new lord of the rings

Chapter 71 The NBA has no underdogs!
In the Jiawu year, Dingmao month, Yiyou day, everything is inappropriate.

The Warriors sit at home and take on the Cavaliers in Cleveland, Ohio.

For the playoffs, the Warriors will rest Andrew Bogut, Harrison Barnes, and Andre Iguodala at once. The Warriors officially announced:

Andrew Bogut occasionally feels uncomfortable in his ankle and will miss the game against the Cavaliers, and his return date is uncertain;

Harrison Bahn occasionally has a cold, so he rests indefinitely to recuperate;

Andre Iguodala's groin is inflamed, he will rest indefinitely, and the return time is uncertain, which needs to be determined according to the doctor's report.

Andre Iguodala: ...why do I always have some unseemly injuries when I rest?
Mark Jackson dared to rest the main force and the main rotation personnel on a large scale because of:

Today's Cavaliers are not strong. Before the deadline, the Cavaliers ranked No.11 in the Eastern Conference. Since LeBron James left, the Cavaliers have never made the playoffs. Kyrie Irving, the No. 2011 pick at the University of Ke, and the addition of the No. 4 rookie Tristan Thompson, seem to have a promising future. However, this season has reached the second half, and it is still outside the top ten in the Eastern Conference. It is basically a missed season. Playoffs.

The Cavaliers don't have too many thoughts now, they just want to cultivate a few potential rookies in the team. It is difficult for the Warriors to pay attention to such a team. In addition, the next game is against the Trail Blazers, one of the western powers. So Mark Jackson simply let the two veterans, Andre Iguodala and Andrew Bogut, and Harrison Barnes, who has never been rested, take a rest. For the body, it is very rare.

On the game day, the Oracle Center was crowded with people. Although several main players were rested, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Zhang Xin will all play, so it does not affect the fans' desire to watch the game.

During the warm-up, Curry, Thompson, and Zhang Xin all went to shake hands with Kyrie Irving. The awareness of competition between the two sides was not strong, and the atmosphere was relatively harmonious.

At the beginning of the game, the Warriors' starting lineup was Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Zhang Xin, Drummond Green, and Festus Ezeli, who started on the top.

The Cleveland Cavaliers sent regular starters: Kyrie Irving, TT Thompson, Luol Deng, Anderson Varejao and Allon Zocchi.

Anderson Varejao and Festus Ezeri jump ball in the middle circle, Festus Ezeri wins the jump ball with a bounce.

Curry controls the ball and leads the frontcourt steadily. Many weak teams are not because of poor offensive ability, but mostly because of poor defense. The same is true for the current Cavaliers.

In this lineup, forward players such as Anderson Varejao, Luol Deng, and TT Thompson are very good defensively, but outside players Kyrie Irving and Alonzoki are not good at defending. Field combination, it is too difficult to deal with.

Kyrie Irving played against Stephen Curry, Alonzo Ki played against Klay Thompson, and Luol Deng played against Zhang Xin. Luol Deng was a member of the second team of the best defensive team in the 11-12 season. The offense against Luol Deng was not easy, so Zhang Xin chose to cover for his teammates without the ball and withdraw space.

But Curry and Thompson have obvious advantages in facing the Cavaliers' backcourt. Zhang Xin only needs to pull the defensive line for them and do a good job of defense.

Kyrie Irving's offense is also difficult to defend. Curry and Thompson switch defenses. Thompson will defend Kyrie Irving, the offensive master, and Zhang Xin is always ready to help defend.

Therefore, Zhang Xin was also able to appreciate Kyrie Irving's gorgeous offensive skills up close:
Thompson has a solid defensive pace, excellent lateral speed, and excellent physical confrontation. He is usually the one who defends the opponent's perimeter offensive sharp knife.

Thompson spread out his long arms and stabilized his center of gravity. Kyrie Irving can shoot suddenly. The center of gravity is lowered to prevent breakthroughs.

Irving's center of gravity is very low when he dribbles, and it is difficult for Thompson to take the ball. However, Thompson's defensive habits have always been very good, and he will not take the ball easily.

Kyrie Irving kept dribbling the ball under the crotch, the ball reached his left hand, pulled back, and broke through to the right. Thompson quickly turned his hips to follow up. Li quickly let go of Varejao to defend Kyrie Irving. Irving bowed and shook Aizeli, and went straight to Huanglong to attack the basket. He changed hands in the air to avoid Green's block with his right hand and layup with a low hand!
The whole breakthrough process was like flowing clouds and flowing water. Zhang Xin watched it pleasing to the eye: It's really wonderful!

Looking back, Klay Thompson let Irving know what simple and rude is. Thompson made a big circle, pulled up countless tripping ropes on the way, left the defensive Alonzoki far behind, and received a pass from Zhang Xin. It was a three-point shot directly, and the orange basketball pierced the sky and fell straight into the net!

It seems simple and rude, but it is deadly with one sword!
Kyrie Irving's attack with the ball is beautiful, but under the interception and siege of the Warriors, the efficiency is not high. On the contrary, the Warriors' overall offense is very smooth, and the Warriors lead the Cavaliers by 8 points in half a quarter.

Zhang Xin will take a rest first, and then he will bring in a rotation lineup and replace him with Jordan Crawford.

As soon as Zhang Xin came off the court, Luol Deng, who was facing Jordan Crawford, broke out. He picked up rebounds on Jordan Crawford again and again and made a second attack. The eight-point difference was instantly wiped out.

Mark Jackson immediately called a timeout. He wanted to replace Jordan Crawford, but after seeing Jordan Crawford's disappointed expression, he decided to give him a chance to continue to perform. Role players are difficult in the league. Jackson knows that in some less important games, he is also willing to give them the opportunity to make mistakes.

Back from the timeout, under Jordan Crawford's desperate defense, he finally restricted Luol Deng, worthy of Mark Jackson's trust, but lost Zhang Xin's flank, which is already a defense line for Owen. Owen broke out:

One step inside the three-point line, shake the center of gravity to stabilize Thompson, and then directly pull up the mid-range shot to succeed;

Seize the opportunity to steal Curry's ground pass, quickly launch a counterattack, and hit a three-pointer after chasing the body;

Luol Deng's high pick-and-roll, Irving faced Jordan Crawford, a series of changes of direction knocked Crawford down, and he managed to make a successful mid-range shot;

Hold the ball at the top of the arc and hit a super long three-pointer before the end of the first quarter!

Kyrie Irving scored 10 points at the end of the first quarter, leading the Warriors by 7 points in one fell swoop!
"Wow! Kyrie Irving dominated the game! This young man who entered the NBA as the No. End the Warriors' winning streak?" the Warriors' home commentator exclaimed.

Zhang Xin's complexion was a bit ugly. In Zhang Xin's view, it was unforgivable for someone to play 28:13 in the half quarter of the home court. If you can't help it, can't you still attack?
When he stood up and clapped hands with Curry Thompson and others, Zhang Xin clapped his hands:
"Hey guys, we just watch Kyrie make a name for himself on our home court?

We just watch our fans go silent?
How can it be like this, we want our fans to pay to come to the home court to see us being defeated?

Are we going to end our winning streak at home?

They are just the bottom team in the Eastern Conference!
And we are the team determined to win the championship!
hey, man! wake up! (Brothers, wake up!)" Zhang Xin loudly encouraged his teammates.

There are no underdogs in the NBA, as long as you reveal a little bit of flaws, you may be defeated!

(End of this chapter)