The regular season concluded.
Before leading the Warriors to Dallas, Zack opened his [Peak] system. Compared to when he first entered the league, his badge wall now featured two more badges.
One was [Hog Wild Rush], which, when triggered, boosts his instantaneous burst by 3 points, but can only be upgraded through the [Charles Barkley's Gift] questline. The other was [Ten Cents], a badge he picked up via a hidden quest in his junior year of college, requiring him to achieve 300 assists in the NBA.
Additionally, Zack's previously acquired [Iron Wall] and [I Am Hanamichi Sakuragi] badges had both been upgraded to All-Star level.
Within the [Peak] system's badge hierarchy, there are five levels: Rookie, Pro, All-Star, Superstar, and Hall of Fame. Among Zack's current badges, some can only be leveled up through exclusive quests, some require his corresponding abilities to meet certain criteria, and generally, regular badges only need him to accumulate enough experience points to upgrade.
Of course, badges like [Air Jordan] and [Air Barkley] (Air Pig)... these two badges don't have levels, as their default level is Legendary.
All in all, after a long, exhausting, but ultimately fulfilling and enjoyable season, Zack's growth wasn't just reflected in his stats. Under the [Peak] system's rigorous rating, his current in-game rating had reached 90 to 91. The system even awarded Zack with a prominent line:
"A smaller in-game rating error means that, under the actual combat algorithm, excluding unexpected situations like real-time performance, the host's game floor will be more guaranteed than before."
Looking back at his regular season performance, Zack had already noticed that he indeed shared some similar traits with his senior from college. For instance, excluding those explosive games, his stability throughout the regular season could only be described as a Tim Duncan replica. He scored in double digits in all 82 regular season games of his rookie year. Even on nights when he wasn't playing well, or when he focused on creating opportunities for teammates, he still maintained this streak with his all-around game and consistency.
Right now, despite some "Zack-haters" arguing that a rookie who just entered the league shouldn't be called a legend, in Zack's eyes, he absolutely deserved that title.
Zack's only regret in his rookie season was failing to complete the [What You Can't Get Always Stir Things Up] quest as he wished. Although his average stats far exceeded the quest requirements, this quest also demanded that the sum of his overall field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and free-throw percentage in his rookie season exceed 175%.
"This requirement is absolutely insane!"
Insane? Yes, absolutely insane. Because even though Zack's shooting percentages in his rookie season were already excellent, he was still a significant distance from the quest's shooting requirements.
However, to Zack's utter surprise, after the quest automatically entered a cooldown period due to failure, its cooldown lasted less than a few seconds.
"Michael Jordan has been detected to be in a state of utter despair. Therefore, this quest's completion conditions have been automatically reset to:"
"The host must lead the Golden State Warriors to break through the first round of the playoffs this season, and the host's average stats cannot be lower than '25+10+5' (points + rebounds + assists). Additionally, the sum of the host's overall field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and free-throw percentage cannot be lower than 175% (no specific individual shooting percentage requirements)."
Clearly, Zack's 71-point performance at the Staples Center and his outstanding rookie season had completely driven Jordan, who had previously failed to acquire him, into a frenzy. Although the quest's completion difficulty remained high after the reset, given it required him to lead the Warriors to defeat this year's NBA Finals runner-up, the Dallas Mavericks, and also demand extremely high efficiency from him on the court.
However, compared to the long regular season, Zack felt that the difficulty had actually decreased. Because it now only counted his stats from the first round of the playoffs. This meant that as long as Zack could play well in this upcoming series, he would be able to complete the quest as desired.
At the end of the regular season, how could Zack have imagined that he would reset this quest so quickly due to Jordan's obsession with him? And these past few days, Jordan's gambling buddies in Las Vegas were even more surprised that Michael Jordan, that legendary cash cow, the eternal GOAT of Las Vegas, would be so generous and open-handed.
"Michael, trust me, you'll definitely win it back next time!"
