In the third quarter, the game turned into a pick-and-roll battle.
The Knicks' offense uses various pick-and-rolls, and the Cavaliers' offense also uses continuous pick-and-rolls. This kind of game tests the two teams' ability to defend against pick-and-rolls.
The Cavaliers did a poor job of defending against pick-and-rolls, mainly because Lin Yu's attack area was too outside, which led them to rely heavily on James' supplementary defense and assisting defense.
But as long as Lin Yu eliminates James one-on-one, the Knicks' offense will be considered a success.
Although dealing with James one-on-one is not as simple as it sounds, at least the Knicks' offense still has some hope of putting the ball into the basket.
On the other hand, the Knicks did an excellent job of defending the pick-and-roll. On the one hand, it was because of Lin Yu. His assist defense and single defense were both top-notch, and he did a perfect job of sweeping up the mid-range.
After James reacted and ended the one-on-one matchup between him and Lin Yu, Lin Yu returned the task of defending James alone to Wilson Chandler, and went to face Anthony Parker, who was not a threat, to
More energy is put into supplementary defense and assisting defense.
This is similar to LeBron James of the Cavaliers.
But the difference is that the Knicks' defense against James has always adhered to the principle of never flanking. Therefore, Lin Yu's defense can only make up for defense, without assisting in defense.
James poses little threat in the mid-to-long range. Wilson Chandler or Lin Yu, who is on defense, only need to defend James' breakthrough.
Once James' breakthrough is prevented, James has only two options left. One is to pass the ball out and then reorganize the offense, or let his teammates force the shot, and the other is to force the shot himself.
But no matter which one of these two options, the Cavaliers' offensive efficiency is very low.
In the second half of the third quarter, the two teams made casual substitutions, but the Knicks' defensive intensity was still maintained. This summer's signings began to show their effectiveness.
As long as James is on the court, Lin Yu is also there, but his assistant at the third position has been changed, from Wilson Chandler to James Posey, and his defensive effect on James is actually even better.
At the end of the third quarter, the Knicks' lead stretched to double digits.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Lin Yu stayed off the court to rest.
Ricky Davis and Wilson Chandler partnered on the wings. The offense was no longer as smooth as when Lin Yu was on the court, but the defense was still at its best. They continued to constipate the Cavaliers' offense.
James didn't rest, he led the team to launch a counterattack.
But facing the flank blockade jointly constructed by Ricky Davis and Wilson Chandler, James could only occasionally find one or two excellent opportunities when breaking through.
Most of the time, he can only pass the ball or make strong shots from outside.
Perhaps because he wanted to prove that he could stand up at critical moments, James played a game that was a bit inconsistent with his personality. He took shots continuously and rarely passed the ball.
Of course, this is also related to the fact that the Cavaliers have no chance at all on the outside, so James can only take action himself.
Then, the data showed that James was playing crazy and the score was not close at all. On the contrary, it was pulled away after Lin Yu came back on the stage.
"Perhaps this game simply reflects the gap between LeBron and Lin..."
Mike Breen's words seem to be exaggerated. Many James will object to this view, and many Cavaliers fans will also disagree with it.
Just like some people always say that Kobe's scoring ability is better, but James fans disagree and use various statistics to refute it.
Sometimes, the strength of a player can be measured from too many angles, and the final result is a matter of opinion.
But as long as the audience watched this game, they will come to a conclusion.
"The same pick-and-roll offense, the same one-man defense, one-man mid-range sweep, and finally the center guarding the defense in the penalty area. Under the leadership of Lin Yu, the Knicks played an excellent second half. In comparison, the Cavaliers' second half seemed
It’s very bad.”
"LeBron James failed to stand up and lead the team forward when the team was in a deadlock. On the other hand, the Knicks, under the leadership of Lin Yu, seized the opportunity and continued to expand their lead..."
At the end of the game, the timer buzzed and the game ended. 117:102. The Knicks won the game easily.
The Quicken Loans Center was extremely silent, with a large section of the stands completely empty. The few remaining fans even included some Lin Yu die-hards.
Just like the answer of a Cleveland fan when asked about his attitude towards Lin Yu before the game: Lin brought Cleveland the first O'Brien Cup in the history of the team. His departure is not his problem. We are only grateful to him and have no regrets.
resentment...
And these die-hards left behind are obviously this type of fans.
When Lin Yu, who led the team to victory, waved to the sidelines, the group of hardcore players also responded with constant applause and some sporadic shouts.
Amidst the applause and shouts, Lin Yu found James who looked calm.
"Hey LeBron, thanks for the win."
Although he was not in a beautiful mood, James still behaved very generously. He pointed at Lin Yu generously and replied: "You're welcome. I will go to Madison for the next game and I will get this victory back."
Lin Yu shook his head, somewhat reluctantly: "No, don't think about it, LeBron, Madison, you are even less likely to win."
After a seemingly friendly exchange, Lin Yu said hello to Daniel Gibson and then left.
This Cavaliers is already very unfamiliar to him. It's not that this Cavaliers doesn't have players he is familiar with, but that most of the Cavaliers' teams have nothing to do with him.
The NBA is also a relationship league. Some players are like brothers, such as James, at least on the surface it seems like this.
Some players are like enemies, such as DeShawn Stevens and LeBron James. DeShawn Stevens has never made any secret of his dislike of James.
For Lin Yu, his current situation is that his relationship with compatriots like Dayao is relatively pure, and his relationship with friends like LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony is a bit worse.
But the difference between him and James is that he will not deliberately create some brothers. The relationship will be whatever it is.
Lin Yu, who was about to leave, was immediately stopped by Doris Burke. He was the best player in the game and needed to be interviewed.
"I'm already familiar with this process, Doris, please hurry up."
Doris Burke smiled and nodded, then pointed the camera at Lin Yu.
Three questions, the first is the clichéd feeling of returning to Cleveland.
"After the entire playoffs last season, I don't have much special feeling about it anymore."
Lin Yu shook his head and answered briefly.
Then, the second question is about your views on this game.
"Judging from the score, we won this game very easily, but from the process, it was still very difficult. The Cavaliers are very strong, but their outside players were a little out of shape in this game, so I am looking forward to playing with the Cavaliers now.
The next time we meet, I hope they can work harder next time.”
On the whole, Lin Yu has been modest, but in the end, he still showed his true nature. He was like saying: The knights in this game are extremely weak!
The last question, regarding the comparison between him and James, Doris Burke quoted Mike Breen, as if she was praising Lin Yu in a high-profile way.
Regarding the flattery, Lin Yu shrugged: "I don't like to evaluate myself, because my evaluation will be very subjective. In contrast, I prefer to watch others evaluate myself."
