186 A Very Remarkable Achievement

In the next round, when James broke through again with the ball, the Trail Blazers used a double-team tactic.

Aldridge on the inside stepped up to block James' path, and with Zhang Jun assisting on one side, James instantly felt the defensive pressure.

James did not choose to play hard, but quickly transferred the ball to Varaijo on the weak side, who chose a mid-range jumper.

Duang!

The basketball hit the top edge of the rim, then bounced back in again.

“I had good luck with this ball.”

Buckley said with a sigh.

This has always been the problem with the Cavaliers, that is, the scoring ability of the players on the team is generally poor.

Last season, only James could complete the scoring task on the court. Although the addition of Maurice Williams has greatly improved this season, the problem still exists.

Neither Varaijo nor Big Z are the type of players who are good at scoring, let alone others.

Perhaps Big Z still had some ability to make hook shots under the basket and play in low posts before, but since he suffered a serious knee injury, his already poor physical athletic ability has suffered a significant decline, and now it is more difficult for him to carry out personal offense in the paint. .

Occasionally, when encountering some short insiders, Big Z can still fight. However, when encountering insiders with slightly better defense, his offensive efficiency is a bit miserable.

Kenny Smith said: "It would be fine if Big Z has very good physical talent. He can play pick-and-roll with James and even complete alley-oop dunks."

"But since James was drafted by the Cavaliers, the two of them have rarely been able to play such coordinated offense, so the Cavaliers' overall offense has always been around the league average."

"In the past few years, all teams in the league have been playing fast-moving offense, and the league's rules are also moving in this direction. If the Cavaliers simply focus on defense, they may still have difficulty in the playoffs due to the decline in offense. ”

Barkley couldn't agree more with his old partner.

After all, this year's Eastern Conference is full of strong enemies. Let's not talk about the defending champion Celtics and the youth army Magic. The Hawks, who pushed the Celtics into desperation in the playoffs last season, and The Heat, led by Wade, are aggressive.

It may not be easy for the Cavaliers to surpass these teams. After all, their own offensive weaknesses are too great.

On the court.

Trail Blazers offense.

Zhang Jun also encountered a double-team from the Cavaliers during the breakthrough process. Varaiqiao once again tried to block Zhang Jun's path. This time Varaiqiao was smarter and worried that Zhang Jun would use his footsteps and wingspan to find tricky angles again. There is a layup opportunity, so when defending, you first use your body to resist the deceleration, and then turn sideways to deliberately drive Zhang Jun away from the basket. This is also the most effective choice for defensive breakthrough players.

It's just that after such a defensive choice, Varaijo couldn't go back to guard Aldridge at all.

Aldridge did not advance but retreated at this time. He took a step back and left the paint area directly to the waist position.

Zhang Jun quickly distributed the ball, and Aldridge caught the ball and shot with ease.

Uh-huh!

Basketball hits steadily.

Yu Jia said: "Aldridge's mid-range is much more stable than Varaijo. This is also a clear gap between the two teams on the offensive end."

"The Trail Blazers have the second-highest offensive efficiency in the league, while the Cavaliers' offensive efficiency only ranks 14th in the league."

Su Qun took over at this time and said: "Although it looks like the 14th place in terms of statistics, which is like the league average, if you take away the offense of James and Maurice Williams, the other players of the Cavaliers The offensive efficiency is expected to drop to around the bottom third in the league."

"So the overall offensive level of the Cavaliers is really poor. They did play well in the regular season, but when the defensive pressure came up in the playoffs, Maurice Williams faced extremely strong defense, and James encountered all kinds of difficulties. Kind of double team.”

"At this time, the Cavaliers will be extremely eager to have more scoring points."

Yu Jia laughed and said: "The Cavaliers' management also wanted to match James with some scoring players, but conditions did not allow it. Cleveland, where they are located, is the most famous industrial city in the United States. Among all the NBA teams, Among cities, Cleveland is an extremely small city, so not many players are willing to come to this place.”

In the first quarter, the Trail Blazers relied on more offensive points to lead 29:25.

