basketball never sleeps

Chapter 297 Fragrance
On the visiting team's bench, all the Cavaliers players looked dazed. An inexplicable sense of familiarity surged in their hearts: the familiar stadium, the familiar home cheers, the familiar game situation, and the familiar silence.

They made so many changes, brought in Bibby, successfully invited Webber, and went through the trials of blood and fire in the East.

I thought the road ahead would be "breaking the iron cage to escape the tiger and leopard, opening the golden lock to let the dragon go!" How come in the end "I'm back to the starting point~"

The players looked at James, James looked at Mike Brown, Mike Brown looked at Bibby, and Bibby looked at the ceiling.

Blame me?
Bibby, who has always been sober, did not feel guilty about his performance in the first quarter, although Taki failed to limit Mo Wen's scoring and failed to hinder Mo Wen's organization.

But the task given to him by the coaching staff was to deplete Mo Wen's physical strength and make it more difficult for him to play.

If you want to defend someone, I’m the best. If you want to defend someone’s life, I’ll need someone else who can help me!
Gibson at the end of the bench was eager to try and wanted to compete with the MVP. In the original time and space, he was once the starting point guard in this year's playoffs and made quite a name for himself. However, the current Cavaliers are not the Cavaliers in history with no one available. Even if Mike Brown wants to develop internally, James will not allow him to do whatever he wants.

Mike Brown took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and began his daily pre-made chicken soup.

"A 16-point difference is nothing. It just means they had a better touch and made more shots. We have to keep going. I believe in your abilities. I believe in LeBron's leadership..."

On the other side, the Supersonics bench was in high spirits.

Before the game started, everyone in the Supersonics felt that except for the CP of Mo Wen and A Zhan, everyone else would face a fierce battle.

The opponents in each position are all-star or quasi-All-Star level, so it is easy to say tough words and big talk before the game, but in reality everyone is under considerable pressure.

But after the first quarter, guess what?

They didn't smell much gunpowder, but instead smelled the scent of a feast.

After the second quarter, the Supersonics changed their lineup, replacing Ray Allen, Gay and Tyson with Earl Watson, Damien and Francisco and began to rotate.

The Cavaliers just continued to let Webber rest, and the others remained unchanged. It seemed that they wanted to rely on the main players to catch up, but in fact, the substitutes were too weak and they dared not play.

Even though the Supersonics have replaced a lot of players, as long as Mo Wen stays on the court, the Cavaliers will have to treat him like a main player.

As we all know, the assist king is not picky about his teammates. As long as they have hands and feet and can run and jump, he can feed you and turn you into a fat boy, except for those who like "critical criminals".

The audience in front of the TV is hoping that the Cavaliers and James can make a quick comeback. The propaganda from the league and the media has made local fans feel extremely involved in and expectant about the Cavaliers. If the Cavaliers continue to sink like this... what's the difference between that and buying a second-hand S·M prop from a girl's original blind box?
Looking at the Supersonics' players, Ajax's eyes lit up and he saw the flaw.

Very quickly, he came up and looked for Bibby for a pick-and-roll.

Damien, who was defending James, couldn't defend him immediately. Given James's ability to accelerate, Earl Watson, who was facing Bibby, had to choose to switch defense.

Although Bibby is small and cannot provide much delay value, Earl Watson, who is defending Bibby, is even smaller.

Watson is 185 cm tall and weighs 90 kg, which is considered a strong man among the crowd, but he is facing James who is 203/110.

The scene wasn’t brutal, it was like a hot knife cutting butter – stress-relieving.

In the next round, Mo Wen held the ball in a high position to attract the defense and then passed it to Watson on the other side, then he switched to off-ball mode and started running.

Watson used his speed to get past Reed, attracted the defense under the basket and assisted Francisco with a dunk to get back on track.

But in the next four rounds, James found his ideas and anchor points, and he did nothing else but target Watson.

When Watson defends Bibby, he will screen with Bibby, and when he defends Reed, he will screen with Reed.

Name calling? Do you really think that you, Mo Wen, can use this tactic, but I, King James, can't?
The Sonics' inside line intentionally retreated to protect, but James was also patient. If he couldn't score once, he would come out and reorganize and play again.

After four rounds, he scored once, assisted once, caused one foul, and only once was Watson stealing the ball and disrupting it. The overall efficiency was super high.

The difference between the two teams was also narrowed by 4 points during this period.

It’s not much, but it’s enough to give the Cavaliers hope.

