I’m Really Playing Basketball

After Carlisle reused Marshall, Marshall has performed very well for the Cavaliers in these games. He is the only player on the Cavaliers besides Chen Xiao and James who averages more than 10 points per game.

And not only did he average 10+ per game during the season, but more importantly, after he became the starter again, with the deliberate passing of Chen Xiao and James, he could get 10+ in almost every game.

His scoring ability is already very strong, but the main restriction on him is his form. Obviously, this season he is in very good form.

After all, historically, Marshall has been in great shape this season.

If the Cavaliers' head coach was not Carlisle, maybe the Cavaliers would still be reluctant to trade such a power forward who is quite special in the NBA.

After such an outstanding performance, the Cavaliers are interested in taking action. In this case, Marshall is naturally not uninterested.

Many teams have inquired about the price.

The 76ers, SuperSonics, Clippers, and of course D'Antoni and Nash's Raptors.

In addition, there is Marshall's old club, the Chicago Bulls.

The Chicago Bulls did not ask for the price for themselves, but for the Raptors.

After the team's general manager Paxson introduced the offers from several other teams to Chen Xiao, James and Carlisle, he mainly began to introduce to Chen Xiao and the others about a three-way deal with the Bulls and Raptors.

The Cavaliers sent Marshall to the Raptors, the Raptors sent Antonio Davis to the Bulls, and the Cavaliers took some good players from the Bulls or Raptors as compensation.

It can be seen from Paxson's description.

The main body of this deal is the deal between the Raptors and the Bulls, and the Cavaliers and Marshall are the bridges.

Generally speaking, in a three-party transaction, it is very disadvantageous to be a bridge.

The other two teams have got the players they want.

Why can the Cavaliers only choose some so-called good players from the Raptors and Bulls?

He is a really good player, but others may not give him to you if you choose him.

Obviously, for this deal, the general manager of the Cavaliers, Paxson, wanted to 'give away the head' or 'be a favor'.

Chen Xiao, Xiao Zhan and Carlisle are not idiots. From Paxson's introduction, we can see the intention of the general manager of the team.

Of course, this is actually understandable. After all, the person in charge of the Bulls now and the person who will soon take over as the Bulls general manager is his brother John Paxson.

Brothers who fight tigers, father and son soldiers in battle, send warmth to the younger brother, how can sending a head be called a gift?

However, Paxson does not have absolute dominance in the Cavaliers, so even if he wants to kill his younger brother, he needs to listen to Chen Xiao and the others.

Of course Chen Xiao’s opinion is...

I don’t agree!

"Jim, Marshall's trade is our only chance to improve the lineup this season. I hope we can get a player who can solve our problems. If it's just an ordinary role player, I think such a trade doesn't make sense."

Before Chen Xiao and Xiao Zhan spoke, the head coach of the team, Rick Carlisle, who had a very strong personality, directly expressed his disapproval.

When Chen Xiao played the playoffs with the Pistons last season, he knew that Carlisle was very tough.

When the playoffs are still going on, dare to say "willing to trade Hamilton and Chen Xiao", is this what ordinary NBA head coaches dare to do?

So after Carlisle finished speaking, Paxson, who knew he was in the wrong, looked at the three of them with a smile after a moment of silence: "Rick, Chen, LeBron, do you have any candidates to recommend?"

I have to say that although Paxson has his own selfishness, he is not a willful person.

In the NBA, among the general managers of 29 teams, not all of them are as capable as Jerry West and Rod Thorne.

Most people are mediocre, even from the perspective of God, I am better than these people.

But, this is the truth. The general managers of each team are perfect general managers like Jerry West, and that is the problem.

Although Paxson is ordinary, he can listen to the opinions of other people on the team, which is good.

In the ensuing discussion, Carlisle recommended Trail Blazers power forward Rasheed Wallace to Paxson.

Because Paxson is a legendary star of the Trail Blazers. He was the scoring leader in the history of the Trail Blazers and has connections in the Trail Blazers.

Therefore, although trading Marshall for Rasheed Wallace is a dream, if the Blazers really want to trade Rasheed Wallace, it is indeed possible.

