Chapter 149 Beat James

The reunion between the Cavaliers and the Knicks was an unexpected result for everyone. In the minds of the Celtics' ten-year-old fans, the Eastern Conference Finals should be the Knicks versus the Celtics, and then the Celtics would easily sweep their opponents and advance to the Finals.

Whether they meet the Lakers or the Spurs, they will successfully defeat their opponents in five or six games and then win the 17th championship trophy in team history.

The whole process is easy and carefree, just like a martial arts master!
But reality gave them two hard slaps in the face, making them wake up from their wishful thinking.

Aim for the championship?
Let’s prepare for next season. No matter who wins the championship, it won’t be you Celtics!

The first game between the Knicks and the Cavaliers is scheduled for May 5. Faced with a situation basically the same as last year, there are actually more people supporting the Cavaliers this year.

They believe this year is the best time for the Cavaliers to win the championship!
Who gave them the courage? Was it Fish Leong?

No, it's not!

It's the Celtics!
Although the Celtics performed poorly in the second round, they are famous after all. Whether it is the Big Three or the 66 wins and 16 losses in the regular season, it is enough to shock the world!
Since the Cavaliers can beat the Celtics, shouldn't be able to beat the Knicks easily?

Therefore, before this series started, ESPN statistics showed that 45% of fans believed that the Cavaliers would get revenge this year.

Although the Knicks still have a higher winning rate, the fact that the Cavaliers were able to achieve this winning rate even though they lost to the Knicks last year is enough to prove that they have indeed gained a lot of support after defeating the Celtics.

The Knicks don’t care much about this!

Larry Brown knows the Cavaliers very well. He knows that this team has been psychologically damaged by Zheng Yang. Although they are shouting happily now, they will naturally not dare to jump again after being beaten up by Zheng Yang and recalling the pain they have suffered in the past.

Of course, if the Knicks lost to the Cavaliers in the first game, things would be different.

Victory will heal past wounds and make them stronger and more tenacious.

Therefore, the first game is particularly important to the Knicks. Whether they can knock down their opponents in one fell swoop or boost their already high morale depends on the result of this game.

……

"I actually think there's no need to discuss this series, the Knicks are going to win this game.

The Knicks are too familiar with their opponents. They know how to deal with this team. As long as they can limit LeBron, they will win.

As for how to limit LeBron, I think the Celtics have already given the answer. You just need to prevent his breakthrough and let him keep shooting from the outside, and you can defend him.

The Knicks have Zheng, Big Ben, and Eddie, so LeBron can't easily get to the basket. What does it matter even if he can get 10 free throws in a game?

They still can't take away victory.

The Knicks are more balanced, and even if Zheng occasionally performs poorly, there will be others who step up to carry the team forward.

So I think this series will be the same as last season, and the Knicks will win it in five or six games."

Before the game started that night, Barkley in the TNT studio spoke loudly to the camera with a firm tone.

If the Knicks were playing the Celtics, Barkley probably wouldn't dare to be so tough, but against the Cavaliers...to be honest, he really felt that the gap between the two teams was quite big.

The fact that they beat the Celtics only shows that the Celtics are too weak.

But Barkley's statement was opposed by Pippen.

"I don't agree with what Charles said. Before the last series started, maybe the Celtics had the same idea, but the final result is already in front of us.

I fully recognize the strength of the Knicks, and I also believe that the final winner will most likely be the Knicks, but I don't think the Knicks can win this series easily.

The Cavaliers are a tenacious and resilient team, which can be seen from the game against the Celtics. Although LeBron's performance had problems at the time, other teammates on the team were able to step up and solve the problem.

We have to respect the Cavaliers and what they can offer.”

Pippen was fair and he analyzed the current situation on the court very objectively.

But in the end he remembered that this was the game of "Pippen disciple" Zheng Yang, so he spoke again.

"But I am looking forward to Zheng's performance in this game. I remember that Zheng's performance was always amazing every time he played against the Cavaliers. Of course, even against other teams, they performed very well and were very stable.

