I’m Really Playing Basketball

On June 11, 2015, Chen Xiao brought the Warriors to Cleveland.

After leaving Cleveland in 2005, this was Chen Xiao's first time in Cleveland during the playoffs or finals after ten years.

Looking at the huge bronze statue of Chen Xiao outside the Cavaliers' home court, King AND God Stadium, many Warriors players will wonder if their boss is already a buried legend.

But in fact, their boss is only a 32-and-a-half-year-old veteran, and it is still far from time for him to be buried.

The God who once protected them has now become the devil standing in front of them. This does not make Cleveland fans resentful of Chen Xiao.

If the finals between the Cavaliers and Warriors were very intense and the players on the court were full of passion, maybe the situation would be completely different at this time.

But in this year's finals, the Warriors were almost overwhelming in the first two games.

This leaves Cavaliers fans with no source of resentment or excuse, because after two games, most fans no longer have any expectations for the Cavaliers' prospects in this year's finals.

In this case, they naturally cannot complain too much about Chen Xiao.

Therefore, when Chen Xiao came to Cleveland again, he saw many local fans taking photos next to the bronze statue outside the God-King Stadium.

I also saw many fans from all over the world or all over the United States taking photos here.

Because the Warriors won the previous two games, most fans felt that it was impossible to return to Golden State in the NBA Finals.

Therefore, Chen Xiao's fans, as well as a large number of Golden State fans, came to Cleveland at this time.

It is precisely for this reason that Cleveland, which was originally Chen Xiao's base, seemed to be occupied.

On June 11, the night of the G3 game of the Finals, when Chen Xiao led the Warriors players on the field, the Cavaliers fans and fans who supported the Warriors gave Chen Xiao the warmest cheers and applause.

The DJ at the scene was shouting for Chen Xiao, and the big screen at the scene was also playing highlights of Chen Xiao's years with the Cavaliers.

Even the mascot of the Cavaliers was wearing Chen Xiao's jersey.

It can be said that when Chen Xiao came to Cleveland this time, he received courtesy from everyone here.

Of course, as the behind-the-scenes bosses of the Cavaliers, James and his wife are indispensable. At the very least, the Cavaliers' home court layout is so vivid and touching. It is definitely not just the fans. In fact, the Cavaliers' team deserves more credit. Some.

Chen Xiao was very moved by this.

Although for Chen Xiao, the most special teams in his mind have always been the Nets and Bobcats, the Cavaliers have indeed carried his two years of youth.

Although Chen Xiao is usually reluctant to mention the two years of his sophomore year with the Cavaliers, it is obvious that Chen Xiao's games with the Cavaliers are the most replayed, whether in the United States or China.

Because these two years with the Cavaliers were the two years when Chen Xiao cheated the most. After all, after these two years with the Cavaliers, Chen Xiao had graduated from the Novice Village.

Cheating is fierce, and the game is naturally played magically. For example, when the Nets were defeated by the Black Eight and Seven Stars, the Miller moment and 35 seconds and 13 points were recorded in every game. For fans and spectators, this game, you say, is it good to watch or not.

And this is one of the reasons why Cavaliers fans still miss Chen Xiao so much even though he has left the Cavaliers for ten years.

During Chen Xiao's two years with the Cavaliers, the memory legacy left behind is truly terrifying.

The 10 most exciting games in the history of the Cavaliers, 20 games, and 100 games, it is impossible to avoid Chen Xiao!

For the Cavaliers team and fans, Chen Xiao has been written in their blood.

Chen Xiao has a very close relationship with the Cavaliers, but for the upcoming game, the warmth between the two teams only ends before the game starts.

Although after the game in G2, the whole world felt that the Cavaliers were hopeless.

The Cavaliers can no longer beat the Warriors.

However, this is the voice of public opinion. For the Cavaliers players, they don't think so.

The losses in the previous two games have indeed made the Cavaliers players a little frustrated, but the Cavaliers have been brought to this level by James over the years. It can be said that they are a very cohesive team. Such a team is impossible. Easily defeated.

Therefore, the Cavaliers showed their determination to the Warriors as soon as the G3 game started.

In the last game, the Cavaliers chose to defend like crazy against the Warriors, but as soon as this game started, the Cavaliers players were crazy about attacking against the Warriors.

The Cavaliers want to use their own offensive rhythm to disrupt the Warriors' offensive rhythm. This strategy is understandable.

For example, as soon as Oden came up, he attacked Jokic crazily, and James also looked for opportunities to attack Jokic in the paint.

Jokic has strong organizational and offensive abilities, but defense...

To be honest, Jokic's defense mainly relies on his big body. He does not have such strong defensive skills and abilities for the time being. Jokic also has insufficient experience in dealing with such crazy attacks.

If you have to guard hard, you will be prone to fouls. If you have to guard loosely, you can only let James and Oden continue to score.

After all, in terms of size, Jokic's inside partner with thick eyebrows cannot stop James or Oden.

The thick eyebrows are more about double-teaming and assisting Jokic in defense, and cannot replace Jokic in single defense against James and Oden.

