I’m Really Playing Basketball

Every young man has a heroic dream.

The Cavaliers have a group of young people.

They may not be that strong now, but everyone can give everything they have for their dreams.

On the defensive end, Diop was constantly being swept away by O'Neal with his "experience" and "elbows", but he still kept leaning on O'Neal.

While guarding Richard Jefferson on the defensive end, James kept running side to side and jumping up and down.

After the game between the Cavaliers and the Nets started, the vigor shown by the Cavaliers after the start not only shocked the Nets fans at the scene, but also shocked the American audience in front of the TV.

"I didn't expect that in this game between the Nets and the Cavaliers, the Nets would be in a hard fight from the beginning. These young people from the Cavaliers are using their bodies to fight against the Nets!"

"In the Cavaliers, it's not just Wonder Boy who wants to defeat the Nets. Everyone on the Cavaliers team wants to defeat the Nets with Wonder Boy. Wonder Boy is not fighting alone!"

"Incredible!"

After the game started, Kenny Smith and Barkley said countless incredible things.

If a team only has a person like Chen Xiao who always talks about destroying the best team in NBA history, then this person is either a madman or an idiot.

Just laugh at him as much as you want.

But if a team and a group of people are all such lunatics and idiots, then you have no way to laugh at them.

Because this is no joke, they are serious!

Looking at the Cavaliers players who used their bodies to make up for their lack of strength on the court, regardless of physical strength or body, running wildly on the defensive end, Barkley was shocked and looked at Chen Xiao with envy.

It is a very lucky and blessed thing to have a group of teammates who can fight alongside you at all costs.

In the NBA, not every team's players are so united and have such consistent interests.

Even if it was a team like the Big Three Mosaic that he formed with Olajuwon and Pippen.

When he wanted to work hard to move forward, Olajuwon and Pippen just watched him desperately from behind.

At that time, the mosaic formed by the three of them looked so strong, but in the end they won nothing.

If Mosaic back then was like the Cavaliers now...

Buckley couldn't imagine it.

"No wonder Boy Wonder dares to constantly challenge O'Neal and the Nets, the strongest team in history. He really has such qualifications!"

As one of the victims of Chen Xiao's mouth, Barkley couldn't help but respect everything Chen Xiao has done with the Cavaliers this season.

Such a young team, a team with four starters playing in the playoffs for the first time, was actually led by him to be able to fight against the strongest team in history.

This in itself is an extremely powerful ability.

"No wonder he is one of the most successful young men in basketball history. This is not a fluke!"

After officially playing professional basketball for two years, he won the NCAA championship, MOP, NBA championship and FMVP. In just two years, he achieved something that no one else could achieve in a lifetime.

Barkley always thought this was his luck.

Now, Barkley feels that his success is more than just luck.

How can you describe yourself as lucky to be able to lead a group of such young players to play against the Nets, the strongest team in history?

Not to mention the young Cavaliers who are playing in the playoffs for the first time, even those teams composed of NBA veterans will be timid when facing the Nets.

Wherever it is like the Cavaliers led by Chen Xiao, they start with the Nets, scare Malone, and frighten the strongest team in history, so they have to go all out and be cautious.

In the game between the Cavaliers and the Nets, because of the craziness of these young players on the Cavaliers, the Nets showed all their strength from the moment they started.

It has to be said that the strongest team in history is the strongest team in history. O'Neal went straight to the basket without any tricks. Malone was still as steady as an old dog in the mid-range shot under the threat of James' incredible talent. Facing Chen Xiao's perimeter defense, which is almost one of the best in the league, Carter is still able to handle it with ease.

The Cavaliers' 23 zone defense is definitely the best in the NBA. Facing the Cavaliers' zone defense, most teams will definitely have a headache when attacking, regardless of whether they can win.

It is absolutely impossible to play with ease like the Nets.

There is no center in the entire league who can break through a zone defense like O'Neal.

There are few mid-range shooters as stable as Malone in the entire league.

