basketball boulder

Chapter 372 Cavaliers vs 76ers
The Cavaliers eliminated the Raptors 4-3.

In the civil war of the 03 session, James was slightly better than Bosh and TJ Ford in the end.

……

At this point, the list of matchups for the divisional semifinals has been released.

Spurs vs. Suns.

Grizzlies vs Warriors.

76ers vs Cavaliers.

Magic vs Pistons.

……

The Grizzlies immediately invested in the study of the Warriors.

The characteristics of the Warriors are actually very distinct. They are the fast break team second only to the Suns in the league.

This season, the Suns averaged 110.2 points per game, ranking first in the league.

In second place is the Golden State Warriors, who averaged 106.5 points per game.

106.5 points may be particularly low in the small ball era, but it was an amazing statistic at the beginning of the century.

You have to know that this season, two-thirds of the teams averaged less than triple digits per game.

The Eagles, the last in the league, averaged only 93.7 points per game.

In this era, the Warriors are a very scoring team.

Another characteristic of the Warriors is that they take a lot of three-pointers.

This season, the Warriors are averaging 24 shots per game from beyond the arc.

Still in a horizontal comparison, this statistic may be common in the small ball era, but it is number one in today's league.

In second place is the Suns, also 24 times, but a few tenths less than the Warriors.

The third-placed Lakers have 21.

The fourth-ranked Nets have 20.4 times.

In the entire league, only four teams average more than 20 three-pointers per game.

The last place in the league is the Los Angeles Clippers, averaging 11 three-pointers per game.

In other words, the Warriors shot 2.5 times as many three-pointers as others.

In response to these characteristics, the Grizzlies launched training.

……

Two days later, the divisional semifinals kicked off.

The Grizzlies didn't have a game on the first day, so they went to watch the game between the 76ers and the Cavaliers collectively.

The starting lineup of the 76ers is very familiar, or Yao Ming, Joe Smith, Iguodala, Korver, and Iverson.

The Cavaliers are: Big Z, Gooden, James, Hughes, Gibson.

The 76ers have a strong lineup, but the Cavaliers are not bad either.

Big Z is a two-time All-Star, Gooden is an outstanding big player in the same class as Yao Ming, Hughes was once the defensive first team and the steal king, averaging 22 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.9 steals per game at the peak, Gibson's Scoring ability and precise three-pointers are also very good.

In addition, there are also a group of outstanding role players such as Don Yale Marshall, Anderson Varejao, Damon Jones, and Eric Snow sitting on the bench.

Most importantly, they have LeBron James!

The major media predict that the 76ers have a higher winning rate, but the win will not be easy.

The series will play at least 6 games, and even the tiebreaker.

But after the game really started, the situation exceeded everyone's expectations.

At the beginning of the game, Yao Ming forced the 221cm big Z in the low position.

Both are giants, but the difference in weight between them is too big, Big Z has no power to resist in front of Yao Ming,
Yao Ming chiseled twice, turned around and caught the hook, and easily scored 76 points for the 2ers.

When it was the Cavaliers' turn to attack, James had the ball without a doubt.

Compared with the later Heat and Lakers period, James at this time is also a "ball bully".But the difference is that at this time, James is a big star.

James will hold the team's last attack in his own hands; if he misses five consecutive shots, he will insist on the sixth shot; while attacking with all his strength, he will also defend seriously.

Unexpectedly, the 1.0 James turned out to be such a guy.

James also had a lot of assists during this period, but he played by himself at critical moments.

In the face of Iguodala, James' first breakthrough failed.

Observe carefully, "little AI" Iguodala is quite strong, especially the two unicorn arms are extremely amazing.

James' biggest advantage on the court is his strength, but facing Iguodala, this advantage is not that great.

This is why James returned without success just now.

So James called the pick-and-roll.

In the Grizzlies watching the game, Carlisle looked at Li Lei and Milicic: "This guy in your class is really smart. He knows how to use his advantages and avoid his weaknesses. Such a guy will definitely going to be a superstar."

Milicic nodded dully.

Li Lei smiled slightly: "He is indeed very smart, only slightly worse than me."

Hahaha!
The crowd laughed.

This season, Li Lei's temperament has changed, he has become more and more confident, and has gradually accumulated a domineering aura.

In the past, he probably would not have said such arrogant words.

However, the Grizzlies are not disgusted, but think it should be.

The boss of the team, of course, should be domineering, otherwise who will convince you?
Back to the game between the 76ers and the Cavaliers.

After the pick-and-roll, James got rid of Iguodala, accelerated into the paint, and was about to bomb the basket.

But at this time, a giant blocked his way.

Yao Ming stretched out his hand and slapped James away.

The 76ers got the ball, made a defensive counterattack, and scored another 2 points.

4: 0.

Carlisle frowned.

Li Lei also shook his head.

Yao Ming in this life has also gained weight, but not as exaggeratedly as in the previous life. His body is lighter, so he is more flexible, has a larger defensive range, and has faster steps.

As long as he is at the basket, it is a disaster for any breakthrough player.

Especially James, whose mid-range and long-range shots are unstable, and most of his offense relies on breakthroughs, has no choice but to meet Yao Ming.

The 8 minutes of the first quarter almost became Yao Ming's performance moment.

On the offensive end, the Cavaliers couldn't defend Yao Ming at all.

If the Cavaliers dare to double-team, Yao Ming's teammates Korver, Joe Smith, Iguodala, and Iverson all have good shooting ability, and they will punish the Cavaliers immediately.

On the defensive end, Yao Ming stood inside, not only limiting James.

Larry Hughes, the Cavaliers' second-in-command, is actually a breakthrough player, and he is even more powerless against Yao Ming.

Coach Mike Brown later made tactical adjustments and wanted to pull Yao Ming out of military training.

However, the 76ers seemed to have a long-awaited arrangement. Yao Ming stayed at the basket and Joe Smith went out to defend.Just like the Heat in the past, Haslem worked hard to prevent O'Neal from getting out of the basket.

Under the leadership of Yao Ming, the 76ers got off to a perfect start.

Eight minutes into the first quarter, the score was 8:19.

At this time, the 76ers replaced Yao Ming with Dalembert.

The Cavaliers breathed a sigh of relief, with excitement in their eyes, probably because they felt that the opportunity to chase points had come.

As a result, the Cavaliers fired all their firepower and wanted to narrow the 8-point difference.

The operation was as fierce as a tiger, and when the first quarter was over, the score was 26:15.

The difference is bigger.

The Cavaliers probably forgot that they faced a four-time NBA scoring champion, the son of Philadelphia, Allen Iverson.

In the first half, Iverson played off the ball and cooperated with Yao Ming all the way, which made the Cavaliers ignore his existence.

But when Iverson grabbed the basketball again, the Cavaliers knew what a real nightmare was.

Of course, this is not the most amazing thing.

Memphis.

Coach Carlisle sighed: "Iverson, he is willing to play for Yao Ming and share the possession of the ball. He can do this."

Li Lei nodded, thought for a while, and suddenly said, "The champion of the Eastern Conference should be the 76ers."

(End of this chapter)