Legendary star

Chapter 725

"LeBron's performance in the first half was very good, and his three-point shooting rate today was also very good. He hit 7 goals in 3 shots in the first half, forcing the Pacers to change their defensive strategy against him. In terms of score, the Cavaliers also tightly bit the Pacers and did not allow the situation that happened in the previous games to recur, but the next third quarter is the real test for the Cavaliers."

At the end of the halftime game, looking at James who had already walked into the player tunnel, Michaels on the sidelines also had a smile on his face. James performed very well in today's game, especially in terms of three-pointers. Compared with the previous few games, he has made great progress. Although the open three-point shooting rate of 7 of 3 shots is not too good, James' performance also forced the Pacers to give up the defensive strategy of continuing to empty him.

"The biggest problem for the Cavaliers right now is actually that they can't play tactical coordination. The offensive end has no smooth tactics and running positions, and the defensive end has never been able to achieve effective targeted defense. Relying solely on LeBron's performance cannot keep the Cavaliers. Advantage.” Although James played very well today, scoring 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists at the end of the game, a team relying on superstar singles tactics cannot beat the Pacers , and another important point is that Meng Xu is still playing in silence until now. It can also be seen from this that James' excellent performance in the first half did not bring him any pressure.

So Magic Johnson also hopes that the Cavaliers can make some changes during the halftime break. Again, someone must stand up to share the offensive pressure for James, especially in the third quarter when the Pacers will counterattack. It is necessary to withstand the Pacers' offense on the defensive end, or to be on par with the Pacers in terms of offense. With the current lineup of the Cavaliers and their performance in the previous games, it is obvious that they can withstand the Pacers' offense. Unrealistic, so the only hope for the Cavaliers is the offensive end.

As the party that failed to jump the ball, the Cavaliers have the right to kick off the ball in the second half. Perhaps they had expected the Pacers' tactical strategy in the third quarter. After the start of the second half, the Cavaliers became James who took possession of the ball, or it can be said , James switched to point guard in the third quarter.

The Pacers have always had three tricks, breakthroughs, three-pointers, and pressing, especially the last pressing defense. As long as the situation on the court is unfavorable, the Pacers will sacrifice 27% of the audience. The Pacers were crushed under the pressure of the Pacers. In the regular season of this season, it even happened that the Warriors led the Pacers by [-] points at halftime, and were crushed by the Pacers. A reverse game.

After James received the baseline ball from Zajunas Ilgauskas, he just dribbled the ball a few steps forward, and was defended by Meng Xu. It has been a long time since he was defended by Meng Xu James, who had defended so well, was obviously taken aback when Meng Xu posted it, but after a while, James recovered, and even looked at Meng Xu with a smile on his face.

As a point forward, James' ball-handling ability is definitely good. In addition, when James first entered the league, James also played point guard for a season. Therefore, even in the face of Meng Xu's pressing, James is also Be confident you can handle it.

"LeBron, you're improving very fast, but it's not enough." After blocking James' advance route twice in a row, Meng Xu has forced James to lean sideways on Meng Xu in the backcourt to prevent the The ball was intercepted by Meng Xu during the dribble, and while Meng Xu was defending against James, he was not idle, and even talked a few trash words at James by the way.

"Is this your real strength?" In this attack, James obviously felt that Meng Xu was a little different from before. Meng Xu's judgment of his own dribbling trajectory and the blocking of forward space made James They all doubted whether Meng Xu could see through all the thoughts in his mind in advance, otherwise Meng Xu would not be able to take the lead every time when defending himself. Of course, there is another possibility besides this, that is In the previous confrontation, Meng Xu hid his true strength. Perhaps in Meng Xu's view, he could deal with him without all his strength. When he thought of this, James couldn't restrain his heart. frustration.

"Awesome, Meng Xu's defense is really too good, he is worthy of being the best defensive player of the four times. Under Meng Xu's defense, James can't find any gaps at all."

While Michaels was still lamenting Meng Xu's excellent defense against James, Magic Johnson sitting next to Michaels inadvertently said: "LeBron is about to violate the 8-second rule!"

Seeing that James, under the defense of Meng Xu, had already dribbled the ball in the backcourt for more than 5 seconds, Zajunas Ilgauskas, who ran towards the frontcourt after serving the baseline ball, turned back immediately Came back, trying to cover James through half court.

However, under the cover of Zajunas-Ilgauskas, James just got rid of Meng Xu and barely passed the middle circle before 8 seconds, and Meng Xu bypassed Zajunas-Irgoskas Skass appeared in front of James again.

"LeBron, are you going to run 24 seconds?"

After dribbling through the half court, James has been looking for opportunities. However, under Meng Xu's excellent defense, James, not to mention getting rid of Meng Xu, even has a hard time finding suitable passing opportunities. Seeing himself holding the ball The time was getting longer and longer, and James, who was already anxious, heard Meng Xu's ruthless ridicule again.

Although Eric Snow had already run over to cover for James, James, who was obviously irritated by Meng Xu, did not hand the basketball to Eric Snow, but was with Eric Snow After a small coordination, he turned around in front of Meng Xu and prepared to make a forceful shot.

James' choice of shot this time was undoubtedly beyond Meng Xu's expectations, because Meng Xu never thought that James would be in this position and forcefully shoot under his own defense. James' current position is the least distance from the three-point line There is still a distance of one meter, such a long distance, even if there is no defense, James' shooting percentage is not much higher, not to mention that I am standing in front of him now, and I can interfere with his shooting at any time. It can also be seen from this that James is really anxious now.

