On the first day of the Mavericks' training camp, Xu Yong brought something to the locker room and hung it directly on the closet in Jokic's locker room.

It is worth mentioning that in addition to being good to Nowitzki, Cuban also invested heavily in the construction of the stadium. The Mavericks' locker room is the best in the league.

You should know that in 2001, Cuban invested a full $3.5 million to renovate the home team locker room, not to mention the several upgrades that followed.

For example, the Mavericks' wardrobes are equipped with facial recognition displays, which not only can recognize faces, but also display any notifications from the team directly on them, focusing on high technology.

Xu Yong hung whatever he wanted to put next to the display screen.

Because Jokic's position is closest to the door, the players can see him at a glance when they enter.

When Jokic and Rose came in talking and laughing, they looked up and saw the thing, and then they were stunned for three full seconds.

Because hanging there was an Olympic medal.

A mask of pain began to appear on Jokic's face.

Ross couldn't help laughing, because Xu Yong did the same thing when he won the gold medal at the 2010 World Championships.

Everyone knows what happened after that. The Bulls, like the Lakers, won two consecutive championships.

However, the situation this time is a little different, because of the position of this hang, Xu Yong is not going to give a locker room speech, but is only targeting Jokic.

Jokic is a person who plays basketball so casually that others feel that horse racing is more passionate about him than basketball.

The core rotation of the Mavericks, DeRozan and Rose, have been training intensively throughout the summer. In addition to playing in the World Cup, Jokic spent the rest of his time racing his horses in Serbia.

During the off-season, it's normal to take a break after playing a season.

It’s just that the new season is too critical for the Mavericks, and everyone needs to perform at their best.

Xu Yong's move was effective. In the training session that day, Jokic played extremely tough. He had all kinds of physical confrontations with Porter under the basket and even elbowed the opponent in the stomach. This confrontation also raised the intensity of the Mavericks training camp to the maximum.

This intensity lasted for the entire training camp. Looking at the enthusiasm of his teammates, Xu Yong finally showed a satisfied smile on his face.

Basketball is not a game for wimps. Confrontation and the technology built on confrontation are what make the fans crazy.

Before the season officially started, the NBA officially announced the first strength list of the new season.

The defending champion Warriors are at the top of the list.

This past summer, the Warriors used limited space to strengthen their roster by adding Robin Lopez and Alec Burks, and their overall strength has only increased compared to last season.

The Thunder, Raptors and Bulls ranked 2nd to 4th, and the Mavericks ranked fifth.

This ranking is based on the team's performance last season and is relatively objective.

However, this made the Mavericks players feel very excited.

They didn't play to their true strength last season for various reasons, but they all worked hard this past summer.

Although they didn't show how hard they were working by constantly posting on social media like the Lakers, they are now eager to prove themselves.

The Mavericks' first regular season opponent is the Warriors.

Xu Yong missed the Warriors' comeback game last season, but he made it to the opening game this time.

After completing seven preseason games, on October 30th, the Mavericks went on the road to prepare for the opening game.

However, unlike previous seasons, this time they went to the Bay Area instead of Oakland, because the Warriors officially bid farewell to the Oracle Arena this season and moved to the next Bay Area, namely the Chase Center in San Francisco.

Winning the championship at Oracle Arena after 44 years and then holding the championship ring presentation ceremony at Chase Center was a very wonderful and interesting thing for Warriors fans.

This game, like the Warriors and Thunder's opening game that year, was described by the media as a collision between Mars and the Earth.

The defending champion and the No. 1 player in the league, and the No. 1 player who just returned with a world championship, plus the grudges from last season’s playoffs, this game deserves that description.

On game night, the Mavericks players made final preparations in the locker room.

After Ma Long made his final arrangements before the game and left the locker room, Xu Yong gathered his teammates together for the final mobilization before the game.

"let's begin!"

Xu Yong shouted to his teammates who had been eager to try.

After the shouting, the players ran out of the locker room and rushed directly into the stadium.

