Nov. 27, Cleveland, Gunder Coliseum.

The Chicago Bulls, who came from afar, are experiencing the devil's seven consecutive visits, and the team's overall mental state is obviously not as good as the home team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In other words, the Cavaliers are also in the limelight now, with 8 wins and 4 losses in the opening game, ranking third in the East!

It is worth mentioning that just two days ago, Cavaliers big man LeBron James also won an Eastern Conference Player of the Week honor.

Now, the two best rookies of the 03-04 season meet tonight.

This is doomed, the debate about the strength of the two will inevitably have a result tonight!

Tonight's much-anticipated battle will tell the fans who is the king and who is the king!

However, tonight's game was a little unfair to Doon, as the seven-game road schedule had too much impact on the Bulls' players.

From the jump ball session, the Bulls players did not show great form.

Big Z helped the Cavaliers jump to the ball, and the Bulls put on a tight defensive attitude, but the effect was mediocre.

James gets the ball up front, and Doon steps forward to die entangled.

Because it was a star-to-star conversation, Doon got in on from time to time to hinder James' breakthrough, and the referee didn't blow the whistle.

James' dribbling was heavily affected by Doon, and he couldn't hold the ball halfway through the dribble, so he hurriedly passed the ball to his teammates.

At the same time, he also asked Drew Gooden to come out of the low post to block him and help block the troublesome guy Dourne.

However, when Doon saw James call for a pick-and-roll, he didn't mean to squeeze the cover, but immediately retreated to the three-point line.

James received the ball with his hand and was about to burst to the basket when he found Doon who appeared in front of him and did not shoot at the break.

At the same time, I noticed that the Bulls put on a two-three defense, and the space under the basket was extremely small at the moment.

So, choose to vote for one first to try the feel.

In fact, James has always liked to shoot three-point shots, and has averaged more than 4 three-point shots per game all year round.

Because of the high efficiency of three-point scoring and the fact that no one will guard his three-point shot, James has a good three-point shooting percentage in the regular season.

In addition, James has not gained weight today, although he is a little stronger than last year, but he still looks a little elegant, worthy of Cleveland Wheat Dee.

However, Doon still takes defending James very seriously.

Seeing James jump out of his hand, he immediately stepped forward to block it.

James is not allowed to return, but Doon can't really let James shoot!

Perhaps, it was because of Doon's interference that James' first three-point attempt failed.

The basketball smashed into the hoop, and the rebound was quickly picked up by Josh Smith, who was left inside and didn't come out.

Josh Smith immediately passed the ball to Doon, who was on a fast break, and James was able to return to the defense in time, but made a sharp stop on the wing to attract the defenders, and then passed the ball to Roel Deng, who also played the transition offense.

Ira Newbell, who defends Rohr Deng, was born in the draft, and although the defense is tough and dares to fight, the physical quality is still much worse than Roel Deng.

Even if Ira Newbell grabbed Rohr Deng's clothes under the basket, he couldn't limit Roel Deng's scoring.

2-0, the Bulls scored two points in tandem with Doane.

However, in the blink of an eye, the Cavaliers also immediately grabbed the baseline ball and started a transition attack.

The consecutive away games have consumed a lot of physical strength and spirit of the Bulls players, and because they are not in shape, the enthusiasm to return to defense tonight is not so high.

Although the Cavaliers' big Z slowed down the offensive speed, others were able to keep up with James' pace.

Doon desperately limited James' breakaways and stood still and waited for James to jump before blocking, rather than anticipating James' layup after three steps.

James took an extra step and found that he hadn't found the right attacking opportunity, so he chose to split the ball to Jeff McGinnis in the bottom corner.

Jeff McGinnis did not hesitate after receiving the ball and made a direct three-point shot, and at this time, Ben Gordon was late and pounced towards Jeff McGinnis in the bottom corner.

Obviously, the defense was not successful this time. With an open shot, Jeff McGinnis hit a three-pointer from the bottom corner to help the Cavaliers overtake the score.

