3 of 13 shots, including 0 of 5 three-pointers...but 12 of 14 free throws!
Li Ao scored 18 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 6 blocks in 37 minutes of playing time. Li Ao's overall performance tonight was much better than the previous two games against the Spurs.
But with this data, he felt like he had gone to JDZ for further training.
After beating the Spurs, the next morning, the Clippers came to Dallas, the last stop of Texas' three-game trip.
Seeing that the players were in good spirits, Gentry communicated with the players and came to the American Airlines Arena for two training sessions at 3 p.m.
Of the first two opponents, one was very restrained, and the other, after thinking for a long time, he didn't know why Popovich targeted Li Ao. Maybe he just couldn't stand the handsome guy?
Therefore, he did not do targeted tactical training in the first two games. He practiced regular offensive and defensive coordination on the morning of the game, allowing the players to adapt to changes on the court.
The atmosphere of preparing for the game was relaxed, and winning the game was also easy. He could feel that after winning 4 consecutive victories, it was like the clouds were clearing and the sun had cleared. The players had swept away the haze caused by 3 consecutive losses and regained the confidence they had during the 10-game winning streak. His fighting spirit is high and he is not afraid of anyone he encounters.
In tomorrow's game, Gentry's attitude expressed to the players is to win!
This period of time is suitable for putting pressure on the team members and pushing them.
Of course it's good to win, but it doesn't really matter if you lose.
The only thing he worries about is that a certain No. 0 player goes out to make bold remarks again and irritates his opponents.
He feels that the pressure and motivation given to the players now is just right, and any more may be counterproductive.
What surprised him was that when their little spider was asked about the winning streak in an interview in the evening, he only praised Maggette for his recent offensive performance, O'Neal for his increasingly strong defense, and Bo for his outstanding scoring performance in chaotic battles. Eakins, said nothing else.
Gentry burst into tears, their little spider finally knew how to be patient when encountering a strong enemy!
…
On March 16, at 7:40 pm, the Clippers entered the arena first.
Li Ao looked at the opposing starting lineup on the big screen and glanced at the player evaluation report.
The Silver Horn King has a 90 rating, Finley has an 89 rating, Nash has an 82 rating, and Juwan Howard has an 83 rating on the bench.
He has been beaten by the Mavericks three times in a row.
If it's 10 consecutive wins, he might roar twice, but if it's 4 consecutive wins, let's forget it.
After the players from the two teams finished entering, Li Ao came to the opposite bench.
As he walked over, the people on the other side stood up to greet him. Finley and Juwan Howard stepped forward to greet Li Ao... Li Ao moved around flexibly and bypassed them both.
(O_o)(o_O)? ? ?
The two of them turned around and saw...oh...by the way, a newbie who was a flower grower had just joined their team.
Wang Zhizhi was a little at a loss when he saw Li Ao coming.
It’s been a week since he came to the Mavericks, and he’s not familiar with the place. Although he took an English training class before coming, he can’t understand it very well. He has almost no communication with his teammates. In addition, the beginning of his dream-chasing journey is different from what he expected. There is a big difference. After two weeks here, he has not had a chance to play. His teammates are so good...
Due to the unfamiliar environment, language barrier, and sense of gap, he has been feeling lonely and helpless every day for the past few days. He was already showing signs of autism as he was already introverted, and now suddenly someone who might know him came towards him. , seemed to be saying hello, and his first reaction was to hide.
However, when the other party walked up to him and saw the bright and cheerful smile of the other party, Wang Zhizhi's suppressed emotions were relieved a lot.
The senior came first. Li Ao took the initiative to reach out and say hello: "Hi, I'm Li Ao. They all call me Spider-Man. I'm responsible for NBA good looks. I've heard of you for a long time. I'm so happy to finally meet you."
After Wang Zhizhi's suppressed emotions calmed down a bit, he was just thinking about how to say hello when he was choked.
This little senior is so stinky and narcissistic!
His American agent is also Jeff Schwartz. From Schwartz's mouth, he already knows that Li Ao is not as violent as the rumors. He is easy to get along with, but his words are very irritating.
Don't tell me, his fists are a bit tight now.
If Li Ao wasn't so handsome, Wang Zhizhi would still think he was joking.
The key point is that this young senior is really that handsome, and he sounds really narcissistic.
However, the other party's words attracted the attention of everyone around him, and Wang Zhizhi, who was originally being watched by many people, felt more relaxed.
He spoke not fluent English and said: "I am Wang Zhizhi, and I am very happy to meet you."
"We'll talk after the game. I'll go back and prepare first."
"Ook."
