The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 472 Unbearable

The Cavaliers fell in the third quarter, James did not rest, and directly defended Zhang Xiaotian in the final quarter.

To be honest, players of their level can't defend well alone.

A pick-and-roll, do you switch defenses or not, and if you go in, is there any help defense inside?

You must know that the Spurs and the Warriors have more defensive players than the Cavaliers.

There is also offense. During this period, James played with a substitute lineup.

Zhang Xiaotian's defense against James was also uncomfortable, and the Spurs would not be ambiguous if they wanted to pinch, but the few balls he passed, there was no sound from outside the three-point line.

The ball was aggrieved when the ball was played. James didn't rest for a minute in the second half, and the score gap was still widening.

What can the Cavaliers do, let's play the main force.

The Spurs took their time and replaced the main players in a targeted manner.

However, both sides are different from when they started, and they have been replaced by one big and four small.

The Cavaliers' primary and secondary teams are mainly attacking, and the Spurs are both offensive and defensive.

When Danny Green is with the main force, the Spurs' defense will be uncomfortable no matter who it is.

When Zhang Xiaotian hit two consecutive three-pointers, the morale of the Cavaliers had dropped to the extreme.

Just after halftime in the last quarter, they chose to surrender voluntarily.

In the first game of the finals, the Spurs beat the Cavaliers by 21 points. Zhang Xiaotian scored 35+10+10 and achieved a triple-double in the finals again.

Cavaliers coach Lu said after the game: "The Spurs are the best team I have ever seen. They are very fast and the home court is tough, but when we adapt, we will become better. Our best defense is offense. , we're going to handle the ball well, and I know we're going to play better."

James sighed: "They cooperate with each other tacitly, and they make people feel difficult on both ends of the offense and defense."

"Zhang Xiaotian's strength made us unbelievable. No one could guard against him throughout the game. His shooting and impact made our defense helpless. As far as this game is concerned, I can't do anything about him! He is indeed very good!"

Zhang Xiaotian said in an interview, "In the finals, once you have a chance to win, you have to win the game. We performed very well tonight, and we can have a better performance than tonight."

"My teammates are playing very well. What I have to do is to help the team win as much as possible. Danny Green and Kawhi are both tough players on the defensive end. I think Kawhi can win the best defensive player again. We played Defensive continuity, LaMarcus is great, too."

Popovich was also very happy, joking: "The boys are very good, maybe I should prepare a cup of coffee, I feel like they don't need me anymore."

In fact, Zhang Xiaotian didn't expect that the first game could be played so smoothly. He still has three chances to use active skills, so let's use them now, and take advantage of the victory to chase and give the opponent a chance to breathe.

The second game between the two sides is on June 6, and the starting lineups of the two teams have not changed.

It's not time to die, but of course, the playing time will definitely be adjusted.

Both teams have three strong points and will definitely play more. The other two positions depend on tactical requirements and player status.

This time James came up even more desperately, and it was useless to expose his physical strength. It would be too shameful to leave the court early to rest early like he did on the court.

You must know that James is extremely impatient with reporters after playing, which is rare.

If he loses again today, he will lose to his former little brother for the second time.

Although the Warriors were not led by Zhang Xiaotian last season, everyone knows that it was his credit for winning.

Using offense instead of defense, Tyronn Lue didn't make a fool of himself. It was impossible for the Cavaliers to adjust the defensive end. They just used offense to overwhelm the Spurs.

After James scored consecutively in the opening game, he also began to create opportunities for his teammates.

Desperate but also extremely rational, this is James' ability.

The Cavaliers' offense is obviously better than their playing, although the Big Three are still the main scorers.

It's a pity that the role players can't be driven, but as long as the three strong points are connected, the Cavaliers still have a chance.

The Spurs' role players are still a little bit stronger, so when Aldridge is a blue-collar player most of the time, the two sides are playing inextricably.

The restrictions on James, how should I put it, are more successful than playing in terms of scoring, but this time he has more assists, so there are actually no restrictions.

There is no way to do this, after all, he is the strongest player in the league.

At the last moment of the second quarter, Zhang Xiaotian hit a three-pointer, and the Spurs entered the locker room with a 2-point lead.

James scored double figures in assists in the first half. Should he adjust his defensive strategy? The answer is no.

At this time, I would rather let him pass the ball more. After passing more balls, his hands will not be so hard in singles.

It's just that the defense needs to speed up the rotation, try to prevent the emergence of open spaces, and prevent the Cavaliers from shooting three-pointers.

The Cavaliers' defensive strategy is similar, but their hardware is not so good.

Tyronn Lue was pouring chicken soup at this time, and the Cavaliers played to his liking in the first half.

In addition to the Big Three, he hopes that other players can also score.

In the tactic of substituting offense for defense, it is best for the core players to drive the role players to blossom more.

Because if there are only three strong players, at most they can win the Eastern Conference Championship, and it is not enough to win the championship.

But the Cavaliers coach who finished the chicken soup didn't expect that the team had another problem in the third quarter.

Not only did the role players fail to play under the Spurs' defense, but Irving's shooting percentage also went wrong.

In fact, Irving was not stable enough because of the distribution of the ball. This time James performed well enough and grabbed more of the ball. Irving's efficiency went wrong.

This is also an old problem of the Cavaliers. After several seasons, they have actually run in very well, but when they encounter a strong opponent like the Spurs, even a little problem will be infinitely magnified, even with the Warriors' ball-handling problem.

The Cavaliers' offensive efficiency dropped slightly, and they couldn't stand it anymore.

Zhang Xiaotian's performance was so fierce that James couldn't even lead the defense himself.

Before the end of the three quarters, Zhang Xiaotian had already scored 30 points, and his assists were second only to James. The Spurs seized the opportunity of the Cavaliers' decline in efficiency and expanded their lead to double digits in a few minutes.

A few seasons ago, the Spurs were not the kind of team that only knew how to defend. After Zhang Xiaotian came over, they, like the Warriors, were representatives of strong offense and strong defense.

Under the double pressure, the Cavaliers couldn't stand it at all.

Seeing that it was going to be the same as on the field, the Cavaliers wanted to use their strength but couldn't.

James was tossed on both ends of the offense and defense, and his physical strength was a little bit unbearable. After all, he was already a 33-year-old player, and he had been fighting against the cheating Zhang Xiaotian. It was a miracle that he was stronger than Durant.

The Cavaliers can only let James rest for a while, but they can't stand it after only a minute or so of rest.

(End of this chapter)