"Exactly, who in Las Vegas doesn't recognize Michael's gambling skills?"
"Michael, just one more round! You've just had bad luck before."
Jordan's mind had been in turmoil lately. So much so that he even felt an impulse to press the nuclear button and destroy the world.
On the 22nd, with Jordan's help, Zack, who had successfully entered the "loser's bracket" of the [What You Can't Get Always Stir Things Up] quest, officially led the Warriors to Dallas.
Perhaps it was from reading too many reports about Dallas in his previous life, or perhaps he had already mentally prepared himself, but every time he visited Dallas with the Warriors, Zack would feel a strange sense of illusion, wondering, "Is this really the 'Lion Camel Ridge' where demons roam everywhere?"
It turns out that the overly demonized Dallas was far less terrifying than the world imagined. As for the Dallas fans who were banging drums and gongs outside the team hotel shortly after the Warriors checked in?
"Who do you think is crazier, them or those 'Cameron Crazies'?"
"It has to be the 'Cameron Crazies'."
For Zack and Jack, who had both played against Duke in the ACC, they had already seen far crazier scenes and images in college basketball. The Duke Blue Devils fanatics. Yes, those "Cameron Crazies" were truly insane.
"So, there's a reason why the league wants young players to play at least one year of college basketball."
"Yeah, look at that guy who never went to college; isn't he about to wet himself?"
On this day, Zack and Jack were very disappointed with Brown's performance and reaction upon arriving in Dallas. He was, after all, a legitimate NBA first overall pick. For a first-round playoff series, was it really necessary for him to go to the bathroom a dozen times the night before the game and lose sleep over it?
Zack had experienced the Final Four of March Madness, and he had been baptized by Wake Forest's ACC rival, Duke, so he never considered himself to have a naturally strong mentality. He simply became the Zack who could face a collapsing mountain without flinching, through one game after another during his college career.
After a day of rest, on the evening of the 23rd, the first game of the Western Conference playoff series between the Warriors and the Mavericks officially kicked off at the American Airlines Center.
During the pre-game warm-up, another legendary figure from Wake Forest's history, second only to Tim Duncan in their long river of stars, Josh Howard, proactively came over to the Warriors' side and chatted with Zack for a while.
The 6-foot-7 (201 cm) Howard possessed an excellent wingspan. He was fast and agile on the court, giving him the potential to be a top-tier wing defender. Furthermore, having played all four years in college, he had a reliable scoring repertoire. Driving, pull-up jumpers, and even post-ups—he was pretty much proficient in everything. Although only in his third year in the league, he had already become a crucial member of these Mavericks, averaging 15 points and 6 rebounds in the regular season. And strictly speaking, he was the actual second star of this Mavericks team.
Because Avery Johnson, who was trying to make the team more balanced offensively and defensively, built this "post-Old Nelson era" Mavericks' defensive system around Howard. Compared to the run-and-gun teams of the Old Nelson era, which often conceded triple-digit points per game, after Johnson's transformation, this season's Mavericks averaged less than 94 points conceded per game. And historically, Johnson, who successfully led these Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals, enjoyed immense popularity for a time.
Until... until Johnson had the wild idea of promoting Howard and having him replace Dirk Nowitzki as the Mavericks' new cornerstone.
In Zack's memory, the experience of being upset by the "Golden State Band of Thieves" was a stain on Nowitzki's career that his fans could never wash away, no matter how hard they tried. But Nowitzki's career stain was not without reason.
Certainly, Howard's presence allowed the Mavericks to have a top-tier wing who could both defend and score. But... as Johnson gradually increased Howard's shot attempts on the court, he would discover a surprising truth. The Howard who originally provided ample defensive protection for the Mavericks would lose his ability to protect the wing due to the significant energy expenditure on offense.
