In the eyes of many people, the Cavaliers are James, and James is the Cavaliers. The two can be equated.
When James didn't enter the league, he was the much-anticipated superstar. According to David Stern and Cavaliers owner Neil Gilbert's script, he should have led the team to the playoffs in his first year in the league.
Then he reached the Eastern Conference Finals in the second year, and reached the Finals in the third year and met Kobe. From then on, the career of No. 23 and No. 24 began. (Assuming that Kobe had already changed to No. 24 by then.)
But the reality is not yy. The Cavaliers have been blocked from the playoffs for two consecutive years.
In order to maintain the performance of this book, I can't continue to criticize James, so after consecutive failures, before James said anything, Gilbert of the Cavaliers couldn't bear it anymore, gave up the concept of being diligent and thrifty, and began to make large-scale operations.
Therefore, the Cavaliers had a big harvest this summer. They first completed the contract extension with veteran Ilgauskas, and then signed Wizards free agent Larry Hughes, veteran Marshall, and Damon Jones.
Among the main rotation players, only McGinnis has left.
Of course, the most important thing is that the head coach has become the very familiar bespectacled man Mike Brown. At that time, the Cavaliers chose him mainly because of his experience as an assistant to Popovich in the Spurs, hoping that he could bring the Spurs' kind of
Iron-blooded defense and championship temperament are brought to the team.
But as everyone knows in the end, he became the first protector around James. Because of all kinds of accommodating James, some people even called him Nanny Brown.
The grudge between the Cavaliers and Magic will not be repeated here. Readers who have forgotten can read the chapter about the game against the Cavaliers last season.
Before this game, the Cavaliers' performance was definitely on par with the Magic, but the Magic had 1 win and 3 losses, while the Cavaliers had 4 consecutive wins. If they beat the Hornets, Raptors, and SuperSonics, it can be said that the opponent is not strong.
, but after defeating the Spurs, we have to say that the team's strength has reached a certain level. So for a while, the Cavaliers were absolutely in the limelight and became the best performing team in the Eastern Conference since the start of the new season.
Everyone knows that the Magic's situation is at a low point. So James made a bold statement before the game, "We just want to defeat the Magic. I think I can score 30 points in this game."
At this time, all the media gathered around Edison, looking forward to his response, and then started a scolding war.
But Edison was very low-key. Facing the reporter, he calmly said two words, "Look." Then he stopped talking.
The layout of the away locker room at Quicken Loans Center in Cleveland is roughly the same as elsewhere: there is a circle of square-shaped clothing boxes, and there is a shower room behind it with hot water for players to take a shower after the game.
. Players who take a break from work at halftime often gather here to rest for a while and take a shower. This happened more than ten years ago. Now you can take a hot shower. After taking a shower,
The players all sit around the lockers to rest; if the team status is higher, they can have exclusive use of the bench to lie down or lie on their stomachs for a more adequate rest. If necessary, the team's doctor can even be called for a massage.
.But the Magic players, most of whom are rookies, probably don't have that much need. Only Nash and a few veterans walked into the room with recliners next door and asked the team's masseur to help relax their muscles and rest slowly.
Although there were nearly 20 people sitting around the locker room at this time, no one spoke in silence. Everyone was looking at Edison standing in the middle.
"Everyone, please relax. Although we lost two games before, it's not a big deal. It's just bad luck. Although the Cavaliers have won 3 games in this game, their opponents are not strong. Their strength is average.
They are completely beneath us. As long as we perform normally, we will definitely be able to kill them. Okay, now I will announce the starting players, Howard, Brand, Nash, Iguodala and..."..."
The first four are fixed and have basically not changed, but the remaining one has been swinging between Wallace, Martin and Hardaway. As a weather-beaten veteran, Hardaway has already decided whether to start the game first.
I don't care about this kind of thing at all. I obey the coach's arrangements and make silent contributions to the team.
But Martin and Wallace were not so calm. They were at odds with each other, each had their own advantages and disadvantages, so no one accepted the other, and the competition was very fierce. So they all listened carefully to Edison's next name.
"...Wallace Gerrard, you started today and fought with James as you did last season, consuming his physical strength and energy. And Josh, you should also pay attention. You may also be in this game.
He will be demoted to play small forward, and then Wallace will compete physically with James, do you understand?"
After hearing Edison's words, Wallace and Josh Smith looked at each other, and then nodded firmly.
"Okay, everyone relax and get ready to go out."
In the player tunnel, the Magic players heard a sudden "poof~~" sound coming from outside. When Edison heard this, he knew that James was spreading magnesium powder again. In fact, Edison hated James' behavior very much.
First: It’s such a waste. A lot of powder is wasted every game, at least 42 handfuls in a season, which is not a small number.