For example, if the Trail Blazers want to trade Rasheed, but other teams have similar bargaining chips to the Cavaliers, then it is obvious that the Trail Blazers will give Paxson a favor.

“I think Stephen Jackson on the Hawks is good.”

This is Xiao Zhan's recommendation. Chen Xiao was quite surprised to hear Xiao Zhan recommend it like this. Xiao Zhan, your mind is OK!

but……

"LeBron, Jackson there's probably nothing we can do."

"..."

When Chen Xiao and James were surprised, Paxson smiled and explained the reason to them.

Although Jackson was dealt with by Popovich in the summer, he cannot go to the Pacers.

But Jackson was still booked by the Pacers.

It's just that the Pacers can't sign him this season, so Jackson can transition to the Hawks.

Jackson will give the Hawks a minimum salary for one season, while the Hawks will focus on helping the Pacers develop Jackson.

Why can the Pacers and the Eagles reach such a weird agreement?

Of course, it’s because the current general manager of the Hawks, Billy Knight, is a former teammate of Pacers general manager Larry Bird. At the same time, Billy Knight came from the Pacers and Spurs, and worked with Pacers president Donnie Walsh. They are all members of the Larry Brown circle of friends.

Pacers president Donnie Walsh is a disciple of Larry Brown, a senior brother of Popovich, and belongs to the same Larry Brown family in the league.

Therefore, although Jackson seems to have nothing to do with the Pacers now, in fact, he is already a Pacers player and is just training with the Hawks on a temporary basis.

Hearing what Paxson said, Xiao Zhan was a little stunned. Are there still so many twists and turns in the NBA management circle?

Even Chen Xiao feels like he has learned a lot. For example, this guy, Eagles general manager Billy Knight, is in Boston's circle of friends and he is also in Larry Brown's circle of friends. These friends are really extensive.

"Chen, do you have any recommended players?"

After asking Carlisle and Xiao Zhan, Paxson looked at Chen Xiao.

The opinions of Xiao Zhan and Carlisle are important, but to Paxson, the most important thing is Chen Xiao's opinion.

After all, he is the boss of the team.

"I think both Rick and LeBron are good candidates. Of course, if Jim can get Jamal Crawford from the Bulls, a trade with the Bulls is also possible."

Hearing what Chen Xiao said, Carlisle, Xiao Zhan and Paxson were all very satisfied and felt that their opinions were respected by Chen Xiao.

Even Paxson, who had been disgraced by Carlisle before, felt that he had been respected, and the smile on his face became brighter.

Chen allowed the transaction between him and his brother, which was very important.

There have been many private exchanges between the Paxson brothers over the years.

Let's talk about Jamal Crawford. He was selected by the Cavaliers with the No. 8 pick in 2000, and then sent to the Bulls in exchange for Chris Mihm, the current backup center of the Cavaliers.

As long as Chen Xiao agrees to such a private relationship between their brothers, then nothing is non-negotiable.

Although Crawford is important to the Bulls now, he is not without opportunities.

He always knew that his brother's patience with Crawford was slowly running out.

Attack with kaleidoscope, defend with thousands of stabs.

The last player like this to be kicked out of the Bulls by his younger brother was Marshall. Marshall's defense is much better than Crawford's.

On December 1, 2003, just as the Cavaliers' Big Four were discussing the Cavaliers' trade candidates, the league announced the Player of the Week for the previous week and the Player of the Month for the previous month.

In the Cavaliers' three games last week, Chen Xiao scored more than 30 points in three games. In the three games, he averaged 34 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5 assists per game, leading the Cavaliers to a record of 2 wins and 1 loss.

Chen Xiao finally defeated Dikembe Mutombo, who led the 76ers to a 3-1 record last week, averaging 13 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game, and became the best player of the week in the Eastern Conference.

I have to say that this needs to be thanked to the Eagles veterans. The victories in the two games were all won against the Eagles.

I also have to feel that Mutombo is really old and strong.

How old are you?

It still looks so powerful. The last time he played against the 76ers, Mutombo disgusted Zhan.

