basketball scientist

102:87, this is the score of the G2 game between the Eagles and the Cavaliers. According to international practice, the home team comes first.

Compared with the ruthless beating of G1, it seemed much more decent. In fact, the maximum point difference between the two teams in the fourth quarter was 24 points, and the game almost lost its suspense halfway through the fourth quarter.

Mike Brown calls himself a "firefighter" and wants to be Zhukov's "turning the tide". Facts have proved that he is still far from it.

Worried about the Hawks' "isolated island tactics", Mike Brown came up with the strategy of "James mainly defends Josh Smith".

In this way, Josh Smith sinks into the bottom corner, and James can ignore him and concentrate on helping to defend.

Well, in this way, the "island tactic" can indeed be broken, but what if the Eagles don't use the island tactic and instead ask Josh Smith to use the pick-and-roll?

When James changes defense, Josh Smith can hit the big one; after James searches for a delay and pursues Josh Smith, Paul or Joe Johnson are sure to seize the gap and hit the mid-range.

In order to consume James, Ke Yan asked Paul and Joe Johnson to play pick-and-roll with Josh Smith in every round, and the offensive end desperately consumed James!

The tactics are very monotonous, and even the Hawks' scoring efficiency is not high, but more importantly, no matter how strong James is, he is targeted on the defensive end and after chasing and chasing, it is difficult to maintain firepower on the offensive end.

Under Ke Yan's targeted tactics, the Hawks spent more resources to consume James. It seemed like a loss, but in fact it was more stable, because apart from James, the Cavaliers lacked another player who could stand in the playoffs.

People who come out.

"James is indeed very good, but this Cavaliers team is in complete chaos." This was Ke Yan's evaluation of the Cavaliers during a private chat.

From the perspective of fans, they may think that the league is a league of superstars. When a team gathers the most superstars and creates a lineup comparable to an "All-Star", it is difficult for them to lose the championship. But in Ke Yan's view,

What really determines the upper and lower limits of a team is the team's management.

The team's resources to build a "superstar team" need to be raised by the management, the salary space needs to be cleared by the management, high-quality role players need to be equipped by the management, and the atmosphere within the team needs to be controlled by the management, which even exceeds the salary cap budget.

The management is required to apply to the boss... all of them are indispensable!

A counter-example is the Nets team that formed "Irving, Harden, and Durant" in 2020. Just comparing the personal abilities of the perimeter stars, this perimeter trio is basically the best in history, and there is no need to add one. But the team culture has changed.

It was a complete mess, and the final ending... I didn't see it until Keyan traveled through time, but judging from the development trend, it was destined to end in tragedy.

The day after g2 ended, at nine o'clock in the morning, Ke Yan woke up from his sleep.

The Hawks did not practice today and had a rest in the morning. The entire team flew to Cleveland in the afternoon to prepare for the third game against the Cavaliers.

The schedule of the playoffs is generally more suitable. There is one day of rest between g1g2 and two days of rest between g2g3. There is sufficient rest time. Of course, the intensity of the playoffs is higher. Playing at least four games in a row with the same opponent is quite exhausting.

It's inevitable.

Hidden in front of outsiders, you have to suffer the pain of hiding behind your back! Ke Yan called and ordered breakfast from outside. While eating breakfast, he already had the newspaper in his hand and started to read the latest battle report of the alliance.

The first two rounds of the playoffs were generally uneventful. Of the eight Eastern and Western groups, only the Nets and Wizards started at 1:1, while the other seven groups all started at 2:0. And the gaps were all the same.

More obvious.

I just don't know if the Cavaliers will have any regrets after seeing the "soft persimmon" performance of the Nets. After all, they had the right to choose at the time and lower their performance to "catch" the Nets.

In the matchup between the seven groups currently tied at 2:0, if you want to say which team everyone is optimistic about has the hope of counterattack, the Cavaliers received 58.4% of the votes from fans. Relatively speaking, everyone feels that this series is still a win.

It's not over yet, and the Cavaliers still have the possibility of a counterattack.

Good guy, the Hawks defeated the Cavaliers by 42 points in two games despite letting off steam at the end of the game. In terms of point difference, they were the group with the biggest gap. As a result, fans felt that the Cavaliers were most likely to come back. Why?

Because the Cavaliers have a "devil's home court"!

The public’s eyes are sharp. The TD North Shore Garden Stadium and the Salt Lake City Energy Solution Center are really not enough compared to the Cavaliers Quicken Loans Arena!

