Chapter 69: Hang James Up and Beat Him
After having a midnight snack with Nash, Zheng Yang returned to the hotel to rest. The next day, he boarded the team bus and headed to the airport.

The Mavericks will not have any games until the match against the Cavaliers on the 15th.

Zheng Yang has not rested these two days. He trains whenever he has free time and continues to improve himself.

Although this season is a good window for winning the championship, it is still not easy for them to win the championship with teams like the Spurs, Suns, and Pistons around.

We still have to continue to become stronger!
Two days have passed in a flash, and it is almost the 15th. Today, the Cleveland Cavaliers will visit the American Airlines Center to challenge the host team, the Dallas Mavericks.

This game also attracted a lot of attention, and of course the fans' attention was mainly focused on the old rivals Zheng Yang and James.

They want to see who will perform better in this game.

However, before the game started, there were still more fans supporting Zheng Yang.

Zheng Yang's performance in the new season is obvious to all. He has played 6 regular season games so far. Except for one game in which he was in poor form and only scored 19 points, he scored more than 5 points in the other 25 games.

There were also 2 games with more than 30 points and 1 game with more than 40 points.

His scoring ability has reached the top level in the league and can be compared with players like Kobe, Iverson, and McGrady.

As for James, although he has made great progress, he is still a little behind Zheng Yang.

Sometimes James' fans would fantasize that it would be great if there was no Zheng Yang in this world, so that their brother could attract all the attention of the world.

It’s a pity that there are no ifs in this world!

Before the game, ESPN predicted that Zheng Yang's probability of scoring 30+ was 88.9%, while James's probability was only 35.2%.

As for the winning percentage of the two teams, the Mavericks have a high of 98.9%, while the Cavaliers have a low of only 1.1%.

It can be said that this is a game without suspense!

Before the game, James also learned about the prediction data given by ESPN, but he was not angry, he just sneered.

"Good, great! I know no one will believe that I can play better than that yellow guy, and no one believes that we can win this game.

But I just want everyone to know that I, LeBron, am the best player in the 03 class, and I will lead the team to win the game."

He is very confident, and he knows that when everyone is questioning the protagonist, it is a good time for the protagonist to show off and get slapped in the face.

And tonight is the perfect time!
……

During the pre-match warm-up, Zheng Yang noticed that something was not right with James on the opposite side.

Why is this guy looking at me with a crooked mouth?

Is it a facial cramp?
This doesn't seem like it. Is there something wrong with him?
may be!

Zheng Yang frowned and couldn't think of an answer, so he ignored him and continued with his warm-up.

James, who was using his domineering aura to intimidate his opponents before the game, suddenly smiled and looked complacent!

Humph, best rookie, nothing more than that!
After being shocked by my gazes, he didn't even have the courage to look me in the eye!

Haha, you just wait to die today!
……

While James was "shocking" Zheng Yang, Kenny Smith was arguing with Barkley in the TNT studio.

He didn't want to be criticized anymore, so today he decided to trust James for once!
He believes that James will definitely bounce back this time and slap the faces of those fans and media!

James, please get hard for me and let me drool!
With this belief in mind, Kenny Smith had an argument with Barkley before the game.

"I can assure you that in this game, James will definitely lock down Zheng, score 30+ or ​​even 40+ and lead the team to victory."

Kenny Smith said this with absolute certainty, his tone had never been so firm.

When Barkley heard the other party's words, he first thought that he had heard it wrong, and then he wondered if he had put too much pressure on the other party, causing him to have hallucinations.

Lock up Zheng?
Scored 30+, 40+?

Lead the team to victory?

Among these three, except for the second one, there is still some chance, but for the other two, you wouldn't even dare to do it in your dreams!

Last season, James had no easy time against Zheng Yang. This season, the opponent has improved so much that the best defensive players on other teams don't dare to lock him down.

You, with your mediocre skills, dare you say you can lock him up?

Let’s talk about it first, can you keep up with the opponent’s fast break speed?
As for leading the team to victory...

Indeed, there are no weak teams in the NBA, and upsets happen from time to time!
But that usually happens when a strong team underestimates its opponent. A championship contending team, a team on the edge of the playoffs, both of them are very serious, and you just beat them head-on.