In addition, the best of the week in the Western Conference is Chen Xiao's idol, Garnett, who led the team to 4 consecutive victories last week.

While the league announced the best of the week last week, it also announced the best of the month in the East and West last week.

The Western Conference's Best of the Month eventually went to Peja of the Kings. In the absence of Webber, Peja led the Kings to a 13-3 record in November, averaging 24 points per game, shooting 53% from the field and 43% from three-point range. The ball hit rate and 92% free throw rate, 50+40+90, the standard 180 club.

Originally, Chen Xiao thought that the best of the month in the west would add idols.

It seems that there are sympathy points in the selection of the best of the month.

In the absence of Weber, the King's record is so good, and Peja's performance is indeed respectable and sympathetic.

Chen Xiao was quite happy for his good friend.

After Webber comes back, the Kings must be the strongest team in the West again, right?

This time without the Lakers OK, it's time to enter the finals, right?

This is Chen Xiao's guess and also the guess of many people in the NBA.

On the eastern side, the competition for the best of the month is fierce.

Duncan, O'Neal, Carter, McGrady, the four super giants, who is the best of the month in the first month?

When the alliance finally announced the answer, everyone was stunned.

Baron Davis of the Hornets led the Hornets to a record of 12 wins and 5 losses last month. At the same time, his personal data was 24.5 points, 5 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 2.8 steals per game. He won the first month of the Eastern Conference. optimal.

The team with the best record in the Eastern Conference is the Nets, followed by the Magic. Among the four superstars of these two teams, Tracy McGrady has the best statistics.

However, McGrady, who has the best statistics, seems to have not had as good a statistics as Baron Davis last month.

The statistics are not as good as Baron Davis, and the wins are only 2 more than the Hornets. You also have a super giant Duncan next to you.

It seems that there is no problem in giving the best month to Baron Davis?

By the way, why not talk about the statistical records of O'Neal and Carter?

Obviously, the league does not like superstar teams like the Nets, so when the league announced the Eastern Conference's best player of the month, these two were not among the candidates.

By the way, Chen Xiao is also a candidate.

Last month, Chen Xiao led the Cavaliers to a record of 9 wins and 8 losses, ranking eighth in the Eastern Conference. His own data is 30.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 53%.

The personal data is quite perfect, but the team's record is indeed a bit worse.

If the Cavaliers can win three more games, maybe he can be the best player of the month.

By the way, another candidate for Eastern Conference Best of the Month is Wade. In November, Wade averaged 24 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. His record was also very good, 13 wins and 4 losses. I don’t know why, but he didn’t win. Best of the month.

Probably because of the surprise, the Hornets are even more surprising.

In addition, the Rookie of the Month for November was also announced.

Anthony won the Western Conference Rookie of the Month.

And Xiao Zhan won the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month.

Xiao Zhan's data last month was 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game.

This data is also very impressive, especially assists. Xiao Zhan's assists currently rank second in the assists list, second only to Nash of the Raptors, and still above James.

Recently, Xiao Zhan has been playing hard, and his points have dropped sharply, but his assists have skyrocketed.

Well, it seems that Xiao Zhan has learned the correct way to use Chen Xiao.

On December 2, the Cavaliers continued their visit, this time to the Western Conference, Denver, one of the scariest away games in the NBA.

In this rematch between the Cavaliers and the Nuggets, the Nuggets adopted a double-team strategy against Chen Xiao in this game.

Because Chen Xiao has very good passing ability, many teams' defensive strategies against Chen Xiao in the regular season are either single defense or double-teaming.

Instead of just double-teaming like before, Chen Xiao doesn't have the ability to pass the ball anyway.

Teams that have the ability to guard Chen Xiao alone should guard Chen Xiao alone and pinch other Cavaliers players.

Teams that do not have the ability to defend Chen Xiao alone will choose to double-team Chen Xiao and let other Cavaliers teams go.

Generally speaking, in Chen Xiao's previous games this season, most teams still focused on defending Chen Xiao alone.

Double-teaming a player who is so tall, so long, and so good at passing the ball is not a good option.

