In Cleveland, the infield of Quicken Loans Center is surrounded by a thick crowd of Cavaliers fans. If you look up towards the stands above the third floor, Lin Yu in front of the technical table will feel like he is causing trouble in heaven facing so many heavenly soldiers.
The feeling of general.
But the atmosphere in the arena was not good, there was only a little noise, because the Cavaliers were lagging behind, not even slightly behind, but by a large margin...
"I have to say that the Spurs' performance was too good. LeBron James was completely misfired under his defense. China Lin's performance was also quite struggling. The game had reached the final stage of the second quarter, and the Cavaliers' offense only helped them.
Got 39 points!”
"One thing that must be mentioned is that in the past four games of the Cavaliers, their opponents were the Celtics, who had the best defense in the regular season. They played a phenomenal defensive performance. As a result, their offense was overwhelmed.
The Celtics' defense failed, but in the first game of the Finals, the San Antonio Spurs used their defense to tell everyone that old age is still hot!"
With a buzzing sound, the timer buzzed, and Lin Yu stepped into the inner court area of the arena.
"The Cavaliers made a substitution and China Lin reappeared. Now the Cleveland Cavaliers urgently need his touch to open up the outside shooting."
At this point in the game, Lin Yu's touch is very average, currently only scoring 11 points on 3 of 9 shots.
LeBron James played even worse. He took 7 shots, all of which were irons, and only scored 5 points on free throws.
After Lin Yu came on the court, he immediately relied on an erratic movement to find a space to catch the ball, but his three-point shot bounced out of the frame with a bang.
"Strike the iron again, and the Spurs can further expand their lead."
But then, the Spurs' offense failed to score a goal.
After a few more rounds, the half ended and the score became 43:56, with the Cavaliers trailing by 13 points.
For the next 4 points the Cavaliers got, Lin Yu took three shots and hit a 3-pointer. LeBron James broke through and made a foul, made one of two free throws, and scored 1 point.
"It's too bad. The Cavaliers' state is really bad today. They can't find their form at all. The game has been dominated by the Spurs."
In midfield, Mike Brown was thinking about how to adjust.
"We can only try the Zhan Lin pick-and-roll."
When playing against the Celtics, Mike Brown used the backhand move that he had originally prepared, but the effect was mediocre.
On the one hand, Lin Yu's explosion makes the effectiveness of Zhan Lin's pick-and-roll seem less important. On the other hand, without James' long-range shot, the power of Zhan Lin's pick-and-roll is not as powerful as imagined.
But now, Mike Brown has no other options. The only option left is Zhan Lin's pick-and-roll.
In the third quarter, the game begins.
Zhan Lin's pick-and-roll came on as scheduled. In the first offensive round, James relied on the space created by Zhan Lin's pick-and-roll, broke into the penalty area, and committed a foul.
Another two-for-one free throw on the free throw line, the Cavaliers narrowed the point difference to 12 points.
In the subsequent defensive round, Lin Yu's interference blocked Manu Ginobili's shooting space and prevented the key shot.
A quick counterattack after grabbing the rebound was followed by another Zhan Lin pick-and-roll. James, who strode into the penalty area, attracted the defense and created a wide open opportunity for Lin Yu.
With a swish sound, Lin Yu hit an open three-pointer.
"The key three-pointer was China Lin again. He stepped up and the Cavaliers directly reduced the points difference to single digits!"
The Quicken Loans Center, which had been suppressed for a long time, erupted with fierce and loud cheers. With a 9-point deficit, the Cavaliers seemed to have hope of a comeback.
But on the next possession, Gregg Popovich made a few gestures and directly adjusted his defense.
"Tim Duncan retreated to the edge of the penalty area, outside, facing Zhan Lin's pick-and-roll. Their defensive strategy was to switch defenses immediately when encountering the pick-and-roll..."
In a pick-and-roll change, Lin Yu was targeted and he could only pass the ball to James.
James did get the breakthrough space he wanted, but after just two steps, he ran into a defensive attack from Duncan.
James did not consider taking action forcefully. The concept of reasonableness was still deeply engraved in his body.
He chose to pass the ball, but the target of the ball was Big Z inside. Big Z was also marked by the Spurs' defense, and Fabricio Oberto was behind him.
Two options, go strong, or pass the ball again.
The Lithuanian hesitated for a moment and chose to pass the ball.
The Spurs' defense rotated wildly. When Big Z passed the ball again, the defensive force that was covering James and flanking him had already turned back.
"The Spurs' defense was too perfect. The Cavaliers could only pass the ball back. China Lin received the ball from the outside. Time was running out."
After receiving the ball, Lin Yu took action without hesitation.
Anyway, it's not his fault if the ball doesn't go in. If it does, he can gain a layer of "Yellow Mamba" characteristics.
But obviously, Bruce Bowen, who switched defense in front of Lin Yu, provided a perfect interference. With a bang, Lin Yu's ball hit the frame.
…
After the Spurs adjusted their defense, the game once again entered the Spurs' rhythm, and the score soon reached double digits again.
At the end of the three quarters, the score became 64:78, with the Cavaliers trailing by 14 points. At this point in the game, most of the suspense seemed to have been lost.
"Being behind by 14 points in three quarters means that in the 12 minutes of the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers must win back these 14 points. It is very difficult, but it is not completely impossible..."
There is still a possibility for the Cavaliers to make a comeback, but it is really unlikely.
In the front row seat next to the court, Amanda Gray smiled: "This guy probably won't have the chance to stab the Celtics in front of the national broadcast."
Jimmy McGill, the chief lawyer of Lin Yu Agency, nodded: "If it weren't for this magical and crazy guy Lin, Mike Breen would have declared the winner of this game."
"Lin?" Amanda Gray shook her head. "Although he always performs magic, his condition today is a bit bad."
Lin Yu's condition is indeed very bad. So far in the game, he has made 5 of 15 shots and scored 17 points.
If you count the Cavaliers alone, Lin Yu's performance is still the best in the team, but in this state and with such a shooting rate, there is obviously no explosive trend.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Lin Yu sat on the bench.
He closed his eyes and decided to use up the "Three Minutes of Death" special effects card.
"I hope the score will not be further widened..."
If the score is further widened to the point where it would be difficult for Lin Yu to recover even after three minutes of bursting, he will give up using this special effects card.
Three minutes later, the game went as Lin Yu wished, the gap did not widen any further, and Lin Yu re-entered the game at this time.
But in the commentary box, Mike Breen and Marv Albert had almost pronounced the Cavaliers' death sentence.
"There are only 8 minutes left in the game. For the Cavaliers, the 15-point point difference has become a natural danger and seems to be difficult to overcome."
"Even if China Lin reappears at this time, I'm afraid it won't help."