Anyway, Keyan himself is well prepared for the start at 0:15.

.......

On Saturday, May 1, the war reignited at the Quicken Loans Center Arena.

Although they have lost two games and the team's promotion situation is not optimistic, the Cavaliers' home court is still very popular, with all 20,672 seats available.

Like the Hawks, the Cavaliers have also missed the playoffs for many years. For many years, the team was in the dark and could not see the light of day until James arrived.

James means more to Cleveland than the renaissance Key Yan brought to Atlanta. He was born in Akron, 50 kilometers away from Cleveland. He is almost equal to Cleveland's own child. He has naturally become the local darling of Cleveland.

The basketball idol of countless local teenagers in Cleveland. All Cavaliers fans have a child-like doting on James. In Cleveland, you can scold anyone, but you cannot slander James.

This game is another live broadcast across the United States. Playing against the Cavaliers has this advantage, it attracts a lot of attention!

Before the game, Barkley expressed his views on the game: "The Cavaliers have no way out now. If they lose this game again, if nothing else, it will only give the players a blow to their confidence, which is enough for the Cavaliers to lose their confidence."

Completely finished. After the first two games, objectively speaking, the Eagles are better than the Cavaliers. Originally we thought that the Eagles would be overwhelmed by the pressure of the playoffs because of their youth, but they digested it very well.

The pressure of the playoffs is gone. The Cavaliers need to correct their attitude as a team in this game. You are weaker than your opponents, so you must use 100% or even 120% of your strength to defend."

And the game was just like Barkley said, the Cavaliers really fought hard, which was mainly reflected in rebounding. The rebounding data of both sides was 58:41, and the Cavaliers won by 17 rebounds!

Japan's famous center Takenori Akagi in the 1990s has a famous saying, "He who dominates the basket can dominate the whole court." Although this sentence does not apply to any team, grabbing 17 more rebounds is equivalent to a bullet returning to the chamber.

After winning 17 times, if they still can't win, it can only be said that the two teams are one dimension behind!

Moreover, for the Eagles, who are good at promoting quick counterattacks, backcourt rebounds are the team's hidden lifeline. The reason why the Eagles are faster than other teams is because the team's two "insiders", Diaw and Josh Smith, can both

Starting from the first fast break after grabbing the backcourt rebound, the backcourt rebound was blocked by the Cavaliers. The Hawks' "fastness" was not reflected at all, but the "short" weakness was magnified.

111:104, the Cavaliers defeated the Eagles at home, the big score came to 1:2, the suspense of the series is back again!

"A defeat will not shake the Eagles' determination to advance. We will summarize the reasons for the defeat and make changes in the next game!" Ke Yan emphasized.

In front of the media, Ke Yan was very excited and "flustered", but when he returned to the locker room, he was very calm. Because he knew that this was not a manifestation of the Cavaliers' true strength, but, as Barkley said, today's Cavaliers

The team performed 120% or even 150% of its strength.

James scored exaggerated statistics of 35 points and 13 rebounds... Well, the Cavaliers' 1.0 version of James is flying and escaping. He does have this ability against the Hawks' short inside line, but Varejao played 21

What the hell is he grabbing 12 rebounds in every minute? Usually he can be half as good as he is today?

After the young team lost a game, the team was gloomy and gloomy. Ke Yan gave timely guidance to the players.

"There's nothing to worry about. The big score now is 2:1. The advantage is mine! Even if everyone keeps each other's home court, we will advance 4:3. Keep your spirits up! But, Boris, the next game

, if you still lose so many rebounds to me, then just wait for me."

...

On May 5th, at 9 p.m., the G4 game between the Cavaliers and the Hawks will begin at Quicken Loans Center in Cleveland.

The victory of G3 gave Clevelanders the hope of equalizing the score and even winning the series. The entire arena was filled, and most of the spectators were wearing white cheering T-shirts issued by the team, and they gathered into a white crowd.

The ocean and the voices of the fans were like a tsunami rising from the sky, sweeping across all directions.

Before the game, Ke Yan said relaxedly: "Don't put any mental burden on everyone. The Cavaliers are average in strength. Except for the small forward position, we have the advantage in other positions. If they play like they usually do, I don't believe they are as lucky as the last game."

!”

In the fourth game of the series, the regular tactics of both sides have been revealed. Next, it depends on the performance and on-the-spot adjustments of the players of both sides. Ke Yan is very confident in the players, "I still need to take action against an opponent like the Cavaliers.

If so, I will be very disappointed with you."

