The Way of the Center

"The Thunder's interior defense was really tested today. O'Neal has scored twice in the Thunder's three-second zone, and James has not yet started to attack the interior. When James also started to attack, their defense The pressure will only increase!"

After O'Neal scored that goal, all commentators were worried about the Thunder's once impenetrable interior defense. O'Neal is too active today, which is completely different from his previous "dead" performance on the offensive end.

But now, the Cavaliers also have to consider how to contain the Thunder's offense. Durant, who ranks first in scoring per game in the league, is not covered.

Westbrook is still in control of the ball. Although Westbrook has not scored more than ten points in two consecutive games, he dare not mess around with the enemy today.

Cavaliers starting point guard Anthony Parker is very uncomfortable for Westbrook. Although this guy's personal ability is very limited, his rich experience helps him make up for this shortcoming.

Whether in the NBA or EuroLeague, Parker has left his mark. This kind of battle-tested veteran is generally very sophisticated in defense.

Although Westbrook stumbled, he safely advanced the ball to two meters beyond the three-point line. He starts to look up, Durant is slipping from the baseline, and James is delayed for a moment by Ainger's off-ball pick-and-roll.

"Right now!" Westbrook made a quick pass, and Durant, who came out of his pocket, rushed to catch the ball within a millisecond.

As soon as he received the ball, James also rushed forward quickly. At this moment, An Jie, who was originally in the three-second zone, also came out to pick and roll for Durant again. Now the entire Thunder's offensive system is completely serving Durant.

Durant didn't give James a chance to adjust after receiving the ball. He immediately broke through to the inside. James moved sideways without even thinking about it. As soon as he took a step, he bumped into An Jie who was picking and rolling.

"Ann's pick-and-roll is impeccable! KD broke through, and O'Neal went up to defend!"

James was blocked again, and O'Neal had to face the young scoring champion himself.

Just when Durant was about to collide with O'Neill's "meat mountain", he suddenly jumped up, scaring O'Neal to feel his arms raised high.

Unexpectedly, Durant didn't want to attack the frame with the ball, he took off just to pass the ball. Durant passes the ball with an almost hook action, who will catch the ball?

"Ann! He cut inside in time after the pick-and-roll for KD! Now O'Neal is caught by Durant,

There was no one in front of Ann! "Mike Breen applauded the tacit cooperation between Anjie and Durant.

"Damn it!" O'Neill saw Anjie flashing past him. If it was ten years ago, he could catch up with the defense in time, and then won the applause of the home fans with a rough block. But now, O'Neill has been unable to take a step.

Now, only James is following An Jie. However, the chances of the ball being defended are very slim.

Anjie received Durant's pass and went directly to the basket in three steps, took off with one foot, and dunked vigorously with both hands.

James jumped up after Anjie took off, but he was a few centimeters away from blocking the ball to Anjie.

"Pay attention to Shaq!" Anjie smiled and patted Shaq's fat butt after the dunk landed, and then high-fived Durant who sent him a second pass.

"My fault Shaq, you stick to the inside, KD leave it to me." Although Anjie scored the goal, James knew that it was because he let Durant go that caused everything that happened afterwards.

"It's okay, next time Durant breaks through again, I'll go to defend, don't relax your vigilance against Ann. And..." The two "Tsar" began to communicate, this scene is not common .

"A strong response. I bet Coach Van Gundy didn't draw up this tactic, at least not in the second half. But don't forget, these guys are called the Thunder's three young men. Their offensive talents are among the best in the league!"

After that, the Cavaliers and the Thunder had mutual offense and defense, and O'Neal didn't take another shot after scoring the opening two goals. One reason is that after James was breakthrough by KD twice in a row, his desire to attack became stronger, so he fought himself. The second reason is that O'Neal was replaced by Mike Brown early on. O'Neal, who is now almost forty years old, can no longer play thirty-eight, nine, or even forty minutes as before.

It didn't take long to confront An Jie, and the "big shark" was already covered in sweat after the game. What about Anjie? It wasn't easy either. Although Cavaliers power forward J.J. Hickson's mid-range shooting accuracy was average, he was still a bit threatening, so Morris was completely pulled out. So from the beginning to the end, Anjie has been fighting against O'Neill alone, and he can't take a breath.

After that, the two sides fought inextricably for the second time. The depth of the Cavaliers' bench has been criticized by the outside world, and the situation of the Thunder is not much better. Ibaka does have great potential, but now he can't make any waves. Livingston? That guy didn't have the "genius" halo bonus for a long time.

It wasn't until the last 20 seconds that James hit a three-pointer that finally gave the Cavaliers a three-point lead over the Thunder. And this advantage was maintained until the end of the first quarter.

23 to 26, the Thunder fell behind only because of James' three-pointer at the last moment.

"You defended James well in the first quarter! But KD, your own shooting percentage is also defended by James very low! Don't get stuck in singles, run the ball. Sefoloza got a lot of opportunities today, but none of them The ball, so I hope you can share the ball with more people!" Van Gundy wasted no time, as soon as the players got off the court and sat down, he took the tactical board and the small bench and sat among the players.

"How is it? Do you want to play singles for you in the second half?" The situation on Mike Brown's side was quite different from that of Van Gundy. He was asking for James' opinion, as if James was the head coach of the Cavaliers.

