Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 366 There are always more solutions than difficulties

117 to 107, the Cavaliers swept away last season's "slump" and got off to a good start in this year's championship night.

韩森34分10板11助攻，约基奇26分11板6助攻，罗斯18分3助攻，韦德13分3板，戴德蒙8分7板。

库里27分7助攻，考辛斯25分15板3助攻，汤普森18分，迈尔斯11分，格林9分8板7助攻。

"It was a difficult night but we showed determination to play."

Malone summarized the team's performance tonight in the post-game press conference.

The Cavaliers' three-point shooting percentage was only a miserable 25%, which can only be described as terrible.

But they grabbed 44 rebounds tonight, including 17 offensive rebounds, which is better than they have done in most games in the past two seasons.

After successfully getting off to a good start, the Cavaliers went on to defeat the Hornets and Wizards to win three consecutive games, but then they lost to the Trail Blazers, and after defeating the Nets and Thunder in succession, they lost to the Bucks.

After the first 7 games, their record was 5 wins and 2 losses.

In the eyes of many fans, the opening game was just a poor performance, but in fact Malone knew very well that it was a manifestation of the team's poor condition.

Making a shot or not is just the final moment, but the parts before the shot that create better shooting opportunities are the real problems the Cavaliers are facing now.

It is no exaggeration to say that apart from the few highlights of Rose and Dedmon, the Cavaliers are now relying on the two strong points of Hansen and Jokic to play the game.

And the pressure they face now comes not only from within, but also from outside.

At the Cavaliers' championship award ceremony last season, Silva's frowning expression showed that he was not happy to see the Cavaliers establish a dynasty.

Since Hansen won the Grizzlies' first championship in 2012, the UA system has won all the championships in the past six years.

Judging from the market reaction, UA has now completely suppressed Nike.

His principle is checks and balances. He doesn't want to see Nike dominate the market, so naturally he doesn't want to see UA go down that path.

In addition, there is a more contradictory starting point.

Han Sen is the contemporary Jordan. He needs Han Sen, but he does not hope that Han Sen will really surpass Jordan.

This has nothing to do with his personality, but no American league president would want an overseas player to become the totem of the league.

Therefore, the penalty environment that the Cavaliers encountered this season was also very bad.

Moreover, this kind of penalty is a great improvement compared to when Silva first became president. It is not implemented throughout the game, but only at the critical moment.

The result is that unless the Cavaliers can gain a huge advantage in regular time, they will easily encounter bad whistles at critical moments.

Even Han Sen, who had been mentally prepared, was still somewhat caught off guard by this situation of internal and external troubles.

It is against this backdrop that the Cavaliers will travel to New Orleans to challenge the Pelicans.

The Pelicans' current record this season is 5 wins and 2 losses, but they just won four consecutive games.

Their situation is just the opposite of that of the Cavaliers. After suffering a defeat in the opening game against the Rockets, they gradually got better after adjustments.

James has averaged 30 points per game so far this season.

Whether he is the "best player in the world" is another matter, but his overall look on the court this season is stronger than in the past few seasons.

And the Pelicans' free throw differential this season ranks second in the league, second only to the Celtics.

And even this wasn't the worst that had happened to them.

On the day the Cavaliers were preparing to leave for New Orleans, the Cavaliers coaching staff received bad news.

In the previous game against the Bucks, Rose was fouled by Monroe with a flagrant foul, causing a sprained left ankle. Originally, Rose thought it was nothing serious, but after an examination, he was confirmed to have a grade three sprain, which means that Rose will be out for at least a month.

And what is worse than the injury for Rose is his mentality.

This is the 10th injury Rose has suffered in his 24 seasons in the NBA. Although he is only 29 years old and theoretically at the peak of his career, he will never reach that peak.

After the cycle of injury → regaining confidence → injury, Rose is now in a state of exhaustion and is seriously considering retirement.

When things go well, everything goes well. When things go badly, everything goes badly. The Cavaliers' season to become a dynasty has just begun, but all kinds of bad news keep coming.

It seemed that even "God" couldn't stand what Hansen was doing, and was making things difficult for the Cavaliers.

