NBA: James wants to team up with me

Chapter 207 Is the strength gap so big? It’s 30 before you realize it?

In the TNT studio, the well-known commentary partners, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith, explained the ongoing game.

"The game has just entered the intermission. After the first half, the situation may have surprised many people. Unexpectedly, after the Cavaliers introduced the Big Three lineup, they were still as vulnerable to the Bulls as last season. Only half of the game We are already more than 20 points behind!"

Barkley shook his head and sighed: "James is really sad that Wang Chong is going through this. His performance is obviously good enough, but Wang Chong is a completely unreasonable player. It really reminds me of the 90s." Michael was at his peak during this period, no matter how you targeted him, he could crush your confidence with his scoring."

"The Cavaliers obviously want to expect O'Neal to perform well in the penalty area and take the initiative on the court, but O'Neal's competitive state is indeed not as good as before. Facing a little-known Gasol, he can be targeted and bypassed. The front defense is restricted." Kenny Smith also echoed: "From this point of view, it is not wise for the Cavaliers to make a desperate trade for O'Neal. At least the inside line of Gooden + Big Z will not be as passive as it is now."

Barkley rolled his eyes, looked at Kenny Smith and asked: "Kenny, how many games do you think the Eastern Conference Finals should end in?"

Kenny Smith thought for a while and said: "It should be within 6 games. If I were to predict, it would be a score of 4:2."

Buckley laughed when he heard this. "I think there is a high probability that the Eastern Conference finals will be 4-0 again. In this case, Wang Chong's Bulls will maintain a 4-0 sweep of James' Cavaliers playoff record for three consecutive years."

"4:0..." Smith actually felt that it was very likely that this would happen. When he thought about it carefully, he suddenly felt that it was a bit too exaggerated.

Wang Chong and James are both players in the 03 draft. Why is Wang Chong so powerful in suppressing James?

Before, Wang Chong was still in the West, and he could only work for a traditional giant like the Lakers. Later, he moved to the Chicago Bulls, which had been in decline for a long time. He was able to return the Bulls to the top ranks of the Eastern Conference in a very short period of time, and they were still able to survive. Suppress James.

He felt that if he were James, he would not be able to sleep at night just thinking about Wang Chong.

"It's not even the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals yet, so it's too early to tell."

Although Smith also felt that the Bulls had a high probability of sweeping the Cavaliers 4:0, as a professional commentator, such talk was not topical, so he decisively chose to stand on the opposite side of Barkley and spoke in favor of the Cavaliers.

"The Cavaliers' current problem is that they are completely suppressed by the Bulls on the inside. Their outside line is actually not much inferior to the opponent's. James and Ray Allen cooperate very well. Once O'Neal recovers and regains the initiative inside, the Cavaliers still have a chance. Winner, they defeated the Bulls during the regular season with O'Neal's inside advantage, directly interrupting the Bulls' nearly three-season winning streak against the Cavaliers."

"Really?" Barkley said with a sinister smile on his face: "Kenny, why don't we make a bet? Let's bet on whether the Bulls can sweep the Cavaliers 4:0. I guess it can."

Kenny Smith showed a bright smile and answered simply: "No gambling."

Just kidding, he isn't as addicted to gambling as Barkley, and when he knows that there is a high probability of losing, why would he make trouble for himself?

Thinking that O'Neal can still stand up in key games and show some of the edge he had at his peak is just the expectation of some Cavaliers fans.

The vast majority of rational fans actually know that O'Neal is 35 years old. The increase of age and accumulation of injuries have made him no longer as brave as he used to be. The all-powerful shark who was able to make waves under the basket no longer exists.

This game is the best proof.

O'Neal, who shot less than 40% from the field in the first half, was not much better in the second half, especially when the Bulls lineup changed, Gasol came off the court, and the inside became Garnett, center, and Paul Mirza. When he was a general power forward.

Of course Garnett's thin arms and legs can't carry O'Neal, but they don't need to resist O'Neal at all. When Garnett plays center, the Bulls lineup is extremely mobile. After all, Garnett and Millsap are both An inside player with excellent speed.