Barkley was completely speechless. There were so many things to complain about at the moment that he didn't even know where to start!
……

At 19:30, the game officially begins!
There is no need to elaborate on the starting lineup of the Mavericks, let’s take a look at the starting lineup of the Cavaliers!
From positions one to five, they are Jeff McGinnis, LeBron James, Ira Newbell, Drew Gooden, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Apart from James, the most famous player should be center Zadunas, who was selected as an All-Star reserve in the 02-03 season, and in the original history, he would also be selected as an All-Star reserve this season.

Judging from the strength on paper alone, the two teams are not comparable at all. It would really take a miracle for the Cavaliers to beat the Mavericks.

The game came to the jump ball stage, and thanks to the 2.21-foot- (-meter) height, the Cavaliers got the first chance to attack.

After Jeff dribbled the ball across half court, he immediately passed it to James, and Big Chou followed closely.

Da Chou was aware of the grudge between Zheng Yang and James. As Zheng Yang's number one younger brother, he did nothing else in this game but keep an eye on him.

Want to walk around the field? You can!
Want to get the ball and score? Impossible!
Big Chou's defense put a lot of pressure on James. His height and weight did not put him at much of a disadvantage when facing James. At the same time, he also has rich defensive experience, which is why he was able to secure his starting position.

But it has to be said that James has also grown a lot. Under the close defense of Big Chou, he did not panic, but squeezed the opponent away first to leave space for a breakthrough.

Then he made a not-so-good-looking change of tactics and rushed directly to the inside.

Of course, Big Chou was not fooled by his disguise, but James' physical fitness is indeed strong. Even though he has blocked his offensive position as much as possible, he is still carried to the inside by the opponent.

After rushing to the basket, James threw the basketball and prepared to shoot it off the backboard.

But Dampier, who was watching from the sidelines, was no pushover. As Zheng Yang's new younger brother, his focus in this game was also on James.

He was already a little unhappy because he didn't beat Zajunas in the jump ball, and now he's taking it out on you.

So he jumped high and slapped James' basketball dream away with one slap!

"You think you can beat my boss? Go back to college for two years first!" After confronting James, Dampier continued to trash-talk his opponent.

But when these words came out, three people on the field were stunned.

James was stunned. Is that yellow man so strong? Even the players who just signed a 70 million contract are willing to recognize him as the boss!

Nowitzki was confused. What I mean is, apart from Jason Terry, is there no other starter who is willing to recognize me as the leader of the team?

Jason Terry: Actually... my boss is Zheng. He can help me with the data, but you can't, Sir!

Zheng Yang was also confused. When did I become Dampier's boss? To take the second-best center in the West as my younger brother? Am I already that awesome?
"I will definitely defeat you."

After being trash-talked by Dampier, James shouted at Zheng Yang instead.

The latter looked innocent and said, "He is the one who is making fun of you. He is the one who is spewing trash. Go find him. Why are you yelling at me?"
Damn, good people are often bullied. I am usually too kind and gentle, so you dare to provoke me again and again!

I must show you some color today!
Zheng Yang was also angry, so he took the initiative to ask for the ball in the next round, and Jason Terry was also tactful and gave the ball to him.

Zheng Yang looked at Ira who was defending in front of him, and without much hesitation, he took a three-point shot.

The moment the basketball hit the target, Zheng Yang and Jason Terry became excited at the same time.

Zheng Yang: 3 points obtained!
Jason Terry: Assist got!
Looking back, James continued to play one-on-one with the ball, but this time he failed to get into the inside due to the defense of Big Chou and almost lost the ball.

When there were only three or four seconds left, he passed the ball to center Zajunas, who quickly shot. Thanks to his height advantage, Dampier's interference was minimal.

The basketball spun around the rim two or three times before falling into the net!

2: 3!

It was the Mavericks' turn to attack again. This time, Jason Terry passed the ball to Nowitzki. He had to support Zheng but not be cold to Nowitzki. This was Jason Terry's way of dealing with people.

