With three points at the start, Nash begged for a maximum salary to renew his contract

Chapter 166 James: Come out and fight!
On May 5, the Eastern Conference finals took the lead.

The first game was still played at the Orlando Amway Arena, the home court of the Magic. The Magic, which has a record of 70 wins and 12 losses in the regular season, has home court advantage no matter which team it faces in the playoffs.

The Magic started Nelson, Afflalo, Wang Chao, Channing Frye and Howard.

The Cavaliers started, Mo Williams, Vince Carter, James, Anderson Varejao, Shaquille O'Neal.

Judging from the starting lineup list, the Cavaliers seem to be even better. There are four All-Star players in the lineup, including Mo Williams who was selected as an All-Star substitute in the 08-09 season.

But two of the Cavaliers' four All-Stars have passed their peak years. Carter is not too old at the age of 33, but he is no longer as brave as he used to be due to injuries, and O'Neal has already At the age of 38, in the usual games, it can be clearly seen that O'Neal's frequent back and forth running on the field with his heavy body has become more difficult.

On the other hand, for the Magic, both Wang Chao and Howard were selected to the best team this season. One won the regular season MVP and the scoring champion, and the other won the All-Star MVP and the best defensive player. The most outstanding top star in the league today.

The only Cavaliers who can compete with the two are James.

And the strength of the Magic is not just the starting lineup, they also have Jamal Crawford who has just won the best sixth man on the bench and is not inferior to the starting main force.

The Cavaliers spent a lot of money and paid a high luxury tax in order to assemble the Big Three lineup, which left them with no spare power in recruiting role players, and only Big Z and Delonte were on the bench The two of West can be of great use.

The gap in all aspects made most people prefer the Magic to win the series before the start of the Eastern Conference Finals series.

According to the survey released by ESPN before the game, 83% of all fans are optimistic that the Magic will advance to the finals, and only 17% think that the Big Three of the Cavaliers can beat the Magic.

After the warm-up was over, the starting players of the two teams came on the stage. Howard and O'Neal jumped the ball from the center line. There was no suspense. Howard easily transferred the basketball to his backcourt.

Although O'Neill is much taller than him, the old shark can't jump at all now, and he can't compare with Howard, who is at the peak of his career and is himself a spring man.

Nelson dribbled the ball across the half court, then passed the ball to Wang Chao in a regular manner, and ran to the bottom corner to stand outside the three-point line.

Wang Chao holds the ball and stands at the top arc of the three-point line. Standing in front of him is James wearing the No. 23 jersey.

Wang Chao vs. James, the duel that has attracted the attention of fans will be staged immediately at the beginning!
In the TNT studio, Barkley and Kenny Smith were explaining the game. When Wang Chao and James were confronted, Smith immediately became interested.

"Charles, who do you think will have the upper hand in a 1v1 between LeBron and Wang Chao?"

Unexpectedly, after hearing Smith's words, Barkley, who always came with an open mouth, was entangled for a long time. "It's really hard to say. Although the two teams have played against each other many times in the regular season, this is the first time they have met in the playoffs. In the first two seasons, the Cavaliers lost to the Celtics before meeting the Magic. The Celtics lost to the Magic twice in a row... no, plus this season they lost to the Magic for the third consecutive season."

"If we continue to go back, Wang Chao and James played against each other in the playoffs in the 06-07 season. At that time, Wang Chao was still in the Phoenix Suns. The Suns and the Cavaliers met in the finals, and then swept the Cavaliers 4:0 to win the championship."

"At that time, Wang Chao was of course far from being able to compare with James. Even the two of them would not match up on the field. The one who defended James was the Suns' all-star small forward Sean Marion."

"Who would have thought that after three years in the blink of an eye, Wang Chao has grown into a top small forward in the league whose strength is completely comparable to James. In the past three years, Wang Chao has changed so much. There are also qualitative leaps in distance and breakthrough with the ball, strength, speed, jumping and other aspects, it's like a reborn!"

While talking, Barkley shook his head again and again, "So now it's too difficult to judge who is stronger in the matchup between the two. If I have to choose one, I think Wang Chao, who has more comprehensive offensive skills, will be in the heads-up stage. It must be stronger, after all, he can shoot long shots and break through with the ball, and now Wang Chao, who has mastered inside skills, is too difficult to defend."

