Chapter 109: Heat's lineup change is effective? The Cavaliers' two stars overwhelm the Heat's Big Three!

Chapter 109

Before the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals, the predictions from the media and basketball forums were almost fifty-fifty, and the Heat's Big Three even had a bigger advantage.

However, when the Cavaliers retained their home court and defeated the Heat relatively easily, the predictions of the media and basketball forums changed.

The odds of predicting the Cavaliers to win the series are rising rapidly.

Almost 80 percent of the votes believe that the Cavaliers will make it to the finals.

The Western Conference Finals was also very intense. The Thunder and the Mavericks met again. The Thunder's big four, who had grown over the year, were stronger overall.

The defending champion Mavericks seemed to have overdrawn their luck last year and their players are also relatively old.

In the first Western Conference Finals, the Mavericks played very tough in the first half and the score was very close.

Nowitzki, who was nearing the end of his career, began to compete with the young Durant.

The shooting of these two players is top-notch and basically impossible to defend. It just depends on who has a hotter touch.

Moreover, Nowitzki's one-legged stand and Durant's unstoppable mid-range shot are the team's first offensive means.

After the first half, the Mavericks led by only 2 points.

The competition in the third quarter became more intense, and Nowitzki's shooting percentage began to decline under Ibaka's defense.

And Westbrook of the Thunder suddenly broke out.

His breakthroughs, pull-up jump shots, and passing the ball to the Mavericks made it difficult for the Mavericks to cope with him.

Under Westbrook's impact, the Thunder not only reversed the score, but also surpassed it, and the gap became larger and larger.

In the end, the Thunder retained their home court and took a 1-0 lead!

Although Nowitzki is in his 30s, he still played 39 minutes and scored 31 points.

Durant played for 35 minutes and scored 33 points, which was also very efficient.

. . . .

The second game of the Eastern Conference Finals has also begun.

Heat head coach Spoelstra made decisive adjustments to the starting lineup.

He replaced the 2-foot-21 center Ilgauskas with Haslem.

This adjustment did lower the height, but the lineup became more mobile.

Moreover, Haslem's defensive effectiveness is not much worse than Ilgauskas's, because Ilgauskas moves too slowly, and there is nothing that can be done about it.

This is a common problem for white centers. Their static talents are good, but their dynamic talents are much worse than those of black players.

In addition, Ilgauskas' jumping ability is very weak, and his rim protection ability is not as good as expected.

Haslem is very energetic and actively helps with defense, and is the most suitable inside player for the Heat's Big Three.

And Haslem has excellent pick-and-roll and rebounding skills, which makes the Heat's offensive tactics more diverse and difficult to defend.

In the Heat's previous games, Haslem often burst out from the bench and caught the opponent off guard.

Spoelstra's substitution was a brilliant move, and he acted like a famous coach!

In the first half, the cooperation between Haslem and the Big Three yielded certain results, which made the Cavaliers players uncomfortable.

Mainly in the first game, the Heat were slowed down by Ilgauskas.

And the second game was ridiculously fast.

In addition, the Heat resolutely adopted the "stay away from Wang Yan" tactic on the offensive end.

This made it impossible for Wang Yan to use his strength on the defensive end.

In the first quarter, both sides basically played against each other and the scores were almost the same.

Wang Yan was not as excited as in the first game. He reduced his ball possession and played team basketball.

In the second quarter, Wang Yan began to strengthen his personal offense.

However, the Heat's Flash Wade started to get angry. He kept forcing Butler and Irving to play a wave.

Scott had no choice but to call a timeout.

It seems that the entire Heat team resolutely implemented the "stay away from Wang Yan" tactic and it was very successful.

The other Cavaliers players couldn't defend against the experienced Wade.

After all, Jordan, who was 5 cm shorter, even surpassed Kobe in terms of breakthrough and scoring explosiveness.

At the end of the first half, the score between the two teams was 57:56, with the Cavaliers leading by only 1 point.

This made the Cavaliers' home fans feel vaguely uneasy.

Mainly because the fans are spoiled.

In previous games, the Cavaliers always led by a large margin in the first half, and then won the game with a wave of momentum in the second half.

Today, the game was so close to the opponent in the first half that the fans were not used to it.

During the half-time break, Scott took the initiative to find Wang Yan and wanted to discuss countermeasures with him.

Wang Yan is now the king of Cleveland and is popular wherever he goes.

Everyone also knows that Scott's coaching ability is average, and the Cavaliers' big explosion this season is thanks to Wang Yan.

But Wang Yan remained very low-key and always maintained due respect for Scott.

