"Defense, what we need is defense, cut off that damn Oriental from the rest of the guys, Marcus, don't attack the Germans, that guy's free throws are more accurate than the guards, Carmelo, I need you to play tougher, don't shoot outside the three-point line needlessly, this is the playoffs, you have to play inside, cause damage......"

On April 18, 2004, in the arena of the American Airlines Center in Dallas, the head coach of the Nuggets, Jeff Bush? Bzederrick called a second timeout less than five minutes into the first quarter, and the team was restrained by the Mavericks as soon as the game began, and the Mavericks, who thought that the defense was not good, played an "iron-blooded" defense in the playoffs, and the Nuggets trailed the Mavericks by 11 points at the beginning, and they only scored 5 points in five minutes. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

The playoffs have officially started on April 17, and the Mavericks' game against the Nuggets starts on the second day of the playoffs, and the day before, the East and West have already played four games.

In the game on April 17, the Pacers defeated the Celtics without any suspense. Pierce was deliberately targeted by the Pacers, Artest stared at Pierce throughout the whole process, although Pierce has comprehensive skills, but his speed has always been a big problem, there is no speed, in the face of Artest's outside strength defender Pierce has no good way at all, only hit 5 of 18 shots in the game, and relied on 8 of 10 free throws to get 20 points, and finally the Celtics lost the game 88-104.

In another matchup in the East, the Nets also easily defeated the Knicks 107-83.

The Knicks went into the playoffs in a state of chaos, and Stephen? Marbury was taken by Jason? Kidd defends to death, and the Knicks players are also fighting separately, whoever gets the ball will play twice, and this style of play is pure death in the playoffs.

The Western Rockets and the Timberwolves fought until the last second to decide the winner, Yao Min was in foul trouble and only played 30 minutes in this game, but he still efficiently scored a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Garnett on the Timberwolves side got a big double-double of 30 points and 20 rebounds, and his shot in the final moment was also a stunner for the Rockets.

In another matchup in the West, the Lakers defeated the Grizzlies 98-74 without suspense, O'Neal scored a game-high 33 points, and also had 14 rebounds in the account, entering the playoffs, O'Neal is still the dominant "big shark".

Back in the first game between the Mavericks and the Nuggets, the Nuggets were clearly unprepared for the playoffs, they still approached the playoffs with a regular season mentality, and Anthony, the core of the team, was completely unprepared, and he missed none of his first three shots under Odom's defense.

The Mavericks are obviously well prepared, they still focus on outside shots in the offense, but when it comes to defense, they have changed their previous joint defense position to play man-to-man defense.

Liu Han easily strangled Andre? Miller, and at the same time Nowitzki also showed his bravery to the death of Marcus? Camby couldn't get into the interior on the perimeter, and without the playmaking and passing of the point guard and center, the Nuggets could only rely on the individual ability of the star to force the Mavericks' defense.

By the end of the first half, the Nuggets had actually lost the confidence of the game, and they trailed the Mavericks by as many as 25 points at halftime, which basically announced the outcome of the game.

The Mavericks have an inherent advantage at home, and at the same time, the players are also playing their own lives, playing selflessly and resolutely, and they are more like a team that has been tested in the playoffs.

In the end, the Mavericks easily defeated the Nuggets 119-92 at home, Liu Han and Nowitzki both clocked out after the third quarter, Liu Han cut 27 points plus 7 rebounds and 13 assists, and Nowitzki also scored a double-double of 25 points and 14 rebounds, Anthony only scored 15 points on the Nuggets' side, and the shooting rate was less than 30%, and he also needed to adjust his mentality to adapt to the intensity of the playoffs.

On the same day, the Spurs and Kings fought hard for two overtimes, and in the end, the Spurs relied on Duncan's last-minute mid-range shot to kill the Kings, and the Kings unfortunately lost away.

The Pistons beat the Bucks 108-82, with Rashid? With the addition of Wallace, the Pistons have made up for the last shortcoming, Rashid? Wallace scored 19 points and added 10 rebounds on 3-of-4 three-pointers in the game, and Reed, the core of the Bucks, was defended by Prince, who was extremely mobile and very mobile, and was particularly good at defending players who make a living off shooting. The Pistons had six players in double figures, while only three of the Bucks had double-doubles, and Reed scored 11 points from the free throw line.

At the end of the first game of the playoffs, the top teams in the regular season all won without any major upsets, and throughout the eight games, as predicted by the media, the Mavericks showed a king temperament and the teams with better defense also won the game.

Entering the playoffs, it is actually difficult for a team without defense to go too far, the confrontation in the regular season is already very intense, but the playoffs are another level of confrontation, there may be balls in the regular season that will not be fouled at all, but every time a playoff player makes a shot, he must face the opponent without hesitation, which is not only a test of the player's skills, but also a test of the player's mentality and physical strength.

In this case, the team's stars are facing huge defensive pressure, and the role of role players is truly reflected, each team needs to pull down and put on a life-and-death posture to approach the game, and it is difficult for players who have not experienced the playoffs to experience this huge mental pressure, and it is difficult to adapt to this huge pressure, even Jordan, he was only able to adapt to the playoffs after several years of training, and even so, he was still pressed by the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals for three full years.

Liu Han was very lucky, he had a good partner - O'Neal, and the Lakers also had a group of very good bench and role players at that time, and Liu Han's body was indeed different from ordinary people, he grew up in a discriminatory atmosphere since he was a child, and has been under a pressure pressure, if it weren't for his grandmother's constant explanation and protection, maybe Liu Han would have had a nervous breakdown.

But now Liu Han has been honed in blood and fire, and at the same time, the experience of fighting in football has given him the tenacity to collapse and not move, so now Liu Han doesn't feel much pressure to play in the playoffs, which is why he can occupy the first place in the league now.