Chapter 150: Leading for three and a half quarters, but still losing in the end

The loss in the first game had a great impact on the morale of the Cavaliers. They originally thought that they could beat the Celtics, so shouldn't be able to beat the Knicks easily?
But the loss in the first game told them that the Knicks are still the Knicks. We were able to beat you in last year's Eastern Conference Finals and several games in this year's regular season, and we can do the same in the playoffs.

You have the right to choose to resist, but resistance is futile!

The young head coach Mike Brown has lost a lot of hair in the past two days. He has been thinking hard about what the Knicks' weaknesses are and how they should deploy their troops to defeat the Knicks!
But after racking his brains for a long time, Mike Brown couldn't find a solution.

They can't compare with you in offense, and they can't compare with you in defense either. Unless you can restrict Zheng Yang, maybe you still have a chance.

Because the other players on the Knicks are only capable of fighting tough battles, but if something happens to Zheng Yang, they won't be able to achieve anything.

But the problem is, how to restrict Zheng Yang...

Before, Mike Brown might have tried to use double-teaming to force him to pass the ball, but this season Zheng Yang has evolved again. Mike Brown, who has watched the Knicks video tape this season, found that this season, facing the opponent's double-teaming, Zheng Yang can often find opportunities to pass the ball to his teammates, allowing them to form a local two-on-one situation.

Therefore, trying to defend him by double-teaming is unlikely to be very effective.

How can we prevent it?

……

Two days later, Mike Brown decided not to consider this issue for the time being. Anyway, they would play according to their previous style. If they could win, they would win. If they couldn't, then forget it.

If anyone thinks that he is not capable of it, just try it yourself and see if you can beat him.

The second game of the Eastern Conference Finals is scheduled for May 5, and the venue is still set at Madison Square Garden. The game this night was still packed.

The Knicks have had a high attendance rate in the past two seasons, especially in the playoffs, when fans are particularly enthusiastic about watching the game in person.

The Knicks themselves have a big market, and after Zheng Yang's arrival in the past two years, the team's performance has been getting better and better. Last year, they won the NBA championship and this year they still showed great impact. In this case, how could the fans' enthusiasm be low?
The Knicks' owner has made a lot of money in the past two seasons. Although the team has many big contracts, he has definitely earned much more than he has spent.

At this moment, he was so glad that Zheng Yang came that he would hang out with him whenever he had time, asking him how he was doing in the Knicks, whether he was unhappy, and whether he had any needs.

He saw clearly that as long as Zheng Yang could stay in the Knicks, even if the Knicks' performance fluctuated in the future, their ability to attract money would definitely not decline.

Besides, with Zheng Yang in the Knicks, the team's performance can't be any worse...

Look at the Spurs team across the street. They selected Duncan and have been in the playoffs every year and have been aiming for the championship every year. Could our Zheng Yang be worse than Duncan?

In addition to showing concern for Zheng Yang, the Knicks owner was also warm to the team's general manager, Smiling Assassin.

In the past two years, some people often whispered in his ears that the Smiling Assassin was not good enough, that he was incompetent as the general manager and had no vision at all!

He also began to doubt whether this guy was really no good and whether he was always making junk contracts!
Now it seems that I was wrong about him!
Look how competent this general manager is. He easily built a championship team and even traded for such a great player like Zheng Yang.

What level of player is Zheng Yang?

That's the modern Jordan!

The Smiling Assassin was able to trade for Zheng Yang despite being surrounded by 29 teams in the league. With such strong abilities, is there anyone who still says he is incompetent?

I think you people who are whispering in others' ears are really no match!
Smiling Assassin: (sweating) No, I was just talking nonsense, did you really believe it?

The game started quickly and there were no changes to the starting players of both teams. It was obvious that neither coach had thought of or felt the need to change their starting lineups.

Big Z once again used his height and wingspan advantages to secure the first offensive opportunity for the team.