Therefore, facing the Cavaliers' completely different style of play, the Warriors were a little uncomfortable in this game.

Jokic played the first three minutes of the game and received two fouls due to his defensive lapses.

And Lopez, who replaced Jokic, is better than Jokic in uprights, has better defensive skills than Jokic, and cooperates better with thick eyebrows.

The one-to-one defense combination of Lopez and Big Eyebrow is indeed stronger defensively.

But it is obvious that Lopez does not have such a strong ability to organize offense.

This directly led to the collapse of the Warriors' offensive system, and they could only return to last season or Chen Xiao's core tactics last season.

Let's just say it looks like the rest of the Warriors can pass the ball when Jokic is around.

But without Jokic as the core organization, the entire Warriors' starting players, whether it is Big Eyebrow, Beal or Clay, do not have the ability to organize and handle the ball.

In the end, Chen Xiao can only handle the ball, but the ball rights are concentrated in Chen Xiao's way, which will put Chen Xiao under great defensive pressure.

You know, the Cavaliers' Oden, James, Danny Green, Matthews, and Conley are a very strong defensive lineup.

Especially the forward defense is even more powerful.

However, with Chen Xiao's confrontation ability, he actually hopes that the Cavaliers can double-team him so that he can distribute the ball to his teammates. However, in this game, the Cavaliers let James stare at Chen Xiao. Single defense, that is to say, the Cavaliers did not double-team Chen Xiao.

The Cavaliers don't want Chen Xiao to organize the Warriors. If Chen Xiao can face James' single defense and beat the Cavaliers to death, they will admit it.

For Carlisle, Chen Xiao's former head coach and someone very familiar with Chen Xiao, his strategy seems extremely correct.

Let's put it this way, if the Cavaliers really double-team Chen Xiao, both Clay and Beal will have the ability to score explosively, and Lopez and Big Eyebrow also have strong offensive capabilities.

But if you guard against Chen Xiao alone.

Lopez doesn't have the ability to single out Oden, it's not easy to beat Danny Green in singles with thick eyebrows, it's not easy for Klay to face Matthews, Chen Xiao's junior, chasing and defending, and it's not that easy for Bill to beat Conley in singles. .

On the other hand, the Cavaliers' Oden and James still have an advantage in the paint.

After getting rid of Jokic, the Cavaliers hope to have a traditional basketball duel with the Warriors, a positional basketball duel.

Carlisle and the Cavaliers believe that in positional battles and traditional basketball duels, the Cavaliers, with their inside advantage, are the dominant team.

In fact, in the first quarter of this game, the Cavaliers beat the Warriors 35 to 25, beating the Warriors by 10 points in a single quarter.

Throughout the first quarter of the game, the inside combination of James and Oden shot 10 of 17, scoring 23 points in a single quarter. At the same time, the two also grabbed 6 offensive rebounds together.

In the first quarter, the Cavaliers took 7 more shots than the Warriors.

For most of the first quarter without Jokic's organization, except for Chen Xiao's singles against James, which was able to score steadily, the other people's singles and scoring were simply terrible.

Clay scored 1 of 2, Beal 0 of 3, Big Eyebrow 0 of 2, and Lopez 2 of 4. Except for Lopez, who was normal, the others were simply miserable.

Chen Xiao was under great pressure in the first quarter. If Chen Xiao hadn't made 4 of 7, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 7 of 7 free throws, and scored 16 points in a single quarter, let's put it this way, the Warriors would have lost the first quarter. It was crushed by a surprise attack by the Cavaliers.

Being behind by 10 points in a single quarter is not impossible for the Warriors to catch up.

After all, the Warriors had the advantage of rotation in the second quarter. In the second quarter, Chen Xiao and James both appeared in the rotation time together.

This time, Cole did not stop Chen Xiao from playing the entire game.

The importance of winning this game to the Warriors is immeasurable.

Let's put it this way, if the Cavaliers can win this game, then the Cavaliers' morale will greatly increase. After all, they have found a new method, and this method is effective, and they also win, then the Warriors' next game It will be extremely difficult.

In the end, this finals may even reach six or seven games.

The Cavaliers were able to win 71 games in the Eastern Conference during the regular season. This is not an accident or luck. They have such strength.

The main reason why they lost so miserably in the first two games was that they were confused by the suddenly purified Warriors.

Now, after they were unmasked, didn't they discover that the Warriors' starting lineup has limited singles ability?

As long as the Warriors' starting dual-core is changed to a single-core, the Cavaliers can use unlimited single defense to kill the Warriors who are not strong in singles.

Therefore, you must win this game!

When the Cavaliers found a new way to deal with the Warriors and wanted to increase their arrogance, they suppressed the Cavaliers' arrogance.

Gobert, Ibaka, Chen Xiao, Livingston, Dragic.

Oden, Scola, James, Korver, Spanoulis.

On the Warriors side, Chen Xiao leads the team.

As for the Cavaliers, Oden also followed James. Oden took a 1-minute rest in the first quarter and came right back in the second quarter.

