Chapter 442 Chapter 441: Great progress, but not enough (ask for monthly ticket!)

20 points in a single quarter, those damn memories began to attack Dallas fans again.

The American Airlines Center is Roger’s paradise. He has scored 50, 60 and even 70 points here.

This is related to the style of the Mavericks in the past. As a team with strong offense and weak defense, Roger always tried his best to attack the Mavericks every time he came to the American Airlines Center. Therefore, Roger’s data is always very exaggerated.

But now the Dallas Mavericks are one of the best defensive teams in the league, and they are confident in limiting Roger.

But Roger’s 20-point performance in a single quarter made the Dallas people desperate. The Mavericks have been reborn, but their ending seems to never change. They were only 8 points behind in the first quarter, but what if the next three quarters ended like this?
The concept of “Basketball God” was brought up again. Reggie Miller’s commentary partner, Greg Anthony, also a former NBA player, said with emotion: “Roger knows everyone’s shortcomings, and he will attack your shortcomings. Ron’s lateral movement is far worse than before, and Roger has firmly grasped this point. Facts have proved that this works. This is Roger. As we said before, his understanding of the game, his understanding of offense and defense, is already on another level. He doesn’t need anyone to remind him what to do, he and the game have completely integrated into one.”

Reggie Miller nodded in agreement. “I think Charles in the studio must be relieved, and some animal on standby in the studio must also be relieved.”

Roger scored 20 points in a single quarter, and the Dallas Mavericks seemed to be repeating the nightmare they experienced in the Western Conference Finals last season.

But Rick Carlisle did not give in. He would never accept the outcome of losing.

This coach once won a championship during Roger’s era. You have to know that from 1993 to date, only three people have been able to do this.

Therefore, Carlisle has confidence that other coaches do not have. He firmly believes that Roger can also be defeated.

He didn’t come to Dallas to repeat the tragedy of Avery Johnson.

He came here to change the status quo.

He was reluctant to double-team at first because he wanted others to give Dirk some support on the offensive end.

Kidd, Salmons and Artest can all shoot three-pointers, but their hit rates are not particularly stable. If they consume too much on the defensive end, their three-pointers will completely lose their threat.

And he believed that Ron Artest could limit Roger by himself.

But now, Carlisle’s fantasy was shattered and he had to take a big gamble.

He would leave all the offense to Dirk and let the others fight hard on defense.

At the beginning of the second quarter, as Kenny Smith expected, the Mavericks launched a double-team.

Roger will face the defense he is most familiar with again. As soon as he crosses the midfield line, two people will stare at him eagerly.

This worked, Roger was strong and could continue to score in the double team situation.

But if he’s just as effective against double teams as he is against one-on-one defense, he doesn’t need special effects to replace Henry Cavill in Man of Steel.

The Mavericks’ double-team successfully forced Roger to share the ball more, which also reduced his shooting percentage.

Whether a team’s defense is effective is not determined by whether it can shut out the opponent, but by whether it can reduce the opponent’s production and efficiency.

This is why fans were still praising Tony Allen for his defense on Kevin Durant even though he averaged 2011 points per game in the 26 Western Conference semifinals.

Because Tony Allen achieved the goal of reducing KD’s production and efficiency, excluding the Black Widow in yoga pants, he is probably the only player who can limit Durant by single defense, so he is highly praised.

While Roger was restricted, Dirk Nowitzki continued to shine on the offensive end.

Neither Stephen Jackson nor Matt Barnes could deal with him. The German’s progress was visible to the naked eye.

He reminded people of Germany, which swept across Europe in World War II after being defeated in World War I. The more humiliating S1 was, the more powerful S2 was.

In the sixth minute of the second quarter, Nowitzki even made a fadeaway jump shot under the double defense of Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes.

He was unstoppable.

To be honest, at that moment Roger felt that James could not be blamed for the Heat’s defeat in 2011. Dirk was really too strong.