Especially when James can impact.

When the Heat beat the Cavaliers, they killed Chen Xiao who was double-teamed.

As far as the offensive capabilities of other Cavaliers players are concerned, no matter how strong Chen Xiao is in singles, it will be difficult to beat his opponent.

Therefore, the Nuggets double-teamed Chen Xiao, which surprised Chen Xiao and the Cavaliers.

However, don't mention it, the Nuggets' attack on Chen Xiao was quite effective.

Defend Chen Xiao alone and focus on other Cavaliers players. The Cavaliers' offense can't kill anyone.

Double-teaming Chen Xiao and letting other Cavaliers players go, the Cavaliers' offense still couldn't kill anyone.

This embarrassed the Cavaliers' offense.

103 to 115, the Cleveland Cavaliers lost this game on the road by 12 points.

Chen Xiao made 6 of 19, 2 of 3 three-pointers, and 6 of 7 free throws. He scored 20 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block, especially his assists in double figures.

There was actually no problem with the Cavaliers' offense in this game, and Chen Xiao also played well despite being double-teamed.

Chandler scored 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting, Myers scored 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting, Marshall scored 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting, all of which were no problem. James made 6 of 17 and scored 17 points, which may be slightly worse, but still. Considered qualified.

The key is defense. The starter Marshall's defense was not enough, allowing Nene to score 21 points efficiently, and the bench, the Cavaliers' rookies, allowed Jon Barry to hit all three-pointers.

Also, the Cavaliers' back line just can't guard against small guards, just like Jordan Pippen and Harper's Bulls.

And this time the Nuggets happened to have a small guard, a super small guard, 1.65 meter guard Earl Boykins. This small guard went crazy against Chen Xiao and James in the last 3 minutes, 4 of 5. He scored 8 points and almost confused the mentality of Xiao Zhan who was defending him.

It can only be said that the Cavaliers tried their best in this game, but the Nuggets do have a thick lineup.

By the way, Britney Anthony also performed very well in this game, dodging Chen Xiao and scoring 26 points on 8 of 16 shots.

After playing against the Nuggets, the Cavaliers will continue their road trip to the Western Conference and face the Clippers, a weak team in the Western Conference, back-to-back on December 3.

The Clippers say they are weak, but in fact the players are not that weak.

Captain Brand, center Kaman, outside Maggette, Quentin Richardson.

These are very good players.

In this game, the Cavaliers took the lead right from the start. Under the leadership of Chen Xiao, they beat the Clippers 31 to 22 in a single quarter.

Chen Xiao made 6 of 11 in a single quarter, 2 of 3 three-pointers, 3 of 4 free throws, and scored 17 points. He was playing like crazy.

Just when the Cavaliers felt that this game was in their grasp, the situation suddenly changed in the second quarter. James and his substitutes fell into a scoring drought in the second quarter, while the Clippers' Quentin Richardson exploded in the second quarter. The Clippers defeated the Cavaliers 28 to 17, and actually overtook the Clippers at halftime.

The Cavaliers' starters played very well in this game, but why are the substitutes so sluggish?

It can only be said that it is difficult for these rookie substitutes of the Cavaliers to maintain their form like Chen Xiao in back-to-back games.

Even rookies like Xiao Zhan were in a sluggish state in this game, let alone Xiao Mo and the others.

What's more, they just had a battle with the Nuggets at the Denver Plateau yesterday.

Chen Xiao is in such good shape in this game, that's what's wrong, Xiao Zhan and the others are in normal shape!

In the third quarter, the team changed sides and fought again. Chen Xiao led the Cavaliers to a score of 19 to 15 in the third quarter, once again taking the lead.

In the third quarter, Chen Xiao scored a team-high 9 points on 4 of 8 shots.

But except for Chen Xiao, no one else on the Cavaliers scored points.

In the last game, the Nuggets flanked Chen Xiao. In this game, the Clippers chose to defend Chen Xiao alone.

Two completely different defensive strategies, which one do you think makes the Clippers more uncomfortable?