There is no way, the Warriors' rotation is indeed strong and solid. The Cavaliers have made it clear in the first two games that one James is not enough.

Even though Oden was added this time and Chen Xiao was added on the opposite side, the Warriors still beat the Cavaliers 40 to 32 in the second quarter.

The Warriors pulled back 8 points in the second quarter.

In this quarter, the Warriors made 10 three-pointers in a single quarter.

Chen Xiao made 4 of 6 three-pointers, while Ibaka made 4 of 5 three-pointers.

In this section, Ibaka broke out again!

James challenged Chen Xiao on the defensive end, and Scola faced off against Ibaka. Ibaka, a big man who can run and jump, logically speaking, is a basket-attacking type, and all American big men are like this.

If Ibaka drives to the rim, Oden can play a pair by himself.

However, Ibaka is exactly the kite-type insider.

Oden needed to guard the basket, and Scola couldn't pull out. The Cavaliers almost watched Ibaka constantly receiving passes from Chen Xiao from outside the three-point line, and slowly hitting 3-pointers.

This substitute hero who made 12 out of 12 shots against the Spurs almost hit all the shots in the single quarter at this critical moment. He made 7 out of 8 and scored 16 points in the three quarters!

Chen Xiao really dares to pass, and Ibaka really dares to shoot.

Since the series with the Spurs, Ibaka seems to have opened up the offensive line and is extremely confident in shooting.

In the second quarter, the pick-and-roll between Chen Xiao and Ibaka almost made the Cavaliers vomit.

67 to 65!

After halftime, the Cavaliers led the Warriors by 2 points.

The finals reached G3, and it was the first time that the two teams played anxiously.

In the third quarter, the Cavaliers still gritted their teeth and persisted. James and Oden continued to score 23 points together in this quarter. This was the third consecutive quarter in which the two scored 20+ points in each quarter.

These two really fought hard.

In the third quarter, Jokic committed four fouls and left the field early. The Warriors lost 28-30 by 2 points in a single quarter.

After three quarters, the Warriors lost 93-97 on the road by 4 points.

However, for the Warriors, such a fall behind is acceptable.

Because in the first 36 minutes, James played 36 minutes and Oden played 35 minutes.

In the fourth quarter, it was impossible for the Cavaliers to be as strong as they were.

In fact, this is indeed the case. The very strong Cavaliers, who had an inside advantage in the first three quarters, scored 20 points in a single quarter in the fourth quarter, while the Warriors scored a normal 28 points in a single quarter.

In the end, the Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 121-117 at the Cavaliers' home court with great difficulty.

In the last three minutes of the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers did not score a point.

With 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Warriors went from 112 to 117 to overtake and complete the reversal.

Oden and James, the strongest inside team in the NBA, faced the full-court entanglement of Lopez, Gobert, Jokic, Big Eyebrow, Chen Xiao and other players. By the end of the fight, Oden felt uncomfortable even lifting his leg, and James was bent. Lowered his waist.

Both of them were 2-for-6 in the fourth quarter. Although one of them scored 42 points and the other scored 41 points, in the fourth quarter, one scored 7 points and the other scored 6 points.

All we can say is that they almost changed their fate against fate.

Let's put it this way, if it weren't for Ibaka's sudden explosion in this game, based on the state and shooting percentage of the Warriors' starting players in this game, it would be impossible to defeat this Cavaliers team that gave everything.

In this game, after the Warriors lost their dual-core engine, the problem of having a second strong point in singles was exposed.

In this game, Chen Xiao made 18 of 35 shots, 9 of 16 three-pointers, and 12 of 13 free throws. He scored 57 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists in the game. This was Chen Xiao's 50-point score again in the NBA Finals. + triple-double.

In addition to Chen Xiao, the other Warriors player who scored in double figures was Ibaka. Ibaka made 12 of 15 in the game, 6 of 8 three-pointers, and scored 30 points in the game.

Did you see it? Oden and James scored 83 points together in this game, while Chen Xiao and Ibaka scored 87 points together, 4 points more. The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers by 4 points.

Let's put it this way, this game was originally for Oden and James to challenge Chen Xiao. In Carlisle's plan, he did not expect that in such a game based on tradition and singles, there would be another person beside Chen Xiao. Ibaka suddenly stood up.

Without Ibaka, given the Cavaliers' tactics and Carlisle's careful layout in this game, as well as the strong advantages of the inside combination of Oden and James, the Warriors would most likely have settled this game here.

The Cavaliers' morale has been greatly boosted. It is very likely that they will win two consecutive games at home and tie the score to 3-2. It is still unknown. By then, the finals will be a different scene.

However, the final result was that the Cavaliers lost this crucial game.

The Cavaliers fell behind 0-3.

Therefore, at the end of the game, among the sighs of all the Cavaliers fans, Carlisle also sighed heavily.

Time is also fate!

Carlisle looked at Chen Xiao hugging Ibaka and enjoying the victory, and shook his head.

The strong have strong luck!