As another elite player produced by Wake Forest, Howard was never able to excel at both offense and defense simultaneously. If Johnson had only treated Howard as Nowitzki's Scottie Pippen, then he should have invested more resources in Nowitzki and given back the "easy buckets" that originally belonged to Nowitzki, the superstar power forward known for his offense. But since Johnson wanted Howard to play the role of Nowitzki's Michael Jordan... then the Mavericks would naturally collapse due to insufficient offensive firepower and an inability to defend.
Historically, Old Nelson, after leaving Dallas, would teach the wildly imaginative "Little General" Johnson a harsh lesson with the "Golden State Band of Thieves" he led. And in this life, already in the regular season, these Warriors led by Zack had already warned the Mavericks.
"Little General" Johnson, of course, felt the warning from the Warriors, which is why he complained wildly about the schedule after the regular season ended. But... no matter how hard Johnson racked his brain, he couldn't find the root cause of why the Warriors always managed to pull off miracles against the Mavericks. Because this coach, who historically, after leaving the Mavericks, quickly proved to the world that he had nothing substantial in him, had no idea... that the so-called root cause wasn't with the Warriors, but with themselves?
On the court, after seeing off his uniquely talented senior, Zack would now lead these Golden State Warriors, with their "Band of Thieves Show.Time," to tell all of Dallas that they were the wall-breakers of this era, the ones to shatter these Dallas Mavericks!
At center court, as referee Dick Bavetta tossed the ball high, Brown, who had been incredibly nervous before the game, successfully won the tip-off for the Warriors.
On the opening possession, the Warriors positioned themselves in a 2-3 formation, the standard starting setup for the Flex offense. Tonight, DeSagana Diop, playing as a "pseudo-starter" for the Mavericks, proved with his actions that he really should have accepted North Carolina's invitation to play a year in college. Because the moment Zack moved up to the high post after using an Artest screen, this Senegalese center, who hadn't improved at all since entering the NBA, completely ignored Zack's movement.
The next second, Nowitzki, left without teammate protection, had no choice but to desperately lunge at Zack. Seeing this, Davis passed the ball in time, and the rest of the Warriors quickly spaced out. Now, Dirk Nowitzki had to face destiny directly.
Dunk!
Without any superfluous technical moves, almost in an instant, Zack tore a huge gash in Nowitzki's defense. Then, he dribbled straight to the basket, and in the Mavericks' paint, the raptor ascended, burning the sky and annihilating the earth!
Slam!
This dunk was Zack's first playoff score of his personal career. At the same time, 1800 kilometers away at the Oracle Arena, a golden wave also began to swell.
Twelve years.
The Warriors, with Zack's dominant dunk, officially announced their return.
After landing from the dunk, Zack turned to Bavetta, pointing to his arm, which Diop had reached out and hit. "Hey, Dick, you owe me a free throw."
Hearing this, Bavetta looked up at Zack's heroic and extraordinary face. Although it wasn't the first time he had officiated a Warriors game, Bavetta still felt that... compared to the other superstars in this league who constantly complained about officiating and who, despite being favored, always felt they weren't favored enough. Indeed, only a young player like Zack could truly understand how difficult it was for referees to make calls on the court.
Since entering the league, Zack had never complained about or verbally abused a referee. It's worth noting that despite disliking each other, Zack and Kobe's approach to dealing with unfair calls, if not identical, was at least strikingly similar. Yes, Kobe never liked to remind referees through complaining or verbal abuse. Because most of the time, when facing injustice, Kobe would directly tell the referee that they missed a foul and to remember to give it back to him later.
In the NBA, the so-called "star calls" are a well-known unwritten rule. Every superstar will try their best to gain more advantages in the game. However, the different ways of gaining advantages often lead to different public opinions and on-court impacts.
For example, on the next Mavericks' offensive possession, the moment Nowitzki's "flamingo fadeaway" was ruthlessly blocked by Zack, Nowitzki felt utterly desperate. Because Bavetta, who had previously received a friendly reminder from Zack, completely ignored Zack's volleyball-style block that hit both the ball and the hand.
Now, he no longer owed Zack a free throw.
