Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 285 Old Knight, Charge!

Amid the cheers of the fans, Gasol pushed the ball back to the Heat's half, and the Eastern Conference Finals officially began.

The Heat were not at all panicked by the Cavaliers' death lineup. They started the game with Gasol launching an attack in the interior.

The Heat had a lot of space to attack, and the help defense was not strong enough. Gasol's hook shot after backing up TT gave the Heat the lead.

The Cavaliers had already used this death lineup in the regular season against the Heat. The biggest problem was that TT could not defend Gasol in the interior.

However, Malone seemed to have anticipated this situation and did nothing.

Looking back, Irving held the ball and played one-on-one, changing direction continuously to pass Dragic.

Dragic's defense is above average in the league, not bad, but it is still a little bit insufficient against Irving.

Deng chose the right time to double-team Irving with Gasol in the paint.

Tucker had a chance in the bottom corner, but Irving didn't look over there. He directly confronted Gasol and made a defensive foul on him.

Kyrie felt uncomfortable if he didn't pull the lever. Irving didn't choose to pull the lever, but attacked very resolutely.

This is a small detail, but it shows the difference in Irving's mentality.

Spoelstra protested to the referee because Gasol's foul so early was disadvantageous to the Heat.

The referee explained to him patiently.

This ball was indeed a foul. Gasol's ability to defend smaller players was not very strong to begin with, and it became more obvious as he got older.

Of course, although Irving and James are at odds, he is still a rising star in the Nike camp, so he should still be given normal whistles.

Irving goes to the free throw line.

There were boos everywhere at the scene, and many fans even shouted "They should trade you".

However, Irving had a strong psychological quality and made both free throws despite the interference.

In the Heat's offense, Durant tried his touch briefly, ran without the ball, received a pass from Dragic, and made a mid-range jump shot.

Dragic is nicknamed "Little Nash" and has excellent scoring and organizational skills.

No wonder Durant is so confident. Having a Gasol is already a great success, and now with Dragic, isn't that a double success?
After scoring the goal, Durant found the girl again while retreating, and this time he blew her a kiss.

This damn temperament, the girl's face has turned red because of him.

The Heat's offense started off quite smoothly, or in other words, with the Cavaliers' tenth-ranked defense in the league, it would be difficult to limit the Heat's offense.

Fortunately, Irving turned around and used TT's screen to get into the paint and make a jump shot, scoring 4 points in a row at the start.

"Kyrie looks pretty good tonight!" O'Neal looked surprised.

"There is no better news for the Cavaliers." Barkley nodded.

It is almost impossible for Hansen to defeat this Heat team alone, and Irving's comeback seems to be a timely help.

And TT also relied on successful judgment to defend Gasol's strong attack in the inside in the next round.

Garnett then stood up and excitedly waved the towel for TT.

TT put aside his pride and became Garnett's apprentice at Hansen's suggestion. In just a few months, his defense improved significantly under Garnett's guidance.

And after TT grabbed the defensive rebound, the Cavaliers quickly launched a defensive counterattack.

After receiving the ball, Hansen quickly advanced to the frontcourt, made a fake move to follow JR's pass from behind to the sideline, deceived Wade and JR at the same time, and pulled the ball back for a quick layup to score.

To everyone's surprise, the Cavaliers fought back and forth with the Heat at the start.

However, the Heat's offensive firepower is really not to be underestimated. After Gasol failed in the low post, he directly pulled up to the high post, and then passed the ball to Deng who cut in, and the latter pressed Tucker to make a layup.

After seeing this, Spoelstra stood up and cheered on his players who were retreating.

He and Thibodeau are two completely different extremes.

Han Sen received the ball with his back to the basket in the high post.

Irving was in good shape tonight, and the Heat didn't dare to double-team him easily.

The fact was just as he thought. He backed down Wade with the ball, and Dragic did not start to retreat until he turned to the free throw line.

He turned back to the baseline and shot a fadeaway jump shot.

Wade tried his best to interfere, but he couldn't defend against Han Sen's shot.

However, Deng at the baseline had a perfect timing and rushed over from the strong side corner to try to block Hansen.

Han Sen caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye, pulled the lever in the air to dodge, and then attacked.

