On April 29, the first round of the NBA playoffs gradually came to an end.
On this day, the Dallas Mavericks lost to the San Antonio Spurs on the road.
They entered the playoffs as the second seed in the Western Conference, but were intercepted by the Spurs in the first round.
Dirk Nowitzki suffered another blow in three years after suffering a blackout in the 2007 season.
This result is difficult for the entire Mavericks team and the entire Dallas fans to accept.
At the end of the game, Nowitzki could even feel the jeers from the audience.
It has been three years since that incident. He has been criticized in various ways, especially the reputation of being a "softie".
After being eliminated in the first round of 2008 by the fledgling Paul and the Hornets, Kidd showed his old age when facing Paul in the series.
They were beaten badly by the Nuggets in the second round of 2009, but they defeated the Spurs in the first round that year.
As a result, this year, the Spurs got their revenge and successfully overturned the Mavericks with the seventh pick, and the series did not have much suspense.
The Mavericks got off to a good start and defeated the Spurs at home in the first game. After that, the Spurs lost three games in a row and fell behind 1:3.
Returning to home court in Game 5, the Mavericks defeated the Spurs to save some face, but the situation in the series was already controlled by the Spurs.
As a result, in Game 6, the Mavericks came to San Antonio and were beaten 22:8 by the Spurs in the first quarter.
I dug a big hole for myself at the beginning, but in the end I buried myself in it and never climbed out.
After losing in the playoffs for the third consecutive year, it's hard to imagine how much pressure Nowitzki is under.
In 2006, they were obviously the closest to the championship. They were only one free throw away from the championship.
But it was a free throw that killed the Mavericks. From that moment on, they never got up.
Four seasons have passed, and Nowitzki's teammates have almost changed, and only Terry is left.
They still failed to go any further. They finished second in the Western Conference in the regular season and went home early.
The Spurs created the first "Black Seven" miracle since the best-of-seven games in the first round.
It's several years later than Black Eight.
Unfortunately, the victims of both miracles were the Mavericks.
Nowitzki scored 26.7 points in the series, which is very good.
But the performance of the entire Mavericks team was ups and downs, especially the offense.
In the four games they lost, they failed to score more than 90 points.
In the face of the Spurs' veteran defensive experience, the Mavericks players' personal abilities were not fully utilized.
Carlisle fell into deep self-blame and reflection after the game.
He said nothing all the way back to Dallas.
Since taking over the Mavericks in 2008, Carlisle has been working hard to build an offensive system around Dirk for two seasons.
The offensive routine created by predecessor Johnson that was suitable for utilizing the players' individual offensive abilities was too rigid.
There were many factors for the failure in 2006, especially some off-field factors.
But in 2007, there were really a lot of tactical problems in being hacked, and they were targeted very hard in the first round.
After Carlisle took charge, he transformed the team's tactical system, hoping to make the team's offense flow.
He believes that the team's offensive tactics with Nowitzki and Kidd as the core must be flexible and changeable.
Pursuing virility and toughness may not necessarily lead to victory, because it is not suitable.
But for two consecutive seasons, Carlisle felt that he failed to grasp the lifeblood of the team's tactics.
It's always a little bit off, a little off here, a little off there, never reaching a truly satisfactory state.
The main responsibility of an excellent head coach is definitely not to formulate a few tactics and draw tactical boards on the sidelines.
Their job is much more complicated. They are the brains of the team. They must ensure that their players operate around a core idea, each demonstrate their abilities, and do their best on both offense and defense.
However, Carlisle felt that he had not thought enough about what this core idea was.
The whole team was immersed in a bad atmosphere, and on the plane back to Dallas, no one said a word.
Carlisle wanted to sleep, but he was not sleepy at all. He kept replaying the game in his mind, trying to get the answer.
Carlisle knew he didn't have to worry about getting out of class. When leaving the Spurs' home court, Cuban came over and said it.
“Keep up the good work next season.”
Carlisle also knows that Nowitzki will continue to stay in Dallas, and the 33-year-old will not give up.
He won't propose a trade or say he wants to compete for a championship elsewhere, and Cuban won't trade him.
Nowitzki is a great player, and as a European player, he doesn't like to mess around.
They expect to keep playing in one place unless the team takes the initiative to trade him.
Next season, we still have to make a fuss around Nowitzki.
Cuban will continue to introduce players. As the head coach, Carlisle has to figure out a problem: how to best utilize Dirk's abilities and hide his disadvantages on the defensive end.
Headache, really headache.
Assistant coach Stotts came up and said, "Rick, I saw an article after the game. I think it might be of some enlightenment. Let me give it to you."
Carlisle waved his hand and said: "Stotts, do we still need to rely on the nonsense in the media to guide the team's game?"
Stotts said: "The difference between these articles is that Mike Dunleavy recommended them to me."
Dunleavy and Stotts knew each other although they had not worked together at one time.
Stotts entered the league when he was drafted by the Rockets in 1980, when Dunleavy was playing with the Rockets.
When Dunleavy went to the Bucks later, Stotts also worked, but the timeline was staggered.
Everyone is a coach, and people who know each other will have some exchanges on weekdays.
Carlisle heard Dunleavy's name and said, "Did the Clippers even the score to 2:3?"
Stotts nodded and said: "Yes, they made a lot of adjustments and changes in the fourth game, and the results were immediate. Please read this article."
So, Carlisle steeled himself, took Stotts' cell phone, and began to read the article titled "The Victory of Space and Ball Rights."
This article uses the review of the fourth and fifth games between the Clippers and the Lakers as an example to describe the role and significance of the Clippers' lineup and tactical adjustments.
Carlisle read it very casually at first. A senior person like him is not willing to read media articles.
However, as the reading progressed, he found the article more interesting and inspiring.
In particular, one of the sentences reads: "In offense, when a tactical system solves the problem of space and ball distribution well, then it is no longer a matter of whether it focuses on inside or outside, whether it focuses on shooting or on breakthroughs. It's so important. These are matters that the players themselves make temporary decisions. Before the game, the coach can solve the distribution of space and ball rights so that the two can reach a perfect balance. Then the players can be in the most comfortable state. Run their offense and play their best offense."
This sentence had an enlightening effect on Carlisle, and he suddenly figured out many problems.
"Who wrote this article?" Carlisle asked anxiously after reading it.
"It's the NBA-Batman who likes to publish all kinds of rumors and gossip. It's his blog."
"What? It's this guy...I...I want to contact him via private message."
(End of chapter)