As for the blocked Nowitzki? Since the Mavericks had already benefited earlier, why should Nowitzki expect Bavetta to change the call? You only took a shot that might not have gone in. But before, Zack lost a valuable opportunity for an extra free throw!
Next, the Warriors' offensive possession. Since Jason Terry and Adrian Griffin, the Mavericks' starting backcourt tonight, were smaller than Davis and Richardson, the Warriors naturally had to exploit their size advantage on this possession.
On the left side, after a double screen from Artest and Davis, Richardson successfully found an open look. At the top of the arc, Zack, who had the ball, had been waiting for a long time. This wing double-screen play was initiated by him with a hand signal. Therefore, the moment Richardson got open, Zack immediately passed the ball to him.
Swish!
It must be said that Johnson was indeed a coach who loved to keep tricks up his sleeve during games. In fact, tonight, besides Diop being a "pseudo-starter" at center, Griffin, playing shooting guard, was also a "pseudo-starter" for them. In the regular season, by keeping Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, Erick Dampier, and Marquis Daniels as reserves, "Little General" Johnson could only be described as having won big in the regular season. After all, in today's league, which team's second unit could compare to the Mavericks' luxurious bench?
But in the playoffs, Johnson, still thinking about holding back, had clearly forgotten... that in the playoffs, teams shorten their rotations to constantly ensure the team's combat effectiveness on the court. If the Mavericks had started Daniels alongside Howard on the wing tonight and used Harris as the starting point guard, how could they have been so passive in the opening stages? And wouldn't they still be able to use Stackhouse and Terry, two excellent scorers, to lead the bench unit?
On the Warriors' bench, looking at the genius coach on the opposite side, Mike Montgomery, at this moment, simply couldn't understand why the Mavericks would willingly concede the advantage in the early stages of the game. This was the Avery Johnson who, after his true colors were revealed, would gradually fade from memory in the NBA. As for his coaching ability, NBA general managers weren't fools; they wouldn't waste money hiring him after realizing the reality.
Midway through the first quarter, the Mavericks fans at the American Airlines Center fell silent. On the scoreboard, the score was 20 to 9. Although Mavericks fans knew before the game that the Warriors were an extremely tough opponent, for Dallas residents who had witnessed their team's victories throughout the regular season, they still couldn't believe that they, playing at home, would collapse so quickly at the start of the game.
Like war, defeat in basketball often has inertia. In the NBA, there are indeed many teams that, after digging themselves into a hole, can fill it up with subsequent performance and then win the game. But if such scenes happened every day, the word "miracle" should be removed from all human dictionaries.
Johnson, who only hastily put Daniels on the court in the latter half of the first quarter, had no idea that in the first half of the first quarter, under his meticulously designed long-term strategy for the Mavericks, Richardson, a normally understated three-point sharpshooter, had already successfully gotten his rhythm going?
This is why the Warriors always go crazy whenever they play the Mavericks, and the underlying logic behind it. Because Avery Johnson, this outstanding Mavericks coach, always uses his outlandish tactics and strategies to constantly guide the Warriors players on the court forward.
In the latter half of the first quarter, Richardson hit two more three-pointers for the Warriors. He took a total of five three-point attempts in the first quarter, making four of them, almost single-handedly creating vast offensive space for the Warriors. Richardson got hotter as the game went on, and in the excellent offensive environment he provided, Zack was like a man possessed on the court.
Although Johnson had put Dampier in relatively quickly after realizing that Diop couldn't provide effective protection for Nowitzki, what could Dampier do against the Mavericks' crumbling defense, which was already in disarray?
On the court, during the Warriors' offensive possession, seeing that the Mavericks' defense was entirely focused on Richardson, Zack, feeling completely ignored, simply put up a shot over Dampier, who had switched onto him, and it went in! Then, on the Mavericks' offensive possession, Nowitzki, shooting under heavy pressure, missed off the rim. After personally grabbing the rebound, Zack immediately initiated a fast break. The next moment, all the Mavericks players retreated on defense, but the equally hot Davis, immediately after receiving the pass, hit an unreasonable pull-up three-pointer right over Harris.
