LeBron James, your house got robbed.

Chapter 108 Harden's Confusion

June 14, Quicken Loans Arena, NBA Finals.

After Durant received the ball, his lower body space was firmly blocked, and a pair of long arms in front of him kept interfering, preventing Durant from turning around easily.

He could already see Garnett sneaking towards the free-throw line out of the corner of his eye.

Damn.

Durant could only pass the ball to Westbrook at the top of the key.

Paul, who had been giving Westbrook the freedom to drive and shoot, suddenly took a step and lunged fiercely at the ball.

In the brief moment when Westbrook instinctively shielded the ball, Garnett had already returned to in front of Ibaka, and the open space created by Durant drawing a double team disappeared.

Everything is back to square one.

Westbrook glanced at the timer and decided to take the ball himself. Paul, who was in front of him, had changed his defensive stance, turning to the side to give Westbrook a way to the wing.

Next came the natural defensive move: Westbrook was forced to the wing, drove down the wing, and was forced to take a shot in the long two-point area near the baseline.

Paul was standing beside him, putting pressure on him, while Chandler blocked his path to break through.

The basketball bounced hard off the rim and soared high before finally landing in Garnett's hands under the basket.

Westbrook was furious, feeling full of energy but unable to use it.

He wasn't unaware that it was a trap, but Paul was positioned firmly on the right side of the defense, leaving him with no other option.

The roles of offense and defense have reversed.

Paul controlled the pace, steadily bringing the ball across half-court and launching an attack with a pick-and-roll with Chandler, targeting Perkins who was retreating into the paint.

Ibaka stepped forward to help defend, and the basketball was accurately passed to Garnett.

The latter calmly sank a powerful jump shot.

Seeing that the game was lost, Thunder head coach Brooks on the sidelines had no choice but to call a timeout and concede defeat.

To be honest, he simply couldn't find a way to win.

Durant was double-teamed and could only rely on catch-and-shoot off-ball to score. Although his efficiency was still good, his off-ball production was always limited.

Westbrook, however, fell completely into the trap. The Cavaliers' defense against Westbrook was exactly the same as that of the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.

Allow Westbrook to shoot, forcing him to shoot from narrow areas like the wings and baseline, so that the interior players can come out and double-team Paul.

The only chance left is to score two points.

Westbrook's zombie jump shot requires rhythm, but Paul, who is defending him, constantly uses various small moves to disrupt Westbrook's shooting rhythm.

Coach Brooks once placed his hopes on Harden.

Harden had a standout performance in the Western Conference Finals, playing a microwave-like role similar to Ginobili, orchestrating pick-and-rolls to lead the bench, catching and shooting threes, and pushing the fast break with ease.

He's a completely different person from Harden at the Quicken Loans Arena right now.

His dribbling was loose, his eyes were unfocused, he frequently lost the ball when no one was pressing him, his shooting percentage was less than 40%, and he completely lacked the aggressiveness he showed in the Western Conference Finals on the defensive end.

Although Harden came off the bench, he played the entire fourth quarter since the Western Conference Finals began.

When it comes to guarding off-ball shooters, Harden was quite aggressive in chasing Ray Allen during the Western Conference Finals, but in the Finals against Thompson, his footwork was so heavy that he couldn't keep up at all.

Chen Shuo sat on the sidelines, also observing Harden.

The Cavaliers' defensive design did not anticipate Harden's disastrous performance.

In order to deal with Harden, defensive assistant coach Langabady also made special arrangements, with no less emphasis than Durant and Weidenfeller.

This reminded Chen Shuo of an old news story.

The timeline is completely different when the Thunder were swept by the Heat, Harden's poor performance and his outstanding performance in the Western Conference Finals are like night and day.

There were rumors at the time that Harden was indulging in Miami's glamorous nightclubs during the Finals, which led to his poor performance.

Chen Shuo had always scoffed at such rumors, but now he was starting to believe them somewhat.

But Cleveland doesn't really have a nightclub culture. There are a lot of nightclubs in the Riverside area, mostly run by rock veterans and strippers, and a bunch of blue-collar workers pounding tables with big beers. It's nothing like Miami, where people party every night.

The Cavaliers ultimately defeated the Thunder again at home, bringing the series score to 2-0. Both victories came quite easily.

The coaching staff increased Paul's playing time, keeping him on and off the court with Westbrook, and consistently controlling the game in a half-court setting.

They'd rather miss a fast break than let the Thunder grind out the ball one by one in a half-court game.

They had completely entered Paul's comfort zone.

Thunder center Perkins became Paul's target.

Perkins is undoubtedly a top-tier physical center, having held his own against Gasol and Bynum when facing the Lakers, but he had very little role in the Cavaliers' low-post offense.

Staying on the court is entirely a burden on the defensive end.

A top-tier point guard like Paul almost always targets Perkins with every possession.

Perkins stayed in the paint, so Paul unleashed his signature mid-range jumper.

Perkins mentioned defending pick-and-rolls on the perimeter, and Paul's bounce pass went through the defense.

The Thunder's problem is that they have absolutely no way to hide Perkins.

Paul's pick-and-rolls with both Garnett and Chandler are highly destructive.

If Ibaka helps defend, he will leave Garnett open at the top of the key.

With the defensive capabilities of the rest of the Thunder, they were simply not good enough to deal with Garnett's weak-side offense.

If it were Durant, who joined the Warriors and gained even more weight to enhance his sweeping ability, the situation might be a little better.

For the first time, Chen Shuo felt so close to winning the championship.

Of course, this may also be the easiest season yet.

After all, the league's landscape this season is predictable, but many subsequent changes are difficult to foresee.

Chen Shuo's actions were entirely calculated with ulterior motives.

They started planning their playoff opponents almost a season in advance.

And with the season shortened, most teams didn't have time to make adjustments.

The Cavaliers, who will emerge next year, will become a model for other teams to emulate, with each team meticulously analyzing and targeting every aspect of the Cavaliers.

In that case, the Cavaliers will become the obvious target, and all general managers aiming for the championship will make targeted personnel improvements and adjustments this summer.

Although the Heat's Big Three have locked up their salary cap space, Riley, that old fox, certainly won't give up so easily and will definitely try to make one last desperate attempt.

Popovich won't stop there. This Spurs team, with Ray Allen and Butler, isn't necessarily weaker than the original one.

Chen Shuo wasn't too confident about facing this Spurs team in a full season.

Garnett will be a year older for the Cavaliers next season, and the replacement Chen Shuo has chosen is still inexperienced.

Garnett's role and position on the court are almost second only to Paul's in importance.

On offense, Garnett was Paul's pick-and-roll partner.

While Garnett may not be as physically imposing or physically solid as Chandler in setting screens, his ability to facilitate and his shooting range make the pick-and-roll more complex and varied.

At the same time, Garnett also plays the role of dealer, and his split-play strategy with Thompson and Leonard is an important part of the Cavaliers' offense.

On the defensive end, Garnett swept around the free-throw line and could help defend whenever needed, or form a strong double team with his teammates, making his importance self-evident.

Chen Shuo looked up at the knights who were busy celebrating.

Defending a title is an incredibly difficult path.

Especially in modern basketball, all tactics are dismantled and expanded, and tactical advantages can be quickly dismantled.

Fortunately, the Knights' combat strength has also increased.

The team has veterans like Garnett, but also a number of promising rookies.

Thompson and Leonard, of course, need no introduction.

Jeremy Lin, Danny Green, and Chandler Parsons will all continue to grow.

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