Unless James is replaced by a player of the “British Jordan” level like Luol Deng, or any All-Star level small forward, the Heat will never be able to win the championship.

Halfway through the second quarter, Nowitzki had already scored 22 points and the Mavericks tied the score.

Their tenacity worked, and the game still seemed to be in the Mavericks’ control.

Spoelstra paused the game and the camera turned to Roger, but his expression was indifferent and no emotion could be seen on his face.

“What do you think Roger is thinking?” asked Greg Anthony.

“He didn’t think about anything.” Reggie Miller responded quickly.

“The Mavericks tied the game, Dirk Nowitzki was unstoppable, and you think he didn’t think anything?”

“Yes, he didn’t think anything.” Reggie Miller looked at the cheering Mavericks fans and suddenly felt sorry for them. “This doesn’t put any pressure on Roger. Would you think too much just because a high school kid scored two goals over you?”

“Not really, unless that high school student is called Roger.”

After walking off the court, Roger glanced at Boris Dio who was ready to go on stage and nodded.

Spoelstra and Roger have come to the same idea. Since they can’t defend Nowitzki, they should remove one defensive point and add an organizing point.

This season, because Boris Diaw has become so fat and can’t lose weight, his speed has been seriously affected, so he can only play the power forward position and cannot move to the power forward position, let alone play as a guard like he did in the early days of his career.

This greatly limited his role.

But his technical characteristics remain the same, and he is still the guy who can polish the offense.

Without Brandon Roy, Boris Dio can temporarily supply ammunition to Roger.

As for defending Nowitzki? Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes couldn’t defend him anyway, so it would be better to add a pass point to create conditions for Roger to play without the ball, so that his firepower could compete with Nowitzki.

The Mavericks’ defense has improved a lot this season, but it still has shortcomings – they don’t have an excellent off-ball defender.

Kidd’s legs are slow, Artest’s body is not suitable for running through the jungle screen. John Salmons is good, but his defense is not top-notch after all, and he can’t deal with superstars alone.

Therefore, all it takes is one passing point for Roger to be free again.

The best way to break a double-team is to play without the ball, which will also limit production, but at least it will not limit efficiency.

This move worked immediately, Boris Diaw really played like a French magician. He always leaned against Nowitzki with his back, then observed the running positions of his teammates and sent out passes, which was exactly how the magician organized the offense in the positional battle.

Ron Artest struggled to get around the layers of screens, and by the time he had struggled to get around those screens, Roger had already run out of open space.

Roger’s off-ball movement was very clever, and combined with the Frenchman’s smart passing, Roger’s off-ball offense was very effective.

Reggie Miller now understood why he couldn’t defeat Roger, because all his skills were just a small part of what Roger mastered.

What he can do, Roger can also do, but what Roger can do seems like science fiction to Reggie Miller.

Roger received the ball and made shots again and again. Rick Carlisle had three defensive points on the outside chase Roger, but to no avail.

The Warriors regained the lead and Roger’s score continued to soar.

At the end of the first half, Roger had scored 34 points!
Rick Carlisle was at his wit’s end, so in the second half he brought out sixth man Jason Terry and increased his playing time.

He had the same idea as Spoelstra – since he couldn’t defend, he might as well just attack!

But this creates a problem: The Mavericks are back to the rhythm of the past few years.

The Dallas people have experienced the consequences of confronting Roger countless times.

They prayed that the outcome would be different this time because they had a better Nowitzki.

But as Roger continued his hot streak in the second half, the Dallas crowd became nervous again.

This is why Reggie Miller previously felt pity for Dallas fans, because their happiness was destined to be overshadowed by greater tragedy.

Reggie Miller never gave in to Roger, and he never admitted that he was afraid of Roger.

But not once did Reggie Miller say Roger was unworthy of his reputation.

