The longest river

Chapter 251 The Emperor of Cleveland
The day after their game against the Pacers, the Cavaliers returned to Cleveland for their season opener against the Knicks.

The Knicks of today are completely different teams from the Knicks that faced Young during his Pacers era.

Compared to the Pacers, the Knicks, who have missed the playoffs for two consecutive seasons, are obviously much weaker, and the Cavaliers are likely to start the season with a winning streak.

On the day of the competition, Yang Shuai arrived at the training hall early.

Because he lives relatively close to the stadium, his morning training sessions are now held directly at the team's training facility.

He first went to the gym with Di Francesco to do strength training.

When they arrived, James was already inside doing strength training.

Upon seeing Yang Shuai enter, James immediately put down his equipment and stood up to greet him.

Yang Shuai gestured for him to continue, and then started training with Di Francesco on his own.

When training ended and they were about to leave, James was still practicing there.

DiFrancisco was somewhat surprised, but Yang Shuai wasn't so surprised. James's massive physique couldn't be achieved just by eating protein powder; he must have invested a lot in physical training.

"He's overdoing it."

Once outside the gym, Di Francesco shared his thoughts.

More physical training isn't necessarily better; too much muscle can negatively impact shooting touch.

"He might be able to be like Karl Malone."

Yang Shuai gave an extreme example: Malone's muscular physique did not prevent him from becoming a mid-range shooting specialist, and James also developed a relatively stable shooting ability later in his career.

Of course, the more crucial question is whether reducing James' physical training will necessarily improve his shooting ability.
No one can guarantee this, and if it doesn't, then James will blame the person who gave him the advice for his decline in physical strength.

This is also why Yang Shuai doesn't like to advise people in his life. Unless someone like Jermaine O'Neal was his underling back then, he has no reason to do so.

All he could do was what he said in a previous interview: ask James to increase his shooting practice.

Training can not only improve shooting ability in the most direct way, but also build shooting confidence.

The following evening, the game between the Cavaliers and the Knicks was played at Quicken Loans Arena.

Before the start of the new season, Gilbert did something predictable: he changed the name of the arena, originally named after Gunder, to his company name, thus launching a direct advertising campaign.

During the pre-game warm-up, a reporter interviewed Allan Houston on the sidelines.

Of all the Knicks players who faced Yang back then, only Houston remains.

He was once Ewing's sidekick, but now he has grown into the Knicks' new icon.

"It feels a bit strange to see Hansen in the East again, but that's the NBA, anything can happen."

Houston first addressed the reporter's question about his thoughts on meeting Hansen again.

Being in the same division not only means more opportunities for the two teams to face each other during the season, but also means that they may meet in the playoffs.

As a Knicks player, he still vividly remembers what the "Mayor of New York City" did back then.

"Of course we all know that the current Hansen is not a player of the same level as the past, and it is very difficult to limit him, but we also have our own way of playing basketball."

After the interviews in Houston concluded, the warm-up session ended, and the opening ceremony began.

The visiting Knicks were the first team to take the court.

The Knicks' roster changes this season are no less than those of the Timberwolves; of the five starters from last season, only Houston remains in the starting lineup.

Marbury, Houston, Shandon Anderson, Keith Van Horn, Mutombo.

This roster is strong on paper, which is Houston's source of confidence.

The away team is followed by the home team.

James was the first Cavaliers player to take the court, and he enjoyed the explosive cheers from the crowd.

As an Ohio native and after making a historic debut, his popularity in Cleveland has been growing.

In contrast, when Ricky Davis took the stage second, the response was lukewarm.

When Yang Shuai finally took the court, the cheers from the crowd rose again, reaching a level even louder than James's, making it deafening.

This is Yang Shuai's first real game since returning to the Cavaliers, and it's a scene that Cleveland fans have been looking forward to since the draft, a dream that has finally come true after eight long years!

Yang Shuai returned to his loyal Cleveland, the place where he was born!

Yang Shuai responded to the fans in the stadium with his signature listening, his gaze sweeping over Lin Xiulan and others in the stands.

The meaning of playing for one's hometown team was perfectly embodied at this moment.

