Li Yan was kept on the court by George Karl. He couldn't use it very well and couldn't bear to take it off.
Iverson usually enjoyed such "animal" treatment before.
"Answer"'s average playing time is more than 42 minutes per game all year round, which would be completely unimaginable if it were applied to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George later.
These two buddies play very well, but the key is that they don't play at all, and the boss Ballmer pays the highest luxury tax. As a result, the Clippers can compete for the championship every year in the offseason.
Anthony moved to the fourth position, and it was Li Yan who defended James.
Li Yan finally felt the impact of James, and his chest was painful from the impact.
Fortunately, James didn't attack all the time. He kept looking for opportunities to play for Big Z.
Big Z has an absolute advantage in size and confrontation. Kenyon Martin is only 206cm. James' ability to judge the game is very accurate.
Knight's turn.
Big Z pushed away Kenyon Martin and hit a hook from the right.
Kenyon Martin doesn't have much to do about this. It is foreseeable that if Draymond Green reaches this era, it will not be realistic to defend traditional centers.
In this era, the basic skills of the center are still very solid, and they are not a jumping man who can only "eat cakes".
Nuggets round.
After Li Yan received the serve, he began to speed up.
The Nuggets are very athletic here and they move through the half court very quickly.
On the other hand, for the Cavaliers, Big Z and Gooden couldn't keep up with the Nuggets' pace.
When the Nuggets started their offense, only James and two guards were in position.
With 5 on 3 in the frontcourt, James was a little confused. How to defend against this horse-riding player?
James went inside and stared at Kenyon Martin.
Hughes and Gibson also chose Iverson and JR Smith, who are relatively friendly in size.
Li Yan and Anthony were shorted at the same time.
Li Yan passed the ball to "Melon" on the right side of the three-point line. Anthony did not make any extra moves. After adjusting his rhythm, he directly shot a three-pointer.
The basketball drew a rainbow in the air, and "Wha!" hit the ball hollowly.
After Anthony completed his shot, the Cavaliers' two big men panted and got into position.
"Wow! The Nuggets have increased their speed. The Cavaliers' interior can't keep up with the rhythm. Carmelo Anthony has no one to defend at all."
The next three rounds are all reenactments of the scene.
For the Nuggets, Kenyon Martin completed a dunk and Anthony hit 2 three-pointers.
James was numbed directly. What happened?
If you guard Anthony, Kenyon Martin will be missed. If you guard Kenyon Martin, Anthony will be unguarded.
Hughes and Gibson can only guard backcourt players, and the tall and strong "Melo" is invincible.
In 4 rounds, he hit 3 three-pointers.
Anthony was so excited that he made his signature "three-finger headshot" three-point celebration.
On the other hand, for the Cavaliers, Big Z, James, and Gooden each scored 2 points, and the score was 3 in 4 rounds, which is very efficient.
But the Nuggets scored 11 points, and the difference widened by 5 points in just these two minutes.
With 2 minutes and 10 seconds left in the second quarter, the point difference between the two teams has reached 20+.
Mike Brown immediately requested a timeout. Mike Brown is the head coach of the Spurs and has a lot of experience in defense.
But seeing the Nuggets like this, he was also troubled.
The Nuggets' play just now was a replica of the Suns' "7-second offense." It was with this play that Steve Nash won the regular season MVP title, becoming the second player after "Magic" Johnson to achieve this feat. defender.
Arizona's wind has swept the league, but now how can the Nuggets, who have stronger personal abilities, defend?
"Unbelievable!" In the TNT studio, Barkley went crazy: "Did the Nuggets just play a 7-second offense?"
"It's so beautiful. Could it be that Denver has also practiced such tactics? Or is it entirely Li Yan's personal ability?"
"It's already difficult to have a Phoenix Suns, and now there's a Denver Nuggets."
"The most terrible thing is that the Nuggets' offensive ability is also ridiculously strong. They have two strong points in Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson." Smith sighed:
"Li Yan's physical confrontation is much better than that of Steve Nash. It's still difficult to target him."
When everyone wanted to see how the Cavaliers would make adjustments to fight the "Suns version" of the Nuggets, George Karl was directly replaced by Li Yan.
Li Yan has never rested, and now that he is leading by a big score, it is understandable that he should take a break.
The Cavaliers replaced Big Z with Varejao, and replaced Gibson with Snow, who has better defense; the Nuggets replaced Li Yan with Nene.
Iverson swung to the point guard position to control the ball. Iverson had no problem with his ball control, but he was deficient in vision.
Once someone of "Answer's" height is surrounded, it is difficult to observe the situation of his teammates. Iverson's assist method is a bit simple, basically breaking through and scoring the ball.
As a result, the Nuggets have returned to the old path of fighting alone in positional battles.
The Nuggets' offensive efficiency dropped a notch. They played back and forth with the Cavaliers, which was very lively.
The half ended quickly, with the Nuggets leading 62 to 41 by 21 points.
Li Yan performed well, scoring 6 points and 13 assists, just one step away from 15 assists.
The intermission ended and the game quickly started.
George Karl returned to the lineup with Li Yan, Allen Iverson, JR Smith, Carmelo Anthony, and Kenyon Martin.
Mike Brown also expected such a result. He sent Eric Snow, Larry Hughes, LeBron James, Donyel Marshall, and "Brazilian Movie King" Varejao to fight tit for tat.
In this way, the Cavaliers can keep up with the rhythm, but the talent of the players is too far apart.
Except for LeBron James, the other four Cavaliers were suppressed by their opponents.
Unlike Nash, Li Yan's confrontational ability is very strong. The Cavaliers can only gain the upper hand by sending James to face him.
But if this is the case, "Melo" Anthony will become an unmanageable point.
And if James defends Anthony, Li Yan will be freed up.
The Nuggets' fast-paced whirlwind was too much for Cleveland to parry.
At the end of the third quarter, the score difference between the two teams reached 30+ early.
In the fourth quarter, both teams sent in substitutes, and the game completely turned into garbage time.