Similarly, there are few outside superstars in the entire league who can beat Chen Xiao as "calmly" as Carter does.

The Cavaliers' 23 zone defense is already the strongest defense and the strongest weapon that the Cavaliers can come up with when they give up offense.

But we can only limit the Nets, the strongest team in history, but cannot defend them.

However, fortunately for the Cavaliers, their offense after the start of the game was also very good.

Chen Xiao practiced his long-distance two-pointer in this game, which almost changed the pattern of the game.

Obviously, judging from the opening of the game, Phil Jackson and the Nets were aiming at Chen Xiao's offensive area to focus on three-pointers and mid-range shots.

If Chen Xiao didn't have Iverson's ability to score points at will between the mid-range shooting area and the three-point line, Chen Xiao's offense would be greatly restricted in this game.

After all, with O'Neal and Malone inside the Nets, they are almost invincible below the free throw line, restraining all breakthroughs and mid-range and short-range shots.

This starter of the Cavaliers almost completely gave up the offense when others were attacking.

In fact, for Diop, Chandler and Darius Miles who have no shooting ability, as long as Malone and O'Neal occupy the paint area up and down, the three of them do not have any offensive space.

Therefore, facing this Cavaliers team, the Nets' defense is very simple. O'Neal and Malone are stuck in the paint area below the free throw line. The other three people, Payton blocks in front of James, Carter and Richard Jefferson Don't worry about other people, just go crazy and defend Chen Xiao.

Even if three people help cover, the players covering the screen are still wooden stakes. It is no problem to block one person, but it is not easy to block the crazy pursuit of two people.

Although Richard Jefferson and Carter's off-ball defense is average, their physical fitness is good, which can solve the problem.

Plus the two of them are still tall.

High and fast, the two of them worked together to defend Chen Xiao.

If Chen Xiao dares not go to the mid-range and short range due to the intimidation of O'Neal and Malone, in this case, Chen Xiao's offensive area will only be the three-point line, which is too defensive.

Now, Chen Xiao has a new offensive area, and it is an area that the Nets' two insides cannot touch. In addition, other Cavaliers players do not want to attack to create opportunities for Chen Xiao. The Nets and Phil Jackson faced Chen Xiao before the game. The target can only be bankrupt. Seeing Chen Xiao's scores jumping back and forth from the two-point and three-point lines from long distances, the Nets players can only sigh in despair.

Although the Cavaliers' starting lineup is only Chen Xiao with stable offensive ability, as long as you fail to solve Chen Xiao's problem, you cannot say that you have solved the Cavaliers' offense.

Just like the 76ers led by Iverson, Iverson was the only offensive player of the 76ers. But even if you know this, if you can't solve Iverson's offensive problem, you still can't say you solved the 76ers. Human offense problem.

After the first quarter of the game, facing the strongest Nets team in history, the Cavaliers playing away games actually tied the Nets 18-22.

Facing the Nets, who were trying their best, the Cavaliers fell behind by 4 points in the first game.

You must know that the Nets' starting lineup is the strongest point of this team. After this season without the strongest substitute in history, the reason why the Nets are called the strongest in history is because of their starting lineup.

But in the first quarter of the Cavaliers' super zone defense, Richard Jefferson and Payton's offense was almost paralyzed.

Although O'Neal has the ability to attack the zone defense, is the zone defense so easy to attack?

Although Malone has extremely strong mid-range shooting ability, Malone's mid-range shooting was also greatly affected by James's desperate sweep.

As for Carter's outside singles, to be honest, it is certain that a super giant like Carter cannot be guarded, but is a defensive player like Chen Xiao so easy to beat?

It can be said that the Nets, who have the strongest starting lineup in history, encountered very big problems on the offensive end in the first quarter.

At the very least, 22 points in a single quarter is definitely too little for the Nets.

On the contrary, the Cavaliers scored 18 points in a single quarter, which was acceptable to them.

With the team completely giving up offense and fighting hard to defend, the Cavaliers could accept this score.

