Chapter 474: The Score Difference Is 18, Defeat Them!

The Cavaliers finally called the first timeout.

More than six minutes into the game, they were already 13 points behind and were completely overwhelmed by the Sonics in terms of momentum. Regardless of whether the head coach had any ideas or solutions, it was necessary to call a timeout to let the players calm down.

McMillan smiled and high-fived the players one by one. When it came to Lin Dong, the two smiled at each other.

McMillan had long admired Lin Dong from the bottom of his heart.

This young man not only had extraordinary personal abilities, but also his understanding of basketball, the court, and even his control of human nature, as well as his understanding of almost every opponent in the NBA, all of which amazed him.

This guy is the real head coach of the Supersonics. In comparison, the nominal head coach of the Supersonics is more like an assistant coach who does odd jobs and is responsible for training, logistics, and deployment...

McMillan couldn't help but look at Mike Brown. He saw that the 35-year-old new coach who switched from a scout to a head coach was frowning and kept talking to everyone in the Cavaliers with a tactical board. But judging from the interaction, he was just talking, and everyone was looking at his mouth, instead of focusing the players' attention on the tactical board.

Obviously, he didn't have any specific tactical arrangements to crack the Supersonics' style of play. Maybe he was encouraging the players or telling them something ideological.

Lin Dong said that Mike Brown couldn't crack this style of play.

If their coach was K, or Chuck Daly, Popovich, Zen Master and other famous coaches, there would be a way to let this Cavaliers really fight with the Supersonics based on the existing lineup.

The application of tactics, the mobilization of players, and even the understanding of players' psychology, etc., after all, they are the Big Four, and after all, there is no truly invincible tactic in this world.

But for Mike Brown, who is only 35 years old and is the coach for the first time, he is too young and has too little experience.

Of course, he will feel that the Cavaliers still have a chance, based on a very simple common sense, that is, Lin Dong and Sakuragi Hanamichi, who are the core of this rotation, are not physically strong enough to support them to keep playing like this.

This may be what Mike Brown is explaining at this time, but if this is his limit, if he thinks so, if he puts his hopes on it, then the final fact will definitely make the Cavaliers more desperate.

Super team... Is that something you can form if you want to?

Is it enough to just pull a few superstars?

From the boss to the head coach and even to the bench, this Cavaliers is naive to the bone. It has a luxurious lineup of the Big Four, but to be honest, the actual combat power is probably not much stronger than the weakened Spurs in another world.

If you want this Cavaliers to really cause trouble for the Supersonics.

The fifth man on the field, the depth of the bench rotation, and the head coach, these three major issues must be solved, otherwise the Cavaliers will still be vulnerable to the three giants of the Supersonics, who seem to be weakened but have actually reached their peak!

Thinking of Lin Dong's words, McMillan secretly clenched his fist.

This game has attracted the attention of the whole country, and the current ratings have reached nearly 50 million.

This super opening game where most fans in the United States are waiting to see the Supersonics make a fool of themselves, the Supersonics will definitely win!

…………

"Don't be nervous, don't be anxious! Relax and keep the rhythm steady! Lin Dong has to play a core role on both offense and defense. Such rotation defense consumes a lot of physical strength. How long can he play? One quarter? One and a half quarters?"

"Their defensive intensity will soon weaken. As long as we can hold on to the score, we will definitely be able to counterattack! Before that, we must not let them pull the score difference to more than 20 points!"

"Pavlovic, you must be resolute when shooting! Don't think about what to do if you can't make the shot. As long as the opportunity comes out, you should think, 'As long as I make one, it's all our Cavaliers'! It's all the basis for our comeback! And you have to believe Trust Shaq. The Sonics' current rotation means they can only defend Shaq alone. Even if you miss the shot, we will definitely get the offensive rebound! "

"Shaq! Don't be too careless under the basket. Don't always think about showing off. Sakuragi Hanamichi is not the kind of opponent you can easily control. He is a certain threat to you! Grab the rebound if you want to, and the goal must be clear!"

"LeBron! Try more pick-and-rolls with Wade. As long as you can block the opportunity, Jason will definitely give you the ball!"

"Wade..."

Mike Brown kept talking. The passionate mobilization still boosted the spirits of the Cavaliers who were already a little confused, and also clarified the strategic goals.

Drag!

The Sonics' rotation defense can't last too long. Don't lose your composure because of losing points. When the Sonics are tired, that's our chance to counterattack!

Beep!

The referee blew the whistle to return to the court.

"Cavaliers!"

Mike Brown stretched out his hand, and O'Neal, LeBron and others put their hands on it.

"We must win!"

They shouted with great momentum, and were full of murderous intent when they came on the court, as if they had regained their form through this timeout, and also made countless fans who were waiting in front of the TV to watch the "Supersonics lose" regain some confidence.

