On May 4, the first game between the Suns and the Mavericks started at the American West Arena.
In a pre-game interview, D'Antoni said: "The Mavericks are a traditionally strong team. No team can say that they can win for sure. This series will definitely be fierce. It will be a severe test for the Suns."
On the other side, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle also expressed weakness: "No team wants to meet the Suns. Their players in every position are excellent. They just swept their opponents 4-0 and their morale is high. We
All we can do is try our best and leave the rest to fate."
The head coaches of both teams are very humble. This is a kind of psychological warfare, in order to make the opponent underestimate the enemy. The details of the series are very important. A little detail may affect the victory of a game, and a game may affect the entire series.
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Not only the two coaches, but also the players on both sides are being humble.
Nash said: "The Mavericks have rich playoff experience. They have Dirk, Kidd, Ray Allen, Artest, and a super sixth man like Terry on the bench. During the regular season, they also have
When it comes to adjusting the lineup, the playoffs are their stage, and we can never take it lightly when dealing with a team like this."
Chen Yan said: "We have to speed up and speed up, and we must play fast to ensure the hit rate. We have no advantage in positional combat with the Mavericks."
"The Suns are impeccable on the offensive end. They have Steve, they have Chen, they have Amare, and they have a bunch of dynamic role players.
Nowitzki said.
Both sides are talking nonsense, and the atmosphere is harmonious and doesn't look like a playoff game.
There is only one exception.
"The Mavericks are the stronger team, and we will win this round of playoffs! Chen? I will switch to full defense mode and lock him down even if I don't score. I like to play the most difficult position, where the opponent is the most difficult to defend.
Whatever position a player plays, I hope I can play that position too. Chen has suffered a lot in this series, that’s what I said!”
Artest made wild remarks during the pre-game interview.
Artest is a player who is not afraid of anything. Of course, this is only before he is defeated. He has a typical American mentality of seeking strength. If there is a strong man who conquers Artest with his strength, then Artest will not only respect him.
, and even turn on the dog licking mode.
Suns vs. Mavericks is the focus of the second round of the playoffs. TV5 also broadcast the game live.
"Magic" Johnson said: "This is definitely the kind of Mars hitting the earth game that fans like to watch. The Suns have three All-Star players, while the Mavericks have four. In addition to Nowitzki, Ray Allen and Kidd
and Artest have both been selected to the All-Star Game."
Jeff Van Gundy immediately responded: "This will be a wonderful matchup. You can tell just by looking at the rosters of the two teams. The key to the Suns' victory is whether they can play a familiar run-and-gun rhythm, and the Mavericks want to win.
We can only drag the rhythm into positional warfare as much as possible."
"Magic" Johnson smiled: "With the lessons learned in 2007, I believe the Mavericks have more experience against small-ball teams."
Van Gundy nodded: "Compared to 2007, the Mavericks' lineup has also been fully upgraded. A big factor in their regular season record is that veterans such as Kidd and Ray Allen have reservations. When they reached the second round, they faced
With such a powerful enemy like the Sun, I believe the veterans will release all their energy."
cctv5 Zhang Lijia and Yu Jia are also doing pre-match analysis.
Yu Jia said: "There is not much difference in hard power between the two sides. The main difference is in tactics and playing styles. Both sides also have superstars. It just depends on which team finds the match state first."
Zhang Lili's attention was all on Chen Yan. He smiled and said: "Chen Yan is chatting with Stoudemire on the sidelines. Hey! The two brothers were talking and laughing. They looked very relaxed. It seems that the Mavericks did not give
They cause too much stress."
Chen Yan is not without pressure. He is just doing psychological counseling with Stoudemire to relax. Stoudemire's performance in the series against the Jazz was a disaster. Against the Mavericks, who has a stronger lineup, he will inevitably bear greater pressure.
Especially since the Mavericks have the giant Dirk Nowitzki at the same position, Stoudemire will inevitably compete with him during the game. Chen Yan must remind him to calm down before the game.
Although Stoudemire is Chen Yan's senior, he respects Chen Yan very much. A player who relies on his strength deserves everyone's respect.
After the entrance ceremony, the starting players of both teams remained on the court.
Dallas Mavericks starting lineup: Jason Kidd, Ray Allen, Artest, Antoine White, Dirk Nowitzki
The Mavericks learned from the experience of being beaten eight times and removed the traditional center and moved King Nowitzki to the fifth position.
