Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 357 Green's Formula
"This is going to be the craziest day in Cleveland."

Before Game 6 of the Finals, the Cleveland Plain Dealer used this headline to call on fans to go to Quicken Loans Arena.

It was also at this time that the media began to realize one thing, that is, Cleveland might soon win its second championship trophy, just after achieving a breakthrough from zero last season!

This city, which had previously had no success in the four major sports leagues, is about to win two consecutive championships in sports events?
It would be better if this matter was not spoken out, because once it is spoken out it just makes people feel crazy!

Achieving a breakthrough from zero may require some luck, just like what happened to Memphis, but if they win consecutive championships, it will be enough to show the success of this team.

The day before the game, Hansen gathered the whole team to his manor for a bonfire party.

This is the Cavaliers' chance to win the championship at home, but the pressure is also very great because if they lose, they will go to Oakland for a game seven.

Han Sen couldn't guarantee that he could enter The Zone again, and by then the Cavaliers would be in real danger.

So he is also relieving the pressure on the players.

Han Sen also found some high-quality party girls, and the atmosphere of the party was very relaxed.

Jokic sat in front of a campfire and was in a daze.

"Why are you in a daze!"

Han Sen walked up to him, patted him on the shoulder, sat down, and handed him a skewer of freshly grilled meat.

Jokic took it, but didn't eat it.

This surprised Han Sen. Under normal circumstances, this guy would have taken it and started showing off.

He looks like he is worried about something.

"Had a fight with Natalia?" Han Sen couldn't help but wonder.

Could it be that Natalia was jealous because she knew there were sexy girls at his party?
Jokic shook his head.

"Boss, how can I beat that guy Draymond?"

Jokic's answer stunned Hansen.

He reached out and squeezed his hand, then touched Jokic's forehead.

It's not a hallucination and I don't have a fever.

This worker is still thinking about how to do his job well after work. Are you going to become an overtime worker?

Jokic reached out and scratched his head: "I just don't want everyone's efforts to go to waste because of my problem."

Hansen now understood that Jokic was still blaming himself for what happened in Game 4.

But this is normal. If the Cavaliers really fail to defend their title, even if Jokic doesn't care how the outside world views him, he will not be able to get over it in his heart.

Hansen did not answer Jokic because... he didn't know either.

"wait for me."

He stood up and came back after a while, but he brought back someone.

When Hansen was training in Miami, he didn't listen to Grover and got injured, so this kind of thing has to be done by professionals.

Grover is still Hansen's personal trainer, but he is also paying attention to Jokic.

After all, Hansen is already a finished product, and all he needs to do in the future is to maintain him well. But Jokic is different. Jokic is another new embryo that interests him.

"You need to gain muscle and weight in the summer, to around 120 kilograms."

Grover had a plan, or rather he already had one.

Jokic was asked to lose weight quickly in order to adapt to the intensity of the NBA, but that was not the most suitable weight.

Just like Hansen, his weight when entering the league also changes constantly according to the demands of the game.

Now, if Jokic wants to suppress Green, or be more dominant in the low post, he must have stronger confrontation.

Of course, Grover was talking about gaining muscle and weight, which is different from the fat state that Jokic had when he first arrived.

Jokic struggled a bit after hearing this, and finally asked tentatively: "Can I start after the horse race?"

Grover was stunned by this question, but Hansen couldn't help but smile and shook his head.

If someone told Jokic that tomorrow is the end of the world, this guy would probably say: Can the horse racing competition be moved forward to today?
"It depends on your arrangements. We'll start when you return to Cleveland." Grover is not Hansen, he will not force Jokic.

"If we win the game tomorrow night, I'll give you a small gift that you'll definitely like." Han Sen once again used the bonus incentive method.

Jokic wanted to say that having the best racehorses in Serbia would be enough, but since Hansen was talking about a small gift, he didn’t refuse.

Seeing Jokic nod, Hansen then stood up, leaving Grover and Jokic to discuss the details of the training.

After standing up, he looked around and when he saw JR chatting happily with the girl, he remembered something and walked over quickly.

……

In Game 6 of the Finals, thousands of fans gathered in the square outside the Quicken Loans Arena, surrounding the arena so tightly that no one could get in or out. The local police station even dispatched a large number of officers to maintain order. The scene was comparable to last year's championship parade.

