LeBron James, your house got robbed.

Chapter 110 Champion, Champion, and Champion Again

Frankly speaking, the league didn't interfere excessively starting from Game 3; the calls were only slightly biased towards the Thunder, which was already beyond Chen Shuo's expectations.

Chen Shuo couldn't afford to offend the alliance too much. Tucker's kind of play was fine once in a while, but if he kept doing it, it would mean he didn't want to make a living from it.

Chen Shuo seriously considered this matter after the G3 match.

Both the Thunder and the Cavaliers are from small markets, but the league actually favors the Cavaliers to win the championship.

After all, the knight rose rapidly in just one year, successfully avenged himself, and broke the city's curse. From every aspect, he is the perfect template for a protagonist in a wish-fulfillment novel.

Stern likes teams with a story.

Having figured this out, Chen Shuo had a very calm attitude towards G4.

Whether he wins the championship earlier or later, it doesn't matter much; Chen Shuo is a patient person.

It wasn't until Paul clutched his hamstring again on the court that Chen Shuo truly tensed up and immediately looked at the replay on the big screen.

Almost the same move as when Paul was injured in the regular season, where he was hit in the thigh by the opponent's kneecap. Paul was on the sidelines, constantly pressing on the injured area, trying to move and exert force normally.

Tyronn Lue called a timeout during a dead ball situation, and the team doctor quickly came onto the court to check on Paul.

After several unsuccessful attempts, Paul's frustration was clearly visible.

Watching Paul walk towards the player tunnel, Chen Shuo's heart sank to the bottom.

Without Paul, it's like losing control of the rhythm.

Meanwhile, the Thunder players on the opposing team, though not showing any joy, had increasingly bright eyes, clearly indicating that they saw hope of winning.

Thousands of miles away in Cleveland, Quicken Loans Arena was filled with the most loyal die-hard fans, all staring at Paul's image on the big screen. The atmosphere in the arena suddenly became heavy and quiet.

A few scattered complaints could be clearly heard among them.

They had originally planned to celebrate this long-awaited championship together at Quicken Loans Arena.

At this moment, his face was filled with more despair than anything else.

The numerous past failures stirred their sensitive nerves.

It seems to be Cleveland's fate: every time they are just a little short of their goal, all their previous efforts are in vain and they fail at the last minute.

Each time, it was just a hair's breadth away, leading more and more people to believe that this was the curse of Cleveland.

Andrew comforted his father beside him, "Hey, we haven't lost yet, we're leading 3-0!"

"Historically, no team that leads 3-0 has ever lost in the end."

Andrew's voice grew increasingly agitated.

"Not even once."

The surrounding fans, upon hearing Andrew's voice, showed a change in expression and began to echo his words.

"Yes, we still have a chance. If we win just one of these four games, we can win the championship."

The camera on the big screen focused on Thompson, then on Garnett, then on Chandler, and finally on the calm expression on Chen Shuo's face.

Andrew's inner voice was almost pleading: "Please."

Chen Shuo's mind went completely blank while he was in the stadium.

He has done everything he can to protect Paul's physical condition.

After Paul was injured during the season, he forced him to rest for several more games.

If it weren't for the MVP selection games, Chen Shuo would have let Paul rest for a month.

In the playoffs against the Pacers, Chen Shuo racked his brains and even used a long rotation to travel at off-peak times in order to minimize Paul's fatigue.

Both the Heat and the Thunder like to play fast-paced games, especially the Thunder, which rely heavily on this rhythm. This is precisely where Paul has the opportunity to showcase his talents.

In fact, Paul did an excellent job, always keeping the pace of the game on the Cavaliers' side. On the offensive end, he completely destroyed Perkins' value. In the first three games against the Thunder, he averaged 22.4 points, 11.5 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.5 steals.

If Paul wins this game, he will undoubtedly be the Finals MVP.

How could you get injured?

Are veteran players truly destined to be champions?

Cleveland really is a place with a lot to offer.

The incident happened suddenly, and Chen Shuo could only force himself to remain calm and try to help the team stabilize the situation.

