Because of his poor athletic ability, Jokic basically just tiptoed to shoot this kind of ball, or took the ball before shooting. But tonight he was having fun, and looking at the ball flying towards him, he jumped up directly. Although he was only a few centimeters off the ground, he still completed an alley-oop and slammed the ball into the basket.

DeRozan, Gibson, Xu Yong, Jokic, the Mavericks treated the Warriors' restricted area as their own backyard tonight and wreaked havoc at will.

The score gap is getting bigger and bigger.

Finally, when the game reached the tenth minute of this quarter, Curry finally found an opportunity to boost morale.

It was a missed shot from the outside by the Mavericks, and the ball bounced out and turned into a long backboard that flew directly into Green's hands.

Curry was the first to make a fast break. After receiving the pass from Green, he rushed to the frontcourt. The scene of the Mavericks wreaking havoc on the basket tonight emerged in his mind. He also knew that the team needed to boost morale at this time, so he just took the ball and wanted to take off, ending the fast break with a dunk.

The cheers of the fans at the scene are about to burst out. Once Golden State's LaVine appears, no one in the league will dare to compete with him.

However, just as Curry was about to exert force, he suddenly felt his feet slip, and he fell directly to the ground, falling backwards and throwing the ball out.gif.

The fans' cheers that reached their throats instantly turned into agitation.

Curry quickly got up from the ground and tried to pick up the ball. At this time, Iguodala followed up and quickly picked up the ball. Curry also moved to the bottom corner tacitly.

While Iguodala passed the ball to Curry, he also used his body to block Wright who was chasing him.

Curry took the opportunity to shoot a three-pointer. The basketball flew in the air, drew a parabola, and went out of bounds.

The fans were stunned.

Curry himself didn't expect this, and couldn't help but laugh to hide his embarrassment.

Curry's "Sliding Show" became a famous scene in the opening game, but it did not have much impact on the game between the two sides.

The Mavericks played as a team and in great form, leaving the Warriors' defense helpless.

And the key is that the Warriors' trump card, the Death Five, could not show their strength against the Mavericks.

Firstly, there is the presence of Jokic, and his suppression of the Warriors' inside line was verified in the finals that year; secondly, the Warriors have used this style of play too much, and the Mavericks' head coach is Malone, so he can deal with it very calmly.

So the Warriors couldn't defend against the Mavericks' offense, nor could they play their fast-paced style of play, and could only watch the score gap widen little by little.

In the end, the Mavericks defeated the Warriors 116-98 on the road, ruining the Warriors' championship night and the opening game of the new arena.

According to post-match statistics, the core players of the Mavericks only played three quarters. Xu Yong just sweated slightly and contributed 25 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Jokic got a near triple-double of 20 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists. DeRozan also had 21 points and 4 rebounds. Rose contributed 11 points and 3 assists from the bench.

This is the first time since the trio formed a team that three players scored 20+ points, and the key is that they achieved such data in just three quarters.

At the press conference after the game, Ma Long brought the three of them to attend the press conference together.

Although they were the visiting team, the press conference venue was already crowded with reporters when they arrived.

"I feel like I'm in the best shape of my career. For the first time, I feel like I can really do something." DeRozan showed his changed self-confidence in front of the camera.

"It's all thanks to my teammates. They always seize the opportunities. Our opponents are very strong, but they make the game so easy." Jokic attributed the credit to his teammates.

"This is just the beginning." Xu Yong's answer was brief but most impressive.

After the game, major sports media including ESPN and TNT also started to praise the game crazily.

"The Mavericks easily defeated the Warriors and are the biggest favorite to win the championship"

"This is just the beginning. Xu Haoyan will bring the championship to Dallas in the new season."

"Dallas May Start a Dynasty"

…

However, there are still many fans on social media who question the Mavericks' performance, perhaps because of the media's extensive coverage, or perhaps because they are simply unhappy with the Mavericks.

"This is the most ridiculous argument I have ever seen. The Mavericks just had a good touch in one game."