In the first quarter, both teams' starters played for 12 minutes. It can be seen from this that the Nets really want to win more.

Therefore, at the end of the first quarter, players from the two teams came off the court. The audience at the scene and in front of the TV could clearly feel that the Nets players were very dissatisfied, and the Cavaliers were very dissatisfied. The players are relatively relaxed.

According to Cavaliers head coach Carlisle's plan before the game, as long as the Cavaliers trail within six points in the first quarter, it will be considered a success.

The Nets' offensive deterrent was too strong, and the Cavaliers gave up the offense again. The Cavaliers tried their best to defend, but they might not be able to survive. At the same time, to what extent can Chen Xiao bear the team's offense by himself? Carlisle Still very worried.

After the first quarter of this game, Carlisle was relieved.

In this quarter, the performance of the Cavaliers' two leading players, Chen Xiao and James, surprised Carlisle.

James' desperate assistance on the defensive end not only provided a great deterrent to Malone, but also made Chen Xiao's position in the zone defense more prominent.

Chen Xiao's back is completely handed over to James, so Chen Xiao can be more forward when defending Carter.

Carter's three-pointer poses less of a threat to the Cavaliers' zone defense.

On the offensive end, Chen Xiao actually showed a strong mid-to-long-range two-point offensive ability in this game, which made the Nets' targeted defense against Chen Xiao even more difficult.

The Nets' defense is very strong. There are two big men under the basket who can block the paint area. In addition, there are two extremely mobile perimeter players like Carter and Richard Jefferson on the outside. Payton's defensive experience is extremely high. Strong, a defensive leader with excellent positioning, the Nets can be called the strongest in history this season not only because of their offense, but also their defense.

Under such defense, Chen Xiao was able to make 5 of 11 in the first quarter, 2 of 5 three-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, and score 14 points in a single quarter. This is really great!

In the first quarter, the performance of the Cavaliers' starters exceeded Carlisle's expectations.

Whether the Cavaliers can win now depends on the performance of the Cavaliers' bench players.

In Carlisle's plan, whether the Cavaliers can defeat the Nets depends on the team's bench lineup!

In the second quarter of the game, Chen Xiao was put on the bench to rest by head coach Carlisle.

Xiao Zhan, who played a full first quarter, continued to lead the team.

When the Cavaliers' substitute players came on the field, Chen Xiao specifically asked Crawford.

"Jamal, whether we can beat the Nets depends on you!"

Facing Chen Xiao's instructions to grab his shoulders, Crawford took a deep breath and nodded heavily.

As the third player of the Cavaliers, Crawford has a very heavy task in this series.

He won't get much playing time because due to his defensive issues, he won't be able to appear in the starting lineup, not even for a minute.

Everyone in the Nets' starting lineup has the ability to average 20 points per game. What does this mean?

This means that as long as Crawford appears in the starting lineup, the Cavaliers' defensive strategy has no meaning.

The only time Crawford can play is when all the Nets' main players are absent from the rotation.

In this game between the Cavaliers and the Nets, how much time will the Nets have without all the main players on the court?

15 minutes max!

In the regular season, he averaged more than 30 minutes of playing time per game.

Just give him 15 minutes now.

And in these 15 minutes, he still needs to score the same points as he did in the regular season.

Moreover, during these 15 minutes, he spent at least half of the time partnering with James instead of Chen Xiao.

It is already difficult to score 15 points in 15 minutes, but half the time he is surrounded by teammates like James who cannot open up space for him.

This is really a test of his singles and microwave abilities.

Under such huge restrictions, if Crawford really achieves what the Cavaliers need him to do, it will be a surprise. If he fails to do it, Chen Xiao and the Cavaliers will not blame him.

The Nets' starting five, O'Neal, Malone and Payton, are veterans and are difficult to play in the rotation.

Carter needs to compete with Chen Xiao for a whole game. He is there when Chen Xiao is there, but he can't compete even if Chen Xiao is not there.

These four are the four players with the strongest offense in the Nets.

