The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 307 Crisis
The Spurs were eliminated in the first round, and Zhang Xiaotian also sighed.

Danny Green, who was clamoring to meet in the final a few days ago, was also silent. Zhang Xiaotian originally wanted to comfort Leonard, but in the end he decided to forget it. That kid was one step ahead of him and became the core of the team.

If there is time to make an appointment to go to training together for a few days, Leonard is too boring except for basketball.

The Hawks' game ended quickly, but they were the first to start the second round.

The arrangement of the league is a little confusing. Of course, the Wizards who have taken advantage of it are the Wizards who have been resting for a long time.

The Eagles were very efficient in the first half, but they were guarded by the Wizards in the second half. The Wizards took the initiative to withdraw an insider and use Otto Porter to play the first and fourth juniors. This is the key to the reversal.

But the most important thing is Wall. In the last few minutes, Wall controlled the audience. All the Wizards scored were related to him. The Hawks just lacked such a player.

The first to appear in the second round of the Western Conference is the Warriors and Grizzlies. Unfortunately, Conley will still not play this time.

Without Conley, the Grizzlies' outside firepower is really not good, but the Warriors are not the Blazers. They defend better and attack better, and they are fully blooming to defeat the Grizzlies.

The black and white bears still dominate the inside, but they can't help the team win.

On May 5, the second round of the Cavaliers playoffs finally started.

For the Cavaliers, the Bulls are one of the last opponents they want to meet, especially after Love is injured.

The Bulls' individual defense and team defense are very good, and they are very experienced in restricting James.

With Rose, they will not suffer at the No. [-] position.

The only thing that is better is Zhang Xiaotian. On the forward and defensive lines, they lack the No.2 single-defense master except Jimmy Butler.

In addition, the overall rhythm of the Bulls is slow, and the Cavaliers can use this to make a fuss.

Now that the Cavaliers only have two insiders left, some adjustments must be made in the starting lineup.

After discussing with the coaching staff, they decided to play a junior and a junior, but JR Smith was suspended by the league for two games and the team is short of players, so they can only try Mike Miller.

Why do you say try, because Mike Miller has found it difficult for him to adapt to high-intensity games this season. Starting in the playoffs is not only about shooting, but also defense.

Have to say, the game started, Mike - Miller starting proved to be a failure.

Faced with Mike Dunleavy, who was about the same age, Mike Miller seemed to falter.

Unable to hit the shot and was hit consecutively by Mike Dunleavy, the Cavaliers fell behind by double digits all of a sudden.

Not only the problem of outside defense, but also a bit of a failure against the Bulls. James has lost weight this season. Before facing the Celtics, he felt fine on the inside, but it was difficult in front of Gasol and Noah. up.

So the Cavaliers' first substitution is to replace Tristan Thompson, or let the two insiders fight inside first. As for what to do next, we can only look at the score first.

There is also the Cavaliers' offense, James is being taken care of, Owen's touch is still being adjusted, and Zhang Xiaotian took on the important task of scoring points in the first quarter for the first time.

Fortunately, James can't defend alone, otherwise, if Jimmy Butler is freed to defend Zhang Xiaotian, the Cavaliers' offense will really be over.

Leading by 12 points in the first quarter, the Bulls are quite satisfied.

They feel that they can keep their advantage. After all, the Cavaliers are missing two generals. Their plan is to win both away games before JR Smith returns.

However, the Cavaliers launched a counterattack in the second quarter. The Cavaliers only had two insiders and they definitely couldn’t be on the court all the time, so in the second quarter they changed to a big and a small, but the second position became Iman Shumpert .

Shumpert's offense is worrying, but the defense will still have no problem.

The Cavaliers actually regret it a bit. If Shumpert was used from the beginning, it is estimated that Mike Dunleavy would not have so many shooting opportunities.

James came up after a 2-minute break to strengthen the offense, but Irving blew the counterattack horn.

Irving's continuous strikes in front of him are not because of how good Rose's defense is. Irving has always looked at the feel. After the feel is adjusted, he can make shots no matter who is in front of him, let alone Rose's defense is not particularly good.

When Shumpert, Zhang Xiaotian and James are all on the court, the Cavaliers' defensive effect is also the best. Mike Dunleavy is basically prevented from getting a shot.

The Bulls' strongest three-pointer is limited, and their offense has become ordinary, mainly due to Rose's star style of play.

In the first round, the Bulls suffered a loss in this regard, but Rose's style of play has taken shape, and it is unrealistic to insist on him being honest and organized.

But the Bulls are not as efficient as the Cavaliers on the offensive end when they play like this.

The Cavaliers are not strong inside offensively now, and Shumpert can at most shoot open positions, that is, Irving, Zhang Xiaotian, and James play with the ball, but relying on this simple tactic, they slowly chased the score back.

To put it bluntly, the offensive tactics of both sides are not rich, but the Cavaliers have stronger personal offense and more ball-holding points. They will not lose this kind of duel.

By the end of the half, they were within five points of catching up.

During the intermission, the team will formulate the tactics for the second half based on the performance of both sides in the first half.

The Bulls are not afraid to beat them, but it is better to be able to play more easily.

One is to make good offensive and defensive transitions, and the other is to use the big and four small to open up space and combine breakthroughs with outside three-pointers.

In Love's absence, sending an outside player can also open up space, but the defensive end suffers a bit.

There is also the problem of rebounding, which makes the Cavaliers a little worried.

The few shooters they brought in this season didn't play a good role at all. At this time, they also hope to play a few strong points. After all, Irving, Zhang Xiaotian and James all have long-range shooting means.

Of course, when there are not enough players, the three of them will not have a few minutes of rest throughout the game, and it is also one of the plans to play a full second half.

But the key is to win. If you can't win the game, the main force is looking for death. It's better to control the playing time and wait for JR Smith to come back to fight the Bulls.

At this time, David Blatt missed Love very much. If Love guaranteed rebounds, it would be much easier to play the Bulls.

In the second half, the Cavaliers let Shumpert start directly. At the beginning of the third quarter, James broke through and scored twice. Zhang Xiaotian and Shumpert made shots one after another, and the score became a 51:51 tie.

But the Bulls immediately changed their defensive strategy. They didn't flank James and let him shoot.

After James' inside melee, he really had a problem with his touch. After consecutive misses, he was led by the Bulls.

What's more troublesome is that Gasol hits the inside consecutively. The big and four juniors who haven't been used much this season have exposed their biggest weaknesses, and the Cavaliers are in crisis.

(End of this chapter)