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Win the tiebreaker and return to the Western Conference Finals!

For the Dallas Mavericks, this is indeed a good thing to celebrate!

But the Mavericks players have no time to celebrate. Since they reached the tiebreaker, there is not much time left for them to prepare. The Western Conference Finals will start immediately. The Western Conference finals have begun.

The good news is that San Antonio is so close to Dallas that they don't have to travel all the way.

The bad news is that the San Antonio Spurs are strong, and this might be a tougher opponent for the Mavericks than the Kings!

However, for the Mavericks, they have no psychological baggage at all.

This year, they made another breakthrough in the playoffs. From last year's stop in the semifinals, they reached the Western Conference Finals, and they won last year's old rival Kings.

In fact, this is the best record for the Mavericks with Nowitzki, Nash and Finley as the core.

The progress of the performance made all Dallas fans see hope. The fanatical owner Cuban even said to all the players before they went to San Antonio: "Guys, everyone has made a breakthrough this year. Relax and play in the Western Conference finals. Play casually, even if you lose, I will hold a celebration party for you after the season is over!"

The fans in Dallas are equally tolerant.

As a big football city in Texas, Dallas is actually more concerned about football. The history of basketball in this city is not long. The Mavericks only joined the NBA in 1980. Therefore, this team does not actually have any honor .

Being able to enter the Western Conference finals is already considered a top achievement.

The fans also cheered: "We have made another step this year, so next year, will we be far from the finals?"

Of course, no one asked the Mavericks to go to the Western Conference finals, or even go to the finals to win the "820" championship. From the side, it also reflects that the team's paper strength is actually not very strong.

Otherwise, which of those teams with top paper strength, which one's requirement, is not a championship?

Speaking of the opponents of the Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals, the San Antonio Spurs, speaking of it, the two teams have quite a relationship over the years.

The Mavericks and Spurs in Texas are not far apart. In addition to being deeply loved by Texas fans, they are both strong teams in the Western Conference. The time and method of their rise also have many similarities.

Tim Duncan, the absolute core and cornerstone of the Spurs!

As the No. 1 pick in 1997, Duncan, who was a genius at that time, entered the NBA and caused a sensation in the United States!

The whole league is screwing over him! What kind of event is this?

That's right, the league at that time was already crazy to such an extent, not to mention that all the teams were doing badly for him, but half of the teams were doing badly, rushing for the No. 1 pick

In the end, the San Antonio Spurs became the lucky ones. They stood out from many contenders for Duncan. After winning the No. 1 pick, they immediately picked Duncan as they wished in the draft!

At that time, Popovich, who had just coached the Spurs for a year, started the road of building a team with double titles as the cornerstone.

Just one year later, Duncan and the old David Robinson won the NBA championship in 1999. For a while, people seemed to see another superstar rising in Texas!

However, in the following three years, due to the retirement of the Admiral, the reconstruction of the Spurs, and Duncan's injury, the Spurs were suppressed by the OK combination of the Lakers for three consecutive years.

It was also these three years that made the Lakers Dynasty.

But this season, with the completion of the GDP combination under Popovich, the Spurs once again swept the West. Going to the Western Conference finals, it seems that the former genius is finally coming back this time!

As for the Dallas Mavericks, their rise came from the 1998 draft.

Unlike Tim Duncan, who was so talented that he caused a sensation in the United States, Dirk Nowitzki, who participated in the NBA draft in 1998, was not a particularly eye-catching player. As a non-native foreign player, in the NBA international player market at that time Under the condition that has not been fully developed, the understanding of him by NBA teams is extremely limited.

Moreover, according to the views of the teams at that time, most of them did not have enough trust in foreign players.

Coincidentally, the Mavericks, which had just changed their boss and management, began their long-term plan to explore overseas markets, and so Dirk Nowitzki became their first experimental subject.

So in the draft that year, through the exchange of draft picks, Dirk Nowitzki was finally selected.

Over the next two years, Dallas fans watched the shooting big man grow rapidly, and by last year, he had become an All-Star player.

This season, Dirk Nowitzki is at the top of the scoring list and has become a major killer in the league.

And the Mavericks, also relying on a three-person team, are getting better and better, improving every year, and now, they have even reached the Western Conference Finals!

Perhaps from the perspective of honor and past matches, the Mavericks are slightly inferior to the Spurs, but considering that the Mavericks are still in a thriving stage, the fans are also very optimistic about them.