This ball is quite difficult.

"Shh!"

But the basketball still went into the net!

After landing, Han Sen clenched his fists in front of him.

He had told O'Neal before that they would play one game at a time. If he went into more detail, they could play one round at a time.

After all, no matter how strong the Heat's lineup is, there is only one ball on the court and the number of possessions is limited.

As long as they can maintain the offensive success rate and prevent the Heat from widening the score in the first three quarters, the Cavaliers will have a chance to win in the final quarter.

Nine minutes into the game, the score was 9 to 26, with the Heat leading by a narrow margin.

Only at this time did a commotion break out at the scene.

The rhythm of this game is wrong!

Logically speaking, Hansen didn't score that many points tonight, so the Heat should have established an advantage by now. Why is the game still so tied?
Riley wasn't sitting as calmly as he had been at the start of the game.

This game cannot be lost!

However, Spoelstra's expression on the sidelines looked relatively calm.

Although the Cavaliers' offensive performance tonight was somewhat beyond expectations, it is not unacceptable.

In order to achieve this situation, Malone put JR into the starting lineup.

You have to know that the Cavaliers' bench strength is not strong, and if JR is moved to the starting lineup, the bench strength will be even weaker.

On the contrary, the Heat have a deep lineup this season, and the gap will be revealed when they reach the transition stage.

The two sides began to rotate one after another.

Hansen was substituted off the court at this time, and Irving was replaced by Malone to stay on the court.

On the Heat side, Durant stayed on the court to lead the team.

Durant held the ball and shot a mid-range shot against Tucker.

Although it was the end of the quarter, the Heat's starting lineup had too many offensive points, and he still had plenty of energy.

But looking back, Irving rushed to the basket and caused Vucevic to commit a pulling foul.

It must be said that Irving not only played with determination today, but also fought very hard.

Just like he told Han Sen, if he didn't prove himself, he would really be fired.

Thanks to Irving's performance at the end of the quarter, the Cavaliers were still close to the score at the end of the first quarter, with the score at 31 to 34.

"The Cavaliers showed their desire to win tonight!" This excited O'Neal in the commentary booth.

There was actually nothing wrong with the Heat's performance. The problem was that the Cavaliers played too well on offense tonight.

It wasn't just Hansen who played his part. "The challenges they face have just begun." Kenny Smith poured cold water on him in time.

"Yes, this period is the most difficult for them." Barkley also agreed while looking at the court.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Irving also went off the court to rest.

The Heat's depth this season lies not only in their three outstanding bench players, but also in the strength of their rotation.

Each of the five starting players of the Heat is a player who can play the role of an offensive core, and they can be separated and combined during the rotation phase.

For example, the players on both sides at this time, the Cavaliers: Mo Williams, JR, Johnson, Cunningham, Garnett
Heat: Chalmers, Wade, Sefolosha, Gasol, Vucevic

You can see the difference from the comparison of the strength of the two teams' lineups.

JR's first shot was blocked by Wade and missed.

He started the game and only rested for two minutes at the end of the quarter, and he didn't have time to recover physically.

But in turn, Wade used Vucevic's pick-and-roll to break through Garnett and score a layup.

Now the two sides don't seem to be on the same level at all.

Spoelstra was sitting on the bench at the time, turning his head to look at Malone standing on the sidelines in the next half of the court.

In this situation, should Ma Long replace Han Sen early?
If he changes, Hansen's physical consumption will inevitably increase. Even if the Cavaliers can barely hold on in the first three quarters, what about the fourth quarter?

The reason why the Cavaliers lost to the Bulls was because Hansen consumed too much energy in the first three quarters.

But if they didn't make the change, the Heat would have been able to widen the score in one go.

"Shh!"

Spoelstra had just turned around when he heard a crisp sound of the ball going into the net from the court.

Mo Williams and Garnett made a decisive three-pointer after the pick-and-roll.

This made his heart tighten.

Fortunately, Gasol received the ball directly in the low post and played against Cunningham, attracted Garnett's help defense and then passed the ball to Vucevic under the basket, who easily scored two points.

There were cheers everywhere at the scene. Neither the starting lineup nor the substitutes of the Cavaliers could stop the Heat's offense.

