The Fifth Point Guard

The playoffs have finally begun.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference at the end of the regular season. They will face the challenge of the fifth-place Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference.

Both of these teams were still weak teams in the Eastern Conference last season, and they can be said to have taken on a new lease of life this season.

The Cavaliers' revitalization was expected by everyone.

The arrival of Shentong, a potential player of the Nets, second in the scoring list last year and a core member of the championship, has made the Cavaliers highly anticipated.

Coupled with James, the high school champion who is said to be a once-in-50-year player, the Cavaliers' present and future are full of unlimited imagination.

As for the Heat's rise, it has surprised many experts.

Except for Eddie Jones, who was forgotten in the Heat, the Heat did not have any other outstanding stars last season.

This season, Odom first accepted the Heat's offer and came to the warm Miami.

Of course, in addition to the offer and warm climate, the numerous bikini beauties in Miami Beach may also be one of the important reasons for Odom to come to the Heat.

Rafe Alston, Caron Butler, and Brian Grant are all considered good immediate combat players, but they can't be said to affect the team's record.

Therefore, an important reason for the Heat's rise is the arrival of this year's fifth pick, Dwyane Wade.

In the regular season this season, Wade averaged 16.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.6 blocks per game, showing a very comprehensive performance. ,

Although he is destined to miss the Rookie of the Year award, Wade can be ranked behind James and Anthony.

This series not only attracted the attention of Cleveland and Miami, but also caused a viewing boom in China.

This is because this series is not only the first-round showdown between the two teams in the playoffs, but also the Chinese Derby in the playoffs!

In the mid-season offseason, Chinese player Wang Zhizhi came to the Miami Heat from the Los Angeles Clippers and received stable playing time.

Wang Zhizhi, who can play two positions inside, has gained the trust of the coach in the Heat team without a center. He averages 15 minutes per game and is one of the team's important rotation players.

What STO didn't expect in this series was that in addition to future national team teammate Wang Zhizhi, he also encountered a familiar guy.

Before the game starts.

Shentong looked at Woods with a stunned expression and asked, "Hey, Loren Woods? Why are you here?"

Woods said angrily: "Why, can't I play here?"

"So you got a job in Miami."

Woods nodded and said: "There is a lack of center here, so I will give it a try."

"Well, do your best, and remember to say hello to Gilbert Arenas for me when you're fishing."

"Fuck you, it's hard to say who will win!"

In a hidden corner of the arena, a guy wearing a mask, a hoodie, and a thick gold chain around his neck sneezed heavily.

The first game of the first-round series between the two teams is about to begin.

The starting lineups of both sides for this game are:

Cavaliers: Ilgauskas, Boozer, James, Shentong, McGinnis;

Heat: Grant, Odom, Jones, Wade, Alston.

Before the game, Shentong and Wade shook hands and hugged each other.

"Shen, we will defeat you." Wade's declaration of challenge was very direct.

Shentong nodded and replied: "Practice hard during the offseason, and I will continue to wait for you next season."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Wade's cheeks bulged slightly, showing strong confidence and determination to win.

At the beginning of the first quarter, the Cavaliers gained the right to attack.

But the Heat showed strong defensive pressure from the first defense.

Odom, Jones, Wade, and Alston kept double-teaming and switching defenses in an attempt to mess up the Cavaliers' offense.

In fact, the Heat studied the Cavaliers game tape very carefully.

Although McGinnis is averaging 6.1 assists per game this season, his performance and ability to withstand pressure are not good when faced with double-teams or pressing defensive ends, and the Cavaliers' offense will be affected to some extent.

The Cavaliers almost had a 24-second violation on their first possession.

STO's shot at the buzzer was a lucky hit.

Although this round was very embarrassingly defended, Shentong's goal immediately aroused cheers from the Gond Arena.

This season, STO has gained the aura of "scoring king", and its strong scoring ability no longer requires Kidd's help.

Although the team's record is suppressed by the Nets, Shentong at least proved that without Kidd, he can still score enough points.