Watson is a regular rotation player for the Supersonics. Ray Allen's bone spur problem has not been made public, and there are even a lot of smokescreens deliberately released by the Supersonics. But if you pay a little attention, you can see the protection of Ray Allen by the Supersonics from the rotation changes in the previous rounds.

Watson could do nothing about it. The talent gap was even more difficult to cross than the solidified class system.

Milicic and Francisco tried to help him on defense, but he lost the ball too quickly every time.

"Focus, speed up, move and pay attention to passing the ball!"

Feeling that his form had improved, James' voice of encouragement for his teammates became much louder.

Although he is tired, if he keeps going, maybe he can stop the Supersonics?

However, just as he was fantasizing about completing a points reversal before halftime, a familiar face stood in front of him again.

The slightly raised corners of his mouth didn't reveal much meaning, but it was enough to make A-Jan shiver.

You you you you...you're haunting me!
What are you doing? Ouch!
He has the energy to score during regular substitute time, so why not let the offense just shoot at him?

Mo Wen’s answer was, no.

In fact, whether it was targeting the Cavaliers' inside players or breaking through the Cavaliers' outside players in a single play, the sense of accomplishment that it brought to Mo Wen was very limited.

Including Azhan who tried to avoid the fight in the first quarter, in his eyes he was not even as good as the ignorant and fearless Azhan in the copy.

Compared to opponents who are "free from doubts at thirty and know the will of heaven at forty", Mo Wen prefers opponents with a rebellious spirit.

Just like Catherine the Great, even if the war ended with her being the defeated country and having to open multiple trading ports to accept Mo Wen's tens of billions of dumping, her act of claiming to be an independent and sovereign woman before each war would arouse Mo Wen's sufficient fighting spirit and passion.

This is Ai... fun.

A-Zhan, with light in his eyes, feels a sense of accomplishment only when he is practicing.

Tom cat licking mouth jpg
Seeing Mo Wen standing in front of Azhan again, there was a cheer from the audience.

"Mo once again took on his core responsibility and stood in front of LeBron. Many people always thought that he won the unanimous MVP by winning both the scoring and assists titles, but they all forgot that Mo was also on the All-Defensive First Team this year. He is a more perfect offensive, defensive and passing player than Michael Dunk."

"LeBron is also in good shape. I think it's time for him to step up and face off to see whether talent will crush technique or technique will overwhelm talent!"

In the commentary room, Barkley also rubbed his chubby hands, and couldn't wait to see the river of blood!

Mike Brown on the sidelines clenched his fists, like the boy who shouted "Tiga" in front of the TV that year, wishing he could lend out all the light of his future.

"The job of wearing out Mo should be done by other players. Should we tell LeBron to avoid Mo and play the same way as before?" Seeing that James was being set up again, the assistant coach asked Mike Brown.

"Avoid? How? Can I avoid it once or twice? Can I avoid it for a whole game? Can I avoid it for a whole series? Can I avoid it for a lifetime?"

The Spurs coaches are all very calculating, but Mike Brown knows that calculations can only play a supporting role.

Popovich, the teacher, is more calculating than him. Now, he has been calculating the draft and transfer for most of the month.

After all, the game is about the performance of the players, and when no player breaks out, the core is the competition.

Especially for teams like the Cavaliers and Supersonics that are extremely dependent on the performance of their core players.

If James fails to show confidence and break through against Mo Wen, the entire Cavaliers lineup will face unprecedented pressure.

A Zhan pulled away from the three-point line and gritted his teeth...

Once again, he chose pick-and-roll.

You want to bind me by force? I'd rather die than be free!
However, Mo Wen controlled the distance and position very well. He bypassed the pick-and-roll without much effort and even had time to reach out and grab the ball, forcing Zhan to collect the ball and stop his breakthrough rhythm.

James, who has a lot of experience, did not stop the ball. Instead, he turned his body sideways and headed for the inside in a somewhat awkward posture.

He is no longer the young man who didn't know how to exert his strength during his rookie days and whose rhythm would be disrupted when he was forced.

Four years of hard work have made his forehead wrinkles much deeper.

However, a day in heaven is equal to a year on earth, and young Zhan’s hard work can never be as good as Mo Wen’s day and night work.

The ball that was being dribbled halfway was suddenly and naturally kicked away by Mo Wen. Watson, who had been feeling full of guilt on the defensive end just now, flew over like a flying squirrel and hugged the ball.

Mo Wen was pulled by Ajax and couldn't run fast break to receive the ball in time, but the other teammates were not idle either. Milicic found the right time to receive the ball, dribbled the ball behind his back to avoid Varejao's pressure, dribbled the ball straight to the Cavaliers' basket, and made an easy layup.

