In the second half of the second quarter, after the Cavaliers fell behind by 10 points, Mike Brown replaced Lin Yu and used LeBron James as an iron man, moving to the fourth position and setting up a lineup with one big and four small.
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After Zhan Lin joined forces, the two's cooperation helped the Cavaliers get closer to the score.
At halftime, the score was 66:60, with the Cavaliers trailing by 6 points.
The score difference is not big, and the Cavaliers obviously still have a chance to win.
At halftime, Mike Brown had already begun to reflect on himself: "The schedule in November blinded us. We only saw the league's best record of 15 wins and 2 losses, ignoring the real favorites for the championship this season. We only
We have encountered the Spurs, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, and even the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics in the East, but we have yet to encounter..."
"The record of 15 wins and 2 losses so far can only prove that we have a very stable lower limit this season, but we have not found our upper limit yet, so this game, as well as the next games against the Mavericks and Celtics
In the competition, we must go all out to discover our upper limit, identify problems, then solve them, and finally launch an impact towards the O'Brien Cup."
Having said all that, Mike Brown then began to adjust his playing style in the second half.
"For the Phoenix Suns, I have to admit that the targeted adjustments I made before the game were insufficient and ignored Boris Diaw. Then in the second half, we must improve our defensive intensity. Maybe we can't prevent it.
Steve Nash and Boris Diaw passed the ball, but we could guard every Phoenix shot..."
"So in the second half, I will continue to form a lineup with one big and four small. I hope to use a small lineup to speed up the movement speed of the defensive end and rotate defense. I hope everyone present can run and defend without any effort.
and assist in defense.”
Finally, Mike Brown named Lin Yu: "Lin, in the first half, you did a great job restricting Steve Nash. In the second half, I hope you can continue your defense in the first half."
In the first half, Lin Yu defended Nash and scored 5 points and 7 assists on 2 of 4 shots in the half. Putting aside the assists, Lin Yu's defense could be considered a success.
After the halftime break, the Cavaliers' morale did not become sluggish because they were suppressed by their opponents from beginning to end in the first half, but instead became even higher.
The reason is that the main core of the Cavaliers, LeBron James and Lin Yu, decided to go all out because of Mike Brown's words. Regardless of winning or losing this game, they will use this game as a touchstone to try to win.
The true value of the Cavaliers with the best record in the league.
In the words of Mike Brown: "There are still more than four months left in the regular season. We still have plenty of time to adjust, change, and even evolve ourselves. As for now, it is our time to discover problems."
In the second half, the game restarted amid cheers in the American West Arena.
The Phoenix Suns have put together a regular rotation of half main and half substitute, with point guard Nash, shooting guard Raja Bell, small forward Jaylen Rose, and a combination of Shawn Marion and Kurt Thomas in the paint.
For the Cavaliers, Daniel Gibson is the point guard, the shooting guard is veteran David Wesley, small forward Lin Yu, power forward James, and center Joe Smith.
In a lineup with one player and four players, rookie Gibson was just a pseudo-point guard. He controlled the ball through half the court and then handed it to Lin Yu who was standing at a 45-degree angle on the right.
Lin Yu, who was holding the ball, did not play alone. He controlled the ball for a while and attracted the defense of Laga Bell.
Because Lin Yu defeated Laga Bell's defense in the first half, which made Mike D'Antoni dissatisfied, Laga Bell, who was dissatisfied with Lin Yu, kept spitting out sweet things.
All kinds of dirty words came out of Laga Bell's mouth, and Lin Yu even heard some suspected racial epithets.
Lin Yu frowned, but he ignored the other party. He looked around for opportunities with his eyes. If no opportunity appeared again, he would force a shot.
But soon, Lin Yu found an excellent opportunity. The next second, he passed the ball directly, very quickly.
Laga Bell also reacted quickly. He quickly stretched out his right hand, but it was knocked out of the air. When he turned his head, he realized that Lin Yu's ball had been passed to LeBron who was sliding down the baseline with nothing.