Because the incident happened suddenly, the Cavaliers had no time to care about Rose's situation, and then boarded a plane to New Orleans without the team's sixth man.

On the plane, Malone and Lu chatted all the way. The incident happened suddenly, which completely disrupted the coaching staff's tactical deployment.

Later, Ma Long came to Han Sen's seat.

He came to ask Hansen something. He learned from Lu that Kuzma had joined Hansen's breakfast club, and he wanted to know if Kuzma could do it.

In other words, his temporary plan for Rose's sudden absence is to pull Wade out of the starting lineup and let Korver take his place.

But this means expanding the rotation on the front line.

"He deserves it."

Ever since Kuzma joined the Breakfast Club, Hansen discovered that this guy's level of hard work is just as strong as his LeBron haters.

However, Kuzma's physical talents other than his height are relatively mediocre. If he doesn't work hard, he won't even be able to enter the NBA.

With Han Sen's words, Ma Long immediately felt relieved.

Han Sen's eye for newcomers is as reliable as James's selection of teammates.

The game against the Cavaliers is one of the few events that the Pelicans have broadcast live nationwide this season. Not only is ESPN promoting it, but the local publicity machine in New Orleans is also running at full capacity.

When the Cavaliers arrived in New Orleans and conducted open training sessions, a large number of reporters appeared on the scene.

As soon as the training ended, Han Sen was surrounded by reporters.

A TNT reporter was concerned about Rose's situation and wanted to get some inside information from Hansen, such as whether Rose would retire.

To this question, Hansen's answer was "I don't know".

He really didn't know.

Then there is the topic related to James.

An NBC reporter asked Hansen what he thought of James' remarks on media day.

"If you can wear the crown yourself, then you can certainly call yourself the best in the world."

Han Sen's answer was full of sarcasm.

James did more than just say a few words on media day to gain the spotlight. This past summer, he also frequently performed at some event venues to increase the spotlight.

For example, when he went to watch the New Orleans Saints game, he put on a crown when the live camera was on him. That was also the hottest one among the few reports about the Pelicans in the summer.

Therefore, Kuzma’s previous social media status was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather the self-cultivation of a LeBron hater.

"Also, you can read an article called The True Story of Ah Q from our Dongda University."

As a young man from the University of Tokyo who received nine years of compulsory education in his previous life, Han Sen kindly recommended books to the reporter.

After Han Sen's remarks were reported, they naturally attracted heated discussions among fans.

However, unlike what Han Sen had imagined, some Americans actually thought the article he recommended was very good and that Ah Q was a very optimistic person.

This is similar to Feng Ji's lament about Black Monkey missing out on TGA's annual best post, which was misinterpreted as crying and not being able to accept defeat after being translated. Given the cultural differences and the profoundness of the Chinese language, it is indeed a bit difficult for them to expect them to understand Lu Xun's works.

On game days, the New Orleans arena was packed, and all kinds of signs appeared one after another.

The last time it was this lively here was during last year's All-Star Game.

It seems that just like when he first arrived in Oklahoma City, Nike has spared no effort to help James with his business after he arrived in New Orleans.

But this is completely understandable. Looking back at the Nike league layout back then, it was so glorious to have three super teams in the Western Conference.

But now, the Pelicans are the only Nike-affiliated super team left in the West.

The game was broadcast live by TNT, and during the pre-match warm-up, the live camera quickly showed cut shots of Hansen and James.

One claims to be the best in the world, and the other is recognized as the best in the league. The feud between the two began in the 2009-2010 season, but it will not end until one of them retires.

Of course, in addition to this, the competition between Davis and Jokic in the interior is also worthy of attention.

Jokic has performed strongly this season, averaging 22.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game so far this season, and he has already become a top inside player.

Davis' averages of 26.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 2.3 blocks per game have declined slightly compared to the past two seasons, but he is still the league's strongest inside player.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.

Pelicans: Holiday, Moore, James, Davis, Aron Baynes
Cavaliers: Hansen, Korver, Covington, TT, Jokic
At the last moment of the free market, the Pelicans chose to sign the Australian with a mid-level contract as Davis' inside partner.

