LeBron James, your house got robbed.

After James dribbled the ball across half-court, he subtly made a gesture to pull away.

He suddenly accelerated, shoved Leonard aside with a low shoulder, and quickly broke down from the top of the arc.

Almost the instant James started his drive, Battier moved towards the free-throw line with small, quick steps, positioning himself there before James could react, forcing James to slow down and change direction.

When James stood under the basket, Garnett had already spread his arms wide, blocking out the sun. Without the speed boost, James simply passed the buck to JR, who was cutting in from the outside, and the latter casually made a floater.

The ball nestled smoothly into the net.

While secretly relieved, James also understood that he couldn't break through the Cavaliers' defense by driving to the basket; the play was simply because JR was in the right place.

The roles of offense and defense have reversed.

Thompson easily shook off JR, who had just had a great offensive performance, with a simple V-shaped movement.

By the time JR realized what was happening and gave chase, Leonard had already positioned himself to block JR's path.

Thompson received a pass from Garnett beyond the three-point line and easily made a three-pointer.

JR's unpredictable nature was fully demonstrated in the previous round of attack and defense.

If Chen Shuo were the Heat's coach, he would never have tried to match up JR Smith against Thompson.

Despite JR's height, wingspan, and excellent mobility, and his seemingly good physique for chasing and defending off the ball, this guy has a hard time maintaining focus.

Possession of the ball returned to the Heat.

James has no intention of trying to break through the Cavaliers' three-layer defense.

He was prepared to initiate the attack with his back to the goal, thereby revitalizing the team's offense.

James passed the ball directly to Jones on the wing, and with Haslem's screen, he moved to the low post to receive the ball.

Jones' passes were not of high quality against Ariza's pressing defense.

After James received the ball, he was already pushed forward two body lengths by Battier.

James pretended to back down Battier, but his eyes were completely on the players on the perimeter.

The Cavaliers made no attempt to double-team James, forcing him to force a turnaround and shoot.

This time, Lady Luck wasn't on James' side.

Even so, in Chen Shuo's heart...

Facing the Cavaliers' three-layered defense, his back-to-the-basket moves were far more effective than his face-up drives. At least James had the opportunity to turn and shoot mid-range jumpers, trying to increase his shooting percentage.

The reason why back-to-the-basket offense can adapt to high-intensity defense is that the ball handler can easily protect the ball in this situation, and even have the energy to perform other operations.

A face-up drive is likely a one-shot deal; the drive draws a double team, and the ball is passed to an open player the instant a passing lane appears, leaving no room for retreat.

Aside from a few masters of rhythm change, such as Paul and Doncic, whose skillful ball handling allows them to stop and start suddenly when facing the basket and drive to the basket, taking the ball wherever they want.

With James's ball-handling skills, he doesn't have that chance.

Therefore, facing the Cavaliers' three-layered defense, James could only rely on his back-to-the-basket game to barely maintain some of his output, coupled with JR's unpredictable performance.

That's how they prevented the score from getting too far apart.

When Paul returned to the court, the Cavaliers led the Heat by 5 points.

With Thompson and Garnett both off the court, the offensive burden fell entirely on Paul.

Chen Shuo felt that Paul particularly enjoyed this feeling of authoritarianism.

Despite being closely guarded by Wade and Chalmers, Paul kept the ball active and, just as Parsons made his run into space, squeezed past Chalmers to pass the ball.

Parsons made a realistic shooting motion, directly knocking Mike Miller away, and then drove into the paint for a powerful dunk.

Chen Shuo suddenly stood up, his gaze fixed on Paul.

He stood on the sidelines, not following his teammates back to defend, but instead feeling the changes in his legs, and he could clearly feel a limp when he walked.

Tyronn Lue signaled for a direct foul, which prompted a timeout. The team doctor quickly came onto the court to check on Paul's condition.

The big screen then displayed a replay of the previous round.

