LeBron James, your house got robbed.

Cleveland, Ohio

"Amy, please fasten your seatbelt."

Chen Shuo's tone was very serious, which surprised Amy.

It's important to know that not wearing a seatbelt violates Ohio's traffic laws and can result in a $25 fine.

In reality, the police won't stop you for such a trivial matter; it's usually for other violations, such as speeding or driving under the influence of drugs.

When police deal with these more serious issues, they also issue fines for not wearing seat belts, so at least 90% of people in Cleveland don't wear seat belts.

For a beautiful woman like Amy with ample resources, driving with a seatbelt on is an extremely uncomfortable experience.

As Amy fastened her seatbelt, she finally couldn't help but speak up.

"Chen, why do you always have to do this?"

Upon hearing Amy's question, Chen Shuo replied in a serious tone:

"Amy, in my country there is a famous saying that serves as a warning."

Chen Shuo admired the astonishing curves accentuated by the seatbelt, and said, word by word:

"Improper driving will bring tears to your loved ones' eyes."

"This is a very serious matter."

Seeing Amy's skepticism, Chen Shuo stepped in and explained along the seatbelt:

"The physical structure of a seatbelt..."

After finishing a physics lesson about seat belts, Chen Shuo sat back down in his seat, satisfied.

Amy finally accepted this explanation, puffed out her chest, stepped on the gas, and drove off.

Chen Shuo suppressed a laugh. He hadn't lied; in China, not wearing a seatbelt could cost 200 yuan per minute.

It's a serious matter, of course.

During a busy season, teasing Amy is quite enjoyable.

This is why Chen Shuo didn't rush to eat the meat that was right in front of him.

……

The Cavaliers' training facility.

Chen Shuo placed a stack of documents on Scott's desk.

"Look at these numbers, we've won five games, but our scoring is only in the lower half of the league."

The Cavaliers have averaged 97.1 points in their last five games, ranking seventeenth in the league. Keep in mind that this is a team on a five-game winning streak, including three of their opponents who were bottom-ranked teams.

Scott was somewhat puzzled, since the team was, after all, a defense-oriented team, which was destined from the moment they signed Chandler to a big contract.

Chen Shuo disliked beating around the bush and spoke directly:

"Byron, we need to solve this problem."

Scott instinctively felt offended.

Not only did they interfere with my own rotation, but they also criticized my coaching.

But considering Grant's words, Scott decided to let Chen Shuo continue.

"Chen, do you have any suggestions?"

Chen Shuo didn't stand on ceremony and directly turned the away game into a home game.

Scott is a Lakers legend, a former Coach of the Year, and also carries the title of Paul's mentor.

If you show weakness, it's basically like you came for nothing, especially in American society.

"I have the following three requirements for the team."

Scott could hardly believe it. This guy just made his request so directly, without any tact or consideration. He didn't take him seriously at all.

"We need to add some off-the-ball tactics to the existing system."

Facing Scott's skeptical gaze, Chen Shuo continued without hesitation:

"Despite our five-game winning streak, our offense has exposed its weaknesses."

"We only have Paul as a quality offensive playmaker."

"The other players are finding it difficult to develop their offense efficiently."

Chen Shuo understood that this was a problem with his own team composition.

He inadvertently walked into a 3D trap. In order to counter James's "gorilla-hunting formation," there were too many players in the lineup, and the offense could only respond to spot-ups.

Chen Shuo originally thought that Paul's core playing style would be enough to keep the team at a mid-to-high level of offense.

After all, the Cavaliers are a defense-oriented team, so as long as their offense isn't too bad, it's fine.

However, at present, Paul's influence on 3D players is far less than that of LeBron James, LeBron James, and Luka Doncic.

Chen Shuo thought about it for a long time before he figured out the reason.

The essence of the core strategy is centralization.

However, even within the concept of centralized power, there are different interpretations.

The two LeBrons and one East use their offensive influence to create open shots for their teammates.

James's raw talent and bull-like brute force allow him to penetrate the paint against most teams, creating opportunities for outside shooters.

Both Harden and Doncic use their offensive firepower to create opportunities for their teammates.

But Paul is definitely a level below in one-on-one situations when he has the ball, especially after his serious knee injury.

Paul observes after a pick-and-roll rather than initiating an attack immediately. He can dribble and disrupt the formation, but he lacks the ability to create opportunities.

Therefore, players like Ariza, Battier, and even Leonard couldn't easily find open shots to respond with three-pointers.

Paul might need a player like Klay Thompson who can actively participate in the offense and make off-ball runs.

In short, while both LeBron James and LeBron James were dominant core players, LeBron James and Luka Doncic at their peak were primarily focused on creating opportunities, while Chris Paul, after his major injury, mostly had to distribute those opportunities.

Paul can deliver the ball precisely to the player who gets the chance when it arises, but he is weaker at creating opportunities. His advantage is his superb control of turnovers.

Paul can achieve moderate returns with low risk, while others can achieve high returns with high risk.

This is also why Paul's career has a ceiling.

The prerequisite for distributing opportunities is that the opponent must expose your weaknesses. Once the playoffs begin and targeted defenses are implemented, the opportunities to distribute opportunities become much fewer, putting you at a significant disadvantage.

Chen Shuo explained his understanding to Scott in great detail, using only James's example.

After thinking for a moment, Scott spoke:

"What you said makes a good point. I can have the assistant coach add more off-the-ball tactics to the existing system."

"But the team not only lacks playmakers, but also lacks players who can pass the ball in the right positions and pass it to strikers who are making off-the-ball runs."

Chen Shuo smiled inwardly; only then did the true intentions become clear.

Chen Shuo guessed that Scott already had someone in mind, but he didn't give him a chance to speak.

"I'm already working on that; now let's talk about the second point."

Scott never expected it could be done this way.

Isn't the so-called game about mutual compromise? This guy isn't even responding to what I'm saying.

"We need to extend the rotation. The shortened season has too many games, and players are prone to fatigue and injury."

"Green and Parsons should be allowed to consume some of the time."

This was a reasonable request, but Scott righteously and firmly rejected it, giving equally high-sounding reasons.

These two players are not yet at the level to adapt to the intensity of the NBA.

After some arguing, Chen Shuo directly threw out his third demand:

"Klay must be allowed to take at least six three-pointers per game, and the increased off-ball tactics should revolve around Thompson."

Scott stared at Chen Shuo's face. If the previous requests were still logical, this request was entirely driven by personal interests.

Scott ultimately chose to accept this domineering demand.

He believes that the issue is no longer about team tactics, but rather a power struggle and compromise between the general manager and the head coach.

"By maintaining the current rotation, I can promise Thompson enough shooting opportunities and off-ball plays built around him."

Chen Shuo understood the subtext in Scott's words, but had no intention of explaining it.

He came here to achieve his goal.

Most of them have already been achieved, and it's not that Chen Shuo is biased towards Clay.

This system really needs Klay; no one else can execute these off-ball tactics.

As for the issue of long rotations, we can only resolve it with Scott gradually.

Chen Shuo could also understand Scott's thoughts.

He was fired by the Hornets because of his poor performance, and after finally finding a job, he still had to lead the Cavaliers to a tanking game.

Now that there's finally an opportunity to achieve results, it's understandable to shorten the rotation for this reason; it's only human nature.

Chen Shuo never pushes too hard, allowing himself to gain all the advantages while the other party suffers all the losses; this is not a sustainable approach.

Choosing two out of the three is already quite good.

Next, it's time to talk to Thompson.