Cavaliers head coach Carlisle feels that defending Chen Xiao alone makes the Cavaliers' offense even more uncomfortable.

Although the Cavaliers were in poor overall shape in this game.

At the end of the third quarter, the Cavaliers overtook the Clippers again.

But in the fourth quarter, Chen Xiao, who was resting off the court, had no choice but to watch as the substitute lineup led by Xiao Zhan was opened up by the Clippers.

By the time Chen Xiao came on the court again, he was already exhausted.

Chen Xiao was originally planning to play the entire second half, but Carlisle refused.

We just had a big battle on the plateau yesterday, and this back-to-back lasted for more than 44 minutes?

Carlisle felt that it was difficult for him to do such a thing. Although Chen Xiao was willing, he couldn't agree. For a regular season victory, Carlisle felt that it was not worth it.

80 to 90, the Cavaliers lost back-to-back away games to the Clippers.

In this game, Chen Xiao made 14 of 30 shots, 4 of 11 three-pointers, and 8 of 10 free throws. He scored 40 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in the game.

In addition, in this game, James made 2 of 13 shots, 0 of 3 three-pointers, and no free throws. The game had 4 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists, and 5 turnovers.

Chen Xiao and Marshall were the only Cavaliers to score in double figures in this campaign. Marshall scored 18 points and 14 rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting.

Chen Xiao scored half of the team's points.

It is worth mentioning that the Cavaliers scored 6 points off the bench in this game, which was terrible.

It can be seen from this game that these young rookies of the Cavaliers still have a long way to go.

After losing to the Clippers on the road, the Cavaliers once again suffered a three-game losing streak.

But the good news is that after beating the Clippers, the Cavaliers can return to their home court.

But the slightly bad news is that, back at home, the Cavaliers' opponent is the Grizzlies, who have performed very well in the Western Conference this season.

Gasol, Eddie Jones, Shane Battier, James Posey, and Bunch Wells, who was just traded from the Trail Blazers.

In just a few seasons, Jerry West has already almost turned the Grizzlies into a powerful team.

By the way, why did Wells, an important former Trail Blazers player, come to the Grizzlies?

Of course, the Blazers are finally ready to rebuild!

Therefore, Chen Xiao and the Cavaliers players have been paying attention to the movements of Trail Blazers power forward Rasheed Wallace.

On December 3, 2003, when the Cavaliers were playing the Clippers, the Trail Blazers announced a deal with the Hawks. The Hawks sent Raheem, the team's leading player and the No. 3 overall pick in 1996, and introduced Rasheed from the Trail Blazers. Wallace.

After the game, Chen Xiao and the Cavaliers players felt very sorry after receiving the news, but they had no other thoughts.

Team general manager Paxson also called and said that the Trail Blazers management told him that it was not not to send Wallace to the Cavaliers, but that the Hawks gave him too much.

"Indeed, this is Rahim."

A 27-year-old star insider who averaged 21 points and 9 rebounds per game this season and has averaged 20+ points per game in all the past six seasons except last season when he averaged 19.9 points per game.

Unless the Cavaliers produce Chen Xiao or Xiao Zhan, it will be difficult for a Marshall to make the Blazers give up Raheem for a favor.

If the Rasheed Wallace deal ends here, then no one can say anything.

The one with the highest price gets it.

But on December 6, the morning of the game between the Cavaliers and Grizzlies, the Detroit Pistons announced that they had completed a three-way deal with the Hawks and Boston Celtics.

Rasheed Wallace was sent to the Pistons by the Hawks, and Wallace played one game with the Hawks!

The Pistons got Rasheed Wallace with Rebraka, Bob Sura and next year's first-round pick from the Bucks. The Bucks' first-round pick is lottery protected.

This deal is amazing.

It is no secret that the Cavaliers wanted Rasheed Wallace before. Cavaliers general manager Paxson is a legendary player of the Trail Blazers and has been trying to introduce Wallace.

I thought the Cavaliers were robbed by the Hawks.

Unexpectedly, it was the Pistons who really robbed the Cavaliers!

