LeBron Jas knew he had left another indelible mont.
Fans in 20 years will always rember these instances: Stephen Curry flying over a mascot to complete a seated dunk in the dunk contest, Paul Pierce trash-talking in Shaquille O’Neal’s face, and Roger stepping over LeBron Jas.
Of course, Jas would rather not have this mont of fa.
The first quarter wasn’t even over, and LeBron Jas’ declaration seed to be at risk of crumbling.
He initially thought the Warriors’ strength would weaken after the early lineup changes, but whether in offense or defense, the Warriors’ level hadn’t changed at all.
Larry Hughes reached out to lift Jas off the floor: "If you’re double-tead, pass it to , I’ll support you!"
Jas didn’t respond, because Larry Hughes’ words were as laughable as Arican politicians claiming they love peace.
It seed the whole world knew, except Larry Hughes, how difficult his shots were.
Jas still had to make his own move, so he patted Larry Hughes on the shoulder: "You handle the ball!"
This possession, as Jas approached the three-point line, he suddenly cut along the baseline, and Larry Hughes passed the ball to number 23 before the double team could converge.
But Jas’ drive to the basket was still defended by Mutombo, preventing the shot from going in.
Dikembe Mutombo, though not as mobile as Camby, was still excellent when it ca to protecting the rim.
In the first three years of his career, LBJ’s finishing rate at the rim wasn’t as phenonal as it was later on. Of course, by his third year, Jas’ finishing rate was already stronger than 90% of the league, but still not at his peak level.
Facing a tall, tough center like Mutombo, Jas’ finishing rate would drop further.
The Cavaliers’ offense was completely stalled, and Mike Brown stood anxiously on the sidelines, unable to make any adjustnts.
As a coach heavily biased towards defense, Mike Brown could design a top-three defense system in the league, but the offensive playbook only had one phrase: give the ball to LeBron Jas.
The ga continued, and Cleveland fans were on edge.
If this shot went in, the Cavaliers would trail by double digits in the first quarter.
Considering Matt Barnes’ threat from three-point range, AK47 didn’t recklessly double-team Roger this ti.
Then, Roger broke through with a step and stopped to make a mid-range shot before Jas completed the double-team, hitting the mark.
The lead widened to 11 points!
Al Michaels sighed: "LeBron’s double-team was a beat too slow, but... after all, he’s only a third-year player, we shouldn’t be too harsh on him. You know, even third-year Roger was only struggling to defend his reign. Third-year Roger didn’t improve much, but third-year LeBron is still vibrant!"
Al Michaels swore he didn’t an to mock LBJ with these words. He truly believed that third-year Roger was already so strong that there was no obvious progress.
Mike Brown felt sowhat despairing, as it seed like Roger needed to be triple-tead to be forced to pass the ball.
Whenever AK47 wasn’t in the picture, Roger would find a way to score on his own.
"Feel MJ’s pain now? He was just as powerless as you back then." Roger completely ignored Larry Hughes and continued to take on number 23.
It’s a pity, if Jas had encountered the Warriors in the first ten gas, he might have really beaten Roger once.
But tonight, he just happened to face the Warriors who had found the right path.
And Roger would never let anyone who spoke lightly leave the court so easily.
It’s easy to let the beast out of the cage.
But putting it back in isn’t so simple.
The Warriors’ interim lineup continued to control the ga until Roger was benched.
The person replacing Roger was Gary Payton, and Erik Spoelstra’s idea was simple: even if they couldn’t maintain offensive prowess, the defensive intensity had to stay high for 48 minutes.
So Gary Payton got re-utilized, and Erik Spoelstra planned to increase his playing ti.
However, the Glove didn’t understand the situation.
When Roger was off, and the Warriors’ lineup on the court was leaderless, the aging Gary Payton still thought about defeating opponents with dribbling and post-up moves, still thinking he could compete as a star player.
In his first ti acting as a substitute in his career, Gary Payton saw himself as the Old Cat Mobley type of sixth man. In the interim lineup, Mobley had supre control over the ball and the right to attack.
Yet, his overexertion on offense consud his energy on defense.
A few possessions later, when Gary Payton started panting, he realized why Roger was pushing his endurance so hard.
His stamina declined faster than he imagined.
If a 37-year-old woman easily feels unsatisfied, then a 37-year-old man often feels limited strength.
Except for LeBron Jas, who still displayed amazing speed even at 40.
But LBJ had historical physical stats, which Gary Payton did not possess.
It’s hard to imagine what Gary Payton’s stamina would be without the grueling workouts at training camp.
In the last two minutes of the first quarter, Gary Payton went 0-for-3, while the Cavaliers’ backup guard, always self-proclaid as "the universe’s best shooter" and "the universe’s most handso guy," Damon Jones, scored 6 points.
Gary Payton furiously went off: "Damn it, all the Cavaliers’ defense against is fouling!"
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