Chapter 129 I scored the goal, but you were the one who pretended

"Good morning, dear fans!
The next game we bring to you is the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 06-07 MLS playoffs. The Cavaliers led by LeBron James will challenge the Knicks, who were ranked first in the Eastern Conference in the regular season.

The latter's star player Zheng Yang recently won the MVP award, making him the youngest MVP winner in NBA history.

At the same time, he also won the second scoring title of his career this season. As he is not yet 22 years old, it is difficult to predict how many more scoring titles he will win in the future.

Before the game starts, I would like to ask Coach Zhang to tell us about the strengths and weaknesses of the two teams, and what characteristics they should show in the game to help them win the first game. ”

In the CCTV studio, the bespectacled teacher Yu Jia asked a question to Coach Zhang, who took over the conversation and started singing in his BJ accent.

"Hey, let me tell you, it's not easy for the Cavaliers to beat the Knicks!
Look at the players on both sides. The Knicks have Zheng Yang, Ben Wallace, and Eddy Curry. On the bench there is also David F. and David Lee. These are a group of brave and capable players.

If you look at the Cavaliers, only James has some outstanding performances, while the other players are in ups and downs. Once they face the Knicks, it is hard to say how they will perform.

The Knicks can play both inside and outside, shoot three-pointers, break through, and pass the ball to connect the team. Their defense is also strong, and their overall strength is in the first tier of the league.

And they also have Zheng Yang, whose scoring ability at critical moments is definitely the strongest player in the league. He alone can raise the ceiling of this team.

Just look at their strength, the Cavaliers have a very low chance of winning."

Coach Zhang didn't hear the question clearly. Analysis, right? Then let me analyze how the Knicks should win and how the Cavaliers should lose!

As for what you said about the Cavaliers winning and the Knicks losing?
Sorry, I, Zhang Zhengchui Weiping, simply don’t analyze things that are impossible to happen.

Seeing that Coach Zhang was still looking for evidence to support his point of view, Yu Jia quickly changed the subject.

"Indeed, this game was very stressful for the Cavaliers, but since they were able to beat the Bulls and the Pistons, it's clear that they are still very strong and they are not completely without a chance.

Well, the game is about to start, let's focus on this game!"

In Madison Square Garden, the starting players of both teams walked onto the court. Zheng Yang stood aside and stretched his muscles, preparing for the game that was about to begin.

His eyes were unusually calm and there was no sign of nervousness on his face, which was completely opposite to LeBron James on the opposite side.

This is the first time that LeBron James has reached the conference finals in his career. This is an unfamiliar battlefield for him. At the age of 22, it is difficult for him to be as calm as Zheng Yang.

His eyes were filled with nervousness, excitement, uneasiness and many other complex emotions!
As for your question of why Zheng Yang can be so calm?

Come on, man, he has played in the finals and won championships. If he has to be timid and nervous when playing in the Eastern Conference Finals, how can he still stay in the NBA?
The one who jumped out for the Cavaliers was Zadunas Ilgauska, also known as Big Z. He was 2.21 meters tall, half a head taller than Eddy Curry. In the end, with his height and wingspan advantage, he successfully passed the ball and won the first offensive opportunity for the team.

After the Cavaliers got the ball, they passed it to James. James is the absolute tactical core of this Cavaliers team.

After getting the ball, Big Z ran up and gave him a screen. James used the screen to change the defensive player in front of him to Quentin Richardson.

The latter's defense has actually always been above the average level for this position, but James is mismatched with him. Whether in terms of height or weight, the two are not in the same league.

At this moment, James has not yet developed his shooting skills. He still likes to use his physical advantage to rush into the penalty area to score or cause damage.

However, this style of play will be very difficult for players with good physical fitness. They will not be able to break through or shoot, and they will either miss the shot or make mistakes.

But when there is a mismatch, just like a cat meeting a mouse, offense will become a very easy thing to accomplish.

Like Quentin Richardson at this moment, he felt that he was not defending the opponent at all, but was being knocked back by the opponent.