In the blink of an eye, Wade, who used the screen to get rid of Shentong, broke into the penalty area like lightning, and hit the ball with his backhand before Big Z started to block the shot.

The score became 2-2.

"Come on, Shen, let me see what Michael has taught you!"

The frequency of Wade's trash talk makes STO seem to understand why Wade has such big cheeks.

It should be because when I was young, I was always slapped and beaten for trash-talking.

However, Shentong heard two meanings from Wade's words.

First, Wade has the confidence to defend himself, and second, Jordan should have given him some pointers, otherwise Wade would not know about the offseason training between himself and Jordan in Miami.

"Oh, Dwayne, although I appreciate your support for me during the All-Star Game, you are not qualified to challenge me right now."

Wade replied with a disdainful expression: "I don't think so. I think you don't dare to accept my challenge, right?"

Shentong smiled slightly and said, "I face many challenges. Who do you think I am?"

As soon as he finished speaking, STO had already started.

Wade's response was also very quick.

However, STO has no intention of using speed to compete with Wade.

After taking two steps off the dribble, Shentong suddenly stopped.

Although Wade immediately took a deep breath and puffed up his cheeks, he still couldn't stop himself.

When Shentong took off to shoot, Wade had just stabilized his center of gravity.

"Uh-huh."

Shentong's mid-range jump shot has been practiced very steadily.

When returning to halftime, Shentong said to Wade next to him: "Dwayne, it's not your fault that you couldn't guard me about the ball just now. After all, I am an experienced driver and I have already developed my ability to brake hard."

Wade: ".Old driver?"

In the first quarter, the Heat's main offensive force was not Wade, but Jones and Odom.

The outdated All-Star Jones performed well in the first quarter. When facing James' defense, he relied on his fiery touch to hit consecutive shots, causing serious damage to the Cavaliers.

James actually defended quite well when he was in position to defend, but Jones, who was smaller in size, did not choose to engage in physical confrontation with James. Instead, he frequently fired cold arrows, leaving James helpless many times.

Even before the end of the first quarter, James' block was already on his fingertips. Jones's movements were obviously deformed when he shot, and he relied on a high parabola to avoid James' block.

But even so, the ball still passed through the net.

In the first quarter, Odom also used his height advantage and half-turn hook shots to beat Boozer several times.

Although Boozer's physical strength can make up for his height disadvantage to a certain extent, facing a player with comprehensive and delicate skills like Odom, Boozer has no way to vent his brute strength.

After the first quarter, Shentong scored 10 points in a single quarter, but the Cavaliers trailed the Heat by 4 points 22-26.

During the break, Shentong sat on a chair and said to James next to him: "LeBron, you can't guard against Eddie's touch today."

A shooter's feelings have the most say.

In fact, STO also had times when Jones performed like this. The touch came and he felt like he could score with just one throw with his back to the basket. The shooter in this situation was completely unstoppable.

".But there's also a way to diminish Eddie's offensive performance."

James leaned over and listened very carefully.

"That is to use offense instead of defense. When you put strong pressure on him on the offensive end and force him to expend part of his energy and physical energy on defense, then his investment in the offensive end will definitely be affected, and it will even affect him. The shooting feel.”

Cavaliers coach Paul Silas, who heard the conversation between Shentong and James, agreed with Shentong.

"LeBron, boys, Shen is right. I also noticed that Eddie Jones performed very well today, so we must change our style of play in the second quarter."

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Cavaliers used a series of transfers to get the ball back to James at the top of the arc.

After attracting the Heat's double-team defense, Shentong passed the ball to James accurately.

The latter pretended to shoot, deceived Jones, and then used bulldozer-like skills to rush into the Heat penalty area.

James took one step, two steps, three steps, and four steps to look at the basket.

Look at one, two, three, or four defensive players with their eyes wide open.

Putting on the basket and silently making a wish.

See if the referee can see clearly.

Pray he doesn't blow.

James' four-step layup actually escaped the referee's eyes.