"Is it a big deal to beat the Warriors? The Warriors' championship last season was just luck. If they had met the Thunder or the Bulls, they would not have won the championship."

"The Warriors are in poor form this season. Just look at Curry's fast break dunk. He slipped when no one was guarding him. It was hilarious."

…

The outside world's hype or doubts did not affect the Mavericks, who won seven consecutive games within half a month after the start of the season.

In these seven games, in addition to defeating the Warriors, they also have a game against the Celtics.

The Celtics are obviously stronger than in the past two seasons, especially with the departure of Isaiah Thomas and the absence of Irving, which has given the two rookies on the outside enough opportunities to train. They started to withstand the pressure early and are gradually showing their talents.

They also put enough pressure on the Mavericks in this game, and both sides were very tense in the first three quarters.

But in the fourth quarter, Xu Yong began to take over the game.

In the Mavericks' previous games, Xu Yong's data declined compared to last season due to the team's play, which gave some fans the opportunity to seize the opportunity and make remarks that "Xu Yong was in poor condition due to over-exertion from playing in the World Cup."

But in this game, when the Mavericks were forced into a stalemate, Xu Yong's dominant performance of 23 points in the final quarter completely silenced these doubters.

Just after this game, when they returned to Dallas and were training, Nelson Jr. brought someone to the training hall mysteriously, and then Malone called Xu Yong over alone.

Looking at the person brought by Nelson Jr., Xu Yong couldn't help but look at him a few more times.

This man looked like curry, and was about 70% similar to the characters in the Indian movies Xu Yong had watched before.

Although judging people by their appearance can sometimes be inaccurate, this should be pretty accurate.

"I'm Pratibha Patil, a reporter from the Dallas Morning News." The other party quickly introduced himself to Xu Yong.

When he heard this name, Xu Yong basically confirmed his judgment.

After introducing himself, Patil also explained the purpose of his visit. He was planning to follow the Mavericks throughout the new season.

Every NBA team has reporters accompanying the team. They are not team staff members, but reporters sent by basketball media that have long-term cooperation with the team in order to get first-hand information about the team.

They will reveal some inside information of the team, and therefore the relationship between the players and them is rather delicate.

But what Patil is going to do now is a more in-depth contact than that of the team reporters, which requires not only the permission of the team but also the consent of the players.

"If the team wins the championship this season, this will be the material library for the season documentary." Patil also stated his purpose.

Xu Yong smiled. Patil's sense of smell was quite sharp. However, someone really had to do these things, because this Mavericks team needed to be differentiated from the previous Mavericks team and a new team culture needed to be established.

"I have no problem, but I can't represent everyone." Xu Yong put away his smile and gave his answer.

Patil's face was filled with excitement. Xu Yongdu agreed, and the other Mavericks had no reason to refuse.

"Have you decided on a theme for the documentary?" Nelson Jr. asked Patil with interest after Xu Yong left.

Although this matter has not even started yet, it is the kind of thing that makes people smile just thinking about it.

Patil shook his head.

"I have a suggestion, just for your reference."

Patil looked at the Mavericks general manager in confusion.

"A new page." Nelson Jr. said.

Patil thought about it, then smiled and nodded: "I'll consider it."

Nelson's suggestion is actually very good. On the one hand, the core character of the documentary is definitely Xu Yong, and Xu Yong's move from Chicago to Dallas is equivalent to opening a new chapter; on the other hand, the Mavericks will be renamed the Mavericks in the new season. Although this is just a change in the Chinese translation, it also represents a new chapter, which is a double entendre.

However, Patil only said that he would consider it instead of adopting it directly, because he already had another name in mind that was more in line with his personal preferences: The Rise of the Mavericks: The Beginning.

…

The Mavericks' winning streak at the start of the season lasted for 13 games until they lost to the Thunder in the 14th game.

Although they failed to make the finals last season, the Thunder still maintained their core lineup.

And after the loss, the competitive desire they showed this season is unprecedentedly strong, especially Westbrook.