This is what we call a superstar player! "

Since Pippen now speaks in favor of Zheng Yang, Barkley respects him now and won't criticize him at every turn.

But he always felt that Pippen's praise for Zheng Yang was a bit strange, and always gave people an ambiguous feeling.

Could it be that this guy has fallen in love with Zheng?

While the TNT studio continued to predict the direction of this series, on the court, the starting players of both teams had already walked onto the court, ready to start the first game.

Let me first introduce the starting players of the Cavaliers, they are "Big Z", Wally, James, West and Joe Smith!
During the jump ball phase, Big Z used his 2.21-meter height to successfully pass the ball over, and the Cavaliers launched the first offensive round.

After West dribbled across half court, he immediately passed the ball to James. Currently, James is the only player on the Cavaliers who can be trusted with the ball, so the players often give the ball to him and let him serve as the first starting point for the team's offense.

The player standing in front of James at this moment is Zheng Yang. This is Larry Brown's arrangement. He doesn't care whether James plays the second or third position. He will let Zheng Yang defend anyway.

The most suitable player to defend him on the Knicks side is Zheng Yang.

Of course, the problem is that Zheng Yang consumed too much physical energy...so what if it's too much? Anyway, without Zheng Yang, the Knicks can still beat the Cavaliers, but without James, the Cavaliers really have nothing.

Facing Zheng Yang's close defense, James was actually under a lot of pressure. He had already experienced the opponent's defense, and it was really not easy to play one-on-one against him.

But basketball is a five-on-five game after all. If you can't win one-on-one, then you can use pick-and-roll.

So he called Joe Smith to help him with the pick-and-roll, but facing the Cavaliers' pick-and-roll tactics, the Knicks chose the same approach as the Celtics.

They didn't switch defense, just waited for Zheng Yang to bypass the screen and catch up with James again, while the rest of them continued to guard the inside to prevent James from attacking.

James is very familiar with this kind of scene, so when he faced a short open opportunity, he chose to take a mid-range shot.

With his buttocks lifted, his right leg raised, and his little hands trembled, the memorable shooting action appeared again. But God would never let him down, and the ball that could not be shot in was not shot in.

James maintained his consistent style from the previous series and ended the attack with a mid-range shot.

The backcourt rebounds were protected by the Knicks. This season, the Knicks are the best team in the league in protecting the backcourt rebounds. Eddy Curry, Big Ben and Zheng Yang are the three best players.

After getting the rebound, Quentin Richardson dribbled across half court and passed the ball to Zheng Yang who was positioning himself with his back to the basket. The player defending Zheng Yang at the moment was Wally, a player who was traded from the Supersonics in the second half of this season and was promoted to the starting lineup in the playoffs.

He had never been beaten by Zheng Yang before, so he was eager to fight at this moment. Everyone said that Zheng Yang was hard to defend, so he wanted to see how hard this guy was to defend!

After receiving the ball, Zheng Yang did not make any unnecessary movements. He first dribbled the ball, then took a step back and shot from mid-range.

Almost the same shooting position as James, but the result is completely opposite.

The basketball drew a perfect arc in the air and went straight into the net.

0: 2!

In just one round, you can see the difference in strength between the two teams.

You don't need to look at anything else, just look at the star players of both teams. It's the same offense. You, James, have been in the league for several years but you haven't developed your shooting skills. Look at Zheng Yang, he is simply an offensive kaleidoscope. He can shoot wherever he points and play however he wants.

Based on this point, unless the other person's condition is really bad, you can't restrict him at all.

In the next round, James will still hold the ball, and the player defending him will still be Zheng Yang. Today Zheng Yang will fight with him. He can take fewer shots and score fewer points, but do you, LeBron, want to rush to the basket so easily?

It is absolutely impossible.

Perhaps Zheng Yang's score in the last round made James feel embarrassed, so he decided not to call a pick-and-roll in this round. He just wanted to try to challenge Zheng Yang one-on-one.

The latter is also what we want.