Listening to the whistles from the sidelines and feeling the strange looks from teammates.

A Zhan felt that the beast in his heart could no longer be restrained.

He was arrested by Mo Wen again after another pick-and-roll.

"You still haven't improved at all, LeBron."

The half-smile on Mo Wen's face broke his last bit of calm defense.

Over and over again, it never ends, right?

Most of the time he is an extremely calm and rational player, but that doesn't mean he has no temper.

F*ck this bastard!
Reed and Bibby saw that James had a problem with his mentality and asked for the ball.

But at this moment, James only wanted to rely on his own strength to regain his dignity. If you don't defend against the third threat, then I'll take a three-pointer! ——Bang!

Don't be fooled by the change of direction, just watch me stop and pull up! ——Bang!

You're just trying to block me with my back to the basket, so I'll turn around and shoot a jump shot! - Bang!

You thought you were the only one who could shoot a long three-pointer? Wait...

Beep!
Reed called a timeout because he saw James stop the ball one step outside the three-point line and look at the basket.

"Fuck, what the f*ck are you doing, Ni? Are you crazy? You're playing like this in the finals?"

Following Reed's finger, James saw the scoreboard on the sidelines.

57: 36.

His outburst was indeed explosive. Before halftime, the gap between the two teams had widened to a level that was hard to look at.

The long rebounds caused by consecutive missed shots were transformed into fast break spears that pierced the knight's heart under Mo Wen's coordination, but he subconsciously ignored them under the stimulation of adrenaline.

Just like a gambler, he doesn't care what he bets, he just wants to win once and make up for his losses.

"I..." A huge sense of frustration and guilt gripped his throat.

"Sit down and calm down. Damn it, if you keep playing like this we're really finished!" Reed suppressed his anger. The Cavaliers are your team, James, but it was definitely not just your efforts that got the Cavaliers to this point.

Looking around, the other Cavaliers players all had cold eyes, as if he had just joined the Cavaliers and no one else believed that an 18-year-old kid could lead them to rise.

"Take a break, I'll arrange tactics for you later." Mike Brown sighed.

He could have called a timeout earlier, but he didn't because he wanted to see James score a goal himself, even if it was just one.

This not only concerns Azan's own dignity, but also his and the team's beliefs and winning logic.

Facts have proved that James is already very strong, but after all, he is only a fourth-year No. 1 pick and there is still a lot of room for improvement.

And Mo Wen, ha, haha.

After the timeout, Pavlovic replaced Ajax, and Webber returned to the court and started playing regular passing and cutting.

A simplified version of Princeton's tactics were played patiently under the leadership of two veteran Kings players.

On the contrary, the Supersonics players were a little addicted to the counterattack fast break just now. They exposed their flaws several times in the pressing, which were seized by the Cavaliers and stabilized the score.

Mo Wen, who had just played his best on both offense and defense, did not think about ending the battle directly in the second quarter after James left the court. After Ray Allen and Tyson came on the court, he went off the court to rest with Milicic.

"The game seems to be over." Wade said in a firm tone on the sidelines.

"You have so little confidence in LeBron, and it's only the first half. 20 points in the first half doesn't seem impossible, right?" Bosh retorted habitually.

The two were silent for two seconds, and then smiled helplessly.

If it were other teams, it would be fine, but for these two teams, it seems there is really no suspense.

If nothing else, the third quarter was an insurmountable gap between the two teams.

Because the Supersonics won the most points in the third quarter in the entire league, while the Cavaliers had a negative score in the third quarter before Bibby was introduced.

In the future era of school district housing basketball, the Lakers' third quarter has become a joke: "The Lakers' third quarter collapses", but looking back at James' entire career, you will find that his teams have poor performances in the third quarter, and it is only slightly better when he cooperates with Wade in the Heat.

The logic behind it is not complicated, because in James' physical distribution, the third quarter does not play an important role. James' team is built with James as the absolute core, so unless the second-in-command can efficiently take charge of the ball during this period, the team will easily lose power during this period.

This is not a problem, because Kobe's physical energy distribution also follows this plan. At least it is better than a well-known center who has a steady power outage in the final quarter.

A Zhan could have used up his energy in the final quarter, but it was just the difference between dying early or late.

At the end of the first half, the Supersonics still had a 23-point lead.

Ray Allen's bone spur problem made him intentionally reduce his high-intensity style of breaking through inside, and instead learn Mo Wen's three-point shooting from the outside. The effect was unexpectedly good, and he made two more three-pointers.

