Chapter 700: One-on-One
Carey. Irving, after James left Miami, he became the Clevelands' only hope. As it turned out, Owen definitely deserved the title of champion. During his years in Cleveland, while the Cavaliers were still on the lookout, Irving's strength was unquestionable.
People are waiting for Irving to rise like Yiyang and lead the Cavaliers back to the top. But who would have thought that James would join forces with Owen.
No one could have imagined that James would actually leave Miami. He was there for just four years and took away two O'Brien Cups, which can be said to be very efficient. It is precisely because of James that the whole league has embarked on the road of "quick championship". Team owners are desperately throwing money at it so that they can get their stars to play on the same team.
However, even winning two championships in four years can no longer satisfy James' ambitions. And the two years that the Heat lost were precisely to the Dallas Mavericks. He realized that the Dallas Mavericks and Yiyang were the hurdles he had to overcome in his career.
And the Miami Heat is clearly not a good place to deal with the Mavericks. So, James chose to leave and chose to return to Cleveland. Joining forces with Owen and Love made the world shocked the world once again by James's appeal.
He made Decision 2.0 with only one goal, and that was to defeat the Mavericks and win the championship!
To defeat the Mavericks, it has to start in the regular season!
Carey. Irving didn't let James down, and in the past two rounds, he bravely stepped up and helped James share the burden on his shoulders.
As it turns out, while Irving and James need to be on the ball to get the most out of their power, it doesn't affect their coexistence.
The score was tied again, and Yiyang no longer saw James as the only threat. Owen used to make Yiyang very tricky, and now that he has grown up, he has become one of Yiyang's biggest enemies.
In the next round of attack, Yiyang did not let Owen stop. His breakthrough made this Cavaliers No. 2 grit his teeth and keep up, but it's useless for you to just keep up with Yiyang, unless you can keep up with the whole team of the Mavericks.
After Yiyang breaks through, the Cavaliers' lineup is bound to shrink. They can't let this MVP play the state, they can't let him turn on the scoring mode. Otherwise, it would not be unusual for Yiyang to score 50 points today.
James and Owen came towards Yiyang, Yiyang naturally would not act recklessly, he raised the basketball high and threw it hard, the target was Iguodala!
James quickly turned around and tried to make up for Iguodala. In fact, it was all planned by James. forced Yiyang to pass, and then immediately returned to block. He would rather bet that Iguodala would not have made it than watch Owen be sifted into a sieve by Yiyang.
But when James turned to look at Iguodala, Iguodala didn't have a basketball in his hand! James looked back in surprise, only to see that Yiyang had already leaned on Owen to make a successful layup!
"On the fake fax, this action completely deceived James. To be honest, I thought I was going to pass the ball just now. His feints are so realistic that I'm sure even Iguodala didn't know that Yiyang was a feint. ”
Barkley was telling the truth, Iguodala was just ready to catch the ball and shoot. As everyone knows, Yiyang's passing action stopped abruptly at the moment of passing, and then he suddenly made a layup, which caught Owen off guard.
Irving and James found it very difficult for them to contain the offense led by Yiyang.
But on the other hand, James and Irving, who are full of firepower, are not something that the Mavericks will definitely be able to defend if they say they can defend it.
This match is destined to be played until the last minute, and it is destined to be a game decided by superstars.
Subsequently, as people thought, James and Irving blossomed everywhere, and Lefou's cold shot from time to time was also a key hit.
What about the Mavericks? Yiyang's own scoring ability is very strong, and he can also connect his teammates. Especially Wade and Dirk, these two attacked like a fish in water under Yiyang's organization. Wade's form is so good that even James finds it unbelievable.
If you played like this in the finals last season, we wouldn't have gotten this far, man.
The game continued into the last five minutes of the fourth quarter. James' fast break was blocked by the Mavericks' three-man block, and if it was changed to last season, James would have to be tough even in the face of three-man blocking.
