Chapter 561 This Time It’s Real!

The Cavaliers have the ball.

As usual, the Supersonics did not press the whole court, allowing Kidd to control the ball across half court, and Payton intercepted it at a high position, and the two sides fought a positional battle.

At this time, whether it was Laney on the sidelines or Kidd on the court, as the two people with the highest basketball IQ and the most acute observation of the situation on the court in the Cavaliers, both of them obviously saw that LeBron’s current state was very problematic.

But...

Kidd glanced at Laney on the sidelines. Although his brows were furrowed, he did not mean to go to the referee’s bench to make a substitution, and he did not even let anyone warm up.

The answer is obvious.

LeBron’s state is obviously problematic, but no one in the Cavaliers can replace him. Perhaps some coaches will replace him first and try to communicate and enlighten him, but Kidd and Laney understand human nature too well.

For people like LeBron, the words of others have no effect on him.

His self-esteem is too strong, and in some ways, he is actually very "inferior".

He is inferior to his background and the gap between him and Lin Dong.

There are many kids like LeBron in the NBA who came out of the slums, but to be honest, LeBron is the only one who is so self-disciplined, never flirts with women, and even doesn't go to nightclubs, and cherishes his reputation.

Many people think that this is his advantage, that he is untainted by mud, but for psychological masters like Kidd and Laney, this is a manifestation of LeBron's inferiority.

He has been trying to package his "high-quality" coat, as if he is an excellent child from the middle class with a healthy mind. This is a manifestation of denying the past and denying his origin, and also a manifestation of losing himself.

Deep in his heart, he is too eager to get rid of that place, and accordingly, he will care too much about that place.

And if he cares about that place and his childhood, he will inevitably feel inferior.

Overcorrection... At any time, only by facing your own shortcomings can you truly overcome them, but if you want to rely on some fillers and some fake things to package them, it may make you look more beautiful for a while, but like a time bomb, it will explode in your body sooner or later and bring you the deepest harm.

When such a person encounters a problem, unless he figures it out and gets out of it, he will not listen to what others say or what they call "guidance". Instead, he will stay away from you and even deliberately go in the opposite direction.

This is why Lanny did not replace him. Lanny hopes that this guy can overcome his inner demons by himself.

Not for LeBron, but for winning the game. Otherwise, if LeBron is missing without Artest, the Cavaliers' lineup will really be completely unable to compete with the Supersonics.

And this is also Kidd's idea.

7:0...7 points difference.

Kidd licked his lips and could tolerate him for up to five mistakes.

As long as the difference is within 20 points, if LeBron can be replaced, it will be worth it.

Swish!

He passed the ball to LeBron who was asking for the ball at the waist without hesitation.

Consecutive mistakes, but the ball was given to him one after another.

LeBron is a smart man. He knows very well why Lanny and Kidd did this.

And he must also overcome his inner demons.

Focus on the game, focus on the opponent in front of you, don't think about Lin Dong anymore, and don't think about any messy things anymore.

LeBron, you can do it! LeBron, you can do it! Don't forget the days you and your mother had, don't forget your dreams, and don't be scared into an idiot by the word "Lin Dong"!

In the past few years, Lin Dong has always been his nightmare, and thanks to this, he has trained himself to force himself to always forget "Lin Dong".

LeBron closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and when he opened his eyes, his eyes had become firm.

Focus on the game!

He leaned back slightly, and started the game with a fairly standard back, feeling the center of gravity and confrontation of the opponent behind him, LeBron's body suddenly started.

Lin Dong has been paying attention to the duel between LeBron and Sakuragi.

This game is different from others. If the victory or defeat of this game depends on himself, it will be more difficult.

Because no matter how well he plays, how good his condition is, or how many points he scores, he can't defeat the Cavaliers from a spiritual level.

No matter how many points they are behind, they will fight to the last second. After all, in their eyes, they are the god of basketball and the goal that everyone wants to surpass.

If they are not mentally prepared for the gap between each other, they will not stand in front of them to challenge.

And sports competition, fierce fighting and will, sometimes burst out miraculous power, which will inevitably bring various uncertainties to the game.

But... if it is Sakuragi Hanamichi who defeats LeBron, then despair will hang over everyone in the Cavaliers.

When the Cavaliers' spirit dissipates, the game will be decided.

And all this depends on the duel between LeBron and Sakuragi Hanamichi.

From the Nike Summit to follow me until now, it is time for Sakuragi to shine with his own light... He is fully capable of that!

At this time, the duel between the two is in a stalemate.

It must be said that LeBron at this time is much stronger than the basketball emperor that Lin Dong once saw in the video tape of another world.

Since joining the Cavaliers, LeBron has been training day and night for three years, which has given him basic skills that he could not imagine in another world. The motivation and direction brought by pursuing Lin Dong, and even the various technical innovations that Lin Dong has brought to the entire NBA and even the entire world of basketball, have also given LeBron more vision and accumulation.

Coupled with the specialization in Japan for half a year, frankly speaking, LeBron is really strong at this time.

