Life as NBA Rookie (SlamDunk System)-Chapter 187: Unstoppable Warriors, Back at the Top

Chapter 187: Chapter 187: Unstoppable Warriors, Back at the Top

Mark Cuban has never stopped kicking himself for letting Steve Nash walk.

In Zack’s previous life, Cuban admitted more than once in interviews that trading Nash was the dumbest move of his career.

"I blindly trusted the team doctors’ take on Steve’s back injury," Cuban said. "They thought it’d keep him from lasting long, but we all know Steve was still balling in the NBA at 40."

Sure, there’s plenty of evidence that Cuban’s decision to ditch Nash was tied to the Mavericks’ medical staff misjudging his back issues.

But historically, Cuban—who was obsessed with building his Mavericks roster using NBA LIVE—also has to eat some blame for his wild imagination.

Yup, in NBA LIVE, Cuban figured out that even without Nash, a frontcourt of Erick Dampier and Dirk Nowitzki could still win a title. So, after boldly cutting Nash loose, he threw a seven-year, $73 million deal at Dampier.

No question, getting dumped for a video game revelation stung Nash way more than any injury concerns.

To Nash, he’d rather Cuban call him a money-hungry leech, mock his style as a bad fit, or straight-up label him soft than say the Mavs could win without him because of a game.

Little does Nash know, years from now in Dallas, something even crazier will go down.

If Cuban at least used a game to build his roster, future Mavs GM Donnie Harrison’s decision to trade Luka Dončić to the Lakers will be a deal so wild, even NBA LIVE couldn’t make it happen.

At Oracle Arena, Nash’s scoring clinic was in full swing.

With Zack’s screens opening up the floor, Nash looked a decade younger, dropping 20 points for the Warriors in the first quarter alone.

When Nash didn’t have to worry about playmaking and had the league’s best player creating space for him, his offensive firepower rivaled any scoring guard in the game.

Nash’s elite performance made this Western Conference semifinal feel like a breeze.

And his heir apparent, Steph Curry, kept the heat on coming off the bench.

The only hiccup?

In the second quarter, Curry, trying to show off with an off-ball cut for a highlight dunk, got stuffed by the rim.

The Mavericks’ players couldn’t believe it—the rim turned into their sixth man.

Luckily, Golden State’s own Zach LaVine bounced back, going 3-for-3 from three to reclaim his swagger.

With Nash and Curry lighting it up, Zack, fresh off a unanimous MVP win, got a firsthand taste of how terrifying their double-team defense could be.

The guy everyone calls the best player in the world got locked down.

The Warriors’ two top defenders proved that what the "Zack Rulebook" couldn’t do, they could.

Through three quarters, Zack’s stat line—14 points, 12 rebounds, 14 assists—looked solid. But when Mike Malone subbed him out, he realized he’d been coasting the whole game.

The Mavericks crumbled under wave after wave of Warriors’ offensive surges.

"Dirk did all he could," Mavs coach Eric Woodson said postgame. "The Warriors’ guards were like cheat codes. You saw it—Nash and Curry combined for 15 threes. Their outside shooting made our defense pointless."

Nash dropped 41, Curry added 24.

Zack felt Nash, still bitter about Dallas, didn’t go hard enough. If he’d been a bit more ruthless, 41 points could’ve been 50.

Here’s the funny part: just the day before, The Sun caught Zack post-MVP ceremony, sneaking off with his trophy for a hotel rendezvous with Maria Sharapova.

So, when Zack’s game was "off," U.S. reporters pointed fingers at Sharapova, who’d been prepping for the U.S. Open for months.

"Maria’s innocent," Zack defended. "She just wanted to touch my trophy. What’s wrong with that?"

Zack knew the only way to shut up reporters tying his off nights to off-court distractions was to ball out.

Two days later, he broke Shawn Marion.

Hard dribble, hesitation, pull-up.

Facing Zack’s relentless quick pull-ups, Marion—when Zack’s shot was falling—looked like a defeated actor from a bad rom-com, helpless as Zack lit him up.