"No! We have to give Shaq more chances! We can play more easily only when Shaq suppresses that Chinese!" Jay's only solution to trouble on the defensive end.

"Very good, then let's play like this. Listen..." Mike Brown immediately formulated tactics according to James' request. His coaching style was often ridiculed by others, but he led the Cavaliers to the first place in the Eastern Conference. Throne, this is the last word!

The head coaches of the two teams are hurrying to arrange the tactics for the second quarter. The more intense the competition, the more problems the two sides will actually expose. All coaches want to give players all the problems they find, so the break between festivals will always seem very rushed.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Thunder really implemented Van Gundy's arrangement, and the number of times they passed the ball increased significantly.

"Durant has the ball again, he breaks through! But LeBron doesn't leave!"

Durant felt that James had stepped up his defense, but he didn't intend to attack or break through this ball, just to shrink the Cavaliers' defensive lineup.

Meanwhile, Westbrook went around Ainger's off-ball pick-and-roll to the corner. Durant raised his hand to pass the ball, and Westbrook, as expected, became the offensive player.

"Anthony's off-the-ball pick-and-roll is very timely, but Anthony Parker's defensive pace is also not slow! This chance is not good!"

Westbrook made a shot, and when everyone was focusing on him, he suddenly made a pass, the basketball shifted in a wide range, and Sefoloza received the ball at the top of the arc of the three-point line.

"Sabo Sefoloza! Everyone has forgotten him, and the Swiss have been completely missed!"

Facing the opportunity of a large space, Sefoloza did not waste it. He shot the ball unhurriedly, and the basketball drew a beautiful arc and fell straight into the net!

"Swipe!" The pleasant voice made Sefolosa very excited. He raised his right hand high and showed three fingers.

As soon as the game started, the Thunder responded and evened the score!

After the game, the fans of Quicken Loans Arena were feasting their eyes. The excitement of this game is no less than that of the Christmas game.

"Ann passed O'Neal with his footsteps, the big shark is too slow now! Oh! He did it, God! After turning around, the one-handed dunk was on O'Neal's head!"

"Shaq-tank advance, small hook! A basketball is scored, and there is an additional penalty! An Jie shouldn't have stretched out his hand."

"Russell Westbrook! The goal is scored! It's a wonderful pull-up layup, who dares to underestimate the offensive ability of the Thunder's No. 0 guard!"

"LeBron~~~James! Tomahawk-style dunk, this one-stop steal and dunk will definitely be selected as the top ten goals!"

The Thunder Knights are not giving in to each other. If you score a goal, I will return one. The scores of the two sides climbed alternately, but the gap has never appeared.

With 3 minutes and 50 seconds left in the second quarter, Van Gundy replaced all three Thunder players who had consumed too much. In addition to Morris, the other four are all substitute players.

But Mike Brown's decision made Van Gundy's heart tighten.

The Cavaliers also left only one starter on the court, but that starter was No. 23 of the Cavaliers, LeBron James.

"It seems that Coach Mike Brown is going to let James play for a whole quarter."

"Is it really okay? After all, the confrontation between the two sides in the second quarter was too fierce, and the consumption must be huge."

"Of course other people have problems, but for James, no problem!"

And James' first offense fulfilled what he said.

He easily broke through the Thunder's backup guard Eric Maynor's defense, went straight to the inside, ignored Morris' supplementary defense, and forced a layup to score the ball.

Although James was knocked out of the bottom line by Morris, he didn't hesitate at all. He quickly got up and returned to defense.

"No, Maynor can't guard James, and Livingston can't, Ethan Thomas? No!" Mike Breen shook his head. In terms of substitution strategy, Van Gundy was given the general by Mike Brown this time. One army.

Although the Thunder's internal strength has been greatly improved this season, the depth of the bench for outside players is not even as good as last season in some respects.

Livingston can occasionally hit the ball, but more often he is like sleepwalking. Ethan Thomas with long dreadlocks is strong and strong, but his technique and speed really need to be improved. Eric Maynor scored really well, but his body was a bit thin. Kyle Weaver? He exposed the shortcomings of a second-round pick, the upper limit is too low! After a short-lived run last season, the guy has faded out of the rotation. The rookie season is the pinnacle, and he is talking about players like him.

Although there are Ibaka and Morris sitting on the inside, but under the combination of James' throwing and rushing, these two big men don't have much way to limit the "little emperor".

More than three minutes may not seem like a long time, but it made the Thunder players on the field go through a journey to hell.

"Eight points, James alone made the Thunder fall behind by eight points in an instant! Coach Van Gundy is still unwilling to make substitutions, he wants to save the strength of the Thunder's three young men until the end!"

Finally, when the half-time whistle blew. Fans of the Quicken Loans Arena were delighted to find that the game, which was originally inextricably played, has been abruptly opened up by double digits by James!

45 to 56, the Thunder collapsed in the last three minutes of the second quarter, trailing the Cavaliers by 11 points!

James is the king's servant, this is really the country he created by himself!

With 19 points in the half, James' terror dominance reappeared!

It's just that James consumed so much physical strength in the first half. In the second half, can he still guarantee that he can perform at a high level for a long time?

In the second half, it was when Van Gundy decided to let the Thunder's three young masters give it a go! (To be continued.)