In the second quarter, Zhang Jun came on to lead the Trail Blazers' bench, while James also came on to lead the Cavaliers' bench.

Zhang Jun couldn't help but be stunned when he saw this scene.

He only played 8 minutes in the first quarter and rested for a full 4 minutes before coming up to lead the bench. If he remembers correctly, James rested for less than 2 minutes in the first quarter and came up again so soon?

"This isn't the playoffs, why are you working so hard?"

Zhang Jun couldn't help but said.

James stared at Zhang Jun for a while and suddenly said: "There are no other players on the team who can lead the bench, so I have to play. If we have to fight against the Trail Blazers in the first quarter, I have to play. You say I work so hard." Well?"

Zhang Jun chuckled, as if that was indeed the case.

James couldn't help but continue: "So I invite you to join the Cavaliers, why don't you come? With us joining forces, we will definitely be a regular in the finals and dominate the league in the next few years."

Zhang Jun shook his head and said: "Then I invite you to come to the Trail Blazers, will you come?"

This was the same conversation the two had in Hawaii, and both of them had already given their answers at that time.

But at this moment, James's heart has been shaken. Compared with the impact of Zhang Jun's soul questioning on James when he was vacationing in Hawaii, at this moment James is really thinking about whether he should join a better team.

Even if he wants to bring a championship trophy to his hometown team, with the current situation of the Cavaliers, James really can't see any future. It is better to leave the Cavaliers first and then follow a strong team to win it like Zhang Jun said. After the championship experience, he will bring the experience back to the Cavaliers, which already has a lot of assets.

The second quarter begins.

Zhang Jun took the lead in attacking. James used almost playoff-level defensive intensity to defend Zhang Jun. However, James, who was able to put a lot of defensive pressure on Zhang Jun on the defensive end last season, his defense this season is really good. It is difficult to limit Zhang Jun's personal offense.

A player who can break through, shoot mid-range shots, and shoot ultra-long three-pointers is really difficult to guard.

Zhang Jun singled out James 4 times in a row and hit three of the shots. James also responded on the offensive end and used his tank-like offense to crush Zhang Jun to the basket many times to complete the offense.

It was difficult for the Trail Blazers to limit James' ability to attack the paint in the starting stage. At this time, the inside players were replaced by Channing Fletcher and Reeve LaFrentz, and it was even more difficult to limit James' ability to attack the basket.

The Cavaliers and Trail Blazers used the same double-teaming tactic, but with both Zhang Jun and James being double-teamed, the Trail Blazers had full firepower from the outside. Although Channing Fletcher could not form an effective attack on James on the defensive end, Deterrent, but his firepower on the offensive end made the entire Cavaliers miserable.

Channing Fletcher made 4 of 6 three-pointers in a single quarter, which directly sent the entire Cavaliers into a panic.

During the break in the middle of the second quarter, James felt more and more uncomfortable when he looked at the double-digit point difference that the Cavaliers were already behind.

It is also a great threat on the offensive end, and it is also a distribution after a breakthrough, but Zhang Jun has better teammates around him, so he is more efficient when converting passes.

"My passing ability is much better than this half-assed one, but the number of assists he got in a single quarter was higher than mine!"

James began to think more seriously about Zhang Jun's suggestion.

The third quarter of the game.

James started to exert his strength first. He first completed a sudden shot from outside the three-point line, and then succeeded in a 2+1 attack at the basket. Then he passed the ball to Big Z inside to complete a standing dunk.

More importantly, Maurice Williams also broke out suddenly during this period, hitting two consecutive three-pointers from the outside, and then broke through the basket for a layup.

The Cavaliers launched an 18:8 offensive shock wave and tied the score in one fell swoop.

At this time, Zhang Jun stepped forward. He first hit the basket with a super long three-pointer, and then broke through and passed the ball to Luo Yin for a mid-range jumper. Aldridge hit two consecutive free throw line areas.

Under the leadership of Zhang Jun, the Trail Blazers responded with a 12:4 shock wave, and the score advantage was still firmly in the hands of the Trail Blazers.

The fourth quarter of the game.

James once again attacked the basket vigorously, and Luo Yin was almost stunned.

