msmithbooks Chapter 926 A Visit to Cleveland
Chapter 926 A Visit to Cleveland
Chapter 926 A Visit to Cleveland
On January 1, the Thunder was a guest in Cleveland and the Cavaliers in an away game.The two teams were opponents in the finals of last season, the contest between the champion and the runner-up, so this game has attracted a lot of attention before the game.It's just that compared to the Thunder's record, the Cavaliers are limited by internal and external troubles. Not to mention that the current record is not ideal, and some unpleasant things have happened.
Cleveland, located on the southern shore of Lake Erie, is the capital of Cuyahoga County, Ohio.In the 50s, it was once densely populated and an industrial city.
But with the advent of the 21st century, the industrial cities in central America have been declining, including Detroit, not to mention the small Cleveland.
The Cavaliers actually joined the NBA very early, which is different from those newcomers in the NBA.As early as 1970, they became a member of the NBA, but until James appeared, this team did not achieve decent results.
Before that, it is estimated that people's impression of the Cavaliers was the back of being killed by Jordan in 1993, which became the footnote of "The shot".
The main honors of this team today are all brought by the man James. Of course, basketball is not a sport for one person, but superstars are the stepping stones to hard honors.
After failing to defend his title last season, Irving filed a trade application during the offseason, and he was eventually sent to Boston in exchange for Thomas Jr., Crowder, Zizic and the Nets pick for next season.
Obviously, Thomas Jr. with an injured butt is no longer the same Thomas Jr. last season. For Zizic, it is a plus, and Claude is a very good role player.From this point of view, the greatest value of this deal may be the Nets pick.
The Nets' poor record in the past few seasons makes people imagine that the team's pick next season may be very high. The lottery is certain, and it is likely to be in the top ten, or even the top five.Considering the god-like luck of the Cavaliers owner's son, the No. [-] pick seems to be beckoning to the Cavaliers.
Obviously, the Cavaliers' deal takes into account both the present and the future.Thomas Jr. (healthy) and Crowder are good immediate combatants, both of whom have proven themselves in Boston.The Nets pick is the future of the Cavaliers, because James has not committed to staying with the team next season.
The owner of the Cavaliers is not a person who likes to sit and wait for death. As a venture capitalist, he likes to take the initiative in his own hands, so he agreed to the deal.
Of course Xie Kai knew about this deal, and the whole world knew about Owen Xia's farce.He didn't think there was anything wrong with a young All-Star player becoming the boss of his own company, but the way he chose was a bit inappropriate.If you want to leave, you can bring it up earlier, so that the team can also have better trading partners and plans, so that everyone can get together and leave.But to be honest, Irving does play the ball and attract fans, and his offensive ability with the ball can rank among the top 3 point guards.
However, as a point guard, Irving's defense is very average. The gap between having the ball and not having the ball in offense is too large, and he lacks the overall situation and organizational skills. He is more like a sharp knife than the team's brain.
Of course, he may think that he is actually capable of controlling a team's offense, thinking that James suppressed him before.
In Xie Kai’s view, even Heizi would laugh at James’ six-step layup, his decision to make one and two decisions, his looks and ugly jumper, but he would never laugh at his strength and ability to lead the team.
In terms of team leadership ability alone, Xie Kai is the only one who can match him in this league.
Everyone can see that James already has the intention of passing the ball to Irving again and making him the team leader.This can be said to be the information that he may leave the team.
But Owen doesn't accept it, he firmly believes in the Mamba spirit, and he wants to be unique.
Xie Kai thinks it's ridiculous, Irving, do you have any misunderstandings about your own strength, a person who has only made it to the third team with the best personal performance so far, actually challenged James?
This is not the same as Kobe was back then.Back then, Kobe was already the number one shooting guard in the league, and he could compete with the declining Sharks for the top spot, but Irving obviously didn't have that level of strength.
Of course, some people may live in a ball, some people live in the collection, and some people think that being picturesque is the most important thing in a basketball game.
You can't wake someone who's pretending to be asleep, that's the reality.
Over the Quicken Loans Center in Cleveland, the championship banner with "2016" was hung.This is the only major sports championship in Cleveland, known as the "Cursed City" for nearly 50 years. This is really hard-won.
Xie Kai felt that it was too difficult for a team in a small market to win the championship. If it weren't for the story of God Draw and James going home, the Cavaliers want to win the championship, then I don't know when it will be.The same is true of himself. If Memphis hadn't magically assembled the configuration of black and white bears, no matter how strong he is, he would not be able to win the championship by himself.
When James went to the South Coast to form the Big Three with Wade Bosh, it wasn't that he didn't want to be in the Cavaliers, but Bosh said, "I really want to play with you, but not in Cleveland."
With the same salary, wouldn’t it be good to bask in the sun and play young models on the beach on the South Coast? Do you have to go to a lonely industrial city like Cleveland to help the poor?
Although the Cavaliers have a bad record, they still have James, so there is no need to worry about attendance. This is the value of a superstar.
During last year's offseason, the Cavaliers had the biggest lineup change among the teams. They left Irving and several veterans left the team. James' good friend Wade and Rose Rose came. It feels like a world away.
Wade James Ross reuniting with Cavaliers?This was completely unimaginable a few seasons ago.Can you imagine that Riley would not give a decent contract to a team player like Wade?Can you imagine "Janeway 2.0" happening in Cavaliers?
It's really hard to imagine before all this can't be said.
This game was broadcast live on Tencent, with Wang Meng and Yang Yi responsible for the commentary.
Wang Meng: "Mr. Yang, what do you think of the continuation of last season's finals?"
Yang Yi pouted, and then said with a half-smile, "The two teams are different now, so there is no reference."
Wang Meng laughed and said, "Do you think the Cavaliers can still make it to the Finals this season?"
Yang Yi said noncommittally: "Now that the All-Star Game hasn't started, it's hard to say anything."
In this game, the starting lineup of the Cavaliers at home is: center - Kevin Love, power forward - Jae Crowder, small forward - LeBron James, shooting guard - JR Smith, Point guard -- Isiah Thomas.
(End of this chapter)