NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 769 "The White Flame Sweeping the Alliance" (No Protagonist Chapter)
On Wednesday, December 2010, 12, ESPN once again previewed tonight's "Old Team Battle."

The Heat have won 17 games in a row in the new season and are on a roll. The Big Three have sacrificed for each other and established a good chemical reaction.

Not only do the players get along harmoniously with each other, the Heat's coaching staff has also built an extremely reasonable tactical system for the team. The 40-year-old head coach Spoelstra has now become a strong candidate for the best coach!
Winning always attracts attention. Before the start of the new season, many commentators accused the young players of "banding together", but after they reached the top of the league, most commentators became fence-sitters and began to cheer for the three.

After a month of bragging, the host Hannah Storm of the morning Sports Centre program also praised it when previewing tonight's live broadcast across the United States:
"LeBron James has forgiven those impulsive fans. For tonight's game, James thinks it's just an ordinary regular season game."

"James must be praised for his calm attitude towards the relevant events. After the 'Decision', this chosen son of Cleveland has completely matured and has now started his road to becoming a superstar."

Two days ago, the James family who stayed in Akron were warned by extreme fans and graffiti was sprayed outside their house.

In response, James expressed his gratitude to the police. When talking about his journey home, the Chosen One was very calm and responded in a low-key manner:

"No matter how people discuss it, this is just an ordinary regular season game. We are eager to win, but we can also accept failure. You know, failure can find the team's shortcomings."

Grant Hill was influenced by his sponsors and paid extra attention to James and Durant. Hook supported the second and third players this season and naturally praised them during the show:

"This Heat team always reminds me of the Knicks. I see Coach Van Gundy's defensive system in them."

"The control of transition offense reminds me of D'Antoni's 8-second offense."

"LeBron is undoubtedly the metronome of this team. On the defensive end, his help defense is also impressive."

"Wade has also matured a lot. He has learned to slow himself down. Bosh's No. 5 position is cross-era. Tonight's game will be a collision between the new era and traditional basketball."

In the games in November, the Heat's zone defense shined. In the third quarter, as the height decreased, the Big Three could rely on their athleticism and outstanding physical talents to make a wave and win the game.

Unlike the Knicks' traditional concept of "giving the ball to Lee" at critical moments, the Heat's team is multi-core driven, with multiple outside ball handlers taking turns to launch attacks.

When encountering a mismatch, Bosh's three-pointer and dribbling breakthrough became unstoppable. Coupled with the pick-and-roll jump shot, the out-of-date Dragon King shines in the new season.

This is also related to the mutual tolerance among the three stars. Apart from the best lineup, none of them have any outstanding honors. Everyone has tried their best to prove themselves, and everyone plays according to the requirements of the coaching staff.

There was no trouble in the locker room. Wade was the undisputed leader of the locker room, and with Haslem's active cooperation, the team atmosphere was extremely good.

“Whether the winning streak can be continued is something many fans are looking forward to!”

"The current NBA record for consecutive wins at the start of a season is 40 consecutive wins set by the Knicks last season. This incredible record is difficult to break, but the Heat have a chance to challenge 20 consecutive wins."

Hannas-Storm introduced the relevant records again. In the ranking given by the director, the Knicks' 40-game winning streak and the Lakers' 33-game winning streak were particularly eye-catching.

Looking further down, the Knicks' 29-game winning streak and 26-game winning streak are also very impressive.
At present, Li You has entered the state of "I hold all the records". The threshold of New York media is too high, and no one discusses the Heat's records at all.

Most sports reporters were busy reporting on the activities of the New York fan club. Compared to the Heat's 17-game winning streak, fans preferred to discuss the content of their own activities and laughed at Anthony for not being able to stop the activities.

"I believe Mike Brown will make adjustments after the failure in the last match. The Cavaliers are capable of competing against the Heat. Howard, who won the Player of the Month in November, is in excellent form!"

As soon as Grant Hill finished speaking, the director showed the winners of the monthly best player award for the first month of the new season.

