no shortcuts in basketball

Chapter 172 Spo was beaten and cried
While fans were still talking endlessly about G1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the first round of the Western Conference Finals quickly attracted public attention.

As a result of the game, the Thunder narrowly lost to the Mavericks 116-121.

Durant scored 40 points, Westbrook and Harden both scored 20 points, and the three scored 80 points together, but the Thunder still lost.

Just because Nowitzki on the Mavericks scored 48 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks!

What's even more outrageous is the way he scored, 15 of 12 shots and 24 of 24 free throws...

You can understand that even if the Thunder have the inside combination of Ibaka and Perkins, they still can't guard Nowitzki at all and can only use fouls to prevent him from taking shots.

It’s not that our army is incompetent, but the enemy has Gundam!
Nowitzki's state this year, especially as the playoffs progress, is becoming more and more outrageous.

Of course, in addition to Nowitzki, Terry and JJ Barea also scored 20+ each and became the driver's right-hand man.

In his own backyard, Xu Yong cooked pancakes for O'Neal while chatting with him about the Western Conference Finals.

Although it's not yet time to consider their opponents in the next round, this game is worth their vigilance.

What O'Neal lamented was Nowitzki's state.

If the Bulls really face the Mavericks in the playoffs, it will be difficult for them to limit Nowitzki.

First of all, the lineup of one large and four small will definitely not be used. Whether it is Shane Battier or Artest, it is like a cash machine to Nowitzki.

But in the regular lineup, whether it is O'Neal or Gibson, it is difficult to limit Nowitzki like this.

Xu Yong is not worried about Nowitzki.

If you can't defend against a double attack alone, it just tests the team's rotation speed.

Before he was reborn, he watched a video in which Wade reviewed the 2011 Finals between the Heat and the Mavericks. In his eyes, it was not Nowitzki who decided the outcome of the game, but Barea.

This is not to say that Nowitzki is not strong, because it is impossible not to let Nowitzki score. All you can do is reduce Nowitzki's scoring efficiency.

In fact, the Heat have been very successful in this regard. Through constant flanking and assisting defense, Nowitzki averaged 26 points per game, but his shooting percentage was only 41.6%, which was lower than the 2010 team that was known as the strongest player in the Finals. Kobe Bryant is comparable.

But they were unable to limit Barea throughout the series.

Barea shoots accurately, has a strong ability to move the ball, and most importantly, has an extremely fast breakthrough speed.

It feels like a basketball wizard appears on the court. Although he doesn't play a lot of time and doesn't score many points, as soon as he comes on the court, the Mavericks can quickly hit a wave.

In fact, Barea played a major role in the Mavericks' sweep of the Lakers, including the first game against the Thunder.

Or to put it another way, although the Mavericks only have one superstar in Nowitzki, all of the role players are ruthless.

So it's not surprising that after the Heat lost, the James fans would strongly oppose Nowitzki's remarks about winning the championship with one core.

The next day, Game [-] of the Eastern Conference Finals continued in Chicago.

The United Center was still packed, and the enthusiasm of Chicago fans was unprecedentedly high because of the G1 victory.

Some fans even held up a 4-0 sign, completely ignoring what poisonous milk is.

During the warm-up before the game, the live footage was shown to the Heat.

Most of the Heat's players had serious expressions, and the loss in G1 still had a big impact on them.

But there was one person whose expression looked extremely happy.

James' face looked like the Heat had won the championship.

Yes, that's right. In yesterday's training, Spoelstra increased his ball holding rate and designed a lot of small tactics suitable for him, which made him feel like he was back with the Cavaliers.

Facts have proven that he is an absolute goat when it comes to power struggles.

After the warm-up, the starting lineups for both sides were announced one after another.

Heat: Chalmers, Wade, James, Bosh, Ilgauskas

Bulls: Rose, Xu Yong, Artest, O'Neal, Yao Ming

There are not many changes in the lineups on both sides. The only change is that O'Neal Jr. on the Bulls' side has returned and returned to the starting lineup.

Ilgauskas moved the ball back to the Heat half, officially kicking off the game.

As soon as the Heat came up, James held the ball, and he was in the high post and engaged Ilgauskas in the pick-and-roll.

After taking it apart, he threw it directly from the mid-range position.

It was like a dream to return to Cleveland and give the Kings a try first.

"Shh!"

His first mid-range shot went in.

In a sense, what Wade said is right, because a player's performance does have a lot to do with mentality, especially the impact on shooting.

