If I were Yi Di in the NBA

Chapter 186

As the No. [-] team in the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers have always been a difficult team for the Thunder.

The Cavaliers' defense is good enough, and there is superstar James, it is not easy to deal with.

In the past two seasons, the Cavaliers have firmly ranked first in the Northeast, but in the playoffs, they did not go well.

As the favorite of heaven, James has always been good enough on the basketball court. He must not be able to bear without a championship for a long time.

So if the Cavaliers can't go any further, he will definitely leave.

A superstar, in other words, a cash cow, the Cavaliers certainly don't want him to leave.

In order to help James find a helper, the Cavaliers are not stingy, as long as someone comes, a premium is fine.

In a small ball market, the Cavaliers are really a generous team.

It's just that the real peak stars didn't come to play in the small ball market.

Superstars can also make money in a small ball market, but ordinary stars are not comfortable.

The helpers that led the Cavaliers to find James were either quasi-All-Star or aging stars.

Ben Wallace last season and O'Neal this season are both too old.

The Cavaliers were the strongest defensive team last season. The arrival of O'Neal this season has changed some of the team's style. Their defense is still good, but they are not the strongest anymore, but their offense has improved a bit.

However, the team is still only strong enough with James, and there are always injuries.

In this case, the Cavaliers can still secure the No. [-] in the East, which is also considered capable.

That is, if the weak link of the Cavaliers is targeted in the playoffs, it is hard to say whether they can withstand it.

James' style of play requires a lot of ball possession, which is a bit like a forward point guard. It can guarantee the lower limit, but the upper limit still needs a better scorer to assist.

The Thunder always can't take advantage of the Cavaliers. The big reason is that James' personal strength is good enough and he has both offense and defense.

James suppressed Durant every time, and it was difficult for Yi Jian to lead the team to win by himself.

However, the Thunder is getting stronger and stronger, but the Cavaliers are still the same.

As long as James can't completely suppress Durant, or other players in the Cavaliers can stand up, the result of the game will be different.

Unlike the Cavs, the Thunder have more than one way to win.

In this game, the Cavaliers lineup is not complete.

Both Xiaomo and West are short of games, and their back line will be a little short.

The absence of Williams, the team's second scoring point, will also affect the Cavaliers' offensive efficiency.

Players have remained healthy, which may also be an important reason for the Thunder's good record during this period.

Yi Jian usually pays great attention to this aspect and reminds others from time to time.

Although it is impossible to completely prevent injuries, it is success to reduce everyone's injuries.

After the game started, James suppressed Durant again.

But Yi Jian also slapped Hickson at the fourth position of the Cavaliers.

In terms of strengths, the two teams have their own advantages, but the difference is that the Thunder have more scoring points.

Durant was very upset that he couldn't beat James, but he didn't stubbornly want to match James.

In the second half of the first quarter, Durant began to seek dislocation.

After Durant's offense got better and better, the Thunder also had more tactics.

Among them are Lowry and Durant pick-and-roll, and Durant singles the opponent's guard.

When Durant feels good, the Thunder's tactics will increase. At this time, Yi Jian will go inside to attract the opponent's defensive attention, which is difficult for many teams.

Because he has good teammates, he is also worried that the team will fail after he is off the court. Although Yi Jian has the most ball possessions, he does not have all the balls like James.

He didn't average a lot of time per game this season. He rested off the court, and when Durant led the team alone, he also had a lot of misplaced singles operations.

The Cavaliers' defense is good, but it is mainly overall, and only a few people are good in single defense.

And their guards, even if they defend well, can't restrain Durant.

When Durant feels good, he is also like a bug.

However, after Durant found a way, the Thunder still failed to overtake the score.

One is that the Cavaliers are very concerned about Yi Jian's defense. Although the Cavaliers do not have such a good inside line as the Thunder, they do not lack.

In addition to their starters O'Neill and Hickson, Varejao and Big Z are on the bench.

Several of their insiders actually have the ability to start for an average team, and their numbers also have a certain impact on Yi Jian.

In addition, James feels too good today.

He made consecutive hits from beyond the three-point line, which the Thunder's defense couldn't help.

A superstar like James cannot be restricted by himself.

But if you attack from outside the three-point line, the gain is not worth the loss. After all, James is also very good at organizing and is willing to pass the ball.

So unless it is a special case, it is generally the inside to help defend James.

It is also because James is a comprehensive superstar, and shooting is not his strong point.

The characteristics of a star will determine the opponent's defensive strategy against him, but when he can break through the weak link in his characteristics, it will make the opponent's defense in trouble.

When James hits a three-pointer, it's almost the same type of situation.

If it weren't for Durant's feeling, the Thunder would be killed by the opponent like last time.

The Cavaliers are an Eastern Conference team, so the Thunder's research on them is actually not that deep.

Of course, Yi Jian also considered what would happen if he met the Cavaliers in the playoffs.

The Thunder should target James in an all-round way. James is arguably the biggest star in the league right now. If he is restricted, the Cavaliers will not be able to continue to jump.

Looking at it this way, the whole league knows how to defend them, just to see if it is worthwhile.

Now in the regular season, the Thunder will not do such extreme things, and they will not ignore the rotation like they did in the playoffs, just to limit a certain player.

In analysis, the Thunder don't need to worry about the Cavaliers.

In the regular season, Yi Jian won't play so much time, and won't be so desperate to consume the opponent's star, so as to save himself from not getting benefits from the team he will play against later, so it depends on the performance of both offensive and defensive ends.

In order to limit James, the Thunder must not let Durant consume too much energy on defense, so they often switch defenses.

James is also very capable of drawing fouls, but the Thunder's inside line bears half of it.

For other fouls, the Thunder's wing players can still bear it.

As for the Thunder on the offensive end, Yi Jian did damage inside, Durant did damage on the outside, and the Cavaliers didn't have enough outside, so they couldn't stand it.

So James often has to consume energy on the defensive end, and he needs to rush to consume it. After all, Durant's outside line is too rare, and the Cavaliers' small guards are not very useful.

Yi Jian also consumed a lot on the defensive end, but who made the Thunder able to play more people?

Yi Jian didn't need to grab everything this season, this was Thunder's advantage.

"It's really strong. This time Thunder must take advantage of the momentum of winning streak to kill the Cavaliers."

"Intense, the Thunder played very well today."

"Haha, with Emperor Yi here, James didn't dare to rush in, kill James!"

(End of this chapter)