LeBron James, your house got robbed.

Chapter 142 Paul vs. Cole + Nurse

After a narrow victory over Philadelphia, the Cavaliers had two days of rest.

The team chose to fly directly to Washington to prepare for the next game.

Considering that after the game against the Wizards, there would be back-to-back games against the two New York teams, Chen Shuo chose to give the players a day off to allow them to recover their strength and recharge.

The next day.

Chen Shuo woke up in his hotel in Washington and saw the news about Nick Nurse.

"Top floor meeting room."

Chen Shuo sighed.

Nas enjoys being a slave and dragging himself down with him.

I got up and drew back the curtains to let the sunlight in.

After washing up, Chen Shuo sauntered to the hotel's conference room.

"We need to increase our dribbling and penetration, and put pressure on the defensive formation."

"In this possession, the Philadelphia 76ers' defense was completely in place; they were adapting to our offense."

Cole pointed to the image on the camera and said to Nurse next to him.

Chen Shuo found a chair, sat down with an air of authority, and watched the two discuss with great interest.

According to Chen Shuo, Cole is not the kind of coach who is obsessed with basketball.

Besides basketball, Kerr has a wide range of other hobbies. He showed up in the meeting room early in the morning, only to be used as a laborer by Nasra.

Nurse spent 11 years coaching in Europe and was very interested in passing and cutting tactics.

Kerr, having spent a long time with the Spurs, is also very familiar with these systems of screens, runs, player movement, and ball movement.

The two analyzed the video of yesterday's game against Philadelphia, round by round.

Chen Shuo, watching from the side, couldn't help but interject, "I remember the video analyst wasn't with us. The tape was edited so quickly?"

Nas looked resentful.

"I cut it."

Chen Shuo gasped.

The plane landed in Washington, D.C., after 2 a.m. last night.

When Chen Shuo finally arrived at the hotel by bus and lay down on the bed, he glanced at the time; it was exactly four o'clock.

That energy.

Chen Shuo once suspected that this guy had taken some supplements.

Seeing Chen Shuo's questioning gaze, Nass asked, "Is there a problem here?"

Chen Shuo shook his head.

"No problem, I'm just surprised by your versatility."

Nass, looking distressed, brought up old, painful memories once again: "Do you think someone in a place like England would provide coaches with professional video analysis?"

"At one point, I even worked part-time as a bus driver."

"Damn Englishmen."

"We cannot agree to this anymore."

Chen Shuo quickly echoed, then looked at Cole.

Cole immediately raised both hands.

"Dude, I'm on your side."

A few jokes interrupted Nash and Cole's discussion.

Chen Shuo then asked, "Tell me your thoughts."

"Yesterday's match went quite well, and besides, this was just our initial attempt."

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

Nas ruffled his hair without any regard for his image.

"Traffic has always been considered useless in high-level games."

"Once the defensive intensity picks up, if you can't get into position, even the best tactics are useless."

Cole and Chen Shuo exchanged a glance, clearly agreeing with these statements.

Nurse shrugged helplessly and said, "But only passing and cutting can maximize the team's potential."

"We have so many players who are good at passing and cutting; they possess tremendous energy."

"We should release this energy."

Chen Shuo looked at Nurse and said earnestly, "You should understand that on the stage of the Finals, no tactic is as effective as Jordan's one-on-one play."

Nurse retorted without holding back, "The problem is we don't have Jordan."

Chen Shuo hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped himself.

Kerr chimed in, "So we can only add more tactical designs."

"If the first time doesn't work, try the second time; if the second time doesn't work, try the third time."

"Make one more pass, get the ball to the player with the best opportunity."

"We tried using the previous tactics to disrupt the opponent's formation, so I think we should increase our dribbling and penetration."

Cole then pointed to the image on the screen.

"Simply moving around won't keep the opponent busy."

"But a threatening breakthrough will compress their defense."

"In this possession, Thompson received the ball beyond the three-point line. Without a good opportunity, he could have done a handoff with Lowry, trying to get Lowry to drive and then pass the ball back to Garnett at the free-throw line. That would have made the play much easier to execute."

Nurse pointed irritably at the timer on the screen: "There are only 10 seconds left in this round. Too many tactical chains consume too much time and also increase the learning cost for players."

Chen Shuo scratched his head.

Thinking about it that way...

Kerr's tactical thinking is already beginning to emerge here.

During the Warriors' peak, their passing and cutting were always fluid and seamless, making for an almost perfect team basketball with every extra pass.