Just like the players of the men's basketball team, they don't dare to play or don't want to play. In the end, they can only use 60 points of their 20-point strength.

And although James' shooting is unstable, he is not unable to shoot. In the previous game against the Celtics, the Heat were able to resolve the battle within 6 games, really because of James' shooting.

This is obviously a red flag for the Bulls.

And the signal is getting stronger.

After the offensive and defensive transition, the Heat stuck to the defensive strategy of focusing on key players in the previous game, relying on the quick defense capabilities of James and Wade to successfully interfere with Artest's shots from the outside.

After James collected the defensive rebound, the Heat launched a defensive counterattack. James connected on the fast break and Wade completed an alley-oop dunk.

Xu Yong fought hard in the position. He did not play a pick-and-roll with Yao Ming, but used a back-up to beat Wade like he did in the All-Star Game, causing the latter's thug to foul.

He went to the free throw line and made two free throws to help the Bulls score.

But looking back, Wade and Bosh found James after a pick-and-roll, and James received the ball from the outside and shot a three-pointer...

"Shh!"

Knife up and down.

After scoring, James made a big egg dance celebration while retreating.gif.

This is a celebration invented by "Alien" Cassell, but because the action is too revealing, it is listed as a prohibited celebration like Wade's throat-cutting ceremony.

James was obviously extremely proud when he made such an action at this time.

But this makes sense to him. After all, he won the power struggle and his hand feels so good. It feels like he is floating in the sky.

As for the prohibited celebrations, isn't it a fine of 1.5?That's not money at all to him.

The United Center fans were agitated.

James only scored 8 points in the last game, but tonight he scored 5 points just after the game, and all of them came from shooting.

They didn't know what happened, but James was indeed very different from the last game.

In fact, not to mention the fans, the Bulls team members, including Xu Yong, did not expect it at all.

You must know that the Mavericks can beat the Heat in history, in addition to their own outstanding performance, there is also the defensive end that leaves James unlimited until James does not dare to take action.

So, James went to Dallas last night and stole Nowitzki's shooting bag?

But no matter what the reason is, a James with online touch obviously poses a different offensive threat to the Bulls.

The Bulls continued to attack the frontcourt. O'Neal Jr. received the ball and rushed to the basket, but was blocked by James' help.

James was not only active on the offensive end tonight, but also had a strong presence on the defensive end.

The camera showed Spoelstra on the sidelines, seemingly wanting to know what the young head coach had been doing in the past two days.

However, Spoelstra's face did not show happiness, but was solemn.Although he understands the concessions Wade has made as a leader, when the team has to compromise with one player, the team can easily get out of control.

James' former home team, the Cavaliers, is a good example. They changed coaches and teammates, but in the end they just couldn't coax them anymore and left.

On the court, the Heat once again launched a defensive counterattack, four on three in the frontcourt.

Wade returned the favor this time, passing the ball to James in the fast break, and James flew up to perform the iconic James dunk.

Just flying in the sky is no longer enough for him, he wants to really fly.

But just when he pulled the ball to the highest point, a familiar figure appeared in front of him.

That was Xu Yong who came out from the side.

When James pulled the ball to the highest point.

"Snapped!"

Xu Yong directly flew the racket out of the court from the side.

There was an exclamation at the scene.

Most of them didn't notice where Xu Yong came from!

After landing, Xu Yong turned back to James and said, "This is Chicago."

These familiar words made James instantly dream back to the opening game of last season.

Steals, drifting three-pointers, technical bench.

These memories burst out of my mind instantly.

It's not like a dull ache like in your thumb, but a sharp pain that pierces your soul.

At this time, the large LED screen on the scene began to play the replay of the ball just now. Although Xu Yong was guarding Wade, his attention was always focused on James.

Obviously, after James scored consecutively in the opening game, Xu Yong captured the Heat's intention to cooperate with James in the opening game tonight.

So when Wade passed the ball, he had already moved with the ball, and then completed the side block without James noticing him at all.

As the playback ended, there was a burst of applause and cheers.

The defensive round just now is actually very important, because if James scores another fast break, the Bulls will be stopped in the opening game.

Xu Yong walked to Artest at this time and told him about the defensive change.

Artest can defend from position 2 to position 4. Although it is difficult for him to keep up with Wade's speed, the Heat's offensive focus is not on Wade tonight.

The Heat's sideline ball, James received the ball from the outside, and immediately found that his defender had been replaced by Xu Yong from Artest.