The Cavaliers have the ball.

The Supersonics have no intention of changing their style of play, and the opportunity still lies with Pavlovic.

Mike Brown's words seemed to have made the young European striker's attitude clear. The moment he received the ball, he shot very resolutely. Just looking at his expression, one could feel the confidence after letting go of the burden.

It was a pity that his luck was a little bad, and the basketball bounced out of the rim.

But O'Neal was still under the basket. He didn't think of making a tip-in. With his back against Sakuragi Hanamichi, he used all his strength to force the guy who had been defending for a while out of the paint area and picked up the rebound steadily.

The rebounding king is not invincible. He is absolutely weak in strength. When O'Neal focuses on rebounding, it is not easy to grab the rebound over his head.

O'Neal was already extremely focused at this time.

- Shaq, stop thinking about performance, you have to think about how to help this team! If you form the Big Four and still lose, then you will face more than just the ridicule of the fans, and it will definitely directly affect your value and historical status!

Facing Sakuragi Hanamichi and Chandler who came to defend from the side, the characteristic of the Sonics' rotation defense is that the ball handler will face the Sonics' double-team defense at any time. O'Neal did not choose to force the ball, but quickly passed the ball.

Pavlovic did not waste the opportunity this time, and made a 3-pointer from the outside, pulling the score difference back to 10 points.

—— Cavaliers! Cavaliers! Cavaliers! Cavaliers!

—— Overturn them!

Seeing this fruitful scene after the timeout, countless fans sitting in front of the TV in the United States shouted, and the Cavaliers players on the court and Mike Brown on the sidelines finally smiled a little.

There is a chance! Of course there is a chance! We are a team of four giants!

It's a pity...

The Sonics have the ball, facing LeBron and Wade's determined double-team, no longer blocking Lin Dong's passing route and no longer letting Lin Dong take a possible step-back three-pointer. The natural cooperation of the two super giants made it really difficult for a strong Lin Dong to find a chance to attack, but after all, it was 4 vs. 3.

Payton had already understood what was going on and rushed to the strong side position on the right side with Kidd's defense. Pavlovic followed Iguodala, while Chandler was already in position at a 45-degree angle on the left.

The Cavaliers' defensive attitude was obviously very clear. They just didn't believe that Chandler could score all the time. The main point was that they didn't believe it!

Lin Dong passed the ball. When Chandler held the ball, the hearts of the Cavaliers were in their throats, and they watched him pull up from outside the three-point line.

Don't go in, don't go in, don't go in!

Mike Brown clenched his fists and prayed on the sidelines, but the next second...

Swish!

The basketball went into the net steadily, and Chandler's mouth was almost crooked with laughter. After practicing for a whole offseason, he might still be a long way from the 3-point shot under confrontation. After all, his talent was not in this area, but he was a strong man who had completed 96 of 100 shots in the open 3-point shot.

You dare to leave me open?

27:14, the score difference reached 13 points again.

Amid the cheers of "Boxing King" at the scene, the ball returned to the Cavaliers.

The offensive rebounds and three-pointers just now were also a great confidence support for the Cavaliers. Now it is a process of confrontation. As long as they can keep the score stable, they can drag down the Supersonics!

LeBron and Wade's pick-and-roll did not play any role.

The cooperation of the Supersonics on the defensive end is too skillful, especially when there is a Lin Dong among the defenders. His ability to assist and lead teammates always makes people feel that he is like a fitter that can be transformed into any shape. He actively cooperates with Chandler's mismatch and uses a seemingly simple and simple action to easily resolve LeBron and Wade's pick-and-roll, so that the two can never pull out any space.

Fortunately, Pavlovic's open opportunities are still stable.

The ball was in Pavlovic's hands, and he made a very determined pull-up shot. Unfortunately, he was not Chandler who shot 1,500 shots a day during the offseason. He had an open opportunity, but his hit rate was only about 70%. When the points of the game were concentrated on him and the pressure was on him, it was already quite difficult to maintain such a large open position at 50%.

The basketball bounced up, and O'Neal tried to squeeze Sakuragi Hanamichi out of the paint area in the same way as before, but this time he squeezed nothing.

Using strength to block the body is certainly the most effective way to grab rebounds, but it does not mean that there is only this trick for rebounds.

Fighting with strength? That is something only young people can do. Passion is not just about shouting "Ahhhhh".

Sakuragi Hanamichi's concentration at this time was extremely focused.

While O'Neal was exerting force backward, Sakuragi, who was close to him, had already predicted O'Neal's intention through the adjustment of the center of gravity, the details of the body muscles, etc., and withdrew the stool almost millimeters away, making O'Neal feel that he could obviously "get close", but he was just a little short. As long as he exerted force one centimeter more...