After the dynasty faded and Thompson left, the Warriors found themselves increasingly unable to get shots off in 24-second possessions.

The two then engaged in another heated debate.

Chen Shuo tapped on the table.

"I have an idea."

"7-second attack".

Nash and Cole turned around at the same time, their eyes filled with distrust.

Chen Shuo spread his arms wide: "Of course I'm not telling the team to play the 7-second offense."

"We can simply learn from its essence."

Why does D'Antoni want the team to play so fast?

Kerr, who previously served as general manager of the Suns, naturally has a more thorough understanding of D'Antoni's tactics.

"To attack before the opponent's defense is in position."

"We also executed a lot of early offensive plays last season, especially when Paul wasn't there and nobody had the ball to create opportunities."

"You mean combining early attacks with passing and movement?"

"Use early attacks to reduce the opponent's defensive intensity in order to prepare for the subsequent development of passing and cutting."

Chen Shuo didn't say much.

These were all things that Cole had played with later on, so he could naturally figure them out immediately.

Whether it's the Spurs' passing and cutting or the Kings' Princeton offense, it all boils down to a dynamic offense where players and the ball move together, and everyone participates.

The passing and cutting during his time with the Warriors further incorporated the essence of the 7-second offense.

Take advantage of the opponent's unstable footing and weak defense, quickly run a few screens with and without the ball to create opportunities to shoot three-pointers.

The three-pointer following a cross screen is a product of this tactical logic.

The most memorable moments are those behind-the-back passes from Curry to Thompson.

It was mostly fast-paced offense, with simple off-ball screens leading to finishes, and it also pioneered the concept that 3 points are more valuable than 2 points.

After pondering for a long time, Nurse nodded in affirmation of Chen Shuo's statement: "We can give it a try. This requires a high level of tactical skill from the players, who need to make choices and run the tactics in a very short time."

Cole smiled slightly: "It's worth a try."

"Our players are just right; most of them have good tactical skills and are good at three-pointers and cuts."

Two days later, the MCI Center had become the Cavaliers' training ground.

Due to the need for quick offensive decisions in the early stages, the team's turnovers increased dramatically, which gave the Wizards many opportunities to launch fast breaks.

John Wall, in particular, who is known as the fastest player in the league, has many moments of carrying the ball and going coast-to-coast.

The Cavaliers ultimately lost to Washington by 11 points.

Nash and Cole didn't care at all and continued to study the video with great interest.

According to Kerr, the sudden increase in pace also required quick decision-making, and the team played quite well and didn't perform too badly.

In their first game in New York, the Cavaliers traveled to the Barclays Center to face the Brooklyn Nets.

The arrival of the defending champions brought the Barclays Center to full capacity for the first time, but the orange-red color of the crowd indicated that there were many Knicks fans present.

Many people can't buy tickets or can't afford them, so they can only come to Brooklyn to watch the game and find some solace in it.

The Knicks and Cavaliers didn't have much of a rivalry to begin with, although they were both in the Eastern Conference, their playoff meetings had been quite different.

not much.

They didn't meet many times during the 90s when both teams were on the rise.

In the first decade of the 21st century, the Cavaliers rose to prominence, and the Knicks once again became a bottom-feeder.

However, in the playoffs six months ago, the Cavaliers, in an attempt to avenge the 58-point loss to the Knicks, defeated them by 58 points at Madison Square Garden, making the Cavaliers a bitter enemy of Knicks fans.

Slogans such as "f**kyoucp3" and "Love has its rules" are displayed throughout the Barclays Center.

Paul, dressed in a suit, sat on the sidelines, still being provoked by a number of radical fans, to the point that Chen Shuo felt spittle flying behind his head.

The Nets' third game in their new arena.

The first two opponents, the Raptors and the Timberwolves, were not good enough. Now that we have finally met a worthy opponent, we will naturally strike hard.

But the obsessed Nurse and Cole continued to boldly experiment with tactics, impersonating mad scientists.

Completely disregarding the outcome of the match.

If the Cavaliers were to face the Wizards, they could still implement new tactics in an orderly manner and fight back and forth with their opponents, but they made too many mistakes and eventually messed up.

Facing the Nets' Big Three, the Cavaliers not only made frequent mistakes on offense, but even lost their once-proud defensive discipline.

They ultimately suffered a crushing 20-point defeat at the Barclays Center.

Chen Shuo, on the other hand, remained completely calm.

In his view, at least the team's direction is correct.

He knew perfectly well that this system was, as it was later proven to be, effective.

