Chapter 738 [Embarrassing Record, the Finals Begin]

1. The league finals focus on promoting the contest between Chris Paul and LeBron James. They met in high school and the two geniuses cherished each other. They entered the NBA and became superstars one after another, and their friendship also sublimated.

Paul said James was his best friend. James said that Paul was like a member of his family.

When James was fighting in the Finals in 2007, Paul even brought his girlfriend Jada to Cleveland, lived at James' home, and took care of James' pregnant Savannah Brinson. Paul is the godfather of James' children, and James is the godfather of Paul's children.

The two were the regular season MVP last season and the MVP this season respectively, and they are a highlight of the finals.

Compared with coaches, the Cavaliers are obviously no match. Yang Rui is recognized as the best coach, but Adelman has never won a championship. Many experts believe that the coaching gap will determine the final outcome of the game.

Seeing this kind of evaluation, Adelman just wanted to smash the TV. He was a scapegoat in the Cavaliers. The win was due to James, and the loss was because he didn't know how to employ people. The role players couldn't give James enough support.

This is the trouble with coaching superstars. Except for Yang Rui, no coach can steal the spotlight from the stars.

The 13-member expert panel formed by ESPN was unanimously optimistic about the Clippers winning the championship. The two most optimistic about the Cavaliers believed that the final would be a tiebreaker, but the Clippers still won.

According to online surveys, among all states in the United States, only Cleveland supports the Cavaliers to win this year's championship, while all other cities are generally optimistic about the Clippers.

The prediction is one-sided, not only because Yang Rui's record is brilliant, but also because the Cavaliers' record is so miserable. In Yang Rui's previous life, before the start of this year's finals, the outside world was unanimously optimistic that the Thunder would defeat the Heat and win the NBA championship.

To put it bluntly, the Big Three of the 2003 class were not so brave. They were able to reach the Finals consecutively because the competition in the Eastern Conference was weak. In the previous life until 2012, only Wade among the 2003 Platinum Generation stars won a championship in 2006. The other two Big Three fought repeatedly. After repeated defeats and repeated defeats, the reputation is not supported by the record, but by the fans and the league.

It's even worse in this life. Wade didn't win a championship with the Heat. Like James, he was abused in the finals. The Big Three only won one game in the finals after entering the league. With such an embarrassing record, who would be optimistic about them?

Before the game, everyone on the Clippers expressed their confidence to win the championship. Not only must they win, but they must win beautifully. On the Cavaliers' side, both players and coaches only expressed that they would try their best and had little confidence.

If the Cavaliers have a player with the character of Jennings at this time, it means that they can defeat the Clippers in 6 games, and maybe the morale will be stronger.

Schedule 232, the Clippers will play two home games first. On June 13, the first game will start at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Before the game, TNT Barkley said: "Staples is Jerry Young's blessing. After he arrived in Los Angeles, he only missed the Finals once in five seasons with the Lakers and two seasons with the Clippers. Every year he led All teams are favorites to win the championship, which is unprecedented in NBA history."

Smith smiled and said: "Jerry proved the importance of basketball coaches. After he left, the Raptors, Wizards, and Lakers all declined significantly in strength. They never reached the finals again. The Lakers exchanged stars one after another, and now even the Western Conference Finals Can not enter."

Barkley said: "I think as long as Kobe had a good relationship with Jerry, he would have had the opportunity to surpass Michael Jordan, at least in terms of honors. Unfortunately, he was disobedient and gave up this opportunity. It was previously reported that Kobe Bryant won the championship after the 2009 season. Cy was not injured at all, it was Jerry who excluded him from the playoff roster. The Lakers won the playoffs that time. Judging from Kobe's performance after that, this is really possible."

After the warm-up, players from both sides stood on the court.

Clippers starting lineup: Paul, Battier, Gay, Griffin, Chandler.

Cavaliers starting lineup: Chalmers, Wade, Miller, James, Bosh.

Adelman adjusted the lineup, letting James play power forward and Varejao as a substitute. This season, James often plays the 4th position. Whether he likes it or not, it is indeed beneficial to the team.

