Chapter 321 320. New Version of the Little Emperor

In the offense-defense transition, Hughes advanced to the frontcourt and saw Zhang Yang guarding in front. He passed the ball to James and ran towards the right baseline.

James received the ball and broke through Hill, attracted Zhang Yang and Millsap to double-team him, and passed the ball to Hughes.

Hughes received the ball and passed it again. Pavlovic used Gooden's pick-and-roll on the left sideline to break away from Rondo's defense and came to the left corner. He received the ball and made a three-pointer!
When it was the Bobcats' turn to attack, James was very focused on defense this time, concentrating on defending Rondo's breakthrough.

Seeing this, Rondo passed the ball to Zhang Yang who was leaning against Hughes.

Hughes tried to move around when Zhang Yang received the ball... but was blocked by Zhang Yang behind him.

In the first two seasons, Hughes had some advantages in confrontation when defending Zhang Yang, but now he can't hold on any longer.

Zhang Yang received the ball, took a step against Hughes, turned right, and went to the middle!
James double-teamed Zhang Yang immediately, and Zhang Yang passed the ball... Rondo was ready when James moved towards the free throw line. The moment James double-teamed Zhang Yang, Rondo immediately started, cut in to receive the ball, and then passed it...

Okafor received the ball and made a jump shot from close range on the right baseline!

It was the Cavaliers' turn to attack. James passed Hill and went to the inside. This time, it was Okafor and Zhang Yang who came up to double-team him. James rushed two more steps to the basket against Okafor, and after going deep into the defense, he passed the ball to the left side of the three-second zone during the confrontation.

James's two extra steps attracted Hill, who was chasing him, to rush to the left side of the basket to prevent him from slipping to the baseline, and also created more time for Big Z to move.

Big Z caught the ball and shot...and it went in!
Carlisle stood on the sidelines with his hands in his pockets. Just as he expected, the curtain was successfully opened!

Vincent said on the side: "Using Grant to defend James is totally unstoppable."

Carlisle: "It's as expected. Raymond restrains King. It's not just a joke. With him, we don't have to spend too much effort to defend James. He can't play. Although we also have the conditions to defend James, the investment is greater than the return and it's not worth it."

Is this the bad boy's "input-output ratio" concept? Vincent feels that his old friend is about to turn into Jack's shape...

Watching James once again neglecting Rondo because of his focus on others on the court, Vincent said: "James... What a pity, he could be a combination of Gerrard and Ben."

Carlisle: “Yeah, his defensive potential, like Jack’s offensive potential, is probably the best that’s ever been seen.

But he doesn't want to be that kind of player, he just wants to do things that attract attention.

He wants to block shots, steal the ball, make his opponents turn the ball over, disrupt their shots... he wants to be the one in the spotlight.

He will not take Rajon seriously, his attention will definitely be on Jack, Rajon will get a lot of opportunities, his speed and offensive sense can grasp those opportunities well. "

Vincent: "If the opponent uses James to defend Jack... No, Brown will not arrange it that way. James can't defend against a player like Jack who is good at playing with a bad rhythm. Even if he arranges it, Jack will have a light task on the defensive end tonight and can focus on attacking against James.

So that's why you arranged for Jack to feint with the ball against Hughes and actually play without the ball, but are you confident that you can win by playing this way?"

Carlisle shook his head: "I don't know what the result will be, but it's better than passively following the opponent's defense and fighting a war of attrition. That's not what we are good at now. Even if we can't control the initiative, at least we won't let the opponent take the initiative, and our offensive state has been pretty good recently."

Vincent: “…You’re right.”

Baldwin's extremism, the bad boy's basketball philosophy, and Kawhi's own emphasis on basics and high demands... Vincent's mouth twitched uncontrollably when he thought of this. This old friend has been with the Bobcats for half a year, and his coaching style has changed a lot.

The coaching staff of the Bobcats were chatting in a relaxed mood, while Mike Brown was sitting on the Cavaliers bench, looking like a punching bag.

Tonight, Felton was injured, and Mike Brown felt that he had a chance to beat the opponent once, and he really wanted to seize this opportunity.

To this end, he made full preparations and fought a war of attrition!

On the defensive end, Hughes and James were used in rotation to consume Zhang Yang.

Although Hughes' athletic ability has declined due to a knee injury and his defensive strength has fallen to the edge of the defense, and he is no longer as strong as the defensive leader he used to be, Zhang Yang has also made great progress in both physical and technical aspects compared to last season, but Hughes can still do a good job in single defense and entanglement with Zhang Yang.

James has become the best defensive player in their team this season. Although he is not suitable for defending Zhang Yang, his physical condition is there and he can always create some trouble for Zhang Yang.

Moreover, double-teaming on the wing and in the interior has also been arranged, so there is no need to worry about Zhang Yang going all out like he did in the last game. Their defense is much stronger than that of the Nuggets, and is among the top ten in the league.

On the offensive end, use James to consume Zhang Yang.

