O’Neal, who Zack scoffed had fallen so far he was only backing up Big Z, wasn’t even put on the court by Mike Brown until the last four minutes of the first quarter. But get this, in the Cavaliers’ two previous regular season gas, O’Neal was actually their starting center. Brown only opted to start Big Z tonight to try and stagger O’Neal’s minutes from Zack’s, especially after O’Neal’s "stellar" performance against Zack in last season’s Finals.
Without a doubt, this was a classic case of deliberately avoiding a strong opponent by trying to play at a different ti. Zack, who had already turned the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse into a library before O’Neal even stepped on the court, had no intention of letting the forr top center off the hook. "Now you even have to hide from to play basketball?"
O’Neal stayed silent. On the court, the Cavaliers fans’ nightmare continued. Even though LeBron Jas managed to score two points for the Cavs with a not-so-elegant, not-so-smooth fadeaway jumper on their next possession, Zack imdiately countered with a textbook-perfect turnaround fadeaway right in Jas’s face.
A perfect turnaround fadeaway should look graceful, fluid, and composed. To achieve that, an offensive player needs the right ball-handling skills and, during a quick turnaround, use their soft touch and powerful core strength to maintain their shooting form while gracefully dropping the ball through the net. It shouldn’t be like contorting your body into an indescribable shape mid-air and reluctantly heaving the ball at the hoop like a discus thrower.
Admittedly, in basketball, if it goes in, it’s a good shot. But the ho fans, who desperately wanted Jas to lead the Cavaliers in showing the "nouveau riche" Warriors that their championship was just dumb luck, were absolutely devastated by the stark contrasts between Jas and Zack, play after play.
The Cavaliers fans’ breakdown stemd from Zack’s effortless dominance over Jas. He expertly manipulated the Cavaliers’ defense and, with ball-handling skills beyond imagination, managed to swish the ball from every angle and in every possible way. Tonight, Zack and Jas’s on-court performances felt like a microcosm of Cleveland’s sports history. The Warriors, who drafted the ssiah, took only one year to lift that championship trophy they hadn’t touched in thirty-one years. And Cleveland? Their chosen one, who they had longed for, could only stand there, hands on hips, after failing on defense ti and ti again in front of Zack.
On TNT, Barkley diplomatically comnted, "I know a lot of people hope the matchup between LeBron and the ssiah will beco a great rivalry of our era. But given their current technical execution on the court, I think we still need to give LeBron more ti."
More ti? After enduring decades, why wouldn’t Clevelanders be willing to wait a few more years? In 2003, when Jas, whose hype before entering the league already overshadowed many superstars, was drafted by the Cavaliers, many said no one knew what kind of pressure this 18-year-old carried on his shoulders. Because the high hopes Clevelanders placed on Jas were to reverse Cleveland’s entire string of bad luck, to lead Cleveland’s sports history out of its destiny of going from one failure to the next.
Undoubtedly, such widespread expectations were a crown in the true sense of the word. But after Jas unhesitatingly put on that crown, from the 2003-04 season to the 2006-07 season... even Zack, in his second career season, showed the world his growing dominance with the technical progress he had made.
But what about the chosen one, LeBron Jas?
On the court, it was a Cavaliers offensive possession. Looking at Zack, who was yelling at him, "Don’t pass, shoot it yourself if you got the guts!", an increasingly agitated Jas forcefully elbowed Artest away, then ended the possession with a long-distance floater. Unfortunately, the next second, Jas’s floater didn’t go in.
Then, it was the Warriors’ ball. Jas, whose dribbling space was cleared by Zack’s powerful dribble-pound, had no answer for Zack’s subsequent drag step. And his overly eager lunge forward only gave Zack another opportunity to unleash a hesitation move. This was a dribbling skill Jas had also used earlier when breaking through Artest’s defense, but unlike Jas, who was clearly "carrying" the ball as he sprinted, Zack’s hesitation move, even in slow motion, showed no violation whatsoever. This was the difference in ball-handling ability. Then, leaping vertically, Zack finished the possession with his signature mid-range jumper after a sudden stop.
At Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, as Cleveland’s almost cursed sports history simultaneously flashed through every Cavaliers fan’s mind, where were the fans who had held up banners attacking Zack before the ga? They had no face left to keep holding them up. In competitive sports, you can’t win a championship by just being bitter. Why are champions champions?
Wait a few more years for that great rivalry between Jas and Zack? Don’t be ridiculous. As the backdrop to the Bulls dynasty, Cavaliers fans had seen Michael Jordan play back in the day. In his early career, Jordan truly couldn’t get past Larry Bird no matter what. In his mid-career, Jordan did lead the Bulls to be repeatedly beaten by the Detroit Pistons. But when did Jordan ever feel so hopeless as he did now?
In front of Bird, Jordan’s later dazzling offensive skills were already taking shape. The high scores he put up against the Celtics, and the content he displayed on the court, only made people feel... other teams besides the Bulls needed to be careful, because once Jordan developed, he would surely be unstoppable. As for being repeatedly beaten by the Pistons? On the court, Jordan had already used his constantly evolving offensive skills and increasingly polished mid-range and fadeaway shots to make Bulls fans feel that a championship was approaching, and to make them believe that the Windy City of Chicago would eventually see its roses bloom.
If this were Jas’s first year in the league, then Cavaliers fans would never be as despairing as they were now. At Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, after the first quarter, the score was 36-21. Zack, shooting 7-of-9 from the field, including 1-of-2 from three-point range, and 4-of-4 from the free throw line, put on a brilliant scoring display that even Cavaliers fans couldn’t fault, scoring 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal in the quarter for the Warriors. Just looking at the stat sheet, Jas also had 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists in the first quarter. But from the most direct on-site viewing, Cavaliers fans keenly felt the vast difference in technical presentation between Jas and Zack.
Perhaps on so previous nights, Jas might have looked a bit unpolished in front of so technically skilled opponents. But... Zack’s "The Dunk" in Cleveland last season, and the story of him leading the Warriors to turn their fortunes around, which made Cleveland fans so envious, were destined to infinitely amplify Jas’s technical flaws tonight. This was a classic "no comparison, no harm" ga.
In the first half of the second quarter, to ensure his good brother wasn’t having too tough a ti, Zack, lounging on the Warriors’ bench, didn’t forget to threaten O’Neal, who dared to try and steal his good brother’s staggered minutes. "If you even think about scoring a basket, I’m coming right back in!"
Hearing that, O’Neal, who was just about to post up, imdiately pulled out to the high post to set a screen for Jas obediently. What a well-behaved little fish. Zack noticed that after last season’s beatdown, O’Neal was even more obedient in front of him than so of the pretty girls he’d spent a good night with. This was also a manifestation of Zack’s evolving on-court dominance, especially against an opponent like O’Neal, whom he completely nullified.
While Zack was resting on the bench, Jas, with the help of O’Neal’s solid screens—the kind that would make Hardaway, Kobe, and Wade shed tears—quickly attacked Biedrins and Murphy for several possessions. At this point, on the Warriors’ bench, Mike Malone, while massaging Zack’s legs, said, "Now you see why I labeled this ga ’irrelevant,’ right?"
Zack nodded, "Mike, you really understand these Cleveland Cavaliers better than I do."
Actually, given the Warriors’ defensive intensity tonight, even if the Cavaliers couldn’t stop them, they could have tried to trade blows. But the biggest characteristic of "Cavs 1.0" was that even if they knew a tiger was on the mountain, they still had to go to that specific mountain. The 2006-07 Finals between the Spurs and Cavaliers was a classic example. In that series, whenever Jas touched the ball, all five Spurs players would imdiately collapse into the paint. This insane collapsing defense, with the Warriors tonight choosing to ignore the periter and only plug the paint, was remarkably similar. In short, as long as enough players were piled into the paint, Jas, in this era, would automatically shed his "emperor’s new clothes" of being "good at playmaking."
In the 2007 Finals, Jas averaged 6.8 assists but also a high of 5.8 turnovers. Aside from open three-point opportunities created by teammates running off screens, where Jas could still deliver the ball in ti, the Spurs’ one-trick pony strategy repeatedly forced Jas to endlessly hold the ball at the top of the arc, just watching, and then watching so more.
