With the referee's whistle, the game officially started.
Jump ball between Jokic and Mozgov.
Jokic won the jump. Seeing this scene, the entire Staples Arena fans were excited.
Jokic loses eight out of ten times he jumps the ball.
Jokic himself was also very happy, twisting and running forward in penguin steps.
Jokic is also very popular with the Lakers. This big fat guy has average talent, but has a great football intelligence and often makes many amazing passes.
Although he is only a rookie, he has already grown into an inside pillar for the Lakers, and his growth rate is the fastest among all rookies.
Randall, the No. 7 pick, has long lived in the shadow of Jokic, and fans often complain that he and Jokic have to swap picks.
Zhao Chen dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, still giving it to Jokic in the low post.
Jokic now has some ability to hit hard in the low post, but he doesn't like to do so hard against the belly.
After Zhao Chen gave the ball away, he immediately started running.
Covington provided a screen for Zhao Chen, Zhao Chen once again got space to receive the ball, and Jokic passed the ball to Zhao Chen.
Defending Zhao Chen was the misplaced Love.
Love is a typical inside line with strong offense and weak defense. Zhao Chen went directly to the right side of Love.
Love was passed by Zhao Chen in seconds. Zhao Chen rushed inside and quickly changed direction to the left, taking three steps directly.
Mozgov challenged Zhao Chen, and the others did not flank Zhao Chen, fearing that Zhao Chen would score the ball.
Zhao Chen's distribution is as sharp as his offense.
Zhao Chen fought against Mozgov and scored with a forced layup.
Just like James, he doesn't need space, he just has his physical talent and creates space to overpower his opponents!
0 to 2.
"Zhao Chen's breakthrough was very domineering. Mozgov tried his best to stop Zhao Chen's attack, but still failed." Barkley said.
The fans at Staples Center also stood and cheered.
Cavaliers head coach David Blatt shook his head. He did not expect Zhao Chen's breakthrough to be so strong.
In the past, Zhao Chen's habit was to shoot away or pass the ball first, and he rarely made breakthroughs like this.
Such a strong Zhao Chen made him feel something was wrong.
As Zhao Chen has been in the NBA longer and longer, his opponents have learned and studied him more and more.
Zhao Chen's scoring habits and rhythm are clearly understood by many strong teams.
Of course, knowing and being on guard are two different things.
Zhao Chen retreated slowly, just as David Blatt thought, Zhao Chen did not pass the ball easily.
The Lakers only have 8 players in rotation today. If they want to defeat the Cavaliers, they need to attack wildly from the beginning.
The Cavaliers attack.
Irving encountered Zhao Chen as soon as he passed halftime.
Although Owen wanted to challenge Zhao Chen in a duel, he knew that now was not the time.
Irving gives the ball to James.
James holds the ball on the right side to organize. James is a top organizing forward with a broad vision and is good at passing, especially at critical moments...
It was Kobe who defended James, not Covington.
This is Kobe's initiative. Kobe wants to continue to compete with his old rival.
Compared with James, Kobe is obviously at a disadvantage in terms of talent now, but Kobe's fame is there after all, and James is not strong, but gives the ball to Love, who uses the screen to come out of the corner.
When Love was in the Timberwolves, he averaged 26 points and 12 rebounds per game. After coming to the Cavaliers, his data dropped to 16 points and 9 rebounds.
Such a decline makes people have to suspect that his data is fraudulent.
There are also many people who say that it is James' influence, just like Bosh.
Transform an NBA All-Star into a CBA teammate...
This is Zhan Hei's joke.
Love's role and positioning when he came to the Cavaliers was completely different from when he was with the Timberwolves.
In the NBA, tactics and positioning can be obvious to a player's data.
However, Love's efficiency decline is not obvious. Love's three-point shooting rate this season is as high as 37%.
Guarding Love will be rookie Jeremy Grant.
Grant is a running and jumping man with little experience. Love caught the ball and deceived him with a fake move.
Love dribbled the ball and took a step up, making a crisp three-point jumper!
"Uh-huh!"
3 to 2.
The home fans at Staples Center were suppressed.
All four Lakers insiders were injured, and Jeremy Grant was obviously not satisfied with this aspect against Love.
"Kevin Love has a three-point range. The Lakers will be in a lot of trouble inside. Let's see how they deal with it." Kenny Smith said.
On the field.
The Lakers offense comes again.
The Lakers' height has dropped, and they have to play at a fast pace.
Zhao Chen carried the ball to the frontcourt, and almost all the Lakers players were running.
Jokic also ran out with big steps to cover Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen is also very decisive, frequently dribbling around Jokic's body and shooting three-pointers directly!
It was Irving who defended Zhao Chen, but Irving was completely blocked by Jokic, and Mozgov did not fully follow.
Zhao Chen quickly found an opening.
"Uh-huh!"
The basketball penetrates the net! !
3 to 5.
The cheers that had just been suppressed at the scene started again!
Fans saw a different Zhao Chen. Zhao Chen seemed to not want to take revenge after losing to James.
Zhao Chen was extra determined today.
Zhao Chen's scoring average has dropped a lot in the past half month, and he has also lost a lot of 50+ points.
While a triple-double is cool, fans can also find it annoying.
What the fans want to see more is Zhao Chen's unscrupulous scoring, rather than always playing reasonable ball. This is a strange mentality.
Some time ago, the reason why Zhao Chen didn't score high was because he didn't need to.
The Lakers rookies are making rapid progress, and the system and lineup are stable. All he needs to do is help the team deliver cannonballs.
In this way, he can win without getting tired, so why not Zhao Chen.
"Zhao Chen's three-pointers are getting sharper and sharper. He is currently aiming for the NBA single-season three-pointer record." Enna said in a sweet voice.
Enna tried her best to restrain her emotions when explaining Zhao Chen's games.
"Help defend, don't let him take a three-pointer." James shouted at Mozgov.
James knows how scary Zhao Chen's three-pointers are.
Owen gritted his teeth and stared at Zhao Chen. Zhao Chen's scoring ability was really strong.
The Cavaliers attack.
Irving did not give it to James this time, but gave the ball directly to Love.
Love posted up Jeremy Grant.
"boom!"
"boom!"
After continuously relying on the ball, he turned to the basket and scored an easy layup.
5 to 5.
It's also easy for Love to beat Grant.
Lakers offense.
As soon as Zhao Chen passed halftime, Owen came up.
Owen shouted at Zhao Chen: "Don't call it a cover if you have the ability."
Zhao Chen used cover in his first two attacks, leaving Irving with nothing to do.
Zhao Chen ignored Owen, but immediately made a big change of direction, passed Owen in seconds, and rushed in directly.
"Whoosh!"
As soon as Owen finished speaking, he could only look back and see Zhao Chen's back.
"So fast!"
Owen didn't react at all.
With Love assisting in defense, Zhao Chen relied on Love to forcefully kill him.
Zhao Chen had already started and couldn't guard him. Love had no choice but to foul and hug Zhao Chen.
"Beep!"
The referee held up two fingers to indicate that there were two penalties.
Zhao Chen stood on the free throw line!
Greeted by cheers from the scene, Zhao Chen made two free throws.
5 to 7.
Zhao Chen scored 7 points in a row!
At this time, Zhao Chen looked back at Owen and said, "What did you say? I didn't hear clearly just now."