After the warm-up, the starting players from both sides stood on the court.

Eagles five players: Paul, Joe Johnson, Posey, Josh Smith, Diaw.

Cavaliers five players: Snow, Pavlovich, James, Gooden, Big Z.

Big Z won the jump ball and passed it to Gooden, who passed it to James.

James held the ball and reached beyond the three-point line. Pavlovich and Gooden pulled away on the right side. Snow and Big Z ran without the ball on the left side to catch the ball. They didn't stop the ball and handed it directly to the passer.

Big Z, the latter caught the ball with his back and leaned against Paul. After pushing away Paul, he easily shot and scored. 2:0.

Paul made a quick start from the bottom line, and all the Hawks attacked. The Cavaliers' big Z, who had just finished scoring, was delayed at the end. The Hawks counterattacked 5-on-4 on a fast break, and Joe Johnson hit an open three-pointer.

The Cavaliers attack, Posey pesters James, and Joe Johnson defends Pavlovic.

James received the ball on the right side, turned his back to Posey twice and turned to the baseline to break through. He was double-teamed by Josh Smith and Posey and promptly distributed the ball.

Gooden took a step inside the penalty area and got an open shot opportunity, but his shot felt unreliable. After hesitation, Josh Smith came back to defend and could only wait for his teammates to respond.

James caught the ball again and fell into the double-team of Smith and Posey. After opening up the space, he passed the ball to Gooden. The latter took a look at the shot and the ball missed the basket. Diaw stuck the big Z and helped Joe

Johnson grabbed the rebound.

The Hawks' fast break failed. Paul played a pick-and-roll with Josh Smith in the middle, took a step to the left, and passed the ball to Josh Smith, who leaned on Gooden and turned to the baseline and missed the shot.

Diaw pulled Big Z out of the basket. The Cavaliers penalty area was empty. Josh Smith took off for the second time and grabbed the offensive rebound with his speed. He rose again and caused Gooden to foul.

Josh seized the free throw opportunity and made two free throws. 2:5.

Josh Smith is not only the team's third scorer, but also the core of the team on the defensive end. Next on the defensive end, Josh Smith successfully interfered with James' shots and protected the backcourt rebounds.

.

"Beep!" Just as Josh Smith was about to advance with the ball, the referee's whistle sounded at an inappropriate time. Josh Smith had to slow down, smile bitterly, and slam the ball to the floor to show his depression.

Before the game, Ke Yan gave repeated instructions. First, don’t be deceived by James’ footwork on the defensive end. “0,1,2,3” is a privilege, and “-1,0,1,2,3” is a home court advantage.

If you take six steps, if you can't guard it, then you can't guard it; secondly, don't be disturbed by the referee's whistle, especially don't have an overreaction. The more obvious you are exposed, the more the referee will treat you as a role model.

Ke Yan did a lot of psychological building for the players. Everyone was a little depressed, but in the end they were still peaceful. They returned to the offensive end and won again.

When the Cavaliers attacked, Snow brought the ball to the frontcourt and passed it to James. The latter singled out Posey with the ball, stepped towards the frame, and took a step to the middle to make a jump shot. 6:7.

This is an atypical James-style offense, forcing James to take shots from the mid-range, which already shows that the Eagles' defensive strategy has been successfully implemented.

Diola went to the free throw line to provide support. Joe Johnson ran without the ball, disrupting Pavlovic's rhythm. He caught the ball and broke into the basket for a layup.

There is a detail in this goal. As early as when Pavlovic was guarding Diaw, he had already lost his center of gravity. As a result, Joe Johnson took Pavlovic with him after catching the ball, which actually covered up Pavlovic.

The strange embarrassment of being "knocked down" visually looks like he was knocked down.

The Cavaliers' offense also focused on James. After receiving the ball from the wing, James once again relied on his physical fitness to beat Posey. He broke into the basket and dunked against Diaw who was defending.

For a moment, the game turned into a turn-based game. Diaw had just led the Eagles to attack. James turned around and entered the Eagles penalty area to cause damage. In the next round, Paul used the pick-and-roll to train the Cavaliers inside...

With such a back-and-forth cycle, the game became "Three Heroes vs. Lu Bu."

James also tried to pass the ball to other teammates after pick-and-rolls to share his pressure, but despite his height advantage, they just couldn't score!

Ke Yan saw that after Posey was fouled twice, he no longer dared to do anything to defend James, but he still had to put him on the court. There was really no second person on the team who could match James.