What reason?
No reason!
Because the Warriors were shooting better and better tonight, they didn't even need to run any specific plays. They just crossed half-court and dared you to watch them shoot, and you just had to watch it go in!
Swish!
The Mavericks fans in the arena completely lost it. At the end of the first quarter, the scoreboard read 45 to 18.
45 points in a single playoff quarter.
The Warriors destroyed the defensive system "Little General" Johnson had built for these Mavericks in just one quarter.
Tonight, Mullin, who had traveled with the Warriors to Dallas, was both surprised by the team's stunning return to the playoffs after twelve years and couldn't help but sigh, "If Old Don was still here, how could they not even be able to fight back?"
Nowitzki had to take the blame for the team's terrible performance. At the start of the second quarter, the live broadcast cameras repeatedly showed close-ups of Nowitzki. He was one of the few normal players on the Mavericks, shooting 3 of 7 in the first quarter, but this was the responsibility that came with being the team's leader. As the King of Dallas, Nowitzki couldn't escape, and certainly wouldn't.
Unlike the regular season, Zack chose not to rest in the second quarter of this game. This also put Johnson, who was trying to catch up in the first half of the second quarter by relying on his luxurious bench, in a state of confusion and panic.
With Zack orchestrating the offense, Murphy and Dunleavy Jr. both got into a rhythm immediately. These two were already good at playing with the momentum, let alone in such a one-sided game tonight.
And at the American Airlines Center, as the Warriors continued to rub salt in the wound and add various spices... So, at halftime, a shocking halftime score appeared before the eyes of the Dallas fans present:
85 to 41.
The Mavericks, who had achieved an impressive 60 regular season wins, were surprisingly trailing by as many as 44 points at halftime in their first-round playoff opener this year. The American Airlines Center, which had been incredibly boisterous and lively before the game, first became quieter and quieter, and then one fan after another chose to leave early. Perhaps, at the start of the second half, a small number of die-hard fans were willing to stay with the team until the end, but none of them would make even a single cheer for this game.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban's mood that night was one of despair. He couldn't understand why the Mavericks, with a seemingly much stronger roster than the Warriors, would fall apart in the game. This exceeded his understanding of basketball, his perception of the sport. Cuban's feelings resonated with many Mavericks fans. And with many neutral fans who came to witness this tragedy.
In the second half, the Warriors, already easing up, capped their final score at 135 points. With the remaining substitutes still playing hard, the Mavericks finished the game with 97 points.
In the entire game, Zack, who only played 31 minutes, recorded a total of 34 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 blocks, and 1 steal. Although the game essentially entered garbage time from the second quarter onwards, considering it was his playoff debut, Zack could only bitterly rack up stats on the court. It's worth noting that Zack, with a "30+ triple-double" in his playoff debut, also became the fourth player in NBA history to record a triple-double in a playoff debut, following John McCarthy, "Magic" Johnson, and his good friend LeBron James.
Since the Cavaliers-Wizards game was played on the evening of the 22nd, even Zack couldn't make the NBA reschedule. In that game against the Wizards, despite a different process, LeBron still perfectly replicated his career debut from Zack's memory, scoring 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists for the Cavaliers. This allowed him to become the third player in NBA history to record a triple-double in a playoff debut, one step ahead of Zack.
After the game, when asked by a reporter whether he was "stat-padding" against LeBron in the game, Zack righteously declared, "I can't just play one quarter and then sit out. That would be unfair to the fans who love me, and disrespectful to our opponents."
Actually, if the Mavericks hadn't fallen apart, given Zack's excellent in-game performance in Game 1, he could have potentially set an even more astonishing record. After all, for the playoffs, he had been keeping a low profile since the New Year, except for the game against the Lakers.