As for the reason? Of course, Jas at this stage, could only create for his teammates through simple drive-and-kick plays, which even Artest thought were too basic. Although, when teammates successfully got open, he would also, like Zack this season, press the pass button and happily collect an assist. But just as Zack wouldn’t consider such assist stats as a reflection of his playmaking ability, these assist stats similarly couldn’t prove Jas’s playmaking ability. Playmaking is always about quickly breaking down defenses on the court, not about accumulating statistics through the team’s tactical resource allocation. For example, tonight, Zack was breaking the Cavaliers’ box-and-one defense like it was nothing.
In the latter half of the second quarter, until Zack re-entered the ga, Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown was still puzzled. Why was the box-and-one defense he ticulously designed for the Cavaliers before the ga so easily broken by the Warriors?
At Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, it was the Warriors’ offensive possession. This ti, Zack, directing his teammates to set up in a 1-2-2 formation, had barely settled at the top of the arc when he forced the Cavaliers’ box-and-one to automatically morph into a 3-2 zone defense. This was different from Zack’s 1-3-1 alignnt to break the box-and-one in the first half. Since the Cavaliers’ diamond-shaped box-and-one, when converted to a 3-2 zone, easily left players open on the baseline, Zack decisively changed the Warriors’ strategy to break the box-and-one. He wanted to appease Kwa Brown, who had been running all quarter but only got a few rebounds, so he directly slamd the ball to the baseline from the top of the arc. In the Cavaliers’ paint, Brown, after receiving the ball, threw down a powerful two-handed dunk and then furiously pounded his chest three tis as he ran back on defense.
On the surface, Brown’s chest-pounding was a show of toughness. Secretly, Zack knew very well that this guy was complaining to him. In the new season, with the Warriors’ tactical frawork changing, truthfully, the scoring statistics of the other four Warriors players on the court, to so extent, completely depended on Zack’s discretion. Simply put, they could only get what Zack gave them. But if Zack didn’t want to give it, they would just keep running back and forth. Zack felt that playing in Mike Malone’s new system, he might even have to learn the skill of "balancing the ball." No wonder... in the future, Nikola Jokic only showed his hard-to-guard ability in necessary possessions, because playing in such a frawork, even he had to cater to his teammates’ emotions.
anwhile, on ESPN, Jeff Van Gundy analyzed the Warriors’ recent offense for the fans: "Why can’t the Cavaliers’ box-and-one achieve the desired effect? The most important point is that they cannot limit the ssiah’s reception at the free-throw line and the top of the arc." Then, Van Gundy paused and said, "The ssiah always makes his teammates position themselves early. This way, as long as he receives the ball at the free-throw line and the top of the arc, the Cavaliers’ box-and-one will be forced to convert into a 2-3 zone or a 3-2 zone. And at this point, LeBron’s defense against him will be ineffective. Because the ssiah, by receiving the ball in the middle, attracts the attention of two to three Cavaliers players all by himself."
Next to him, A. Smith said, "How should the Cavaliers adjust their defense?"
Van Gundy replied, "If the Cavaliers intend to use a box-and-one to limit the Warriors, they must find a player who can interfere with the ssiah’s reception, at least to consu so of the Warriors’ offensive ti during his reception."
Smith said, "Isn’t LeBron Jas’s defense good enough tonight?"
Van Gundy gave a wry smile, "He’s defending very hard, but his defensive positioning, and defensive awareness... In short, the defensive thod he’s employing, as it stands, simply cannot restrict the ssiah from receiving the ball."
In this ga, Jas had been using a semi-fronting defensive strategy to pester Zack. The advantage of this defensive strategy was that Jas could adjust his subsequent defensive approach based on Zack’s offense, but it couldn’t prevent Zack from receiving the ball. Because Zack, with his height and long arms, could simply lean into Jas and provide passing lanes for his teammates. And this was also why Zack had been complaining earlier that Jas wasn’t giving him enough intensity. Although from Jas’s perspective, he was already practically trying to hack Zack with a knife, his incorrect defensive strategy allowed Zack to easily absorb his physicality and then initiate an offense.