Xu Yong remembered that Westbrook once played for the Lakers for a season. During that season, he was severely criticized by the media, as if the Lakers' poor record was all his fault.

Then, in the next season after Westbrook left, an interesting thing happened. Halfway through the season, the Lakers, still with James and Davis, actually achieved the same record as that season.

By simply controlling for variables, it is easy to conclude that he is not the root cause of the Lakers' problems.

It is true that there are some problems with Westbrook's playing style, but he can bring energy to the team, which can infect all his teammates.

The positive impact he brought to the Thunder when he returned two years ago has played a role again this season, just like he did after joining the Clippers.

So the fans are right about one thing. The Warriors won the championship last season, but they may not be the best team in the league in the new season. The competitiveness shown by the Thunder is no weaker than that of the Warriors.

After the loss to the Thunder, Patil watched the Mavericks' team practice in its entirety, and his mouth was open most of the time.

Because what he saw was not a training session at all, but a war.

Yes, that's the word. He saw that the situation between the Mavericks trainers and players was even more intense than during the official game.

"They confronted their teammates fiercely and glared at them as if they were their worst enemy."

When he wrote this insight, he suddenly seemed to understand why the Mavericks' performance this season was completely different from last season, because everyone on this team had an unprecedented strong desire for victory.

When the training was over, he learned some things from Ma Long. He went to the training hall that night and saw Xu Yong practicing there.

After spending some time together, Xu Yong had become accustomed to Patil's presence and instead directly called him over to pick up the ball for him.

When he finished training, nothing happened to him, but Patil was left there panting from exhaustion.

Then he waited for himself to recover, walked over to Xu Yong and sat down, looking at Xu Yong in surprise as his breathing became steady.

"Do you practice this every day?" he asked curiously.

Xu Yong nodded. There was nothing worth hiding.

"Has it been like this since we joined the league?" Patil widened his eyes.

Many people know about Xu Yong's training methods, such as players who have played for the Bulls and some of the current Dallas players, but because Xu Yong is not the kind of player who needs to rely on the media to brag about himself to maintain his influence, this matter has not actually been made public.

Xu Yong shook his head.

Patil breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. Even if the one and a half years since his retirement were excluded, Xu Yong had already played in the NBA for nine and a half years.

With this kind of training intensity, and it was additional training after the team training, most normal people would have been exhausted long ago. If Xu Yong could really persist, he would be a real freak.

"It started around senior year of high school," Xu Yong said after recalling the past.

"Gao..." Patil's eyes widened completely. The expression he looked at Xu Yong now was no longer like he was looking at a monster, but an alien creature.

Starting from the third year of high school, that’s a full 14 and a half years!

No, according to previous media reports, Xu Yong maintained high-intensity training during the year and a half after his retirement, which is a full 16 years.

This... is this something a human can do?

Seeing Patil's reaction, Xu Yong just smiled and did not add anything about his three training sessions a day.

However, after Patil came to his senses, he had already thought of the lines needed for this scene.

"Xu Yong's greatest talent may not be how high he jumps or how fast he runs, but his tough body. When he trains one more time a day than others, over the past 16 years, it is equivalent to training five more years than others. This is the secret of Satan's success. Don't be afraid of others being more talented than you, just be afraid of those who are more talented than you working harder than you."

…

Patil is recording every detail of the Mavericks, among which there are many interesting and unknown things, such as Jokic privately calling Xu Yong "Big Brother", DeRozan suffering from depression last season, and how he came out of it, etc.

This is something that the reporters accompanying the team could not possibly know, but now he is peeling it like an onion, layer by layer, summarizing it bit by bit.

If this documentary is finally broadcast, it will definitely become the best-selling documentary of the century.

However, when it came to the end of December, the Mavericks started a new winning streak, but his record had to be interrupted.

It wasn’t because something went wrong with him or the Mavericks, but something happened that most people didn’t expect. The epidemic began to sweep the world, including the NBA.