Because multiple people took turns to defend James, the actual defensive effect was a bit disjointed. Instead of Wallace and Marion taking turns to defend James, James had a small explosion in the second quarter and scored 12 points. But.
Edison didn't care, he suddenly figured it out. Now that his coaching position has been stabilized, the performance requirements are no longer as demanding as they were at the beginning. He can train more and let every player see what they are doing.
It's called a bulldozer-like crushing breakthrough.
With James' small burst, at the end of the second quarter, 59-53, the Magic's lead shrank to 6 points.
"Everyone, please relax. Everyone looks so bitter and resentful. Don't tense up your muscles." Edison clapped his hands in the locker room to let the players relax.
"I know you are disappointed with the loss in the last game against the Cavaliers, but don't take the past too seriously. The last time was the last time, and this time is this time. Everyone, please relax. Only when you relax can your muscles recover.
It’s fast, isn’t it?”
"We need to appropriately change our defensive tactics in the third quarter. Varejao, Diaw, Wallace, Hill, Tony Allen, five of you come on the field, and we will play a 3-2 zone defense." Wait until the players are almost rested.
Now, Edison took out his tactical board and began to lay out his tactics.
"If the opponent is James attacking with the ball, then double-team him, and the other three people will guard the inside." Edison moved five magnetic stickers on the tactical board. This zone defense is very basic, and all players can understand it. "If it weren't for James,
Offensive, then you have to stand your ground for me, guard against breakthroughs and not shots, and we will let them make three-pointers. Don't worry, there is no three-pointer in this team. They have made three-pointers in previous games this year.
The number of shots taken is the fourth from the bottom in the league, and the field goal percentage is also the fourth from the bottom. It can be said that whether it is from the player's ability or the team's tactical arrangement, three-point long-range shooting is one of their shortcomings. What we have to do today is to
This shortcoming of his has been picked out for everyone to take a good look at. But we must pay attention to the defense in the high post. Whether it is Big Z or Tony Barty, they have a good mid-range shot near the free throw line, so this area
You must take care of it for me."
Some readers may ask, why didn't Edison use this tactic to defend in the last game?
The answer is simple, because the last game was mainly to show James' strong personal strength, so the author did not arrange it.
After the start of the third quarter, James took advantage of the intermission to recharge his batteries and appeared on the court again. So far, this grandson has not rested for a minute. Originally, he was supposed to rest at the end of the second quarter, but
At that time, the Cavaliers were chasing points, but Silas did not replace him.
But after this quarter started, James obviously felt something was different. Silas just slapped his head and said, "It's broken."
The 3-2 zone defense has always been a very popular method in the league to defend weak teams with scoring champions. Whether it is the previous Raptors or the current Lakers (referring to 2005), the Cavaliers are like this. It is a standard routine.
That is, after the opponent picks and rolls, he double-teams Carter (Kobe Bryant, James), and the other three people close in. As long as the opponent does not have a second excellent offensive player with the ball and a stable three-point battery on the wing, this tactic will always work.
This is the current 2012 version of the Lakers. Other teams also play this way, and it is very effective. After all, Jamison and Artest's offensive abilities with the ball have deteriorated, and they do not have the three-point shooters like Fisher, who always hits every shot.
In the past, the Magic always insisted on man-to-man marking, which gave James the opportunity to play his own advantages in singles. He could still carry the team up alone, but now it is impossible to double-team him.
No matter which way he rushes, Wallace will first hold him up, and then someone with good skills like Hill or Tony Allen will immediately come over to pick up the ball...
The two auxiliary people double-teamed very quickly, and James' dribbling skills at this time still had problems, so he could only be blocked back. He couldn't attack, but James knew how to pass the ball to his teammates, but he looked around
, the most reliable three-point shooter in the team is himself, but his shooting rate is only 35%.
The Cavaliers' offense was frozen, while the Magic's bench began to exert force.
Hill faced Ira Newbel, a muscular player with only his body. With Diaw's cooperation and cover, Hill took frequent shots and scored 10 points in a single quarter.
When the third quarter came to an end, James finally couldn't bear it any longer. After he rushed inside and was blocked by Varejao, he lay motionless on the ground for 4 or 5 seconds, and then was pulled by two players.
Then he slowly got up and took a free throw.
The last time the Magic played, James' playing time was almost the same this time, only 4 minutes longer, but this time his physical fitness was really stretched to the limit. Because last time the Magic had Marion and Wallace taking turns to fight hard,
Although it looks very strenuous, there are not so many changes, and James can quickly adapt to this rhythm.