They can't rotate in the second quarter, which means that the Nets' offense will plummet.

These four minutes of rotation in the second quarter are the Achilles heel of the strongest Nets in history.

How the Cavaliers play in these four minutes and how Crawford plays in these four minutes determine the trend and success or failure of the Cavaliers' game.

"Brothers, come on!"

"Ouch~!"

With Chen Xiao's cheering, James took the field with Crawford, Korver, Diaw, and Chandler!

On the other side, the Nets' rotation is Fisher, Brandon Armstrong, Richard Jefferson, Martin and Mourning.

Richard Jefferson is left to guard James. Fisher, Martin and Mourning need no introduction.

And Brandon Armstrong is Chen Xiao's former teammate. He used to be Chen Xiao's substitute substitute and the 15th man on the Nets last season.

Chen Xiao's substitutes are Kidders and Rodney Rogers, Kidders and Rodney Rogers' substitute is Lucios Harris, Harris' substitute is Anthony Johnson, and Johnson's substitute is him.

It can be said that last season, Armstrong couldn't even make the lineup. In the Nets last season, Armstrong played in 11 games, averaging 2 minutes per game.

This season, due to the departure of Chen Xiao and Kidd, and the departure of all the strong rotation players in front of him, Armstrong has managed to survive. This season, he averaged 15 minutes per game, averaging 37% shooting and 33.0% shooting per game. The three-point shooting percentage averaged 5.2 points per game.

The data is not good, but it is a little better than him and Fisher's substitute Robert Pike. Robert Pike averaged 7 minutes per game this season, averaging 1.9 points and 1 assist per game, and he has not yet scored three points.

Others become more and more demonic as they get older, but Parker becomes less and less charming as he gets older.

This is something the Nets did not expect.

You must know that in the 1994-95 season, he once shot 41.7% of the three-pointers in the Nuggets.

In fact, his three-pointers are not new now, they were no longer available when he was with the Hornets last season.

It's just that the Nets need his good passing ability to pass the ball to Mourning and Martin.

Parker now has basically nothing but a passable pass.

After all, he is 35 years old.

And this is also the reason why the Nets' bench lineup is so much worse than last season. Not only is the lineup not so reasonable, but it is also not thick enough.

That's why Carlisle dared to work on the Nets' bench.

The Nets' F7 has seven All-Star players. However, except for Martin, Mourning and Richard Jefferson, these All-Stars cannot be used in the other four rotations.

This is the opportunity for the Cavaliers!

On the court, during the Nets' first offense, Fisher tried to find Martin and Mourning under James' defense.

After Martin responded at the free throw line, facing Diaw's defense, he took a step and hit the ball to Mourning under the basket.

Facing Chandler's defense, Mourning hooked the ball and Chandler grabbed the backboard.

The Nets' outside offensive ability is not strong, and this offense was a bit weak.

When it came to the Cavaliers' side, the Cavaliers attacked. After James dribbled the ball through half court, he called Crawford.

"Jamal, don't worry about other things, attack, attack with all your strength, I will help you suppress Richard Jefferson Martin and Mourning, you attack with all your strength!"

After James said to Crawford, he took the basketball in his hand and sat directly on Richard Jefferson who let him go.

After sitting down on Richard Jefferson, James made a back-turning breakthrough and directly ran over Richard Jefferson.

Richard Jefferson is also considered to have outstanding physical fitness, but as the top chosen son among players of this style, James' talent is obviously much better than Richard Jefferson.

Of course, Richard Jefferson did not lose his position after being turned around and broke through. Instead, he continued to follow James, trying to flank James with his teammates under the basket.

Richard is absolutely right.

If his goal was to defend James, then he achieved his goal and stayed close to James. James did not have the ability to stop and shoot. As long as the teammates in front were in place, James would be in a dead end.

but!

Just when James' breakthrough attracted all the attention of the Nets' interior defense, and Martin, who was responsible for assisting defense, was attracted to James' side, James jumped up and looked back at the moon facing the defense of Richard Jefferson and Martin. , Throwing the basketball in his hand to Crawford outside the three-point line.