The Eastern Conference Award trophy was given to Dwight Howard, who won 12 games and lost 4 and ranked second in the Eastern Conference. The "Happy Beast" deserved the award.
The winner from the Western Conference was Kevin Durant, who finished first in the Western Conference with 13 wins and 5 losses. The young core of the Thunder lived up to his talent.

Considering that the Cavaliers are playing at home tonight and there will be an awards ceremony before the game, Grant Hill added with a smile:
“I hope the trophy will make tonight’s competition more intense!”

-

LeBron James, who returned to Cleveland, has recently enjoyed a wave of protagonist treatment. Tonight's national live broadcast will be followed by ESPN cameras throughout the entire process.

In order to give the fans in front of the TV an immersive experience, the broadcaster also gave the microphone to the Chosen One, an operation which made the Chosen One secretly proud.

In the afternoon, as the bus left the hotel, sports reporters began to update Twitter simultaneously, and the relevant comment section was quickly flooded by fans from both sides.

At 19 p.m., one hour before the game started, sports reporters began to surround James. There were a lot more security personnel for tonight's game, and the heat was at its highest!
If the Heat's record is a mess, the Cavaliers fans may not react so strongly, after all, Howard is a good leader of the team;

But after seeing the other team win 17 games in a row, many fans couldn't hold back. James has obviously become a stumbling block on the road to the championship. This is going against his hometown team.
During the warm-up, some fans who arrived early were loudly boycotting the Chosen One, and the sports reporters around them happily recorded this wonderful moment.

However, the Heat players who continued to familiarize themselves with the venue were not affected. James, wearing a black headband, focused on practicing three-pointers, and the same went for Bosh next to him. The two of them had completely "magic balled".

Unlike other players, the sleepy McGrady still showed off at this time. He adjusted his arm guard and talked with reporters on the sidelines with a smile.

When talking about the winning streak, McGrady did not forget to flatter himself and said with a smile:
"You know, records often need to be taken care of in the schedule. We don't have an advantage in this regard!"

"But we still have the confidence to catch up with this incredible record. We like to challenge ourselves."

McGrady, who was criticized by Houston sports reporters last season, has now "turned over", with the Miami Herald taking the lead in praising him, and the second-best player has now become the leader of the bench!
It only takes a winning streak to turn a defensive loophole into an "offensive and defensive integrated force". Whenever McGrady thinks of his choice, he is in a good mood, and the championship is already beckoning to him.

Wade was smiling all the time while exercising. He finally found the happiness that basketball brought him. After "Ma" came back, no one in the locker room laughed at him or made sarcastic remarks. Everything was better than expected.

"Winning streak? Honestly, we don't consider the record. A 40-game winning streak means we have to win until January, which is impossible."

Wade simply accepted the interview and frankly admitted that he couldn't do it, which left the reporters around him speechless for a moment. The Flash noticed the frustrated looks of the crowd, shrugged his shoulders and continued to add:
"Although we are young, we also need to stay healthy during the long regular season. As the coach said, the championship is the real goal of the Heat!"

"We established a winning advantage at the beginning of the season and everyone did a good job. We won't have any pressure for the following games."

Sometimes it is not a good thing to have records that are too outrageous. Fans will not have too high expectations, and players will not feel the pressure and will easily give in.

When seeing Wade and Haslem walking towards the player tunnel chatting and laughing, the young reporter of Yahoo Sports began to complain to his colleagues:
"Don't these young stars want to challenge Lee's record? They are like this in every interview. They have no competitiveness at all."

"Win until January? Forget it. No one believes they can break this record. Everyone knows that Wade and his team can't do it. Maybe no one will be able to do it in another 1 years."

ESPN staff also complained a few times, saying that 17 consecutive wins might have been exciting more than 10 years ago, but now, except for Heat fans, most people are not interested in such results.

After witnessing the outrageous record, even though the league is now promoting it, many fans still feel that it is boring, and the dominance of the Big Three seems to be just so-so.
With active pre-match coverage, the low-key James was praised again, and by 19:30 p.m., the Quicken Loans Center was already full.