Watching James take two steps, Grant, who was waiting to block James, jumped up and missed.

Because this guy actually took two more steps, and then easily hit the ball into the basket.

"This bitch doesn't know how to walk?" an angry Grant immediately complained.

The referee stared.

The guy immediately softened.

After all, it was on the road, and James' four-step layup did not seem out of place at first glance.

After being lucky once, James' second personal attack relied entirely on strength.

Using his strong biceps to push away Jones, with Odom still hanging on his body, James still broke into the penalty area against the Heat's defensive players, scored the ball and also caused a defensive foul by the Heat, making the score 2+ 1!

As James made a free throw, the Cavaliers, who changed their tactics, immediately overtook the score.

Jones wanted to retaliate against James with an outside shot, but this time, his shot missed the basket.

The tactics of using offense to replace defense and wearing down the opponent are working!

In order to make the effect better.

When James once again pushed Jones into the penalty area and caused a foul, James raised his arm and showed off his arm muscles in front of the fans at Gund Arena.

Jones was a little annoyed that Xiu'er, a rookie player, was being treated as nothing but such a high-profile player.

He thought of Kobe Bryant, who pushed himself to the Heat.

He is also a high school student in the draft, and he is also the pride of heaven.

If it weren't for Kobe, I'm afraid he would be partnering with O'Neal, and he also believes that he is no worse than Kobe.

With O'Neal, he might be able to win three consecutive championships instead of being unknown in the Heat.

So, filled with anger, Jones stepped forward and hit James with his shoulder.

James is not someone to be trifled with, not to mention this is the home court of the Cavaliers.

James, who was hit, immediately butt heads with Jones, greeting each other's parents.

The referee and teammates quickly stepped forward to separate the two.

But James was very rare and still refused to give in. He muttered something, which made Jones very dissatisfied.

Heat coach Stan Van Gundy immediately called a timeout in order to keep the players calm. After all, this is Cleveland, not Miami.

If things get serious, the Heat will be the ones who can't afford it.

After resting on the bench for a while, and with the coach's instructions, Jones finally calmed down.

But when he returned to the court, Jones' fiery touch in the first quarter could not be regained.

Shentong took advantage of the Heat being affected and led the team to score consecutive points. The point difference between the two sides soon widened to 10 points.

Wade's progress is obvious to all. He even scored a wonderful goal by beating Shentong and scoring 2+1.

However, in the next round, Shentong immediately responded with a shot from outside the three-point line.

After the first half, the Cavaliers took the lead, with a score of 54-45, a 9-point difference.

In the second half, the Heat, who were playing away games and lagging behind, changed their tactics again.

They replaced Rafe Alston, who was not in tune with the rhythm of this game, and put Wade at the first position, Jones at the second position, and replaced Caron Butler to strengthen the offense.

Butler was a rookie player last season. In his rookie season, he averaged 15.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game. He seems to be a rising future star.

But this season, Butler's data has declined instead of rising.

He averaged only 9.2 points, 8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

But when it comes to outside shooting, apart from Butler, the Heat really can't find a second guy who can be entrusted with important tasks on the outside.

After changing positions, Wade began to harass McGinnis frequently.

Wade is already very fast, so Shentong has to be careful when playing against him, not to mention McGinnis.

Especially when the Cavaliers were attacking, McGinnis was almost unable to organize an offense after being defended by Wade.

As a result, the Cavaliers committed a 24-second violation and a pass was intercepted during an offense.

The Heat seized these two opportunities and scored them all.

For a time, victory or defeat became unpredictable again.

After Wade once again stole the ball from McGinnis and successfully dunked with one hand, Cavaliers coach Silas couldn't help but call a timeout.

Come back after the pause.

Wade saw the players he was playing against change.

Dajuan Wagner.

"What, it turns out it's just a guy with a slightly faster speed." Wade thought to himself.

Who knew that when the Cavaliers passed halftime, Wagner took the initiative to hand over the ball.

The guy standing at the top of the arc holding the ball and directing his teammates' movements is actually James.