It was supposed to be a normal day in February this year, and P.J. Washington was having dinner with his wife, Elisa, who looked at her phone and suddenly asked her husband, "What would you do if you were traded to the Mavericks now?" ”
Washington apparently hadn't gotten into the habit of swiping his phone while eating, and before he could react, the wasp manager's phone rang. After a few seconds, he suddenly decided what he was going to do: "I told her I was going to run out of the restaurant, and I did it. I literally jumped out of the restaurant and ran all the way to my car. ”
From a team at the bottom of the East to the championship team of "Zeng Xisan", it certainly deserves the cheers of blue-collar workers like Washington on the wing. Although the ball is always in the hands of the outside duo, the perennial three-ball and the perennial convulsive Rozier are still not as attractive as the dream combination of Doncic and Irving, not to mention that he came to Dallas with the well-known Eastern Conference interior Gafford.
On the way to the eighth place in the West with a 4-8 record, the Mavericks could no longer tolerate the weakness of the front line and the interior line, and used the gradually marginalized Curry Jr. and the bad-tempered Grant Williams to bet on the only tradeable first-round pick in the next seven years, in exchange for a 25-year-old and 201-year-old serious forward Washington.
I have to say that the Lone Ranger's gamble does have its benefits. In the first game when the new signings arrived, the Mavericks beat the Thunder by 35 points at home, and Washington scored 14 points and 5 rebounds on 6-of-10 shooting.
Cuban and Kidd fell in love with Washington's talent and fit, so the Mavericks endured the worst three-point crosshairs of his career and a 52 percent true shooting percentage before re-attacking the Thunder 100 days later, unleashing another big killer and forcing the 3-and-D forward to turn the team into a triple-C lineup.
In the third game that just ended, Washington was on fire, shooting a team-high 27 points with 23 shots, and the Mavericks even prepared a poster of "Washington Hug Arms" for every fan at home, and arranged a sexy painter to sketch him in the middle of the court, which is comparable to the team's new boss. After three games in the second round, Washington averaged 22 points per game and made 14 three-pointers with a 54 percent three-point shot. is like Leonard, who suddenly beat him in the 14 finals, making the opponent unable to parry in an instant.
Alexander, the best of humanity's 31 points, said bluntly after the game: "If we want to win this series, we have to limit Washington." ”
Washington's outburst was not entirely accidental, and in the five years since he entered the industry, his crosshairs have been strangely declining year by year. As a striker, the true shooting percentage of 52% is really unimpressive. In the first round against George and the Clippers, Washington averaged only 11 points and 5 rebounds per game, 31% of his three-point shooting, and his true shooting percentage was still 52%. Except for contributing to the famous scene of holding his arms and pretending to be famous (he was also forced by George to imitate the reverse and pretending), and playing rap outside the Clippers locker room to disturb the people, his performance was not outstanding.
But in the second round, Washington finally didn't have to face George, who was taller and stronger than himself, and he had Alexander in 198 and Jalen in 196 in front of him. Dort, who is shorter than them, is going to give Doncic a bath, and Josh Giddey, who is taller than them, is 10 kilograms lighter than himself, and is being scolded behind him at the moment.
Giddey's eyes darkened, but Kidd's eyes lit up: "P.J. Washington set the tone for the game. We rarely let him play low and that inspired his performance. For us, this point in Washington is very critical. ”
Although Washington is generally loose in everything, as long as the opponent's intensity is not enough, he can always find an opportunity to punish the opponent fiercely. Like a tried-and-true anvil tactic, when Doncic and Irving attract tons of defensive attention in the high post, Washington, the wing man, stabbed the Thunder in the waist.
It's not enough to just play back, and the other most important change in Washington is that his three-point is finally on target. The elite iron saved in the regular season and the first round was finally replaced in the second round with a solid three-point skill package, and even became the first player since Curry to grab 10 rebounds and shoot 7 three-pointers in the playoffs.
'The team kept me in the corner, so I just wanted to put the ball in and it was open, I just shot confidently and that's what I did.
There are no weak teams in the second round, no matter which version of the NBA, the mainstream defensive method is to put pressure on the strong point with the ball, force them to pass to the weak side, and let the third or even fourth strong point solve the problem. Garland, the Cavaliers' theoretical third strength, continued to pull his hips, while the Celtics' strengths were erratic, and even Holiday who pretended to be dead all season suddenly hardened.
On the Mavericks' side, Washington's rise instantly changed the situation of the two cores taking turns to fight. Not only did it punish the Thunder's shrinking defense, but it also gave Washington self-confidence and began to punish the Thunder's structural roster weaknesses.
In addition to three-pointers and back-to-back plays, Washington is also playing an increasingly rich role. He can cover for Eastern Europe, and he can catch the ball for three points and cut down the air after dismantling. He can also break through after receiving the ball, and use his physical advantage to invade the Thunder restricted area. It is more able to defend Jalen Williams' step-back three-pointers and Alexander's counter-attacking passes, switching from guard all the way to the interior.
In these three games, thanks to his own warm hand and the opponent's foil, Washington perfectly interpreted the value of a full-sized forward. A blue-collar flank that can do a little bit of everything and defend itself in any position, no matter what era it is, it is an all-purpose lubricant like the WD40.
Even better, instead of being the boss like Mikal Bridges or the No. 5 like Iguodala back then, he has the passing and attacking masters around him, and Gafford and Lively on the inside, and he just needs to do his own thing in his comfort zone to meet expectations and make the series winning.
Of course, Washington's three-point crosshairs are likely to pull back, and it will be difficult for the Mavericks to play too much advantage through this relatively strong point. It may be better to let him eat misplaced with his back, fake shots after receiving the ball on the outside, and cut inside to attack the basket after covering, and disrupt the Thunder defense.
But it's still Washington's comfort zone, and there's nothing more comfortable than living in it, and the moment he came out of the restaurant, Washington predicted it: "To praise my teammates, they found me and put me in a good position on the court, and that's the secret to my success." I've been waiting for this moment all my life and I'm enjoying every second here. ”
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