Although James is a No. 3 player, he is strong and powerful. Even if he switches to guard Howard, he will not be too disadvantaged.
At least the alley-oop the Magic wanted was out of the question.
In order to defend Nelson and Howard's pick-and-roll, Mike Brown's choice was to let James squeeze through the pursuit.
It's still unavoidable for O'Neal to switch defense in front of Nelson.
With James' height and wingspan, even if he squeezes past Howard, it will be difficult for Nelson to take a shot!
O'Neal, on the other hand, huddled inside to guard against Howard's alley-oop.
The Cavaliers' preparations were very thorough, and it was difficult to pull off the Magic's pick-and-roll tactics under tight defense.
Howard couldn't score inside, and the pick-and-roll tactics were blocked again. The Magic's offense was extremely difficult, and it was difficult to score a point.
Although the Magic's defense is also very good, James can still connect the team with his super personal ability.
As long as there is no problem with morale, the Cavaliers' overall strength is still much stronger than the Magic.
Especially when comparing the top players, the Cavaliers are much higher.
Howard's role is more on the defensive end. Once he is matched up with a center of the same size on the offensive end, his role is very limited.
What's even more troublesome is that Howard's movement control skills are limited, and he must rely on the cooperation of his teammates to complete the offense.
If his teammates are restricted, Howard won't be able to get the ball, and he will be useless.
But James doesn't have this problem.
Because the ball is always in James' hands!
James's movement control skills are quite impressive.
Top-notch movement control skills coupled with super physical talent, James' breakthrough threat is extremely high.
As long as the opponent's interior defense is weaker, James can break into the interior and score.
And once the opponent assists in defense, James can pass the ball to his teammates to score.
James' passing vision is still very good.
Even with his mid-range shooting ability, James is pretty good among small forwards.
Because he has the ball in hand, James can throw it out even at the last second.
If a teammate makes a shot, it's an assist!
Therefore, James' team leadership ability is much stronger than Howard.
After the timeout, the Cavaliers' scoring continued to increase slowly, while the Magic's offense was very difficult.
At the end of the first quarter, the score between the two teams became 35:21, with the Cavaliers leading by 14 points.
The second quarter was substitute time, and the Magic were still at a disadvantage.
In order to keep James, the Cavaliers boss spent a lot of money and got a lot of helpers for James.
With the money in place, the lineup will definitely not be too bad.
More importantly, James is in good physical condition and played more than 10 minutes in the second quarter!
In the second quarter, the Cavaliers widened the point difference by 5 points.
At halftime, the Magic trailed by 19 points.
Seeing the hope of winning, the Cavaliers players played more actively.
In the third quarter, the Cavaliers played better defensively and dared to fight on the offensive end.
Within a few minutes, the score difference widened to 25 points.
The game gradually lost its suspense.
In the end, the score was fixed at 113:82, and the Cavaliers won by 31 points!
The two teams also tied at 3:3.
…
Two days later, on May 30, Game 7 between the Magic and Cavaliers began.
This tiebreaker was played at the Cavaliers' home court.
At this point in the series, both teams have no secrets left.
If the Magic want to win, they must open up the perimeter.
Howard alone won't do it.
However, the Magic's opponents all know this truth, so they will focus on defending the Magic's perimeter.
If you want the Magic to get good shooting opportunities from the outside, you have to start from the inside.
That means Howard has to open it first!
Whether it's Howard playing in the low post, or Howard and Nelson cooperating in pick-and-rolls, in short, Howard has to pose a threat to the Cavaliers' penalty area and let the Cavaliers help defend.
This will give the Magic's outside shooters a chance.
But Howard's luck ran out.
O'Neal is also back with full health!
Howard still couldn't score in the paint.
The game started with James defending Nelson, which was not good news for the Magic.
James worked hard to win.
Nelson was severely restricted, and Howard couldn't open it up. The result can be imagined.
You know, this game was played at the home court of the Cavaliers, and the morale of the Cavaliers players was stronger than the previous game.
3:3, the seventh game is on our territory!
The first player in the league is on our team!
Did Stern’s godson gain fame in vain?
No matter what, the referee has to take care of us, right?
We won a game in the away games, and we are even more unstoppable when we return to home!
Facing the Cavaliers' overwhelming offensive, the Magic fell into a passive position right from the start.
If the offense fails, the Cavaliers counterattack.
The defense failed, James broke into the paint and dunked successfully.
Helping defend the interior, the Cavaliers began to shoot three-pointers wildly from the outside.
The Magic fell behind by 12 points in the first quarter!
Van Gundy doesn't have any good ideas.
This is the problem with a defensive player at the core of a team.
Once the team's offense stagnates and the team leader is unable to lead the team to score, his life will be in jeopardy.
What's even more frightening is that Howard is still a big boy who has not grown up.
When the team plays well, Howard is very happy.
The team is not playing well, and Howard is more frustrated than his teammates!
It's basically impossible for Howard to grit his teeth and fight with his opponents.
He doesn't want to do that and can't do it.
With people like Howard as the core of the team, one can imagine the team's cohesion.
By the end of the second quarter, the Magic were already 25 points behind!
James hit two three-pointers as soon as the game started in the third quarter.
Although three-pointers are not great, who is not a perimeter player?
Don't you dare to shoot when it's a stalemate? Don't you dare to shoot when you're so far ahead?
Isn't that a fool?
If you don’t brush points at this time, when will you brush them?
The more relaxed you are, the better your hand will feel.
Once James' outside shot was opened, it became even harder for the Magic to defend.
If you stick too close, James will pass you.
If you post it too far, James will kill you again!
Assist in defense?
Do you think the Cavaliers' outside linemen are in vain?
James' team never lacks outside shooters!
Led by James, the Cavaliers became more and more fierce.
Soon, the point difference widened to more than 30 points.
The suspense of the game gradually disappeared.
Cavaliers fans were already celebrating in advance in the stands.
In the fourth quarter, the Magic sent out their starters to make a last-ditch effort, but who knew that the Cavaliers would also start the game.
Under the Cavaliers' airtight defense, it was still difficult for the Magic to score.
The fourth quarter lasted more than 5 minutes, and there was no change in the score difference.
Van Gundy had to replace the starting lineup.
Finally, when the referee blew the whistle, the score was fixed at 118:86!
The Cavaliers won by 32 points and eliminated the Magic in the seventh game, avenging their elimination last season.
The two sides of the finals showdown have also been officially announced, that is, the Cavaliers and Warriors!
The top teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences met in the finals as expected.