Halfway through the third quarter, Roger ran to the right corner, ready to receive the ball. But just a second after he stood still, Roger started again, bypassed the old tree of Mutombo, and ran along the baseline to the left corner. At this time, Artest was completely out of position, and Jason Kidd had to let go of Jason Richardson and rushed to Roger to fill in.

But no matter how fast he made up for the opponent, he was still half a beat slow. Roger fired the ball from the bottom corner, and it went into the net amid the shouts of “This can’t be possible” from the Dallas fans.

46 points, Roger’s score is getting higher and higher.

“Fuck him!” Artest almost broke through the defense. He really didn’t know why pick-and-roll was allowed in basketball games.

Kidd shook his head silently. Roger’s touch had completely opened up, which meant that he only needed a little space to shoot calmly.

Roger smiled and hooked his finger at Dirk: “Derrick, beat me, beat me hard.”

Roger and Nowitzki never had any personal grudges. Roger was just enjoying this moment – enjoying the feeling of his opponent trying his best but still being conquered by him.

“Bastard!” Nowitzki gritted his teeth. In the next round, he quickly leaned on the fat Boris Dio and continued to raise his hand to ask for the ball.

His movements were still smooth: catching the ball, exerting force, and stepping back to jump shot.

But this time, when the basketball passed through his fingertips, Dirk felt something was wrong.

Sure enough, the basketball deviated slightly and hit the left side of the basket and bounced out.

After missing this shot, Nowitzki’s shooting percentage today was still above 50%, and his efficiency was still very high.

But not as tall as Roger.

The Warriors attacked, and this time Roger used a fake pass to pass between Artest and Jason Terry, and scored a layup facing the Sharks’ defense.

Shaquille O’Neal was out of breath, and Roger and Nowitzki were like gods fighting tonight.

What made him despair was that he couldn’t do anything about it.

He has become the kind of person he hates the most, a role player who can only stand by and watch in amazement when the stars compete with each other.

Shaq looked at Roger and could only sigh, then silently said in his heart: “Damn bastard, I shouldn’t have left you in the first place.”

If he hadn’t left Roger, he would 100% have become the greatest center in NBA history.

Now? He’s just one of the greatest centers ever.

The confrontation between Nowitzki and Roger continued, and their scores were skyrocketing.

With 1 minute and 55 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Nowitzki had 49 points, Roger had 58 points, and the Dallas Mavericks were 7 points behind the Warriors.

“Dirk, he still has a chance!” Seeing Nowitzki back-to-back again, Greg Anthony shouted excitedly.

Nowitzki did not give up. In fact, his biggest improvement this year compared to last year was not his back-to-the-basket shooting, but his inner strength.

Are Europeans weak? Can Europeans succeed in the NBA?

Go to hell, all of you go to hell!
After receiving the ball, Nowitzki pretended to continue leaning back. When Boris Dio dived forward, the German suddenly turned around and dribbled inside!
Nowitzki has no weaknesses in offense. If we only look at offense, he may be the strongest player at the power forward position.

There are many power forwards who can shoot mid-range shots, but few can also shoot mid-range shots and break through with the ball. As a big man, Nowitzki’s assisted efficiency in mid-range shots is at the same level as Durant, which distinguishes him from KG, Karl Malone and other power forwards who can shoot mid-range shots.

His breakthrough was very smooth, and this shot was exactly the same as the famous layup after passing Chris Bosh.

The only difference is that Roger in the corner was not so scared that he forgot to raise his hands like Heat No. 6.

He had clear thinking and rushed over to defend Dio as soon as he was broken through.

People who focus on winning and those who like to daydream on the field often get different results when faced with the same situation.

Seeing Roger completed the defense in time, Dirk Nowitzki passed the ball to Ron Artest outside the three-point line, who was his most trusted partner.

Roger failed to return to his position immediately and failed to completely block Artest’s shot.

But just as Carlisle worried, his unstable three-point shooting became even more unstable because of excessive consumption on the defensive end.