After entering the league, James' height has grown a bit, reaching 205cm. At that time, Kings power forward Chris Webber was only 206cm. Webb has always played power forward, and James can certainly play too.

If he has enough honors, James can do it the way he likes, but as a street star without a championship, he can only accept the arrangement of the coaching staff because the one he likes has never been successful.

If it weren't for Adelman's flexible lineup change, the Cavaliers would have been sent home by the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Miller's starting lineup can add a stable three-point shooting point, and his tactical effect is greater than that of Varejao and Grant Hill.

The Clippers attack first and the game begins.

Paul dribbled the ball outside the three-point line and waited for his teammates to pull away. He observed his position. The Cavaliers were man-to-man.

Paul immediately analyzed that the most advantageous one-on-one offensive point on the court is himself. Wade's defense against Gay, James and Griffin, Miller and Battier will not become defensive holes.

If he is an offensive defender, he will definitely choose to fight Chalmers one-on-one. Paul will not do this. His primary goal is to lead the team.

He waved his hand, Chandler blocked Chalmers with a screen in the middle, Paul broke out to the right, and Bosh switched defenses quickly, making it impossible for Paul to break through easily or shoot.

Paul held the ball and forced a breakthrough to 45 degrees, found a small gap and passed the ball to the middle. Chandler cut through to catch the ball and accelerated, and only took one step before he bumped into James who was defending.

James fell backwards and fell to the ground. The referee blew the whistle and hit someone with the ball.

Yang Rui frowned on the sidelines. Chandler's defense was close to perfect, but his offense was far behind. As long as he moved the ball, Griffin would get an open shot. Unfortunately, he often didn't see such opportunities.

Zhang Lili lamented: "James ranked fourth in the selection of the best defensive player this year. This replacement was really timely. He not only defended with his body, but also defended very smartly."

Yu Jia said: "James' personal ability is impeccable and he is the core on both offense and defense."

The Cavaliers attack, and the Clippers use a mixed defense. Gay marks James from the outside, Paul marks Chalmers, and the other three people defend in the area and shrink into the penalty area at any time.

This is a common tactic used by all teams when dealing with James. Only zone defense can restrict him from breaking through the frame in the middle. On the outside, he must find someone of similar height and build to follow James. Otherwise, he can also make jump shots, and his shooting percentage is higher than last season. promote. Not as fast as him, not as strong as him, but not as strong as him. James is indeed the player with the strongest personal ability in the NBA.

Gay defends very smartly, staying two steps away to defend the breakthrough. He can slightly interfere with the pull-up jumper when he steps forward. After being knights for four years, the two of them knew each other well.

James forced a breakthrough, and Gay followed up with his super physical fitness. Near the penalty area on the right side, Chandler retreated to double-team.

James jumped to the basket and distributed the ball to the left in the gap. Bosh received the ball from the baseline and Battier let go of Wade to cover.

Bosh took advantage of the situation to distribute the ball, and Chandler rushed out to interfere with Wade's shooting, showing his outstanding defense awareness. Wade's jump shot missed due to interference. Gay grabbed the backcourt rebound and protected it, waiting for Paul to respond.

It was also the first time for the Clippers players to play in the finals. They were extra careful. Paul slowly controlled the ball to the frontcourt. This time he and Griffin played a pick-and-roll, and Chandler attracted the defense in the low post.

James switched defenses, and Paul rushed to the left to attract James, opening the distance to Griffin in the middle.

Griffin pushed past Chalmers to get the ball and rushed to the basket. He took a dribble and pulled the ball to attract Bosh's defense. He moved the ball to the low post on the right side. Chandler caught the ball and leapt up, dunking the ball with both hands. 2 to 0.

After a beautiful pass, the Clippers opened first.

PS: Updates will resume today, at the same time as before, chapters 11, 15, and 17:00.

I've been resting for three weeks, and I'm not completely recovered yet. I can't sit for a long time, so I can't update more. I can only try my best to keep it updated, sorry for that. Thank you all for your long-term support!