NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

The day after Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Game 3 of the series between the Lakers and the Mavericks also began on time.

Inside the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, enthusiastic Dallas fans flooded into their home arena early, ready to give their team the most extreme and passionate support!
The moment the Lakers players entered the court, they were greeted by cheers from the Dallas crowd.

Compared to the sophisticated, humorous, calm, and slightly arrogant Los Angeles residents, Dallas residents' trash talk seems much more down-to-earth.

Basically, they can be divided into three categories. The first one is the most direct: I want to [illegible] all your ancestors for eight generations, including but not limited to men, women, pets, and other incomprehensible things.

For example, car exhaust pipes, tree holes in the tree in front of your house, and mailboxes...
Lin Tian couldn't understand it, but he expressed his respect. Everyone has different hobbies, right? Lin Tian was even willing to plant more trees and mailboxes in his yard for these Dallas folks, since he didn't need them anyway.

But forget about the exhaust pipe; Lin Tian really knows how to drive.

The second approach is equally direct: fans say they'll send you to meet Jesus with guns, knives, bricks, iron bars, cement pipes, table and chair legs, heads, slaps, or other things.

Regarding this type of fan, Lin Tian said: "Buddy, you'll most likely never meet Jesus. You're not devout enough or good enough. You'll most likely just send them to meet Satan."

As for the last category, it's quite boring, but while it's boring, this type of fan's curses are the loudest and most unified.

Because there are no fancy tricks, no creativity or depth, it's just the simplest 'FUXX! FUXX! FUXX!'

At least half of the fans in the stadium used this method to hurl insults. Then, fans who used the first two methods to hurl insults would join this group after they ran out of new words. And fans who originally belonged to this group would suddenly have a flash of inspiration and think of a word.

He would immediately break away from the main group and start criticizing the Lakers players on his own. After he finished criticizing them, he would rejoin the F army and become a member of the chorus.

That's why people say Dallas has a simple and friendly atmosphere.

Given their tacit understanding, innovative ability, and vocabulary, it's impossible for them not to be simple and honest.

He's not arrogant; he's too down-to-earth.

"You all know what tonight's game means, right?" Jackson called all the Lakers players to his side as the time was almost up. "You also know what tonight's game means for the Mavericks, right?"

"This is their last chance, their only chance to beat me. They will give it their all, they will go all out from the very beginning of the match, and show us how terrifying they are."

"So, no matter what, prepare yourselves mentally first! If you're not prepared and get intimidated right from the start, we definitely won't win tonight!"

"But as long as we are not intimidated or frightened by them, even if we encounter some difficulties at the beginning, I believe we can quickly resolve everything and turn the tide."

"More importantly, this is an away game, this is Dallas! We were lucky in Los Angeles, we won two games in a row with a buzzer-beater, but think about it the other way around, what if Lin and Jason hadn't made those two three-pointers? Wouldn't we be down 0-2 now?"

"Don't underestimate us. Besides everyone's perfect performance, we were lucky in the first two matches, so we absolutely cannot be careless tonight! Get on high alert from the very first second! Unleash all your energy from the very beginning of the match!"

"Tonight's Mavericks will be fiercer and more savage than ever before, understand?"

"Understood!" the Lakers players shouted in unison. The Mavericks were going all out, and the Lakers knew that, and they had been prepared for it for a long time.

After two all-out battles between the two teams, the Lakers are definitely the team in the league that knows the Mavericks best.

They had watched countless Mavericks videos, knew almost all of their tactics, and understood how the Mavericks would approach them tonight.

But clearly, the Lakers are neither afraid nor nervous!

Even looking at the expressions of Kobe, Lin Tian, ​​and others, all you can see on their faces is excitement and anticipation!
These two guys, who thrive when facing strong opponents and crave for formidable rivals, certainly know that tonight's Mavericks are likely to be their toughest opponent this year. So right now, they're filled with excitement and anticipation.