On the court, it was the Warriors’ offensive possession again. Brown, who had feasted on two straight easy baskets, was satisfied, but on the wing, Artest kept giving Zack pitiful glances, silently begging: "Boss, it’s gotta be my turn now, right?"
Zack ignored Artest because Brown’s previous consecutive sneak attacks had completely disrupted the Cavaliers’ defensive alignnt. So, in an instant, Zack, with a drop step and a side turn, blew past Jas and quickly drove into the Cavaliers’ paint with the ball. Jas, slowly realizing that playing like this would only make him his good brother’s stepping stone, perfectly displayed his physical gifts in pursuit. He doggedly chased Zack and, at the mont Zack leaped into the air, slamd into him. Jas did this not for anything else, but for his crown. Even if it ant a foul, he didn’t want Zack to easily complete the dunk. And this mid-air collision greatly shocked the live audience... because carrying Cleveland’s young king, Zack seed to hang in the air for a mont before violently slamming the ball into the hoop!
On TNT, Charles Barkley roared enthusiastically, "The ssiah won this battle of kings! He swung his Storm Axe and shattered LeBron Jas!!!"
Slam!
At Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, watching Zack complete another "The Dunk" in Cleveland, a flood of unpleasant mories instantly washed over the minds of the live audience. This was the second ti the Chosen One had been reduced to Zack’s backdrop in a direct confrontation. Cleveland, was it truly destined to only live in other people’s stories?
After landing from the dunk, in the Cavaliers’ paint, Zack imdiately perford Carlo Anthony’s signature celebration: three fingers to the head! This was a promise Zack made to Anthony this sumr. If he had a chance to dunk over Jas, he absolutely had to use this move to convey lo’s respect to Jas!
"LeBron has no idea what a tough ti we’re having in the West! It’s ti for this comfortable guy to feel the wrath of his brothers!"
At this mont, with Anthony’s respect delivered, Zack didn’t forget to pat Jas on the shoulder, as if encouraging him for that outstanding defense. But the next second, what Zack didn’t know was... Jas’s already aged face... had fallen into an unprecedented gloom.
Jas could completely accept the trash talk Zack threw at him on the court. Because sotis, he would even use that trash talk to tell the dia that whenever he and Zack stepped on the court, they would definitely give it their all. What Jas truly couldn’t accept was Zack’s endless assertiveness. Last year, after Zack completed "The Dunk," to quell the anger of the Cavaliers fans, Jas even took the initiative to de-escalate the situation afterward. Although Jas’s intention to de-escalate was also to hope that people wouldn’t overly mythologize that dunk where he was Zack’s backdrop, Jas at the ti also didn’t want to see Cavaliers fans hating his good brother too much.
But why... why are you always so overbearing when playing against ? Last year’s Christmas night, Jas was already depressed. Because when he was surrounded by Warriors fans in Oakland, his good brother didn’t say a single word for him. He just kept scoring! Scoring! Scoring! It was the sa today. Before the ga, he provoked Cavaliers fans with that "0 and 1" talk, then showed off his damn skills in the first quarter, and after that dunk over him just now, the incredibly arrogant "three fingers to the head" celebration. Jas didn’t understand, and couldn’t comprehend, if Zack truly considered him a brother, then why was he always so aggressive on the court?
At halfti, the score was 68-49. With that disappointnt toward Zack, and with the disheartened ho fans, Jas returned to the locker room without saying a word. At this point, O’Neal, noticing Jas’s change in mood, said with the wisdom of experience, "If you’re feeling bad about your good brother’s actions, I don’t think you need to. He’s always been ruthless when he’s got the upper hand. I’m used to it."
Upon hearing this, Jas forced a wry smile, "I’m not sad about his actions. This is a ga, and it’s normal for him to go all out."
O’Neal then showed a "really, I don’t believe it" expression and said, "I can understand brothers trash-talking each other occasionally, but his expression and celebration during that dunk just now, did he really treat you like a brother?"
Jas explained, "That’s lo’s signature move. I think he must have so agreent with lo."
O’Neal was puzzled, "You an they’re betting on you, your good brother?"