-James.
Lin Yu's pass was just right, giving him an advance. James, who received the ball, didn't even need to stop the ball. He accelerated directly and then jumped into the air...
boom!
It was another dunk. Even the American West Arena, which was an away game, couldn't help but whistle a few times. It was a bit dissatisfied with James's consecutive dunks, but also a bit cheering for Zhan Lin's connection.
"Another LeBron James dunk!"
"Another pass from China Lin!"
"In this game, China Lin and LeBron played similar coordination many times. It seems that after two months of partnership, they have developed a certain tacit understanding."
Reggie Miller and Clyde Drexler were in the commentary booth for this game. They were a little surprised by Lin Yu's successive passes to assist James, because the partnership between Lin Yu and James could not even count.
The pre-season training last season only lasted two months.
"But it must be said that China Lin is indeed the most suitable teammate for LeBron. If China Lin can continue to grow, we may really have a chance to see the rise of another ok combination ll combination."
After James dunked, the point difference was narrowed to 4 points.
In the Suns' offense, they had to face a Cavaliers with one large and four small players. Lin Yu defended Nash. In this game, Nash's personal offense has not been able to open up.
But his passing assists are still sharp.
In this round of offense and defense, Nash passed the ball to Sean Marion who was attacking the basket. He also passed the ball ahead of time. Sean Marion, who received the ball, avoided James' block and raised his hand to make a throw.
Then, the Cavaliers attacked. This time it was James' turn to hold the ball, and he still chose to break through.
On the flank, Lin Yu restrained Laga Bell's defense, and by the way, he made a reverse run and attracted Nash.
The Suns couldn't find any more players to flank James. James easily squeezed away Shawn Marion and scored another 2 points for a layup.
The score difference returned to 4 points again.
The Suns' offense still relied on Nash holding the ball. This time, Mike Brown stood on the sidelines and continued to direct. The intensity of the Cavaliers' defensive rotation suddenly increased to the extreme.
The other players of the Suns ran endlessly, but they always failed to get a chance.
So, Nash tried to break through on his own, but Lin Yu stood in front of him.
Then a mid-range shot hit the frame with a bang.
"Rebound!"
Someone on the court shouted, Joe Smith blocked, and James jumped up and grabbed this crucial rebound.
When Lin Yu saw James get the ball, he immediately shouted: "Counterattack, counterattack!"
James' speed suddenly reached the extreme. He quickly took off his feet and rushed forward. He also discovered that this was a good opportunity to counterattack.
Even if the frontcourt can't form a pattern of more and less, they can directly attack and score a goal before the Suns' defense is fully positioned.
James moved like a tank. On the other side, Lin Yu was not too slow, but there were many players faster than him on the court. In the three-on-three frontcourt, Lin Yu fell at the end.
In this way, no one will continue to stare at Lin Yu except Laga Bell who is chasing after him.
On the contrary, it was James who reached the three-point line and quickly attracted everyone's attention.
His quick sprint and breakthrough gave his opponent a huge impact. Shawn Marion was on the front, while Nash and Jaylen Rose were trying to flank him from the side.
Roar!
There were roars from the inside because of the confrontation, and the next second, the basketball flew out from the middle of the crowd, hit the ground hard, bounced back, and flew into Lin Yu's hands.
He received the ball and without hesitation raised his hand and shot a chasing three-pointer.
Laga Bell flew forward to block the shot, but he came from behind Lin Yu. After leaping forward, his center of gravity was no longer under his control.
So, the moment Lin Yu threw the ball, with a bang, Laga Bell overwhelmed Lin Yu.
Whoosh!
The crisp sound of net wiping also sounded at the same time.
Beep beep beep!
Amid the rapid whistle, the American West Arena was filled with exclamations. Everyone knew that Raja Bell had fouled. Regardless of whether it was a flagrant foul or not, China Lin would have to take an additional penalty on this goal.
The 4-point difference is now only 1 point. With additional penalties, the score will be even within one round!