"Oh? So you think LeBron, who was selected to the best defensive team this year and is considered the best defender on the front line, can hardly limit Wang Chao's scoring?" Kenny Smith nodded and said, "But it's true. , When Wang Chao is standing outside the three-point line with the ball, no one knows what kind of offense he will use next, and he has too many ways to send the ball to the basket."

……

On the field, James has already lowered his center of gravity, and is almost clinging to Wang Chao, his nerves tense up.

He is serious about defending Wang Chao with all his strength, and he wants to use this method to prove to the entire league who is more worthy of the MVP of the regular season!
Feeling the pressure from James on the defensive end, Wang Chao's expression was very calm.

Such a situation was something he had thought about and was mentally prepared for in advance.

With his current offensive ability, it is difficult for even James to guard against him, but James, who is still very attentive and serious on the defensive end during this period, is indeed not easy to deal with. Just like the current position, it is obvious that he cannot defend against shots. Anti-burst attitude, trying to block his own three-pointer.

And if Wang Chao chooses to hit the basket with the ball, James will never give up easily. With the opponent's speed and mobility not inferior to his own, even if he rushes to the basket, he still needs to face James' defense. risks of.

With the upgraded sharpshooter, Wang Chao's anti-interference ability of shooting against players' defense has been greatly improved, but he is not Kobe after all, and there is no reason to choose this less efficient offensive method when it is not necessary.

After all, Wang Chao is the biggest winner this season, and he also has the MVP of the regular season. Is it necessary to beat James head-on to prove himself?
If James wins the regular season MVP again this season, given the unfair selection mechanism, Wang Chao is unwilling to prove to everyone who is the stronger player, maybe he will do so.

But in Wang Chao's current concept, winning the game is the most important thing!
Wang Chao felt that James, who was standing in front of him at this time, might have this kind of thinking, wanting to prove who is more worthy of the regular season MVP by defending himself.

"You can just struggle here by yourself."

Smiling at James, Wang Chao suddenly spoke.

This sentence made James slightly stunned, a little puzzled, but the next moment he saw Wang Chao moving sideways to the right, and subconsciously moved to keep up.

But at this moment, he bumped into a black and hard body.

Howard's pick-and-roll screen!

Taking advantage of the gap between James and Howard's pick-and-roll, Wang Chao decisively took off and shot a three-pointer.

James, who was separated by Howard, had no time to keep up with the defense, not to mention O'Neal who was facing Howard.

With no interference from defensive players at all, Wang Chao made an open shot and the shot hit the net.

3: 0!

"Oops……"

Just the first round of offense, Cavaliers coach Mike. Brown began to secretly think something is wrong.

Hitting a snake and hitting seven inches, I didn't expect the Magic to attack the Cavaliers' weaknesses as soon as they came up!
O'Neal's position in the Cavaliers is actually very embarrassing. He is too old and slow, and his footsteps can no longer keep up with most of the league's main centers, let alone Howard's footspeed is at the top level among interior players. super center.

When Howard went to the outside to pick and roll for Wang Chao, O'Neal didn't have time to go out to defend. A second or two slower was enough for Wang Chao to make a three-point shot with an open spot.

This is undoubtedly the point that the Cavaliers are most afraid of. It seems that the Magic has also carefully studied the Cavaliers game!

James obviously realized it too, with an ugly expression on his face.

On the one hand, Wang Chao chose to avoid and not fight. With Howard helping to cover the pick-and-roll, no matter how strong James' personal ability is, it is impossible to pass Howard's pick-and-roll and defend Wang Chao in one step.

On the other hand, as long as O'Neal is on the court, the Cavaliers have nothing to do with the Magic's pick-and-roll tactics!
O'Neal can't keep up with Howard's speed, and it's impossible to switch defenses with Varejao, who is still flexible. The Magic's starting power forward is Channing Frye. His only task on the court is to use his three-pointer deterrence. Space to match Wang Chao and Howard's pick-and-roll tactics, and O'Neal can't guard against Channing Frye who is always floating on the outside.