The block in front stung him a bit. Instead of passing the ball or calling for a pick-and-roll like in the past, he took a stance and prepared to play one.

After all, he has a good touch tonight, so he may not be unsuccessful in beating Xu Yong.

The Heat players also worked very cooperatively to open up the space for singles. Tonight's game focused on playing first to make James happy.

James tried a triple threat to break through Xu Yong, but Xu Yong put more pressure on the ball than Rose.

As a sophomore, Xu Yong can directly enter the first defense, which is really a real achievement.

His size, speed, skills, and even experience have reached a top level in all aspects.

James soon discovered that he couldn't get the ball to the basket at all. If he got the ball down, there was a high probability that he would be intercepted again just like before.

So he can only choose to play in post-ups.

Xu Yong immediately became happy after seeing James' choice.

Others carve stone statues on President Mountain, but James is just the opposite. He wants to gather the mountain.

If one mountain in Chicago is not enough, do you need one from China?
James started to hit him on the back, but in Xu Yong's eyes, this was just a big deal in front of Guan Gong.

When he made his first effort, Xu Yong had already moved sideways off the bench, and then quickly reached for the ball.

However, James' physical fitness is really exaggerated. When his body was out of balance, he even reacted and grabbed the ball with both hands.

Two people, four hands, grabbed the ball together.

It's just that James has no grip on the ground when he falls backward, and he has no advantage at all in the power confrontation with Xu Yong.

"Bring it to you!"

In the end, Xu Yong used both hands to steal the ball directly from James' hands.gif.

This steal was a clean one, and it would not be an exaggeration to call it a robbery.

Others on the Heat team couldn't react in time and could only watch Xu Yong perform a one-stop fast break.

Xu Yong quickly broke into the frontcourt. After seeing that no one was chasing him in the backcourt, he directly performed a one-handed windmill dunk that was of a theatrical nature.

The United Center erupted instantly.

In the past defensive round, Xu Yong completed the block on James in a three-to-four defense, and then stole James one-on-one and performed a dunk.

This is how he single-handedly brought back the momentum of the game!
And more importantly, he sent a very direct and strong signal to the Heat: Even if James feels good today, if you want James to keep holding the ball and attacking, you must ask his opinion first!
Now Spoelstra can completely understand the mood of the Cavaliers coaches.

Because besides leaving the choice to James, he really can't do anything.

It's not that it can't be done, it's that it can't be done, otherwise James can tell you that 8 points is not his limit.

The Heat's offense still has the ball in James' hands.

After making an offensive error with his back to the basket, James chose to try facing the basket. He had to score one in front of Xu Yong no matter what today.

Not to be stubborn, but when you win a power struggle, you always have to flex your muscles.

Otherwise, if you wait until others find out that you are really bad, then you will be embarrassed to hold on to the ball.

James knew Xu Yong's stealing ability and did not rush to get the ball. Instead, he tried to use deceptive actions to divert Xu Yong's defensive attention.

For example, he first looked behind Xu Yong, as if he was going to pass the ball to his teammates.

After discovering that Xu Yongyong took the bait, he shook his shoulders left and right, trying to create a good breakthrough opportunity.

But the result is that Xu Yong not only didn't mess with it, but also started it directly!

When Jordan originally asked Xu Yong to keep the ball away from the defender during the offense, it was not just a technical move of turning and leaning back, but also a common sense of offense.

James obviously does not have this kind of common sense, and his ball keeps dangling in front of Xu Yong's eyes.

This is like a beautiful woman wearing a cheongsam twerking in front of you. It's inappropriate if you don't express it.

Xu Yong went up to grab the ball without waiting for him to get off the ball.

His hand touched the ball, and James instantly lost control of the ball.

James instinctively reached back to get the ball, but he caught it but couldn't control the ball. The ball flew directly out of his hand and out of the court.

The referee's whistle sounded, indicating that the ball was out of bounds and in the backcourt.

The United Center is in a state of flux.

In two consecutive rounds, James was intercepted once when facing Xu Yong, and once he was forced to make a mistake without even having a chance to move the ball!
This hit Barkley in the commentary box so hard that he covered his face with his hands. He had never seen any superstar play in such a miserable state.

Of course, the most desperate person at this time was Spoelstra, who was rubbing his face with his hands. His expression looked like he had really collapsed.

You succeeded in explaining your military power for 8 years, but this is the result?
(End of this chapter)