James does have a bit of the bloodthirsty momentum he had when he played the Celtics in G6 in the semifinals.
For him, this game is also a game that cannot be lost, otherwise consecutive losses in the finals and three runner-up places are really incompatible with his own plan and positioning.
His target is Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of the new century.
Instead of Elgin Baylor II, become the backdrop for the championship.
For experienced opponents like the Spurs and Mavericks, if they lose, they will lose, and they can even make up excuses to comfort them.
Like the Clippers, whose average age is less than 25 years old and the youngest of the 16 teams in the entire playoffs, losing to them?
In that case, James will really be like Dr. J. He became famous but never won a championship.
Until Dr. J. Irving and Moses Malone teamed up...
Moses Malone? Who else in today's league can be as invincible as Moses Malone?
James knows that now is not the time to think about this kind of problem, he must win this game.
He tried to remember the feeling he had in the semifinals against the Celtics.
In Game 6, in Boston, TD North Shore Garden, countless fans jeered.
As the Cavaliers bus drove into Boston, roadside billboards began insulting James.
These Boston white sons of bitches undoubtedly aroused James' anger. He entered an extremely calm state with anger, which is the so-called zone mode. The last time he appeared in such a mode was when he faced the Detroit Pistons in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. , also in the away game.
Generally speaking, when playing away games, James is more focused and plays more decisively and without hesitation.
On the contrary, at home, in Cleveland, the pressure was too much on him.
The chants from the fans at Quicken Loans Center were deafening.
On the road, James likes to keep things quiet.
At home, he is most afraid of the sudden silence and the loneliness after the game.
Cleveland's expectations for him are too great, and James' desire to bring Cleveland a championship is too strong.
Too much strength is easy to break, too much strong belief, if there is not enough support, sometimes it will lead to collapse.
The Clippers' timeout ended and players from both sides returned to the court.
James glanced at Smart Min sitting behind the Clippers bench.
The two have not communicated on the phone since the start of the finals.
After all, one has to avoid suspicion.
Min Congda looked unusually serious, and James felt that he was bound to win this championship.
Look at the lineup he created. The third position is full of young talents and strong newcomers.
It feels like it's tailor-made for you.
So why didn't he let himself join the Clippers in the first place?
So many of the reasons he said were actually false?
In the end, it was all about defeating himself in the finals, stepping on the "King's" corpse, and leading the Clippers to the top of the league.
Is this the best script he has set up?
After all, if James comes to the Clippers, the Clippers must be the King's team.
What now? The Clippers don't belong to any player but Smart Min's team.
He single-handedly promoted the team's new players, and he personally signed all the team's strong players.
They even got the No. 1 pick in 2012!
This person's thoughts are so meticulous and terrifying.
James considers himself a far-sighted and thoughtful person, with a very long-term and good plan for his career.
But now that he was facing such a situation in the finals, he had to admire Min Congda for thinking longer and more carefully than him.
"But the help he gave me was all real, and his words were so sincere. Could it be that they were all deception..."
A glimmer of doubt flashed through James' mind, and the game had already begun.
Curry holds the ball on the outside and picks and rolls with Gasol, and directly pulls up and hits a three-pointer!
The power of the three-pointer is so terrifying. In an instant, the two sides were tied.
One three-pointer feels good, but a dozen in a game is just a dozen more points.
In a duel between experts, the difference is often a matter of millimeters, and one or two points can determine the outcome of the game.
The Cavaliers must contain the Clippers' three-pointers. The Clippers have already missed three-pointers in these games.
James holds the ball, breaks through the middle, makes an emergency stop, shoots a mid-range jumper, and hits it again!
James scored 9 points in a row at the beginning, and his touch was really good.
The cheers of the fans at the scene became louder and louder.
Curry once again used a high pick-and-roll, and the Cavaliers began to attack and encircle the ball. Curry gave the ball to Gasol.
Gasol had no one in front of him. He held the ball from the high post and rushed to the basket. He made a high hook shot and hit the board!
"Shet!"
The Cavaliers players cursed in their hearts.
The scariest thing about the Clippers is that their lineup really has no shortcomings, especially on the offensive end.
Everyone has the ability to hold the ball and initiate an offense. Even if you ask the center to get the ball outside the three-point line, he can attack.
This caused the Cavaliers to be very difficult on the defensive end and could not find the focus of defense.
For example, when the Clippers defend against the Cavaliers, the focus is on James and hunting him.
If someone like Robin Lopez gets to pick and roll the ball in the high post, then let him be.
Anyway, he poses no threat with the ball in that position.
The Clippers are different. No one can let down their guard when getting the ball in any position.
Even if Randolph holds the ball outside the three-point line, he cannot let it go, because Randolph also has a 33% three-point shooting rate.
