LeBron James, your house got robbed.

Chapter 94 A Genius Defensive Design

The Heat continued their pick-and-roll tactics in the second game.

However, Leonard, who was on guard, squeezed past the screen the moment Chalmers came over to set it.

With Chalmers' small frame, the quality of his pick-and-rolls is quite limited.

Seeing that Leonard was not out of position and had no way to accelerate his drive, James immediately resumed his old job of dealing cards.

Wade turned and positioned himself on the strong side, receiving a pass from James.

This season, Wade has gained weight again and increased the frequency of his low-post back-to-the-basket moves to fit into James' system.

Chen Shuo looked at Thompson, who was on defense.

Thompson has decent strength for a core point guard, but Wade's hips are just too well-suited for the low post.

Wade continued to drive backward, forcing Thompson to press close and put all his weight on Wade.

In that instant, Wade suddenly turned sharply forward, darted along the baseline, and passed the ball behind Chandler, who was covering for him.

Bosh received the ball and immediately got up, but little did he know that Garnett was waiting in the wings, his long arms appearing once again to pin the ball firmly to the backboard.

KG played exceptionally well in this match.

Miller was positioned outside the three-point line to create as much space as possible.

But KG's positioning was ruthless; he positioned himself sideways, a large step away from Miller, ready to interfere with his shot at any time or turn back to the paint at any moment.

Miller has been plagued by injuries and now only has this long-range shot left, posing no other threat.

What's even more terrifying is KG's timing in providing help defense.

The moment Wade turned and drove toward the basket, Garnett sprang into action, his target locked on Bosh.

Garnett anticipated Chandler's help defense and believed Wade had the ability to pass the ball inside.

Riley sat upright in his suit, his face serious, his eyes fixed on the game.

Essentially, it's because the Cavaliers' twin towers in the paint are just too overpowered.

Either Chandler or Garnett, taken out individually, would be enough to form a complete defensive system.

Garnett's physical abilities declined somewhat after his major injury, but his lateral speed and turning speed did not decrease much; only his jumping ability was slightly reduced.

With his Spider-Man-like physique, he could reach any position on the court in just two or three steps from around the free-throw line.

Moreover, after his injury, Garnett calmed down and further refined his defensive details. Almost every step he took on the court was an effective movement without any unnecessary actions, returning to his original form.

Chandler thrived in his new environment; with Garnett on his side, he hardly needed to extend beyond the paint, only needing to move around the rim.

Chandler's speed and movement were at their peak, and his strength surpassed Garnett's. He was like a moving wall under the basket, completely surrounding the rim.

Both James and Wade spend a significant amount of time attacking in the paint.

Riley placed all his hopes on Miller.

The only hope is that the Cavaliers can change their lineup with one big man and four small men, and either Chandler or Garnett can go out. If they can do that, the game is still going to be a win.

As Riley's protégé, Spoelstra clearly shared the same idea.

He pulled James aside and gave him some instructions.

In the following rounds, James did not attempt to single out Paul again.

The Cavaliers' attitude is very clear: they'd rather let you drive into the paint than have Paul switch on defense.

So James called for a screen from Bosh.

Bosh's pick-and-roll quality isn't as good as a big center like Chandler, but it's still much better than Chalmers'.

After shaking off Leonard, James quickly drove down the court, but as soon as he saw Garnett in position to help defend, he passed the ball directly to Miller, who was open.

He was determined to make Miller punish Garnett's help defense.

Miller received the ball without hesitation.

The Cavaliers rotated very quickly, and a moment's hesitation would mean losing a shot opportunity. Fortunately, his shooter instincts allowed him to take the shot at the last second.

The basketball flew through a perfect arc and landed steadily in the net.

The Cavaliers, on the other hand, continued to rely on their twin towers to dominate the boards in the frontcourt to maintain their offensive efficiency.

This is a contest of tactical resolve.

As the first game of the series, both sides firmly adhered to their strategies.

