basketball dreams

Chapter 56 Actual Intent
Stalemate, complete stalemate.

On the field, players on both sides are constantly engaging in high-intensity confrontation and running.

Everyone in the Cavaliers seemed to use all their strength to find a way to limit the opponent's inside line. Nance Jr. and Zizic took turns to defend Ayton, who was in hot form.

On the defensive end, the Suns tried their best to limit the Cavaliers' running positions.

Because they just used the tactic of shooting three-pointers in a two-line pick-and-roll outside the three-point line, the Suns are a little uncomfortable at this time. No matter where the three major shooters of the Cavaliers run, they must follow closely. I am afraid that the opponent will run out of the open space.

Even the center forward, Ayton, was forced to help defend everywhere, almost never standing in one place for more than 3 seconds.

After all, the Cavaliers have three players running at the same time, and the Suns' defense is really difficult to cover everything.

About 5 minutes into the second quarter, the score of the two sides rose to 45-48. The Cavaliers still led by 3 points, and neither side could do anything about it.

"Beep!" At this time, the game entered an official timeout, and players from both sides returned to the bench to rest at the same time.

"Bang!" After the game, Ayton sat down on the Suns bench, picked up the sports drink handed over by the staff, and gulped it down.

On his body, his jersey was completely soaked with sweat at this time, and his strong physique was also printed.It can be seen that he seems to be very tired.

"Huh?" Sun coach Watson immediately raised his eyebrows when he saw this, and walked up to Ayton. It was the first time he saw the young and strong Ayton start to get tired so early in a game. , You know, the game is only in the middle of the second quarter now.

"What's wrong with you?" He bent down and asked. Ayton's state is one of the decisive factors that determine the direction of this game, so there must be no situation.

Hearing this, Ayton didn't even want to talk anymore, he waved his hand and said in the shortest possible way: "I'm just tired, just take it easy."

Watson: "..."

tired?A 20-year-old boy is at the stage where his physical skills can be said to be the best in his life. He has only played for more than ten minutes, and he is unwilling to say anything when he is tired?

Suddenly, a bad premonition welled up from Watson's heart.

"Could it be..." Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of something, and immediately turned his head to look at the opposite Cavaliers bench.

Suddenly he realized something.

Since the Cavaliers just changed their players, they have been playing perimeter tactics. Li Yunchen, Korver, and Seth Curry shot three-pointers one after another, and then used their powerful perimeter control to force the Suns. Must keep running.

Then on the defensive end, they restricted Booker and Knight to not dare to shoot and could only find ways to play inside. In this way, whether it is offense or defense, Ayton, as the core of the team, has always been between confrontation and running. middle.

"Are they... trying to consume Ayton on purpose?" Thinking of this, Watson slapped his head and widened his eyes.

He finally understood why Tyronn Lue didn't think about changing his style of play even when he missed consecutive shots in the middle of the three-point tactics. It turned out that their goal was not three-pointers at all, but Ayton!

The biggest reason why the Suns are stronger this season than last season is that their inside line has a point where they can score stably, and they no longer rely solely on Booker's performance.

But once Ayton on the inside can't play because of too much physical exertion, then their entire offense can basically be declared paralyzed!

"Slap!" At this moment, Watson slapped himself on the face in frustration.

He regretted, regretted that he hadn't seen through the other party's attempt earlier.Ayton should have paid attention to it when he was unstoppable in the interior. How could there be a team that really let you go inside?
"It's over, what should we do with this game?" Watson looked at Ayton, who was slumped in his seat, and didn't know what to say at this time.

However, completely different from the gloomy clouds and bleakness of the Suns, the Cavaliers bench at this time is full of laughter.

Everyone laughed, especially Tyronn Lue laughed.

"Watson should take Ayton down next. Without the inside support, they will have no chance at all!" Tyronn Lue was holding the tactical board, but he didn't draw any tactics on it, because he knew, The player knows exactly what to do next.

Hearing this, Yun Chen, who was resting, also nodded. This tactic has cost him a lot, but it is still within the acceptable range.

"Beep!" At this time, the referee blew his whistle, the timeout ended, and the players on both sides returned to the field.

"Zizic and Nance Jr. come down and rest. Your mission is completed. Next, we will look at Love and Thompson, and Korver. You also rest, and Clarkson will play." Tyronn Lue looked opposite, Walter Sure enough, Tetson did not let Ayton play again. At this time, the Suns' backup center had already changed his clothes and went on the court.

"Huh!" Yun Chen got up, stretched out his hands and made a stretching motion, and turned his neck around by the way.

"Come on, crush them!"

……

The game continues, the Cavaliers have the ball!

At this time, the Suns' lineup has undergone tremendous changes. Ayton and Warren, who have exhausted their physical strength, have been replaced. Their inside ability and outside defense ability have suddenly dropped by more than one level.

On the other hand, the Cavaliers have not only not weakened, but because of Love's return, their internal strength has been improved by leaps and bounds.

As soon as he was on the court, Yun Chen looked at Ayton, the number one pick on the Suns' bench, when he was attacking. He was panting and sitting there in a daze.

"Hey, DeAndre Ayton." At this time, Yun Chen called him, and then imitated his tone and said: "Boy, playing basketball depends on your brain, parallel imports!"

Ayton had said before the media that Yunchen was a parallel importer before, and now he returned this evaluation to him intact.

"You!" Ayton was about to go crazy immediately.

But after Yun Chen said this, he turned his head and left. The Cavaliers' attack had already begun.

Seeing this, Ayton had no choice but to swallow what he wanted to say, because he found that the referee next to him had already looked at him, and if he said more nonsense, it would definitely be a T.

On the court, the current Cavaliers lineup can be said to be very balanced inside and outside.

With Love, he is directly handed over to him for inside singles. Just like Ayton before, he is almost omnipotent inside.

Although Tyson Chandler used to be an All-Star player, he is old after all, and it is obviously not enough to look at Love, who is at his peak.

"Shua!" For three consecutive rounds, the Cavaliers handed over to Love the mid-range and inside singles, all of which were scored.

On the other hand, the Suns couldn't stop an effective offense at all. Yunchen stuck Devin Booker tightly, just to give him physical resistance to prevent him from shooting comfortably.

In this way, the Suns fell into a scoring drought. After Yunchen made a three-pointer in the third round after returning, they were beaten 7-0.

"Beep!" Watson had no choice but to call timeout again.

But what's the use of pausing?Ayton can't use this big killer, he has nothing to do, he can only hope that the Cavaliers will feel worse.

But today's Yunchen, can he offset the fiery feeling with a pause?
After the timeout, the Cavaliers changed their strategy again. Instead of playing inside, they let Yunchen keep running on the outside, with two or even three people covering him, and letting him shoot three-pointers one after another.

In the remaining 7 minutes of the second quarter, Yunchen played 4 minutes, and all of his shots were three-pointers.

By the end of the second quarter, his personal score had reached 23 points, and the Suns, who shot directly with an explosive touch, began to doubt their lives.

As for the scores of the two teams, the Suns lacked the No. 67 pick and had no power to parry. At halftime, they were 51-16, [-] points behind the Cavaliers.

At this point in the game, it seems that the final whistle can already be heard.

(End of this chapter)