The Way of the Center

Cleveland, a small city in Ohio, may never have imagined that it would become the center of the world's attention from obscurity because of the arrival of one person.

The joining of LeBron James, the strongest high school student of the year, gave Cleveland, which had been silent for many years, an instant hope. How important is James to the Cavaliers? Just look at the dismal attendance at Quicken Loans Center in the years James left and you can see why one man can change the fate of a city. Irving was also the No. 1 pick back then, but his influence was far less than that of LeBron.

This year, Cleveland once again became the focus of the world's attention. Basketball fans and reporters from all over the world gathered in this once decaying city.

This isn't some kind of world-changing event, and no super-politician is going to announce reforms here. nba finals, Anjie and James. These two factors are enough to become a "magnet" that attracts everyone to gather here.

It's not the first time Anjie has come to the Quicken Loans Arena. Three years ago, he even completed the sweep of the Cavaliers in the Finals here. But now, although the opponent is still the Cavaliers, it is still James. But the situation is quite different from before.

The word small lineup, An Jie remembered that when he first joined the league, few people would mention it. In that era, if a team lost the inside, it means that they are likely to lose the victory.

Whether it is the Lakers during the two consecutive championships or the Mavericks who defeated the Big Three, without exception, they all have one or more powerful insiders behind the stars.

But now in 2018, the game of basketball has changed. Look at the Cavaliers' starting center, Kevin Love. Not to mention that Love was born as a guard, even if he plays inside, he should be a true fourth position.

Now more than one team has given up the position of center, and even the NBA All-Star voting has long erased the position of center. Ironically, the most dominant player in the NBA today is precisely a center. It's just that in this year's finals, Anjie's dominance will be severely challenged.

The Trail Blazers bus had just come to a stop when reporters frantically surrounded them with cameras and microphones on their shoulders.

The city of Cleveland deployed a large police force at the Quicken Loans Center arena. If it weren't for them, the Trail Blazers players might not even be able to get out of the car now.

An Jie, wearing sunglasses and a dark blue suit, was the first to get off the bus. All of a sudden, flashes of light flashed in succession. In fact, this is also the reason why An Jie chose to wear sunglasses.

Through the narrow passage opened by the police for Anjie and the others, the Trail Blazers players successfully entered the player passage of the Quicken Loans Center arena.

An Jie took off his sunglasses and took a deep breath of the air in Cleveland. Here, it is indeed full of a strong smell of gunpowder...

The players didn't waste much time, but went straight to the locker room. Change equipment early and warm up early, this is Ricard's only plan to bring the team to appear in advance.

Although they are in an away game, in the visiting locker room of the Quicken Loans Center Arena, the players' jerseys and sneakers have long been neatly placed in the cabinets by the staff.

As soon as An Jie opened the cabinet, he saw the No. 00 jersey he chose at the beginning, and the center forward sneakers that made him a lot of money. He silently took off his suit and put on his jersey. From the moment he put on the Trail Blazers black away jersey, Anjie has already entered a fighting state!

During the warm-up today, An Jie clearly noticed that J.R. Smith and Derek Rose didn't seem to have a very good touch.

Naturally, it goes without saying that Smith is already a neurotic player. As for Derrick Rose, he shot a super high 45% three-point shooting in the last game. But Anjie believes that Rose, who is not good at long-range shots, cannot play so well today.

The Cavaliers' super high three-point shooting rate is one of the main reasons why the Trail Blazers lost their home court. Today, Anjie can guarantee that he is still efficient inside. But the Cavaliers' perimeter group, maybe this confidence is enough to ensure that they are still efficient outside the three-point line.

Warm up, playing the national anthem, player introductions, and final deployment. After a complete set of procedures, the third battle of the finals that fans have been looking forward to has finally kicked off.

Today, the Cavaliers still use their small lineup. Love played center and James played the four. Wade played three, and Rose and Thomas Jr. partnered in the backcourt. Whether it is Tyronn Lue or the Cavaliers fans, they seem to believe that such a super small lineup can maintain the continuous suppression of the Blazers.

However, on the first goal of the game, An Jie declared his absolute dominance over the penalty area with a dunk against Love.

Since you dare to use a small lineup, I dare to score unscrupulously in the paint. Tyronn Lue intends to use such a lineup, Anjie will let him see what price he has to pay!

After the Cavaliers came to attack, their speed of conducting the ball was still very fast. The complexity of the connection between the four outside players is completely beyond everyone's imagination.

In the end, James received a breakthrough from Wade outside the three-point line and got a shot.

"Big Bull" Morris is definitely one of the best frame protectors in the league, but he is not good at one-on-one defense from the outside. This, perhaps, is the biggest reason why he can't get the best defensive player.

James was not afraid of Morris, who had blocked himself, and he calmly shot from outside the three-point line. However, Morris' take-off height still exceeded James' expectations.