Facing Fisher's defense, Crawford staggered a little when he received James' breakthrough pass. After all, he was not a peerless pot like Chen Xiao.

But with his excellent movement and control ability, Crawford still stabilized his footing, and even used this stagger to shake Fisher.

When Fisher got close to Crawford again, Crawford made a smooth breakthrough followed by a pull-back mid-range fadeaway jumper that almost knocked Fisher down.

Fisher's defense is very good, but he is on the heavy side, and Crawford is too floating.

And Crawford's offensive skills, coupled with his No. 8, made Fisher think of a very familiar figure in his mind!

Kobe Bryant!

When Fisher flew away towards Crawford who was leaning back in the air, he bit his lips tightly.

Martin's help defense was attracted by James, so after he was swayed by Crawford, he had to make up for himself. Martin had no way to help him make up.

But obviously, this time his replacement was a bit late.

A swipe!

Crawford hit his first two-pointer of the game with a very Mamba-inspired single.

Also the first two-point playoff game of his career.

20 to 22!

The Cavaliers reduced the deficit to 2 points.

The Nets attacked. This time the Nets were still playing inside, but they did not continue to play Mourning, but Martin. Martin singled out Diaw and successfully faced Chandler's defense, and dunked under the basket.

20 to 24!

After Martin scored, the Nets fans at the scene instantly became silent.

No other Nets player booed after scoring and there was no applause after Chen Xiao scored.

But such silence also put Martin under great pressure.

He also doesn't like the F7 Nets this season. He and Richard Jefferson think about the days they spent with Chen Xiao and Ji Boss every day, and even count the days.

This is the 300th day of their absence...

Still thinking.

However, we are professional players, we cannot only have feelings, but also professionalism and big contracts!

After Martin scored, he did not celebrate or beat his chest. He cried like a ghost and howled like a wolf. Little Garnett immediately returned to his defensive position after scoring and began to defend hard.

"Kenyon and the others are very professional."

In front of the TV, Boss Ji had the most professional smile on his face.

Chen Xiao learned a different profession from him.

and Martin and Richard Jefferson learned their trade from him.

Every one of them is very nice.

On the court, the Cavaliers continued to attack and James continued to impact.

Seeing Richard Jefferson almost being rushed away by James on the court, the Nets fans on the sidelines and many viewers in front of the TV let out bursts of exclamations.

"Richard Jefferson is already a genius, but is there such a big gap between him and a chosen one like James?"

Even Phil Jackson stood up a little worried at this time.

James is using his impact to attract Martin's defense, creating space for Crawford to single out Fisher.

Richard Jefferson, who had high hopes for him, couldn't guard James one-on-one.

Mourning, on the other hand, is too old and cannot help defend now, and may not even be able to block James' impact at the basket.

In this case, Fisher's defense against Crawford was almost alone.

Fisher's defense is very good, but the Cavaliers' Crawford...

"Jamal, the rest is up to you!"

After James crushed the Nets' defense once again, he handed the basketball in Crawford's hands.

Looking at the basketball in his hand that James had high hopes for, Crawford moved his legs and made an extremely cool change of direction. He took a step forward and pushed Fisher back. He immediately took another step back and saw Ke. Lawford was about to step back for a three-pointer, and Fisher almost crawled in front of Crawford.

What made Fisher desperate was that Crawford did not pull up from outside the three-point line, but followed with another smooth breakthrough!

Fisher, who had used up his last bit of strength, watched Crawford pass by him, desperately trying to continue to retreat and defend.

But he is just Fisher, he is not Jordan or Kobe. He does not have such a strong waist or such strong legs.

Bang!

The moment Crawford broke through, Fisher fell to the ground!

Crawford's pull-up jump shot after an ankle-breaker break!

A swipe!

Two more points!

22 to 24!

Looking at the Cavaliers No. 8 on TV, Kobe in front of the TV was stunned.