This is also the biggest dilemma faced by the old sharks.

The heavy and slow footsteps make O'Neal a complete drag on the defensive end, and on the offensive end, he does not have the dominance at the basket at his peak, and it is even difficult to get a firm position inside to receive the ball in many cases.

In the few rounds after the start of the game, the Magic immediately opened up the gap by relying on the pick-and-roll cooperation between Wang Chao and Howard.

The problem facing the Cavaliers is not just that the defensive end can't contain the Magic's offense. They also encountered great resistance on the offensive end.

The Magic's main defense against James is Wang Chao, but the Cavaliers originally thought that James' breaking through Wang Chao's defense was as simple as eating and drinking, but when the two were facing each other, James discovered that it was not that simple at all.

Wang Chao's defense is much more difficult than he imagined. At least under Wang Chao's defense, it is difficult for James to find a breakthrough in the middle and long distances. Most of the time, he can only rely on his best and most powerful brutal breakthrough to break Wang Chao's defense. defense.

Although Wang Chao's strength is not small, there is still a certain gap between him and James in terms of tonnage, and his strength ability value of 86 is also at a disadvantage compared with James who exceeds 90, so it is normal that he cannot prevent James' brute force breakthrough .

But Wang Chao can't guard James, it doesn't mean Howard can't guard.

When Howard was at the basket at his peak, James also had to avoid his sharp presence. When James broke through to the basket with the ball and faced Howard's supplementary defense, the offensive efficiency was naturally greatly reduced compared to usual times.

"...Well, we are overthinking." Looking at the battle situation in front of him, Barkley couldn't help but shook his head and laughed helplessly. "Wang Chao doesn't intend to play a 1v1 with LeBron at all. Now the game is basically 2v1. Whether it is offensive or defensive, the Magic team is Wang Chao and Howard teaming up to fight against LeBron. It is true that LeBron as the league The player with the most outstanding personal ability is extremely strong, but it is still too difficult to fight against first-team players in two leagues at the same time."

"The Cavaliers' formation of the Big Three was originally for this situation. When James is at a disadvantage with one opponent, someone from the Cavaliers can stand up to share the pressure for him." Kenny Smith sighed: "But whether it is Saxon Neither Ke or Vince obviously failed to meet expectations, not only was there no way to help James, but because of the huge contract, the Cavaliers' salary space was completely locked, and there was no way to recruit reinforcements to the lineup."

"O'Neal's big contract with an average salary of 2000 million will expire after this season. But Vince Carter's contract is still two years away. His annual salary will be as high as 11 million in the 12-1830 season. The Cavaliers Where will the team go after this season?"

"It is said that James will choose to jump out of the contract to test the free market after the end of this season. Although most people think that James should stay in the Cavaliers, there are still many teams that have vacated salary space in advance and are ready to compete for James. , If the Cavaliers fall to the Eastern Conference Finals again this season, will James really stay in the Cavaliers?"

Many Cavaliers fans listened to Kenny Smith's logical analysis on TV, and their hearts became more and more heavy.

Everyone knows that the Cavaliers can't lose, and James can't afford to lose anymore.

But winning or losing is not something that can be controlled by thinking.

In the first quarter of the game, the two teams showed a completely different gap between the offensive and defensive ends. The Magic built a double-digit lead in the first quarter around Wang Chao and Howard's pick-and-roll tactics.

29:18，骑士队首节仅有18分入账，其中有11分来自于詹姆斯并且投篮命中率仅为40%出头。

In the second quarter of the game, the two teams came on the bench one after another, and the situation became even worse.

After Jamal Crawford came off the bench, he punched hard, made sudden shots, scored 8 points in a row, and directly called a timeout for the Cavaliers.

When James, who hadn't rested for a few minutes, came back into battle in an emergency, the difference between the two teams had reached more than 20 points.

James, who re-appeared, led the team to recover the point difference to about 15 points with difficulty, but they were not happy in time. The Magic team Wang Chao scored two consecutive three-pointers from the outside, and Howard scored 2+1 with an alley-oop dunk inside. A wave easily reopened the point difference to more than 20 points.

The gap in the overall strength of the two teams is quite obvious.

(End of this chapter)