NBA: Since James left the Cavaliers

"Dudu!"

A whistle sounded, and the game officially started!
The two sides jumped the ball in the middle circle, and the Lakers won the first wave of offense!

Kobe took the ball across the half court, and all the fans were looking forward to the moment when he will face off with Long Rui.

However, this group of top-ranked matchups did not take place as scheduled, so it was not Long Rui who stood in front of Kobe, but Jimmy Butler.

"What's the situation? How to let Butler guard Kobe?"

"That's right, how did the Cavaliers arrange it? How could such a wonderful matchup be missed like this?"

This scene after the opening immediately made many fans complain.

The reason they were looking forward to this game so much was because they wanted to see the matchup between Kobe and Long Rui, but they didn't expect it to be like this.

"Sigh... maybe the Cavaliers have some special arrangements. After all, they are now in the third game of a four-game losing streak. It may consume a lot of energy. I don't want Long Rui to be too tired on the defensive end. After all, defending Kobe is very hard."

"Also, Butler's defensive ability is also good, and he still has a certain advantage in height. It is also a good choice to use him to defend Kobe."

Some fans also began to speculate on the intention of the Cavaliers to do so, and this explanation seems to be completely justified.

However, this is not the case.

Long Rui decided on the spot to let Butler defend Kobe, and even head coach Byron Scott didn't know about it, but since it was Long Rui's arrangement, there must be a reason for him, so Scott didn't Ask more.

Before this game, Kobe also watched the performance of the Cavaliers this season, and he also had a certain image of Butler, a rookie.

In the past games of the Cavaliers, Butler was very active on the defensive end, and he always used his defense to silently contribute to the team.

Although his statistics are not good-looking, his contribution on the field cannot be reflected by that little statistics.

Regardless of these, his positive attitude alone is worth learning for many players.

Kobe knew Butler was tough defensively, so he didn't dare to underestimate him.

For the first offense in the opening game, Kobe planned to handle it himself. He didn't go to the front to make a hard picture of Butler, but chose to let Gasol come up to cover him.

With this cover, he staggered the matchup with Butler, and the person in front of him became Hickson who switched defenses.

Compared to Butler, Hickson's defense is inferior.

After switching defenses, Kobe started immediately!
After shaking continuously, he resorted to the signature 'throwing stones for directions', using a rhythm change, skillfully threw off Hixon, and then made a mid-to-long-range jumper!

'Shuh! '

The wonderful sound of netting sounded, and the Lakers took the lead in scoring!

Although Kobe's speed has declined, his skills have reached the peak. In one-on-one matchups, few people can limit him.

The set of moves just now is very chic, and the iconic shooting is also picturesque. Coupled with his paranoid temperament, he has countless fans all over the world.

Looking back, the Cavaliers sent the baseline ball.

Curry was about to run forward, but was stopped by Long Rui.

"Stephen, today you come to organize."

As soon as the words fell, Long Rui passed the ball, and he ran towards the frontcourt with his head buried, and came to the bottom corner.

Curry looked at Long Rui's figure and couldn't help frowning slightly. Long Rui didn't make such arrangements before the game, was it a temporary decision again?
He didn't have time to think about it, and began to organize seriously.

Compared with last season, Curry's organizational ability has improved to a certain extent. His current thinking is very clear, and there will be no major problems in organizing any set of tactics.

Outside the three-point line, Curry constantly signaled his teammates to move.

After several transmissions, Long Rui's bottom corner was actually emptied.

The basketball passed through the gap and was accurately delivered to Long Rui's hands.

Catch and shoot!
"Bang!"

The sound of striking iron sounded, the basketball bounced out of the frame, and the Lakers took advantage of the opportunity to accept the backcourt rebound.

Curry glanced at Long Rui intentionally or unintentionally. This kind of ball really shouldn't be for Long Rui.

However, this may be because of the first shot in the opening game, so the feeling is still a little tight, and it is normal to not make a shot.

But after the next meeting, Long Rui had an open chance again, but this time he still couldn't make the ball.

It doesn't look like Long Rui has thrown the ball twice in a row. Is it because he is too tired these days?

At this time, only Yi Jianlian and Kobe probably knew the reason.

Yi Jianlian ran to Long Rui's side, and said quietly, "If it's really not working, we'll end up and rest."

Long Rui glanced at him, nodded slightly, and didn't say much.

His third shot will come soon, and this time, Long Rui seized the opportunity and scored his first goal of the game.

When everyone saw Long Rui's goal, they also breathed a sigh of relief. It seems that they just didn't feel like it just now.

But what happened next made Curry and others very puzzled. After making that goal, Long Rui hit the iron again, and there were still three in a row.

It has been more than five minutes since the game started, and this is the first time that Long Rui has made 6 of 1 shots on the offensive end.

Coupled with his various abnormal behaviors today, it has to be thought-provoking.

"What's going on? Why is Long Rui in such a bad state today?"

"No wonder he gave the ball to Curry, is it too tired?"

When Long Rui's fans saw his performance, they also became a little worried.

Long Rui's sluggish performance on the offensive end also gradually put the Cavaliers at a disadvantage.

Halfway through the first quarter, it entered the official timeout.

The current score between the two sides is 8:15, and the Cavaliers are 7 points behind.

Such a situation is unavoidably reminiscent of the previous battle with the Heat.

But in that game, the Cavaliers were tied with their opponents at least in the first half, but in today's game, they fell into a disadvantage from the beginning.

Could it be that the Cavaliers really can't do it when they meet a strong team?

After seeing their performance in the first half of the first quarter, such voices of doubt reappeared.

At the moment, the Cavaliers are on the bench.

Long Rui gulped down the water, his jersey was already wet with sweat.

It's only been 6 minutes of the game, and Long Rui didn't run much, how could he be sweating so much?

Scott looked at Long Rui, who was covered in sweat, and became suspicious.

"Long Rui, are you okay?"

Scott couldn't help asking.

"I'm fine, maybe I'm a little tired, so my condition is not very good, I will adjust as soon as possible."

Long Rui's answer was very powerful, but it was just a fake.

Hearing this answer, Scott didn't say anything more.

A moment later, the timeout ends and the game resumes.