Perhaps the only team that could stop the Heat is the Warriors, who have the best defensive efficiency in the league.

Williams continued to hold the ball and play pick-and-roll with Garnett.

Spoelstra has already arrived at the sidelines to remind the players to pay attention to defense.

Although the gap in strength is obvious, the transition period between substitutes is not long. If the Cavaliers are allowed to score continuously, then the advantage will be zero.

Williams is very fast, and although he looks like he has been in the league for many years, he is actually only 32 years old, which is still his peak for a guard.

The Heat tightened their defense.

At this moment, Williams saw the opportunity and threw the ball to Cunningham in the corner.

"Mo Bu Chuan" is a thing of the past. After 11 years of hard work in the league, his passing ability has long been developed.

Of course, more importantly, he wants to win!
Cunningham received the ball and got a wide open opportunity.

The Heat played with a twin-tower lineup on the court. They posed a great threat inside on offense, but their defensive flexibility was also very poor, and they basically couldn't get out once they were in defense.

Williams' three-pointer just now was crucial, and Cunningham's shot was even more crucial.

It's not just because the Cavaliers can't continue to score, but if the space lineup can't make open three-pointers, then the opponent can retreat without restraint.

And usually the first shot of this kind of ball will not go in, and the subsequent shots will be even more difficult to make.

Cunningham has plenty of time to adjust.

Since joining the Cavaliers six years ago, he began training three-pointers early on at Hansen's suggestion.

He has a better three-point shooting ability than any "history" Han Sen knows.

The basketball flew out of Cunningham's hands with a beautiful spin.

The ball hadn't even started to fall yet, but the scene was already becoming agitated.

Spoelstra also sensed that something was wrong.

"Shh!"

With a crisp sound, Cunningham hit the three-pointer!
The Cavaliers made two consecutive three-pointers in the second quarter, which gave them a 6-4 lead after returning in the second quarter!

It’s incredible, but as O’Neal said, the difference in strength does not necessarily determine the final outcome!

Because many times, what determines the game is whether you can make the shot.

Hansen also stood up excitedly and waved the towel for Williams and Cunningham.

No one outside could have imagined that these two veteran knights would perform like this at a critical moment, but Hansen knew.

They have been waiting for an opportunity to clear their names.

"Never underestimate your opponent!" O'Neal shouted in the commentary booth.

Malone then turned around and called West.

Gasol's strong attack in the low post was stopped by Cunningham with an early foul.

Just at this time, there was a short whistle on the sidelines and West replaced JR for rest.

At this moment, except for Hansen who was still resting on the sidelines, the old knights were really all there.

A sideline shot from the Heat.

The ball was still sent to the inside, and West chose to double-team.

The Cavaliers' backcourt substitutes this season include Williams and JR, and he did not get many opportunities to play.

But now Malone uses more small lineups, and he and Dellavedova will get opportunities one after another.

His advantage over the latter lies in awareness and experience.

Wade's outside shooting is not very stable, so this is the correct choice.

Gasol chose to pass the ball, and Wade did not shoot a three-pointer after receiving the ball. Instead, he took the ball and broke through.

West had time to return to defense at this time. Although he did not stop Wade, he bought time for Cunningham to assist in defense.

In the end, Wade's shot was distracted and missed the basket, and the Cavaliers finally succeeded in defending it during the transition period with the substitutes.

And just after Cunningham turned around and grabbed the defensive rebound, the Cavaliers quickly launched a defensive counterattack.

Another disadvantage of the twin tower lineup is its slow retreat, which Hansen was very clear about when he was on the Grizzlies.

The Heat's inside players didn't have time to retreat, and only three players on the outside had time.

At this time, five players of the Cavaliers were rushing forward.

The characteristic of the five-small lineup is defensive counterattack.

Leading the way were Williams and West, followed closely by Cunningham.

West's run to the sideline attracted Wade's defense, while Williams pushed Chalmers away and passed the ball to Cunningham.

After receiving the ball, Cunningham leaped up and scored with a two-handed dunk!
This scene not only made Han Sen stand up again from the bench, but also made O'Neal in the commentary booth straighten his body excitedly.

Hansen returned to his loyal Cleveland, and the old Cavaliers launched a charge!
(End of this chapter)