They couldn't wait to compete with the Mavericks and see what tricks they had up their sleeves. These kinds of games are the ones that excite these people the most!
Soon, after the coaches finished their final pep talks, the players from both teams took to the field.

The third game of the series, the decisive battle that will completely determine the course of this round, has begun!
"Dudu!"

With a whistle from the referee, the basketball was tossed into the air. This time, it was Bogut who got the first possession for his team, beating Bynum and passing the ball to Williams.

Williams dribbled the ball quickly to the frontcourt, calling out tactics as he did so.

"Hey you guys, you're not planning to start the fight from your spot tonight, are you?" Lin Tian lowered his center of gravity, spread his arms, and mocked, "Then your coach must be blind. Taking a risky approach is fine, but you can't just commit suicide with a sword!"

"That's way too remote."

Williams ignored Lin Tian's taunts and instead waved for his teammates to come and set a screen.

"James! James is setting a screen for Williams!" Van Gundy couldn't help but shout. The Mavericks' opening move really surprised him.

"It seems the Mavericks are about to make a complete change," Miller analyzed. "Focus on Williams, let James play a supporting role first, let the role players try to open up the game, and then let the core players accumulate enough energy before suddenly bursting out."

"That must be what the Mavericks are thinking."

"You guys chose the wrong breakthrough point!" Lin Tian saw James screen the way, took a step forward in advance, and stood between James and Williams, forcibly squeezing through and rendering the screen useless.

Furthermore, Lin Tian suddenly lunged at Williams, pressing his entire body almost against him, making it extremely difficult for Williams to continue his attack.

Lin Tian continued to use his powerful defensive pressure to limit Williams' dribbling space, forcing him to retreat continuously.

Finally, seeing that he was being forced back to his own half, Williams had no choice but to pass the ball to Allen, who came to receive it.

However, Allen didn't have much shooting space either. Kobe was very focused on defending Allen off the ball this time, sticking to him completely and preventing him from breaking free and finding opportunities.

Then Allen also called for a screen to let Bogut cooperate with him, but Kobe also anticipated it in advance and stepped forward, just like Lin Tian, ​​and chose to force his way through the screen.

Seeing that his team couldn't find an opportunity, Allen had no choice but to pass the ball again to Nowitzki in the low post. Nowitzki was a little flustered when he first received the ball, because the Mavericks' play was clearly not going to start from his position.

However, Allen and Williams were both heavily interfered with, which forced them to pass the ball to Nowitzki for a hard pass.

Barnes seized the opportunity to make a tackle, but Nowitzki protected the ball very well, not giving Barnes a chance to directly intercept it.

After regaining his footing and positioning, Nowitzki immediately pushed hard and squeezed towards the inside. As he approached the basket, Nowitzki suddenly stopped his advance and made a sudden back turn to create distance.

According to his usual practice, he would definitely take a one-legged layup to complete the shot at this point.

But this time, he realized something was wrong when he was only halfway through turning around.

Someone is waiting for him!
Kobe!

Kobe had already started running towards this spot before Nowitzki turned around, arriving just as Nowitzki finished turning.

Double team!

In the very first possession, the Lakers suddenly started double-teaming Nowitzki!
In terms of individual offense and firepower, Nowitzki is unmatched in the entire league. However, in terms of passing speed and vision, he is only a mid-level player, even among the 4 and 5 positions.

Faced with a double-team from two excellent defenders, Nowitzki certainly couldn't ignore the defense and shoot directly. In addition, his vision wasn't great, so instead of immediately finding a teammate to pass the ball, his first reaction was to hold the ball tightly in his arms before looking for a teammate to receive it.

This delay cost Nowitzki the chance to pass the ball. Barnes's iron-like hands fiercely pressed down on the basketball Nowitzki was holding, opening and closing to firmly grasp it.

Both players tried to control the basketball at the same time, but neither succeeded.

But neither of them was willing to give up possession of the ball so easily. Neither of them would give in, and as one of them lost his balance, they both fell heavily to the ground at the same time!

Even so, neither of them let go.

