Chapter 108 107. Unexpected Knight!

Perkins, who was about to clean up Felton's mess, took the defensive rebound and quickly passed it to Felton. He wanted to calm down, but this outrageous defensive strategy actually worked!

Felton was also dumbfounded. He had never expected this ending. Just now, he had already imagined in his mind how the opponent would ride on his head and score, but this was the result?
However, Felton did not stop his actions. After receiving the ball, he saw Zhang Yang and Gerald Wallace running fast on both sides. He took two steps and passed the ball!

After seeing the two opponents making a fast break, James immediately ran after them, actively chasing and counterattacking to hide his embarrassment. When he saw Gerald Wallace receiving the lob, he quickly approached and wanted to follow behind Gerald Wallace and try to block the shot in order to regain the face he had just lost.

I have to say that James' physical fitness is really amazing. He started from the baseline, and Gerald Wallace started from the free throw line, but he caught up with him.

But Gerald Wallace just attracted the target of defense and passed it again!
Zhang Yang shook off Snow, received the ball from mid-range on the right side of the three-second zone, took two steps and jumped with all his strength, then slammed the ball into the frame with one hand!
His jump is not very high and his dunk is not violent enough, but he is light and agile, his dunk is simple and clean, his long legs and arms make his body movements smooth... The key is that he looks good.

The cheers of the fans at the scene boiled over again, and the North Carolina seniors were ready to rush in and devote themselves.

Gerald Wallace excitedly rushed up and high-fived Zhang Yang to celebrate, not for the fast break dunk, but for the defense just now.

When Zhang Yang gave such instructions, Gerald Wallace couldn't understand it either. He had the same idea as Perkins, thinking that this defensive strategy was outrageous. It was only because the freshman was smart that he chose to trust and help fool people... No, it was stimulating... No, it was not right, it was provocative... It was still not quite right... Anyway, it was just to help Felton be willing to defend like that.

He could also relieve the physical exhaustion. He had good physical strength, but fighting with James still consumed a lot of energy.

I didn’t expect that this wave of mindless trust could actually be prevented!
Zhang Yang was also very happy that the strategy was effective!
The original team for this move was not the Mavericks in the 2011 Finals, but the Magic in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals.

Howard was unable to effectively restrict James in the early days. Before the 09 Eastern Conference Finals, when the two played against each other, those defending James on the outside were Turkoglu, Keith Bogans, Hill who had been injured many times and was no longer in defense, Maurice Evans... and others. These people were basically passed by James in one step. Howard faced James who rushed into the basket unhindered under the basket, and he actually had no good way to restrict him.

In the 08-09 season, in the regular season, James faced the basket protected by Howard, the best defensive player of the season, and scored 27 points with 15 of 42 shots in a single game; in the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals, James scored 30 points with 20 of 49 shots, and in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, James scored 23 points with 12 of 35 shots.

It was not until Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals that the situation between Howard and James was reversed when Van Gundy used Alston to defend James. In Game 3, James' shooting percentage was reduced to 39%. The Magic began to suppress the Cavaliers. After the last 4 games of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Magic had 3 wins and 1 loss.

From then on, every team would defend James in that way as long as the conditions allowed. The Celtics in the 10 playoffs and the Mavericks in the 11 finals actually borrowed Van Gundy's defensive strategy.

However, not every team can use this defensive strategy. The conditions are quite harsh and most teams do not have that configuration.

First of all, there must be an inside player who can make James feel threatened. The Magic have Howard, the Celtics have Perkins and Garnett after a serious injury, and the Mavericks have Chandler and Marion.

Just like just now, Perkins came in from the left side of the three-second zone and Gerald Wallace was heading to the free throw line, so James could only go to the right. With these prerequisites, Felton had the opportunity to keep up with James.

The point guard also has to be brave enough. Although Alston did a lot of outrageous things, he was very brave. Rondo is even more so. Most point guards don't even dare to face off against James on the defensive end.

Even Felton was inspired by Gerald Wallace to take the job.

In fact, Zhang Yang didn't have much hope at the beginning that he could restrict James the first time he used this trick. Perkins was inexperienced and lacked skills, the crown prince was easily anxious when shrinking, and the little fat boss was strong on the outside but weak on the inside... Fortunately, James was not as strong as he would be three or four years later, and their bankrupt version of the Emperor-Eating tactics was enough to deal with him!
However, limiting James' direct scoring does not mean that the game has been won... we still have to fight!

When the Cavaliers attacked, James, who had just lost face, became more aggressive and continued to force his way forward. He grabbed the ball before Felton approached him at close range, took two steps to shake off Felton and entered the basket. Perkins, who had shrunk to the right position, raised his center of gravity and jumped with James when he jumped... James did not jump for a layup, but a jump step! He landed next to Perkins and then jumped!
Perkins couldn't stop James and could only watch him jump and make the layup.

After seeing this, Zhang Yang could only clap his hands towards the technical desk. There was no solution to this step.

Felton got angry on the spot and told the referee that it was a traveling violation, but the referee ignored him.

Only a rookie like Felton who has never seen the world would be so angry about this. Others have seen it and are used to it.

Moreover, the rules have been changed, and this is a way of playing that complies with NBA rules.

