LeBron James, your house got robbed.

In their back-to-back game against the Celtics, the Cavaliers delivered a blowout victory of over 40 points, definitively signaling the end of the Celtics' Big Three era.

When Rondo is on the court, the Celtics can control their turnovers, but once Rondo leaves the court, the Celtics are unable to mount a decent offense against the Cavaliers' relentless attacks.

The Cavaliers recorded an astonishing 15 steals throughout the game.

Paul alone contributed a terrifying 5 steals, with Leonard adding 3, Lin 3, Ariza 2, and Garnett 2, and also forcing the Celtics into multiple 24-second violations.

Garnett only contributed 12 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists on the stat sheet, but his contribution to the team's defense was terrifying, making full use of the defensive resources that Chen Shuo had piled up.

Both number 21s in the 21st century can serve as defensive cores.

Duncan's advantage lies in the fact that he can produce a decent defensive performance with only average defensive resources.

This has kept the Spurs' defense among the best in the league for many years.

Garnett's advantage lies in providing ample defensive resources, enabling him to deliver defense that is close to the historical ceiling.

In this match.

Whenever a Celtics player has the ball, the defender will immediately press up, making it difficult for the ball handler to shoot or pass, even if it doesn't result in a steal.

The Cavaliers' perimeter defenders intercepted both the shot and the pass, threatening a three-pointer.

It did provide an easy route for breakthroughs, but nowadays, when the Cavaliers drive into the paint, they're mostly asking the teacher for homework.

In this game, the Cavaliers defeated their opponents solely through defense.

The team then flew directly to Oklahoma.

Facing the top team in the West, the Cavaliers maintained their aggressiveness on the defensive end, once again achieving a high number of 13 steals, while Durant and Westbrook each committed 5 turnovers.

But the victory was not as easy as expected. Despite making many mistakes, Durant had a terrifying shooting percentage of 17 out of 28, scoring 42 points and keeping the team close in the score.

It wasn't until Durant rested in the fourth quarter that the Cavaliers broke through Harden's rotation, extending their lead and ultimately winning the game.

During the game, Chen Shuo clearly realized that using one-on-one defense to limit a one-on-one player of Durant's caliber was still a bit of a stretch.

Given Durant's incredible talent, if the defender fails to steal the ball when he's on the dribble, and he manages to pull it up, then their fate is in their own hands.

Perhaps a pincer attack would be a more effective strategy.

The team's next three opponents.

The Bucks, Raptors, and Magic do not have players of this caliber for one-on-one play, and none of them have been outscored by more than 30 points against the Cavaliers' aggressive defense.

After Garnett joined the Cavaliers, Chen Shuo's long-planned aggressive defense finally came to fruition.

The team's long rotations and short bursts of aggressive defense finally turned their excess defensive resources into an advantage.

After all, defense is a task that requires a lot of patience and stamina, and even the best stamina cannot be maintained for a long time.

However, a short-term burst of energy is relatively easy. Many strong teams will choose to increase their defensive intensity at crucial moments in order to disrupt the opponent's plans and win the game.

The Cavaliers employed a more varied rotation, aiming to maintain this short-term burst of energy and pressure for as long as possible.

Chen Shuo and defensive assistant coach Langabadi, based on defensive considerations, put together two five-man squads to increase the intensity of the defense.

The starting five consisted of Chandler and Garnett, who were responsible for help defense and filling gaps, while Paul and Leonard were responsible for applying pressure.

Garnett and Thompson usually come off the court around the 4-minute mark, and are replaced by Shane Battier and Danny Green.

The team's defense will shift from aggressive to conservative.

Around the 8-minute mark, the team will bring on Garnett as center, forming a five-man lineup of one big man and four smaller men.

Garnett and Battier were responsible for helping with defense and filling gaps, while Lin and Ariza were responsible for applying pressure.

Few teams can withstand the Cavaliers' alternating attacks from two five-man lineups.

This means the Cavaliers have now finished their games in three quarters for the third consecutive time.

For a time, all the teams in the league felt a headache coming on.

During the interview, Popovich said with a serious expression:

"I watched the Cavaliers' game, and it felt like a bunch of mad dogs were attacking you."

"They are playing what is probably the most aggressive defense in NBA history."