After seeing James forcibly shot under Meng Xu's defense, Magic Johnson shook his head helplessly. The more it is like this, the more he must guard against arrogance and impetuosity. Only by calming himself down can he make the best choice , instead of going tough with Meng Xu in a moment of anger and blood like now.

Of course, it was impossible for James to make such a shot, but James, who missed the shot, didn't show any expression. Instead, he took a few steps back and stood near the middle circle, waiting for Meng Xu there.

After seeing through James' intentions, Meng Xu also gave James "face" this time. Before reaching the center circle, he took over the ball from Tony Allen and was ready to have a one-on-one game with James.

In the round just now, under Meng Xu's pressing defense, James, who had nothing to do and could only make a reluctant shot, after Meng Xu attacked with the ball, also chose to use his own body to fight back with his own body. , before Meng Xu dribbled the ball through the middle circle, he stuck it up, ready to let Meng Xu also have a taste of being pressed.

However, the moment he posted Meng Xu, James knew that he had miscalculated. Compared with Meng Xu who can cope with everyone without doing his best in daily training, every time he confronts and heads-up with Meng Xu, James They will all produce 120 points, so Meng Xu is very clear about James' confidence and strength, and even his defensive habits.

Therefore, compared to the attack just now, when Meng Xu covered him tightly and there was no room for change, James himself felt that the strength of his defense against Meng Xu this time was obviously inferior to the blockade of the space. A lot, and Meng Xu just dribbled the ball with a low body, fake moves, and turned with his back, completely getting rid of James' pressing defense.

After James was freed by Meng Xu, Drew Gooden, who was entangled with Jermaine O'Neal near the free throw line, immediately gave up defending Jermaine O'Neal, and rushed to defend Meng Xu immediately .

And after Meng Xu got rid of James' pressing defense, he didn't mean to break through to the basket. Instead, he stopped and shot outside the three-point line before Drew Gooden's defense was in place. - When Gooden rushed over, the basketball in Meng Xu's hand had already been released.

With the sound of "swipe", the basketball thrown by Meng Xu went into the net hollowly, and the boos that resounded through the Quicken Loans Center Arena just now stopped abruptly.

Originally, after the three-point hit, Meng Xu still wanted to provoke James, but seeing James' ashen expression, Meng Xu finally swallowed the words, the relationship between Meng Xu and James The relationship is very good, and James has always respected Meng Xu very much, so Meng Xu doesn't want to affect the relationship off the court because of a few trash words on the court. If you have to single out yourself, it's even more uneconomical.

"One offense and one defense, this is the gap between LeBron and Meng Xu." Although it was only one round, what happened on the court was enough for Michaels to guess something. In the previous game, Meng Xu He didn't try his best at all, or James has not yet reached the point where Meng Xu can use his full strength. This is very scary. You must know that James is now ranked among the top five super giants in the league. Is it really like magic? As Johnson said, in the current league, Meng Xu is first and everyone else is first?
"Actually, for the Cavaliers, it is already a remarkable achievement for them to be able to play like this this season, and LeBron's performance in the playoffs is enough to make us full of expectations and imaginations about his future. As long as LeBron stays in Cleveland, the Cavaliers will win the championship sooner or later." Compared with Michaels, Magic Johnson's words are much more subtle. Originally, at the beginning of the season, few people were optimistic about the Cavaliers. Going so far in the playoffs, after all, no one would have thought that the two cores of the Heat would be injured successively this season, let alone that the Pistons would disintegrate like this, so they could achieve a record second only to the Pacers this season , and reaching the Eastern Conference finals, for the Cavaliers, it is already a success. They are still young, and they have not failed when they are young.

When Meng Xu showed a higher level of offensive and defensive strength than James on the court, Mike Brown, who was still standing on the sidelines, sat directly on the bench because he knew that the Cavaliers had no chance, but James' reaction on the court and The performance made Mike Brown see the bright future of the Cavaliers. Just like Magic Johnson said, as long as James is there, the Cavaliers will definitely be able to win the championship trophy. However, when looking at Meng Xu, Mike- Brown's mood is still very complicated. After serving as the assistant coach of the Spurs, Mike Brown would never have imagined that the somewhat thin Chinese man on the Spurs bench would become a mountain on his way forward in the future.

James has made great progress in recent seasons. Last season, he averaged 31 points, 7 rebounds, and 6.6 assists. This season, due to Mike Brown's request, James reduced the number of shots, but James also scored 27.3 points. With 6.7 rebounds and 6 assists, James no longer has any weaknesses except for his weak mid-range and long-range shots. Originally, Mike Brown thought that this was the peak of James, but through today’s game, Mike- Brown realized that James still has room for improvement.

"Is it over like this?" When the third quarter was over and looking at the 73-64 score on the scoreboard, James was in a daze for a while. He had thought that the Cavaliers might collapse in the third quarter, so in Before the start of the third quarter, James was fully prepared to take over the ball and take on the responsibility of the entire team with his own personal ability. Everyone, including myself, will become spectators, and everyone can only stand aside, watching Meng Xu take over the game.

"Is this the gap between me and Meng Xu?" Recalling everything that happened in the third quarter, after asking himself a few questions in his mind, James walked off the court with a blank expression.

But soon, James let go of all this. This game is not over yet. Even if he fails today, there is still tomorrow, and next season, next season, and one day, he will defeat him!

Thinking of this, James, who was still a little confused, became determined!
(End of this chapter)