The two Texas teams, which are also the top teams in the West, are also deeply loved by Texas fans.

This season, the two teams also achieved a record of 60 wins and 22 losses, which is the best in the league.

In this way, the fans in Texas named the confrontation between the two teams a domineering and friendly name: the battle between the bull and the horse.

Unlike the yellow-green battle full of various entanglements, the battle between the Mavericks and the Spurs, apart from being in Texas and being wonderful, did not have too many fetters of grievances

In fact, in the past two seasons, although the Mavericks lost more than they won, they played very fiercely in every game!

The team characteristics of the two teams seem to be closely related to their main players.

The offense and defense of the Spurs and Duncan, the full firepower of the Mavericks and Nowitzki, every contest, it is simply a thunderbolt, very good-looking.

Today, these two teams meet in the Western Conference Finals for the first time, fans of both sides are full of expectations!

Due to the same record, the Spurs have more advantages in the relationship between victory and defeat, so the first two games of the playoffs will be played in San Antonio first.

This was originally a small ball market, but with the rise of the Spurs in the past few years, the team has a particularly large number of loyal fans. This season, they have perfectly blocked the Lakers, who are aiming for four consecutive championships.

It also allowed the Spurs fans to see the hope of the team reaching the top of the league again.

Of course, they are not hostile to the Mavericks, who are also from Texas, and they are even kind.

"The bull-horse battle is finally here. It's just my two favorite teams. I hope they can show us a round of wonderful competition like in the past."

"The offense of the Mavericks is really good, but in the playoffs, it will not work without defense, but I still want to say, thank them for eliminating the Kings for us.

"I have to say that Wang Zhi, the second-year player of the Mavericks who has grown up this year, is really fierce. They can win against the Kings, thanks to him!"

"Yeah, that Dragon Country player has completely exploded. We have to pay attention to him this round. We can no longer play like the Kings."

"It's okay, the Spurs' defense is much better than the Kings, don't worry, what we have to consider is to play a good offense, this is the most important thing!"

"To be honest, I'm a little attracted to Wang Zhi from the Mavericks. His style of play is so special. Most importantly, he looks really good!"

There is no doubt that Wang Zhi was almost a "god" after defeating the Kings in the Western Conference Semifinals!

It's a bit of an exaggeration to say "Fengshen", after all, he didn't win any honor because of it.

However, the sensational effect caused is no different from that of a star "Fengshen".

In the series against the Kings, Wang Zhi averaged 33 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists per game, which was simply explosive, and in the last tiebreaker, he even scored 36 points and a super triple-double!

How is this performance different from a superstar?

The answer is, except that Wang Zhi doesn't have the accolades of superstardom, it's no different!

However, the fact that Wang Zhi is not a star player makes it all the more valuable that he's playing like that.

Fans in the United States like to watch grassroots counterattacks!

And Wang Zhi's growth is completely in line with this setting.

He landed two years after being drafted by the NBA. He averaged 5 points per game in his debut season. It was difficult to even renew his contract during the offseason. When the entire league would not pay attention to him, only the Mavericks, his mother team, were willing to give him one. long-term contract.

In the following season, Wang Zhi exploded and completed a super counterattack with an average of 22 points per game!

Not only did he win the Best Sixth Man and Most Improved Player awards, but he once again played steadily and contributed 19 points in the first round of the playoffs, and in the second round, he exploded once again!

Even better, news broke out during the All-Star weekend that Wang Zhi was banned by the NBA Basketball Association and removed from the national team because he wanted to pursue his dream in the NBA.

This added a layer of sadness to his character design.

When all this broke out, Wang Zhi naturally became the most inspirational, hottest, and most eye-catching focus at the moment!

The whole country of America is praising him and looking forward to him!

"Wow, Wang Zhi is definitely the strongest grassroots counterattack I have seen in the NBA in recent years. His performance this year is simply shocking!"

"If his performance against the Kings is not a flash in the pan, then this guy Wang Zhi has the potential to be a superstar!"

"Yeah, he looks so handsome, as long as he maintains an All-Star level, he will definitely become the first idol superstar in the NBA!"

"The NBA doesn't have such a good-looking face, the NBA officials will definitely praise him!"

"The Mavericks are really good. They have been spending a lot of effort to find treasures in the international market in the past few years, and they really got them...."

