Ideals Are Plump

After the timeout, the Mavericks executed a play in the frontcourt. Nowitzki finally knocked down a jumper off Butler's pass.

It had taken the Mavericks more than four minutes to make their first basket of the half. Their second half was proving a little difficult.

Back on the defensive end, the Mavericks did not double-team Tang Tian after seeing him with the ball. Instead, they had Butler guard him one-on-one.

Butler had defended that previous possession well. Carlisle had overreacted a little earlier, but he quickly adjusted back.

Tang Tian glanced at Butler and did not attack directly.

In terms of defensive ability and defensive talent alone, Butler was far inferior to Leonard.

But the problem was that they trained together tirelessly every summer. Butler understood Tang Tian's game too well.

He had opportunities to force his way through, but he could not make every shot like the last one.

In other words, continuing to force the issue would lower his scoring efficiency.

The Mavericks had no intention of double-teaming him, so Tang Tian gestured for Davis to come up high for a pick-and-roll.

Butler tried to fight over the screen, but Davis's large frame successfully held him up.

And after setting the screen, Davis cut back toward the basket. Butler could only switch onto him.

Tang Tian now had Nowitzki as his matchup.

The small-ball era had weakened the role of centers. Small vs. Big, with smaller players dragging Big men outside and schooling them, had become increasingly common.

Tang Tian was targeting Nowitzki now.

Nowitzki's offense was historically great. His Golden Rooster Independence was nearly impossible to stop, but his defense was average at best.

It had been average even during his peak period. Now that he was older, it was even worse.

That was exactly what Tang