LeBron James running away? He's going all in on Curry.

In mid-April, the playoffs officially began.

For the Cleveland Cavaliers, whose starters played three quarters every day during the regular season, the first two rounds of the Eastern Conference playoffs were as easy as a nationwide shooting exhibition.

They will face the Charlotte Bobcats in the first round and the Washington Wizards in the second round.

There was no suspense, and no dramatic twists or turns.

Facing these two weak teams that barely made it into the playoffs, the Cavaliers' "Death Lineup" didn't break a sweat.

Stephen Curry played only 28 minutes per game, casually sinking a few three-pointers, Anthony Davis dominated the paint, and Kawhi Leonard made several steals and fast breaks, effectively ending any suspense in the game.

4 is better than 0!

4 is better than 0!

Two clean sweeps in a row! With an undefeated eight-game playoff winning streak, the Cavaliers have secured their place in the Eastern Conference Finals, awaiting their opponent.

In the other half of the eastern region.

In the second round of the playoffs, the Miami Heat faced their old rivals from last season: the Indiana Pacers.

What was expected to be another epic, muscle-grinding battle was, however, a series that surprised and disappointed all the fans who were anticipating a bloody showdown.

The Pacers not only failed to cause much trouble for the Heat, but also seemed powerless to fight back. In the end, they were easily swept 4-1 by the Heat, ending their run in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The culprit that caused the Pacers' strength to be greatly reduced and their entire team to collapse was none other than the "Gao Yuanyuan Rule" that the league hastily introduced at the end of the regular season!

Cleveland, Cavaliers headquarters office.

Su Yang sat on the sofa, watching the replay of the Pacers' elimination on the TV screen, and couldn't help but sigh.

"It's fucking ironic that a rule changed overnight has ruined the career of an All-Star center."

In the video footage, Roy Hibbert, who is 2.18 meters tall and was once affectionately known as "Black Yao Ming" by Chinese fans, had fear and hesitation in his eyes when facing LeBron James's breakthrough.

He no longer dared to jump vertically with his arms raised as before, because as long as he dared to jump, even without any downward movement, the referee would ruthlessly blow the whistle for a defensive foul!

With this timid and hesitant mentality, Hibbert lost his magic in protecting the rim in the paint.

He was like a wooden stake with no deterrent effect, allowing James to move freely in the paint and score points with ease.

"The Black Yao Ming has fallen just like that." Su Yang shook his head.

"In order to pave the way for one person to the paint, David Stern and Adam Silver used the rules to stifle the survival space of heavy centers, which can only be described as a tragedy for the entire league."

With the Pacers' elimination, the matchups for the Eastern Conference Finals have finally been decided.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Miami Heat!

Meanwhile, the Wild West also determined its ultimate winner.

The experienced San Antonio Spurs, fueled by the last embers of their "Big Three" (Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili) and exceptional teamwork, stormed into the Western Conference Finals.

Standing opposite them was the Los Angeles Clippers, who had emptied their coffers during the offseason to assemble a super team of "Durant + Irving + Love"!

Steve Ballmer's dazzling super team is finally going to have a fateful showdown with the ultimate classic team basketball on the Western Conference Finals stage!

……

May 20, Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland.

Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals kicked off amidst great anticipation!

Basketball media across the United States are rubbing their hands in excitement, hoping that LeBron James, who just won the MVP award, can teach this arrogant Cavaliers a lesson in this revenge game.

However, the moment the referee blew the opening whistle, the Miami team realized with despair just how brutal the tiger, which had been resting and recuperating for more than a month in the final stages of the regular season, would be once it bared its fangs!

"Whoosh!"

Right at the start of the first quarter, a fully fit Curry hit an audacious long-range three-pointer over Chalmers' defense!

Immediately afterwards, Kawhi Leonard's suffocatingly large hands gripped James tightly.

Without the "hairline" whistle, James found himself in the same quagmire he faced in last season's Eastern Conference Finals as he did in the "three iron chains" of Leonard, Davis, and Gasol!

He couldn't penetrate the defense, and he couldn't make shots from the outside, so he could only helplessly pass the ball to his teammates on the perimeter time and time again.

However, the Heat's shooters couldn't find any comfortable shooting space under the Cavaliers' aggressive switching defense.

By the end of the first quarter, the Cavaliers had built a double-digit lead.

In the second quarter, a scene unfolded that broke the hearts of all Heat fans.

With James absent on offense, the entire offensive burden fell on Dwyane Wade's shoulders.

Facing Klay Thompson's tight defense, Wade gritted his teeth, used a wide crossover dribble to force his way into the paint, and struggled through Anthony Davis's block attempt in the air before finally tossing the ball toward the basket.

The ball went in, but as Wade landed, he suddenly lost his balance, clutching his right knee in pain, and fell heavily to the floor!

"Dwayne!!"

The Heat's team doctor rushed onto the court in a panic.

Wade lay on the floor, his eyes closed in pain, sweat and tears of frustration mingling together. His knee, the one ravaged by fluid buildup and cartilage wear, finally protested under the Cavaliers' suffocating defensive pressure!

Finally, amidst the respectful applause of the entire Cleveland crowd, the former Flash was helped back to the locker room by the team doctor, limping along.

Early retirement due to injury!

As Wade's dejected figure disappeared into the player tunnel, Su Yang, sitting in the VIP box, sighed softly.

"The Flash's peak has ended at this moment."

Wade's departure became the final straw that broke the back of the Miami Heat.

Without their most important offensive weapon, the Heat's offense was completely paralyzed.

The Cavaliers unleashed a crazy three-point barrage in the third quarter, with Curry and Klay combining to rain down three-pointers, extending the lead to an outrageous 35 points!

By the end of the third quarter, the game had already entered garbage time.

As is customary, Su Yang immediately used a secure phone call to remotely control head coach Byron Scott, replacing the starting five with bench players.

He brought in Khris Middleton, who had just returned from injury, and fielded a highly mobile small-ball lineup alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shaun Livingston, and others to expand the defensive line.

"Boss, the point difference is almost 40 points. Should we expand our defense?" Scott asked, sounding puzzled on the phone.

"Expand it. Leave them a backdoor to break through." Su Yang sneered. "They just won the regular season MVP, so we have to let them look decent on the stat sheet, right? If we don't give the league any face, they'll start calling biased calls against us in the future."

In the fourth quarter, they faced the Cavaliers' significantly expanded interior defense.

LeBron James, who remained on the court, seemed to have grasped at a lifeline!

At this point, the Heat were down by a full 40 points, but James looked like he was in the final minute of a Game 7, his eyes gleaming with a hunger for the stats!

Taking advantage of Middleton's movement to defend the three-point line, James repeatedly drove the ball into the empty paint, completing fast break dunks or layups.

With the Cavaliers' half-hearted "acceptance," James went on a scoring spree in the fourth quarter, managing to rack up more than ten points in this insignificant garbage time!

"drop--!"

The red light suddenly flashed, signaling the end of the match!

128 is more than 78!

The Cleveland Cavaliers crushed the Miami Heat by 50 points at home, securing a winning start to the Eastern Conference Finals!

However, when LeBron James' individual stats were displayed on the broadcast screen...

Commentators across the US and fans who only look at the statistics were astonished:

"LeBron James scored 24 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and dished out 6 assists in a losing effort!"

"With Wade injured and out of the game, LeBron was truly isolated and helpless, unable to carry the team alone! He did his best, but his teammates weren't up to the task!"