"Next, we will see how Wang Zhi can perform when he plays against the Spurs!"

San Antonio, the day of G1 in the Western Conference Finals.

The Spurs did some game-day warm-ups four hours before the game.

Since the Mavericks and the Kings reached the tiebreaker, which allowed them to rest for three more days, in order to keep the players in a good game state, Popovich will give them some low-intensity training every day these days.

Although the Mavericks and Spurs had a record of 3 wins and 1 loss in the regular season, no matter whether it is the head coach Popovich or all the players, no one has the slightest slack in the face of the upcoming Western Conference opponents.

It is precisely because they understand their opponents that they know that it is not that simple to beat the Mavericks.

Especially this season, the Mavericks are much stronger than before.

Of course, the Spurs are not false, after all, they have a GDP combination, as well as wing defenders with outstanding defensive capabilities such as Bruce Bowen and Stephen Jackson.

This Spurs team is built on defense, and on offense, it relies on GD

P, the trio of Ginobili, Duncan and Parker played.

This trio lineup after the era of the twin towers has run in quite well this season, and it has helped them achieve the league's first record of 60 wins in the regular season!

Regarding tonight's game, Popovich encouraged the players: "Guys, the Dallas Mavericks are old rivals, and we know them as much as they know us.

, What we need to do well is to keep the defense oppressive and give the opponent enough pressure on the offensive end. Their defense is not good, so we must make the offense successful. Of course, we

As long as the mistakes are well controlled, then the victory will be easy to win, let's work hard, this year's championship will definitely be ours. "

Yes, in the post-Jordan era, there is no doubt that the league is strong in the west and weak in the east, and it has been the same for the past few years.

It seems that once the western team breaks through and enters the finals, then the championship is almost inseparable.

Therefore, this round of the series looks like the Western Conference finals, but it is actually the finals of this season!

The TNT Arena, the Spurs' home stadium, is full of fans!

This arena is not luxurious among all arenas in the NBA, nor is it very spacious, and naturally it will not accommodate too many fans.

But the audience with more than 10,000 seats was still full.

It's just that the enthusiasm of the fans is not exaggerated. They all wear Spurs uniforms and are full of expectations, but they don't have the exaggerated roars and explosions at other home courts.

Just like the slightly low-key team culture of the Spurs, the fans here are enthusiastic, but also low-key.

But that doesn't mean winning here is any easier than elsewhere!

Following the home court appearance ceremony, the starting players from both sides took to the field.

[Spurs starting]

Point Guard: Tony Parker

Shooting Guard: Manu Ginobili

Small Forward: Bruce Bowen

Power Forward: Stephen Jackson

Center: Tim Duncan

[Mavericks starting]

Guard with 1.6 possessions: Steve Nash

Shooting guard: Michael Finley

Small Forward: Adrian Griffin

Power Forward: Dirk Nowitzki

Center: River LaFrentz

The starting lineup of the Mavericks today is somewhat beyond the expectations of the fans. Wang Zhi, who played consecutive starts and helped the Mavericks to eliminate the Kings in the tie-breaker, did not start tonight.

out field.

Instead, he returned to the rotation lineup.

I thought that the Mavericks would take advantage of this momentum to make Wang Zhi a regular from the bench, but I never expected this to be the case.

Of course, no one can guess what kind of medicine is sold in old Nelson's gourd.

And even if Wang Zhi does not start, his playing time will not be less.

How the Mavericks will play depends on how old Nelson will deploy troops and generals!

After the players from both sides came on the field, they had some exchanges in the middle circle.

The core of the Mavericks Nowitzki and Duncan, Mark and Ginobili have a good communication, Nash and Finley are the same.

It can be seen that the private relationship between the core players of both sides is probably very good.

Among the six core members, there are four national players, and it seems that they have not lost much communication in international competitions.

And they are both Texas teams, and they often play against each other. In the All-Star Game, they will often become teammates.

Of course, friendliness is friendliness, and after the start of the game, the two sides will not give in.

At this moment, Wang Zhi, who was sitting on the sidelines, was watching what happened on the court with great interest.

For him, the heroic performance that helped the Mavericks beat the Kings made him famous, but it also consumed a lot of energy.

A BOSS is average.

Old Nelson didn't let him start today, and there are also physical considerations.

And now, the battle between the bulls and horses that is about to start in front of them seems to be another new chapter that is about to start.