Near the end of the first quarter, the Heat had a five-point lead.

Mike Miller withstood the pressure, making 3 of 6 open three-pointers and scoring 9 points in the quarter.

San Antonio.

The Spurs coaching staff sat in the conference room, with the Cavaliers vs. Heat game playing on the big screen.

Looking at the score on the court, Buford said, "The Heat have achieved the desired effect. Now it's up to the Cavaliers to respond."

Budenholzer, standing to the side, pointed to the players who were being rotated into the Cavaliers' rotation.

"During the rotation phase, the Cavaliers' roster advantage is too obvious."

"The Heat played two series, and at most only seven players were actually able to play."

"Deschaun Stevens' reimbursement had a significant impact on them."

"The Cavaliers will quickly catch up with the advantage established by their starting lineup."

Buford nodded, agreeing with Budenholzer's words, but still turned to Popovich: "If you were coaching the Cavaliers, how would you adjust to a team with one big man and four small men?"

Popovich fell into deep thought, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Brett Brown beside him.

"Bret, do you have any ideas?"

When Brown saw that Popovich had called on him, he didn't mince words and said directly, "This problem can be solved simply by changing the order in which Garnett and Chandler help defend."

Popovich felt enlightened upon hearing this.

"Bret, you're a genius."

Brown remained calm, only glancing at the Cavaliers players on the screen with a burning intensity in his eyes.

"The Cavaliers have too many defensive resources."

By the middle of the second quarter, the Cavaliers' rotation had already erased the deficit.

If Spoelstra hadn't brought in his starters early, they might have even taken the lead.

Seeing that Spoelstra had brought out all three of his stars, the Cavaliers put their starting lineup back in during the dead ball intervals two possessions later.

The Heat's big man and four small men once again faced off against the Cavaliers' twin towers.

James glanced at Miller, who was in excellent form today, having already added 3 assists to his stat sheet.

So he immediately called for Bosh to set a screen, and James continued to drive down the court following the screen.

But this time, it wasn't Garnett standing at the free-throw line, but Chandler, who had always guarded the paint.

James was delighted and continued his downward drive, jumping up to prepare for a dunk, but Garnett appeared again and delivered a huge block.

He spat at James, "Remember, don't fucking take off from here."

"This is a no-fly zone."

James was momentarily dazed.

Why is it still you?

Tell me, don't let loyalty ruin you.

I've moved all the way from Cleveland to Miami.

Why is it still you?

Chen Shuo clapped and praised the performance from the sidelines.

This defensive setup is nothing short of ingenious.

In the first quarter, the Cavaliers defended James and Bosh's pick-and-roll, forcing Chandler to retreat to the basket.

Kawhi Leonard would follow behind James and Bosh to cut off their passing lanes, forcing Garnett to help defend at the free-throw line, which would leave Miller open beyond the three-point line.

In the defensive play just now, Kawhi Leonard's role remained the same: to cut off the path to Bosh.

However, Chandler moved to the free-throw line, becoming the second line of defense, forcing James to continue driving towards the basket.

As he penetrated deeper into the paint, the field of vision narrowed further, and Garnett chose an opportune moment to recover and protect the rim under the basket.

When James is deep in the paint, it's difficult for him to pass the ball to Miller outside the three-point line, especially since Garnett's retreat route happens to be between James and Miller.

Although after Garnett and Chandler were swapped, Chandler's effect of slowing down the opponent by moving up to the free-throw line was not as good as Garnett's, and Garnett's rim protection was not as good as Chandler's.

But this defensive system is already excessive.

Trading a slight reduction in defensive effectiveness for the sake of cutting off Miller's outside shooting is a worthwhile trade.

Chen Shuo was almost certain that this defensive design came from Mike Langabady, the team's defensive assistant coach.

Only Longabatdi had the deepest understanding of how to use Garnett.

Chen Shuo looked at Spoelstra, who was frowning on the sidelines.

The question now is whether the Heat will dare to stick with their lineup of one big man and four small men.