After scoring 4 points in a row, the Spurs' defense could no longer stop Lin Yu.
"The Spurs' zone defense locked up China Lin's mid-range singles, but now, he is starting to work hard without the ball. Bruce Bowen's marking has done his best, but today he is not facing China Lin, but Lin
crazy……"
Now, everyone can be sure that Lin Yu in this game has evolved into Lin Crazy. The difficulty for the Spurs to win this game has directly changed from the previous simple mode to hell mode.
Charles Barkley bluntly said: "If Lin is crazy is just a concept, we cannot confirm or affirmatively say that he will maintain his current hot state until the end of the game. We should see a data. China's Lin is crazy."
Every time, the Cleveland Cavaliers won the game."
"Even last year, he did this with the Celtics, so at least we can say that China Lin, who is in hot form, is the guarantee for the Cleveland Cavaliers to win."
At the end of the first quarter, the Cavaliers took a 12-point lead at 33:21.
Lin Yu scored 16 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal, completely dominating both offense and defense on the court.
On the sidelines, Popovich, with his arms folded across his chest, touched his forehead where his hairline was rising, and turned back to the coaching bench without saying a word.
The game entered the inter-quarter break, and the bench areas on the left and right sides formed a sharp contrast. The Cavaliers gave various high-fives, which could be regarded as a celebration of the outstanding performance in the first quarter and further encouragement.
On the Spurs side, everyone had a cold face. As soon as the main players sat on the bench, Popovich took a tactical board and shouted at the top of his voice, regardless of the camera's focus: "We must keep an eye on him."
Damn that damn China Lin..."
Fortunately, the broadcast footage was silenced, so no one except the Spurs players on the sidelines could hear what Popovich shouted.
The game started quickly in the second quarter. Mike Brown followed the regular rotation strategy and put Lin Yu off the court to rest.
LeBron James led the bench through the rotation period, and the Spurs directly took advantage of this opportunity to narrow the score gap to 5 points.
"LeBron's performance in the Finals was too bad. In the first five games, his performance could not be called a star player at all, but even so, China Lin still led LeBron and won three of the five games.
"
"Now, China Lin is about to lead him to win the crucial fourth victory, but he still has problems leading the team through the rotation stage. The original 12-point lead is now only 5 points left."
The team's lead, as well as Lin Yu who was sitting on the bench and in hot form, made Mike Brown very confident at this moment. After half the game, he calmly changed players.
"After the official timeout, the Cleveland Cavaliers replaced China Lin. What is different from the rotation lineup in the previous games is that China Lin's backcourt partner became Daniel - basically, Rashard Lewis also appeared in the third
In the No. 1 position, inside is Drew Gudeng and Anderson Varejao.”
In this game, Andre Miller was directly abandoned. For the old Miller, this was a very bad message. It meant that because of the Cavaliers' style change, the old Miller was going to lose his main position in the Cavaliers.
.
Taking further consideration of the remaining transaction value of Miller, perhaps after this finals, Miller will leave the Cavaliers for the second time.
This is a topic for later, let’s not mention it for the moment. Back on the court, Lin Yu was very satisfied with the four teammates Mike Brown paired with him.
On the offensive end, Lewis and Daniel Gibson are on one side to open up space.
On the defensive end, with Drew Gooden assisting in defense and Anderson Varejao guarding the penalty area, Lin Yu will be much more relaxed.
The first round back on the court is defense. Lin Yu has to face the backcourt combination of Manu Ginobili and Jacqui Vaughn, small forward Bruce Bowen, and Robert Horry and Duncan inside.
The combination.
The Spurs still focused on the defensive end. Lin Yu came on the scene, followed by Bowen. The two are now bound.
But on the offensive end, Lin Yu's opponent is Manu Ginobili.
The Argentinian broke through with the ball from the outside and launched an attack. Lin Yu's defense naturally gave no chance. Two or three seconds later, Ginobili passed the ball back. Jacqui Vaughn took the ball and controlled it, giving it to the mid-range point.
A successful Duncan.