After saying a simple hello, Li Ao went to the technical table to apply magnesium powder and prepare to go on the court to practice shooting.
In February, Schwartz told him that Wang Zhizhi was coming soon. He was paying attention to this matter and asked Schwartz to tell Wang Zhizhi his contact information. As a result, the domestic basketball giant did not contact him.
Later, when he got busy, he forgot about it. In the final analysis, whether Wang Zhizhi comes to play in the NBA has nothing to do with him, and he is not a teammate.
But when I saw you today, of course I had to say hello.
However, seeing the awkward look of the other person standing alone, he guessed that the other person might not be good at sociability, so he deliberately used English when greeting him, not wanting Wang Zhizhi to be judged by his teammates as "just special and speaking a foreign language".
When he was in school before, he met other international students who were gardeners. They couldn't help but communicate in Mandarin. They chatted happily, but his classmates stood aside bored and later complained to him, "I can't understand you." What to say, I'm still next to you, and you all know English, why don't you talk in words I can understand? I always feel like you are talking bad about me."
He remembered that when he was in high school in China, he encountered a similar situation. That time he was the one who felt 'ostracized'. Two classmates from other places met and spoke in tongues. He just stood aside and said it was Allah. Shanghai Ning, Wu Nong's soft language is difficult to understand.
The person didn't actually say anything, but the third person would inevitably have ideas, so he would pay more attention to this.
After the greetings were finished, he ignored Wang Zhizhi for the time being and focused on preparing for the game, without delaying the preparation time before the game.
On Wang Zhizhi's side, Nash asked him in surprise: "So you know English!"
After Wang Zhizhi spoke once, he dared to speak a second time. He made a peacock dance gesture: "Gaste So So So."
Nash patted him on the back and said: "It doesn't matter if your English is not good. Be brave and passionate people will be popular. Look at your flower gardener's Spider-Man, the whole world loves him."
Wang Zhizhi glanced at the young senior who was shooting beautifully and coquettishly on the other side... He tried his best.
…
The pre-game preparation time is over and the starting lineups of the two teams come on the court.
The Mavericks sent out a starting lineup of Nash, Michael Finley, Edondo Najera, Nowitzki, and Bradley.
Old Nelson looked at the opposing starting lineup of Big Q, Li Ao, Matt Halprin, Odom, and O'Neal Jr., and even a bold head coach like him had a question mark.
In this lineup, who is the second ball-handling point?
At 8pm, the game starts.
O'Neal Jr. beat Dazhugan to win the jump ball, and the Clippers attacked first.
Odom received the ball at the free throw line and advanced a few steps quickly. Li Ao and Da Q's fast break were blocked. The former was blocked by Nowitzki and the latter was blocked by Edondo Najera.
Seeing this, Odom slowed down a bit, but still maintained a relatively fast pace.
When Odom advanced to the three-point line, the other four members of the Clippers immediately started running. The Mavericks players followed the defender, but the Clippers ran for 3 seconds before settling in position.
Li Ao took Nowitzki to the left side of the three-second zone, Matt Halprin took Finley to the left corner, O'Neal Jr. was on the right side of the three-second zone, Bradley guarded the basket, Big Q Outside the three-point line on the right sideline, Edondo Najera followed closely.
Nash, who was standing high, looked at the big man in front of him and exclaimed involuntarily: "Omag!"
Seeing Odom dribbling the ball under his crotch, Nash attacked and pressed... Odom swatted the ball under his crotch with his left hand and pulled his body a step to the right. Nash missed and Odom rushed in!
Nash had a lot of experience in being passed by, so he immediately turned around and pursued him.
He saw the ball flying towards his head... no, it flew over his head!
He moved his eyes along the ball, turned his head and saw Li Ao catching the ball. He immediately stopped and, together with Nowitzki, who was struggling to defend, caught Li Ao one step outside the free throw line.
But Li Ao paused for a second after receiving the ball, and then passed it... Big Q moved from the right sideline to the right side at a 45-degree angle to receive the ball. Edondo Najera filled in for Odom, and Big Q made an open three-pointer. Take action... hit!
3-0, the Clippers took the lead.
Nelson: (**)
This ball is really... bold.
Forcibly play the style of breaking through the high post and connecting with the three-point shooter from the high post.
From a certain perspective, this can be regarded as solving the problem of not having two control points.
He looked at Gentry, these were his fans...
In transition, the Mavericks attack.
Nash advanced to the frontcourt, and the Clippers players had already caught up with their respective defensive targets. He was surprised to see the big spider guarding the top arc with his arms spread out!
He thought that the one guarding him would be Big Q. This rookie had some defensive talent and was a little troublesome, but it was not difficult to deal with.