At that moment, his desire to win the Cavaliers' first championship in franchise history became stronger than ever before.

Mutombo jumped for the ball, and the Knicks took the lead on offense.

Marbury runs a pick-and-roll with Van Horn, and the Cavaliers choose to double-team Marbury, then rotate to help cover Van Horn.

This defensive approach is the same as when we played the Pacers: putting pressure on the ball handler.

However, their defense did not achieve the same effect as in the previous game. It was not that Marbury's offense was more threatening than O'Neal's, but rather that the Knicks' offensive spacing was lacking.

Van Horn is a stretch four, Houston provides spacing on the weak side, and Shandon Anderson also has a three-point shot, which greatly expands the Knicks' offensive spacing on the court.

Marbury is nicknamed "Lone Wolf" by fans, but his career average assists per game is 8.4. His "loneliness" is not because he doesn't like to pass, but because his first choice after getting the ball is to dribble and attack one-on-one rather than organize the offense.

So how did he accumulate his assist numbers?
This refers to the second type of offensive organization mentioned earlier: breaking through and passing the ball using individual offensive threats.

After facing a double team, he quickly passed the ball to Van Horn, who seized the opportunity and fired a shot from the outside.

As a stretch four, Van Horn has averaged 3.2 three-point attempts per game throughout his career, with a 36% three-point shooting percentage that is quite good.

Scott's face instantly darkened on the sidelines.

Although it was only the first round, as someone who studied counter-attacking tactics, he understood very well that the key to this tactic was space.

This is why the Nets are getting worse and worse, because teams in the league are paying more and more attention to spacing.

The Cavaliers' defensive counter-attack failed, but fortunately they still have Yang Shuai.

Yang Shuai received the ball in the frontcourt, made a crossover dribble past Anderson, and drove straight to the basket.

His speed was like lightning; by the time Mutombo squeezed past Ilgauskas to cover, it was too late. "Bang!"

Yang Shuai slammed a one-handed gliding dunk over Mutombo into the basket.

Mutombo, who was used to celebrating his blocks with his signature finger wag, now only showed helplessness on his face.

At that moment, he had the image of himself shouting at Jordan while wearing the Hawks jersey in 1997 and getting dunked on, as well as the image of being dunked on by Yang Shuai in the 2001 Finals while playing for the 76ers.

He has made many people his victims, but when it comes to these two, he is powerless to do anything about it.

This dunk instantly triggered a deafening roar of cheers from the crowd.

Cleveland fans' fervor for Yang Shuai stems from the bias towards local players, but it's not just that bias; more importantly, Yang Shuai is strong enough.

In competitive sports, on-field performance is always the most important factor in winning cheers.

Scott, now free of his previous gloom, excitedly pumped his fist on the sidelines.

Yang Shuai's dunk couldn't change the Cavaliers' defensive problems, but it did change the outcome of the next possession.

Once the fans' emotions were ignited, they cheered for their home team in unison, and that roar caused Van Horn's second attempt at a three-pointer to miss.

Yang Shuai grabbed the defensive rebound and then led the fast break.

James is still the one leading the fast break; it's hard to imagine that just a second ago he was double-teaming Marbury who had the ball.

However, when the Cavaliers advanced the ball to the frontcourt on a fast break, and James received the ball and faced the basket with a 1-on-0 advantage, he did not choose to dunk directly. Instead, he slowed down, turned around, and tossed the ball to Yang Shuai in a slightly respectful manner.

James noticed Yang Shuai's strong offensive desire at the start of the game.

After receiving the ball, Yang Shuai lightly leaped and performed a 360° spin dunk.

The fans in the stadium were once again ignited, and they could feel Yang Shuai's desire to score tonight!
As the game switched between offense and defense, the shouts of the defenders filled the air.

In this situation, Van Horn, who received the ball again, was hesitant to play.

At a crucial moment, Houston stepped up. He used Mutombo's screen to cut back and create a three-point opportunity on the sideline, receiving a pass from Van Horn and sinking the shot.

This shot is reminiscent of Reggie Miller.