Mo Wen really felt a little regretful. He was a little too heavy-handed. It was almost garbage time in the first half and his stats had not yet been counted.

Although he seems to have made great contributions to James on the defensive end, the Cavaliers' best stats right now are those of Reed...

As the boss but lost the FMVP, he is not Curry... No, in this time and space, it should be Wade?
Mo Wen turned his head back and met Wade's eyes.

Wade blinked as if he understood something, and decisively gave him two middle fingers - this is the tacit understanding of a championship duo.

During the halftime break, Mike Brown, contrary to his usual practice, did not give any more chicken soup, but instead pulled Mike Malone together to discuss the tactics that James used to break the deadlock in the second half.

Either the Cavaliers break the game, or James breaks the game.

Although the others were unhappy, no one raised any objections. The game turned out to be such a mess that everyone acquiesced and gave up.

It’s just that I lost the first round. It’s been the same before, but it was especially easy today.

Webber and Bibby do have some ideas. Having once fought the Lakers for seven games, they know that they should not give up any hope of winning at this stage of the playoffs, but this is not their team.

To be honest, they have no experience in the finals.

As for the Supersonics, the most important task besides having a good rest is how to allocate time in the second half.

No one popped champagne at halftime. Everyone held the same belief. Under the leadership of Payton, with Mo Wen and Hill as the core, they adhered to the basic principles of teamwork, thoroughly implemented the spirit of internal and external coordination, and never acted recklessly, ensuring that the inside defense remained unshakable and promoting the victory to benefit all players.

After returning from halftime, Mo Wen saw a flash of murderous intent in A-Zhan's bloodshot eyes.

Mo Wen was a little puzzled, but didn't take it to heart.

Every time after he beats A-Jan, this kid seems to get a little mad. Is it because he keeps losing that he can’t stand losing anymore?
reasonable.

When the game started again, both teams went straight to the top of the intensity without any buffer.

The Supersonics wanted to kill the suspense and take the victory, while the Cavaliers did not want to surrender directly. In the first half, if the Supersonics were to lose another 20 points, they would be too ashamed to face the people of Cleveland.

With the carefully planned tactics, Azan began to warm up, but the score gap was not narrowed.

At this point in the game, everyone can see how vulnerable the Cavaliers' strong inside line is to the three-point attack of Mo Wen and Ray Allen.

The Cavaliers were so fragile that the referee had to intervene to save their reputation, but the score gap kept widening under the Sonics' three-point rain.

Bill Walton, who was once known as a "chatterbox", remained silent several times today, and his thousands of words were finally condensed into just one sentence.

"Today, today, it's over. The era of center is over."

In the final quarter, the 27-point difference on the big screen made people wonder whether this was the regular season or the finals.

Cavaliers owner Gilbert, who was traveling with the team, began to doubt his life.

If the lineup he assembled is strong, then how did they get this score?

If they are not strong, how did they get here?
What is even more troublesome is Stern. The much-anticipated Magic-Birds rivalry 2.0 has turned into Mo Wen's daily bullying of James. Although James calmed down and successfully scored twice against Mo Wen in the third quarter, there was no sense of revenge from the audience. Instead, it felt like Mo Wen was letting James win.

The only consolation is that the ratings did not drop by half as expected.

Maybe the audience also likes to watch bullying?

I thought there would be no major incidents in the final quarter, but something unexpected happened.

Milicic was unprecedentedly willful, refusing to play in the final quarter and staying on the bench in his training clothes.

The players around him couldn't understand it. This was the finals, an opportunity for exposure that many people dreamed of.

Instead of cherishing every minute on the court and getting more stats, he returns to the bench to retire. What's going on in his mind?

"Let him rest, there won't be any accidents." Mo Wen stopped questioning, urged others to go on the court, and sat on the bench himself.

"I don't want any more garbage time, and I don't want that shitty nickname anymore, boss," Milicic muttered.

Mo Wen patted Milicic's shoulder, turned around and took out a cigarette holder from Old Hill's lining pocket.

He was quite familiar with the cigar brand. He had smoked it when the Heat won two championships. It was a genuine Cuban product. It was said that each one was rolled from a girl's thigh and still retained the girl's body scent.

"Want one?" Mo Wen handed one to Milicic.

Milicic took it and bit it happily, because he knew Mo Wen remembered it.

There was no fire and smoking was strictly prohibited in the stadium, but the two people holding cigarettes could still feel the fragrance.

As for whether it belonged to the girl or the victor, they couldn't tell, nor did they need to tell...

(End of this chapter)