This season, Zheng Yang was again selected to the All-NBA First Team. He is already one of the best players in the league in balancing offense and defense. Many so-called offensive players have not been able to get any good results in his hands.

Zheng Yang's defensive strategy is generally to use flexible footwork to block the opponent's offensive route in advance, and then steal the ball at the moment the opponent is blocked.

Excellent confrontation ability makes it difficult for opponents to use physical confrontation to squeeze out shooting space at the moment of being forced to stop.

In this round, Zheng Yang followed his usual style. He spread his legs, bent his knees, lowered his center of gravity, and after James made a triple threat that had no deterrent effect at all, he successfully predicted his offensive route and directly blocked his position.

The offensive route was blocked, and James had no choice but to stop the ball. Zheng Yang took advantage of this moment and suddenly shot, knocking the ball out of James' hand.

Crawford was quick-eyed and quick-handed. After grabbing the basketball, he immediately made a stylish behind-the-back pass, and the basketball was thrown directly to the front court.

Zheng Yang took two quick steps and then made a gliding slam dunk!

This dunk directly ignited the passion of the fans at the scene. They had just sat down, but after seeing Zheng Yang's dunk, they immediately stood up and screamed and cheered, especially the group of male fans, whose voices were almost hoarse from shouting.

At the beginning, Zheng Yang made 2 of 2 shots and scored 4 points and 1 steal.

James, who made the mistake, couldn't help but clench his fists. He was so ruthless. Being intercepted by Zheng Yang was like jumping on his pain points repeatedly and whipping his corpse.

The player he hates the most is Zheng Yang, and he is still being humiliated by him...

In the next round, James continued to challenge Zheng Yang, but he still failed to score. However, the referee called a foul on Ben. With two free throws, James finally got the first two points of the game.

……

Before the game started, the Cavaliers' morale was really high. Both the head coach and the players were fully prepared, aiming to avenge last year's Eastern Conference Finals.

But after the game started, the Cavaliers players felt the same powerlessness again. Even Wally and Joe Smith, who did not come last season, now felt Zheng Yang's dominance.

He is so strong that he can score in any way and you can't stop him no matter what method you use.

What's even more frustrating is that other Knicks players also performed well, such as Quentin Richardson, Crawford, Rondo, Grant Hill...

They all showed the strength of the defending champions, and they were the better side than the Cavaliers.

Therefore, at the end of the first half, the Cavaliers were already 13 points behind.

At this time, they urgently need someone to step up and help them narrow the score and lead them to move forward.

If someone can stand up, then the Cavaliers still have a chance. They can ignite their fighting spirit and continue to fight the Knicks.

But if no one can stand up and blow the horn to charge, they will be defeated.

It's a pity that the person they hoped for did not show up, and James was lost on the court again. He only scored 8 points in the first half, 6 of which came from free throws.

He really couldn't make mid-range shots, but he really dared to shoot. The more he couldn't make the shot, the more he wanted to shoot, and he always felt that he would be able to make the next one.

In the second half of the game, James' touch did not improve. He still wanted to solve the game by shooting. The final result was that the Cavaliers suffered a crushing defeat to the Knicks on the road.

78: 95!

全场比赛郑阳18投9中，仅得21分8篮板5助攻2抢断1盖帽，得分方面的确要比正常情况要低，毕竟这场比赛他的精力主要还是放在了防守上。

昆廷.理查德森砍下18分3篮板6助攻，隆多砍下8分9助攻，大本砍下8分8篮板，埃迪库里砍下15分9篮板……

On the Cavaliers side, James only scored 15 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 turnovers, continuing to write a new chapter in his glorious history.

大Z砍下15分5篮板1助攻，韦斯特砍下3分7篮板5助攻，沃利砍下12分1篮板3助攻……

The most important thing for the Cavaliers in the first game was not that they lost the game, but that they began to waver in their determination and lost their fighting spirit. They couldn't find a way to limit Zheng Yang and couldn't find a way to beat the Knicks...

(End of this chapter)