Nash still needs time to figure out his future, but Zack wasn't just having a random thought when he wanted to recruit Nash.
This season, no matter how hard he tries, Zack has faced constant losses. He's really come to understand the limits of his individual ability. Basketball, after all, is a five-player game. Even a superstar like Sakuragi Hanamichi needs excellent teammates to win a championship. Zack enjoys the thrill of a challenge, that's true, but it doesn't mean he likes playing with a bunch of "CBA-level" teammates every day.
The Warriors haven't quite fallen to that point yet, but before Zack can decide his own destiny and become an unrestricted free agent, he needs to make sure the Warriors' roster is competitive. As for whether team owner Chris Cohan is willing to spend money on this team? Well, since Zack has already unmasked Cohan, his attitude is only going to get tougher with each passing day. And through his previous probing, Zack has already figured out Cohan's bottom line. This puts him in an unbeatable position in this power struggle with the team owner. As long as Cohan can't bear the cost of losing him, Zack has a million ways to make him spend money on this team.
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### The Mavericks' New Look
After defeating the Suns, the Warriors returned home to face the Dallas Mavericks, who had a new coach. The Mavericks' new head coach is Mike Woodson, formerly the Hawks' head coach, who was mentored by Larry Brown early in his career. However, it's important to clarify for Coach Woodson: while he certainly inherited Brown's defensive philosophy, Woodson is known for his flexible and versatile coaching style. He's actually a famous three-point enthusiast who doesn't resist, and even actively encourages, players to find ways to convert those annoying long two-pointers just inside the arc into three-pointers!
In the future, the Knicks team, led by Carmelo Anthony, that once reached second in the Eastern Conference during the regular season, was under his command. In the 2012-13 season, under his leadership, the Knicks attempted nearly thirty three-pointers per game, ranking first in the league. So, after General Johnson was dismissed, the Mavericks definitely found a coach who perfectly suited their current style of play. And, before the trade deadline, that "mind-boggling" Steve Kerr even personally sent Shawn Marion to Dallas. This allowed Woodson to quickly build a balanced offensive and defensive system for the Mavericks.
What's more, after Tim Duncan left, the San Antonio Spurs, who became even more obsessed with saving money, even "gifted" Ian Mahinmi's signing rights to the Mavericks last summer. Mahinmi, who only saw limited minutes under Avery Johnson, immediately got more playing time under Woodson after the coaching change. In Woodson's view, the Mavericks, with Kidd, Nowitzki, and Terry, already had strong enough offensive firepower. And no matter how much Dampier lost weight, this almost 33-year-old center's foot speed and help defense had inevitably declined. Therefore, even if Mahinmi's offensive ability was practically zero, his defensive range, which could extend from the paint to the three-point line, was exactly what this Mavericks team desperately needed.
It's worth noting that in the original timeline, Mahinmi was also a member of that future Mavericks team that "massacred Shituoling." However, at that time, that Mavericks team, which had a "high-end Mahinmi" in Tyson Chandler, couldn't offer Mahinmi more opportunities to showcase himself. But this defensive-minded center, who could even shine in the small-ball era, is definitely a quality interior role player. In the latter half of the regular season, under Woodson's leadership, the Mavericks went on a winning streak, raising their ranking to third in the Western Conference. Through tactical design, Woodson not only provided Nowitzki with a secure defensive presence on the court but also, under Woodson's strict orders, Nowitzki, who was told to "just let it fly," delivered terrifying numbers. Before the coaching change, Nowitzki, whose shot attempts were constantly being limited by Johnson, only averaged 20.8 points. After the change, Nowitzki's average stats were an astonishing 34 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists. Although his stats will surely return to a more normal level as the season progresses, this immediate coaching change allowed Mavericks fans to truly feel the charm of Nowitzki, this "German Panzer," overnight.
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### A Team of "Demons and Monsters"
During pre-game warm-ups, Zack looked at this Mavericks team, who hadn't traded Marquis Daniels and were using the "Three Ma's" (Marion, Mahinmi, Marquis Daniels) to protect Nowitzki. He suddenly felt like he was watching Journey to the West. Because at this moment, this team, led by "Silver Horned King" (Nowitzki), comprised of an "ugly man" squad, looked like a bunch of demons and monsters no matter how he saw it. Even the aging Jason Kidd looked handsome in comparison to his teammates.
Zack chatted with Nowitzki for a while before the game. Ever since Zack personally defeated him in the playoffs back then, Nowitzki has had a special connection with Zack. In this life, the "German soft candy" label that Nowitzki still carries was personally put on him by Zack. However, Nowitzki didn't resent Zack for it. In his eyes, since Zack beat him fair and square, he naturally respected Zack's dominance.
