NBA: Top 3D talents to start

Chapter 172 The Bet Between O'Neill and Barkley
When the time came to December, the Cavaliers' record began to decline gradually, not because the team's strength weakened, but because the head coach Tyronn Lue began to consciously rest players.

James, Irving, Love and even Wang Feng all get one or two rotations.

Obviously, the Cavaliers don't value the regular season record.

In the East itself, the Cavaliers with James are already unsolvable, and this is still applicable even two years later.

Therefore, no matter where they rank in the regular season, the Cavaliers can successfully break through and advance to the finals.

And with James' status, he doesn't need a record of regular season wins to prove himself.

How to win the championship is the key to everything.

The rest in December is mainly to deal with the Christmas game against the Warriors.

Both sides are determined to win this game.

After all, when the regular season can only be met twice, every victory is very important.

Tyronn Lue had to start using the players carefully and strictly control the playing time of Irving and Love. After all, neither of them has a particularly durable physique, and they have not played full-time in the first two seasons. Absence due to minor injuries and illnesses, if he is injured in a certain regular season, and even affects the planning of the subsequent playoffs and even the finals, then it is really over.

With the team's main players resting in turn, the Cavaliers' record dropped from 12% to 84% in December, which is already significantly lower than the Warriors and Spurs in the West, ranking third in the league and first in the East.

All the sacrifices of the Cavaliers are in preparation for the Christmas game.

The entire league is also looking forward to this century war.

Finally the time has come to December 12th!
Christmas night.

Countless fans all over the world are sitting in front of the TV, eagerly waiting for the start of the game.

For this game, TNT directly dispatched its own all-star commentary lineup, the legendary superstar Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith partnered together.

"Welcome all viewers to watch tonight's Christmas battle!"

The seasoned Smith keeps the audience interested by going straight to the point from the start.

"Shaq, Charles, which side do you prefer to win this game?"

His two partners also cooperated tacitly.

Barkley immediately cooperated and said: "It's still a question? Of course it's the Golden State Warriors. They have two MVP-level players, and the Warriors were obviously the better team in the game in December, so I think the Warriors The team will win this game.”

"No, no no, I don't think so."

O'Neill shook his fingers, with a confident smile on his face.

"I know LeBron. He is not the guy who can easily give the victory to others. What's more, the Cavaliers now have a super scorer. The situation is completely different."

"Super scorer?"

Barkley laughed.

This was actually a line they had prepared long ago, so he didn't hesitate, and immediately said it in an appropriate tone.

"Are you talking about Kyrie Irving? I don't think he's a super scorer."

"Of course not Kerry, I mean Wang Feng."

O'Neill knocked on the table and said.

"Wang Feng? Are you kidding? His current scoring average is not as high as Irving's. Is 21 points per game called a super breakup?"

Buckley shook his head disdainfully.

"Charles, it is very unwise to use simple statistics to measure Wang Feng's strength. You must know that Wang Feng's shots are close to Love's, far lower than Irving's, but his score is only slightly less than Irving's. The efficiency is totally different..."

"Okay, okay, stop, stop!"

Barkley shook his head again and again, interrupting O'Neill impatiently.

"I'm not discussing with you who is better, Wang Feng or Owen, and it doesn't make any sense to compare the two of them."

"The problem now is that the Cavaliers have to face two super scorers, Curry and Durant at the same time, but they can match them with only LeBron. Do you think Wang Feng's scoring ability can compete with Kevin? ? I think he is at the level of Thompson at most. I am not underestimating Clay, but there is a gap in level between him and Curry and Durant."

"Oh man, didn't you watch the Olympics?"

O'Neal smiled.

"I still remember the scene of the Olympic final. How many points did Wang Feng score in that game? Oh yes, it was 39 points! It was 39 points under the defense of Green and Paul George. Durant How many points did you score under Wang Feng's defense?
What O'Neill said was actually a bit cunning.

In the Olympic arena, the Dream Team has multiple offensive cores, so there is no need for Durant to face off against Wang Feng, who is extremely capable of defending outside.

But looking at the Huaguo men's basketball team, the only point where they can attack with the ball is Wang Feng.

The proportion of ball possession and the number of shots taken by the two are completely different, and there is no comparison at all.

But O'Neill wasn't talking all about the Olympics either.

"Wang Feng's scoring this season has not improved significantly compared to last season, but his shots are less than last season, and his shooting percentage has become higher, especially for three-pointers. He no longer relies solely on corner three-pointers. The shooting range extends to almost all perimeter areas, even comparable to Curry!"

"What's more, Wang Feng still has a very strong perimeter defensive ability. Since Wang Feng came to the Cavaliers, the Cavaliers' defensive efficiency per [-] rounds is higher than last season. These are the advantages brought by Wang Feng!"

"Wang Feng's improvement to the Cavaliers is definitely greater than Durant's improvement to the Warriors! Therefore, I think the Cavaliers will definitely win this game."

Faced with O'Neill's argument, Barkley obviously dismissed it.

"Want to bet something, Shaq."

Barkley's passion for gambling is no longer news in the league. The famous pro-donkey butt incident was written by Barkley.

At that time, Barkley believed that Dayao, who joined the NBA as the No. 19 pick, was not worthy of his name. If he could score [-] in a single game, he would kiss Kenny Smith's ass.

Dayao did not let him down. In just one week, he made 9 of 9 shots and scored 20 points in one game.

Unwilling to be skimpy, Smith led a donkey bearing his name for Barkley to kiss, and it became one of the most famous memes in the league.

Although he lost the bet and was ashamed internationally, Barkley still went his own way and made a lot of bets in recent years.

These bets have won and lost, but there is no doubt that they have brought him massive ratings, so he has always enjoyed it.

"Okay!"

Hearing Barkley's words, O'Neill didn't hesitate at all, but was eager to try. He is also a person who likes such games.

"Well, Charles, let's just make two bets. One is the winner of today's game. I bet the Cavaliers will win, and you bet on the Warriors."

"Secondly, let's take a bet on the winner of this year's championship. If I choose the Cavaliers, you will definitely choose the Warriors, right? If we draw in two games, we will shake hands and make peace, but if we win both games, He is the ultimate winner of the game.”

(End of this chapter)