And he can take a step forward with the ball and shoot from mid-range. Randolph's mid-range shot is quite accurate.
In the first and second games, the Clippers relied too much on the ball-handling offense of Curry and Harden, which resulted in the Cavaliers focusing on defense and being unable to open the offense.
Starting from the third game, the Clippers redistributed the ball and allowed Randolph, Gasol and others to participate more in the offense, and the Cavaliers were a little unable to bear it.
The series itself evolves and changes dynamically.
The Clippers' victory over the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals relied on the performance of the two stars and the suppression of tactics and thinking.
After all, the role players of the Lakers have very strong personal abilities. If they attack without focus and cannot suppress Kobe + Paul, the Clippers will not win the game.
The situation of the Cavaliers is different from that of the Lakers. The Cavaliers are a shooter group + singles masters with James as the core.
Their defense is tough and disciplined, but their shortcoming is that they have little imagination in tactical strategies.
For the Clippers, their abundant imagination and talent are their greatest advantages.
Once this advantage was unleashed on the finals stage, they were unstoppable.
After Gasol's hook hit, the Clippers continued to let James shoot in the defense, giving him a chance to make a shot.
And James was in good condition. He caught the ball in the right corner, turned around, and hit a mid-range jump shot!
James has scored 11 points in a row at the beginning, and the fans are clamoring crazily.
The Clippers' Gasol holds the ball in the high post, and Curry moves around like a loach, which affects the Cavaliers' defense.
Harden suddenly made a reverse run and cut to the basket, received Gasol's pass, and succeeded in an easy layup!
You know, cutting and running in reverse is not Harden's strength. This little fat guy's offensive movement is a bit lazy.
The Cavaliers players did not expect that their defensive attention would be on Curry.
Unexpectedly, Harden succeeded in running back and scored an easy-ball.
You must know that this is the finals, and such a goal will hurt the morale of the defensive team.
Like the tiebreaker between the Lakers and Celtics in the 2010 Finals, let alone this easy ball, it is not easy to shoot.
But this is not because the Cavaliers don't defend well, but in just two years, the offensive and defensive strategies in the NBA have changed, and the scale of whistleblowing is also slightly different.
Simple strong-side pressure with the ball can no longer limit the opponent's offense.
Especially a team like the Clippers, which frequently uses pick-and-rolls and cuts, and has huge offensive space on the court.
Pick-and-rolls often start just after halftime, and there is a huge space below the free throw line. The methods of Larry Brown, Thibodeau and others no longer work well.
The result of following the old method of blindly stacking the strong side and defending less on the weak side is to be defeated by passes and cuts.
Mike Brown gradually realized this. He began to realize that the defensive end was more important than pressing, maintaining resilience and continuity. The endurance on the defensive end began to become more important than explosive power.
The kind of defense that the Detroit Pistons or Boston Celtics used in the past, where opponents burst out with intense pressure in a short period of time and were unable to move for several minutes, will become increasingly rare in the NBA in the future.
It's just that Mike Brown realized this a little late.
The game continues.
James' touch is still very hot, just like in G6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, he hit consecutive shots in the beginning.
It wasn't until his ninth shot that he missed a three-pointer from the outside and missed the first shot.
At this time, James had scored 17 points in a row, but the Cavaliers were 1 point behind the Clippers at 20:21.
The Clippers, who got the backcourt rebound, launched a counterattack, and Gasol made a long pass to the frontcourt.
George jumped high to get the ball. Facing two Cavaliers defenders, he suddenly passed the ball behind his head to Harden who was following.
Harden caught the ball and succeeded with a one-arm split dunk with his left hand!
Isn't the Cavaliers' defense adequate? Very spot on.
Battier and Green followed George. George barely caught the ball. It would be difficult to make a layup directly on a fast break.
There is a high probability that George should slow down and reorganize a positional attack.
As a result, George boldly passed a ball behind his head and found Harden who followed.
Harden scored easily again.
It can be seen that after a series of running-in, or after a whole season of running-in, the players' confidence and tacit understanding have reached their peak.
When they were about to touch the championship trophy, this tacit understanding, confidence, and imagination were completely unleashed at the Quicken Loans Center in Cleveland.
Even if James performed like a god descending from the earth, they were still not afraid.
At 20:23, the Clippers led the Cavaliers by 3 points, and Mike Brown called a timeout.
Min Congda looked at the performance of James and the Cavaliers and thought that the Cavaliers' performance tonight was already very good, and James' performance was even better. He looked like he was going to replicate his performance in G6 in the semifinals.
But the problem is that in the semifinals against the Celtics in G6, James made consecutive shots, but the Celtics couldn't score on the offensive end.
Pierce repeatedly missed three-pointers, and the Celtics had no good way to fight in position. They had always been piecemeal and had no good way.