It was indeed difficult for Eddy Curry to try to flick the basketball from the hand of a player who was ten centimeters taller than him.

But if the opponent attacks first, let him attack first. It’s just one attack round anyway, so it’s no big deal.

The basketball was passed to James as usual. Although the situation was not good when James initiated the offense in the last game, if it was not James who initiated the offense, the situation of the Cavaliers would only be more difficult.

After all, the other players' ability to control the ball is really poor.

After getting the ball, James had learned his lesson and immediately started calling for a pick-and-roll to block Zheng Yang.

In the last game, James still wanted to compete with the opponent, but the disastrous defeat in the last game has made him behave himself, and he will definitely not get carried away again today.

He has thought it through. Now he just calls for a pick-and-roll and then attacks the inside. If he is blocked, he will pass the ball to the outside and let his teammates shoot.

If given the chance, he would finish with a layup.

In the first round, James perfectly implemented his tactics. With the help of Big Z's pick-and-roll, he got a brief open opportunity.

The Knicks still adopted the measure of not switching defense. Big Z's pick-and-roll was of good quality and Zheng Yang's steps were delayed for a while.

Faced with an open opportunity, James suppressed the urge to take a mid-range shot and instead exerted force with his feet and started to rush forward.

Big Ben quickly came over to defend. Although his speed is slower than before, his strength has not decreased much.

He likes it best when facing players like James who rely on their impact to break through.

After looking at Big Ben and Eddy Curry who was ready to go, James chose to pass the ball to Joe Smith who was lurking in the bottom corner. After receiving the ball, the latter rushed forward two steps and then made a jump shot.

Big Ben was a little slow in his defense, and the opponent easily threw the basketball into the basket.

2: 0!

The Cavaliers scored successfully on their first possession.

"In the first round, the Cavaliers' tactic was to let James hold the ball and drive to the basket, then pass the ball to the players lying in wait on the perimeter. This tactic has worked well so far, and they were able to score points in the first round. In order to limit James's drive to the basket, the Knicks' perimeter defense was bound to make mistakes.

Perhaps this is the tactic the Cavaliers specifically chose after their last defeat.

But the problem with this tactic is that the players' touch must be good enough. As long as they can ensure a high enough hit rate from the outside, it will be difficult to have the disastrous defeat in the last game. "

In the CCTV studio, Teacher Yu Jia was analyzing the situation on the field.

Teacher Yu Jia has a keen sense of smell. From the Cavaliers' first offensive round, he judged that they should hand the end point to the outside players in this game, and James played more of an assisting role.

This choice cannot be said to be right or wrong, it just depends on luck.

If the Cavaliers have a good touch from the outside, then if they make multiple shots, perhaps the Knicks will change their defensive strategy. Once James is released, it will trigger a series of chain reactions, which may eventually cause the Knicks to lose sight of the big picture and eventually lose the game.

But the premise of everything is that the Cavaliers have a good feel.

……

At the end of the first half, the score became 58:52, and the Cavaliers were leading by 5 points.

This is because the Cavaliers had such a good touch in the first half. They seemed to be able to shoot any shot they received the ball with a very high hit rate, which is why they were able to take the lead at halftime.

James only took 7 shots in the first half, and although he only scored 6 points, he made 7 assists, all in the same way as in the first round, breaking through the basket and using his attractiveness to pass the ball to the outside.

The Cavaliers were very excited about the lead in the first half. Mike Brown immediately emphasized that the Cavaliers must continue to implement the strategy of the first half in the second half and try to tie the score to 1:1 before returning to their home court.

And at this moment on the Knicks side, Larry Brown is doing the same persistence as Mike Brown.

"We continued to implement our previous defensive strategy. As their physical strength depleted, they couldn't always maintain their good touch.

They scored so many goals in the first half, and now they are only 5 points ahead of us. Once they can't score from the outside, we can immediately overtake them."

The players listened to the head coach's arrangements and nodded in approval.