Duncan shot a rebound from mid-range, but the force was a little too strong. After the rebound, it hit the edge of the basket with a bang.
Under the basket, Drew Gooden picked off the rebound and immediately passed it to Daniel Gibson who was retreating to get the ball.
In the frontcourt, Lin Yu was already sprinting. His speed was so fast that he rushed directly to the front.
Daniel Gibson threw a long pass, but the angle of the pass was not very good. Lin Yu still took two steps and caught the basketball.
"China Lin has received the ball, and Bruce Bowen has been left behind by him. There is already a chance to counterattack!"
Two or three seconds later, Lin Yu rushed into the paint, jumped up, and slammed the ball into the basket!
With a bang, everyone in the audience exclaimed.
Amid the excitement in the Cavaliers bench area, Lin Yu turned around and glared at Bruce Bowen, as if to say: You are old!
Kenny Smith in the commentary box also lamented this: "Bruce Bowen is too slow. He can't keep up with the counterattacking Chinese Lin."
Popovich on the sidelines also noticed this. Today's Chinese Lin not only feels hot, but also seems to be in top physical condition.
The aging Bruce Bowen can no longer keep up with Lin Yu.
But looking at the entire Spurs forward and defensive line, except for Bowen, no one else can match up with Lin Yu. Even James, who is in terrible shape in the finals, needs the combined defense of an outside line and an inside line to lock him down.
Lin Yu's dunk helped the Cavaliers expand their lead to 7 points.
In the subsequent defensive round, Manu Ginobili hit a mid-range shot, Drew Gooden grabbed the rebound again, and Lin Yu was looking for an opportunity to counterattack again.
But Manu Ginobili, who made a mid-range shot, retreated immediately and cooperated with Jacqui Vaughn to block Lin Yu's sprint route.
However, Lin Yu, who received the ball, still took advantage of Duncan's position and broke into the three-point line, forcing the Spurs to concentrate all their defensive forces in the penalty area.
The first time the ball was released, Rashad Lewis from the outside shot a three-pointer.
Whoosh!
"Rashad Lewis hit a three-pointer and the Cavaliers expanded their lead!"
"China Lin is too strong. His breakthrough directly disrupted the Spurs' defense. The score difference that was already close to 5 points has now been opened to 10 points!"
Lin Yu reappeared, and the situation on the court suddenly changed, but Popovich was still patient and had no intention of suspending adjustments.
The Spurs' offense was slower.
Ginobili's single hit Lin Yu's iron wall again, and then passed the ball. After another round, Duncan finally made a mid-range shot, and the score gap became 8 points.
Without rebounds, the chance to counterattack was gone. Lin Yu controlled the ball and launched a wave of positional attacks. This is why Popovich never made adjustments.
He believes that in positional defense, the Spurs can still lock Lin Yu.
"On the outside, China Lin asked for a cover."
With a screen, Lin Yu took two steps toward the three-point line. Bruce Bowen pressed close to him, but Lin Yu instantly exploded with all his speed and strength.
Almost instantly, the old Bowen was left behind by Lin Yu.
"Prevent coming out, prevent coming out!"
Popovich was reminding Duncan that Duncan had already reacted and jumped out.
Duncan was guarded and Oberto was not present, which meant that the Spurs' basket was very empty. Before getting close to Duncan, Lin Yu was already looking for passing opportunities.
As expected, he saw Anderson Varejao moving towards the basket.
The two looked at each other, and then a high throw ball was passed.
The next second, there was a bang, Anderson Varejao hung on the basket!
"Breakthrough, pass assist, Anderson Varejao dunked inside, but most of the credit for this goal belongs to China Lin!"
"Another assist, and the score difference has reached 10 points again. The Spurs must think carefully about how to defend China Lin."
Popovich still hasn't made a decision, but Mike Budenholzer beside him has already made his suggestion: "Let James go up and try."
James is not LeBron James, but another swingman with excellent physical fitness, the No. 1 pick in the second round, James White!
Popovich thought seriously for a while and nodded: "Let James come over."