Nowitzki got the ball and faced the basket for a one-on-one shot. He accelerated and broke through and rushed into the inside. Drew Gooden couldn't keep up with him at all. In the end, he could only watch him jump high and dunk.

……

Halfway through the first quarter, James had scored two points except for a mid-range shot.

On the other hand, Zheng Yang has scored 11 points in total from inside and outside shots. If this continues, he will score 30+ points today.

Cavaliers head coach Paul Silas saw that something was wrong and quickly replaced James to give him a rest.

Not only will we lose the game today, but we will also be beaten.

James was anxious. My stats were not good to begin with, and now that my playing time has decreased, won’t the stats be even worse?

Paul Silas hurried to comfort the chosen one.

"LeBron, you should take this opportunity to rest more and wait until the opponent's main players leave before you go up and show your scoring talent."

James' eyes lit up. Travel during off-peak hours?

That’s a good idea!

……

With only about three minutes left in the first quarter, Nowitzki and others prepared to go down to rest. Zheng Yang also planned to take a break. Anyway, the Cavaliers were not strong today, so he didn't need to play so hard.

But seeing James on the bench walking towards the sidelines, ready to play, Zheng Yang decided to play a little longer.

Old Nelson had no objection. As long as they could win, he could play for as many minutes as he wanted.

When James came on the court, he saw Zheng Yang was still on the court. For some reason, he became hesitant again.

Or... come back later?
Never mind. The game will be over any later. I can just avoid him and fight him later.

He is still quite afraid of Zheng Yang's defense. Even Da Chou can restrict him. If Zheng Yang comes to defend, then he really won't have to play in this game.

The game continued. Zheng Yang was originally prepared to defend James. After all, the reason he stayed to continue playing was because of the opponent.

But when James saw Zheng Yang coming, he immediately called a pick-and-roll and came in front of the other players.

I can't afford to fight, but I can afford to hide!

James, who averaged 27.2 points per game this season, is indeed very good at offense. Without the restriction of the Chou and the deliberate help defense of Dampier, he rushed directly into the inside and scored a dunk.

The first quarter was almost over, and James finally scored a good goal. He excitedly showed his muscles to the Mavericks.

The great son of Akron cannot be stopped by you!

Zheng Yang ignored him and went straight for a fast break after receiving the serve. Before James' smile faded, he also scored a dunk.

Then he looked at James with disdain and asked, "Have you never dunked?"
Why are you so excited about dunking a ball?
Noticing the disdain in Zheng Yang's eyes, James was furious. You look down on me, right? Fine, I must... Never mind, I'll just continue hiding.

James was not blinded by anger. He is a very smart player and he knows that if he can't beat the opponent, he has to learn to run.

So he tried his best to use screens to avoid Zheng Yang in every offensive round, but he couldn't avoid him every time he wanted.

Less than a minute into the first quarter, Zheng Yang still stood in front of James because the Cavaliers' backup center did not do a good job of pick-and-roll.

Feeling that it would be embarrassing to avoid Zheng Yang by shouting a higher level, James decided to play against Zheng Yang alone.

It doesn’t matter if I didn’t score. Everyone has times when they lose the shot!

But if I score... hey, sorry, my goal will appear on the cover of tomorrow's newspaper!
With this idea in mind, James dribbled the ball step by step towards Zheng Yang, who lowered his center of gravity and observed the opponent's attack. He would put 100% of his energy into defending the ball.

But with only three seconds left, James suddenly broke through, and the next second he stepped back to the three-point line, ready to launch a surprise attack.

But to be honest, everyone who has seen James play knows that he was going to shoot a three-pointer, but he was the only one who thought he was "shooting a sneak attack."

James didn't take a big step back, then raised the ball over his head, ready to shoot.

But Zheng Yang, who was experienced in defense and familiar with James' habits, predicted his thoughts, and at the moment the basketball was shot, Zheng Yang's slap followed.

With a "bang", the basketball was hit away again. While James was still shocked, Zheng Yang had already rushed to the frontcourt, picked up the basketball he had just hit away, jumped directly from the free throw line, and glided for a slam dunk.

For a moment, cheers resounded throughout the American Airlines Center.

(End of this chapter)