Therefore, the Celtics fell behind early and struggled to catch up until the offense completely collapsed in the fourth quarter and suffered a disastrous home defeat.
The Clippers' offense is obviously very smooth, and there is a feeling that they are becoming more relaxed and better as they play.
During the timeout, Tyronn Lue did not need to arrange any tactics. Everyone spoke enthusiastically. Harden and Curry took the tactical board to explain the tactics to everyone, how to play and how to defend in the future.
The Clippers' defense is the type that doesn't seem to have much intensity, but is extremely resilient and disciplined.
So far in the playoffs, the Clippers have not conceded the fewest points, nor have they had the best shooting percentage in suppressing their opponents. But looking at their game process, we know that the Clippers' defense rarely collapses.
There is no such situation where everyone is blinded by the attack, not knowing how to defend, and being stunned by the opponent's waves.
Discipline, focus, everyone knows what they have to do on the court and performs their duties.
This is a team that is growing on its own, and the young players enjoy basketball and progress.
The championship is the best reward for their growth.
The timeout ends and the game continues.
The Cavaliers tried to change the focus of the offense, allowing Irving to hold the ball more to launch attacks and reduce the pressure on James.
But Irving is still a rookie after all, and he lacks game experience and skills. Facing the Clippers' tough defense, he missed the throw when he reached the basket.
Gasol got a backcourt rebound and passed the ball to Curry. Curry dribbled and observed and suddenly made a long pass to the frontcourt, and Harden caught the ball.
Harden took the ball and challenged Danny Green one-on-one at 45 degrees on the right side.
After continuous dribbling, he broke through, pulled back, stepped back, and hit a mid-range jump shot.
The more the Clippers played, the more relaxed they became.
James had to step forward and receive the ball with his back at a 45-degree angle from the left.
Turn around and shoot from mid-range, and it goes in!
James' hand feels so good that it explodes.
Immediately, the Clippers found Randolph in the low post.
Randolph Sigma turned to face the frame, took a mid-range shot, and hit!
Whenever James scores a goal, there is always someone on the Clippers side who can respond.
Neither side made any achievements in the subsequent two attacks.
By the end of the first quarter, the Cavaliers were 4 points behind the Clippers at 25:29.
James scored 19 points alone in the first quarter, but the Cavaliers trailed the Clippers.
"James wants to replicate the madness of G6 in the semifinals, but our Clippers are not the Celtics. Our offensive firepower is too strong, and the offense of these dogs is completely open! But what he is doing is not completely correct..."
Min Congda kept a close eye on the situation, and he could feel that James was using his own strength to resist the Clippers team.
But if Min Congda were the Cavaliers head coach, he would never let James do this.
Individual heroism is certainly inspiring, but basketball is ultimately a team sport.
Once these suitable teammates are assigned to you, you must make full use of them.
I will be the one who takes care of things myself, and I will do things that others cannot do.
Instead of doing what I can do first, then leaving it to others when I can’t do it myself, and then saying that I have tried my best.
This is not what true superstars do on the field.
Min Congda was very anxious, but he had no choice. He was the general manager of the Clippers, so he couldn't hand a note to the Cavaliers players, right?
The second quarter started quickly, with James sitting off the court and resting, and the Cavaliers were led by Irving.
The Clippers replaced Dragic, Milicic, and Leonard, a lineup with strong defensive strength.
Randolph became the Clippers' main attack point, and he and Milicic rushed under the basket to grab offensive rebounds, once stretching the score to 8 points.
However, Battier and Mike Miller both hit three-pointers to extend the Cavaliers' life, catching up to 2 points.
From the mutual testing in the first quarter, the competition between the two sides gradually became fierce in the second quarter.
Theoretically speaking, both Tyronn Lue and Mike Brown have many players, and there are many people who can play.
But Mike Brown is more conservative in hiring people. For example, Hinrich, who played a great role against the Heat, and veteran inside player Camby, Brown no longer dare to use them.
As the two of them age, their condition declines sharply, and their concentration on the defensive end cannot keep up.
Tyronn Lue is more unruly in his employment, and still uses a multi-player rotation. Milicic, Bonner, Leonard, Butler, George, Jeremy Lin and others can all get opportunities to play.
Sometimes in a certain round, Tyronn Lue would send a player to play for one round and then take a rest.
For example, before the official timeout in the second quarter, Tyronn Lue replaced Bonner and played an outside three-pointer. Bonner hit a three-pointer from his sweet spot at 45 degrees!
After the official timeout, Tyronn Lue replaced Bonner, not giving the opponent a chance to attack Bonner on the offensive end.
It can be said that the rotation art guided by Lu reached a very high level in this game.
Even Min Congda was a little impressed. This crooked-looking guy really had something to offer!
(End of chapter)