But this time is different. Four people were replaced in the first half. Among them, Iguodala and Tony Allen have different defensive styles from Marion and others. James needs to adapt again and find a way to deal with it. When he finds a way to deal with it,
During this period of time, his attention will be more concentrated than usual, and his muscles will tend to consume more energy.
At the end of the third quarter, 78-66, the Cavaliers' scoring was limited to 15 points in a single quarter, and the two sides once again opened up a double-digit gap.
In the last quarter, the Magic still insisted on double-teaming, and James's physical strength was really problematic and he failed to perform at all.
When James can't perform well, the Cavaliers are really famous in the league. They can do whatever others want, sweet and sour if they want, or boiled if they want. And what they encountered today is the top offense in the league.
The strong team Magic was completely knocked out of their brains.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Magic went on an 8-0 spurt, widening the score gap to 20 points. Although James wanted to exert his strength, he really had no energy. As a result, the second half of the quarter was completely reduced to
Garbage time.
119-98, the Magic defeated the Cavaliers at home.
With this game and the last victory against the Knicks, Edison successfully broke the curse of losing the first game after being awarded the Premier League Coach of the Month.
Although James performed well in the first half of this game, he was frozen by the Magic in the second half. He scored 28 points in the game, but only scored 5 points in the second half.
Uncle Z did not stand up and take over the team's offensive banner when James was frozen. He scored 15 points and 9 rebounds in this game. On the contrary, Tony Barty had a good shooting touch in this game, making 10 shots.
He made 6 free throws and scored 16 points, becoming the team's second scoring point after James.
Apart from these three people, no other Cavaliers player scored in double figures.
Compared with the Cavaliers, the Magic are prosperous, with 6 players scoring in double figures. However, Marion, Wallace and Iguodala, the three people who have marked James, do not score many points. After all, they focus more on
Defensive end.
Howard had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Josh had 15 points and 10 rebounds. The two of them worked perfectly together in the paint.
Nash frequently teased Ilgauskas with his flexibility in this game, scoring a double-double of 14 points and 12 assists, and was once again elected the best of the game.
As the sixth man, Grant Hill was not to be outdone and scored a team-high 20 points.
It seems that the four figures above are very average, but you must know that they did not play much playing time today, and they did not play in the last nearly 8 minutes of garbage time.
Martin and Diaw also scored 12 points and 11 points respectively.
Because they succeeded in revenge and won the game, the Magic players were naturally in a good mood. They celebrated in the locker room, singing all kinds of nonsense songs at the top of their lungs, and the sound of "beatlbj" was even more frequent...
After everyone reveled for a while, although they stopped shouting, the atmosphere was still very lively. Players who usually walked close to each other joked with each other and talked about some irrelevant things. Some of them were close friends.
The brothers were fighting in the locker room. You slap me on the back and I slap my head.
The funniest scene in this happy atmosphere was between Howard and Josh Smith.
After Josh came back from the shower, he was sitting there changing clothes when Howard came out naked.
After the two people looked at each other, neither one said anything, but sparks of fighting suddenly broke out between them.
Soon enough, the two men quickly launched provocative attacks on each other. Howard held his right elbow with his left hand and raised his middle finger in front of his mouth with his right hand. Josh, on the other hand, raised his middle finger with both hands at the same time.
After the two of them finished their moves, Howard waggled his fingers triumphantly and said with a mean look on his face, "I'm faster than you."
After Josh heard this, he opened his mouth first, but didn't say anything. After looking back and forth at the two people's postures, he suddenly said in a hasty voice, "I'm more powerful than you." He crossed his hands as he spoke.
, that means I am two hands and you are one.
Seeing the performance of these two live treasures, the other players burst into laughter. Diaw, who was so laughable, covered his face with one hand and slapped the chair in front of him with the other hand. Some reporters who had already entered the venue couldn't help but laugh, but the dedicated
They wrote the scene down and published it as a player anecdote. Since then, Josh has been nicknamed "High Power", but it's quite appropriate.
Of course, Edison didn't know about this scene. He was talking proudly at the post-game press conference. His only regret was that the beautiful reporter from ESPN was no longer around, leaving him with one less target to ridicule.
After this game, the Magic will once again have a two-day break, but on February 8 they will fly across the United States to the West Coast to challenge the Warriors.
