This striker is a bit of a monster

Chapter 186 Fighting with the 'Beast'

This season, he averaged 27.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.7 blocks per game in the regular season, ranking fifth in the MVP rankings. This is LeBron James in the 5-06 season. After finishing his first rookie contract, LeBron James Entering his first peak period, with the data blowout of LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers also ushered in a splendid golden age.

There is only one person who has the sense of sight of chicken and dog ascending to heaven.

They swept the Washington Wizards without Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas 4-0 in the first round.

四场比赛，勒布朗.詹姆斯的数据进一步提升：27.8分8.5篮板7.5助攻1.8抢断0.8盖帽。

They have been waiting for the team to challenge in the Eastern Conference semifinals early.

On the night when the opponent was determined, the fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers began to cheer.

'Eastern finals are stable'.

Before the Eastern Conference finals, they successfully avoided the bitter Detroit Pistons, and they also selected the team that may be the best player in the second round.

The Charlotte Bobcats, a rookie team that has just entered the league for three years, are either recruits or basic-salary veterans that other teams don't want. It's really amazing that they can get to this point.

Interestingly, the Detroit Pistons, No. 4 in the East, were swept by the Charlotte Bobcats 0-2, while the Cleveland Cavaliers had a record of 2 wins and [-] losses against the Charlotte Bobcats.

Early on, the Charlotte Bobcats had giant-killer potential.

But that's in the regular season, and regular-season numbers won't mean much going into the more competitive playoffs.

The Charlotte Bobcats were in for a night of revelry, and the Cleveland Cavaliers were, too.

There is an essential difference between the two opponents. Being able to enter the playoffs and even win the next round of the series is an unprecedented success for the Charlotte Bobcats, while the Cleveland Cavaliers have been fighting hard all these years, and they have already reached the finals. The idea of ​​the O'Brien Cup.

Although the Bobcats beat the more powerful Raptors on paper, they lost the core member of the team, Gerald Wallace, in this round of the series.

He was a key factor in the Charlotte Bobcats' two regular-season wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

LeBron James averaged 23.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.7 assists in four games against the Charlotte Bobcats, but he only shot 37% from the field.

Except for rebounds, all statistics have declined to a certain extent.

So after the Bobcats lost Gerald Wallace, the problem that must be faced is how to defend James and who to use to defend James.

Except for Gerald Wallace, the best performer against the Cleveland Cavaliers was Zhou Lin, who played 3 games and averaged 18.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

But more often, Zhou Lin is playing against Drew Gooden, not LeBron James.

Therefore, compared to the Detroit Pistons, who are about to smack against the Chicago Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers will undoubtedly get the top pick.

But who doesn't want to create miracles.

……

On May 5, U.S. time, in his apartment, Zhou Lin once again witnessed the Houston Rockets losing to the Utah Jazz in the tiebreaker through TV screens. Sha, Zhou Lin called Yao Ming after the game, and Yao Ming told Zhou Lin to play hard. Playoff experience is a precious asset.

Compared with Yao Ming, Zhou Lin is undoubtedly lucky. He was able to reach the playoffs in his rookie season and was lucky to break into the second round.

The pattern of the alliance is weak in the east and strong in the west.

The Charlotte Bobcats almost chose the Toronto Raptors, the weakest opponent in the first half, in the East, so they have a chance to enter the second round.

After the Houston Rockets were eliminated, almost all domestic fans focused their attention on Zhou Lin and the Charlotte Bobcats.

Despite the aggressiveness of the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James gradually revealed his dominance.

……

On the evening of May 5, the Charlotte Bobcats went to the Quicken Loans Center to challenge the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Second game without Gerald Wallace and away.

Under the swaying chalk powder all over the sky, LeBron James almost gathered the eyes of all the media and fans.

He patted his chest, facing the spotlight, his eyes were deep and extremely domineering.

Zhou Lin watched this scene from a distance, and the pressure doubled, because tonight, he was going to face off against LeBron James.

For the Charlotte Bobcats, Raymond Felton, Matt Carroll, Zhou Lin, Emeka Okafor, and Primoz Brezek were lined up.

The Cleveland Cavaliers starting five are: Larry Hughes, LeBron James, Sasha Pavlovich, Drew Gooden, Zdrunas Ilgauskas.