Second: Pollution of the environment. Everyone knows the butterfly effect. James throws out such a handful every game, which adds up to a lot, and then affects the monsoon and other factors little by little, which directly leads to haze weather covering two million square kilometers in China.
The Cavaliers' starting lineup has not changed much compared to last season. Center Ilgauskas, power forward Batty, small forward James, point guard Snow, and only the shooting guard has changed from McGinnis to Larry Hughes.
S.
Howard and Ilgauskas came to the center circle to jump the ball, and then the Cavaliers players were ready to retreat.
After Nash got the ball, even Ilgauskas retreated to the three-point line. In fact, this guy had already started to turn when he jumped the ball, and ran back directly after landing.
Although there was no chance, Nash still rushed forward quickly, trying to save time.
Nash stood in a high position to get the ball, while Snow was firmly stuck one meter in front of him. His listless eyes were actually focused on Nash's shoulders. Once Nash planned to make a move, Snow could react immediately.
As soon as Nash saw Snow's tight defense, he didn't act rashly and quietly observed the situation on the court.
Wallace and Iguodala on the outside stood in the corner and kept shaking their upper bodies, as if they were about to run to catch the ball at any time, but in fact their feet did not move. And Brand and Howard on the inside were also with the Cavaliers.
The inside line is entangled.
Suddenly, Brand hit him in the back, but Batty didn't resist. Brand stepped into the three-second line, then raised his arms to ask for the ball.
Nash didn't wait any longer and quickly lobbed the ball in. Brand leaned forward to catch the ball. After holding the ball firmly, he leaned back. Batty's strength was not enough and he couldn't hold it back, so he backed away again.
One small step. Brand didn't look back, but he already knew he was very close to the basket.
After Brand leaned against the guard to search for players, he leaned forward to dribble and then turned around and went to the basket. After pushing away Batty with his shoulder, Brand jumped up and dunked with both hands.
Although this dunk is not high and high, the action is very smooth.
After the dunk, Brand did not drop down as quickly as usual and then ran back to his own half. Instead, he took advantage of the situation and yelled. The NBA had not yet implemented "zero tolerance" at the time, so Brand's venting behavior
very common.
Edison was also surprised when he saw Brand's performance, because this guy really looked like Duncan and rarely had such a passionate side...
"It seems that this guy is also very dissatisfied with the current situation of the team." Edison said with a smile to Thibodeau next to him.
"Yes, since he came to the Magic, there have been a lot of doubts about him. Now the team's performance is not good, and the Clippers he left have gone against the trend and won four games, and Brand is regarded as the source of the problem. We need to
If it weren't for you, I believe he has become the target of public criticism a long time ago. But even so, he is under great pressure now. It can be said that he can't afford to lose this game than you. So he rarely uses this kind of roar to
It is normal to stimulate teammates and motivate the team. We also need a player who can do this and a spiritual leader on the court."
"It's not enough for him to be a spiritual leader. He is usually too silent, and our team is so young. Only passion can stimulate them, and he is not like Duncan who has no solution on the court."
Edison was still discussing Brand's abnormal behavior with Thibodeau, but the Cavaliers were already coming to kill him.
After Snow dribbled the ball past half court, he honestly handed the ball to James without waiting for a word, and then watched from the side. The other Cavaliers players were also very determined at this time, and they should sink to the bottom.
, who should pull aside, make room for James and watch him fight one on one.
Wallace faced James, without panic or fear, but pushed forward and began to press him with his body.
But James didn't give him this chance. Wallace leaned forward, and he also took a step forward, and the two bodies collided directly. After a muffled "bang" sound, James' body was undoubtedly stronger.
Gaining the upper hand, Wallace made a flash of effort, and James didn't rush in anymore, but jumped up and shot a half-shot basket.
The ball bounced on the basket and fell from the other side. Brand didn't jump. He stuck Barty behind him, then stretched out his ape arm and got the ball in his hand.
As mentioned before, Brand is a player from Duke University. His tactical understanding is very strong. After 4 official games, he has begun to integrate into the rhythm of the Magic.
After getting the ball, he did not try to hold the ball firmly in his arms like he did before with the Clippers. Instead, he quickly raised his arms again and looked for his teammates running forward.
At this time, Nash, Iguodala and Howard had already charged. Brand threw the ball first to Nash, who fell behind. After Nash received the ball, he did not faint, but was like holding a urinal.
The posture quickly sent the ball to Iguodala, who had already run into the opponent's three-point line.
Larry Hughes, who was guarding Iguodala, was actually not slow, but because he had to turn around first, he fell one position behind. He could only watch helplessly as Iguodala leaped high into the air and made a pass.
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Recommend a book [e="The God of Basketball"]
This guy opened Almighty King a week before me, but everyone has finished the book, and I haven’t put it on the shelves yet.