"Wang, the Heat's offense is very sharp, and they execute the tactics of staying away from you, which is better than other teams. Do you think there is any way to crack it?"

Wang Yan smiled and said, "It's okay, coach. Irving and I will do our best in the third quarter. Just wait and see!"

What Scott was worried about was that Wang Yan would be anxious.

In terms of ability, he is absolutely confident in Wang Yan, but he is a first-year rookie after all. If he is pushed too hard, he may fall into the opponent's trap.

You have to know that the guys on the other side are all cunning and treacherous.

Now that Scott saw that Wang Yan was not in a hurry at all, he felt relieved.

The second half of the game began.

The Heat players' morale was high and they seemed to see hope of victory.

So they changed their bad mood from the previous game and walked onto the court chatting and laughing with each other.

The Cavaliers players, on the other hand, had serious expressions.

Wang Yan walked onto the court with his arm around Irving's shoulders, talking in a low voice, and Irving nodded repeatedly.

The third quarter begins.

The Cavaliers attacked and Irving advanced to the frontcourt with the ball.

Bosh and Haslem double-teamed Wang Yan from the front and back.

But Wang Yan suddenly started and moved to a high position to cover Irving.

Bosh and the other man were worried that Wang Yan had the ball, so they had to follow him.

But Wang Yan suddenly ran back and rushed into the penalty area. Irving was quick-eyed and quick-handed, throwing the ball into the basket. Wang Yan caught the ball and dunked it, bang!

Wang Yan and Irving played this little tactic to perfection, and the Heat had no way to stop it.

However, the Heat are not worried because this is similar to the first half, and they believe that the Cavaliers cannot defend against the Heat's offense.

James advanced with the ball, continuing to execute the tactic of staying away from Wang Yan, and passed the ball to Wade on the right.

At this time, Wang Yan was on the left side of the paint area.

Unexpectedly, the Cavaliers' defensive formation suddenly changed!
Wang Yan yelled, and the whole team started to play a joint defense.

Zone defense is a collective defensive method. In the NBA in the last century, zone defense was not allowed. Only the International Basketball Federation allowed zone defense.

Because zone defense will affect the look of the game.

Just like the Seven Star Formation of the Quanzhen Seven Sons, the team defense can allow players with average defensive abilities to perform better defensively.

In order to align with the International Basketball Federation, the NBA later also allowed zone defense.

The Cavaliers had average defensive abilities except for Wang Yan, so Wang Yan decided to use a zone defense against the Heat. This move was too clever!

If it's just a zone defense, the effect won't be that good.

But with Wang Yan's joint defense, the power was too great, because Wang Yan covered the restricted area alone.

Coupled with his movement speed, he can expand the defensive range at any time.

At this point, the Heat's offense came to a standstill.

After Wade received the ball, he rushed left and right, but was trapped by Butler and Irving.

When he passed the ball to James, Butler and Jamison double-teamed James again.

This is the advantage of zone defense. Butler, as a player with better defense, can fill in the position at any time.

And when James passed the ball to Bosh in the interior, it was back to the sphere of influence controlled by Wang Yan!

The Heat struggled on offense but couldn't find the best time to shoot, and the Cavaliers actually forced a 24-second violation.

Transition of possession!

The fans in the stadium were cheering.

Preventing a 24-second violation is an insult to the offensive team and is very demoralizing.

The Big Three are all a bit embarrassed.

Cavaliers attack.

This time, Wang Yan once again made a one-man breakthrough and killed his way across half the court.

Just when the Heat's Bosh and Haslem were crowded in the penalty area, trying to fight Wang Yan with their flesh and blood, Wang Yan passed the ball.

Whoosh!
Wang Yan passed the ball to Irving on the right without looking at the person.

The Heat's defensive focus was on Wang Yan, so Irving was left open on the right with no one defending him.

Irving's relaxed shooting training, whoosh!
A solid hit!

This is the attraction that Wang Yan brings, creating excellent opportunities for his teammates.

Spoelstra of the Heat couldn't sit still anymore. He stood up and rushed to the sidelines, yelling at the players: "Don't miss anybody! Don't miss anybody!"

However, it is easier said than done, but the players on the court basically play based on instinct.

The players know very well which player poses the greatest threat.

In the next few rounds, the Heat's offense was basically stagnant. Except for Chalmers who made a three-pointer, everyone else was silent.

The Big Three in particular were utterly defeated by the Cavaliers' double-team defense and had no chance to shoot.

More than four minutes into the third quarter, the Cavaliers led by 4 points.

Spoelstra had no choice but to call a timeout.

Wang Yan and Owen high-fived each other and smiled knowingly.