Paul spotted the opportunity and forced his way into space to pass the ball, but his inner thigh was hit by Chalmers' knee.

The team doctor stepped forward and kept pressing on Paul's legs while asking how he felt.

Then, accompanied by the team doctor, Paul walked directly to the player tunnel.

Without hesitation, Chen Shuo got up and followed Paul back to the locker room.

Paul's injury is far more important than this game.

While his rational basketball has a ceiling, it provides the Cavaliers with an extremely high offensive floor, control of turnovers, and control of the tempo.

In high-level games that reach a stalemate, rational basketball may become less effective, but it is the foundation of the game.

From a big data perspective, reasonable basketball is the right approach.

However, in those crucial few minutes, the potential is not as high as the unpredictable ceiling of basketball.

In the away team's locker room, the team doctor had Paul raise, straighten, and bend his thighs, performing a series of simple tests.

Preliminary conclusions were ultimately reached.

Strain of the hamstring on the back of the left thigh.

This gave Chen Shuo an instant bad feeling.

The image of Paul clutching his thigh and leaving the playoffs due to injury is a nightmare for him.

Fortunately, the team doctor quickly added that it was just a grade one hamstring strain.

Although further medical examinations are needed, the NBA team doctors' assessments are generally accurate, except for the veterinary teams of the Trail Blazers and Hornets.

Paul immediately relaxed upon hearing this, and even felt like he could get back into the game.

He was firmly rejected by the team doctor and Chen Shuo.

The team doctor estimated the recovery time to be 1-3 weeks.

Chen Shuo directly set the timeframe at the maximum of 3 weeks.

"Chris, there's no need for you to rush your comeback."

"What I need to guarantee is that you will be 100% present in the playoffs."

"That is our real goal."

"We may have to play four rounds of high-intensity matches, and I don't want you to have any injuries by then."

Chen Shuo's words came from the bottom of his heart, and were truly sincere.

The troublesome aspect of hamstring strains is their extremely high recurrence rate. Blindly returning to the field without sufficient rest and recovery will only worsen the condition and may even lead to a grade II hamstring strain.

Harden made a hasty return after a hamstring strain, and it took him two or three seasons to fully recover and regain his former explosiveness.

Paul understood that Chen Shuo was absolutely right, but the thought of not being able to play for three weeks made him inexplicably annoyed and angry.

This could affect the MVP selection.

Chen Shuo saw this and knew it, but Paul taking a break at this moment was undoubtedly the best decision.

In a shortened season, the schedule is packed and intense, making players very susceptible to fatigue and injury.

Taking this opportunity to fully recover from a minor injury and perform better in the playoffs is a very worthwhile trade.

Seeing that Paul remained silent, Chen Shuo went straight back to the competition venue.

In an instant, all the spotlights were focused on Chen Shuo's expression, trying to find a clue about Paul's injury.

Chen Shuo walked to the bench and calmly addressed the coaching staff:

"Chris's initial assessment is a grade one hamstring strain."

"But I need you to be prepared for the next month without Chris."

"We need to make sure Chris gets plenty of rest."

Chen Shuo spoke with a firm tone.

He has decided to let Paul's minor injury undergo extensive rehabilitation.

This is not just for Paul himself, but also for a much deeper purpose.

Cole understood Chen Shuo's meaning almost instantly.

A one-month trial period.

He turned around and exchanged a glance with Nass, then immediately made up his mind.

Tyronn Lue looked completely bewildered.

It was as if they hadn't understood the deeper meaning, and they were just pretending to be concerned about Paul's health.

Chen Shuo silently sat back down in the seat behind the substitutes' bench.

The ball possession that Paul has freed up during his injury recovery is Thompson's only chance this season to transform into a ball-handling shooter.

Even without playing alongside Paul, the effect might be slightly less, but ample ball possession can help Thompson grow.

The Cavaliers' record gives Kerr and Nurse enough capital to squander.