"If you guys had changed coaches earlier, maybe you'd be the one competing with me for the scoring title this year, Dirk," Zack joked.
Nowitzki, with a good sense of self-awareness, replied, "My recent good performance is just a hot streak, but your hot streak has been burning for an entire season."
This season, Zack is very likely to break Michael Jordan's record of 37.1 points per game in a single season, the highest since the NBA began keeping full statistics. Although this record was slightly tailored to exclude Wilt Chamberlain, who averaged 50.4 points per game for the Philadelphia Warriors back then, for a long time, no one in the NBA, except for Kobe in the 2005-06 season, had been able to score as high as Jordan did. However, Zack wasn't interested in this highly valuable record. "If I could, I'd rather trade my high scores for my teammates' health."
Nowitzki nodded, "You guys have had bad luck this year, but I believe that come playoff time, no team will dare to underestimate you." Having been dominated by the Warriors, even suffering a 58-point blowout loss, over the past two and a half years, Nowitzki would never question the strength of these defending champions.
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### Woodson's Obsession with Threes
However, on the court, as the game officially began, Nowitzki vaguely realized that this Warriors team wasn't as tough to deal with as before. Being short-handed certainly prevented the Warriors from playing at their full strength, but the main reason Nowitzki felt this way was that Woodson wasn't as foolish as Johnson. In the first quarter, Mavericks coach Woodson constantly signaled for Marion and Daniels to use off-ball screens to create mismatch opportunities for Nowitzki, while continuously shouting from the sidelines, "Dirk, just shoot that damn ball!"
But even with Nowitzki going 6-for-10 from the field, including 2-for-4 from three, in the first quarter, Woodson still wasn't completely satisfied with the "German God's" performance. "Dirk, your three-point percentage in the last ten games is 50%! Why aren't you taking more three-point attempts?"
"Coach, I'm an inside player..."
"To hell with inside players! Who says inside players can't shoot threes? Even if my mentor Larry Brown were standing here, I'd still tell you to take more three-point shots! Three-pointers are the future, Dirk!"
Honestly, Woodson's coaching style makes it hard to believe he was mentored by Larry Brown. Historically, when he coached the Knicks, Woodson made similar demands of Carmelo Anthony. As a result, with Woodson's persistent encouragement, Anthony, who optimized his shot selection, won the scoring title in the 2012-13 season. In Woodson's eyes, no matter how you look at it, a 35% three-point shot is more valuable than a 45% two-point shot. So, as long as you're willing to shoot, even if he has to bear the criticism of "violating his mentor's teachings," he'll demand you take more three-point attempts from beyond the arc.
In the second quarter, "The Jet" Jason Terry, coming off the bench, launched seven three-pointers in a single quarter, making three of them. The Warriors' perimeter defense was a big problem that night. With Old Man Hill resting this game, and the Warriors only able to rely on Barnes and Dunleavy at small forward, they couldn't establish effective protection on their wing. (Barnes: "Huh?") Malone had considered having Zack play small forward and use his defensive range to stop the Mavericks' rampant outside shooting. But under the almost murderous gaze of team physical therapist Ryan, Malone wisely gave up that idea.
So, Malone could only tell the team leader, who was about to return to the court in the latter half of the second quarter, "We're counting on you tonight." Zack knew this was Malone's hint that he wanted him to play more selfishly on the court. Since the Warriors couldn't defend well tonight, and their other players were cold, Malone felt that the Warriors' hope of winning could only be placed on Zack.
In the end, the always reliable Zack scored a total of 46 points, 18 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocks, and 1 steal for the Warriors. The Mavericks' "Three Ma's" were individually targeted by him on the court. Unfortunately, even with such a performance, Zack couldn't stop the Mavericks' relentless attack after their coaching change. Nowitzki, who scored 34 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists for the Mavericks, said in a post-game interview, "This is a valuable win; it will help us regain our confidence against the Warriors." And Zack, who had another "empty stats" game, was extremely frustrated and did extra training after the game. When even impressive stats can't bring victory to the team, Zack, who always plays to win, naturally wouldn't be in a good mood.
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### Facing the Rockets
A day later, the Warriors continued their homestand, welcoming the Houston Rockets, led by Tracy McGrady and Andrea Bargnani. Compared to the "bust" who, in history, was forced to play an unfamiliar position because the Raptors already had Chris Bosh, Bargnani, who received more resources from the Rockets in this life, undoubtedly had beautiful and outstanding stats in his second season. This season, Bargnani averaged 17.8 points and 8.0 rebounds for the Rockets, already very close to the standard of an NBA All-Star interior player.
