During the opening ceremony before the game, the display screens on both sides began to light up, revealing images of spectators watching the game online, followed by the visiting team and then the home team.

This is the Mavericks' home game, and when they come on the court, there will be artificial cheers from the audience.

The players on both sides couldn't help but turn their heads and look at each other. This was an experience they had never had before.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both sides were announced.

Lakers: Rondo, Danny Green, James, Anthony Davis, Jordan;

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

Davis used his long arms to push the ball back to the Lakers' half, and the opening game of the park officially began.

The Lakers fed the ball to Davis as soon as he came up. Davis back-butted Gibson and then turned around and made a jump shot.

Gibson is experienced in defense. He gave Davis enough confrontation and then rushed forward, but Davis still hit the basket despite the defense.

His thighs are too... Oh no, his size advantage is too big. Right now in the league, let alone the power forward position, there are not many players who can limit him on the defensive end, let alone the power forward position.

In fact, he is even stronger than the Anthony Davis in Xu Yong's memory. After all, playing high-end games in a strong team like the Cavaliers and playing low-end games in a team like the Pelicans have different effects on players' skills and confidence.

In other words, Davis is now the league's top power forward and one of the league's top five players, only behind Xu Yong, Durant, Curry, Leonard and James.

Looking back, the Mavericks made a tactical attack. DeRozan received a pass from Xu Yong and his mid-range jump shot on the weak side missed.

Davis protected the defensive rebound and looked up to see James had already crossed the center line. The speed of his fast break was unmatched in the league.

He passed the ball to James, who performed his signature dunk.

After completing the dunk, James looked at the camera, showing his right hand and flexing his biceps, making his signature [strong] celebration move.

This scene exuded the aura of kingship, but it was a pity that there was no response from fans in the empty stadium.

After returning to the defensive end, Rondo began to direct the defensive positioning.

Green was asked to stand in the elbow area to help defend Xu Yong who had no ball.

Jokic broke through and passed the ball to DeRozan.

DeRozan got an open opportunity this time, and after adjusting, his shot still hit the rim.

Due to family reasons, he was unable to join the training camp organized by Xu Yong, and he needed some time to get back into competitive form.

When James saw this, he once again rushed out of the three-point line early, and he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

His confidence is not only due to their increased strength, but also because their opponents have become weaker due to the epidemic.

Looking at DeRozan's performance, he knew that this Mavericks team is no longer the league's top team!

However, when he rushed out of the three-point line, he realized that something seemed wrong, because the expected pass did not come. When he looked back, he saw Xu Yong took the ball into the air and completed a one-handed slam dunk.

He spread his hands with a puzzled look on his face, then took off his braces and looked up at the LED display.

Although there are no fans on site, all the necessary parts will be there.

The LED screen showed that at the moment DeRozan shot, Jokic rushed into the inside to grab the offensive rebound.

Although Davis reacted quickly and rushed to the basket to prevent Jokic from having a chance to shoot directly, Jokic turned around and without looking behind anyone, he passed the ball to Xu Yong who was cutting in from the other side.

When did Jokic become so good at grabbing offensive rebounds?

"AD, pay attention to the rebounds." After watching the replay, James returned to the half court and reminded Davis.

Davis nodded.

The reason why he was willing to come to Los Angeles, besides the fact that it could increase his commercial value, was also because a sentence from Fu Paul successfully convinced him.

"LeBron is already 35 years old. How many more years do you think he can play? He will give up his power in one or two seasons at most, and when he retires, you will be the boss of the Lakers. You will be the next David Robinson and Tim Duncan."

So Davis forgot about the past unpleasantness and turned to assisting James.

The Lakers continued to pass the ball to Davis.

Davis continued to play one-on-one with his back to the basket, but this time Gibson physically confronted him in advance, preventing him from completing the shot in the first place.

And DeRozan's help defense also came over, so he was forced to pass the ball to Green on the outside.

Green's three-point shot after receiving the ball also hit the rim and bounced out.

DeRozan is not the only one who has lost his touch due to lack of training due to the epidemic.

Davis judged the landing point of the basketball at this time and wanted to fight for it, but Gibson blocked him in time. Just when he was struggling to get rid of it, Jokic had already stretched out his long arms and put the ball in his pocket.