There is no problem with his ball control, which is skillful, natural, and has a very good sense of the ball.

His skills are also no problem. While the traditional inside type relies on strength to break through, it is also mixed with the big dream footwork that he can never learn in another world, making his breakthrough more sensitive and gentle overall.

And if all this is combined with his destructive power, to be honest, Lin Dong feels that if he defends LeBron, he will most likely not be able to defend him, because even if he predicts his movements, he can't stop him in the face of his tyrannical power.

But... Sakuragi is different.

LeBron's breakthrough at this time seemed to be predicted by Sakuragi Hanamichi, but LeBron could always use the advantage of offensive initiative to change tactics and re-establish the initiative.

The two were equal in terms of skills.

In terms of strength, Sakuragi Hanamichi was slightly better, after all, he was taller and heavier than LeBron, but LeBron was the main attacker, while Sakuragi Hanamichi was passively defensive, and the passive side always had to pay more than the active side.

The advantages and disadvantages of the two offset each other, and they were evenly matched in the fight.

Starting from the waist position, Sakuragi Hanamichi could not completely stop LeBron from advancing to the basket, but LeBron could not let Sakuragi Hanamichi give up even a little defensive space.

This was a full defense posture, including his fadeaway jump shot just now. With the closeness of Sakuragi Hanamichi to him at this time, LeBron felt that he might not even be able to jump.

In terms of breakthrough, LeBron won, after all, he pushed into the inside line;

However, at this time, Sakuragi Hanamichi was too close, leaving LeBron with no space to shoot, not to mention attracting Chandler's double-teaming. On the contrary, because he pushed into the inside line, the inside space was too small at this time...

LeBron's pupils condensed slightly.

Sakuragi Hanamichi took the initiative to "let" him in. At least, Sakuragi Hanamichi's defensive purpose was not to block him out.

So his defense was always very close, that was to prevent himself from shooting, and it was precisely because he was very close that he was easily passed by others when defending against breakthroughs, so he put more energy into not losing his position, rather than not losing his "position".

And this so-called position was a trap for the Supersonics!

LeBron suddenly understood.

The Cavaliers' inside line is stronger than the Supersonics, but for the Supersonics' inside line, they also have a stronger side than himself and O'Neal, that is, the cooperation between the two.

After all, they have been teammates for nearly four years and have always been partners in the interior. The two have teamed up to fight against almost all the heavy interiors in the league. The tacit understanding has long been natural, which is not comparable to the tacit understanding between him and O'Neal, who have just been together for one season and have not played a few games together.

To put it bluntly, if he and O'Neal are 1.5+1.5=3, then Sakuragi Hanamichi plus Chandler is 1+1=3!

This is also the real core of Lanny's arrangement of this double tower small space tactic. Only by opening up the space and forcing the Supersonics to face two weak positions, or facing double-teaming and missing people, the Cavaliers' inside advantage exists.

This is why Sakuragi Hanamichi let himself break in.

But...how could Lanny not think of this?

They thought it would work, but it was just because they had never seen the extreme cooperation of the double towers in a small space!

A small range of space is a small space, and there is also a small space match when squeezed together.

LeBron only gave O'Neal a look, and O'Neal understood what he meant. At this time, O'Neal suddenly took a step forward.

A small-scale pick-and-roll between the twin towers!

With O'Neal's size and strength, there was almost no room for resolution in such a small-scale pick-and-roll under the basket.

Chandler couldn't stop or limit O'Neal's movements at all. LeBron only needed to use his screen to get out of position and single out Chandler in a position outside the paint area, which was too easy for him.

And how could Sakuragi Hanamichi deal with it? Not to mention that he was facing away from O'Neal at this time, even if he saw it, he couldn't do anything, because the space under the basket was too small, Sakuragi Hanamichi couldn't push O'Neal, and there was no space for him to bypass O'Neal.

Seeing O'Neal start to move, LeBron smiled. This pick-and-roll under the basket was carefully calculated in every step to ensure that it was on the edge of the league's mobile pick-and-roll foul. At the same time, with the advantage of the small space under the basket, even Chandler's position was part of the Cavaliers' pick-and-roll at this time. If Sakuragi Hanamichi wanted to defend him, he had to not only bypass O'Neal, but also bypass Chandler, which was simply impossible!

So as long as O'Neal stood firm, he could start to misalign, and what awaited Sakuragi Hanamichi was only a defensive failure, unless the outside line came up to double-team in time, then the Cavaliers could get a 3-pointer from the outside.

Even if it was clearly shown to you, you had no way to cooperate!

LeBron couldn't help but look at Sakuragi Hanamichi more. He was looking forward to seeing the surprised and angry expression on the face of this guy who always helped Lin Dong to block in front of him.

But...what he saw was Sakuragi Hanamichi's eyes "avoiding" his sight and looking behind him.

LeBron couldn't help but be slightly startled.

What's behind him?

Lin Dong? !

These two words are like a virus. He doesn't want to think about it, but they always pop up in his mind involuntarily. When these two words appear, LeBron can't help but shiver all over.