Moreover, the Cavaliers' system is not about a complete passing and cutting approach, but rather using passing and cutting to enrich the team's tactics.

Ultimately, the goal is to combine the pick-and-roll system led by Paul Chandler with the passing and cutting system centered around Garnett.

As basketball develops further, its systems become more integrated.

After 2020, even on fan forums, you no longer hear comments like "[Team XX plays Princeton]" or "[Team XX uses the triangle offense]".

Basically, they are a mixture and fusion of multiple systems.

Although it was a back-to-back game, the advantage was that there was no need to take a plane. The team bus took only an hour and a half to travel from the hotel in Brooklyn to the Hilton Hotel next to Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan.

Compared to the arduous journey of six or seven hours to an away game, this is a blessing from heaven.

Chen Shuo had just stepped into the hotel when he saw Paul waiting for him.

"I've confirmed with Dylan, and I can play in tomorrow's game."

Chen Shuo stared blankly for a moment.

He recalled that Paul's finger was a moderate contusion, and the team doctor, Dylan, gave him a recovery time of 2-4 weeks.

It hasn't even been two weeks yet.

Chen Shuo's original intention was to let Paul's minor injury be treated as a major one.

After all, the Cavaliers were under considerable pressure last season, which was shortened and they had to play all the way to the Finals.

Paul then immediately participated in the London Olympics in July, right after the NBA Finals.

NBA teams' official training camps are in early September, and Paul did not use his star privileges to skip them, but instead reported on time and trained with the other players.

Aside from three games where he was injured, Paul played in all five other preseason games, including both games in China where he played until the fourth quarter.

In conclusion, Paul's body did not get sufficient and effective rest.

Moreover, Paul had previously agreed to Chen Shuo's idea that he would not play in the first two weeks of the regular season.

Chen Shuo looked at Paul, his eyes filled with stubbornness.

He sighed.

"Okay, but we need to control your playing time; it won't exceed 25 minutes."

Paul nodded in agreement.

"Of course, I know how to take care of my body."

"I've been in the league for nine years, I'm not one of those rookies who don't know anything."

Chen Shuo looked helpless.

You just know too much.

There are likely several factors behind Paul's eagerness to return to the court.

The number of appearances an MVP receives might be a factor.

According to the league's unspoken rules, only those who have played 65+ or even 70+ games are eligible for selection.

Although this was not explicitly stipulated later, it was still one of the many bases for media voting.

After all, the MVP award is based on contributions to the regular season, and the most important thing for an MVP is the ability to support the team's core players for an extended period of time.

It's not about how strong your vacuum ability is, or how well you perform in the decisive moment.

Many fans tend to think that only players who excel at scoring are truly great.

The importance of the core base was overlooked.

As an MVP or the team leader, the most basic standard is to support the team's core. In terms of data, this means whether you can consistently develop enough offense to help the team win enough regular season games.

But that shouldn't be the main reason.

Even if Paul misses the first two weeks of the regular season, it's only 7 games.

There is still plenty of room for error.

Paul's attitude changed.

It's probably related to the tactical experiments that Nurse and Cole conducted.

No matter how selfless Paul is or how much he considers the bigger picture, he can't change his nature as a centralized point guard.

Paul cannot maximize his impact without concentrating possession of the ball in his own hands.

All Paul can do is relinquish some ball possession, not completely relinquish control.

Therefore, as the team's leader, his return to the court is clearly aimed at shifting the tactical balance back to the pick-and-roll system.

The team's two consecutive losses have created a favorable public opinion environment for Paul's return.

"Cavaliers suffer two consecutive road losses, star player Chris Paul makes a quick return."

Chen Shuo could see through Paul's thoughts, but he had no intention of stopping him.

No matter what, Paul is the strongest player on this team, and Chen Shuo would never give up Paul for the sake of passing and cutting.

Therefore, the Cavaliers' final form will definitely be a fusion of pick-and-roll and pass-and-cut systems.

As for which side the tactics should lean towards, and to what extent.

Chen Shuo wasn't sure either.

Having guessed Paul's thoughts, Chen Shuo simply let loose and allowed the two systems to merge in confrontation and competition.

Let's see what the final result will be.

It's good to expose any problems as early as possible.

According to Kerr, the first twenty games were used to do this.

Moreover, Paul has always demonstrated the attitude of a leader.

Chen Shuo was also unwilling to have another direct conflict with Paul over this matter.

As the general manager, his job should be macro-control, not to do everything himself.

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