Unfortunately, the Thunder players, sensing the danger, relentlessly attacked the disorganized Cavaliers.

It's like a person on the verge of death seeing a glimmer of hope to survive.

Jeremy Lin, who was called upon in a time of crisis, was clearly not the same type of player as Paul. He was quickly assimilated by Westbrook's chaotic and disorganized style, recreating the scene of the two teams' ten players running wildly on the court during the Western Conference Finals.

The Cavaliers coaching staff called timeouts repeatedly to make substitutions and adjust tactics, but they were still unable to slow down the pace.

The game ended in a crushing defeat for the Cavaliers.

Paul's injury has brought new possibilities to this series.

Almost all media outlets are focusing on Paul's injury. Through the process and details of Paul's injury, many professionals have given a preliminary assessment that it is a hamstring strain.

A week of recovery time may not seem like a long time, but it means missing all the remaining games of the finals, and the earliest he can return is Game 7.

Even Stern didn't expect the Finals to take another turn.

Oklahoma-based journalists wrote that this could be a turning point in history.

"The Thunder have a chance to pull off a comeback like they did in the Western Conference Finals, but this time they face an even tougher challenge: to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win the championship, which would make history."

"I feel sorry for Paul's injury; it's part of the game."

Barkley, as always, supported the Cavaliers: "The Cavaliers only need to win one of their remaining three games, which shouldn't be too difficult for them. This Cavaliers team has enough roster depth."

Numerous professional basketball commentators wrote articles comparing the strength of the two teams after Paul's injury, and all of them ultimately concluded that the Thunder would come back to win.

Paul is indeed too important to this Cavaliers team; he is almost the sole initiator of the offense.

The Cavaliers' starting moves are mostly initiated by Paul's pick-and-roll.

The hotel conference room, the day before the fifth game of the finals.

This time, Chen Shuo did not sit in the back as usual.

This was the moment he had to step up.

Chen Shuo carefully observed everyone.

Tyronn Lue remained optimistic, while Kerr and Nurse frowned, clearly having begun brainstorming tactical solutions to try and increase the team's chances of winning.

Paul was also sitting in a chair. His level one hamstring strain didn't affect his daily life, but his expression was somewhat detached.

After Game 4, Paul underwent a professional examination, and as previously diagnosed, it was confirmed to be a Grade 1 hamstring strain, which will not affect his career.

However, he barely had a chance to play in this final.

After the injury results came out, Paul insisted that he could play despite the injury, but Chen Shuo directly refused.

"We will bring the championship trophy back to Cleveland."

Paul stared at Chen Shuo for a long time, but ultimately chose to believe him.

Chen Shuo has never made a wrong choice.

Chen Shuo's decision to refuse Paul's participation was not only for the sake of Paul's career, but also for the sake of the subsequent games in the Finals.

It's hard to say how Paul will perform when he plays with an injured leg.

With a height of 1.83 meters, he was already at a disadvantage in the intensity of the Finals. The Thunder would not let any opportunity pass by and would relentlessly attack him. Westbrook and Harden could both wear him down and explode him one-on-one.

Moreover, once Chen Shuo calmed down, he believed that even without Paul, the Cavaliers still had a chance to win a game.

Chen Shuo clapped his hands to make a sound and attract everyone's attention before he began to speak.

"First, I must make sure you agree with me."

We have three goals in total.

"Champion, champion, he's still the champion!"

Tyronn Lue was the first to applaud, and he casually threw in some tired jokes.

"Chen, do you mean not1 and not2?"

Even Chen Shuo was almost ruined by Tyronn Lue's words.

After easing the tension, Chen Shuo adopted a serious tone: "We are not without a chance against Thunder."

"The pace of this series has been a key point of contention between the two sides."

"Lin isn't good at controlling the pace of the game. He definitely can't drag the game into a positional battle that Paul can do to our advantage."

The coaching staff was well aware of these issues. After Paul's injury in Game 4, they tried to have Jeremy Lin take on Paul's role, but the results were less than satisfactory.

Chen Shuo paused briefly before speaking firmly and deliberately, "So we'll try a different approach."

"If they want to run, we'll run with them."