But the man in front of him... Nash, who averaged double figures for the first time in his career, was not very confident. He hesitated and passed the ball to Finley.
Big Q struggled to defend Finley, and the rest of the Clippers began to cut off the passing and receiving lines.
Finley hit Big Q in singles and hit the mid-range shot in an emergency stop!
Li Ao took the ball back to pick up the ball and served, and praised, "He is worthy of being the successor of the first generation Jordan." Although he is at his peak at the age of 27, he is only at the edge of the All-Star level, but his mid-range and long-range shots are really beautiful in singles.
The movement is clean and neat, the jump is high, the release point is high, and the stability can be maintained even when leaning back.
Face-up singles are as tough as Jordan and Kobe.
Odom received the serve and advanced. This time the Mavericks' defensive position was not chaotic. Finley followed up with Li Ao, Nash followed up with Big Q, Nowitzki followed up with Matt Halprin, and the one guarding the top arc was Edondo- Najera.
Odom continued to break through in singles, using a cross step to change direction to gain half a position, and pushed past Edondo Najera, who was actively defending, to break into the inside!
Big Q, who was sliding down the baseline, reached halfway and turned around to retreat to the right sideline. Nash did not turn around to chase, but faced Odom. He stood still, protected his crotch, closed his eyes... The impact did not come.
Li Ao took a step outside the free throw line and successfully received the ball. When Nash was filling in for Odom, Edondo Najera moved toward Big Q, cutting off the passing line. Finley also followed closely. Li Ao.
Not to mention whether Nash made the right choice when switching to guard Odom and made an offensive foul, the Mavericks quickly followed up with this wave of defensive rotations!
Just when Finley was concentrating and preparing to seize the opportunity to steal, Li Ao quickly shot the ball again... and made a mistake!
The ball passed the baseline!
O'Neal Jr. sighed in annoyance, clenched his fist towards Li Ao and hit his forehead, indicating that the ball belonged to him.
Bradley broke into a cold sweat!
Just now, Odom broke through and was blocked by Nash to pass the ball. When Li Ao passed the ball out of bounds, it actually happened within 3 seconds.
Nash went to supplement Odom, which was an unexpected situation for the Mavericks' defense. Bradley also stepped out of the legitimate collision zone.
Bradley is tall and has long legs. He could turn around and cover O'Neal in one step, but Li Ao's second pass was so fast that he didn't even react, let alone turn around to cover O'Neal's shooting space.
That is to say, the ball came so suddenly that even O'Neal did not expect Li Ao to be so bold.
But this goal perfectly fits what the head coach said: "We have to play boldly to have a chance to win this game."
Nelson glanced at the head coach opposite who said he was a fan of his many times, feeling a little itchy in his heart.
But no, this is no longer the era when he won the best coach three times in 10 years.
Times have long since changed. The days when a team averaged 120 points per game are long gone. This is the time when it was rare for a team to average 100 points per game.
When the Mavericks attacked, Finley continued to get single opportunities and hit a mid-range single for the second consecutive round.
4 to 3, the Mavericks overtook the Clippers by 1 point.
The starting performance of the two teams was obviously that the Mavericks were more stable.
The Clippers do not have a second point of possession. After Odom releases the ball, the Clippers receiver must make a quick decision whether to shoot or pass.
Li Ao, the main contact point, decided to act decisively and avoid being intercepted by Finley, but the turnover rate was quite high.
The Mavericks relied on Finley's singles to score steadily.
However, as he continued to play, Nelson discovered a problem.
The opponent doesn't seem to want to rely on this strange lineup to defeat them on the offensive end!
Although Li Ao's passing error rate is a bit high, and some teammates are unable to react, as long as he receives the ball, he is basically a good shooting opportunity.
Since Old Nelson knew that Gentry admired him, when he saw this, he preconceptionally thought that Gentry was imitating him in the past and used an unexpected lineup to attack the opponent.
But after watching a few more rounds, he found that he had been fooled!
The opponent's lineup is purely for defense!
Finley had good accuracy in singles, making 3 of 5 shots in the beginning. However, after Big Q defended for 5 rounds, he started to defend, instead of guarding against breakthroughs.
After Finley broke into the inside, he grabbed the ball and distributed it, but he couldn't pass it out. Li Ao waved his arm and took it in from the free throw line. Finley panicked and patted the ball again, making a mistake in the second move!
Today's update is a little late. I went to karaoke with my friends in the afternoon to sing. There is still another chapter in the early morning. I will try to update it around 12 o'clock.
Asking for a monthly ticket!
(End of chapter)
