one expected that the Mavericks would widen the point difference to 6 points, thanks to Dirk Nowitzki who was nearly 40 years old!

"Oh God, maybe Carlisle will replace Carter, the oldest among active players, on the field today!" Mike Breen couldn't help but exclaimed. The one who dared to arrange singles tactics for the old guy in the Western Conference finals might be the only young player in the league. Awesome!

In the subsequent defense, Yiyang's speed around the pick-and-roll was slightly slower by half a beat, allowing Curry to easily hit a three-pointer. However, this is nothing to be thankful for. The game reached the end of the first quarter when Curry scored on Yiyang for the first time. Yiyang just shook his head. It was impossible to prevent Curry from scoring a goal. Next time, it seems that I have to go faster.

Curry did not celebrate as usual after scoring a goal. He is really not in the mood to dance now. The goal can only show that the Warriors will not collapse for the time being, but you must know that the task Cole gave him is to open up the score!

This time, Jordan Bell no longer dared to relax against Dirk. A 40-year-old old guy who could only jump a few dozen centimeters actually restrained the Warriors' defense. It really sounded like a fantasy.

Yiyang still stopped outside the three-point line. This guy seemed to have no intention of scoring by himself. Even if Yiyang plays like this for a long time, it will be very easy because he can save his energy until he needs it.

Dirk, the veteran of the Mavericks, has just finished his performance, and now it's the young man's turn. Mudiay used Mejri's off-ball screen to pull to the left corner, and Yiyang immediately delivered the ball!

Curry immediately posted it, even if it was Mudiay, he was not going to take any risks. The progress of the Congolese in the Mavericks this year is obvious to all. I don’t know how accurate the three-pointer is, but I still can’t just short it casually.

But Mudiay didn't stay long after holding the ball, and sent the basketball away from Curry's head. Kyle Kuzma received the basketball, and Iguodala's defense was a step slower!

It stands to reason that Iguodala, who defended James to death during the Mavericks' three consecutive championships, should not be easily thrown away by Kuzma even if he is older.

However, the reason why Iguodala was half a beat slow was because he focused on helping to defend Yiyang. Little did he know that Yiyang was just feinting, and Kuzma suddenly ran away to catch the ball, catching Iguodala off guard.

However, Kuzma's shooting has always been unstable. Faced with this almost open opportunity, he actually shot!

At this point, Tunisian Mejri played his role. In terms of enthusiasm, he is no worse than Jordan Beal and Rooney. But compared to height and position, the Warriors' two young insiders are far behind.

Majori couldn't hold the basketball firmly, so he took advantage of his slight advantage and shot the ball back to Yiyang outside the three-point line.

Yi Yang made a shot, attracting the forward attacks of Iguodala and Thompson. For Yiyang, a monster who averaged 36.5 points per game in the series, it is no exaggeration for the two to block. However, just when the basketball was about to be released, Yiyang flicked his wrist and transferred the ball to Kuzma again.

"Handling the ball calmly, Kuzma got an open mid-range shot for the second consecutive game. Good shot, this time he made the ball steadily! The point difference became 5 points again. The Warriors played very hard!"

At this point, all four of the Mavericks' backups have played their part. The precautions Yiyang whispered to his teammates before taking the field were not just for show.

"Mejri, if you can't hold the ball, try to shoot it! I'm outside."

"Dirk, Jordan Bell is a stupid kid who can fly at a moment's notice. You can cause him to foul."

"Moody, don't make the mistake of thinking that Curry's defense is poor. Don't confront him head-on. Just calm down when handling the ball."

"Kuz, if you get the chance, take action decisively. Don't just rush into the crowd blindly!"

If people could hear what Yiyang said to his teammates just now, they would definitely be amazed by Yiyang's accuracy in controlling the situation. Carlisle only gave the players a general outline, but the final details of how the game would be played were left to Yiyang, the "field coach" to direct.

Under Yiyang's organization, the Mavericks can play a role as long as they are players who can play, from starters to substitutes. The three substitutes brought in by the Warriors were treated like fools. This is why others try to reduce the number of rotations as much as possible in the playoffs, but Carlisle continues to rotate with ten or even more people.

Fortunately, in the last few minutes, Klay Thompson "shined down" and scored two consecutive three-pointers, giving the Warriors the lead. Of course, this is also because Mudiay does not put as much defensive pressure on Thompson as Mitchell. Although Yiyang can make everyone on the Mavericks play a role, these substitute players still have their flaws.

Thompson's two three-pointers gave the Warriors a three-point lead in the last 23.4 seconds. The Mavericks still had a last chance to attack. Yiyang and Curry both played for a whole quarter, but Curry contributed nothing except a three-pointer at the last moment.

The last attack this time was naturally carried out by Yiyang. In the eyes of many people, this round is even a preview of the critical moment!

After Yiyang reached outside the three-point line, he called on Dirk to cover him. Once upon a time, Yiyang and Dirk's pick-and-roll was a sharp weapon that the entire league could not guard against. But now, the Warriors can both pounce on Yiyang, and after Yiyang is blocked, Jordan Bell can go back to guard Dirk. Judging from Dirk's current level, there is absolutely no time to make up for it.

And Cole also believes that the Mavericks' key ball must be handed over to Yiyang. The offense at critical moments is different from usual times. Normally, the Mavericks can blossom more. But for key goals, there must be a focus of attack, and the focus must be clear. If you try a ball and I throw one at the critical moment, it will definitely not be efficient.

In 5 seconds, Yiyang suddenly moved to the left with the ball. Thompson was about to move laterally, but found that Mudiay had already blocked him! Dirk's cover just now was just a fake screen, Mudiay's screen was real!

Forcing Curry to defend himself is Yiyang's strategy. Curry's defense has improved a lot in the past two years, but in Yiyang's view it is still difficult to be called outstanding.

There are many things that you can work hard to learn afterwards. But some playing habits cannot be changed in a day or two.

After Curry came up, Yiyang just looked at No. 30's hands and immediately decided to take a shot!

Curry quickly raised his hand to interfere, but it was too late. The basketball plummeted into the net with an electronic buzzer, and Yiyang made a buzzer-beating mid-range shot, scaring Cole off the court into a shiver! For a moment, he thought he had been killed again! That No. 1's ability to hit key balls is really terrifying! Yiyang's super long three-pointer in the first game of the series still makes Cole feel incredible.

People say that Yiyang's goal was scored against Curry's defense. There is no problem with Curry's defense, but that's not the case.

When Curry was defending Yiyang, he put his hands down and spread them out. But if it was Thompson, he would definitely raise at least one arm to keep Yiyang in front of his eyes at all times. Because if you wait for Yiyang to take off and shoot the ball before you raise your hand, it will already be too slow!

This is the reason why Curry didn't seem to be out of position, but still couldn't guard Yiyang. On the defensive end, some small details will directly determine the effect. Curry's body is indeed stronger than before, and his defensive skills are also better than before. But these little habits can still be found in him.

After Yiyang scored, he turned around and high-fived his teammates. They are a team, not just off the field and in the locker room, but on the field as well.

Yiyang only scored 6 points in the first quarter, but sent 5 assists. His teammates helped Yiyang share the scoring pressure. And Yiyang's last 6 points were enough to sound the alarm for the Warriors.

When it's time for Yiyang to take action, he will never show mercy. If today's game went to the final moment, that buzzer-beater would have been the fate of the Warriors!

The Warriors entered the break with a 1-point lead. But it seemed like they were as nervous as if they were 10 points behind...