Judging from his height, Larry Hughes plays the No. [-] position. In fact, LeBron James will become the absolute ball-handler and linker of this lineup. The Cavaliers really don't have a good core guard.

Veteran Eric Snow, who is getting older and has poor scoring ability, and even the defense that survives is gradually declining, was deprived of the starting qualification in the middle of the season.

As for Daniel Gibson and Damon Jones, they are both the height of the No. [-] position, but in fact they can barely play the No. [-] position, and their effectiveness is only a little, basically three-point shooting.

And rookie Shannon Brown.

They also found David Wesley, an experienced guard who played in Houston, but it turned out that the 37-year-old was even more useless, and he was not even eligible to play in the playoffs.

Therefore, James is actually the point guard in this lineup.

"Do everything!"

That's all the underdog Charlotte Bobcats can do.

In the opening stage, two big men from Europe stood in the middle circle to jump the ball. Blazekpin tried his best and passed the ball to Okafor.

Then Raymond Felton had the ball into half court.

Facing Larry Hughes' defense, Raymond Felton, who was the shortest but fastest, caught him by surprise, made an extremely fast breakthrough into the penalty area, and first scored with a throw.

The opponent doesn't have a good point guard, which is one of the few things the Charlotte Bobcats can take advantage of.

Today's Raymond Felton is not like when he played against the Raptors in the last round. He couldn't compete with TJ Ford in speed and Calderon in organizational ability, so he was very hesitant to hold the ball.

But today, he is extremely confident, or decisive.

Larry Hughes dribbled the ball for half the time, and directly handed it to LeBron James. Larry Hughes, who used to speak badly and wanted to compete with James for the boss, has completely become the second master this season. The idea of ​​competing with LeBron James for power.

LeBron James accelerated rapidly, and Zhou Lin felt as if his body was hit by a truck, and then he saw that the black whirlwind LeBron James had shaken off himself and headed towards the inside.

The high-tower combination of Okafor and Brezek still prevented LeBron James from attacking to a certain extent, but he had quick eyesight and quick hands, and directly distributed the ball to Sasha Pavlovich on the outside. The defender of Montenegro, a small European country, can shoot with open hand.

The ball entered from the basket and into the net without sloppy at all.

This season, Pavlovic made 40.5% of his three-pointers and is one of James' most trusted players on the wing. Among the Cavaliers who use three-pointers as a regular scoring method, his shooting rate is second only to Daniel's 42%. gibson.

The horror of LeBron James is that he can pass the ball and is willing to pass the ball. He does not need to pass the ball too gorgeously because his hardware is so good. As long as he rushes up and starts scoring, he will definitely Cause double-team or help defense, and in this case, as soon as he passes the ball, there is likely to be a player in the open position.

And this is why James' original draft template was Magic Johnson.

Outside the three-point line, Zhou Lin holds the ball, and a sharp pass like a scalpel guides Raymond Felton's quick side cut to the basket for a throw and then scores.

Facing a player who was about the same height as him, faster than him, but several grades stronger than him, Zhou Lin did not choose to shoot randomly and break through easily, but wanted to assist his teammates more.

Raymond Felton was the teammate who benefited the most in this quarter.

Facts have proved that the Charlotte Bobcats are not defeated!
Facing LeBron James in the playoffs, Zhou Lin was not nervous or too impulsive, but hoped to use his overall strength to fight against the mighty 'Little Emperor'.

That's the only way the Charlotte Bobcats can win.

On the defensive end, Zhou Lin tried his best to defend, but James scored 7 points and 3 assists in the first quarter.

周林自己则是2中1砍下2分2助攻2篮板。

Raymond Felton was completely alive, scoring 8 points in a single quarter, and Emeka Okafor had 5 points and 3 rebounds.

In the first quarter, the Bobcats also led by 28 point 27-1.

Brandon Roy led the second team. In the early part of the second quarter, he also showed strong competitiveness. The opponent's back line was supplemented by Daniel Gibson and Damon Jones. Brandon Roy . Roy almost blows up.

Zhou Lin came back to Brandon Roy in the middle of the second quarter, and even hit a 12-3 spurt in the middle of the second quarter.