The Bulls, who had been focusing on positional battles before, suddenly accelerated and imitated the small ball style of play, once again caught the Cavaliers off guard. The result was that the point difference between the two teams increased instead of decreasing in the third quarter. By the end of the third quarter, The Cavaliers can actually surrender in advance.

Therefore, the score difference at this time is close to 30 points.

Even if the Cavaliers have full offensive firepower in the fourth quarter and score more than 40 points in a single quarter, as long as the Bulls score more than 10 points in a single quarter, the Cavaliers have no hope of winning.

So about 2 minutes into the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers took the lead in replacing all the main players and gave up the game.

Upon seeing this, the Bulls also took the opportunity to replace the main players. The main players of both sides sat on the bench and watched the remaining 10 minutes of the game.

At 117:89, the Bulls finally beat the Cavaliers by 28 points at home, winning the Eastern Conference Finals on a good start and stabbing the hearts of Cavaliers fans deeply.

Such a huge point difference is enough to prove how disparate the strength of the two teams is. Although it was already clear before the game that the Cavaliers were definitely at a disadvantage against the Bulls, they did not expect that there would be such a headwind.

In this game, James' performance was as normal as ever. The standard data is that he won the game after losing the game. The quasi-triple-double of 27 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists was the best performance of the Cavaliers.

Under James, it was Ray Allen who scored 18 points and made 4 three-pointers.

Although O'Neal also scored 17 points and 8 rebounds, his shooting percentage was only 44%. This is completely the shooting percentage of an outside player. It is far from O'Neal, who could easily achieve a shooting percentage of more than 60% in the past.

More importantly, the Cavaliers only have three big players who score in double figures. In order to put together this Big Three lineup, the Cavaliers have exhausted their wealth. Whether it is the two starters on the field or the bench, there is no one to compare with. Players used.

In previous games, the Cavaliers only needed the performance of the Big Three to easily defeat their opponents. However, now that their opponents have replaced the Bulls with the same Big Three configuration and a more reasonable lineup structure, they immediately pale in comparison.

What's more, the overall performance of the Bulls' Big Three is better than that of the Cavaliers' Big Three.

Wang Chong and Garnett both scored 20+10, and Billups also had 16 points and 9 assists. This was because the game ended early in the fourth quarter and Wang Chong did not exert his full strength. Otherwise, with his offensive Ability, scoring 30 points in a game is just a routine operation.

After the first game, the Cavaliers could still be tough. At the post-game press conference, James and others, including James, did not admit defeat. Instead, they said that the loss was due to the inability to adapt to away games and the recurrence of O'Neal's old injury. Because they are out of form, they will quickly adjust in the next game and blow the horn of counterattack.

<divclass="contentadv">It sounds nice, but neither Wang Chong nor the Bulls intend to give the Cavaliers a chance to breathe.

The first game made Wang Chong more certain about the obvious weaknesses of the Cavaliers.

Therefore, two days later, in the second game of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 5, the Bulls immediately made adjustments to the starting lineup.

The Bulls replaced starting center Gasol, arranged for Garnett to be the starting center, and promoted sixth man Millsap to the starting power forward position.

This move is of course to increase speed. Although Millsap is short in height, his defensive ability is not bad. He will also be selected as a player on the All-Defensive Team in the future. More importantly, after Millsap came on the court in the last game, the Bulls' offense The accelerated pace made it very uncomfortable for the old and slow O'Neal. After several rounds of back and forth running, he was out of breath and unable to support himself. It was too late to return to defense. The Bulls could easily form a situation of more fast breaks and fewer attacks.

The Bulls' change of formation caught the Cavaliers by surprise, and they immediately realized the Bulls' purpose.

O'Neal was quite happy at first. Although Garnett's defense was much better than Gasol's, the difference in tonnage made it much more difficult for Garnett and O'Neal to face off than Gasol.

Therefore, when he first came on the court, O'Neal, who was full of energy, continuously held the ball and attacked the basket to score. Facing the thin Garnett, he seemed to have regained a little bit of the feeling he had at his peak.

But the good times didn't last long. Within a few minutes, the Bulls' deliberately accelerated offensive pace made O'Neal miserable.