It was obviously impossible to make O'Neal fall directly with such a simple trick as removing the stool, but the result of guiding O'Neal's center of gravity backward and exerting more force involuntarily was that O'Neal's center of gravity was temporarily lost and too much force was exerted, so that his steps were disordered, and his left leg involuntarily took one more step backward to support the center of gravity of his body.

And Sakuragi Hanamichi took advantage of O'Neal's left leg moving one more step, and the whole person turned around with great agility close to him, and actually got in directly from the armpit behind him when he opened his arms to grab the back, and in turn squeezed in front of O'Neal, occupying a more favorable receiving position.

Through millimeter-level detailed movements, O'Neal was guided to make the first mistake, and then this mistake that could be completely "ignored" was continuously magnified, leading him to retreat one more step within one second.

Prediction, guidance, basic strength, flexible coordination of the body, basic defensive skills and the ability to seize opportunities, Sakuragi Hanamichi is like a defensive monster that combines the strengths of various companies, and has long surpassed the former peak of Glove Payton.

Dare to say that he surpasses Lin Dong on the defensive end, dare to say that he is the current top defensive expert of the Supersonics, Sakuragi Hanamichi relies on more than just his mouth!

Snap!

Even without jumping, the rebound is firmly in Sakuragi Hanamichi's hands!

It seems to be a process of only one or two seconds, but it contains countless details.

Even if the fans in the stadium can't see so deep, just look at the result.

——Rebounding King Sakuragi! Rebounding King Sakuragi!

A thunderous cheer suddenly rang out on the court, causing O'Neal to curse secretly, and Mike Brown on the sidelines suddenly felt depressed.

It was good enough for Pavlovic to maintain a 50% hit rate for open three-pointers. After all, the Sonics were not completely unguarded against him. He had to rush for the ball while shooting.

The remaining 50% could only be made up by O'Neal's rebounds, but if even O'Neal's rebounds were suppressed.

Coincidence! This was just a coincidence! O'Neal couldn't grab all the rebounds. Everyone would make mistakes. It wasn't a big problem...

When Mike Brown thought about this, the Sonics' counterattack fast break had already scored. Payton made a light layup and scored his first personal point of the game.

29:14!

The Cavaliers used the same trick again and continued to passively "create" open opportunities for Pavlovic.

The missed shot just now widened the gap to 15 points, which was very close to what the coach said, "We must not let the Sonics widen the gap to 20 points."

This undoubtedly gave Pavlovic more psychological pressure.

The 3-point shot missed again, and everyone's attention was focused on the basket at this time.

This is the stage for Sakuragi Hanamichi and O'Neal!

Mike Brown screamed in his heart: Get the rebound, you must get this rebound, Shaq!

Sakuragi Hanamichi used the same trick again. Although O'Neal kept reminding himself of the mistake he had just made, since you want to use your body and strength to intercept the opponent, you must take the initiative to lean on the opponent. At the moment of leaning on, Sakuragi Hanamichi's millimeter-level "removal of the stool" really makes it difficult for people to control the scale of the back.

This has nothing to do with whether you are focused or not, because your intention of "wanting to take the initiative to lean on the opponent, to find the opponent's center of gravity, and to intercept the opponent" is in conflict with the actions of others, unless you stand still stupidly.

That damn moment of weightlessness came again, making O'Neal curse in his heart, and his feet involuntarily took another step back again.

But at least he had learned from the previous lesson, and subconsciously thought that Sakuragi Hanamichi would drill under his armpits. O'Neal instinctively tightened his arms, and his two big hands also subconsciously intercepted the left and right sides, but...

You tightened your arms and actively reduced the defensive area, so how can you block both sides?

Sakuragi Hanamichi did not drill this time, but directly changed to "turn", just a back turn, and went straight from O'Neal's right side. It seemed easier and more natural than drilling under the armpit just now.

Another rebound! Another fast break!

As for fast breaks, frankly speaking, even if the Cavaliers have a flash like Wade, LeBron's impact speed, and Kidd's awareness, they still can't catch up with the supersonics.

Let's not talk about Lin Dong, forcing the Cavaliers to have two people to block, Payton can distract Kidd's attention, and Iguodala and Chandler are completely free.

Don't count on European players like Pavlovic. Although he has a standard forward-guard physique and is very strong, in terms of speed, he is not only not as fast as Iguodala, but even not as fast as Chandler!

Iguodala received the ball from the outside and shot a 3-pointer, making his first 3-pointer of the game.

32:14, the score difference has reached 18 points!

We must not let the Supersonics open up to more than 20 points? But... it's only been more than 8 minutes in the first quarter, and the score difference is already 18!

You can clearly see Mike Brown sweating and nervous on the sidelines, and you can also clearly see the anxiety on the faces of all the Cavaliers members.

Lin Dong knows that this team is starting to lose patience... What is 18 points? Now is the best time to completely defeat them!