It wasn't until the referee blew the whistle, ruling it a jump ball, and teammates rushed to separate the two players, that they reluctantly let go and barely separated.

Barnes, with a thuggish air about him, glared fiercely at Nowitzki, his entire being devoid of any other quality besides his menacing aura.

Even the usually easygoing Nowitzki stood his ground, glaring back at Barnes with equally fierce eyes, showing no sign of backing down.

"The first round was already incredibly intense!" Van Gundy exclaimed. "There was a contest for the ball in the very first round; both sides are bringing the intensity up very early and very aggressively tonight!" "I can predict that tonight will definitely be a fantastic match!"

Fans quickly accepted Van Gundy's explanation, but the Mavericks players knew that wasn't the case at all.

Head coach Johnson, in particular, was watching the field with extreme tension, pacing back and forth, clearly somewhat uneasy.

He was certainly not upset about a contest for the ball.

Even if Nowitzki were to lose, Johnson wouldn't be so restless, let alone be saying that Nowitzki is almost 100% sure of beating Barnes in a faceoff.

His unease stemmed from a simple feeling: he felt completely exposed.

His plan was to start with intense physical play, using physicality and rough defense, along with the home advantage, to gain an early lead by starting from the defensive end.

On the offensive end, he changed his previous strategy of focusing on James and Nowitzki, letting Allen and Williams handle the ball and start firing first. If these two can get going early, then Nowitzki and James can take over the offense, and the Mavericks' offense will immediately have a sense of layering!

But the result?

In the very first possession, Johnson noticed that the Lakers were physically more aggressive and decisive when squeezing screens, giving Allen and Williams no chance to initiate plays.

Not to mention that even with the Lakers increasing the intensity and level of physical contact, they did not neglect the defense against James and Nowitzki, and the Mavericks' first offensive possession was forced into a jump ball!

This practice of increasing the intensity before you did made Johnson feel like he was completely seen through.

I wanted to focus on two role players, but the Lakers immediately came up with a very strong defensive strategy against them.

I instructed the players that if the offense wasn't going to work, they shouldn't force it and should let Nowitzki and James handle it. Then the Lakers immediately double-teamed Nowitzki, leading to a jump ball.

Every step he took was seen through, and every plan he made was within the Lakers', or rather Jackson's, expectations!

He anticipated my prediction and made a new one in advance, but I had no prediction of his prediction and could not react to it at all.

Is this the level of the top contender for the greatest coach in history?
At that moment, Johnson suddenly felt like a helpless child, at a loss.

He looked at the smiling Jackson and truly didn't know what to do.

He didn't have much left in his stomach.

We'll just have to wait for the players to sort it out themselves!
Of course, Johnson had no idea that his wild imagination had completely led him astray.

Jackson hadn't thought that far ahead at all.

He didn't assign any task to strengthen the defense against Williams and Allen, nor did he say anything about immediately double-teaming Nowitzki.

It's simply that once the Lakers' defensive intent was fully unleashed, their defensive ability and speed were truly formidable.

Besides, what level are Allen and Williams at?
You want them to focus their attacks on Lin Tian and Kobe?

Does this tactical approach require special planning to counter it?
Lin Tian and Kobe's individual abilities alone are enough to completely solve the problem.

When Johnson was setting up his tactics, he clearly forgot this point. He only thought about winning by surprise, but forgot that there are inherent differences in the abilities of the players.

So, in the first possession, the Mavericks were forced into a jump ball in a very awkward situation.

Even worse, even if Nowitzki has a sure win in this jump ball, the Mavericks will only have 3 seconds left on the shot clock after he gets the ball. The Mavericks are completely shut down in this possession, and can only hope that someone can make a miraculous shot to save the day.

Soon, Nowitzki and Barnes stood on opposite sides of the free-throw line, fully focused, waiting for the referee's whistle, and the two jumped almost simultaneously.

But for Barnes, jumping at the same time was clearly not enough.

