One Guard

When the NBA playoffs are still in full swing, except for the early end of the Mavericks and Warriors series, the intensity of other games is far beyond people's imagination. But it is worth mentioning that the Miami Heat also swept their opponent Charlotte Bobcats with a total score of 4 to 0 in the first round and easily advanced. The Mavericks and the Heat were also the only two teams that never lost in the entire first round.

It seems that the chances of these two powerful teams meeting in the finals seem to have improved a lot. 1VS6 advertising has been put on every corner of the world by the NBA.

But now, everyone on the Mavericks doesn't have the energy to think about things related to the Heat. Breaking out of the west is the most important goal at present.

In the West, the Thunder and the Trail Blazers played inextricably as soon as they came up. The Spurs faced the Grizzlies, known for their defense, and the obstacles encountered were much greater than expected. The encounter between the rocket and the Clippers is even more like a confrontation between Mars and the earth.

This season, the Rockets with the "Magic" combination are more than just the playoffs. The Rockets general manager Morey's goal for the team this year is the Western Conference Finals, which means that they have to reach the third round at least to meet expectations.

The Los Angeles Clippers have been salivating for the championship trophy this year after two seasons of setbacks. The Clippers, with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Jamal Crawford and champion coach Doug Rivers, don’t want to be in the same way as the previous two seasons. Go home early in the eye-catching situation.

Therefore, the Clippers and Rockets played extremely fiercely. So far, the two sides have battled to a 2-2 tie, and none of the four games has a difference of more than double digits.

Watching these two teams fight hard in the playoffs, Carlisle is undoubtedly the happiest. No matter who the Rockets and Clippers advance, they will consume a lot of energy and stamina if they want to defeat each other. These things are undoubtedly very beneficial to the Mavericks.

What Carlisle has to do now is to prepare with both hands. For the Rockets and Clippers, Carlisle has arranged special tactical training. Anyway, the Mavericks now adjust their time. Who made them the first team to advance in the league?

On April 29, the third day after the Mavericks eliminated the Warriors, the gray-bearded Vince Carter finally returned to the familiar locker room.

Although Carter averaged only 10.9 points per game this season, Nick Young also replaced him well during his absence. But when the "old flying man" returned, the Mavericks still offered their most intense screams.

Seeing the ebullient dressing room and the blood-filled atmosphere of the war, Carter felt as if he had come back to life again. Sure enough, professional basketball is his world.

The days at home are relaxed, but Carter's heart is empty. Back in the locker room, this guy was full of a sense of belonging.

"Boy, you seem to be particularly rampant during my absence!" After accepting the warm welcome from the teammates, everything in the dressing room returned to normal. Carter walked up to Yiyang and reached out to the young Chinese defender.

"I promised you to let the team reach the finals." Yiyang raised his arm and fisted Carter. The promise to Carter at the bedside was more than just saying yes.

In four months and twenty-six days, Carter disappeared from the court for almost five months. In five months, although Yiyang has experienced many different things, big and small. But his promise to Carter has never been forgotten.

"When do they say you can play?" Yiyang asked with concern when Carter began to change clothes in front of the locker.

"Now I can go to the court to do some recovery training, but I am afraid that I will have to wait a month to play." Karhe took out the training uniform with his name and number printed on it, the name of the Dallas Mavericks on the chest and his own first name.

Looking at the jersey, Carter's mouth curled up slightly. It's been a long time, old man.

"A month later? At that time, it's almost time to play the finals, right." Yiyang had the final say in his mind. In June, that was the feverish summer of the finals.

"Yes...the finals." Carter muttered, dreaming of a stage he had never touched.

Over the years, Carter has not only not won the O'Brien Cup, he has never been in the finals, and has never even entered the Eastern Conference finals as an "absolute core". God always joked with this "old flying man", making him fall into the sand again and again.

Carter during the Raptors era was his peak. The "UFO" spent more than 6 years in Toronto. The best year was 2001. The Raptors fought 7 games with the 76ers. In the tiebreaker, Carter failed to kill Ivor. Sen won the victory, so many people think that Carter played in the Eastern Conference Finals as a core player. Otherwise, the 2001 matchup with Iverson took place in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Sen and Ray Allen had a sharp battle, and Carter, who had spent more than six years in Toronto, was only in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

In the 20042005 season, the Nets acquired Carter through a trade, so some people have the illusion that "Carter and Kidd have reached the Finals." But in fact, Kidd did enter the finals for two consecutive years, but that was in 2002 and 2003. From the beginning of the 20042005 season, Carter spent more than 4 years in New Jersey, and the furthest one was still the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Later in the 20092010 season, Carter was sent to the Orlando Magic, where another illusion was born "Carter followed the Magic to the finals." However, in fact, the Magic entered the finals is the matter of the 20082009 season, old Carter once again missed all this. So Carter did not follow Orlando to the Finals, but he did touch the floor of the Eastern Conference Finals during his two years here. In the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals, the Magic played against the Celtics, but Carter was no longer at the peak at that time. He averaged only 13.7 points per game against the Celtics, far from being a "core player."