Inside the stadium, not only was the attendance rate packed, but even the entrance to the second floor was filled with fans.

Many fans held KT boards with slogans supporting the Cavaliers, and some radical fans even tattooed the Cavaliers logo on their faces.

The madness of the fans is evident.

Regardless of whether the Cavaliers can win the championship tonight, this will be the last time the finals will be played in Cleveland.

With half an hour left before the start of the game, players from both sides began to enter the field to warm up.

When the camera turned to James, there was a thunderous booing from the audience.

James brought the championship to the Cavaliers last season, but what may happen tonight is: James brings the championship to the Cavaliers in Cleveland!
There is nothing more touching than this!
After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.

Both teams continued with their starting lineups from the previous game, and Kerr still put Iguodala on the bench.

Amid the cheers of the fans, Jokic passed the ball back to the Cavaliers' half, and the game officially began.

At the beginning of the game, Hansen and Jokic played a pick-and-roll, feeding the ball to Jokic who cut in and caused McCaw to foul.

Since Kerr continues to start McCaw, Jokic's advantage should continue to be utilized.

The Cavaliers' offensive strategy tonight did not look any different from the last game.

However, when Jokic made both free throws and the offense and defense switched, there was a big difference on the court.

The Cavaliers showed a defensive intensity comparable to that of the decisive third quarter.

James broke through Covington and was finally stopped by Tucker at the free throw line. Tucker's long arms also interfered with his pass to Green at the top of the arc.

The other Warriors players were tightly blocked and had no chance to escape. With 5 seconds left in the shot clock, the ball was in Curry's hands.

Curry tried to defuse the bomb, but he couldn't get rid of Hansen and was finally forced to step back and raise the arc of his shot for a long-range three-pointer that hit the rim.

Before Kerr could respond, Brown had already stood up from the bench and was yelling at the Warriors to retreat quickly.

Generally speaking, teams rarely play defense hard at the beginning of the game, because that will not only affect the offensive performance, but also the game is 48 minutes long, and it is easy to have physical problems if they play like this at the end.

But Malone did this tonight, and he was sending a signal to everyone: the Cavaliers are determined to win tonight's game!

At this time, it depends on whether the Warriors can hold on. If they can, the Cavaliers will be like the Warriors in the last game, and as the game progresses, they will fall into disadvantages due to physical fitness and rotation problems.

Especially in the third quarter, when the Warriors played at a fast pace, the Cavaliers were likely to collapse like the Warriors.

But if they can't hold on, it's possible that they will lose half the game.

Brown's reaction was quick enough, but the Cavaliers' defensive counterattack was even faster.

After receiving the long pass from Jokic, Hansen passed two Warriors defenders in a row, rushed to the frontcourt with sparks and lightning, and took off with a gliding tomahawk dunk without slowing down.

As soon as the game started, the Quick Loans Arena was ignited by Hansen's dunk.

After entering the defensive round again, the fans' defensive shouts began to be heard at the scene.

Since the Cavaliers showed the momentum of a decisive battle from the start, what reason do they have not to follow closely?
The defensive shouts were so loud that they hurt people's eardrums. In Game 6, the Quicken Loans Arena was transformed into the most terrifying home court in the NBA at that moment.

The Warriors' offense once again failed.

James grabbed the second offensive rebound and Jokic seized the opportunity to block it directly.

When James turned around and complained to the referee, the Cavaliers launched another defensive counterattack. This time, JR received a pass from Hansen and made a layup.

The theories that James said when he was arguing with Green before were actually not wrong. If a five-small lineup wants to gain an advantage, it must play fast, and defensive counterattacks are essential.

But this is not something that can be achieved by talking, but by doing.

The premise of defensive counterattack is defense. James doesn't think about defense but only about fast breaks. If the defense is not successful, there is naturally no way to talk about counterattack.

The Cavaliers set a good positive example tonight.

The Cavaliers certainly have defensive loopholes, and Jokic's ability to defend smaller players is that loophole.

But Malone had already realized this and did not allow Jokic to get out of defense. He used the rotation speed of the small lineup to protect Jokic.

Especially with Hansen on the outside, it is not easy for the opponent to hold the ball and play against Jokic.