Wrestling, bumping, even rugby-style tackles—Marion tried it all to throw off Zack’s rhythm.

But like facing the Pistons back in the day, unless you literally take Jordan out, you’re not stopping him.

When Zack’s in his zone, no defense—not even one backed by the Zack Rulebook—can stop his quick pull-up, now a work of art.

Of course, Zack doesn’t shoot like that every night.

Marion just had the bad luck of catching him on a hot one.

"FUCK!" Marion griped to teammates postgame. "I did everything, and he still hit his shots. What the hell am I supposed to do?"

Caron Butler, who’s spent years battling the original LeBron in the East, found this supercharged Zack’s dominance beyond his imagination. He had no advice for Marion, just moral support: "Shawn, he can’t be that hot every game."

"FUCK!" Marion snapped at Butler. "You Eastern Conference bumpkin—what do you know? You think he’s just a shooter?"

Marion knew Zack’s shooting was the tamest part of his arsenal.

Back in the regular season, Zack proved that even with the Zack Rulebook giving defenders a boost, he could still dominate.

For the Mavs to win this series, they’d need to match the Warriors’ offensive firepower.

But Jason Terry and an aging Jason Kidd turned into undercover agents for two straight games.

"SHIT!" Terry, who shot 2-for-13 from three over the first two games, blamed Oracle’s lights. "Why’s this arena so damn bright? I couldn’t focus!"

Kidd nodded: "The fans here are lunatics. Their noise messed me up."

Do lights and crowd noise really throw off pros like Terry and Kidd that much?

Dirk didn’t know.

But with his teammates tossing excuses, Dirk, the Mavs’ alpha, took the blame after their 112-125 Game 2 loss: "I didn’t play well these two games. Back in Dallas, I’ll step it up."

For the record, Dirk dropped 34 and 33 points in the first two games.

After Game 2, Zack—46 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal—said in his interview: "Dirk’s too humble. He should walk out of Oracle with his head high."

In an era where stars are all about branding, Dirk’s a lone wolf.

Even now, he’s never hired an agent, negotiating all his contracts himself. Outside his Mavs salary, he’s got fewer than ten endorsements. The greatest German hooper ever doesn’t even have a signature shoe—just his name slapped on a classic sneaker’s tongue.

Yet this small-town kid from Würzburg, Germany, earned Zack’s deepest respect.

"If my teammates were as useless as Dirk’s, I’d have management ship them to Minnesota," Zack said postgame, sticking up for Dirk. "I’m not saying his guys held him back, but in my book, Dirk didn’t lose to us these first two games."

Zack’s defense of Dirk left Terry and Kidd red-faced.

But on the court, isn’t respect earned through performance?

Two days later, Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals shifted to Dallas’ American Airlines Center.

Right out the gate, Nash, back on his old stomping grounds, drained two pick-and-roll threes from the top of the key.

"Shawn, I can’t keep chasing that guy around screens!" Kidd griped to Marion. "You gotta help me slow Steve down—delay him, got it?"

"FUCK!" Marion shot back. "I’ll delay him, but who’s helping me with that guy?"

After a full season of chemistry, the "Zack-Nash pick-and-roll" was a whole new beast.

Especially against Dallas.

Nash’s aggressive scoring amplified its power.

Truth is, Zack’s always meshed better with scoring guards than traditional playmakers. When his backcourt has some bite, it maximizes his gravitational pull.

Amid Kidd and Marion’s bickering, the night’s big winner? Kwame Brown.

"FUCK!" Marion told Ian Mahinmi. "When I’m out helping that old man Kidd, you gotta cover for me in the paint, got it?"

Mahinmi, not daring to talk back, nodded furiously.

But with Mahinmi forced to stretch his defense, the sneaky Brown feasted on easy looks at the rim.

Zack, drawing Mahinmi’s help defense, dished out five first-quarter assists to Brown.

Brown was eating.

"I’m a freakin’ war god!" Brown, slamming home dunk after dunk, boasted. "Achilles is a chump next to me!"