Mike Brown believes Carlisle will definitely let Zhang Yang defend James.

Zhang Yang certainly can't defend James one-on-one, but Felton can't defend him one-on-one either. He relies on the center who protects the basket and the forwards who double-team him from the wings.

Although Zhang Yang can't do as well as Felton, he is much better than Jarrett Jack, Rondo, Alan Houston, Hill... and others.

If all the offensive and defensive strategies were implemented, it would cause a huge drain on Zhang Yang's physical strength and touch.

Mike Brown formulated such a game plan based on the previous experience of the match. The Bobcats played against them in a very simple way - locking down James and Zhang Yang.

As a result, his carefully prepared game plan was completely useless!
Unexpectedly, the opponent completely gave up the previous successful strategy and did not play according to the routine!

In fact, Mike Brown could see that the opponent would not gain any advantage by playing like this, but he was not as relaxed as the two brothers on the opposite side.

The reason is simple. In the regular season and playoffs, the Cavaliers lost 18 games in a row to the Bobcats!
The record for the most consecutive losses of a team against another team in NBA history is held by the Grizzlies. After the Grizzlies joined the NBA in 1995, they lost to the Lakers for 6 and a half seasons in a row, losing 24 games in a row. It was not until the second half of the 01-02 season that the Grizzlies defeated the Lakers for the first time in team history after the third pick Gasol fully adapted to the rhythm of the NBA game.

Now the Cavaliers are heading for this "historical record"!

Faced with such an unexpected situation, he had no idea what to do.

If you let him build a defensive system, he will not be worse than Carlisle on the opposite side, but if you let him command on the spot, he will be worse than Van Gundy Jr.

...

Mike Brown is wasting time, and the Cavaliers players think much more simply - just follow James and that's it! This season, although the Cavaliers' record is not as good as the past two seasons, the Cavaliers players are happier and happier.

In the past, James wanted to do everything on the offensive end and be the best on the team, leaving many teammates with only the simplest things to do on the court. This made many new teammates feel at a loss, such as Hughes in the first two seasons.

There are only a few pure receivers and forwards who like to play like this... but they don't like it all the time. They often catch the ball when there are only a few seconds left on the shot clock and they have no chance to run or they are not in a position where they are good at.

Every time they get the blame, their teammates will curse in their hearts. If the opportunity is not good, they will take the shot, which is actually not a big deal. But not only will they get the blame, but they will also be scolded by the media and fans if they miss the shot.

Most of these shots are caused by James being hesitant and dribbling the ball for a long time.

However, as the season progressed, the situation changed.

James took the initiative to do subtraction on the offensive end and focused more on scoring. Although his ball possession rate was still high, his passing was much more determined than before.

At the beginning, his teammates didn't take it too seriously, thinking that James was just pretending. James had occasionally played like this before, but after a few games he went back to his style of taking on too much.

But as the season progressed, teammates were shocked to discover that James actually persisted!
This inspired them, and they played better and better. Despite a bad start to the season, they still maintained hope of hitting 50 wins when nearly halfway through the regular season... Their record this season is not as good as the past two seasons, it's not because they didn't play hard enough or well enough.

Hughes is affected by injuries, Big Z is affected by age, both of them have declined a lot, Gooden and Varejao's progress is lower than expected, and it's hard to say about the recruitment... It's very good to have the current record. We can barely maintain the dignity of a strong team and have the hope of hitting 50 wins, which is inseparable from the help brought by James' active adjustment of his playing style.

Carlisle did not play by the rules tonight and gave up his previous successful style of play, which made Mike Brown crazy, but had almost no psychological impact on the Cavaliers players.

The one who led this team was never the head coach Mike Brown, but LeBron James!
Mike Brown's game plan completely failed. James was no longer dissatisfied, entangled, or hesitant like before. He learned to throw those emotions after the game and focus on the game during the game!
Since the opponent wants to attack, he will seize the favorable conditions and attack with all his strength!

If you break through and have good conditions to attack the basket, just shoot. If you are double-teamed, pass the ball immediately and be prepared to rush and receive the pass.

If you suddenly feel tired, just play some simple ball.

Led by James, the Cavaliers and Bobcats are on a roll!
首节前半段，山猫队18比14领先骑士队4分，后半段骑士队17比14缩小了3分分差，首节打完，骑士队以31比32落后山猫队1分。

第二节詹姆斯一上来就连砍8分，前半节率领骑士队打出了19比14的比分，以50比46反超山猫队4分，后半节骑士队进攻火力依旧凶猛，和发起反扑的山猫队打出15比16的比分。

前半节10分、后半节6分，詹姆斯单节狂飙16分，率领骑士队打出了34比30的比分，半场打完，骑士队65比62领先山猫队3分进入中场休息！
James' best average performance in the four quarters this season is the second quarter, averaging 12.5 points per game. Tonight, he played much better than usual in his advantage quarter!

But after the halftime break, the Bobcats had the advantage!