Zhang Yang tried to "learn" this when he was playing away from home a while ago. After the pre-match training that day, he was not allowed to continue practicing. He was bored, so he tried this trick... He was completely unable to adapt to the three-step layup and the jump step and stride movements, so he gave up decisively.

Moreover, after giving up, he ignored the coaching staff's ban and practiced the three-step layup for half an hour. Just now, he felt for a moment that he could not do the three-step layup, so he hurried to practice more to avoid disrupting his attacking rhythm that he had practiced for two and a half years.

This move is really not something that ordinary people can learn. In addition to this, Big Z's accurate mid-range shot also prevented the Bobcats from locking down James, and James was still able to lead the team in scoring.

However, letting Felton defend James did restrict James and made his play more complicated.

Felton defended more proactively in anger, adjusted his defensive pace, pressed more aggressively, and tried to stop James more effectively.

Perkins faced the No. 1 pick in the same class who was also a high school rookie. He also tried hard to balance defending James while cutting off the passing routes between James and Big Z.

Gerald Wallace has the highest defensive IQ, and his timing for double teaming is getting better and better…

The Cavaliers' rise is due to James, but James is also the Cavaliers' biggest flaw. When James is restricted, the Cavaliers' offensive performance also declines.

The Bobcats successfully brought the Cavaliers, whose record was two levels better than theirs with 27 wins and 18 losses, to the same level as them!

The game entered a situation of "chickens fighting each other" and the two teams entered into a long tug-of-war.

In this kind of game, the Bobcats are much more experienced than the Cavaliers. They played very patiently and excitedly. This opponent is the fourth in the Eastern Conference! They were able to hold on to the score!

The Cavaliers were not so patient. They were the top team in the Eastern Conference, but they couldn't even gain the upper hand against a team with a record of 19 wins and 26 losses...

Finally, in the second half of the second quarter, after the Bobcats took a 4-point lead, James got angry and started to rush forward regardless of anything, missing two shots in a row! He also passed the ball to Snow, but Snow's three-pointer also missed!
The Bobcats seized the opportunity to attack fiercely. Gerald Wallace made an alley-oop layup after receiving a lob from Zhang Yang. Felton made a fake breakaway three-pointer after a pick-and-roll. Zhang Yang took advantage of Big Z being replaced to break into the paint during the positional battle, and made a step-over layup against Gooden's defense...

山猫队打了骑士队一个7比0，在第二节末尾将比分打成53比42，领先优势扩大到11分！
Bickerstaff was stunned by the performance of his players!
He substituted Zhang Yang in the second half of the first quarter, indeed to make it easier for Felton and Gerald Wallace to play on the offensive end, but his intention was to allow Gerald Wallace to focus more on defending James alone, and with Zhang Yang, who has a good sense of team defense, helping on the wing, to see if he could play a greater role in limiting James.

But the result was that Felton defended James, Gerald Wallace was responsible for scoring and assisting defense, and Zhang Yangchun was responsible for scoring!

This weird switch actually worked! It wore out the Cavaliers' patience, and they took the opportunity to widen the gap to 4 points, which triggered the opponent's emotions... and then widened the gap to double digits!
Bickerstaff knew who came up with this idea even with his toes - Jack, who had only been practicing basketball for two and a half years!
Bickerstaff has raised his opinion of Zhang Yang many times, but Zhang Yang can still surprise him!

...

Leading the fourth-placed team in the Eastern Conference by 11 points, the Bobcats, comprised mainly of young players, are all excited and their morale is at its peak!
The Cavaliers tried to counterattack after returning from the halftime break. James played very hard and fiercely, making crazy breakthroughs and desperately looking for counterattack scoring opportunities.

Facing the fierce James, the Bobcats firmly implemented their defensive strategy.

Bickerstaff adjusted Zhang Yang's alternative defense and added Brezek's low-post singles against Big Z into the offensive link, creating an opportunity for Zhang Yang to rest and increasing Big Z's defensive consumption.

The Cavaliers' wave after wave of counterattacks were firmly held by the Bobcats!

The game came to the final moments, with Brezek playing one-on-one in the low post and Big Z turning around and hooking the ball...the Bobcats' lead once again reached 7 points!
There were 15 seconds left and the Cavaliers did not call a timeout. After receiving the serve, James passed it directly to Snow and stopped the game.

If Brezec missed the singles match against Big Z, the Cavaliers could still try for a three-pointer or a tactical foul. If they made it, there would be no need to fight.

The final whistle sounded soon.

张杨21分3板4助攻1抢断、杰拉德-华莱士30分5板6助攻1抢断2盖帽、费尔顿10分6板3助攻2抢断、布雷泽克14分12板2助攻2盖帽、帕金斯6分10板1助攻2盖帽5犯规、马特-卡罗尔10分……

詹姆斯31投12中，其中三分球5中1，加上6中4的罚球，拿到29分8板7助攻3抢断1盖帽6失误。

103 to 96, the Bobcats defeated the Cavaliers by 7 points!

　I went to bed when it was almost dawn, and went out to work at 8:7000 in the morning. I dozed off all morning. This chapter will be short and concise. I will write words in the next chapter and I will not fall behind in the daily schedule. Please vote!
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(End of this chapter)