The basketball bounced out, and it was a cruel ending for Artest.

He betrayed the trust of his most trusted partner.

Roger grabbed the rebound from over the shark’s head, whose bounce had severely degraded, and quickly advanced.

Charles Barkley clenched his fists, jumped off the podium, and stood in front of the big screen in the studio: “Go for it, go for it!”

The TNT director smelled the scent of ratings, and he told the technical department: “Project Charles’ picture to the lower right corner of the game and play it at the same time!”

Ron Artest bit Roger like a beast. Spoelstra was already yelling at the referee in dissatisfaction. He thought Artest had committed a foul.

But the referee did not blow the whistle until Roger had already gathered the ball and jumped, but Artest still did not let go. Then the referee finally blew the whistle.

Roger lost his balance in the air, and then fell out of the baseline and crashed into the crowd like a bowling ball.

But the basketball still hit the backboard and went into the net under the gentle stimulation of the fingers.

At that moment, in the lower right corner of the screen, Charles Barkley was running around the studio with his mouth wide open.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Roger is the God of Basketball, he is the God of Basketball! Take your pig and get out of here, Kenny. I told you, he won’t score 60 points just once this month!”

Then Barkley knelt on his knees and prayed: “God bless me!”

God knows whether the “god” he mentioned refers to God or Roger.

O’Neill walked up and reached out to pull Roger up.

Ron Artest walked to the sidelines and covered his head with his hands.

Dirk Nowitzki closed his eyes, helpless.

Maybe Dirk’s firepower was indeed enough to match Roger’s tonight, but in the final moments Roger defeated Dirk with stronger defense.

Is this cheating? Of course not. Roger is capable of so much more, and that’s why he keeps winning.

Roger stood on the free throw line and turned to look at Nowitzki before serving the ball: “I told you that you have to beat me yourself. Alas, you have made great progress, but it is not enough. Unfortunately, you have no chance to beat me again.”

The ball went in, Roger scored 61 points in a single game, and the Golden State Warriors led by 10 points.

The game is over.

In the end, the Warriors won the game 127-121 on the road.

The Mavericks have made great progress, and Nowitzki has made great progress. This was a relatively tense game, and they were not directly slaughtered like they were in the Western Conference Finals last season.

But as Charles Barkley said, their improvement at most kept Roger from scoring 70 points, that’s all.

You can only do so much under Roger.

Rick Carlisle was very helpless at the press conference after the game. The coach who firmly believed that Roger could be defeated shrugged in response to reporters’ questions.

“Maybe, maybe this guy is fucking impossible to beat!”

Next to Carlisle, Dirk Nowitzki did not refute.

Two more people completely succumbed to Roger’s rule.
–
In the past month, Roger has played two 40-point games, two 50-point games, and two 60-point games. This is absolutely remarkable, and even though the Warriors lost three games during this period, no one can deny the value of Roger’s performance during this period. I would say that this year’s MVP race can be ended right now. Don’t wait until the playoffs, David Stern should go to Oracle Arena to hold the MVP award ceremony tomorrow. – Bill Simmons column

I agree with Bill. If Roger is not awarded the MVP this year, I will throw the MVP trophy in the trash. – Larry Bird commented on Roger’s performance in the past month.

The four people who ranked second to fifth in the MVP have not won as many honors as Roger alone. Gentlemen, this is dominance. I don’t know why they think they can compete for the MVP. There is a clear gap between them and Roger. — Reggie Miller on who will win the MVP.

When I saw Roger get 60 points, I was very calm because I knew he could do it. Besides, I am a man with a big heart, so this kind of scene won’t make me too excited. Do I have to kneel down and cheer for Roger? Wait, fuck, when was this video recorded? You mean, this appeared in the live broadcast of the game! ? Fuck! – Charles Barkley’s reaction after learning that the video of him kneeling down to pray was broadcast.

(End of this chapter)