Don Nelson is definitely one of the league's legendary coaches; even Gentry is considered his protégé.

Daniel only complained in his heart and would never dare to talk back to Nelson to his face, unless he didn't want to make a living in this league anymore.

Don Nelson was instrumental in bringing Nash and Nowitzki to prominence. He was the one who traded Nash from the Suns and used Taylor's option to trade for Nowitzki's option from the Bucks. At the time, Nowitzki was virtually unknown.

Don Nelson was a tactical genius, and the run-and-gun offense that the Suns use today can be said to have been brought into the league by him.

A little bit of knowledge...

The creator of the controversial "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy was Don Nelson.

Don Nelson's reprimand was quite effective; the Mavericks weren't up to par, they were just stunned by the Suns' opening dunk.

......

The timeout has ended, and the game has resumed.

Terry found space to shoot using Nowitzki's screen and took a three-pointer.

"Whoosh!!!"

The basketball went into the net.

17:8!!

The point difference has returned to within 10 points.

That was a very decisive shot, and Old Nelson nodded in satisfaction.

All five players on the Mavericks' court possess considerable offensive capabilities. Nowitzki and Finley are both high scorers, young Terry is also quite good, and Josh Howard, despite being a sophomore, has demonstrated impressive offensive and defensive abilities.

The Suns are on offense.

This is somewhat similar to the Mavericks' tactics, with Nash and Wei Guo supporting each other in the high and low post, Wei Guo receiving the ball under the basket, and Dampier closely guarding Wei Guo.

Josh also stepped forward to help defend...

Dampier was very nervous. Although he was the second-best center in the West, it didn't mean he could stop Wei Guo. At this moment, he was hoping that Wei Guo would pass the ball out, rather than try to take him down one-on-one... Old Nelson had sharp eyes. If he couldn't stop this play, Old Nelson would be yelling at Dampier from the sidelines.

Wei Guo received the ball under the basket, and Nash found himself open.

Wei Guo grabbed the basketball with one hand and tossed it beyond the three-point line. The basketball returned to Nash's hands, and Nash launched a three-point shot.

"Whoosh!!!"

The basketball went into the net.

Dampier breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, it wasn't Wei Guo who scored. He then took the basketball and walked to the baseline to prepare to inbound the ball.

Don Nelson once criticized Nash, saying that Nash deliberately pursued assists and gave up scoring. However, Nash felt that taking more shots was selfish. This was not a difference in philosophy. What Nelson was saying was that in order to win, he needed Nash to get 20 points instead of 12. If Nash were more aggressive, he could average 20+10.

tonight...

Nash will play aggressively, just as Nelson wished.

Nowitzki responded to Nash with a three-pointer... For the next six minutes of the first quarter, the point difference remained around ten points.

......

Both are attacking teams with somewhat similar styles.

43:34!!

This is the score at the end of the first quarter, with the Suns leading by 9 points.

Nash was incredibly aggressive, and the Suns' tactics in the first quarter were extremely simple. Stoudemire and Marion were constantly running alongside the Mavericks, and most of the offense was done between Nash and Stoudemire. Clearly... the Suns wanted to use two players to defeat the Mavericks tonight.

First quarter game statistics:

Wei Guo: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks

Nash: 13 points, 1 rebound, 7 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks

Wei Guo and Nash together scored 30 points, only 4 points less than the Mavericks' total score, and this kind of performance will continue.

......

In the second quarter, there were seven substitute players on the court.

The Mavericks are fourth in the Western Conference, boasting not only a strong starting roster but also ample bench depth... Their offseason adjustments are geared towards winning the championship.

Mark Cuban is probably one of the most basketball-loving owners in the league. He is one of the most well-known investors in the United States. In addition to the Dallas Mavericks, he also owns his own film and television company and theater chain. The owner behind Britney Spears' entertainment company is Zhang Xiaoduo. The current CEO is just Zhang Xiaoduo's glove and has a good relationship with Cuban.

Stackhouse is one of the Mavericks' reserves...

When Iverson entered the league, Stackhouse was considered the leader of the 76ers. After moving to the Pistons, Stackhouse averaged nearly 30 points per game in his peak season, surpassing O'Neal and Kobe to rank second in scoring. At his peak, he was also an All-Star reserve multiple times.

Besides Stackhouse, the Mavericks also have a young player, Harris, on their bench who is very fast.

As soon as they stepped onto the stage!

Harris drove to the basket and passed to Stackhouse, who flicked Johnson away with a flick of his wrist and took a step-back three-pointer.

"Whoosh!!!"

The basketball went into the net.

43:37!!

Cummings commented, "Stackhouse has experience playing basketball, while Johnson is still a bit inexperienced compared to him."

Just trying to make a living in this league...

There's a saying that goes, "Don't underestimate a young man's potential." Because right after the turn of the 21st century, a player swept half of the awards in his rookie season. Who can say that the league won't produce a second Wei Guo?

Then!

Harris steals the ball from Barbosa and scores on a fast break layup.

In just three minutes, the Mavericks tied the score. D'Antoni remained calm, observing the situation on the court, and only brought in all the starters five minutes into the second quarter.

49:51!!

The Mavericks went from trailing by 9 points to leading by 2.

......

D'Antoni called a timeout and made extensive personnel adjustments.

Before going on stage...

Wei Guo tugged at Marion, "Your task tonight is to defend Nowitzki and limit his scoring to under 20 points. Can you do that?"

I'll try my best...

Marion wasn't very confident.

Nowitzki's scoring ability is undeniable. Apart from Weiguo, no one on the Suns can limit his scoring unless he's having a bad day.

Wei Guo frowned. "What I want is not 'try my best'."

"good!"

Marion nodded intently. "I'll guard him."

Of all the players on the Suns, when it comes to defense, I only recognize Marion. His defensive awareness is much better than Stoudemire's. If Marion can't stop him, Stoudemire would have a hard time stopping him either.

so...

The Suns' defensive strategy involved Marion guarding the Mavericks' star player Nowitzki, while Stoudemire roamed the paint, using his height to disrupt the Mavericks' perimeter shots.