The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 283
Zhang Xiaotian has created miracles more than once, so he is very good at preventing his opponents from creating miracles.

At 1 minute and 32 seconds, he hit a three-pointer again, raising his personal score to 25 points, helping the team extend the lead to 14 points, and the game has no suspense.

The winning streak continues, the Thunder is not the top eight in the East, but this victory is full of finesse.

After this game, the league has announced the players participating in the All-Star competitions. Cavalier Irving was selected as a substitute for the main game. At the same time, he will also participate in the three-point contest, but Love was not selected.

Maybe it's because the Cavaliers have a problem with their losing streak, maybe they already have three players selected, anyway, Love is a little unhappy.

He was an All-Star starter last season, but he couldn't even get a substitute when he came to the Cavaliers.

Although Zhang Xiaotian and other teammates expressed that he should be selected, this kind of thing cannot be changed.

The next day against the Pistons, Love was a bit listless, but Zhang Xiaotian and other three selected players were in very good condition. When the team's inside line was blown out, the opponent's outside defense was useless.

With this victory, the Cavaliers returned to the top four in the Eastern Conference.

Although the outside world is picky and picky about the Cavaliers, but the core of the three teams is gathered together, plus Zhang Xiaotian is such a ruthless character, no one dares to underestimate it.

Now their lineup is more complete, and many teams are becoming more alert.

On January 1, the Cavaliers played back-to-back again, and the arrangement of the field really had more back-to-backs.

The Blazers' current record is slightly better than that of the Cavaliers, and they are regarded as the second-tier strong team in the West.

Their main lineup has no problem with offense and defense, but there are no surprise players on the bench.

However, James had a truce this time, because the team was in a hurry. James came back a little earlier than planned. For safety reasons, the team also arranged for him to take turns.

Zhang Xiaotian was assigned to the third position in this game, and JR Smith was put on the starting lineup.

Now the Cavaliers' rotation has as many as nine people. In addition to the three new aids, Dellavedova has gradually gained the trust of the head coach. If James does not play, there will be no shortage of manpower.

In this game, Zhang Xiaotian has no problem playing the second and third positions. Both Batum and Matthews are good single-defense players, but with their style, Zhang Xiaotian is not afraid and will not let the opponent take advantage.

James didn't play, and the ball was in Irving's hands again. He and Lillard were all kinds of heads-ups.

Both of them are strong offensive and defensive types, and the others are basically unable to intervene.

During this period of time, the fans of the two were complaining, Lillard was particularly wronged, because he lost the All-Star selection, Irving was just generally wronged, and did not make the All-Star starter.

Now that they are together, Owen is the first to show up.

To be honest, Irving's offensive methods are still slightly richer, and Lillard mainly likes various shots.

Under Irving's restraint, Zhang Xiaotian, Love and JR Smith all hit three-pointers, but their combined shots were not as good as Irving's. As for Mozgov, it was difficult to catch the ball.

But Owen played Lillard very well this time, scoring in double figures in a single quarter to help the team hold the lead.

Lillard is more iron, but Aldridge played very smoothly.

Love's defense is still a little gentler. For a projection-type power forward like Aldridge, it must be consumed by various high-intensity physical confrontations.

JR Smith mentioned starting, the Cavaliers' bench has little attack power, but fortunately, the Trail Blazers' bench is also a virtue.

In the second quarter, Irving was still coquettish, Lillard was still playing iron, and Aldridge was very stable, but Love failed to get three-pointers several times, and Irving later didn't bother to pass the ball like that.

Relying on Irving's six three-point performance in the half, the Cavaliers led the opponent by 10 points in the half.

James played so smoothly when he wasn't on the court, and Irving was very comfortable, smiling at halftime.

Except for Aldridge's defense, the Cavaliers were already very good in the first half.

However, with Aldridge's style, flanking is not very convenient. As long as the rest of the Blazers are restrained, it is actually no problem for Aldridge to score more points.

Players like Irving are actually not very easy to defend. The Blazers should make changes in the second half. Irving just needs to be mentally prepared. The team as a whole still focuses on improving defensive strength.

In the third quarter, the Blazers were different from expectations. They did not take special measures against Irving, but tried their best to prevent him from connecting the Cavaliers players in series.

In fact, there is no need for this, Owen is not an organizational type.

However, Lillard was less turbulent in the second half and passed the ball a lot more decisively, which increased his shooting percentage anyway.

With Lillard's support, Aldridge played even more easily.

Love still has no touch, and defending Aldridge is completely out of the question.

JR Smith was also helpless on the outside, but fortunately, Irving still felt hot and scored in double figures in a single quarter.

But the Blazers cooperated, and Irving still sang a one-man show, and the score gap has been narrowed. Fortunately, they still retained a 5-point lead when they entered the final quarter.

When Zhang Xiaotian was in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, Matthews, who was in charge of marking him, did not end.

Although the opponent was very careful, he still misjudged Zhang Xiaotian's strength.

There are only two contests between the Eastern and Western teams each season. Even if the Blazers have studied Zhang Xiaotian's characteristics, the specific situation will not be very clear.

The defense in the first three quarters has already given the players a kind of inertia.

So many times it is not that the opponent does not pay attention, but is deceived by the body memory.

Matthews was ready to deal with Zhang Xiaotian's breakthrough, but Zhang Xiaotian pulled it up directly.

Hit a three-pointer, everyone in the Blazers felt nervous, no way, another one is going crazy.

Irving's previous performance was really crazy. He has hit nine three-pointers in front of him. Even if Irving goes down to rest now, the Blazers players still have a feeling of trepidation about the three-pointers.

At this time, the Blazers were led by Aldridge, and there were three substitutes in the team. The outside attack power was not that strong, so the Cavaliers did not hesitate to flank.

The choice of this flanking attack was very correct, and the Blazers' offense was immediately affected. Although the outside line also hit two goals, Aldridge didn't score a single point in more than three minutes, and the Cavaliers took the opportunity to expand their lead again.

The Blazers can only switch back to the main force, and the Cavaliers are the same.

Although Irving's outside shooting percentage has dropped slightly, he is still accurate than Lillard.

The rest of the Cavaliers are not allowed, and it has something to do with not having a chance to make a phone call. Irving will shoot the ball nine times out of ten, anyway, Lillard's defense is like that.

However, Zhang Xiaotian had gained the trust of all his teammates in the final quarter, and he still got a few chances, which was enough for him to help the team firmly suppress the opponent.

(End of this chapter)