"Brothers, cheer up! We're a playoff team and we need to take home the win! ”

Doon clapped his hands to attract the attention of his teammates and gave them a lecture.

"We have the speed advantage in the transition attack and we can score points with the counter-attack!

I'm going to pass you the ball and you can do even better!

Don't think your opponents are strong, don't forget that we beat the defending champions! ”

Doon had supposed to win the stats and win the game tonight, but it was clear that he had to give his teammates a little sweetness and draw them some more pie tonight.

After all, they have reached the tired period of working overtime, and now they just want to go home to rest, and they naturally have to be lazy if they can be lazy.

They didn't take tonight's game too seriously, but Doon couldn't afford not to take it lightly.

For Doon, the best rookie was rubbed, and this grudge had to be resolved by his own hands.

And if you want to defeat the current Cavaliers, who are still good in the East, you have to rely on the strength of your teammates.

After all, Doon is also a human being, and after playing six away games in a row, he is already quite tired.

Regardless of the mental state, the physical fitness is not very abundant.

"Boss, I won't let you down." Ben Gordon raised his hand.

"Okay, let's serve!" Doon smiled in response.

It quickly got a pass from Ben Gordon and then handed him the ball back to him for half the pitch.

Coming to the frontcourt, the Cavaliers' strategy of defending the Bulls is relatively simple, just pinching the ball carrier and the three-two defense.

Caught in the trap, Doon immediately distributed the ball to Ben Gordon and then ran off the ball to the bottom corner.

James didn't choose to chase Doon, just let Ira Newbell entangle all the way.

The Bulls played a simpler game, with Tyson Chandler coming forward to cover and catch the ball along the way.

Doon took advantage of Tyson Chandler's cover to get rid of Ira Newbell's defense, then picked up the ball with his hands and burst straight to the basket.

Big Z was forced to defend in front of Doon, and Doon tried to fly Big Z, but the latter was unmoved.

Since he couldn't make a foul, Doon had to throw the ball to Josh Smith under the empty basket.

Buckle big center +1!

Josh Smith got off the basket and immediately returned to the defense.

Doane's teammates who had just inspired him, and the Bulls' return defense was timely this time.

Even though Big Z immediately sent the ball out, the Cavaliers still couldn't take advantage of the fleeting opportunity to switch offense.

In a positional battle, the Cavaliers can only try it first by James blocking.

However, Doon's defensive style of covering and not breaking through made James particularly uncomfortable.

James couldn't use the pick-and-roll to change to the small guard, and seeing that there was not much time to attack, he could only try to change the rhythm of the dribble under his crotch and shake off Doon's center of gravity.

However, Doon has a lot of experience in defense, and he only moves in small steps, and does not expose any flaws.

With nothing to do, James passed the ball to Drew Gooden, who was pulled to the perimeter.

Drew Gooden's basket is okay, but he doesn't shoot three-pointers, and he's good at mid-range and long-two.

It was also because of the lack of time that Drew Gooden could only take one step to the three-point line immediately and then shoot two points longer.

But in this way, Josh Smith can defend from the inside.

Duang

Drew Gooden missed the ball, and the rebound happened to be grabbed by Doon, and the Bulls immediately went on a fast break.

Because Doon said that he would pass the ball to his teammates when switching offense, the Bulls starters were as fierce as tigers on fast breaks.

For a while, the Cavaliers didn't know how to defend, so they could only block under the basket.

Seeing this, Doon immediately suddenly launched a cold arrow and chased down the three-point shot.

In the case of abundant physical strength, Doon has a three-point shooting rate of about 40% on top shots, and now the opportunity to shoot in a big vacancy will naturally not be grasped.

Brush –

The ball went in, and Doon grabbed ahead of James and took the lead to complete the individual score.

However, as soon as Doon turned his head back to defense, he found that James had rushed to the frontcourt.

By the time Doon returned to the backcourt, the long pass from the Cavaliers' side had already arrived.

This kind of ball is difficult to defend, and Doon can only sit back and watch James receive the ball and complete the dunk, and then immediately go forward to pick up the ball and send it to his teammates.

