Chapter 878 [Strange trick! Star competition! 】
The Cavaliers' lineup flaws are difficult to make up. If they continue to use double guards, they will not be able to defend against several routines of the opponent using swingers as the core to attack the Hawks.
Brown's solution was to replace Pavlovic and focus the ball on James and fight against the Suns to attack.
Pavlovic is 203cm tall and weighs 100 kilograms. He is similar to Hill's size. He does not suffer any losses in single defense. His role is relatively single, which is to wait for the opportunity to catch the ball and shoot. He has a 41% three-point shooting percentage in the regular season, but unfortunately he doesn't shoot much.
James used his impact to hit Roy and Hill in the counterattack, and soon found the offensive feeling that drove the team's offense. After Gasol Jr. left the court, the Suns' defense in the penalty area was much worse. James could score and assist his teammates.
Guo Xu's playing style is similar to James. He breaks through time and time to find opportunities, passes the ball to the right position to assist his teammates, and shoots one by himself when he is sure.
The two sides played very anxiously in the first quarter, and the Suns were behind 31 to 33.
Guo Xu made 2 of 2 shots, scored 5 points and 7 assists, Si made 4 of 8 shots, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 10 points and 4 rebounds. Compared with the data of the two, Guo Xu's tactical role is more powerful. Even if he wants to make fmvp, he may not be able to get out.
The Cavaliers blossomed at multiple points, and all five scored points. James scored 10 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.
In the second quarter, James continued to lead the substitute without resting, and the coaching staff prepared to let him play as much as possible. The Cavaliers had an experience in the first three finals. It was not very meaningful for James to preserve his physical strength. Teams like the Suns may enter garbage time after the next three-point rain. There is time to rest in the last quarter.
Guo Xu and Stanley rested in the first half of the second quarter as usual. The Suns sent substitutes, Gasol and Lowry played pick-and-roll, and the other three were Haslem, Morrow, and Green.
James scored consecutively to widen the score, and D'Antoni was forced to replace Green, who had poor performance, and replaced Hill to fight against James, and was still at a disadvantage.
Moon could not withstand the lightweight Green against James, while Hill suffered a loss in speed. He waited until the Suns returned to the court to stabilize the situation.
The Suns were 60-63 in the first half. Guo Xu scored 6 points and 3 assists in the second half, and Si scored 8 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, helping the team to bite the score. Guo Xu scored a double-double in the first half, and Si scored 18 points and 6 rebounds were also good.
James exploded in this quarter, making 7 of 8 shots, 2 of 3 free throws, scoring 16 points and 2 rebounds, and he scored 26 points in just halftime.
In the third quarter, Boozer and Boozer were still not good at attacking the Suns. James scored 13 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, while Boozer also scored 14 points and 2 rebounds.
The Suns are mainly defending alone, which made the Cavaliers completely silent on the outside, but the Cavaliers scored 31 points in a single quarter with only two stars and Valaijo's 4 points.
On one side of the Suns, there were multiple points, with Si scored 8 points and 4 rebounds, and scored a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds in three quarters.
Guo Xu made 3 of 4 shots, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 1 of 1 free throw, scored 8 points and 3 assists, and 19 points and 13 assists in three quarters, completely suppressing the two point guards Mo Williams and Gibson.
Like the point guards of other teams, Guo Xu was also depressed and could not play his specialties. Especially the guards like Gibson who had poor organizational skills and had no choice but to play by shooting were behind Guo Xu.
The score difference still did not widen, and the Suns fell behind 90 to 94.
Yu Jia said: "This finals Cavaliers can finally compete with the Suns. James played the best single-game performance in the individual finals. Today he has the hope of scoring more than 50 points and has already scored 39 points."
Zhang Heli said: "Guo Xu should score a large double-double. He played very selflessly and felt that he had not exerted his strength. The Cavaliers had to limit him if they wanted to win. He didn't shoot much in the first three quarters, and Xiao Si was the first scoring point."