This was also Xu Yong's first visit to the Chase Center. After rushing out, he looked at the three-dimensional design of the surrounding area. Coupled with the oversized LED screen, the entire stadium was both imposing and modern.

The construction of this stadium had already begun when James was still a member of the Warriors. James also went to the site to take promotional photos. Although that photo has long been deleted, it also shows that the Warriors have invested a lot of effort in this stadium.

After all, the Bay Area is one of the richest regions in the United States, and the basketball market potential here is much greater than that of Oakland.

"Boss, look over there." Jokic signaled with his eyes.

Xu Yong followed his gaze and saw that there were many fans wearing his jerseys, and even many holding KT boards supporting the Mavericks.

Moreover, they are not concentrated in a centralized manner, but scattered everywhere, which means that they are not fans from a certain area, but from multiple areas, and there may even be fans from the Bay Area.

Although Xu Yong only played for the Mavericks for half a season, his strong personal influence has begun to increase the number of Mavericks fans dramatically.

Before the opening ceremony, the Warriors' championship ring award ceremony was held on site.

The Warriors' owner also spent a huge amount of money this time. It is said that the cost of one ring is more than one million and five hundred thousand dollars. The players were so happy when they got it that they couldn't let it go.

Of course, in the eyes of the Mavericks players, that is even more motivation.

Especially DeRozan, when Xu Yong turned his head, he saw light in his eyes for the first time.

After the award ceremony, the scene entered the opening ceremony and the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.

Mavericks: Wright, DeRozan, Xu Yong, Gibson, Jokic;

Warriors: Curry, Thompson, Wiggins, Green, Looney.

As Jokic easily passed the ball back to the Mavericks' half over Looney's head, the curtain of the 2019-2020 season officially opened.

The Mavericks let Jokic go down to the low post to attack Looney at the beginning.

The Warriors hesitated for just a moment before Jokic turned around and shot the ball under the basket.

It took Jokic a total of 2 seconds from catching the ball to shooting and scoring, and the whole process was extremely smooth.

However, as the defending champions, the Warriors quickly demonstrated their level. Curry set a screen without the ball, and Wiggins cut in, received the ball, and made a layup facing Jokic.

The two teams' opening offenses were similar to those in last season's playoffs, both of which exploited the opponent's defensive weaknesses.

However, in the next round, as the Warriors began to double-team Jokic who received the ball under the basket, the Mavericks began to show their difference from last season.

Jokic basically passed the ball to Xu Yong who cut in at the first moment.

Just as the Warriors showed their defensive reaction speed and were preparing to double-team Xu Yong, Xu Yong had already passed the ball to DeRozan on the weak side.

Continuous conduction, quick distribution, and the containment of two strong offensive points gave DeRozan wide-open opportunities.

DeRozan did not hesitate and directly used his best mid-range shot.

The basketball fell almost straight from the center of the basket and didn't even touch the net.

This caused a stir among the fans on the sidelines. Although this ball was basically not difficult and was DeRozan's best way of scoring, the touch was a bit too good.

This also made Kerr stand up directly from the bench.

The layman watches the excitement, while the expert watches the details. What makes him more uneasy than DeRozan's touch is the team cooperation of the Mavericks.

This was also more fully reflected in the Mavericks' next round.

In this attack, the Mavericks started the attack with Xu Yong holding the ball. After double-teaming, he passed the ball to Jokic who moved to the free throw line. Jokic didn't even catch the ball. He slapped the ball with one hand and directly hit it to Gibson at the baseline like playing volleyball. Gibson took the ball, took a step forward and scored a slam dunk with both hands.

This round was even smoother than the previous one, not only because of Jokic's unconventional way of passing the ball, but also because of his choice. Because Green went to help DeRozan in the first place, Jokic found Gibson in the open position in an instant.

Xu Yong took the initiative to high-five Jokic while retreating.