However, this Rockets team, which didn't tank thoroughly enough, visibly extended their rebuilding period. As of their game against the Warriors, the Rockets had accumulated 30 regular-season wins. Ranked tenth in the Western Conference, they had no hope of making the playoffs in the wild West, and they couldn't even tank better than teams like the Timberwolves or Kings. This awkward situation led the Rockets to really want to trade McGrady. Although McGrady's true shooting percentage this season was only 49%, on nights when he suddenly exploded, the Rockets would often win unexpectedly.
However, trading McGrady in the short term would not be easy for the Rockets. Since McGrady's current salary is close to 20 million US dollars, and his overall form is far from his prime, the Rockets might even have to accept a losing deal to offload McGrady, whose contract expires in the summer of 2010. McGrady's current trade value, which is far below the Rockets' management's expectations, is related to the fact that he didn't have that 22-game winning streak aura in this life. Coupled with his increasingly inefficient scoring year by year, the once-famous "T-Mac" has now completely become a negative asset for the team.
It's truly regrettable to see the current situation of McGrady, who won't turn 29 for another two months. But Zack, who desperately needed a win to vent his frustration from the previous empty-stats game, didn't show any mercy. On the court, McGrady, who was assigned to guard Zack by head coach Tom Thibodeau for the entire game, had a night that is difficult to describe in words. Although Thibodeau, who took over the Rockets' coaching reins after being recommended by former coach Jeff Van Gundy, explained that he matched McGrady with Zack because Bargnani wasn't good at defense and McGrady was a better fit to guard Zack, considering Thibodeau's "slave driver"-like habit of overplaying his starters, McGrady, with no way to avoid it, could only grit his teeth and defend the tall and imposing Zack all night.
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### Bargnani's Ambition and McGrady's Decline
Fortunately, Zack freed the almost emotionally distraught McGrady in just three quarters. After the game, Bargnani, who shared the same agent as Zack, revealed during the handshake, "You wouldn't believe it, during halftime, 'T-Mac' almost knelt down to the coach to get someone else to guard you."
Unlike Yao Ming, who was always magnanimous and tolerant of McGrady in Houston, Bargnani, who also had the "Zack's second coming" aura before the draft in this life, inevitably became arrogant. After receiving strong support from the Rockets' management, conflicts with McGrady were bound to happen. Bargnani really disliked it when McGrady, after he set a high screen, would always choose inefficient long two-pointers for forced shots. Even if McGrady occasionally gave him some brilliant passes, in Bargnani's eyes, it was just McGrady giving "master's rewards" to his tail-wagging bulldog.
Bargnani couldn't stand McGrady's inefficiency while still dominating a large amount of ball possession. Especially after Zack proved the feasibility of a ball-dominant offensive style, under the influence of his agent, Jeff Schwartz, Bargnani also wanted to get more ball possession on the court, just like Zack. Bargnani came from the European league; he learned from excellent seniors how to facilitate and how to break zone defenses since he was a child. He believed he had the ability to do better than McGrady in games. Clearly, Zack's appearance, and his shared agent with Bargnani, had already boldly led this handsome Italian prospect down an unexpected path.
And McGrady? From his youthful exuberance to the point where even Bargnani looks down on him... In Zack's opinion, if McGrady can't even suppress Bargnani in his second season, it only proves that McGrady has reached the final stop of his career. Zack finds it difficult to evaluate the career of this former two-time scoring champion and "35 seconds, 13 points" miracle-worker, one of the "Four Great Shooting Guards," which is hard to describe in a few words. But considering McGrady's fragile heart, Zack always felt that McGrady overestimated his own talent and ability. Historically, McGrady's experience of being carried through the first round of the playoffs by Yao Ming doesn't lie. Compared to the other three "Great Shooting Guards," he's destined to be at the bottom.
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### Zack's Frenzy
Leading the team to a big win against the Rockets, the Warriors then went on a back-to-back road trip to San Antonio. Zack, as swift as the wind on the court, poured in 49 points in that night's game, leading the team to a 40-point blowout victory on the road, settling the score for the first time with Gregg Popovich's Spurs. And then, a day later, Zack, as steady as a forest, led the Warriors to a calm and collected victory on the road, defeating the Clippers, who were forced to tank this season due to Captain Elton Brand's season-ending injury.
And then, after Zack, as fierce as fire, exploded for 45 points in the Warriors' game against the SuperSonics, Zack's almost insane individual performance during the Warriors' incredibly difficult regular season run reached its climax.
"He's had five consecutive 40+ point games! I don't know his limit, I don't know when he'll stop. He seems to never get tired... Without a doubt, we are witnessing the greatest scoring performance in NBA history!" Charles Barkley on TNT commented on Zack, who had recently gone into a frenzy.
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It sounds like Zack is truly in "Shoyo's Ace" mode, carrying his team and dominating the scoring charts! What do you think will happen next in the Warriors' challenging season?