"They've averaged an impressive 13.1 steals per game over the past five games."

ESPN's renowned expert Bill Simmons has reached a definitive conclusion.

"If your team doesn't have a top-notch ball-handler to orchestrate the offense, then you simply have no chance to fight back."

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers finished January with a record of 17 wins and 3 losses, ranking first in the league.

With his impressive performance, Paul, averaging 20.1 points, 10.2 assists, and 2.5 steals, edged out James to win the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award for December.

At the same time, he overtook James to take the top spot in the MVP rankings for the first time.

Thompson also reaped rewards, winning the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month award for December.

The Rookie of the Month award does not consider team record, but with a lot of shooting opportunities, Thompson put up 18.1 points, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals with above-average efficiency.

The Western Conference Rookie of the Month, also drafted by the Cavaliers, Kyrie Irving averaged 18.5 points and 5.4 assists per game for the Hornets.

The Eastern and Western Conference Rookie of the Month were drafted by the same team, a first in NBA history.

This immediately led many Cleveland fans to speculate about what would have happened if the trade hadn't taken place.

Chen Shuo simply shook his head slightly upon seeing such comments.

It's impossible for him to play and develop with three rookies during a season when the team needs to achieve results.

The only option is to sacrifice Kyrie Irving, who has the highest trade value.

"Knock knock—"

Chen Shuo glanced at Grant at the door and gestured for him to come in; the office door was not closed.

Grant walked briskly, taking only a few steps to the table:

"A transaction has taken place."

Chen Shuo looked at Grant with a puzzled expression.

"Lu's colleagues at the Celtics told him that the Celtics would make a trade with the Spurs, sending Ray Allen to them."

Chen Shuo's eyes narrowed.

I quickly opened the Spurs' salary list on my computer.

"The only one who can match Ray Allen's salary is Jefferson."

If this trade goes through, the Spurs' strength will increase dramatically.

Chen Shuo turned around and asked:

Is this news reliable?

Before Grant could even speak, he received the specific transaction details.

"The Celtics traded Ray Allen to the Spurs in exchange for Richard Jefferson and the Spurs' 12 first-round pick."

Grant then began to analyze the deal.

"The conflict between Ray Allen and Rondo is already out in the open. He only has six months left on his contract, and he will leave when it expires."

"The Celtics, without losing any of their own interests, are naturally willing to respect Ray Allen's opinion and send him wherever he wants to go."

Chen Shuo nodded in agreement with Grant's analysis.

"As for the first-round pick, it's not so much a bargaining chip to acquire Ray Allen, but more like a way to take over Jefferson's remaining two and a half years of worthless contracts."

Chen Shuo fell into deep thought.

They went to great lengths, meticulously planning and seizing opportunities, to dismantle the Celtics' Big Three.

Unexpectedly, it ended up benefiting the Spurs.

They initially snatched Leonard and Danny Green from the team, but now they've indirectly sent them to Ray Allen.

Every drink and every bite is a consequence of cause and effect.

This necessitates a re-evaluation of the landscape in the west.

Ray Allen may be the weakest in terms of pure skill among the Big Three.

But Ray Allen's fit with the Spurs system was just as good as Garnett's fit with the Cavaliers.

The Spurs' passing and cutting system is extremely well-suited to off-ball shooters, let alone someone of Ray Allen's caliber.

Popovich may criticize the three-point shot, but he actually started transitioning to small-ball long ago.

Although Chen Shuo signed Chandler during the offseason, he is also ready to play small ball at any time.

However, before the vertical jump rule was introduced, the effectiveness of big centers in countering James was still too outstanding.

Chen Shuo was calculating the Spurs' lineup.

Butler is more than capable of filling Leonard's position; both players have been defensive workhorses this season.

Ray Allen's defense dropped slightly after replacing Danny Green, but he won't become a weak link in the Spurs' team defensive system.

But Ray Allen's offensive firepower is much more intense.

Ray Allen has always been a clutch player, which greatly enhances the Spurs' strength in the playoffs.

When Chen Shuo finally calculated, he discovered that the Spurs even had an extra George Hill compared to the original timeline.

Ray Allen has entered the starting lineup.

Ginobili was moved back to the bench to form the engine for the transition period with Hill.

The Spurs' previously stretched bench suddenly became much thicker.