Nowitzki got there first and dribbled the ball. The ball immediately flew towards the left three-point line. Williams reacted quickly and grabbed the ball. But before he could turn to face the basket, Lin Tian stepped forward and blocked him tightly.

Williams tried to turn around, but found that Lin Tian blocked him and he had no chance to turn around. Helpless, he could only dribble the ball a step toward the center line before finally finding space and a teammate to receive the pass and immediately pass the ball out.

Allen's situation after receiving the ball was similar to Williams'; he was also tightly guarded by Kobe. However, his situation was worse than Williams' because he no longer had room to retreat and create distance; if he retreated any further, he would have to return to the court.

More importantly, when Allen received the ball, there was only a little over a second left before the 24-second shot clock expired, and he didn't have time to make any adjustments.

He could only jump sideways and forcefully throw the ball towards the basket despite Kobe's defense.

Given the distance, the posture, and the intensity of the defense, the outcome of Allen's shot was already self-evident.

The basketball didn't even touch the rim, and because of insufficient height, it didn't even fly out of bounds, falling into Bynum's arms under the basket very early on.

24-second violation!
On their very first possession, the Mavericks were forced into a 24-second violation, a disastrous start for them.

"The Mavericks had a terrible first possession back at home!" Van Gundy said. "Hopefully, this possession won't affect their plans for the future, and hopefully their confidence won't be shaken."

"After all, no matter how ugly it looks, it's just one round where no one scored."

On the court, because this play was defended until a 24-second violation occurred, the Lakers were unable to launch a fast break and had to inbound the ball first.

Lin Tian didn't seem to care. After receiving the ball from his teammate, he pressed his hands down and said, "This is Dallas! One successful round isn't enough to secure our victory!"

"We need to fight like this for 10 rounds in a row before we can establish even a small advantage. Everyone, put away your smiles!"

"Let's take it one ball at a time!"

"understand!"

Under Lin Tian's command, the Lakers played fairly well in the first possession, with everyone making active runs. After dribbling at the top of the arc for a while, Lin Tian passed the ball to Durant, who then lobbed it to Kobe in the low post.

After receiving the ball, Kobe suddenly tapped it to his side. Lin Tian, ​​who had just cut to the side, took off and made a layup in mid-air to avoid Bogut's defense, scoring a smooth and elegant layup!

"Beautiful! Brilliant!" Miller shouted. "Compared to the Mavericks' attempt to take a risky approach and start with their role players, the Lakers were very clear and decisive from the very first possession."

"Play against star players! And specifically, play against the teamwork between star players, use the tactics they are most familiar with and best at!"

Jackson said, "I've seen this play at least 100 times this season: Lin gets the ball at the top of the key and passes it to Durant on the wing, Durant passes it to Kobe in the low post, Kobe passes it to Lin who cuts to the basket and finishes the play!"

"There are many variations, such as Lin passing the ball again, or Lin not getting open and Kobe passing it back to Durant to finish the shot, and so on."

"This three-person formation sounds extremely simple, but because all three players have top-notch scoring and drawing abilities, it's impossible to defend against or make contingency plans. You can't even develop a focused defensive strategy."

"This move is almost unstoppable. It's the ultimate version of the triangle offense! Whether it's the pivot or the finisher, it's unstoppable. They can switch at any time. All three players can be the pivot or the finisher. If Mr. Winter had watched this game..."

"They will be very pleased."

Van Gundy added, "The Lakers didn't pull any fancy moves or come up with anything new."

"It's all about star players! It's about leveraging the incredible chemistry and powerful offense of the trio, it's all about playing against star players! In crucial games, you have to bring out your best skills! That's the way to win."

"That's all you know how to do, isn't it?" Miller mocked. "Jackson, on the other hand, has had many moments where his surprise attack turned the tide of the game."

"I'm not going to waste my breath on an idiot like you who's never been a coach," Van Gundy snorted, indicating that you're not qualified to discuss tactics with me, which made Jackson next to him burst into laughter.

On the court, the Mavericks' second offensive possession failed to score again! (End of Chapter)