In the East this season, the Heat have been affected by injuries, and the Pistons have always felt that something is missing after losing Ben Wallace, and now the Knicks and Cavaliers are the most in the limelight. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

On Nov. 29, the two teams met in Cleveland for the first time of the season.

This battle not only determines the ownership of the first place in the East, but also the battle for the strongest striker in the East that fans talk about.

Like the Knicks, the Cavaliers' roster hasn't changed much from last season, and it's the growing young players that make the team stronger and stronger.

But in comparison, the Knicks' offense is stronger, and the biggest change for the Cavaliers is the defense, which has become stronger to get them off to a good start.

Before the game, James took the initiative to come over to greet Lehi, indicating that he would personally limit Lehi from the first minute of this game.

"I'm looking forward to it." Lehi's mentality is completely different from when he first entered the league, and James, no matter how good he is, is now only a challenger.

After the game started, James was not in a hurry, but organized the attack first.

Lehi saw James make this calm look, directly asked for the ball to cover, and hit two points first.

Then Eddie Curry made a strong attack on the inside, and although the Cavaliers have performed well this season, Ilgoskas's strength has shown signs of declining, and the Cavaliers have made Anderson Vallejo play more and more off the bench because of physical reasons.

The weakening of Big Z also made Eddie Curry's defensive pressure less and gave him more energy to play on the offensive end.

And David on the other hand, also played well on the offensive end, but with the Cavaliers' Drew Gooden, basically no one could defend anyone.

Seeing Drew Gooden hit a jumper, James breathed a sigh of relief and planned to watch for a while.

When Lehi faces James, there are many offensive means that will not be as easy as facing others, such as low singles and breakthroughs will be limited, James's defensive awareness may not have evolved to the best state, but the single defense ability is definitely excellent.

But James also has a big problem with his current defense, that is, he can't defend and pick-and-roll, after all, he is the offensive core of the team, and his research on defense is not as good as it will be in a few years.

So Lehi specializes in blocking and dismantling in the offense, which is originally the Knicks' more conventional tactics, as soon as he blocks and dismantles Lehi, he jumps and shoots, and if two players from the Cavaliers come to surround him, he can definitely dismantle the ball or pass it to the weak side.

James does this a lot, too, and has such an advantage in height and arm length.

James made a lot of effort so that Lehi basically did not enter the interior of the Cavaliers, and it was just a few simple blocks and dismantling covers, and Lehi hit a three-pointer and two two-pointers, and scored 7 points in the first quarter to help the Knicks always maintain the lead.

At this time, James couldn't hold it back, so he began to attack with the ball.

Lehi's defense of James is actually the same as the opponent's defense of him, they all try not to let the other party break in, the difference is that Lehi's shooting ability is better than James's.

If James breaks in, the Knicks will be on the flank right away, and there's nothing to say.

Unlike when he first entered the league, he was only able to fight muscles, and now Lehi's defense will not only rely on the team, but also improve the judgment of defensive timing by several notches, which allows him to limit James as much as possible when his physical fitness is at a loss.

This is also because the Knicks have a strong offense, and the team needs his defense to motivate him to get better step by step.

James, under Lehi's defense, started two attempts, including a three-point miss.

The plan to use the shot to influence Lehi's defense failed, and James quickly adjusted, and the Knicks didn't want him to kill it, so he had to kill it.

Holding the ball and hitting directly, James relied on his physical advantage to accelerate one step and directly knock Lehi away, rushing closer to the basket and shooting.

This move was obviously better, and after hitting two shots in a row, it also caused a foul on Lehi, but it may be more intense, and James only hit one of two free throws.

Seeing that he was about to overwhelm Lehi with a strong offensive momentum, Lehi used a cover and easily hit a three-pointer.

James suddenly felt like vomiting blood, he had to play so hard to score, and Lehi felt too easy to score like this.

James scored 9 points in the first quarter, Lehi scored 12 points, and the difference between the two teams was also 3 points, and the Knicks led 28-25.

It's just the regular season, and when it's time to rotate, the two should still rest.

When the bench is on the court, the difference between the two teams is also obvious, with the Knicks attacking from the outside and the Cavaliers on the inside.

After the main players of the two sides came on the court, the situation changed again, and after Eddie Curry played a few beautiful interior attacks, he made another old mistake and had to go off the court early twice in a row.

The Cavaliers' interior line took advantage of the opportunity, and Gooden and Ilgoskas both hit back-to-back shots to overtake the score.

At the critical moment, Lehi hit another three-pointer, and then Marbury and Francis both hit three-pointers, and the Knicks not only overtook the score at once, but also led more than before.

The gap between the Cavaliers and the Knicks is also on display, and even if James and Lehi can cancel each other out, the Knicks are more Lehi than the Cavaliers' players, making them a little difficult to resist.

Seeing that the gap was about to go up to double digits, James also played the strength of a top player, after hitting the mid-range shot, he sent two assists to his teammates in a row, and 1.2 seconds before the end of the first half, James broke through Lehi's defense and scored 2+1 on David Lee's shot, chasing the score gap to only 5 points.

"James can let him score, but it's going to separate him from the rest of the Cavaliers and not let them continue to score inside." At halftime, Lehi said solemnly.

"You can handle James, we can handle the interior." Eddie Curry muttered quietly.

Marbury put a straight face in support of Lehi, "I'm sure Lee will be fine, Eddie, you have to do what you say." ”

Eddie Curry stopped talking for a while, and Lehi had a good relationship with Marbury, Francis and others, which is why he was able to maintain his voice on the team.

And the basis of all this is that the team can keep winning.

'Of course I'm okay and defensively, I want people to take it as seriously as I do. Lehi said indifferently.

On the court in the second half, Lehi saw James with a serious face and immediately said trash talk, "LeBron, you have to let me shoot a few three-pointers, otherwise the Cavaliers will lose this game." ”

James knew that Lehi was interfering with him, but after Lehi hit another three-pointer, he couldn't hold back anymore. (To be continued.) )