And without waiting for the Lakers to react, Jokic almost threw a long pass.

Wright had already left the three-point line. After receiving the ball, he made a fast break and scored a layup.

Davis looked a little stunned at this time.

He didn't feel it at the beginning of the game, but after this offense and defense, he suddenly realized that the overall condition of the Mavericks players was obviously better than theirs, as if the epidemic did not make them weaker, but made them stronger?

When he thought of this ridiculous possibility, he immediately shook his head to deny it.

The Mavericks can't organize training during the epidemic, right? That would be against league regulations.

Davis thought so at the moment, but as the game went on, his feeling became stronger.

In fact, not only him, but all the players of the Lakers felt it.

The Mavericks players can not only maintain a high level of concentration on the court, but also move and react quickly.

Especially Xu Yong.

When the game reached the middle of the first quarter, Malone saw that DeRozan couldn't find his form for a while, so he replaced him with Dorian Finney-Smith.

Smith was an undrafted player signed by the Mavericks in 2016. He is 2.01 meters tall, has a wingspan of 2.13 meters, has excellent physical fitness, has almost no offensive ability, and has established himself in the league through defense.

Like Wright, he is a beneficiary of Jokic's arrival, getting more outside shooting opportunities and even starting in some games.

As a result, he received a three-year, $12 million contract extension from the Mavericks in the summer.

Then this signing proved to be a great deal, because this season he averaged 3.1 three-pointers per game with a shooting percentage of 37.5%, and has grown into a qualified 3D player.

DeRozan has almost no three-point shooting ability now, and Smith's appearance has suddenly increased the Mavericks' offensive space.

And because of Davis, Jokic had a hard time playing inside, so he chose to retreat to the outside to create space and support the ball.

This adjustment also means that Xu Yong will become the main attacking point on the field.

Moreover, it is Xu Yong’s favorite mode.

Wright, Smith, Jokic, and even Gibson developed certain three-point shooting abilities while playing for the Timberwolves.

Moreover, Xu Yong can play with the ball or without the ball, which makes him more comfortable than when he played with the Bulls.

Of course, the most important thing is that he is in the best condition among everyone in the audience.

Let’s not talk about the closed training camp he organized before, let’s just talk about the impact of the epidemic.

This virus will have certain sequelae, and even NBA players will have reactions. It cannot be seen at ordinary times, but it will be reflected in the whole game. After all, the intensity of the league's confrontation has increased visibly after the cancellation of the [vertical jump rule].

But Xu Yong does not have this problem because he is immune to injuries.

Xu Yong first used an explosive first step to pass James and broke into the inside for a layup. Then he used Gibson's screen to get rid of James and made a mid-range jump shot. Then he held the ball in the high post and made his signature back-to-the-basket shot against James' defense, causing a foul.

James was so angry that he took off his braces and swore.

Everything was completely different from what he had imagined!

And he still doesn't understand why this happened!

DeRozan was clearly in a slump at the start of the game as he missed consecutive shots, but why were the other Mavericks players in better shape than each other?

With 2 minutes left in the first quarter, the score was 32 to 21.

The Lakers were on the verge of danger. Davis dribbled the ball into the paint and created damage. He made two free throws and barely narrowed the gap to single digits.

At this time, fouls occurred on the court at the same time, and both sides started to rotate.

Davis coughed when he left the court. In the first quarter, he scored 12 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal and 2 fouls. He played at his best on both offense and defense, and of course, he consumed a lot of physical energy.

As soon as he got to the bench, he slumped down there and gasped for breath. As "Yang Guo", he felt that he was more easily fatigued than before.

Seeing this, James stood up and walked to his side, patting his shoulder encouragingly.

After taking a look at James, Davis gave a wry smile.

James, who was facing Xu Yong, made no achievements on the offensive end except for a few fast breaks. As for the defensive end...it's better not to say anything.

"Don't worry, leave it to me." Seeing Davis' reaction, James stretched his muscles and said.

Davis was stunned, and then he saw James take the initiative to ask Walton to continue playing.

Davis didn't know what to say for a moment.

After seeing James' actions, Xu Yong also stood up.

When Ma Long saw the man, he said nothing, just nodded.

Xu Yong walked straight to the technical desk and saw James, who had a look of surprise on his face and whose steps had noticeably slowed down. Their eyes met.