So before the game between the Cavaliers and the Grizzlies, many reporters were asking Chen Xiao what he thought about the deal between the Pistons, Celtics and Hawks.

To be honest, Chen Xiao was dumbfounded when he first saw this deal.

So when asked by reporters, he blurted out directly.

"Isn't this a free gift?!"

After blurting out, Chen Xiao quickly realized what Cavaliers general manager Paxson had told him before about Hawks general manager Billy Knight being a Larry Brown and Boston-based person.

Obviously, this transaction between the Hawks, Celtics and Pistons was premeditated.

From the beginning, the Hawks had no intention of acquiring Rasheed Wallace.

From the beginning, the Eagles were manipulated by Larry Brown.

As the head of the Larry Brown department, does Larry Brown have such a big reputation?

Chen Xiao was stunned.

Not to mention Chen Xiao was shocked, even Grizzlies general manager Jerry West, who accompanied the Grizzlies to Cleveland this time, was stunned.

Can the NBA still play like this?

So when asked this question by reporters, Jerry West was also very angry.

"I think Boy Wonder is right. The Pistons used a few coins in exchange for a hundred dollars. This was a robbery-style transaction. The league should intervene!"

Listen, Jerry West can’t stand it anymore.

However, if Popovich in another time and space heard Jerry West's words in 2008, these words would definitely sound familiar.

Because this is another time and space, Popovich's evaluation of Jerry West trading Gasol to the Lakers for Gasol.

Almost exactly the same.

This is a perfect reincarnation. Before Jerry did it, your teacher had already done it.

From this, we can see the weight that NBA factions play in the transaction.

Chen Xiao, James, Paxson and Carlisle were all very angry about Larry Brown and the Pistons' behavior of snatching Wallace away from the Cavaliers in an almost robbery-like manner.

Especially Cavaliers general manager Paxson.

This deal will ruin your outlook!

He also often makes secret deals and favor deals with his brother and Rod Thorn, but he doesn't dare to be so blatant!

He sent Rasheed to the Pistons and helped the Pistons clear out a $10 million junk contract. Do you want to be so Dior?

December 6, 2003 is destined to be a very magical day.

Almost hours after the Pistons announced they had snatched up Rasheed Wallace in a robbery attempt.

The Raptors, Bulls and Cavaliers completed a trade.

The subjects of the trade are Jamal Crawford of the Bulls, Antonio Davis of the Raptors and Marshall of the Cavaliers.

Marshall was sent to the Raptors by the Cavaliers, and Antonio Davis was sent to the Bulls by the Raptors.

The Bulls sent Jamal Crawford to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

It was a sudden deal.

And this deal made Marshall very unhappy.

He was originally going to play happily in this game against the Grizzlies.

He's been doing really well lately.

However, after hearing the bad news, the team actually sent him to Canada!

Canada or Cleveland, you ask NBA players which one to choose.

Hedinghong and arsenic, any fool knows to choose arsenic!

No matter what you say, Cleveland is still in the United States.

Toronto has gone abroad.

Therefore, in the Cavaliers' locker room, Marshall, who was originally going to start the game, packed his luggage with a cold face and prepared to leave the team alone.

When leaving, Marshall was very angry and said something to Xiao Zhan next to him that made Xiao Zhan very angry: "It's not bad to go to Canada. At least their point guard is not a ball tyrant who can't shoot. In Canada, I It’s going to be a lot of points.”

Good guy, Xiao Zhan was blinded by the sudden diss.

I? Ball tyrant?

I? Didn't you score more points?

This is definitely black water of slander!

"Chen, why does he want to hack me but not you?"

You are the leader, and you are among the people who discussed trading him!

Xiao Zhan is confused.

"Maybe I can't find the black spots."

"..."

ps: Among the robbery-style transactions in history, Jerry West's is the most famous. In fact, when the Pistons acquired Rasheed Wallace, it was also a robbery-style transaction, and it had a stronger PY meaning.

When the Hawks sent Rasheed to the Pistons next season, Larry Brown's assistant, Pistons assistant coach Mike Woodson, became the Hawks head coach...

ps: Today’s first update, please subscribe and vote monthly! !