As the DJ began to introduce the visiting team's players, boos soon filled the arena. On the ESPN commentary booth, Van Gundy saw this and made a joke:
"I think the Cavaliers fans can be more confident. They have found the key to winning recently. The Heat will not win easily tonight."

Mark Jackson knew his partner was talking about the Cavaliers' recent return to zone defense. Thinking of the two teams' nearly identical defensive systems, he couldn't help but smile and comment:
"After the defending champions rebuild, perhaps zone defense will become the choice of many teams in the future!"

In the past few years, except for the stubborn Cavaliers, most teams would not even consider this defensive strategy, because zone defense would just give the Knicks points.

The situation has changed this season. Li You no longer shoots as crazily as he did in the past. Many teams have picked up zone defense again, and the Mavericks are one of them.

"I like the look in Howard's eyes! He looks like he is ready!" After introducing the starting lineups of both teams, Mike Breen praised Howard, who was jumping around in the center circle with a serious expression. The "Happy Beast" no longer had a smile on his face, but looked fully engaged.

After the game started at 20:, in the first round, the Cavaliers showed their three-point shooting firepower.

Howard found Channing Frye in the right corner, who received the ball and made a straight-arm jump shot, hitting the three-pointer steadily!
"Oh!!"

Amid the cheers that resounded throughout the arena, Randy Foye made a quick pass and passed the ball in time. Joel Anthony had already squeezed to the lower left side of the basket, while Bosh had already arrived at the right wing.

Wade received the ball and used Bosh's screen to briefly shake off Raja Bell's pursuit. When he broke through and switched defense to Channing Frye, the championship guard behind him kept chasing him.

Nearing the lower right side of the basket, Wade had attracted three people to surround him and passed the ball to his teammate under the basket. As a result, Joel Anthony's bounce was too slow and was blocked by Howard who turned back to defend!
Howard lost control of the ball in the air, and immediately passed the ball after getting it back. Then he pounded his chest and roared passionately, and the atmosphere on the scene was instantly ignited again.

Mo Williams also passed the ball early, and when James retreated back to the three-point line, Artest, who was near the left wing, stopped in advance, adjusted slightly after receiving the ball, and threw it.

"Whoa!" The three-pointer hit the net.

After making the shot, Artest raised three fingers of his right hand and clacked "plugs". The cheers continued until James touched the ball for the first time in the game, and then the boos began.

James was also looking for Channing Frye's pick-and-roll, and was eventually double-teamed at the top of the arc. Bosh, who was left open, missed his shot from beyond the three-point line, and Howard grabbed the rebound.

Howard tried hard to defend in front, attracting the attention of the Heat players in the left blocking area. Mo Williams seized the opportunity and suddenly accelerated, making a quick stop jump shot at the free throw line to get two points.

0:8, they fell behind at the beginning of the game, but head coach Spoelstra on the sidelines was not in a hurry and still signaled the players to control the pace of the game.

It was Bosh who helped the Heat break the scoring drought. Wade assisted his teammate to make a long two-point jump shot at the top of the arc, but Howard committed a foul in return.

In the following minutes, the Cavaliers continued to fire, Howard frequently received the ball in the high post and occasionally made assists;

The Heat, on the other hand, failed to find their shooting touch, and James and Wade's breakthroughs were also disrupted. The team relied on Randy Foye's three-pointer to help the team keep the score close.

It was not until the end of the first quarter that James completed a running goal in a positional offense. After 2+0, the Cavaliers fans at the scene burst into boos again.

22:33, Howard celebrated passionately with an 11-point lead in the first quarter, and shouted loudly as he walked to the bench:

"They can't! I'm the real king!"

"."

-

On Thursday, December 12nd, Howard, who won the Player of the Month trophy last night, was reported by many sports media. The Cavaliers ended the Heat's winning streak at home!

92:109, the Heat suffered their first defeat of the new season. Their 31 out of 7 three-pointers stunned many commentators.