He knows that he can't look back, but he can't help being afraid. He subconsciously wants to hide and complete the pick-and-roll as soon as possible. He takes the lead in starting his steps, but...

The man passes, but the ball doesn't.

A big hand cuts off his ball-control route, which has already started to be a little out of rhythm, and slaps the basketball out of the hands of this suddenly uneasy guy.

Sakuragi Hanamichi, it's still Sakuragi Hanamichi!

Steal!

——Steal King! Steal King!

——Hahaha, Sakuragi Hanamichi is too strong today!

——Sakuragi! Sakuragi! Sakuragi! Sakuragi!

The whole court was filled with cheers, but LeBron's face flushed red at this moment.

He used Lin Dong to set a screen, and used Lin Dong to scare him!

LeBron's breathing became heavy involuntarily.

Angry! Not only because he was angry that the ball was stolen, but also because of the way Sakuragi Hanamichi chose!

While he was still angry, Sakuragi Hanamichi had already rushed out first. It was LeBron who took the initiative to run behind O'Neal and "made way" for Sakuragi Hanamichi. Not only did he fail to keep up with the counterattack, he even blocked O'Neal's route back.

The supersonics' fast break was definitely unique in the league, not to mention that the Cavaliers were directly missing two defenders.

After the Cavaliers defenders in the backcourt had to switch defenses several times, the ball was in Rukawa Kaede's hands, and he easily hit a 3-pointer from the outside, 10:0!

Timeout?

Lanny ignored Laura who was anxious and angry next to him.

The Cavaliers' tactics were fine, but the problem was LeBron's heart. He was a guy who didn't listen to other people's opinions... He could only let him solve it on the court!

The game continued.

The Cavaliers had the ball. Kidd didn't dare to give the ball directly to LeBron this time. Although the previous judgment was that he could make five more mistakes, he couldn't let him make them in a row. If he was 20 points behind in the first 5 minutes, then there would be no need to play this game...

Let him slow down a bit.

Kidd chose O'Neal. When LeBron pulled to the waist to open up space and O'Neal asked for the ball under the basket, he had a huge advantage over Chandler.

Chandler chose to foul, and O'Neal miraculously made two free throws, finally breaking the Cavaliers' scoring drought, 10:2.

The Sonics' possession of the ball became Lin Dong's personal performance time. He challenged Wade in one step and faced LeBron's replacement. It was obvious that he was in poor condition at this time. Although he looked angry and motivated, some of his technical moves had inevitably begun to distort and deform, and the timing selection could not keep up with the overall rhythm.

That was naturally... to kill him while he was sick!

Sakuragi Hanamichi tortured LeBron's will on the defensive end, and he could not let him go on the offensive end. The sooner he collapsed, the easier it would be for the Sonics to win this game.

At this time, he stood up and took a mid-range shot against LeBron's defense, just to force LeBron's point.

The opponent's block was really fierce and he jumped very high. Lin Dong's arm was pulled a little in the air and met his arm.

"Beep!"

"The goal is valid, the Cavaliers' No. 0 fouled, and one free throw was added!"

LeBron's breathing became heavier and more rapid.

All kinds of targeting on the defensive end, and all kinds of attacking on the offensive end...Supersonics, damn Supersonics, what kind of blood feud do I have with them? !

13:2, Supersonics lead by double digits again.

Cavaliers' ball possession.

Kidd hung O'Neal high under the basket, and facing O'Neal, who was like a giant under the basket, Sakuragi Hanamichi chose to double-team, and O'Neal immediately passed the ball to LeBron in the waist position.

This is the reverse application of the double tower small space tactics.

Normally, LeBron attracts double-teaming on the perimeter, but if it is the other way around, O'Neal can attract double-teaming in the interior, and the effect is the same.

Judging from the distance between them now, even if Sakuragi Hanamichi rushed back, it would be too late. At most, it would interfere with LeBron's sight. In this case, LeBron is in the mid-range half-air position, and a 90% hit rate is given to you!

But...

Sakuragi Hanamichi didn't move, but smiled and looked directly behind LeBron.

Still using this trick? !

LeBron sneered in his heart, and was extremely angry.

He had been fooled by this guy three times in a row. Did he think he was an idiot? !

No matter where you look, don't try to affect my shot. There is no one behind me!

He jumped up without hesitation, but the next second...

Snap!

A big hand slapped down from the air.

Block?

No, it was a block!

The owner of the big hand jumped too high, and the position was too good, and LeBron was too defenseless.

It even made the audience feel that he was deliberately "angry" with the blocker behind him.

I just don't believe that someone will come up from behind!

I don't even bother to look at it. If you have the guts, come and block me. I'll give it to you! !

Snap!

The basketball that hadn't been shot yet was grabbed by the man.

Supersonics No. 23, Lin Dong!

LeBron's pupils shrank instantly, and his brain went blank, as if it was filled with "snowflakes and fragments".

Sakuragi Hanamichi laughed and said the last heartbreaking words to LeBron: "This time it's real!"