The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 181
The Nuggets let go of Iguodala in the summer, and Gallinari was reimbursed due to injury.

However, they are not fish bellies that anyone can bully, and the Heat dare not be careless.

At the beginning of the game, James controlled the rhythm of the game.

Faried may not be behind in terms of physical fitness, but his grasp of rhythm is simply incomparable with James.

Defending James, he seemed a bit reluctant.

Zhang Xiaotian faced the opponent's weakest link, the fake starter Jordan Hamilton.

This player is still so-so on offense, but his defense is not very good. He has received consecutive passes from James and Wade.

The Nuggets can only adjust, replacing Randy Foye, who joined in the summer, and letting Wilson Chandler play the third position.

This is their strongest lineup. After the substitution, the Nuggets' offense slowly came out.

It's not about the newcomer Randy Foye, but because the team's perimeter core, Ty Lawson, has just won a contract of tens of millions in the summer.

The Heat's weak No. [-] position usually kneels when they meet a stronger point guard.

This kind of kneeling is all-round, including both offensive and defensive ends. Bosh inside is one of the giants, and most of the time he only kneels and defends when he encounters a strong enemy.

It's really hard to say whether the weakest link of the Heat is the first position or the inside line.

When the rotation players came on the field in the second half of the first quarter, James and Ty Lawson began to soar.

With the efficiency of the bench lineup, both of them are good. In the end, Ty Lawson hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to help the Nuggets overtake the score. In the first stage, they played better than James.

When it was Wade's turn to lead the team, the Heat felt a little difficult.

It's not Wade's problem, but at this time, the Heat's inside problem is even bigger.

The Nuggets started with Faried and JJ Hickson to protect the rebounds, and the big man J Timofey Mozgov was on the bench, which made the Heat very embarrassed.

Missed a rebound and the score went awry.

Coupled with the fact that the Nuggets took the lead in replacing Faried, this situation is even more obvious.

When James didn't come up, Faried scored consecutively in the paint.

His inside speed is fast and explosive, and it's not that James is really difficult to guard against.

Seeing that the score tended to widen, Spoelstra also gave up his plan to let James rest for a while.

Fans may find it strange, because the Heat need James to stay on the court not for offense, but for defense and rebounding inside.

James' offensive ability may not be the best, but his versatility is what coaches like.

If there are problems on the offensive and defensive ends, he can be used. Perhaps he is the best coached All-Star player, but he is also a player that is difficult for the coach to play.

But after James came on the field, what he exposed in the first start was his own weakness. He missed two outside shots, which instead allowed the Nuggets to seize the opportunity to open the score.

Although he made adjustments right away, the offense became dominated by breakthroughs, but the team was still behind in score. At the end of the first half, the Nuggets hit another three-pointer, and the Heat fell behind by 9 points when they entered the intermission. .

This is something they didn't expect before. Perhaps the Nuggets' rebounding level is better than theirs, but the Heat's strength is obviously several grades better.

If it is marked like this, there must be a problem in execution.

The halftime break is used to solve problems, and the Heat's first problem to solve is rebounding.

The Nuggets rely mostly on athleticism for rebounding, not big centers here.

The Heat should not be afraid of this approach, but in the first half not only Bosh failed to grab rebounds, but even James failed to protect the rebounds, which is obviously abnormal.

Zhang Xiaotian was also criticized. The Heat's rebounding slogan is that everyone works hard, which tastes like chicken soup, but in terms of the state of the team, there is no way.

The Heat are a group of experienced players, and they adjusted pretty quickly.

Going up, Bosh hit a mid-range shot, but unexpectedly, Wade and the opponent felt uncomfortable and left the field early.

The Heat did not sink, but instead aroused enthusiasm.

It was rare for Zhang Xiaotian not to shoot directly after receiving the pass this time. He played much easier in the first three quarters than in the last quarter.

After making a fake shot, he rushed in directly. After the two sides had physical contact, they immediately squeezed hard, and raised their arms and started at the same time.

The not-so-handsome European step is mainly to create fouls. This is what he learned from Ginobili, and he didn't learn the essence, but this one in front of the opponent is enough.

And physical confrontation is what he is best at.

The referee's whistle sounded, and Zhang Xiaotian made two free throws.

Then he added physical contact in the defense, which annoyed the opponent, and when he was defending him on the offensive end again, there were mistakes again.

The Nuggets had to make another substitution, and Zhang Xiaotian's sudden strength made their false starters play too little time.

Just facing Wilson Chandler, Zhang Xiaotian has no way to be so strong, this guy is also a ruthless character, what he has to do is to entangle the opponent and limit the threat on the offensive end.

Wade's end has some impact on the Heat, but it has little impact if the opponent is the Nuggets.

The Nuggets' inside line is even more unconventional than the Heat's. They have excellent physical fitness and can grab, but they can't do it sitting at the basket.

If James hits inside, they won't be able to hold back. In this way, it really doesn't make much difference whether it's Ray Allen or Wade on the outside, but James will be more tired.

But with Zhang Xiaotian around, there is no need for James to carry it alone.

The value of Zhang Xiaotian becomes more apparent at critical moments, and the Heat definitely made a profit.

In the third quarter, the Heat recovered 4 points, and the score between the two sides was 72:77.

And Wade is not there, Zhang Xiaotian must have gone up to bring a substitute at the beginning of the last quarter, and buy James a few minutes to rest.

Nuggets coach Brian Shaw deliberately left a few main players on the court, wanting to take advantage of James' rest to expand the lead and ensure victory to end the losing streak.

Wilson Chandler was also aggressive, as if he was singled out against Zhang Xiaotian.

Their ideas are good, but Zhang Xiaotian will never agree.

James is resting below, so he has the final say on the court.

Wilson Chandler accelerated, and his body was pulled up while he was still moving. He didn't pay attention to Zhang Xiaotian's defense at all.

But immediately he realized his mistake, his acceleration did not get rid of Zhang Xiaotian at all.

A long arm stretched over, and Wilson Chandler's two-point shot suddenly hit the iron.

The Heat received the rebound and launched a counterattack. Zhang Xiaotian was in front of the basket and stepped in from the three-point line to receive a pass from his teammate.

He didn't even stop, and just took advantage of the trend to wipe it in. Before the Nuggets could react, the basketball had already been smashed into the basket by him.

(End of this chapter)