Chapter 210 The trust of teammates, the air catch across the half court!
Dallas.
American Airlines Center.
Tickets for tonight's game were sold out a week ago.
The game between the Suns and the Mavericks is not only a strong dialogue, but also about the ranking of both sides.
The Mavericks are currently only 0.5 games behind the Suns. If they win this game, they will overtake the Suns in record and rise to second place in the Western Conference!
Players from both sides took this game very seriously and entered the field a lot of time early to warm up.
Soon, fans who came to watch the game at the American Airlines Center began to enter the venue.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban also appeared.
If there was a poll to determine who is the boss who likes basketball the most in the NBA, then the champion would be Cuban!
He will be present at all Mavericks home games as scheduled, and he will also participate with the team in some important away games.
Cuban, who was on the sidelines, looked at Chen Yan who was warming up and felt very complicated.
He has been optimistic about Chen Yan since the NCAA days, hoping to recruit him, and believes that Chen Yan will definitely play well in the future.
Before his rookie season was over, Chen Yan had already proven Cuban's vision with his own actions. The only thing that didn't match expectations was that Chen Yan joined not the Mavericks but the Suns, a strong rival in the Western Conference.
Cuban felt it was a pity, but he had no regrets.
The Mavericks now have a strong lineup, including Nowitzki, Ray Allen and Kidd, three All-Star players. Their strength on paper is not even worse than that of the Lakers!
Although Kidd is over 35 years old, traditional point guards of this style usually become more sophisticated as they get older. Kidd averaged 11 points per game this season and also sent out 10 assists.
Uranus and Ray Allen can maximize their shooting abilities.
At the beginning of the first quarter, the Mavericks, under Kidd's organization, repeatedly succeeded in shooting from the outside.
King Noah, Ray Allen and the team's starting small forward Josh Howard hit three-pointers one after another, getting off to a perfect start of 11-2!
The Mavericks are a shooting-oriented team, but their opponent tonight, the Suns, is also a shooting team.
In the middle and latter part of this quarter, the Suns got better and better, and responded with an 8-2 spurt under the leadership of Nash.
The Mavericks, playing at home, entered the second quarter with a 3-point advantage.
In this quarter, the Mavericks' super sixth man "Jet" Terry shined, scoring 8 points in a row from inside and outside, leading the Mavericks' second team to open the point difference to 10 points.
Terry is a neurotic player. If he misses the ball, he is no less of an offensive threat than an All-Star guard.
After halftime, the Mavericks led the Suns 61 to 51.
Chen Yan scored 10 points, 3 assists and 4 rebounds in the first half.
Throughout the first half, his performance, to use Zhang Weiping's famous saying, was reasonable.
But if the Suns want to win a victory at the American Airlines Center, it is not enough for Chen Yan to play reasonably, the team needs his explosion!
"Chen Yan played so dull in the first half!"
"Chen Yan needs to stand up!"
"Take more shots! Isn't the point of watching Suns games just to see Chen Yan soar in points?"
"If this continues, the Suns will lose three games in a row!"
"The Mavericks really have a lot of firepower!"
During the halftime break, fans expressed their opinions online.
Away team locker room.
"Chen, strengthen your personal offense in the second half and shoot! We need you to score more points!" D'Antoni said directly to Chen Yan.
The Suns bench has too many injuries, and the Mustache needs Chen Yan's offense to fill the firepower gap.
"no problem!"
Chen Yan's touch felt average today, and he was worried that his excessive shooting would directly affect the team's offense and morale.
But since the head coach said this, Chen Yan has no worries!
The second half started quickly.
Mavericks lineup: Terry, Ray Allen, Josh Howard, Nowitzki, Dampier.
Terry was kept on the court by Mavericks coach "Little General" Johnson because of his hot touch in the second quarter.
Suns lineup: Nash, Chen Yan, Raja Bell, Diaw, Stoudemire.
The sun attacks first.
Chen Yan took the initiative to cover for Nash by mentioning the high position.
After the screen, Chen Yan moved to the outside.
Nash made a quick one-pointer, and Chen Yan got a three-point shot from the top of the arc!
Ray Allen pounced towards Chen Yan!
Although Chen Yan's touch was average in the first half, his threat from beyond the three-point line cannot be underestimated.
Chen Yan raised his hand to hit Thunder Allen, adjusted his shot and shot an open three-pointer!
"Bang!"
Pop out of the box!
Obviously this is not Chen Yan's best state.
"That's it! Be more decisive!"
Although he didn't score, D'Antoni on the sidelines kept applauding and encouraging. This opportunity did come, but he just lacked a little luck.
Mavericks offensive possession.
Ray Allen also missed a shot due to interference from Raja Bell.
In this round, the Suns' offensive and defensive transition speed did not add up, and they fell into the rhythm of positional warfare and offense.
Nash handed the ball to Chen Yan at a 45-degree angle from the top of the arc.
Through hard work for most of the season, Chen Yan has won the trust of his teammates, and there will be no situation like not passing the ball to him if he didn't make a shot in the last round.
Chen Yan didn't want to cover. Facing Ray Allen's defense, he chose to dribble continuously with his hips!
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
After shaking, Chen Yanchang pulled out his hand in two seconds!
Chen Yan's rhythm was very good on this shot, and the trajectory of the shot was also very positive, but it was a pity that the intensity was a little weak.
"Bang!"
The ball hit the front edge of the basket and bounced out, but it still missed!
Chen Yan still hasn't found his best shooting feeling.
But during the scramble, Diaw got this offensive rebound!
Instead of attacking by himself, Dior still chose to believe in Chen Yan!
Twisting in the air, Diaw passed the ball to Chen Yan again!
The moment Chen Yan caught the ball, he retreated outside the three-point line.
Kick your legs, stay in the air, take action, shake your wrists!
Chen Yan's action was very decisive!
"Whoa!"
The ball spins at high speed in space and then falls hollowly into the net!
Finally got it!
After the ball was scored, Chen Yan continuously high-fived his teammates on the field to express his gratitude to his teammates for their trust.
Chen Yan knows that touch sometimes requires a shot.
Otherwise, there would be no Kobe Bryant's famous saying: Even if I miss the first 20 shots, I will take the 21st shot.
Of course, this sentence only applies to core players. If role players messed around like this, they would have been replaced by the coach long ago...
Looking back, the Mavericks' super sixth man Terry made a fool of himself.
After halftime, he scored a three-pointer!
"Clang!"
The sound of hammering echoed over the American Airlines Center.
Handling the ball casually is a common problem for talented players like Terry!
After Diaw protected the rebound, the Suns' blitz began!
Diaw passed the ball accurately and found Nash.
Nash advanced quickly, sent a long pass from the logo, and the rainbow arc connected with Chen Yan!
Chen Yan took off with a run-up, glided in the air, caught the ball with one hand, and smashed the frame with both arms!
"Boom!!"
"Oh~~~~~"
Seeing this scene, even some Mavericks fans couldn't help but marvel.