Basketball is indeed a sport that relies on talent. Just in terms of passing skills, even if he has been training, he can't do it like Jokic.

Kerr now walked directly to the sidelines, brows furrowed.

The Mavericks lost to the Warriors last season, ostensibly because of physical problems, but upon closer analysis, it was actually due to too many individual singles, because the only person with physical problems was Xu Yong.

Although that was forced because DeRozan was not in good shape and Jokic still needed to improve, the Mavericks' team spirit was relatively poor last season.

This also caused Malone to suffer a lot of doubts after the end of last season.

But this season, the Mavericks clearly play more as a team.

Facts have proved that it’s not that Ma Long lacks talent, but that a good cook cannot cook without rice.

It’s still the same stove, but with better ingredients, he can still cook a full banquet for you.

Five minutes into the first quarter, the score was 14 to 13, with the Mavericks leading the Warriors by one point.

Moreover, after being tied with the defending champions, the Mavericks players' desire to play before the game began to gradually turn into confidence.

Curry made a beautiful cut and took another shot to meet Jokic's layup, but Xu Yong came out from the side and slapped his shot directly onto the backboard.

Jokic grabbed the defensive rebound and turned around and made a quarterback-like long pass.

DeRozan was the first to rush out of the three-point line. After receiving the ball, he took big strides, rushed to the frontcourt and performed a gliding windmill dunk.

After landing, he let out a rare roar, as if releasing all the pressure that he had been holding back for the entire last season.

Xu Yong couldn't help but raise his hand and punch when he saw this. Many people have forgotten that DeRozan was a serious dunker when he first entered the league, and he later won the Slam Dunk Contest.

When DeRozan retreated to the half court, Xu Yong went up to him and touched his head with a smile.

It may be hard to believe, but DeRozan didn't dunk many times in his entire season with the Mavericks last season.

It's not that he can't dunk, but that he really wants to help the team in a more effective way. This is actually a manifestation of his struggle, because many times the more you want to do it, the more difficult it is to do it.

Or maybe the dunk just now was a manifestation of DeRozan's recovery from depression.

Thompson used Green's screen to try a three-pointer from outside to tie the score.

But Gibson is very experienced and bypassed Green's pick-and-roll in advance. Green then made an obvious moving screen foul and was caught by the referee and called for an offensive foul.

Kerr couldn't help but pace on the sidelines. The reason why the game was able to hold on during this period was entirely because the Warriors played well on the offensive end.

Now that the Warriors' offense is interrupted, the Mavericks can easily widen the gap.

Then in the next round, the Mavericks gave Kerr a performance that you wished for.

Xu Yong was holding the ball in the high post on the strong side and was double-teamed, so he passed the ball to Jokic outside the three-point line at the top of the arc. Jokic's shooting action looked obviously off, and then just as both sides were preparing to fight for the rebound, a figure rose into the air from where the basketball landed. It was clearly Xu Yong who had just passed the ball.

This is not a missed shot, but using the shot to deceive the defense and then passing the ball!

On the imagination of a center passing the ball!

“Bang!”

Xu Yong made an alley-oop and a one-handed dunk and slammed the ball into the basket.

A huge muffled sound came through the loudspeaker, and the Chase Center was in a state of restlessness.

This is no longer just a game, it's basically a show!

A question flashed through the minds of many fans: Is this still the Mavericks team they played against in the Western Conference Finals last season?

Last season's Mavericks were a team that completely fucked Xu Yong, but tonight Xu Yong only took two shots and scored 4 points since the start of the game. However, the Mavericks have clearly suppressed them both in terms of score and momentum!

No, this may just be a temporary good feeling. After all, there is only one offseason between them, and during this offseason, Xu Yong and Jokic both went to play in the World Cup and did not have much time for training.

But gradually, when the Mavericks widened the gap to double digits, and when Kerr was unable to maintain the situation even with his death lineup, and when Xu Yongdu threw the ball over Jokic's head, they were certain and certain that the Mavericks were really different from last season!