The return of LeBron James immediately made the Cleveland Cavaliers go forward again. LeBron James scored 7 points in the first quarter, but it was just a small test. After the second quarter, Zhou Lin began to taste The taste of James who is attacking with all his strength.

Zhou Lin felt as if he was fighting a monster, an alien creature.

Although Zhou Lin has challenged LeBron James countless times in his own space, after all, he only needs to attack, not defend.

There are several types of players in the NBA that you know are going to attack in singles, but you can't guard against them.

The first is the speed of AI, which changes almost like lightning. Even if you predict it, you can't stop it.

The second is Kobe's skills. Kobe can be said to be a player who combines various skills, even more kaleidoscope than offensive kaleidoscope.

The third is the combination of James' speed, strength and agility. With a physical talent beyond almost all players in the league, he is like a model of a perfect basketball player made by God.

There was almost no round where Zhou Lin had the upper hand. Only then could Zhou Lin feel the greatness of Gerald Wallace. He was able to limit the shooting percentage of this beast to less than 30% in several games. There aren't many players on par with him.

However, Zhou Lin is not without a little bright spot. At the end of the second quarter, Zhou Lin fearlessly blocked LeBron James with his body to stop LeBron James' fast break buckle.

Fortunately, Zhou Lin is almost two meters tall in shoes, and he is a guard of about 1.9 meters.

It is estimated that LeBron James directly stepped over the hurdle to dunk.

With a bang, Zhou Lin fell down firmly, with a salty taste in his mouth.

James was called for an offensive foul.

However, this is also the only bright spot. In the second quarter, James scored 11 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists again, leading the team to an offensive climax.

Zhou Lin has never defended the opponent's superstar like this before. Zhou Lin's defensive rating is also A in the system, which is almost at the level of the middle and upper reaches of the league. But if he wants to defend this beast, otherwise he must evolve into a beast.

At the end of the half, the Cleveland Cavaliers ended with a 54-57 lead by 7 points.

During the halftime break, Zhou Lin had never felt so tired before.

"are you OK!"

Brandon Roy looked at Zhou Lin and said.

"Alive." Zhou Lin smiled wryly.

Zhou Lin really understands the gap between himself and the real league super giants. Although all his statistics have reached A-level or above, and even his shooting ability has reached S-level, he can score points with all his strength. 20+, but the shortcomings still exist, and it is still impossible to fight a real tough battle.

"Should I change someone to defend James?"

Why didn't Bernie Bickerstaff know that it would be difficult for Zhou Lin to defend LeBron James, but is there any player in the current team who is more suitable for defending James than Zhou Lin?

Zhou Lin shook his head and said: "I don't need it now, being able to fight against him is also a kind of growth for me."

In the third quarter, James restrained a little, but Larry Hughes shot wildly outside again.

When his teammates feel good, James still trusts his teammates.

At the end of the third quarter, LeBron James had 11 assists and another 19 points.

The Cavaliers also opened the score to 15 points at the end of the third quarter, 83-68.

Seeing that the game was about to go to the direction of garbage time, Zhou Lin finally started to fire from the outside. After tasting the matchup with James, it seemed that Zhou Lin felt much more relaxed when he played against other players.

In the first 2 minutes of the third quarter, Zhou Lin's two three-pointers and Brandon Roy's 5 points directly narrowed the score to only 6 points. James couldn't sit still and appeared again.

LeBron James broke through Zhou Lin twice, but it was not so easy. Zhou Lin was tired, and James would be tired too. Okafor stretched his arms and gave LeBron James a big cap.

However, the score was not narrowed again. With Daniel Gibson's two consecutive three-pointers, the Bobcats' chance of reversal was completely gone.

At the final whistle, the Bobcats lost to the Cavaliers 95-108 on the road.

勒布朗.詹姆斯19中11，砍下34分13助攻的豪华两双，拉里.休斯和大Z分别有21分6篮板以及17分15篮板的数据。

山猫队这边，雷蒙德.菲尔顿季后赛新高得到22分5助攻，奥卡福9分8篮板2盖帽，周林7中4砍下了12分7助攻，布兰登.罗伊15分3助攻。

(End of this chapter)