But James who rushed into the penalty area also encountered a problem. The Knicks' inside combination is Ben Wallace and Eddy Curry. It is not a good choice to keep attacking the inside in front of them.

If you are not careful, the opponent will confiscate the basketball.

Since Ben Wallace provided timely assistance in this attack, James did not dare to shoot from the inside, but threw the ball to Alexander Pavlovic on the outside.

After receiving the ball, this guy confidently took a three-point shot, and the basketball finally went in successfully.

Pavlovic is a player with three-point shooting ability. This season, his three-point shooting percentage is 40.5%. He averages 2.2 shots per game and makes 0.9.

He is the kind of player who doesn't shoot very often, but can hit the target when he does.

Looking back, after Quentin Richardson broke through, he passed the ball to Zheng Yang at the 45-degree angle on the left. At this moment, there was no one defending Zheng Yang. Pavlovic, who was following him, missed Zheng Yang for a moment in order to make up for the defense.

Zheng Yang would not waste such a good open opportunity. After receiving the ball, he adjusted himself and then confidently shot this mid-range shot.

The basketball drew an arc in the air and hadn't entered the net yet. Eddy Curry, who was originally positioning himself under the basket, suddenly turned around and left, raising his hands high in celebration.

The moment this guy turned around, the basketball went into the net with a swish, so clean and neat that it sounded comfortable.

The camera captured what just happened on the court, and the fans on the sidelines also saw Eddy Curry's early turn on the big screen.

This trust infected the fans in Madison Square Garden, and everyone cheered and celebrated the goal.

After noticing this scene, Zheng Yang smiled helplessly and shook his head.

This guy...I was the one who scored the goal, but he was the one who took advantage of it!
However, Zheng Yang didn't mind this kind of thing. On the contrary, he was inexplicably touched by his teammates' trust.

Who doesn’t want to get the full trust of his teammates every time he takes a shot?
At the same time, Eddy Curry's sudden inspiration also proves how good the atmosphere in this team's locker room is.

Zheng Yang is not the only one who is eager for victory, every one of them stands with Zheng Yang!
"Hey, the atmosphere in this Knicks team is really good! When Eddy Curry ran back, Zheng Yang patted his butt, haha.

Although Zheng Yang is young, he does have a leadership temperament. No matter which team he is in, the players on the team respect him and are willing to listen to him.

When he was first selected by the Mavericks, he became the team leader there. Even Nowitzki was willing to be the second in the team and treated him with great respect. Didn't I interview him in Dallas at that time? I tell you, I saw at that time that Zheng Yang..."

Coach Zhang began to tell a story, and Yu Jia, who was standing beside him, became more and more confused. Did Zheng Yang become the leader of the Mavericks as soon as he was selected?
It doesn’t seem so?
But it seems so, everyone seemed to say so at that time!
Perhaps because he had listened too much to Coach Zhang, Yu Jia was no longer sure whether Zheng Yang was the team leader in the first place.

But no matter what, that's all in the past.

Zheng Yang is now undoubtedly the boss of the Knicks, and his performance is indeed worthy of the title of boss.

After scoring two points, it was the Cavaliers' turn to attack again. Big Z wanted to rely on his height advantage to force his way into the inside, but Eddy Curry defended very well and kept confronting him physically.

Damn it, I was almost able to make it to the finals and compete for the championship trophy. I don’t care about your big Z or small Z, just get out of here.

With a positive defensive attitude and the weight loss this season, Eddy Curry has indeed provided great help to the team's interior defense.

Although Big Ben is also a stalwart in interior defense, his lack of height often causes him to suffer in interior defense.

And Eddy Curry can make up for this shortcoming very well.

Big Z's hook shot made the basketball hit the basket, and then it bounced and was protected by Big Ben.

Originally they wanted to throw the ball to Zheng Yang for a fast break, but the Cavaliers, who were actively retreating, did not give Zheng Yang a chance to launch a fast break counterattack, and they could only put the game into a positional battle again.