James and Wade's breakthroughs were also blocked by Howard. The DPOY showed his style, and the shouts of MVP in the Quicken Loans Center couldn't stop after the game.

McGrady, who was showing off before the game, now had a clear look in his eyes. He came off the bench and missed many shots. He was even intercepted twice by Artest. The performance of 9 of 2 by the second-most outdated player made the Cavaliers fans laugh.

The Heat returned to their home court and faced back-to-back games. The loss did not seem to affect the team. 72:106, the unlucky Pistons suffered a miserable defeat.

At the press conference after the game, James just shrugged and responded simply when talking about last night's game:

"You know, in the long regular season, we always have bad nights like this."

"We created a lot of chances, but we just couldn't put the ball in the basket in the end."

"The Heat's goal is to win the championship. I know a lot of people don't like the 'Big Three', but if you want to achieve greatness, it's necessary to form a team. For this, we made sacrifices for each other."

The mocking voices soon disappeared. The Heat had already shown the potential to become a champion. Although the team still had some flaws, it seemed that they could overcome them with their absolute talent.

On Saturday, the 4th, the Heat's zone defense once again dominated the game, 77:106, the Hawks lost again, and their record came to 13 wins and 7 losses.

In the new season, the Knicks focused on finding shortcomings of strong teams and providing warmth to weak teams. The Hawks narrowly defeated the defending champions last month, but now they lost so badly that the Atlanta fans at the scene were furious.

Joe Johnson, who missed the game due to injury, did not make excuses after the game. When talking about his opponent at the press conference, he made a few sarcastic remarks:

"When 4 players on a team can control the ball, the game becomes easy!"

"."

On Monday, December 12, the Heat once again demonstrated their unstoppable defense in the away game against the Bucks.

102:78, Wade and James frantically pressured the ball handler, rookie Brandon Jennings made 16 of 5 shots and contributed only 13 points in the whole game.

Head coach Spoelstra changed his defensive strategy tonight. The blocking and pressure defense allowed the Heat to repeatedly play transition offense. After the game, commentators gave him the title of "tactical master".

In the following days, the Heat started their Western Conference road trip and defeated the Jazz, Warriors and Kings in succession.

In the three games, only the Jazz relied on their inside advantage to fight their opponents until the fourth quarter, while the Warriors and Kings collapsed in the third quarter, scoring only 4 and 83 points in the four quarters.
On the 13th, the Heat returned to their home court and continued their good form, easily defeating the Hornets with a score of 84:102 after three quarters.

At the end of the game, in the American Airlines Center, no Miami fans left early. Everyone was cheering loudly to celebrate the unbeaten record of 23 wins and 2 losses.

Chris Paul, who was hugging his friends, had a dark face. Tonight, the Hornets shot 13 of 1 from beyond the three-point line and were locked down by the zone defense in the third quarter.
Paul only contributed 10 points, shooting 3 of 4, 0 of 6 from beyond the three-point line, and 5 of 11 free throws. When asked about the Heat's outstanding performance at the press conference, he couldn't help but say a few words:
"We have to give credit to the Heat's defense tonight. We were not able to respond from beyond the three-point line, which affected the tempo of the game."

"LeBron and his team are very aggressive. They are like a ball of white flame, sweeping the entire league."

After the loss, the Hornets' record came to 14 wins and 9 losses, still surpassing the Lakers and Spurs. When asked by reporters about the trade rumors, Paul was also very frank and said bluntly:
“I think we performed well, but we need to do more if we want to win the championship!”

"Every young guy wants to have a career like Lee, but sometimes we have to compromise. LeBron probably made the right choice and now everyone is praising him."

"."

On Wednesday the 15th, the Celtics, who only have two games this week, visited New York.

A record of 16 wins and 6 losses is not bad. In an interview before the game, Garnett praised his teammates' performance. However, when talking about the young people of the Heat, he couldn't help but say something sour:
"Like I said, 'Don't let loyalty get you killed'!"

"LeBron and the others did make the right choice, but we will not give up. This is the Celtics' best chance to win the championship!"

(End of this chapter)