Despite his nickname "Mid-Range King," he has a career three-point shooting percentage of over 40%, and last season he averaged 5.5 three-point attempts per game.

The Knicks fully demonstrated their spacing ability, making it difficult for the Cavaliers to create fast break opportunities as frequently as they did against the Pacers. The Cavaliers will have to rely more on their performance in half-court sets.

However, in the Cavaliers' next possession, the Knicks immediately double-teamed Yang Shuai, and the one who double-teamed him was Marbury.

This means that James, who had the ball at the top of the key, was completely left open.

This scene made James look more and more like a larger version of Green, but James's ball-handling and offensive abilities are much stronger than Green's.

He floored the accelerator, sped to the basket, leaped into the air, and pulled the ball to its highest point with his right hand...

"boom!"

He was blocked by Mutombo.

Mutombo, who was reminded of his tragic past after being dunked on by Yang Shuai in the previous round, smiled and made James' signature "welcome to the NBA" finger-wagging celebration.

The mountains of Africa are not so easy to conquer.

The fans who were ready to cheer instantly became excited.

When James drove to the free-throw line, he actually had a great shooting opportunity, but he still didn't choose to shoot.

Fortunately, the Cavaliers still had possession of the ball.

The Cavaliers inbounded the ball to Yang Shuai, but the Knicks' double-teaming remained resolute.

However, after receiving the ball, Yang Shuai immediately turned and leaned back towards the baseline to shoot, giving the Knicks no chance to double-team him.

Anderson lunged forward, but only made himself a perfect backdrop.

"Shh!"

The basketball swished through the net, reigniting the excitement at Quicken Loans Arena.

Yang Shuai looks set to put on a scoring show at home tonight, which is exactly what Cleveland fans are hoping for.

The competition is indeed developing in that direction.

Although the home fans were in high spirits and their chants for defense were constant, just as the Cavaliers' fast break defense countered the Pacers' F4, the Knicks' spacing tonight also countered the Cavaliers' defensive strategy, making the game increasingly resemble a half-court brawl as it progressed.

In half-court sets, despite the Knicks exploiting James' shooting weaknesses by double-teaming Yang Shuai early, they were still unable to stop him from putting the ball in the basket.

It's not that their defensive strategy is flawed, but rather that they simply can't execute it.

Apart from Mutombo, whose performance has declined significantly due to age, the Knicks lack a top-tier defender. This limited defensive resources are far from sufficient to limit Yang Shuai's strong offensive desires.

Moreover, although the Cavaliers' other players are not as good as the Trail Blazers', the Knicks still dare not completely give up players like Boozer, Ilgauskas, and Davis.

As a result, the first quarter of the game became entirely Yang Shuai's personal show.

Three-pointers, fadeaways, layups, drifts – Yang Shuai showcased his entire arsenal of skills.

Thanks to his improved flexibility, his shots look even more reassuring than last season.

The differences between Scott and Carlisle at this point also became apparent.

If it were Carlisle, he would consider Yang Shuai's physical condition and would still substitute Yang Shuai off the field at the regular rotation time.

But Scott won't; he'll just let Yang Shuai play to his heart's content.

As a result, with Yang Shuai hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer in the first quarter, he scored a whopping 33 points in the first quarter!
This number is only 4 points less than his crazy single-quarter scoring performance last season, where he went 9-for-9 from three-point range and racked up 37 points.

Not a single fan in the stadium remained seated; the scene before them felt so unreal, yet so exhilarating.

They had a feeling that Yang Shuai would put on a scoring show for them, but they didn't expect it to come so quickly and so fiercely!
此时大屏幕上也给出了杨帅第一节的详细数据：15投12中，其中三分球4投3中，罚球6罚全中。

In a sense, Yang Shuai's performance in this quarter was more impressive than his 37 points, because he didn't rely on his incredibly accurate three-pointers to pull up the score, but rather on his strong individual offensive ability.

This also stunned Barkley and Kenny Smith in the commentary booth.

Despite being a longtime fan of Yang, Barkley couldn't help but sigh at this moment:
"This is the true Emperor of Cleveland!"

(End of this chapter)