Hughes was substituted out for rest at the beginning of the third quarter, and it was James who defended Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang attacked for 4 rounds, making 3 of 2 shots, including 1 of 1 three-pointers, and 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 7 points alone!
The Cavaliers performed weakly at the beginning of the third quarter, making only 3 of 1 shots and 1 turnover, scoring only two points.

69 to 67, Zhang Yang reversed the score by himself and stopped the Cavaliers right away!

During the timeout, Carlisle made an adjustment - replacing Jarrett Jack, who had just played for two minutes, with Rondo.

After the timeout, Rondo was able to attract the double-teaming force by receiving the ball from Zhang Yang in the high position, and he made continuous "stealing" breakthroughs or cut in without the ball. He would shoot if he could, and pass if he couldn't. He always managed to get the ball to the right teammates.

After being hit by Zhang Yang several times in a row, James went crazy and led the team to attack fiercely, but in this quarter, the gap in firepower between them and the opponent was a bit too big.

靠着张杨单节11分、隆多单节7分3板6助攻，山猫队在第三节狂轰39分，单节赢了拿到29分的骑士队10分！
After three quarters, the Bobcats led the Cavaliers by 101 points, 94 to 7!
If it were the opening game, the Cavaliers players would have definitely lost their minds after suffering such a tragic defeat in the third quarter.

But this time the Cavaliers didn’t!

In fact, when the two teams met for the second time, the Cavaliers players' ability to withstand pressure had improved a lot. The Bobcats had maintained a clear advantage that time, but the Cavaliers players still fought to the end, keeping the score difference within 10 points and maintaining hope of a comeback, but they failed to do so in the end.

The situation of the Cavaliers this time is obviously much better than the second encounter. In the first three quarters, they and the Bobcats each maintained an advantage of one and a half quarters. In the second half of the first quarter and the entire second quarter, they were the ones who had the advantage. Naturally, they would not give up just because they were 7 points behind!

After the intermission, at the beginning of the final quarter, the Cavaliers dealt a fierce blow to the Bobcats. James stole the ball from Rondo and made a counterattack 2+1.

Then the Bobcats missed a shot, James broke through and passed the ball in a positional battle, and Daniel Gibson on the wing received the ball and hit a three-pointer, 100 to 101, the Cavaliers quickly narrowed the gap to 1 point!
The Bobcats were caught off guard but were not stunned. They quickly organized an offense and scored 5 points in the next 13 minutes, but the Cavaliers also scored 12 points and kept the score difference close!
At the official timeout in the fourth quarter, the Bobcats were only leading the Cavaliers by two points, 114 to 112!
Entering the official timeout, Carlisle made lineup and defensive arrangements, emphasized two details that needed to be paid attention to in offense, and quickly completed adjustments.

He didn't interfere too much with the offense, they played well offensively tonight, they just couldn't defend.

The scoring didn't seem as crazy as against the Nuggets because the Cavaliers' defense was much better than the Nuggets', and they played very well on offense tonight.

If he directs the offense now, there is a high probability that he will not be able to perform as well as the players themselves if they adapt to the actual situation.

After discussing with his teammates for a few words, Zhang Yang came to the sidelines, put his hands on his hips and looked at the big screen.

詹姆斯目前打了39分钟，只休息了4分钟，22投12中，其中三分球3中1，加上8中5的罚球，拿到30分6板6助攻1抢断1盖帽……只比他张三少两分，助攻还要多4个！
Felton, wearing a suit, also came to the sidelines, hugged his chest and looked at the big screen, saying: "If I were here, he wouldn't have such a high hit rate."

Zhang Yang: "Boss, I'm surprised he can perform so well without you. I didn't expect him to really change. I thought... emmm..."

Hill on the side responded: "Jack, you are still the same. You don't like to say bad things about others behind their backs. It's not just you. I have watched basketball for so many years and I don't have a good impression of James. ESPN said before that he has changed and improved. I also thought he was just pretending and would change back soon, but this time, I really felt his change."

Zhang Yang nodded and said, "He used to care about every piece of data, as if he would not be satisfied until he had all the data in his own hands. Although he can do everything, the negative effects of his playing like that offset some of the positive effects brought by his outstanding performance. Now he is not so obsessed with the data, and the data that should come has come... It seems that we will have another terrible opponent in the future."

Hill: A formidable opponent... maybe.

Hill didn't say this out loud. In his opinion, James is still not as good as Zhang Yang. His defensive habits are too poor. He looks like he is good at both offense and defense, but his actual defensive effect is not up to the level that James should have.

However, no one can predict what will happen in the future, just like he didn't expect that James' offense would change so much.

After chatting for a while, Zhang Yang's eyes turned to the data of another player on the big screen. Tonight, the best player of their Bobcats team was not Zhang San who got the highest score of the game, but... Coach Long!

三节半时间，打了37分钟，10投6中，其中三分球1中1，加上6中4的罚球，拿到17分13板16助攻2抢断！

(End of this chapter)