What shocked Kobe was not just Crawford's singles ability, but that a singles player like Crawford actually had such a big space!

And who created this space for him?

James!

Watching the replay on TV, when Crawford was playing Fisher alone, he stuck Martin tightly with a ferocious look on his face. He used his back to constantly block James, who was blocking Martin's defense route.

It was as if Kobe got to know James again.

In the first quarter, James was next to Chen Xiao and worked hard to defend Chen Xiao.

In the second quarter of the game, James took Crawford with him and worked hard to help Crawford gain offensive space.

So far in the game, James' current statistics are pitiful.

But he is the key to the fact that the Cavaliers can now compete with the Nets.

An 18-year-old boy actually has such an awareness.

When I was 18 years old, what was I thinking about every time I was on the court?

What an amazing team this is!

"What kind of team has Chen brought out..."

Watching the Cavaliers, who were playing inextricably with the Nets on TV, Kobe couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

No!

It’s not inextricable!

The Cavaliers are actually in the lead now!

On the court, the Nets' Martin singled out Diaw and missed Chandler's defensive throw. James grabbed the backboard and launched a fast break.

James led the defense of Richard Jefferson and Armstrong to push the ball into the paint area. After once again compressing the Nets' defense to the extreme, James still did not attack by himself, but turned back and passed the ball to Crawford. Germany once again faced Fisher one-on-one.

Fisher, who was hit twice by Crawford's singles in a row, watched Crawford suddenly take aim outside the three-point line after catching the ball. Fisher was so frightened that he rushed over.

For him, this No. 8 has now begun to be equated with the No. 8 of the Lakers.

The Cavaliers' No. 8 has already made him a little nervous!

Snap!

The crisp beater sound of a lifetime!

A swipe!

Three point hit!

Beep beep beep!

Then there was another rapid whistle!

This rapid whistle made Fisher, standing next to Crawford, despair.

Extra penalty hit!

3+1!

26 to 24!

Seeing the score changed again, Phil Jackson was confused.

At the end of the first quarter, the Nets still led by 4 points.

But less than two minutes into the second quarter, the Nets were already 2 points behind!

Although he knows that the Nets' rotation players have some problems.

But he never thought that the Nets' rotation problem would be so big!

Crawford played like Kobe in the past two minutes!

It's not the combination of James and Crawford on the court, it's the combination of James and Kobe!

No kidding, the rotation combination of Crawford and James has a really high ceiling.

If Crawford has a good touch, no kidding, it will be a combination of Kobe + James.

Especially when James intentionally creates singles opportunities for Crawford, this effect is very obvious.

Xiao Zhan is actually very suitable to cooperate with super singles players like Crawford or Irving.

Because James can compress defense and has a very strong ability to compress defense. If the opponent's defense can be compressed by James, then there will be more room for singles players like Crawford or Irving to play.

No joke, Crawford has never had such an open singles environment in the Bulls.

And all of this was brought about by Xiao Zhan's hard work.

In less than two minutes, one person scored 8 points!

In the past period of time, Crawford has become the most handsome kid on the court.

"This kid has completely become famous!"

Kobe watched Crawford being greeted by Chen Xiao on TV and shouting and celebrating with Chen Xiao. Kobe couldn't help but admired.

But soon, the smile on Kobe's face solidified.

Because Chen Xiao was so excited, he took Crawford to perform the "Snake King Ceremony".

Silk, silky, silky, silky…

On the sidelines of the court, Chen Xiao, Crawford and James were chatting excitedly.

In the stands, Nets fans were shouting crazily.

On the Nets bench, watching the score turned over by the Cavaliers once again, the Nets starting players looked at each other.

They had been down for less than two minutes.

The situation suddenly changed!

As for the anger in O'Neill's heart, fear began to slowly appear at this time!

There wasn't much fear, just a little bit, but there was definitely a trace of fear in his heart!

They actually gave me the fear of losing the game and the series!

A swipe!

The fear continues!