Kidd turned around and called Thompson up, and Thompson came on to replace Josh Smith.

Although the game only lasted a few rounds, it was obvious on the court that the Cavaliers were useless defensively against the Nets' lineup.

They won't be beaten to death by Lin Ying and Durant, but they will be beaten to death by Jokic.

Jokic's uniqueness is on the one hand, but more importantly, Lin Ying and Durant are too intimidating. The Cavaliers simply dare not bet on their outside shooting percentage.

When Smith came off the field, the fans cheered loudly.

This is not a successful start, and one of the generals in the formation has been killed first.

Thompson can guard the basket, but his ability to sweep the penalty area is not at the same level as Smith's. He can only help Love make up baskets, but he can't help in pick-and-roll situations.

The situation developed in a direction favorable to the Nets from the very beginning!

However, before the cheers of the fans at the scene could stop, the Cavaliers played a wave of coordination in the frontcourt.

Irving came around the screen, received a pass from James, then feinted and hit a jump shot.

The Cavaliers' lineup has not changed much compared to last season, but the team's tacit understanding is increasing, and Irving's personal abilities are also improving.

In a sense, the Cavaliers' configuration is somewhat similar to that of the Nets.

James determines the Cavaliers' lower limit, and Irving determines the team's upper limit.

When Jokic receives the ball in the frontcourt, his effect on Thompson is obviously not as good as that on Love.

Although Thompson is also short, he has both confrontation and flexibility.

His last shot failed to score, and the rebound was picked off by Thompson.

The Cavaliers failed to make a fast break, but after retreating into position, James broke through to the basket and scored.

The situation began to develop in the Cavaliers' favor again.

These rounds have also become a microcosm of the opening of both sides.

The Nets relied heavily on Jokic at the beginning, and Jokic also played smoothly at the beginning.

But the Cavaliers' offense never stopped.

Let Jokic play the main game against the Cavaliers. This style of play is still a bit difficult for the little fat guy. After all, the opponent is the runner-up last season.

However, Karl did not adjust his tactics.

Winning or losing in the regular season is not the most important. If Jokic can gradually adapt to this role, it will be of great help to the Nets.

Nine and a half minutes into the first quarter, the score on the field was 24 to 16, with the Cavaliers leading.

At this time, the two sides began to rotate, and the Cavaliers' Dellavedova, LaVine, Pierce and Smith came on the field.

For the Nets, Karl did not treat Jokic as a bully and replaced him with Joseph, Covington, Durant, West, and Mahinmi.

Hey, you read that right, Durant is still on the court.

In the last game, Lin Ying, Durant, and Jokic played together most of the time, but this time Karl made new adjustments.

Then after the first quarter, the Nets evened the point difference immediately.

The Nets' bench is already very strong, and West is still capable of starting in most teams.

Now that Durant has been added, the Cavaliers are a little confused.

To paraphrase Pierce's habit, he could only say something like "The whole league was afraid of the Texas Twins back then, but I wasn't afraid" after retiring.

Then at the beginning of the second quarter, Kidd on the Cavaliers side was also forced to make adjustments and let Irving come up early to lead the team.

But on the Nets side, Karl replaced Durant and Mahinmi and replaced them with JR and Lin Ying.

Karl did not completely let Durant and Lin Ying stop playing in the first half, but gave them a period of time to find a scoring feeling.

This strategy is still very effective.

Karl's micro-management is on the one hand, but equally important on the other hand, Lin Ying and Durant are both super giants who can enter the state directly without warming up.

"I feel that George Karl is now the best coach in the history of the NBA. Of course, I can do it too."

This also caused O'Neal to express emotion in the commentary box.

When you coach Lin Ying and Durant at the same time, and the role players are still online, you can perform all kinds of fancy operations.

The "Shark" sentiment is not without reason. The most typical example is the Warriors next door.

Cole has not coached on the court so far this season due to some physical problems.

He is now coached by Luke Walton, who has little coaching experience.

But it is Walton who has led the Warriors to a record-setting opening winning streak so far, and the record is still being expanded.

Many media people now say that Walton is better than Kerr, but he doesn't think so.

Just like he said, he can also show off micro-management on a fully-leveled account!

However, the Nets did not open up the score during this period. Irving is in really good shape this season. He shot from inside to outside and performed at a super-level.

And there was a detail on the sidelines. James kept standing up to applaud Irving and the two even fist-bumped and hugged during a timeout.

The two sides played evenly in this period. When the main force returned, Jokic began to shoulder the role of competing against the Cavaliers.

After halftime, the score on the field was 58 to 52, and the Cavaliers led by 8 points entering the second half.

Jokic scored 18 points at halftime.

Simple mathematical statistics, 18 points in the half, not 36 points in the whole game!

You must know that Jokic's highest score in his career so far is only 26 points.

Both sides entered the halftime break.

Social media is still a raging war.

The pre-game scolding did not end when the game started. On the contrary, it intensified as the game started.

By this time, with the Cavaliers taking the lead at halftime, Cavaliers fans had the absolute upper hand.

"George Karl is the worst Qian Sheng coach. He can't even understand how to play at full level. He's not as good as Luke Walton next door!"

"Haha, that old man Karl thought he could penetrate the Cavaliers inside with Jokic. I'm afraid the old man didn't wake up!"

"What are you talking about? This is a tactic! Don't remind me, this tactic is so good!"

"I think we just can't beat them. It's not like Durant and Lin Ying didn't work hard, but they can't beat them, haha!"

…

Cavaliers locker room.

James and Irving were chatting happily.

From the previous on-court to the current off-court relationship, the relationship between the two is going through a "honeymoon period."

And this situation tonight is enough to make them happy.

Now the advantage is clearly on the Cavaliers' side. If they continue to play at this pace, the Cavaliers have a good chance of winning a big victory.

Winning the game in such a focused battle will definitely feel pretty good.

…

Come back from the intermission.

The fans at Barclays Center looked a little anxious.

Spike Lee in the front row was also a little worried.

His inner thoughts at this moment even felt that New York was a bit cursed.

It does feel a bit bad to feel betrayed and still being beaten.

But the good news is that the mental outlook of the Nets players seems to be very good.

When he came back from the locker room, Durant was still talking and laughing with Lin Ying.

A photographer on set captured the shot.

After the fans at the scene saw it, they felt a little more at ease.

After all, they are only 6 points behind. If the Nets exert their strength in the second half, they still have a chance to catch up.

The game continued, and the Cavaliers took the lead in the second half.

Irving came up and hit a mid-range jumper through Thompson's screen, opening the point difference to double digits.

Well, Kidd started Thompson directly in the second half, in preparation for the third quarter to end the suspense of the game.

After Irving hit the ball, James went over to give Irving a high-five with excitement on his face, showing a domineering air on his face.

Just like this, he wiped out the Nets in one go and let everyone know that this season belongs to Clevelanders!

In the transition from offense to defense, the Cavaliers retreated to the defensive end, and Thompson was ready to continue fighting with Jokic in the low post.

But the reality is that after the Nets came over, Jokic did not go to the low post, but directly stood at the top of the key and held the ball.

The Nets' style of play has changed!
To be continued...