Compared to Zack, LeBron was fortunate. Because he played a full 48 minutes in his playoff debut for the Cavaliers. How could he understand Zack's pain of having to clock out after three quarters?
Two days later, on the evening of the 26th, the Mavericks continued to host the Warriors. Learning from their first loss, Johnson started Daniels in this game, forming the "Dallas Ugly Duo" with Howard, a combination that was once famous in Zack's memory.
In the second game, Zack proved with his actions that he was never "stat-padding" against LeBron. Because in the game, he had a natural mismatch against Nowitzki. How bad would his form have to be to replicate LeBron's performance in Game 2 against the Wizards, where he shot 7 for 25 from the field (a 28.8% shooting percentage) and still put up 27 points and 10 turnovers? (Note ①)
These Mavericks didn't protect Nowitzki as well as the future Mavericks under Rick Carlisle. Johnson tried to limit the Warriors' perimeter play by starting Daniels before the game. This was indeed a smart choice. But Johnson focused on the wrong things during the game.
Because the Mavericks' defense on the court was always spread out too wide, this inevitably forced Nowitzki to be pulled away from his teammates. To counter superstar centers like O'Neal and Yao Ming, both Diop and Dampier had gained weight during this period, which meant they could only provide limited protection for Nowitzki.
"He's a genius," Dunleavy Jr. said on the Warriors' bench, watching Zack effortlessly scoring against Nowitzki.
Hearing this, Murphy chuckled. "He always was a genius."
The next second, Dunleavy Jr. shook his head. "I'm not talking about the Messiah, but the Mavericks' head coach, Avery Johnson."
Murphy looked puzzled. "What makes you say that?"
Dunleavy Jr. clasped his head. "I've never seen a team dare not to shrink the paint when facing the Messiah."
Murphy still didn't understand. "We were lights-out from beyond the arc last game. Shouldn't the Mavericks be limiting our shooting?"
Dunleavy Jr. explained, "Of course they should limit it, but to limit shooting, do they have to completely give us the paint?"
Then, after grabbing the tactical board from an assistant coach, Dunleavy Jr. moved the tactical magnets around. "Wouldn't it be better to just play a solid zone and wait for us to break it? Couldn't they disrupt our game rhythm by switching between man-to-man and zone defense? Shooters need to get open and receive the ball to shoot. Since that's the case, they clearly have so many ways to limit our shooting and movement, why do they insist on choosing the worst one?"
That night, Dunleavy Jr. was utterly baffled by "Little General" Johnson's defensive scheme. Because as Zack continued to score at will in the paint... the Mavericks, who were forced to shrink their defense, ultimately neither successfully limited Zack nor achieved their pre-game strategy of controlling the Warriors' perimeter shooters.
In Dunleavy Jr.'s opinion, the Mavericks were clearly playing a good hand poorly. And before the game, the Mavericks fans who thought the Warriors were just a tough opponent but that their team would ultimately advance, were now in a state of panic.
Yes, panic had begun to spread throughout the American Airlines Center. Especially the moment Game 2 concluded, this sense of panic reached its peak instantly.
On the scoreboard, the score was 119 to 104.
The Warriors took another game, leading the series 2-0 over the Mavericks! And with the home-court advantage shifting, the Mavericks had now completely lost control of this series!
The moment Game 2 ended, more than one Mavericks fan, and even Mavericks owner Cuban himself, asked themselves a question... Will this series even return to Dallas? Could we, who won 60 games in the regular season, really be swept by the Warriors?
Panic, unease, anxiety, frustration... When these emotions flooded their chests after the game, the Dallas residents, who had lost two straight to the Warriors, no longer had the confidence and composure they had at the start of the series.
In stark contrast were the Warriors fans, preparing to welcome their team back to Oakland. At the Oracle Arena, Warriors fans were preparing a grand triumphant ceremony to welcome their heroes.
The golden wave had already begun to surge.
Warriors fans would use their twelve years of waiting to show the Dallas visitors what a truly "demonic" home court felt like!
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