Baynes made his debut with the Spurs. Although he is not the most suitable space-type inside player, he is physically strong and very good at grabbing offensive rebounds, which can greatly reduce Davis's consumption on the defensive end.

You have to know that although Davis is the strongest inside player in the small ball era, his body is fragile. If you really let him play center and fight in the inside, he will probably miss at least half of the games in a season.

Davis jumped for the ball for the Pelicans as the New Orleans fans cheered.

James went to the frontcourt with the ball, and he started the game by playing pick-and-roll with Davis.

The Cavaliers' strategy was to let James defend in the mid-range, but Davis's speed was much faster than expected, and he got rid of TT almost the moment he broke the ball.

James threw the ball directly into the air above the basket, and Davis completed an alley-oop dunk.

This ball perfectly demonstrated Davis's bounce and agility as an inside player.

The reason why he was able to become the No. 2 pick that year was that he not only had top static physical talent (08 meters tall and 2 meters wingspan) but also had top dynamic talent.

The title of Son of America is like Captain America, not everyone can hold it.

Of course, Davis’ strongest point is not his offense, but his defense.

When the Cavaliers played the pick-and-roll between Hansen and Jokic, the Pelicans did not over-double-team them like the Warriors did, but instead chose to switch defense directly.

Jokic received the pass from Hansen and cut into the basket. He successfully avoided Holiday's cut, but was blocked by Davis the moment he shot.

Jokic was caught off guard by the block on this ball.

It is impossible for a player with his basketball IQ not to pay attention to Davis' position.

But this is also Davis' strongest point on the defensive end, his defensive coverage is maximized.

He is the type of person who will block your shot if you are a little slower while you are still at the free throw line or even the three-second zone when shooting a three-pointer.

It is said that Green is the representative of mobile inside sweeps, but he is far inferior to Davis.

The next person with this kind of defensive deterrence is the man named Wenban Yama.

In the opening offense and defense, Davis showed strong dominance in the interior, which was indeed worthy of James giving up the 1+1 contract.

After Davis blocked the shot, he used his agility to grab the defensive rebound, and the Pelicans quickly launched a defensive counterattack.

James had already rushed out of the three-point line and was now at midfield. After receiving the pass from Davis, he performed his signature slam dunk.

And after retreating to half court, he and Davis gave each other a high-five to celebrate.

You can totally feel his excitement right now.

Without the Warriors and Green's chattering, he had a great time on this fast break.

In other words, with two defensive giants in Holiday and Davis, he directly let people know what "Bankai fast break" is.

0-4, the Cavaliers encountered difficulties at the beginning, and the situation was even worse than when they played against the Warriors.

The emotions of the fans at the scene were also aroused, and they began to shout for defense in unison.

Hansen continued to play pick-and-roll with Jokic, but this time it was Jokic who bounced outside and then he broke inside.

Holiday showed his defensive sense and quickly retreated to the basket.

Davis also fully demonstrated his mobility. After blocking Hansen's first choice of mid-range shooting space, he then moved in the direction of Jokic.

This is the confidence in his own defensive coverage ability. Even if Hansen can get the ball to Jokic in the first time, with Jokic's shooting speed, he will be able to interfere in time, let alone block it.

Han Sen did not choose to pass the ball, and he did not even consider the mid-range shot.

He rushed forward directly against Holiday's defense, and after seeing that the weak side did not shrink to help defend, he leaned close to Holiday while moving and directly made a "Magic" Johnson-style hook shot.

The reason why there is no need to shoot a lob is because Holiday's hands are very fast, and there is a certain probability that the ball will be cut off if the ball is exposed in front of him.

But with this kind of hook shot, Holiday was completely helpless given his size advantage and the position so close to the basket.

"Shh!"

Han Sen's hook shot went into the net, and the defensive shouts at the scene turned into a burst of agitation.

When will Han Sen be able to hook the ball again?

Han Sen applauded and cheered for his teammates while retreating.

Although the Cavaliers are in a difficult situation now, we must believe in one thing: there are always more solutions than problems.

(End of this chapter)