NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 308 I'll Let You Fight Alone

The Cavaliers brought in two guards with offensive capabilities, while the Hawks immediately had Millspin post up against James Jones. Mozgov was firmly contained by Horford and could only watch helplessly as James Jones got hammered.

Miguel has been holding back for a long time. In the last round, he was bullied by Nene, the one-egg superman, with his big body. In this round, he was bullied by TT and Mozgov, two big guys. He finally found a weakling, so he's definitely going to bully him with all his might.

James Jones is accurate from three-point range, but he's skinny and doesn't eat much meat, so he can't hold his own in the low post. He can't withstand the Cavaliers' help defense and double-teams, so Mills passes the ball out, creating opportunities through passing.

With a very clear offensive strategy, the Hawks didn't rely on exploiting mismatches as much in the regular season. However, in the playoffs, when tactics often failed to materialize, this simple and direct approach of exploiting mismatches proved more effective.

As soon as JR came on, Jia Fei went to defend him, and Shumpert was handed over to Teague. The Cavaliers currently only have one and a half players who truly pose a ball-handling threat: Running Man counts as one, and JR as half.

Many people mistakenly believe that JR's offense is just unpredictable and lacks finesse, but in fact, although he can handle the ball and his dribbling skills are decent, his physical strength as a shooting guard is actually quite average.

Standing at 198cm, the same height as Kobe and Jordan, his physical strength isn't actually that great. He's better than Korver, but compared to athletic wings, his physique isn't as tough. So if a strong player guards him, applies intensity, and doesn't give him easy jump shot opportunities, his offense suffers significantly.

Besides physical strength, his first step wasn't quick enough. Many people wondered why Kobe could often drive to the basket before his major injury, and McGrady could too, but Carter, Pierce, and even Joe Johnson in isolation situations mostly opted for jump shots. In one-on-one situations, they needed to use fakes and complex moves to get in. The root cause was that his first step was too slow; he lacked the speed to get past opponents.

Therefore, JR rarely gets to drive to the basket for a layup. His moves are flashy, but when it comes to one-on-one situations, his finishing move is basically a jump shot.

Jia Fei's main strategy in defending JR is to prevent him from receiving the ball. If he can stop this unpredictable player from receiving the ball, he's already halfway there. These unpredictable players aren't microwave-sharp shooters; their consistency isn't as good, but their scoring bursts are incredibly powerful. You can't let these players get into a hot streak, otherwise, it becomes extremely difficult to contain them.

The Cavaliers were also surprised. The Hawks' best perimeter defender, Jia Fei, was either guarding JR Smith or Iman Shumpert, instead of guarding their primary offensive weapon, Runner.

Commentary seat.

“Charles, you said the Hawks had Jia Fei guard JR and Iman instead of LeBron, and instead guarded the other players. Are they trying to lure LeBron into isolation plays and wear him down?” Kenny Smith asked.

Barkley scoffed, "How can you not guard the opponent's strongest offensive player? It's because they know they can't guard LeBron, so they simply give up and focus on guarding other players. That's the reason. Jia Fei's defensive ability isn't that strong. If the league hadn't pushed him, I doubt he'd even make the All-Star team!"

The Hawks led for most of the first quarter, while the Cavaliers relied on the individual offense of their star player, Runner-Up, to stay alive. This made Runner-Up hesitant to leave the court, as there was no one to score if he did.

Jia Fei went to rest for a while. Coach Buden is very serious and responsible when it comes to arranging rest for star players. He doesn't advocate overworking the starters, and he doesn't like short rotations either.

The Hawks continued with a nine-man rotation in this game. After Korver was out and Carroll entered the starting lineup, the team added another player to the rotation: Thabo Sefolosha, the former starting shooting guard for the Thunder.

The Hawks used a rotation of players on their offensive team: Carroll, Sefolosha, and Scott. While none of these three are elite defensive players, their defense is decent, they have the size, and they aren't the core of the team's offense. Even if they get into foul trouble, it won't significantly impact the overall game.

To put it simply, it's about using role players to trade blows with your core players. If they can't, they'll exhaust you. They're just taking advantage of the fact that you don't have any other strong support players. It's that simple.

The Cavaliers use an 8-man rotation, with 5 starters and JR Smith, James Jones, and Shawn Marion as reserves.

The Running Man member went to the bench to rest in the last minute of the first quarter. He needed to rest too, as the offense relied entirely on him, and he was very exhausted.

Although he honed his post-up game during his four years with the Heat, achieving a three-point shooting percentage that once reached 40%, his primary offensive weapon remains his drive to the basket. He's not Kobe or Jordan, capable of playing an entire game with a turnaround jumper; these skills are just a few in his arsenal, not his primary offensive methods. Furthermore, his three-point shooting has been inaccurate this season, making his reliance on drives even more crucial.

A drive to the basket isn't necessarily inefficient; it can draw fouls and get you to the free-throw line, but it's very tiring. No one can play an entire game solely based on drives to the basket, not even the "Running Man" of the Cavaliers' first era.

The Hawks had Carroll and others guard him one-on-one, switching on pick-and-rolls to force him into isolation plays and drive to the basket.

Unless you're near the basket, I won't double-team you easily, and I won't let you easily connect with the opponent. I'm not afraid of you scoring; I can make up for it with my offense. But I won't let you carry your teammates.

This defensive approach is designed for ball-handling stars like Running Man. If your team doesn't have a second ball-handling scorer, it will exhaust you.

No defensive strategy is shameful or cruel as long as it doesn't harm the opponent. Competitive sports are inherently cruel; there are winners and losers. When you step onto this field, you should be mentally prepared.

At the end of the first quarter, the Hawks led by 5 points, 24-19.

The Hawks didn't have an easy time scoring either, but they were clearly more rational and relatively easier to score than the Cavaliers.

Even many fans at the stadium could see that it was almost impossible for the Cavaliers to defeat the Hawks by relying on the running man alone.

Therefore, another player had to step up. After considering all options, the only hope was JR, but JR had been contained by Jia Fei since he entered the game and hadn't been able to find a good opportunity.

Cavaliers fans are endlessly nostalgic for Kyrie Irving. Even Kevin Love, who has always been criticized for his terrible defense, is now being missed – at least he can score! The current Cavaliers lack offensive options. Tristan Thompson and Timothy Mozgov can't even hold onto the ball properly, and they're not good at finishing plays. They just pass the ball to the fast break players, showing no intention of attacking themselves. They've become afraid to even attempt a shot…

The Hawks' offensive performance in this game was not as good as in the previous game. The Cavaliers' defense also improved after returning to their home court, making it difficult for both sides to score. However, compared to the Hawks, their offense was more consistent and stable. The Cavaliers relied entirely on the running man, and the others did not contribute much on the offensive end.