The Cavaliers' playing style is very clear. On the offensive end, they mainly rely on the duo of Wang Yan and Irving, while on the defensive end, the whole team works together to carry out zone defense!

This change in formation in the second half confused the Heat!

All the worries of the home fans in the first half were swept away!

The live broadcast room of China's CCTV Sports Channel is also broadcasting the event live.

Coach Zhang has a very lovable personality. If he sets his sights on someone, he will flatter them to the utmost.

"Haha, we're going to win! I knew in the first half that the Cavaliers would definitely win, hehe!"

Yu Jia smiled and nodded, "Now it depends on Spoelstra's ability to command the team on the spot. The Cavaliers' sudden change of formation has made the Heat very uncomfortable!"

Yang Jian was the most worried in the first half, and he even predicted that the Heat would pull back a game.

"I didn't expect that the Big Three couldn't break through the Cavaliers' double-team defense. Isn't Wade's breakthrough amazing?"

Coach Zhang explained proudly: "Zone defense also depends on who is defending. Wang Yan is in the middle, and the defensive area is too large! Coupled with Butler's help defense, the Cavaliers' defense is impeccable. Unless the Heat can hit three-pointers in a row, they can break the zone defense!"

He was right, but this was 2011, and the three-point shot tactic had not yet become mainstream, and it was basically just an occasional shot.

In the Heat lineup, the only ones who can shoot three-pointers are Chalmers and substitute Kerr, but neither of them is considered an expert.

Therefore, Coach Zhang’s explanation basically means that the Heat have no chance of turning the tables.

After the timeout, players from both teams returned to the court.

Spoelstra still has something. He changed his offensive style, which is to increase mid-range shots and reduce breakthroughs.

James, Wade and Bosh are all good at mid-range shooting, but not top-notch.

Especially James, his mid-range shot depends on his mood. When he is in a good mood, he can make consecutive hits.

If you are in a bad mood, it will be like hammering iron.

However, Wade's mid-range shot becomes stronger when facing stronger opponents. The Flash has very good psychological quality.

In the next few rounds, the Heat's offense eased up, and Wade made consecutive mid-range shots to keep the score close.

On the Cavaliers side, Wang Yan and Irving continued their duo performance, one inside and one outside, with a high success rate.

The score kept fluctuating between 9 and 11 points.

Just when the fans thought the stalemate was going to continue, Wang Yan and Irving suddenly showed their power.

Wang Yan kept attacking the penalty area and causing fouls.

Bosh and Haslem each had two fouls in the first half.

After more than 7 minutes of the third quarter, both players had five fouls each.

There is no way, Wang Yan is too powerful, and he cannot be stopped without fouling!

In fact, even the fouls couldn’t stop him, and Wang Yan scored several 2+1s!

Spoelstra sighed and had to replace the two players and prepare to play in the fourth quarter.

Without Bosh and Haslem, the Heat's defense is even worse.

Wang Yan continued to dominate the inside, and Irving's three-pointer was actually opened!
Irving is good at three-point shooting, but he didn't shoot three-pointers much in the early days.

But today, with Wang Yan's encouragement, he boldly voted!

The Heat's three-point rain did not come, but the Cavaliers' three-point rain did.

Wang Yan and Irving led the team to a wave of attacks, and by the end of the third quarter, the score difference was widened to 18 points.

The Heat are in danger.

In fact, today the Heat, under the command of Spoelstra and the efforts of the Big Three, performed much better than in the previous game.

But he still couldn't withstand Wang Yan's attack.

Although the Big Three played almost the entire fourth quarter and tried hard to catch up, the Cavaliers still established an advantage under the leadership of Wang Yan and Irving.

In the end, the Cavaliers defeated the Heat 116:102, and the score was -!

Wang Yan scored 55 points today, grabbed 14 rebounds and 5 blocks.

Irving also scored 40 points.

Wow, Wang Yan and Irving scored a combined 95 points, almost accounting for all of the Cavaliers' points!

One of the few double 40s in NBA playoff history, so shocking!
This is also the first 50+40 in NBA playoff history.
When the game ended, the home fans were shouting Wang Yan and Irving's names, excited.

They didn't know yet that Irving could also score high points.

This game was almost won by the personal attacks of the two stars.

Both the Chinese commentators and the American on-site commentators were full of praise for the performance of the two.

"The Cavaliers' rookie duo is so shining that they even overshadowed the Heat's Big Three!"

"It's incredible. The Big Three who are at their peak and have been famous for a long time were suppressed by the two rookies of the Cavaliers!"

"Are the Big Three not as strong as the Cavaliers' twin stars? Who would believe it? But it happened today!"

(End of this chapter)