Of course, the most important thing is the defensive attitude the Cavaliers showed at the start of tonight.

When Jokic can defend and block James, you know the investment they made at the beginning.

The Cavaliers want a strong momentum, which will weaken the momentum in the second and finally lead to exhaustion.
The Warriors obviously didn't expect the Cavaliers to fight so hard.

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 30 to 18, and the Cavaliers established a double-digit lead in one quarter.

Moreover, the Warriors did not score more than 20 points in a single quarter, which is almost unbelievable for the Warriors.

Kerr frowned at this time, perhaps regretting not letting Iguodala start tonight.

The deployment of troops in a basketball game is like playing chess, and Malone's performance as a "chess player" in the finals was clearly better than Kerr's.

The good news is that 12 points is not an insurmountable gap.

As long as the Warriors can narrow the gap before halftime, or maintain the gap, they will still have a chance in the third quarter.

In the second quarter's substitute transition period, led by Iguodala and James, the Warriors successfully narrowed the score difference to single digits.

Wade was in good form in the first five games, but his performance tonight was average.

Seeing this, Ma Long did not hesitate and substituted the main players earlier than expected.

As soon as the main players came back, Hansen blocked Iguodala on the defensive end.

Kerr's reaction was only a beat slow, and the Cavaliers immediately pulled the point difference back to double digits.

Kerr called a timeout. After the timeout, the Warriors' main players plus Iguodala formed the best lineup the Warriors could put out.

The two sides were in a stalemate for some time.

What can be felt is that as the game progresses, the Cavaliers' physical fitness declines and the defensive intensity inevitably declines compared to the opening.

Especially when it comes to the second half of the second quarter, the feeling will be even stronger because the main players have been replaced in advance.

It was at this time that Malone made a defensive choice.

He started to play key man defense, and then gave some Warriors players appropriate outside shooting opportunities.

The "key people" are the Splash Brothers, and the "some players" are James and Iguodala.

As for Green, he is the one who provides appropriate interference but is not the focus of defense.

This move quickly took effect. The Warriors missed shots from the outside one after another. The Cavaliers seized the opportunity and suddenly widened the score difference to 15+.

It was also at this time that fans realized one thing: the spacing of this Warriors team was actually not that good.

In other words, their space is supported by the Splash Brothers, as both James and Iguodala's three-point shooting are unstable.

Then the game went further and further wrong for the Warriors.

Iguodala is fine, his main task is defense, and he can make cuts on offense.

But not James.

Because James didn't dare to shoot three-pointers from the outside, he could only force his way through, but the Cavaliers had Covington in front and Tucker and Jokic in the back, who had already set up a pocket formation waiting for him.

By the last attack before halftime, the Cavaliers continued their efforts and had expanded the lead to 20 points.

The Warriors were defeated in the first half!
The last attack before halftime belonged to the Warriors.

James got the ball at the top of the arc and there was no one three meters in front of him. He looked left and right to direct traffic.

But the Cavaliers didn't give the Splash Brothers any chance at all.

James chose to throw the ball to Green in the last 2 seconds.

Green missed the buzzer-beating three-pointer against Jokic's defense.

Due to the big score deficit, the blame, and the various things that happened in the first few games of the finals, Green's emotions finally exploded again.

He walked up to James and said loudly: "Just shoot! If you have an open shot, just shoot!"

The halftime game had just ended and the players from both teams had not yet left the field. Green's voice instantly attracted everyone else.

James couldn't bear the loss and directly responded to Green: "Don't teach me how to play basketball!"

Thompson saw that something was wrong and came to pull Green, but Green kept talking: "We are already 20 points behind, why don't you shoot?"

"Shut your mouth and talk in the locker room!" James also realized that arguing here would make others laugh and might even make Cleveland fans say "LeBron will trade you" again.

However, Green was completely enraged by the words "shut up": "You are a bitch, and you know it! We don't need you, we can win without you, get out!"

James was stunned. The last person who dared to call him a bitch was Westbrook.

Westbrook is a star after all, but Green is just a butterfly!
"You better take that back!" James pointed at Green's nose.

But Green swung his elbow and turned up the volume:

"Listen, we were already the champions before you came!"

(End of this chapter)