During a pivotal period in the race for the playoffs, the Mavericks found a new "drive"...
On April 2, Beijing time, the Mavericks defeated the Pistons 98-89 away from home, winning three consecutive wins and returning to 50% of the winning percentage, while temporarily stabilizing their top 8 positions in the west. With the ability to beat the Pistons, whose playoff spot is still unstable, Jose Barria is definitely the best player for the Mavericks.
At the end of the first half, the Mavericks took a 51-36 lead with a 26-11 play in the second quarter. And Barria, who is 1.83 meters tall, scored 21 points in the first half, and became the "drive" to lead the Mavericks forward. In the third quarter, Barria felt cold, which also allowed the Pistons to narrow the point gap for a while, but as Barria regained his touch, the Pistons had to concede defeat in advance. In the whole game, Barria shot 13 of 23 and scored 29 points, making him the Mavericks' top scorer. In addition, Nowitzki contributed 19 points, while Delong Williams and Raymond Felton continued to be absent.
Because of the poor performance in the previous period, the Mavericks, whose playoff seats were originally very stable, suddenly became uncertain. However, from the defeat of the Nuggets on March 28 local time to the narrow victory over the Knicks and the defeat of the Pistons in this game, the Mavericks have won three consecutive victories while also giving themselves a little advantage in the competition for playoff spots.
And just like this game, the Mavericks' three-game winning streak is inseparable from the credit of Jose Barria. In the Mavericks' 97-88 away win over the Nuggets, Barria scored 18 points and 11 assists; in the Mavericks' 91-89 home win over the Knicks, Barria not only shot a counter-score goal — helping the Mavericks pull the score to 90-89 — but he also scored a team-high 26 points.
If you look further ahead, since March, Barria has averaged 13.7 points per game, higher than the 10.4 points per game this season. It can be said that the Mavericks, who lack major generals, can finally qualify for the playoffs this season, and Barria's performance after that is particularly important.
Throughout the career of Barria, the few small men in the league, the greater the pressure and the better the performance, in fact, it has become a "label" for him.
Fast forward to June 12, 2011, the Mavericks and Heat finals entered the sixth game of the competition, has been forced into a desperate situation of the Heat, eager to win back a city at home. However, the Mavericks managed to extinguish the heat's counterattack momentum and ended the season with a single victory. In this game, Barria and Terry were instrumental in the Mavericks' victory, with Terry scoring a game-high 27 points and Barria contributing 15 points.
In the previous mavericks' 112-103 win to win the "championship point", Barria scored 17 points on 4-of-5 shooting from outside the three-point line. It's even more worth saying that Barria's performance was almost entirely concentrated in the second half: he scored 14 of the 17 points in the second half. Looking further ahead, the Mavericks eliminated the Lakers' series, the Mavericks eliminated the Thunder series, and Barria once became a hero in a certain game.
All in all, for Barria, who had only 85 starts in the regular season in his entire career, his becoming the Mavericks' absolute workhorse in that year's playoffs and driving the whole team with points from time to time has proved that he really is a player who is more stressed and easier to perform well. The first championship in Mavericks history, with a credit from Barria.
After helping the Mavericks win the championship, Barria briefly switched to the Timberwolves, but after three unhappy seasons with the Timberwolves, he eventually returned to the Mavericks. And as evidenced by his four-year, $16 million contract with the Mavericks before the start of the season, and as evidenced by his career-high scoring record this season, the 31-year-old is still a key player in the Mavericks squad.
The career of non-draft player Barria is not just a championship, in fact, he is more like what Guan Hanqing wrote: a copper pea that is not steamed, steamed, hammered, fried, and well-known. The Mavericks' playoff hopes, part of which are pinned on this "copper pea", should be fine.