The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 253 Young Sir
James didn't like Waiters' attitude, and it also affected the team's formation.

In this game, the Cavaliers would rather let veteran Mike Miller play more than give Waiters many opportunities.

Waiters was even more depressed, he was so powerful, why did everyone attack him, the young man almost felt that the world was wrong.

But without one thing to add to the chaos, James and Irving feel much better.

They're both All-Star players who need the ball in their hands, and they're better off without Waiters. The only problem is that they both need to play more minutes to bring in the bench.

But the Jazz also played well, Hayward had a comprehensive offense and defense, and the second-year student Gobert also sent consecutive blocks when he came up.

A big man with a good defense inside is a problem for the Cavaliers, because both Irving and James are players who like to break through. Fortunately, Irving can also shoot from the outside, which is better than Wade.

If the Heat encountered this situation last season, they must be in the shooter lineup, but the Cavaliers are the main players and can handle it.

Zhang Xiaotian also showed some performance, but he was also affected by the lack of clarity on the team's possession of the ball.

Irving and James have done too much alone. Irving doesn't pass the ball very much when he is playing the first position.

In this case, James also reduced the number of passes, and actually fell behind by 11 points in the first half.

During the half-time break, David Blatt also got angry. Is it going to lose in a row? Players can be willful. As a coach, he is under a lot of pressure.

There were also problems with the good rebounds in the previous few games. David Blatt didn't want to be taken as a scapegoat just after he landed in the NBA.

In this case, an honest player like Zhang Xiaotian makes people feel different.

Although his style of play is not the sharing of the ball that David Blatt likes, it is much better than not listening to commands.

Seeing that the losing streak is about to happen, James doesn't want to be angry with the junior.

Those young players in the Cavaliers are already used to losing. He is a figure at the level of a big brother in the league. He will be under pressure when he returns to the Cavaliers this time. If he loses again, he will be laughed to death.

As a person with good face, how could such a situation happen to James.

He said hello to Zhang Xiaotian, he must play well in the second half, if Zhang Xiaotian has a touch, he will definitely pass the ball.

Then he went to coax Irving. Unlike Waiters, Irving is a player that the Cavaliers focus on training, and he is also the number one. It is a bit difficult not to cooperate.

In the second half, James began to change, and the Cavaliers' situation improved a lot.

The most important thing is the change of defense. The Jazz have a group of young players who are talented, but they are not brought by the old players. It is normal for the offensive end to have ups and downs when encountering blocking.

In addition, the problem of rebounding has been solved. It is not that the Cavaliers have no rebounds. In the first half, everyone played singles, and the inside players were not motivated to play.

With these two points resolved, the Cavaliers showed their strength and suppressed the Jazz.

In the second half of the third quarter, the 11-point gap was recovered.

But at this time, it's time for the rotation again. The main lineup has recovered its form, but the substitute players are still the same, which makes people unable to surprise.

The Jazz have made some achievements in the interior, and both Gobert and Trevor Booker scored points.

The point is that rebounding has become a problem again, and they didn't expect that the Jazz would be a substitute for the inside, and the young player Gobert could snatch it so well, and the pair of long arms protecting the inside made it difficult for the Cavaliers.

At the end of the third quarter, the Cavaliers fell behind again, but not as badly as at halftime.

At the beginning of the final quarter, this time David Blatter did not hesitate, and directly replaced Zhang Xiaotian.

Regarding the use of Zhang Xiaotian, James obviously also talked with the head coach.

His current opponent is this year's No. [-] pick, Dante Essam. The young man looks good, but in the draft, a high pick doesn't mean much. A rookie who has just entered the league is a bit tough to be Zhang Xiaotian's opponent.

Zhang Xiaotian played the second position, just like James played the third position, and his body definitely had an advantage.

After he went up, he welcomed the rookie without hesitation, and hit the opponent twice in a row.

The score that the Cavaliers fell behind was also quickly chased back because of his performance.

Unable to prevent Zhang Xiaotian, the Jazz had to replace Alec Burks in advance.

Burks is no match for Zhang Xiaotian, but the Jazz can't do anything about it. They simply don't have the right players to guard Zhang Xiaotian. Unless Hayward plays, it's still important to guard James.

In addition, they felt that Burks' performance before was acceptable, at least there would be no problems with his footwork.

It's just that they don't know that Zhang Xiaotian in the last quarter is different.

The league knows that Zhang Xiaotian is a player with a big heart, but it is not always clear when he is not matched.

When the defensive line fell continuously, they were about to pinch Zhang Xiaotian. At this time, Irving succeeded in two consecutive singles, and the Jazz quickly requested a timeout.

After the timeout, all the Jazz's main players returned, except Burks.

They really used Hayward to target Zhang Xiaotian. On James' side, Trevor Booker, a substitute striker, became the main defense.

After the defensive player was replaced by Hayward, Zhang Xiaotian couldn't play so casually.

However, the Cavaliers also changed all the main players, and Zhang Xiaotian did not have such a big responsibility on the offensive end.

The Jazz let Hayward play the second position, and Zhang Xiaotian also took over the defensive task by the way.

Hayward can become a core player because of his comprehensiveness and both offense and defense. In terms of offensive performance alone, he should not be as good as Paul George.

Zhang Xiaotian and Paul George have all marked, and he has no problem dealing with Hayward.

And the Jazz's No. [-] Trey Burke is not tall enough, and Irving, who can shoot, is very happy.

It's just that Irving is much worse than Wade on the defensive end, and he will also be scored by the opponent while attacking.

But halfway through the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers still overtook the score.

Just when many people thought that the Cavaliers gradually took the initiative, the situation changed again.

The Cavaliers lost consecutive backcourt rebounds, and Kanter scored consecutively inside, helping the Jazz gain the initiative.

After requesting a timeout, David Blatt didn't know what to say.

However, the team still changed after the timeout, that is, James grabbed Irving's job and started to organize.

Irving still had no assists in the second half, and James could only use tough methods.

James still had two halves of the brush, and he scored when he got the ball.

On the Jazz's side, the inside line continued to show off, and this time it was Derek Favors' turn.

At 1 minute and 53 seconds, Zhang Xiaotian hit a three-pointer, and the two teams tied at 94:94.

But then Hayward also hit a mid-range shot, and the intensity of the game was suffocating.

This is competitive sports. Regardless of the strength of the team or the number of stars, everyone must fight to the end.

(End of this chapter)