At this time, the Cavaliers retreated to the backcourt early, and the Bulls could only play positional battles.

The Bulls played relatively simply, still initiated by Doon, and after being trapped, they shared the ball, and then there was no ball to attract the defense.

The Cavaliers' defensive focus was still mainly on Doon, and when he found Doon running to the basket, he immediately turned his head to look at Doon.

Not wanting Ben Gordon to break through with the ball to the mid-range, James immediately stepped forward and took an extra step forward after Ben Gordon jumped.

Fortunately, Ben Gordon was worried about James's block, so he specially increased the flinch and fell directly backwards after the shot, and did not step on James's instep.

The shot was also good, because James didn't even jump, and it didn't cause much interference at all, and Ben Gordon hit it from mid-range.

In this way, the score difference is further widened.

Doon stepped forward to pull Ben Gordon up, and James took the opportunity to run to the frontcourt, wanting to play more and less.

However, Rohr Deng returned to the defense in a timely manner, and when James burst into the box, Roel Deng had already returned to the basket.

Of course, rookies are rookies after all, and in terms of defensive experience, Roel Deng still lacks a little.

Because James' breakthrough moves were so coherent, the referee didn't mind him taking a few extra steps.

Luol Deng has a pre-predictive early jump block, which is naturally leak-proof.

However, just after James made a layup, another pair of big hands emerged from behind James.

Josh Smith made it back in time to give James a big hot pot.

However, because he didn't control his body, he hit James after the block, and the referee blew a whistle.

After falling, James quickly got up from the floor and asked the referee to comment on it.

It turned out that the referee blew for a foul on Roel Deng, not Josh Smith.

I have to say that the referee is still quite professional, Josh Smith blocked towards the ball, and did not touch his hand at all, this kind of whistle must not be blown.

But if you want to give James some star whistles and home whistles, then you can only blow the whistle on Rohr Deng, but James is not very satisfied with this.

Perhaps because of his dissatisfaction, James missed the first free throw.

Roel Deng and Josh Smith said in unison: "Basketball doesn't lie!" ”

Duang

Perhaps disturbed by trash talk, James, who was affected by his mentality, missed two free throws in a row.

The Bulls relied on the basket to have a lot of people, and the rebound was pocketed by Tyson Chandler.

Immediately after that, under the organization of Doon, Roel Deng deducted his emotions and scored 2 points again.

Roel Deng usually practiced a lot with Doon, and he also received special training from Doon, so he knew that when he dunked quickly, in order to prevent the opponent from breaking fast, he needed a shark splash to fly the top of the ball.

In normal times, Luo Deng has also practiced this movement many times, and now it is very successful.

The Cavaliers had to go out of the baseline to pick up the ball, and the Bulls took the opportunity to return to defense, and there was no way to play a fast attack, so they could only play positional battles.

James also knew that it would definitely not work to play like this.

Many teams are like the Bulls who limit him, that is, defend him alone, consume him, delay time with positional warfare, and let him work alone.

In other teams, he can also switch to the front of the small defender and rely on his individual ability to score the ball.

But when you meet Doon and the Bulls in front of you, the result of not making progress is that the Bulls will inevitably fight back.

Knowing that the Bulls are not easy to handle, James can only change his style of play, pass the ball to Big Z, and let Big Z finish under the basket.

One thing to say, Tyson Chandler is really no match for Big Z, even if the defensive level has improved now.

But Big Z is an All-Star center after all, can shoot, and is so tall that Tyson Chandler basically can't defend against it.

However, not every goal can be scored by Big Z.

As long as they can't score, the Bulls will immediately play a fast attack, and it will be difficult for the Cavaliers to defend the Bulls' transition offense.

After a few rounds, Paul Silas saw that the situation was not right, and immediately replaced Big Z, sent more shooters to James, and helped James open up space.

However, the Bulls are still Doane's leading defense, two or three defenses.

Seeing that James was still dribbling, Doon smiled and said, "LeBron, you're too team, aren't you?" How can you just pass the ball and not score? ”

(End of chapter)