At this mont, O’Neal noticed that Jas bit his thumb even harder. So, O’Neal, feeling that his life had been made miserable by Kobe, said aningfully, "In my opinion, he and Kobe are basically the sa kind of people. They’re always self-centered. Look, after driving out of Los Angeles, Kobe’s now buddy-buddy with so pale-faced Spaniard (Pau Gasol). People like them, do they even care about brotherhood? They only care about themselves!"
Seeing this, although Jas thought O’Neal had a point, he didn’t want to break ties with Zack and still defended him, saying, "Zack still cares about . He often reviews the training videos I send him and points out my shortcomings."
O’Neal shrugged and spread his hands, "You’re too naive, brother. You think he’s pointing out your shortcomings? No, he’s just like Kobe, he likes to get satisfaction by instructing others." After a pause, O’Neal said, "Don’t believe ? Think about it, isn’t he always arrogant when he’s instructing you, treating you like a dog being trained?"
In the locker room, Jas suddenly froze.
"Bro, I’ve told you hundreds of tis, don’t keep carrying the ball with your hand when doing a hesitation move. It’s easily called a violation by the refs."
"Bro, do you know what lo and I think of your turnaround fadeaway? You look like a giant crab. Why can’t you use your core strength to maintain balance?"
"Oh, bro, you know what? Any middle schooler’s dribbling transitions are smoother than yours."
At Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, after halfti, the ga resud. In the third quarter, the live broadcast even caught several Cavaliers fans with tears welling up in their eyes. Again, if you don’t understand Cleveland’s tragic sports history, you’ll never truly grasp how much damage Zack inflicted on Cavaliers fans in this ga.
At the top of the arc, watching Zack smoothly receive the ball, Jas imdiately used all his strength to stick to him. This was a defensive play that greatly satisfied Zack. Although he didn’t know what had provoked Jas, after a powerful dribble-pound, Zack clearly increased his movent speed.
Thump, thump!
Using a drag step and a crossover dribble, Zack successfully froze Jas. Then, Zack imdiately perford a perfect pull-up jumper right in front of the Chosen One. This was another heartbreaking scene for Cavaliers fans. If the two "The Dunks" had already proven that Zack’s physical talent was superior to Jas’s, then on this night, Zack’s successive scores, achieved through his masterful ball-handling, were like a sharp knife carving into the hearts of all Cavaliers fans. Every one of Zack’s technical moves was so srizing. This was a sight Cavaliers fans had never seen from Jas. And what’s more, this was only Zack’s second professional season. But it was Jas’s last year of his rookie contract.
For a mont, the fans in attendance even felt like they were witnessing the future... a future where only Cleveland failed, and everyone else succeeded.
So fans at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse started leaving early. In the NBA, one ga certainly doesn’t represent everything. But "The Dunk" Zack completed in the first half, and the Chosen One constantly being his backdrop in the ga, could represent a lot. Especially in the final monts of the third quarter, when Zack, just like Michael Jordan back in the day, shot that familiar "The Shot" from the sa spot over Jas, even the Cavaliers fans who chose to stay in the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse couldn’t help but fall into confusion.
After three quarters, the score was 99-74. Zack didn’t play in the fourth quarter. Jas, on the other hand, led the Cavaliers’ bench in a desperate coback attempt in the fourth.
In the final quarter, on the Warriors’ bench, looking at Zack pulling out a crown woven from olive branches from his training bag, Kwa Brown asked curiously, "What’s this?"
"This is a crown lo and I wove for LeBron this sumr," Zack said. "Since our schedule has us visiting Cleveland first, lo gave it to ."
Brown examined the crown, whose craftsmanship clearly still needed improvent, and said, "But is tonight the right ti to give it to him?"
Zack smiled, "It’s just a gift, just a small token from lo and ."
Upon hearing this, Brown said, "I’m just afraid LeBron will think you’re mocking him."
Zack shrugged, "How could he be that petty?"
Before being subbed out by Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown, Jas totaled 31 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 7 turnovers. Zack, who only played the first three quarters, had 45 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals.
The final score was 125-101.