But this time, James, who caught everyone's attention with his jump, turned into a pass in the air. Basketball jumped into the hands of Irving outside the three-point line, and Irving's terrifying 41.5% three-point shooting rate this season is unmatched by Wade in any season of his career.
Yiyang pounced on Owen in despair, but nothing could be undone. Irving won't waste this opportunity to shoot in the open spot, three points straight to the net, and the Cavaliers are two points ahead!
"This is Carey. Irving's role next to LeBron, his three-point shot is very deadly. As long as the Mavericks are given space, just wait to lose points! ”
Carlisle, meanwhile, called for a halt to the game. Irving and James' ability to create chances for each other is just too strong, as both of them are very dangerous attacking points on their own.
But at this time, in order to cut off the connection between the two, Carlisle can only make a risky move.
"You mean," Iguodala looked at his manager with some surprise after listening to Carlisle's arrangement. "No defense, complete one-on-one defense?"
"That's right, a complete one-on-one defense. If LeBron and Irving play pick-and-roll, then you and Yi will switch positions decisively. In short, there cannot be a situation where more than one person defends one. Complete one-on-one defense to force them to go single! ”
Carlisle looked at Yiyang and Iguodala, and the next two men will be the most under defensive pressure.
For scorers of the caliber of James and Irving, it's hard to help defend them, let alone defend purely one-on-one. But doing so is the best way to avoid them getting an easy chance to score.
Yiyang and Iguodala's single defense ability will be the key to determining the direction of the game.
Iguodala looked at Yiyang, who was probably the most challenging defensive figure the two had ever received.
James and Irving are the kind of players who play with their brains, with or without the ball. This also means that Iguodala and Yiyang must be fully focused on every second. One distraction and James and Irving will have scoring opportunities.
"Questions?" Seeing that the two did not answer, Carlyle asked.
"Nope!" After confirming their eyes, Yiyang and Iguodala replied in unison.
"The timeout is over and the game is restarted. The Cavaliers were tenacious, and Irving's three-pointer allowed them to tie the score again. And this is the tenth time that the two sides have taken the lead alternately today. ”
"LeBron and Irving worked together very well on the offensive end today, which is why the Cavaliers have been able to hold on until now. When a team has two top scorers, it's really hard to contain the opposing team's attack. ”
On the commentary stage, O'Neill and Kenny. Smith was full of praise for the Cavaliers' offense. But Barkley kept his mouth shut, knowing full well that the Mavericks weren't going to let those two guys go.
Coming back from a timeout, the Mavericks take the lead on offense. Both Iguodala and Yiyang have to focus on the defensive end, so now the offensive power is in the hands of Wade and Dirk.
Wade and Nowitzki played a simple pick-and-roll and broke through Vitesse for a layup. The Cavaliers' attention is still on Yiyang, and the defense against Wade is not tight.
Subsequently, Yiyang and Iguodala were engrossed. The Cavaliers' offensive turn, their mission begins.
As soon as Irving pushed in, James grabbed the ball from beyond the three-point line.
But this time, the physical confrontation between Iguodala and James can be described as rough. He stuck to James and didn't even give the other side a chance to connect the ball.
James shook off Iguodala's arm and continued to ask for the ball, but soon, Iguodala wrapped it around again.
He is not afraid of physical confrontation, he is not afraid of physical confrontation with James. Seeing that James had no chance, Owen beckoned Love to cover again.
But Yiyang stood in advance of the position, and at the moment when Owen bypassed the block, Yiyang squeezed over, perfectly blocked!
James ran without the ball and cut to the basket, and Irving raised his hand to pass the ball, but the action stopped abruptly. Iguodala stuck it without reservation, and the hand-to-hand combat between him and James was fierce.
At this time, because Irving held the ball with both hands, he could no longer dribble, and James was temporarily unable to run. So, Owen had no choice but to give the ball to Love.
But unfortunately, under Nowitzki's interference, Lefou's three-point shot did not hit. Defense beyond the three-point line is the focus of the Mavericks today.