Zheng Yang, who had the ball, chose to play one-on-one in this round. The player defending him was Alexander Pavlovic, who had just made a three-pointer.

Facing the European player, Zheng Yang observed his defensive position, then attacked his front foot and easily passed him with an acceleration.

Entering the inside, facing the tall and strong Zheng Yang, the highly coordinated Zheng Yang easily avoided the opponent's block with a pull-up shot and scored the ball.

The whole process was smooth and there was no delay at all.

To be honest, given Zheng Yang's current offensive state, it doesn't matter who you ask the Cavaliers to defend him. He can break through and shoot, has physical talent, and comprehensive skills. How can you defend him?
Play tricks? Play dirty tricks?

The other egg of Bowen of the Spurs has not grown yet. If he wants to share two eggs with him, Zheng Yang is ready to accompany him to the end.

Mike Brown on the sidelines shouted loudly, encouraging Alexander to continue defending hard.

"Keep your center of gravity low, keep up with his speed, he is just like you, he only has two feet, you can guard him.

Don’t waste every second you’re on the field.”

I have to say that Mike Brown did shout with a lot of energy and passion, but when these words reached Alexander's ears, it was as uncomfortable as eating shit.

Dear Coach Mike Brown, I seem to be really different from him. This guy is like Captain America in the movie. His strength level is totally beyond the reach of a normal person.

Whenever he accelerated past me, I could always hear the roar of the sports car engine. Whenever he bumped into my chest and gave me resistance, my grandmother's figure would always flash before my eyes, as if she was ready to take me away...

Don't worry coach, if my grandmother took me away, I will definitely take you with me.

Mike Brown could not hear Alexander's thoughts. He could only see Zheng Yang passing through his defense line again and again.

But he didn't believe it. He still didn't believe it. There were so many people in the team, and he couldn't find anyone to defend this guy.

So the players standing in front of Zheng Yang kept changing, Alexander, James, Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Daniel Gibson, Donyell Marshall...

One face after another appeared in front of Zheng Yang. They used tight pressing, double team defense, and various other methods to defend against Zheng Yang, but in the end it didn't work.

Mike Brown couldn't find a player taller, faster and stronger than Zheng Yang, so in the end Mike Brown had no choice but to have his players double-team Zheng Yang.

But does that work?
Larry Brown on the other side smiled.

"Zheng, we need you to switch to playing without the ball!"

Then you will find that Zheng Yang starts to run without the ball continuously. This is because the Cavaliers have many rotation players, and everyone has sufficient physical strength when they come on the court. Otherwise, if one person follows Zheng Yang alone, he would have been exhausted by his running!

With Zheng Yang scoring 30 points in three quarters, the Knicks established a 10-point lead before the start of the fourth quarter.

The fans at Madison Square Garden have never been as crazy as they are today. They watched their star player do everything on the court, challenging the opponent's defense again and again. The players standing in front of him changed again and again, but the result remained the same.

Most of the fans in their twenties and thirties in this stadium have seen Michael Jordan play, so they will be surprised to find that they seem to see Michael Jordan on the court again.

But now he has put on the Knicks jersey.

Although Zheng Yang is not very similar to Jordan in terms of appearance, figure or technical characteristics, the two are so similar in their dominance on the court and their ability to score 30+ or ​​40+ with ease!
New York fans finally made up for the regret of not being able to sign Jordan in 96!

They found their own basketball god!

As long as Zheng Yang can lead the team to win the championship this year, from now on, the basketball god in New York will no longer be Michael Jordan, but Zheng Yang!

"At the end of the third quarter, the Knicks led their opponents by 75 points, 85:10. This is a big advantage, especially for a team like the Knicks who play steadily. Once they seize the advantage, they will rarely waste opportunities.

This season they rarely give their opponents a chance to turn things around!
But they still cannot underestimate their opponents. You know, this Cavaliers team is a very resilient team. No matter what kind of danger the team encounters, they will play with the most positive attitude.

The game is not over yet, the suspense still exists! "

(End of this chapter)