The "Big Bull" guy didn't have any reservations. He jumped up with all his strength as if he was blocking a layup, intending to block James' shot.

James couldn't help leaning his body forward, hoping to draw a foul from Morris outside the three-point line. Because he knew that under this kind of interference, he couldn't make a shot!

"Beep beep!" The referee's whistle finally sounded, and Morris became furious and yelled at the referee. But this still cannot change the fact that James will get three free throw opportunities.

Although relying on free throws, James still scored "three points" as he wished. However, this does not mean that the Cavaliers will definitely be able to drive beyond the three-point line today.

After that, Anjie scored the ball with a big hook in the middle distance. Anjie's exaggerated and retro hook movements seem to remind people of the former "Skyhook" Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. But the scarier thing about Anjie is that you can see the shadows of different super centers in him. Abdul-Jabbar is just one of them.

The Cavaliers' defense against Angie was undoubtedly defeated again, but Tyronn Lue and the fans in the Quicken Loans Center arena were not worried. Because of the offense, this is the highlight of the Cavaliers.

"!" With the crisp sound reaching the fans' ears, Derrick Rose's open three-pointer hit the frame. The first official three-point shot of the Cavaliers today was a hit. According to Chinese commentator Yu Jia, this does not bode well for the Cavaliers.

Think of the 3-pointer as a routine offense, or even as a means of winning. This is the style of play that teams in the league have tried their best to emulate in recent years. But not all teams can qualitatively improve their three-point shooting percentage.

After Rose hit the iron, Wade and James missed two consecutive three-pointers. It wasn't until the fourth time, Thomas Jr.'s shot, that this embarrassment was finally changed. In the first four offenses of the Cavaliers, all shots came from outside the three-point line.

8 to 6, although Anjie has succeeded in the offensive end four times in a row, although the Cavaliers have just hit the first goal in the sports game. But the score gap between the two sides is only two points. Perhaps, this is the scary thing about small lineups and three-point play.

Although judging from the scene now, the Cavaliers don't seem to be suffering. But Ricard at least knows that today the Cavaliers' three-pointers are difficult to connect in a row like in the previous game. As long as the game continues to deepen and the Cavaliers' three-point shooting percentage continues to be like this, it is only a matter of time before the Blazers open the score!

At the end of the first quarter, the Blazers still only led the Cavaliers by four points. But Rickard looked confident.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Cavaliers' three-pointers all collapsed. Whether it's James or Wade, whether it's Rose or Thomas. Or J.R. and Jae Crowder on the bench. No matter who they are, they can't hit three-pointers efficiently. On the Trail Blazers side, the partnership of Nurkic and Anjie made the Cavaliers lose points faster.

The score between the two sides was stretched to 12 points in the second quarter. At halftime, the entire Quicken Loans Center arena was silent even though the cheerleaders put on a show in the middle of the field.

In the second half, Tyronn Lue, who had nowhere to go, brought up Korver, who had been sealed for a long time. No one expected Korver to save the team, but Korver made an outstanding performance of 3 of 4 three-pointers in a single quarter!

That's the pitcher, that's the three-point offense. Those who saved the team in the last game may not be able to save the team today. And people who have been doing nothing before are very likely to explode suddenly because of the fiery feeling.

Korver's shooting gave the Cavaliers hope, but if anyone said that the Cavaliers can look to Korver to crush the Blazers, then he is either crazy or a fool.

In the fourth quarter, although Korver's three-pointer was still miraculous. But the overall low efficiency of the Cavaliers cannot be brought back by Korver alone. In contrast to the Trail Blazers, while the Cavaliers were disadvantaged offensively, the defensive end also began to collapse, giving the Trail Blazers many opportunities.

In addition to the inside, the Trail Blazers' outside players also gained a lot of shooting space. Unlike the Cavaliers, the Trail Blazers' outside line group, who had suffered a whole game in the last game, seized the opportunity today.

Cleveland fans who had come to the Quicken Loans Center with enthusiasm turned out to be disheartened when the game ended.

118 to 106, this is the score created by the Trail Blazers on the road at the end of the game.

Although Korver made 6 of 8 three-pointers, he scored 20 points in the first half of the game. But Wade's 4 points. Rose's 11 points, Thomas Jr.'s 15 points and James' 22 points in exchange for 38% shooting all put the Cavaliers into an irreversible passivity early.

An Jie has undoubtedly become the focus of today. 38 points, 17 rebounds and 4 blocked shots, his super data basis, and what makes Anjie even more happy is that the Trail Blazers got their wish and won the victory.

In the last game, the Cavaliers won with a small lineup. Today, the Cavaliers also lost in a small lineup.

Angie and his Blazers managed to get their revenge in Cleveland and take the series lead again.

However, the competition between traditional basketball and modern basketball, obviously, is still not over. It is impossible for the Cavaliers to feel so hot all the time. Similarly, it is impossible for them to feel as cold as they are today.

It seems that this is another protracted battle that will not know the result until the end.