"He has been racing for almost a whole game. Where did he get such good energy and still have the strength to play like this at this time?"

Aldridge was also very surprised and said: "There were media reports before that James was not from Earth. I didn't believe it at first, but now I believe it. He didn't feel tired during the whole game."

Of course James is from Earth, and Zhang Jun knows this very well. He is just more durable than others, has better physical strength, and has more impact.

In the future, James will also get old and lose his athletic ability one day.

"However, with his IQ, I'm afraid he will still be one of the top stars in the league even when he is 38 years old."

As a player with a very good basketball IQ, Zhang Jun was very sure that James' future was limitless. He could have chosen a shortcut to play with James based on his previous experience, but he quickly stopped this idea.

Zhang Jun looked behind Luo Yin, Aldridge, and all his teammates.

"Now I have my own tasks and responsibilities, just like James vowed to bring a championship to Cleveland."

The Cavaliers lost the game 99:114.

At the moment the buzzer sounded at the end of the game, James looked helplessly at the celebrating Trail Blazers players with his hands on his hips. He took the braces out of his mouth and then put them back in again.

Despair, helplessness, envy...James only felt that his mood at the moment was very complicated.

He looked up at the technical statistics.

LeBron James made 14 of 22 shots and 4 of 6 free throws. He scored 34 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists. In addition, he also had the best helper in his career so far, Maurice Williams, who made 19 shots. 7 out of 7, 3 out of 7 three-pointers, 19 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists.

James then couldn't help but look at the statistics of the Trail Blazers on the other side.

Zhang Jun made 13 of 21 shots, 3 of 6 three-pointers, and 3 of 5 free throws. He scored a double-double of 32 points, 5 rebounds, and 10 assists. Brandon Luo Yin made 9 of 20 shots and 1 of 5 three-pointers. , 3 of 4 free throws, scored 22 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Aldridge made 9 of 18 shots, 2 of 4 free throws, scored 20 points and 9 rebounds, and had a big explosion on the bench tonight. Channing Fletcher made 6 of 13 shots, including 5 of 10 three-pointers, and scored 17 points and 6 rebounds. There were also James Jones who also made 3 three-pointers, and Steve - who scored in double figures. Blake.

Looking at the more blossoming Trail Blazers, recalling Zhang Jun who came on the scene to win the game at the critical moment, and thinking about his life-threatening offense anytime and anywhere, James became increasingly uneasy.

Post-game interview.

For the first time, James did not reply with humorous answers to the reporters in front of him.

"LeBron, you seem to be in a very bad mood tonight."

Faced with a reporter's question, James picked up the microphone and hesitated for a while and said: "Who can feel better after losing, but I will adjust quickly, and the team needs to continue to move forward. Our current record is very good. , ranking first in the Eastern Conference.”

"We're going to continue to improve, that's all."

The reporter shook his head and said: "I have never seen you feel so depressed when the Cavaliers lost in the past. I have only seen such emotions in the playoffs, when the Cavaliers were eliminated by their opponents."

"Tonight seems to have affected you quite a bit."

James was not surprised that these reporters would see his inner thoughts. In fact, he has been known as the Chosen Son since he entered the league. Although Cleveland is a small place, there is never a lack of traffic around James. These media A reporter sometimes knows himself better than his friends.

James smiled helplessly, then a big slap slowly slid down from head to bottom, and he admitted.

"Yeah, the Blazers hit me hard tonight."

"I like their trident combination very much. Of course, I hope you won't spread this sentence on the Internet and don't misinterpret my meaning. I have no idea of ​​leaving the Cavaliers and playing for the Trail Blazers."

Countless reporters in front of them couldn't help laughing after hearing this. Some reporters who had originally spread their ideas on the Internet couldn't help laughing after hearing this, and then put down their hands. pen.

James continued: "I really envy this lineup. Their lineup is really reasonable. Of course, I'm not saying that my teammates are not good. They are also very good. But if the Cavaliers want to win, they want to win." To go further in the playoffs, we must have a more reasonable and more suitable lineup."

"It's a very difficult thing to do, and it would be an incredible achievement if it could be accomplished."