"The Magic played very aggressively at the beginning, especially this fast break, which vaguely reminded us of the Orlando Athletics team from last season." ESPN commentator Mike Breen couldn't help but couldn't bear it after seeing this goal.
He couldn't help but nodded.
The famous Cavaliers Austin Carr next to him was very unhappy when he heard it, but at the beginning of the game, he couldn't find anything to refute, so he could only curl his lips to express his dissatisfaction.
Austin's behavior was seen by Hubie Brown on the other side. (He was the former head coach of the Grizzlies. He had resigned as coach due to age and began to serve as a commentator.)
"Actually, although the Magic introduced Brand this season, the overall idea of playing fast has not changed. It's just that Brand has never played like this before, so he is very uncomfortable and feels a little at a loss. But he has adjusted and learned.
Soon, he was actually able to launch such long passes in the last Magic game, but his progress was overshadowed by the team's defeat."
As a member of the Hall of Fame, Hubie Brown's understanding of basketball is naturally not comparable to that of so-called experts. He is a person who can see the essence through phenomena.
The game is still going on, and the Cavaliers' offense still needs James to carry out the offense.
This time James' offense was exactly the same as last time. It was also from the left wing. After breaking through the defender, he quickly jumped up and shot. The ball also bounced on the basket. But this time, it did not fall out.
It fell into the basket and scored the Cavaliers' opening two points.
After the Cavaliers scored, Mike Brown stood on the sidelines and shouted, "move_back!" asking the players to quickly return to defense and not give the Magic a chance to launch a fast break in the backcourt. Snow even stepped forward to interfere with Nash and refused to give him a chance.
The first opportunity to play the ball.
"It seems that this guy is very afraid of our fast break. The attack just now shocked them. But how long can you maintain this speed of returning to defense?" Edison looked at Brown on the other side and said.
"Not to mention, I know that guy Mike was very strict with the team's defense when he was in the Spurs. If he brought that kind of requirement to the Magic, he might be able to persist for a whole game."
"Yeah, but it's best not to be like that."
Although Nash was slightly disturbed by Snow, as he left, Nash quickly increased his speed.
In this offense, Nash did not choose to let Brand play. Instead, he made a tactical gesture early to indicate that he would cover and play the pick-and-roll. So Brand did not bother to go to the low post, but instead raised the ball.
When he got to the high position, he blocked Snow for Nash.
As mentioned before, Snow is a very good defensive player who has always been underestimated, but he is already 32 years old. Although he still provides everything a defensive back with solid basic skills can do, his foot speed can no longer keep up.
Those defenders who are fast and flexible with their feet no longer have the defensive versatility he had 2 or 3 years ago. If his defense was like needles hidden in cotton, and murder hidden in calmness, this year, cotton is still there
, but the needle is blunt.
And Nash has been called the "Son of the Wind" since he entered the league. Although he does not have the first step of Wade and Iverson that is almost beyond human limits, it is not much different, and his dribbling rhythm is very good.
, you don’t need to slow down when changing direction.
Originally, Snow had a hard time chasing Nash, but now that Brand blocked him again, he was completely unable to catch him.
Nash is definitely the top pick-and-roll master in the league. Once he enters the opponent's inside, he is like a butcher unloading a cow. He can instantly find the opponent's defensive gap and then slip through. But Nash's body is a bit too weak after all, and he shoots without confrontation.
He needs space to shoot. So we often see Nash taking the ball and rushing inside the opponent's paint. No one can touch him, but he just can't get a chance to shoot, so he can only rush from the other side in frustration.
come out.….
Of course, you can also be domineering and say that Nash killed everyone in and out of the opponent's long man.
This offense was like this. At Brown's request, Igorskas and Batty worked together very skillfully. One took a step forward, and the other quickly filled in, all the while maintaining a state where Nash could not see the basket.
.
Nash couldn't take a shot and score directly, so he planned to pass the ball. However, Howard was blocked tightly by Big Z and the ball couldn't pass through, so he had to find other targets.
The most commendable thing about Nash is his instant observation, or his prediction on the court. As soon as he saw the two Cavaliers insiders in front of him, he immediately turned back to look for Brand who was in a big fight. Then he looked for Brand.
He sent the ball to a high position, and just as he expected, Brand was still standing in front of Snow.
This thing seems very simple, it is easy for me to write it, and it is easy for everyone to understand when reading it, but in real games, many players cannot react.
Brand is different from Josh. He has excellent mid-range shooting ability, which is comparable to Malone back then. As the saying goes, "You are not afraid of knowing a thousand moves, but you are afraid of being familiar with one move." What's more, what Brand is doing now is
The most unscrupulous big mid-range shooter.