This lineup is enough to ensure the Mavericks' retreat. Although Kidd and Ray Allen are older, their straight-line running speed is not slow. Usually, the biggest impact on older players is their lateral movement speed.
Phoenix Suns starting lineup: Nash, Chen Yan, Grant Hill, Diaw, Stoudemire.
Stoudemire and Nowitzki stood in the middle circle and jumped to the ball. With their body-based movements, Stoudemire clearly had the upper hand, and he helped the Suns gain the right to attack.
But 15 seconds later, he missed another shot and wasted him.
When the Mavericks attacked, Kidd didn't rush forward and moved to the wing before handing the ball to Artest.
Grant Hill is responsible for guarding Artest. Compared with Laga Bell, the old Hill is taller and stronger. This is why D'Antoni put him in the starting lineup for this game.
After Artest made three threats, he handed the ball to Nowitzki on the weak side.
King Nuotian dug the ball in place, and Nash decisively let go of Kidd and stepped forward.
King Nuo received the ball and jumped out of the double-team of Stoudemire and Nash very nimbly.
Nowitzki himself plays from the outside, so this kind of operation is not difficult for him.
After collecting the ball and landing on the ground, Nuo Tianwang threw the ball in a small toss without waiting for his body to balance.
"Clang!"
As soon as the sound of the iron was struck, all members of the Suns immediately started a fast break.
Nash found Grant Hill on the wing of the three-point line with a long pass. Chen Yan pulled the defense in the middle. After receiving the ball, Hill firmly stopped the basket!
Under the interference of Ray Allen and Antoine Whiting, who was returning to defense, Grant Hill missed a layup.
Chen Yan failed to grab the rebound. The ball bounced outside Chen Yan's control and was pushed out of the baseline.
Both sides' first attacks ended in failure.
Kidd served from the baseline to Ray Allen, and Ray Allen immediately returned it to Kidd.
Kidd slowly controlled the ball through the half, and both sides started at their own pace.
Antoine Whiting stood outside the three-point line at the top of the arc to provide support, received the ball and passed the ball across to find Artest.
Nowitzki used a screen from Ray Allen on the bottom line, and the latter used the screen to run out of the three-point line. Chen Yan quickly bypassed the defense to follow up. Ray Allen has a strong ability to catch and shoot. According to statistics, the time from when he catches the ball to when he shoots is
It's 0.4 seconds, and the time it takes for a person to blink is 0.3 seconds. Ray Allen's shot is so fast, accurate and ruthless that no one can let him go.
When Ray Allen saw the defense coming up, he didn't take action immediately. After taking a tentative step, he suddenly dropped the ball to the right, and then stopped and shot a jumper.
Chen Yan interfered, but the ball still bounced out of the frame.
The fans in the auditorium cheered for a while. The Mavericks didn't look good at the start.
Diaw grabbed the rebound and gave it to Nash.
Nash advanced with the ball from the center line, and the Mavericks returned to defense quickly. Nash moved to the left side at a 45-degree three-point angle and looked for Chen Yan, leaving him with the top position of the key.
Artest came up, and this was the first time the two faced off in this game.
Chen Yan crossed his crotch left and right and moved forward. Artest did not dare to stick too close to him. He stepped back while staring at Chen Yan's footsteps.
"Bang!"
At the top of the arc, Chen Yan suddenly hit the ball hard!
Explosive ball sideways retreat!
This action was so sudden that ordinary defensive players couldn't react, but Artest was obviously very focused. The moment Chen Yan collected the ball, he also took a step forward!
When Chen Yan raised his hand, Artest jumped up without hesitation.
The moment Artest's feet left the ground, Chen Yan slowly put the ball down.
Only when Artest saw this move did he realize that he had been fooled. He wanted to lock Chen Yan down so much that he could fulfill the cruel words he had said before the game.
Just as Artest was falling, Chen Yan raised the ball again and hit Artest's body while shooting.
"Beep!"
The referee's whistle sounded instantly!
Call a foul?
No.
As the basketball entered the basket and the net bloomed, the fans cheered in unison.
twenty one!
Artest said before the game that he wanted Chen Yan to suffer, but he was defeated in the first round when he defended him.