Zack, cracking up, egged him on: "You know Brad Pitt played Achilles in Troy, right?"

Brown nodded.

"In my book, they should’ve cast you as Achilles," Zack said. "Brad Pitt’s got nothing on your looks."

Brown beamed: "I know you’re spitting facts, but I’m Black—how’s a Black guy gonna play Achilles?"

Zack shook his head: "Why should your skin color stop you? That’s straight-up discrimination! It’s a movie—can’t they tweak it a bit? Hell, I’d play Napoleon if I got the chance!"

No doubt, if Brown ever runs for president, it’ll be because of the confidence Zack’s pumping into him.

At American Airlines Center, the game rolled on.

While Dirk rested, Terry, desperate to prove he wasn’t trash, scored seven quick points for Dallas.

"SHIT!" Terry taunted, passing the Warriors’ bench with a finger-gun gesture. "See this gun? I’m a killer—when I want to shoot, I shoot!"

Terry just wanted to jab at Zack.

Zack was ready to fire back.

But in the NBA, finger-gun gestures are a no-no.

So, Terry earned himself a technical foul.

"SHIT!" Terry fumed. "If you’re gonna call it like that, the NBA’s gonna be full of choirboys!"

Zack agreed with Terry’s take.

In the future, the NBA does feel like it’s trending toward more "good boys" and fewer characters.

Still, Zack had to tip his cap to the refs for the fair call.

After the tech, Terry’s hot start fizzled, and he fell into a brick-fest.

Meanwhile, Curry, finding his rhythm off the free throw from the tech, nailed two tough catch-and-shoot drifting threes.

On most teams, Curry’s wild shot choices would be banned.

But with the Warriors, already unhinged thanks to Zack, his shot selection gets a pass. Per Zack and Malone: as long as Curry’s threes aren’t getting blocked, he can shoot however he wants past halfcourt.

Maybe this Curry doesn’t get the minutes he did in Zack’s memory.

But with unlimited green light in his limited time, this baby-faced assassin is growing fast.

In the second quarter, Zack and Dirk took over with their signature moves.

Dirk, red-hot for three straight games, felt like a German tank storming through the Ardennes—unstoppable.

And Zack?

Against Marion’s desperate defense and Dallas’ stretched-out perimeter to counter the Warriors’ sharpshooting, Zack was like a mythical stealth jet, soaring over their lines and owning the airspace.

At his peak, Marion’s athleticism might’ve given him a shot. But now, older and slower, even with the Zack Rulebook helping, the Matrix was getting cooked.

Halftime: 67-61, Warriors.

Staring at the scoreboard, Marion groaned, "Damn it! If Dirk’s dropping 24 at the half and we’re still down, we might get swept."

In the locker room, the Mavs knew they’d pushed their limits in the first half.

But from the first two games, they also knew the Warriors were nowhere near theirs.

"It’s Jason’s fault!" Marion, glaring at Kidd, vented. "Their point guard spot is their biggest defensive weakness, but our lead guard can’t punish them!"

Kidd fired back: "Shut up! I’m a traditional point guard. You know what that means?"

Woodson stepped in, halting yet another recurring Mavs drama.

Unlike the disciplined, tight-lipped Mavs under Avery Johnson, Woodson’s squad was full of energy.

To him, players arguing wasn’t all bad—it showed they cared.

But Marion’s complaints gave Woodson a wake-up call.

"We need upgrades to beat this Warriors team," he realized.

During Zack’s injury, the Warriors rebuilt a championship-caliber roster. To compete, Dallas needs a more athletic, rim-protecting center and a point guard who can exploit Golden State’s backcourt.

As for this series? 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Looking at his team, still fired up despite the deficit, Woodson knew his focus wasn’t just beating the Warriors—it was avoiding a sweep.

Game 3 final: 126-111.

Warriors take a 3-0 series lead.

When the Warriors got serious, their era-defining offensive firepower stunned every fan watching.

"The Warriors carried their regular-season dominance into the playoffs," Charles Barkley said on TNT. "This team, with the game’s greatest player, is ready to reclaim the throne this season."

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