He smiled, while James frowned.

Under Xu Yong's careful care, it was really not easy for James to score two points.

Of course, it is difficult to completely restrict him, because at this time James' awareness of fast break has reached the point where he has already rushed out of the three-point line as soon as the opponent shoots.

The evolution of James' fast break ability is also a microcosm of his career basketball skills.

It is very difficult to defend against such a fast break, because compared to defending him, it is obviously a better choice for you to play 5 against 4 in the frontcourt, or to directly rush for the frontcourt rebounds.

The Mavericks continued to widen the score during this substitute transition period.

Rose was in great form during this period, and he seemed to have regained his former glory with his inside and outside shots.

Davis' outstanding performance was partly due to his strength and partly due to his previous injury, which happened to be healed by the epidemic.

The same goes for Rose. He had only played in about two-thirds of the games for the Mavericks before, and he played in many games with injuries.

Now that he has recovered, he is full of energy.

By the end of the first half, the Mavericks had widened the gap to 17 points.

To be more precise, it should be 20 points because Davis hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer before the halftime whistle.

As the game entered halftime, Davis was still standing outside the three-point line, with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily.

When Walton saw this, he came over and patted him on the back, showing concern for him. He nodded repeatedly.

After Walton left, he straightened up, looked up at the score, and then couldn't stop shaking his head.

He continued to fire in the second quarter, scoring 27 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals and 3 fouls in the first half, scoring more than half of the team's total.

But even so, the team is still trailing by such a large margin, and he really can't lead the team tonight!

On the other hand, the Mavericks players high-fived and shouted one by one when they left the court, they were so happy.

Although there was Patil's record as motivation and recreational facilities as entertainment, the three-month closed training was overall very demanding on one's patience.

Most of them persevered, and it was like hard work finally reaping the rewards tonight.

If you ask them if this fruit is sweet, it is indeed the sweetest and most delicious thing in the world.

After the halftime break, the overall situation of the game did not change much, and the Mavericks always firmly grasped the initiative on the court.

However, there have been big changes on the Lakers side.

First, the Mavericks adjusted their defensive strategy and began to double-team Davis in advance; second, Davis consumed too much energy in the first half and his physical strength obviously began to deteriorate.

This forced the Lakers' offensive focus to James, and James had to start holding the ball.

He began to call on Davis to play pick-and-roll frequently. Davis had little physical strength to begin with, and his steps became a little weak later in the pick-and-roll.

As a result, James did find some scoring opportunities and scored the ball, but it did not have much impact on the situation on the court.

In the end, the Mavericks defeated the Lakers 121-98 and got off to a good start in the opening game of the park.

In terms of statistics, seven Mavericks players scored in double digits. Xu Yong, Jokic and DeRozan only played three quarters, contributing 29 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, 16 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists, and 17 points and 4 rebounds respectively.

The top scorer off the bench was Rose, who scored a season-high 23 points, also dished out 5 assists and only 1 turnover.

On the Lakers side, James scored the most points. After only scoring 8 points in the first half, he played the entire second half and scored 25 points, for a total of 33 points.

Davis scored only 2 points in the second half and contributed 29 points in the whole game.

At the end of the game, the two teams shook hands after the game.

James did not leave early this time, not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't, because there were no fans at the scene, and they had nowhere to hide under the camera.

However, James's performance during the handshake was surprising. He did not have a stern face, but acted relaxed, and it was not an act of pretense.

Xu Yong was stunned at first, but soon smiled with relief.

Although the game was lost, James did not lose.

The highest score on the team, 25 points in the first half, what else can you ask of James?

In the second half, Davis disappeared and James was unable to carry the team alone.

Well, Xu Yong can think of the post-match news content on FOX.

But the more this happened, the more relieved he felt.

How valuable is the park championship?

This was a topic that was discussed a lot by fans in his previous life.

Some people say that the value is low because closed and centralized games reduce the fatigue of traveling and allow veterans and glass-thin players to get enough rest, which the Lakers had at the time.

Some people also said that it was of high value because the Lakers were the best team in the Western Conference at the time, but home and away games in the park became a formality and the Lakers failed to take advantage of their home court.

Xu Yong couldn't comment on this, but the conclusion he could draw after tonight's game was that this Lakers team was indeed the weakest among all the champions in history.