After the ga, while shaking hands with Jas, Zack used his other hand to place the crown woven from olive branches on the young king’s head. At that mont... facing this sudden scene, Jas, who had been grumbling about Zack internally, visibly brightened up.
"Did you and lo weave this together? Honestly, it’s pretty badly made, but I love it."
Perhaps Zack was always aggressive on the court, but at least in Jas’s eyes at that mont, he was definitely not the kind of person O’Neal described. Taking this morable gift, Jas, his mood instantly uplifted, even complained to Zack, "You can’t keep dunking over . It’s too bullying."
But good tis didn’t last. After exchanging pleasantries with Zack and returning to the locker room, O’Neal imdiately gave his sharp critique of the crown Zack gave Jas: "Is he trying to tell you that since he’s a champion now, he can crown you?"
Seeing this, although Jas didn’t take O’Neal’s words to heart, he quietly took off the crown from his head. No one knew what Jas was thinking at that mont. But at the post-ga press conference, as reporters kept ntioning Zack, Jas’s mood visibly worsened. Especially when Ira Berkow of The New York Tis conveyed Zack’s thoughts and feelings about the second "The Dunk" to Jas, Jas’s face imdiately darkened.
"The ssiah said it was a perfect dunk. As the person the ssiah dunked over at the ti, what do you think about that?"
What else can I think? The next second, Jas gritted his teeth and said, "I defended as hard as I could, that’s it. Next question."
"LeBron, you and the ssiah were both considered players who could change the fate of a team before being drafted. But he won a championship before you. How long do you think it will take for you to beco a champion player like him?"
How should I know how long it will take? Can’t you just ask the Cavaliers managent when they’ll find a real All-Star player to help out? Suppressing the surge of emotions that instantly filled his chest, Jas said, "I believe I won’t make Cavaliers fans wait too long. You know, I’m improving every season."
"LeBron, regarding the improvent you just ntioned, what do you think about the ssiah saying all your hesitation moves are violations and lack any skill?"
Crack... crack... crack.
In that instant, Jas distinctly heard the sound of his heart breaking. If Jas hadn’t barely managed to pad his stats to "30 " in garbage ti in this ga... if the gap between his and Zack’s on-court performance hadn’t been so vast... if... In short, in Jas’s eyes at this mont, this jab from Zack conveyed by the dia wasn’t funny at all; it completely broke his heart. Jas felt that, just as O’Neal said, his good brother didn’t genuinely want to guide him, but rather just wanted to gain so kind of satisfaction from it.
"Those who understand basketball will naturally understand. As long as the referee doesn’t blow the whistle, it proves that my hesitation move is standard, compliant, and within the rules." Jas practically forced himself to answer this question, suppressing the resentnt in his chest.
However... before Jas could even catch his breath... a reporter at the scene raised a new question: "LeBron, the ssiah said he hopes you can recognize your fundantal shortcomings through this ga and focus your next training on honing your skills rather than spending all your ti in the weight room. What do you think about that?"
Here it cos again. Condescending. Arrogant. Just trying to prove that he’s the only one who plays basketball, and you don’t understand basketball at all, right? At the press conference, Jas took a deep breath and said, "I will seriously consider his advice, but you know, everyone has their own style of play. My dedication in the weight room is also proof of my desire to improve."
After the press conference, Jas threw the crown that Zack and Anthony had woven for him into his training bag. This night was definitely one of the most disheartening nights for Jas since entering the league.
anwhile, Zack and the Warriors, with this dominant victory in Cleveland, continued on to their next away ga.
"Do you think LeBron will take your heartfelt advice?" On the plane, Brown looked at Zack and asked curiously.
Upon hearing this, Zack said, "I don’t know, but I hope he understands my good intentions."
Brown sighed, "It’s really tough on you, you know. I’ve never seen you showcase so many offensive skills to the world in one ga. Tonight, you were simply an offensive encyclopedia."
Zack waved his hand and said, "Hold on, the offensive encyclopedia will always be my good brother lo." After a pause, Zack added, "You know, I always prefer people to call a comprehensively enhanced Michael Jordan."
Brown: "..."
Reviews
All reviews (0)