The transition between offense and defense was too fast. O'Neal had just finished his domineering two-handed dunk under the basket. Before he could take his iconic step, he turned around and saw five Bulls players running towards the frontcourt. The departing figure.

O'Neal was slow in his steps and did not return to defense promptly enough. The result was that the Bulls' several offenses were 5-on-4. Under the experienced ball control organization of Billups, he successfully found open teammates almost every time to successfully assist and score.

This makes O'Neal's offensive efficiency very high, but the scores of the two teams have been rising alternately, and after 5 minutes of the first quarter, the scales gradually began to tilt, because O'Neal began to get tired, not only on the defensive end, but also on the offensive end. It’s a bit unsustainable.

The Cavaliers had no choice but to take O'Neal off the court early to rest, but the question arises. After the Cavaliers replace O'Neal, who else can replace him at the center position?

The center that the Cavaliers came on as a substitute was named Dwayne Jones. He was an undrafted player, an absolute bench substitute, and quite cold.

Then the game turned into a situation where the Bulls had the advantage inside, while the Cavaliers struggled to gain advantage on the outside.

And this time the Bulls' defensive focus has changed. Garnett began to focus on James.

James, whose offense mainly focused on breaking through with the ball, then faced the pursuit and interception of Wang Chong and Garnett. Although under the attack of the two, James was still able to pass the ball to the open teammates, but there was a problem. Even if the teammate who catches the ball is in an open position, it is still difficult to score. There is no way, the level is too low.

Of course, it is impossible for the Bulls to give James a chance to pass the ball to Ray Allen, and the other players on the field are not afraid at all.

2:0, without any suspense, the Bulls made another victory and won two home games.

In this game, the scores between the two teams were not as disparate as the previous game, and the point difference was only about a dozen points.

But regardless of the point difference, the result of the game is the same, and James failed to continue his previous outstanding personal data in this game. Under the joint attack of Wang Chong and Garnett, James made 17 of 7 shots, with a shooting percentage of only 41%. , scored 18 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers.

After the game, James walked towards the tunnel without looking back.

His rhetoric after the last game was a complete joke.

But what's even more desperate is that even if the next game returns to the Cavaliers' home court, I'm afraid it will be difficult for them to defeat the Bulls. The two sides are not at the same level in terms of player strength, tactical execution ability or other aspects.

Even if James is confident that he is as good as Wang Chong, the Bulls still have Garnett and Billups, and O'Neal can't count on them. How can he win when he only has Ray Allen to help him?

How the Cavaliers can beat the Bulls is a hotly debated question across the league after the second game.

Most fans generally believe that it is not difficult for the Cavaliers to beat the Bulls. As long as O'Neal is 5 years younger, there will be no problem.

If the Cavaliers' O'Neal were his 30-year-old self, he would definitely be able to press Garnett, Gasol and Millsap to the ground in the paint and rub them against each other repeatedly.

But unfortunately, reality is not what it would be. The 35-year-old O'Neal, whom the Cavaliers paid a lot of money to trade for in the middle of the season, did become a liability in the game against the Bulls. Even if he can make a little difference on the offensive end, the defensive end is almost a defensive black hole. Such a performance completely overwhelmed the Cavaliers' overall defense, and they were unable to compete with the Bulls.

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May 5, Game 24 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

In Cleveland, the home court of the Cavaliers, the Bulls won another game with overwhelming momentum, and the score reached 3:0. The Bulls were only one step away from reaching the Finals for the second consecutive year.

In fact, the Bulls' victory in this game was a bit thrilling. The Cavaliers returned to their home court in a slightly better state. Both Ray Allen and O'Neal performed well. The stronger one was James.

James, who was at his home court, had some help on the court. He made 16 of 12 free throws, causing Garnett to be in foul trouble before half the game.

With the help of the referee, the Cavaliers had a huge advantage during the game, and once led by more than double digits. This was also the first time the Cavaliers took the lead in the game since the start of the Eastern Conference Finals series.

Of course Wang Chong could see that the Cavaliers had an obvious home whistle advantage. This was obviously the alliance behind it. They did not want the 24vs23 that had been hyped for a long time to end with a crushing 4:0 score.