Snow really had nothing to do against Brand at this time. He couldn't stop the opponent even if he fouled, and the Magic scored another 2 points.
When they attacked again, Snow did not give the ball to James again after halftime, but gave it to Hughes.
In fact, if someone has a good memory, they should still remember that the Cavaliers started with a wave of 8 consecutive victories that season. During that period, apart from letting eldest brother James take the lead in the opening round to prove his status, Hughes was responsible for controlling the game.
The ball, while LeBron was responsible for scoring, Hughes was the organizer, and James was the arrow. During that time, James did not grab the ball. Except for LeBron's triple-double against the 76ers and 9 assists against the Clippers, all
He did not have more than 6 assists per game.
The same is true in this game, Hughes started to control the ball, and James was ready to go on the other side.
"Allowing Hughes to organize the team's offense was Brown's biggest mistake in this game. His move may work wonders against other teams, especially teams with heavy interior lines, but it doesn't work against us.
." Edison confidently pointed to the court. Thibodeau said "what, so what".
As mentioned before, Hughes is a top-notch player with top-notch breakthroughs and high-end defense, but his mid-range shooting is second-rate, and his organization only has one trick to score points.
If he encounters a heavy inside line, once he breaks through the outside line, he can directly pose a threat to the basket. Even if he has no chance to take action, he can also attract the attention of the opponent's inside line and create opportunities for James who comes from the other side.
, let him hit the opponent and make a slow turn, and score easily.
But now when encountering a long-handed and mobile-sensitive insider like Howard, this trick won't work. After Hughes got rid of Iguodala, when he came to the Magic inside, there was not much space, and he wanted to layup.
It's already very difficult. Even if he passes the ball to the other side, because Howard moves quickly laterally, James will not get a better chance.
James lacks pace inside, so even when he is under the basket, he cannot use his feet to dodge his opponent like other players, so he can only choose to hit hard. But under the defense of the inside, the efficiency of this kind of hard hitting can be imagined.
Historically, the Cavaliers met the Pacers. With O'Neal's inside coverage, the Cavaliers finally lost by 22 points.
The Magic just brought this result forward today.
At halftime, 36-59, the Cavaliers had lost by 23 points, and the offensive end was completely unable to open up the situation.
The direct result of not being able to score a goal is that the Magic got a lot of backcourt rebounds. For other teams, backcourt rebounds are more about the end of the opponent's offense, while the Magic mean the possibility of a fast break...
Iguodala, Nash, and even Martin and Tony Allen who came off the bench were all very happy, and they got a lot of opportunities to pass the basket and score easily. The only thing that was more miserable was Wallace and Josh Smith, who were guarding James.
Being pushed very far back by James, he basically didn't get the chance to rush forward in the first place.
After Cavaliers head coach Brown realized the problem, the team began to look for offensive routines again in the second half - that is, handing the ball to James after halftime.
Brown has publicly said more than once that he hands over the offense completely to LeBron - note, handing over the offense to LeBron, not giving the scoring to LeBron. What Mike Brown expects is for James to organize the team, not to score points individually.
.
But from another perspective, Brown can't even talk about formulating any strategies and tactics for the Cavaliers like Larry Brown does for the 76ers or Zen Master does for the Bulls. More often, he relies on LeBron's personal overall view and overall awareness.
to judge the situation of the battle and make the choice he thinks is right.
Letting James organize the team's offense was definitely the most reasonable choice for the Cavaliers at the time.
Some readers may question what I am saying now and point out the remarks I made against James before. But I want to argue. I only said that James likes to dominate the ball, not that he likes to dominate the shot.
James is different from Kobe. He can and is willing to pass the ball. His overall awareness and selflessness are very good, although the last point is often criticized by many people, who think he is not responsible enough.
Because of his incredible physical fitness, James can protect the ball no matter who is guarding him, and then free up his energy to observe the position of his teammates at any time. Then he can make extremely beautiful breakthrough points and transfer the ball. As an organizer,
Generally speaking, James is very skilled and experienced, and some of his passing and handling are very inspiring. Although he is not as good as Nash and Paul, he is definitely at the starting point guard level in the league.
Therefore, with the current personnel configuration, Brown has no problem letting James control the team's games. Of course, it would be better if he could find a good point guard.
But everyone knows that when Edison first built the team, he regarded James as his biggest opponent in the future. Many of his decisions, including the starting point of staffing, were to limit James. Although after the first season, Edison began to change
My own thinking is that I no longer take James so seriously, but the Magic still have many tactical arrangements for him.