"Missed, the Cavaliers missed, they didn't renew the score! He also controlled the ball and advanced slowly, and he just threw the ball high just after half time! Rudy. Goebel, Tristan. Thompson couldn't reach that height at all, and it was coming! boom! Empty Catch, and Rudy. Gobert is another classic match! "Barkley finally spoke, more than just O'Neill and Kenny. Smith was even more excited.
"It seems that after that timeout, Carlisle's coach's strategy was to defend absolutely one-on-one." Kenny. Smith touched his chin.
"That's right, the effect is obvious." Barkley doesn't hide his love for the Mavericks.
"Really? Instead, I think Coach Carlisle is digging his own grave! ”
An empty dunk boosted the morale of the Mavericks. As a result, Irving and James were defended much more tightly in the next round!
Irving was completely blocked outside the three-point line by Yiyang, and James covered Irving, and the cover of these two people before can be said to be very popular, and it is also the reason why the Cavaliers have been able to bite the score.
But this time, Iguodala and Yiyang did not hesitate at all, and immediately changed their defenses!
Iguodala went to block Owen, and Yiyang stayed with James!
This is an opportunity for James, Iguodala can use his body to compete with James, and Yiyang does not have such ability.
James held Yiyang with one hand, and then ran wildly towards the penalty area, raising his hand to ask for the ball as he ran.
Irving didn't hesitate, flicked his wrist as he went, and got the ball firmly into James' hands.
James smiled slightly, with Yiyang's small body, don't try to defend yourself!
Fight the body, of course Yiyang can't fight James. Not only Yiyang, but there are only a handful of players in the entire league who can fight with James.
If all goes well, James can easily lean on Yiyang and score on a layup. But just as James was dribbling and advancing, Yiyang, who was hanging next to the "little emperor", stretched out his long arm and stabbed the basketball in James's hand.
Yiyang's move was fast and accurate, which caught James off guard. Although Yiyang couldn't poke the ball out directly, it disrupted James' dribble.
He had to stagger back into control of the ball and shoot straight into the chaos from close range.
But at this point, James has missed the best opportunity to attack. Yiyang's delay was enough for Gobert to come to help defend.
The French tower covered the sky and fanned James' shot out of the box. Carlisle was so excited that he waved his arm vigorously, who said that Yiyang couldn't guard against James!
Wade, who has a keen sense of smell, receives the basketball that was fanned out by Gobert, and he launches a fast break. James tried his best to chase back, but he couldn't catch up with his good brother from the basket.
Wade still scored a layup in the physical confrontation with Vitesse, scoring his 25th point, Wade gave James a very good response!
With three minutes left in the game, the Cavaliers' offense was in trouble. Iguodala sticks to James again, and a huge sense of oppression hits in an instant.
Then, Owen passed Yiyang with a beautiful turn. Yiyang has to admit that Owen is indeed very powerful, and the defender who can beat himself in one-on-one in this league may be Owen.
Although he passed Yiyang, he didn't shake it off. Owen burst into the mid-range position, deliberately found a physical confrontation and squeezed Yiyang to win space for himself, and then threw directly.
As everyone knows, before Owen lifted the basketball and made a shot, the ball was directly fanned by Yiyang from the side!
"Clean closure, Carey. Owen thought Yi's defense too simple! ”
Owen looked at Yiyang in surprise, only to find that the guy was just glaring at him viciously and didn't say anything. But even that already creeps Owen to the core.
Is this the strength of the man who can keep Lillard straight to the net?
The basketball was flown to the audience by Yiyang fan, and it was still the ball of the Cavaliers. But Yiyang didn't care, he moved his arm, his eyes still fixed on Owen, and opened his arms in front of him.
At this point, Kenny. Smith didn't dare to speak anymore.
Maybe for other teams, purely defending James and Irving alone is digging their own graves. But for a team like the Mavericks, they might be able to contain the offense of two super-scorers at the same time.
With the Mavericks, anything magical can happen.