Yu Jia said: "He has had a magical performance of 20 assists per game in the finals. The final quarter is time to test the Cavaliers' overall defense."
Everyone guessed that the Sun would arrange tactics for Guo Xu. D'Antoni did this, asking Guo Xu to command the battle, giving him unlimited right to take action. He needed cover, so he gave his teammates a secret code. If he wanted to fight one-on-one, the others would pull him away.
In addition to the simple offensive tactic arrangement, D'Antoni also made an alternative adjustment to the lineup, which was to let Millsap play a cameo appearance as a small forward.
Several small forwards have tried to defend James alone, but the effect is not good. James used to rely too much on breakthroughs, but this time the playoffs are different. His performance in the middle and long distance has always been very stable.
After discussing with assistant coach Thibodeau, D'Antoni decided to let Millsap try it out. He is similar to James and is a little shorter. James can play as a small forward. Why can't he do it?
Although Millsap's offensive end is a standard power forward playing style, receiving and shooting, and mainly returning to the low post, the Suns do not need him to hold the ball, and his offensive tasks can be the same as usual. Xiao Si is a player with a face frame, and does not overlap with his position.
Five Suns: Guo Xu, Roy, Millsap, Stadamier, Gasol Jr.
Cavaliers five: Mo Williams, West, James, Boozer, and Biderlings.
The Suns attacked first, and after Mir Sapura went out, the Cavaliers' defense was very uncomfortable and they could only be watched by people. James followed him.
Guo Xu passed the ball to Roy, who faced West, threatened three 60-degree face frames on the left, and then pulled out the mid-range shot after exploring. This is an unreasonable way of playing, without much cooperation, and the star's singles ability is used. 92 to 94.
The Cavaliers attack, Millsap defended James closely, and he would not be squeezed away. James used his unique moves like before, and relied on rhythm changes to break through and layups out due to interference.
Gasol Jr. won the backcourt rebound and passed it, Guo Xu quickly advanced to the frontcourt and passed it to Roy on the left. After receiving the ball, Roy took the ball and took a three-pointer.
Roy's pulling out hand point is very high, West can't cover it, and when the two are close, Roy can force a breakthrough.
Roy, who knew that his opponent could not block, was relaxed when he made a move, and was well prepared, and the ball was hollowed into the net.
95 to 94. Guo Xu had the 15th assist.
Zhang Heli shouted: "It's Guo Xu and Roy's connection again, and the Suns successfully overtake the score."
Yu Jia said: "It is a strange trick to let Millsap play as a small forward. He led James away, and Roy had a good chance to fight one-on-one. James could not continue to defend Roy, so it was a serious misplacement to let West defend Millsap."
Cavaliers attacked, James broke through and was double-teamed in the penalty area, and passed the ball out and Bidlins made an open mid-range shot. While James got a lot of points, the character player's hands were a little cold. Bidlins had no range and was not sure about shooting near the penalty area line.
Valaijo couldn't stay on the court all the time. Brown asked Biderlings to come up and attack for a while, and Gasol Jr. was waiting for him to attack near the penalty area and let him shoot.
Gasol got the rebound when he got the position. Guo Xu passed the ball to Gasol who was pulling to the high position. He first went to the bottom corner on the left, and then slipped the bottom line to the right to run. Si blocked him.
Guo Xu ran to the right corner and received a pass from Gasol Jr. Before, he played like this before, looking for opportunities to pass the ball to his teammates. Mo Williams has developed a habit and feels that he will also choose to pass the ball this time, because Gasol Jr. led away the high center forward. In theory, S-Jean was an opportunity to play Boozer.
As a result, Guo Xu took the ball without any fake moves and immediately jumped for a three-pointer. Mo Williams reacted slowly for half a beat and couldn't jump up the block. He just reached out to interfere slightly.
The ball was hollow and entered the net, Guo Xu's personal score was 22nd, 98 to 94.
Chapter completed!