Teacher Yu Jia, who used the half-time break to discuss the first half of the game, also mentioned this issue, as he said while holding his glasses.

"Although the Cavaliers are currently leading and they are more competitive than in the last game, I think there is a problem that the Cavaliers should pay attention to.

That is, the premise for their lead in the first half was that their outside shooting touch was particularly good and they never missed. This was certainly related to the Knicks' defensive strategy of focusing on the basket, but it was also related to their good shooting touch in the first half.

But we often say that the touch can't always be good. Once their touch was not good in the second half, how should they solve their offensive problems? Go to the basket or let James play more?
I think this is a question worth considering. Even if they can maintain their good form for the whole game today, it is almost impossible for them to continue in this state in the next few games, so Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown should continue to consider whether they should make their offense more three-dimensional.

Of course, the Knicks also have their own issues that deserve their attention, that is, facing the Cavaliers' outside players in such good condition, should they change their defensive strategy and walk out of the paint area..."

After returning to the second half, the Cavaliers still maintained a good outside touch and continued to lead the score, which made Mike Brown more confident.

They can definitely beat their opponent in this game.

Larry Brown here is also quite paranoid. No matter how the outside shots are made, he will not change his defensive strategy. He has already made up his mind that if the Cavaliers really kill him in this game, he will accept it. Anyway, the defensive strategy cannot be changed.

He just wants to limit James and prevent him from getting into the inside.

Anyway, what determines the victory of the playoffs is the victory of four games, so it doesn’t matter even if you lose one game.

The game time continued to pass, and with 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Larry Brown's persistence finally paid off.

The Cavaliers started to miss shots on a large scale.

I don't know who fired the first shot, but all the Cavaliers players started a symphony of missed shots. James seemed quite happy when he passed the ball, but why did the score stop in the middle of the game and the Knicks overtook him?
By the time James reacted, the Knicks had already overtaken them by 5 points.

Mike Brown called a timeout urgently, but after the timeout the Cavaliers' touch still didn't improve. Touch is a mysterious thing, it comes when you want it, just like your uncle.

At this time, James began to be confused. He didn't know how to play. Should he continue to pass the ball to his teammates or play it himself?
After his teammates missed two more shots, James decided to take charge himself, and he began to fall into the vicious circle of mid-range shots again.

The more shots you miss, the bigger the score gap becomes. The bigger the score gap becomes, the more you want to shoot, and this vicious cycle continues!
The gap between the two teams became wider and wider. With only two minutes left, the Knicks were already leading by 10 points. Zheng Yang originally thought that the game would be very close and he would have to take over the game at the last moment. Who would have thought that this would be the outcome.

That’s good, it saves some effort.

In the last minute of the game, James made a three-pointer. Although it was very cool, it came too late. If it had come a minute earlier, perhaps the Cavaliers would have had a chance to turn the game around.

But now, the situation is over.

The Cavaliers led for almost three and a half quarters of the entire game, but the offensive power outage in the second half of the fourth quarter was too hurtful!
The tenacious Knicks seized the opportunity and took advantage of the opponent's offensive power outage to quickly overtake the score and further expand the score.

The final score was 92:100, and the Knicks won again.

Throughout the game, Zheng Yang scored 22 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Like the previous game, his scoring was not very outstanding, and he still needed to focus his main energy on James.

Although the opponent has shortcomings in offense, he is also a player who can average 30 points per game. His offensive impact is still very strong. It really takes enough energy to defend him.

As for the other Knicks players, they all performed well, like Quentin Richardson scored 18 points, Grant Hill scored 15 points, Rondo scored 10 points and 7 assists...

It was precisely because of the outstanding performance of these role players that the Cavaliers were unable to widen the score in the first three quarters, giving the Knicks a chance to turn defeat into victory.

The score is now 2:0. No one knows what the next trend will be, but the balance of victory has clearly tipped towards the Knicks...

(End of this chapter)