On the field, Lin Yu was still scoring or assisting his teammates to score. After he came on the field, he directly led the team and launched an 11:2 offensive wave. The score gap had widened to 12 points again, and there was even a chance that it would continue to rise.
trend.
If the Spurs don't make adjustments.
Charles Barkley in the commentary box already had a feeling that the Spurs were finished because Popovich had not made a move.
In the Cavaliers' offensive round, after Daniel Gibson missed a wide-open three-pointer from Lin Yu, Popovich called a timeout.
"Greg Popovich's timeout is destined to be unavoidable, because China Lin has gone berserk. If this situation continues, the score gap will expand to more than 20 points before halftime."
During the timeout, the atmosphere at the Spurs' home court was a little subtle. The fans on the sidelines were all eager to watch a game in which the Spurs were expected to win. As a result, the situation was not quite right now.
After the timeout, James White, who had only played 6 times in the entire regular season, came on the scene. The scene was quiet. Even Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Mike Breen behind the commentary box were silent.
"The Spurs replaced James White, which means..." Mike Breen thought for a while and gave his analysis: "Greg Popovich has no other cards, at least, against China.
Lin, he has no other choice."
James White stood in front of Lin Yu. As a rookie and a second-round rookie, he knew Lin Yu's deeds.
He also hopes that he can become famous with one goal like Lin Yu.
Before going on the court, Popovich told him how to defend Lin Yu: use your physical fitness to put pressure on him, don't worry about being passed by, rush up and stick to him!
Therefore, after an offensive round, James White pushed directly in front of Lin Yu, leaving no gaps.
Lin Yu was closely followed, and he felt a little pressure. At least, the pressure on him from James White was higher than that from Bruce Bowen. This was a change brought about by the difference in physical fitness.
Lin Yu was not in a hurry. He played a round of soy sauce and passed the ball to Rashard Lewis. Lewis made a mid-range shot that was not a chance and missed.
The Spurs got a chance to reduce the score.
But they also didn't grasp the offensive change brought about by James White's appearance. The Spurs' offense was equivalent to four-on-five.
Although Bowen's situation on the court is very similar, Bowen at least still has an unstable three-pointer.
Lewis's defense was freed, and the Spurs' Parker and Duncan's cooperation had no effect. Duncan hit a mid-range shot, giving the Cavaliers a chance to counterattack.
Lin Yu received the ball and quickly sprinted to the frontcourt. James White followed, but while Lin Yu was sprinting, he suddenly got into trouble and made a sudden change of direction and retreated to one side.
James White was like a mindless defender, still retreating to defend mindlessly. By the time Lin Yu stepped back for a mid-range shot, he had no way to make up for it and interfere with Lin Yu's shot.
With a swish sound, the basketball went into the basket. The Spurs failed to narrow the score, but the Cavaliers further widened the score gap.
With this goal, Lin Yu found a way to break through James White's defense.
Facing a mindless defender, a smart offensive player can always find an opportunity to score.
After the Spurs' timeout, the Cavaliers' offensive rhythm quickly picked up. The game was just like Kenny Smith predicted. At the end of the half, the score gap widened to 22 points.
At the moment when the timer buzzed at halftime, Charles Barkley could no longer restrain himself: "With a score gap of 22 points, at halftime, China Lin had already scored 25 points, 7 rebounds and 8 rebounds.
Assisting and making 2 steals in a 48-minute game can be considered a gorgeous personal data."
"The game has lost its suspense. China's Lin, who broke out into Linsanity mode, is too scary. The San Antonio Spurs did not lose to the Cleveland Cavaliers and China's Lin, but lost to Linsanity..."
In the second half of the game, the Spurs were still looking for opportunities, but at the beginning of the third quarter, James and Lin Yu combined, and the Spurs' defensive pressure increased.
Of course, it was Lin Yu who put more pressure on him. In the words of Charles Barkley: "Chinese Lin performed so well. He was omnipotent in this game, including mid-range singles and long-range shooting.
We also saw the organization of the offense and even LeBron James's signature breakthrough pass."