Fortunately, the Eagles' offensive firepower was always online. After the first quarter, the team led the Cavaliers by 3 points, 32:29.

As the Eagles played against each other, the Cavaliers also scored higher than in the regular season. However, the reasons for the high scores between the two teams are different. The Eagles have many scoring points and a dual-core drive, which can always disintegrate the Cavaliers' defensive system; while the Cavaliers

It's because James played the entire first quarter.

Entering the second quarter, the two sides changed into rotations. Ke Yan sent Paul, House, Kittles, David Lee and Milicic. Against the Cavaliers, Joe Johnson needed more matchups during the defensive rotation.

James consumes more money, so more of the task of bringing in substitutes is given to Paul.

Paul can play pick-and-rolls with David Lee to create opportunities for teammates to play in singles; at the same time, the two quick shooters House and Kittles also have great shooting threats from the outside, allowing the Eagles' offensive firepower to continue. On the opposite side,

, Larry Hughes failed to hold up the offense of the Cavaliers without James. After a wave of 8:3 attacks, the point difference came to 8 points.

The situation was not good, and Mike Brown called a timeout in time, but it is useless to just find the problem. The key is to have the ability to solve the problem!

If the point difference is widened again, Quicken Loans Center is very likely to fall. Going to Atlanta with a score of 1:3, the Cavaliers can basically admit defeat. Mike Brown didn't want to admit defeat just like that, so he made a bold move

Decided to drop ten games in one fell swoop and replace James in advance.

Superstars are meant to be ruthless. If you don't use them to your death in the playoffs, when will you use them to your death?

"Woc~" On the coaching bench, Ke Yan was shocked when he saw Mike Brown risking his life.

Although he only rested for two minutes, James' appearance still provided the backbone of the Cavaliers' offense. The physical fitness of version 1.0 of James is really amazing. Without enough time to return to blue, he can still break through the Eagles' defense and face Milley.

Xiqi scored a layup.

Looking back, he provided assistance on the defensive end, first delaying Paul's breakthrough, and then receiving the basket in time, interfering with David Lee's layup.

After two kills, the point difference was narrowed to 4 points. Ke Yan couldn't sit still and replaced House and Kittles with Joe Johnson and Josh Smith, using a "long-man lineup" to restrict James.

In addition to Paul, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, and David Lee all have certain height advantages in their respective positions. Josh Smith's coordination against James is much worse, but his strength and jumping can just match him.

Going to James, I can give him some support and give Posey more rest time.

Ke Yan mobilized his troops in various ways and performed extreme micro-management to help the Eagles compete with the red-eyed James. After halftime, the score was 58:52. The Eagles led by 6 points, and the point difference was not widened by much.

In the first half of the game alone, James played 22 minutes and scored 27 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. He single-handedly supported half of the Cavaliers and maintained the remaining suspense of the game.

After a short intermission, the third quarter started. Neither Ke Yan nor Mike Brown adjusted their playing styles. Ke Yan was quite satisfied with the game in the first half. He believed in his basketball philosophy. No matter how strong James was, he could not beat the Hawks.

If the team continues to be consumed, the Cavaliers must be unable to hold on; and Mike Brown has unlimited trust in James. In this game, James charged again and again to help the precarious Cavaliers nail the point difference to the free throw line.

"The whistle is good for us," Mike Minglu-Brown emphasized at halftime.

At the end of the third quarter, the Eagles led the Cavaliers by 8 points, 83:75, expanding the team's lead bit by bit and eroding the Cavaliers' defensive confidence.

This was not the end yet. After the start of the fourth quarter, Ke Yan left Paul and Joe Johnson on the court. Kittles, David Lee, and Milicic formed a strong attacking lineup and expanded the lead to 12 points in one go.

This is also the first time in this game that there is a double-digit score difference.

James rested for two minutes and returned to the game. Ke Yan also directly replaced Posey and Josh Smith, paired with Milicic to guard the inside, and continued to fight with James.

After a series of fierce battles, James' efficiency finally declined, and he failed to hit 4 consecutive shots; the Hawks themselves were at the end of their game, and it was difficult to have any remaining strength.

Between the two people's back-and-forth scoring and iron-fighting, the Eagles were unable to open up the score, and the Cavaliers were unable to recover the point difference. The game time passed quietly.

Finally, at the end of the fourth quarter, the Hawks defeated the Cavaliers 107:98 and won the G4 victory.

The Eagles took a 3:1 lead in the series and almost entered the next round with half a foot.