Carter's career for so many years, always very "just" missed the finals. He seems to be cursed by nature. Any team he joined will eventually miss the finals.

But this year... Carter turned to look at Yiyang, who was seriously putting on his equipment. This year, that kid should be able to break this "curse".

Back on the training ground, Carter felt that everything around him was so familiar. Carlisle, who always stood on the sidelines with his hands around his chest, tortured the trainer on the court and sweated Yiyang. Gobert and Tony Allen, who have always been obsessed with practicing defense, and Nick Young, who always love to compare three-pointers with teammates...

Carter smiled, picked up the basketball on the floor, and threw it casually. I have to work harder too! In five months, he has fallen behind others a lot.

He asked Yiyang to lead the team to the finals, but it does not mean that Carter is the kind of player who is willing to lie down and win the championship.

He has even thought about it, even if he still can't win a championship at the age of 40, he will not do things like clinging to the championship. Because the championship won in that way doesn't make any sense to Carter.

So Carter just wants to train well now. In the finals, I also contributed to the team! Only in this way can he hold the O'Brien Cup with peace of mind.

Clenching his fist, Carter's expression became serious. Everyone, have to come on!

※※※

Although advanced early, the Mavericks' training has never relaxed. Since eliminating the Warriors, Carlisle has been paying attention to the Clippers and Rockets every day, studying the opponent's play, and then practicing the corresponding restraint tactics in the training ground.

Even if there is no competition, the training intensity of everyone is not small at all. Even Carter, who had just returned from injury, worked so hard, and the others had no reason to be lazy.

Finally, on May 3, Carlisle did not leave the players for additional training, but put the players back home early at 5 o'clock in the afternoon.

Today is the day of the Clippers and Rockets tiebreaker. Sure enough, the two teams finally played to the end.

The final winner of this game will become the Mavericks' acquired opponent! Therefore, Carlisle attaches great importance to this game. He let all the players go home early, just to watch the game.

In this year's playoffs, Paul continued his super high standard as always. Although the scoring average in the playoffs is three points less than last year, the assists per game are four more.

There is no doubt that this year's Clippers are no longer the team that only relied on Paul's struggling support. Griffin and Jordan became more mature, Redick and Barnes also provided the team with a strong firepower. Not to mention, Jamal Crawford, the biggest killer on the Clippers bench.

Even if Paul doesn't need to score personally, just passing the ball can guide the team to win the game. Only in this way can Paul play his greatest role. You have to believe that after Paul activated the team's offense, his firepower is beyond Paul's ability to fight alone.

Today’s tiebreaker is a typical "Paul-style" match.

In the arena, Paul can not only score by himself, but also allows his teammates to get a chance to score easily. Even Carlisle, who was accustomed to the Yiyang performance, had to be amazed by Paul's strength. Paul is more mature and stable, and Paul has a lot more experience than Yiyang. If the Clippers eventually advance, Yiyang's opponent will be very difficult to deal with.

On the court, Howard was tortured to death by Griffin and Jordan's defense. The Rockets' scoring burden fell on Harden's shoulders.

But Harden's shooting rate today is horribly low. Matt Barnes's crude defense Harden has been unable to find the state for a long time.

In rotation time, Jamal Crawford, the popular candidate for the best sixth man of the season, also showed excellent performance.

Under Paul's excellent organization, the Clippers today scored in double figures with 6 people and scored 20 with 4 points!

When a team has played such a good form ~ www.novelmtl.com ~ it is almost impossible for them to lose the game.

In the end, it was Paul and his Clippers who persisted to the end, winning the tiebreaker with a score of 126 to 121.

After the game, Carlisle's heart was beating in front of the TV. Paul's performance completely conquered him.

"22 points and 14 assists helped the Clippers score in double figures! Chris Paul, he completely controlled the game by his own strength! James Harden and Howard, the young combination, had to accept the early days. The fate of being eliminated!" Mike Brin said, applauding Paul. "This also means that Chris, the strongest point guard in the league, is about to usher in a head-on collision!"

After the game, Griffin looked extremely excited. Griffin scored a team-high 24 points today and beat Howard's inside line to the ground.

"Congratulations on your successful promotion to the Western Conference semifinals. In the next round against the Mavericks, do you still have the confidence to win?" A reporter's question caused Griffin's expression to disappear suddenly.

Yiyang...Mavericks...in the playoffs, these words are mixed, which is not very pleasant to Griffin.

From entering the league to the present, Griffin has been overwhelmed by Yiyang. The year Paul just joined the Clippers two seasons ago, they were swept 4-0 by the Mavericks.

Dallas Mavericks? It's really a narrow road for the enemy.

Griffin stared at the reporter seriously, pointing his finger at the camera. Carlisle in front of the TV even had the illusion that this kid was talking to himself.

"Wait, we will complete our revenge!"

Griffin stared at the camera for a few seconds after speaking, as if he could see through the Mavericks players in front of the TV.

The threat from Los Angeles is getting closer and closer.