With a score of 1:1, the Cavaliers returned home. However, in the third game at home, the Cavaliers still failed to defeat the Warriors. They lost the third finals series 113:118, and the total score came to 1
:2.
In this game, Thompson scored 31 points, Durant scored 28 points, and Curry scored 29 points.
The Cavaliers had James with 38 points, Wang Feng with 33 points, and Irving with 26 points, but Love performed abnormally and only scored 6 points on 1 of 9 shots.
Things took a turn for the worse!
The Cavaliers, already trailing 1:2, cannot lose the fourth game no matter what, otherwise they will return to the home court of the Warriors with a score of 1:3. Even Wang Feng cannot guarantee that they can be like the Cavaliers of 16 years in another time and space.
In this way, the team completed a huge comeback from 1:3.
The main problem facing the Cavaliers now is the gap in the bench lineups between the two sides. The second is the inability to completely limit the scoring of the Warriors' three outside scorers, and the latter is the same for both sides.
Wang Feng can effectively curb Durant's scoring efficiency in one-on-one situations, but once Durant and Curry cooperate to cover the pick-and-roll, Wang Feng is powerless, whether he is facing Irving or J.R. Smith with the ball, or even
When facing James, Durant can maintain a very efficient scoring efficiency.
"Since I can't guard you... then I might as well stop guarding you!"
Wang Feng gritted his teeth and once again took the initiative to find Tyronn Lue, who was helpless about the current situation.
"Coach, let me come on as a substitute in the fourth game."
Tyronn Lu was stunned.
"Are you going to be a substitute?"
In these three games of the finals, Wang Feng performed very well, and it can even be said that he completely exceeded his expectations.
He averaged 29.6 points per game in three games, second only to James in scoring, and shot 52% from the field. He is one of the main scoring points that the Cavaliers rely on.
It would be too wasteful to let Wang Feng play as a substitute.
"I'm not talking about a pure substitute, but a pseudo substitute like Manu Ginobili." Wang Feng said seriously: "The previous three games have proved that even if I start the game and mark Durant, the effect is not very good.
Well, he averages 30+ points per game. If that's the case, there's no need for me to keep an eye on Durant. If I switch to someone else to defend him, the result will be the same."
"But if I come on as a substitute, I can make up for the team's shortcomings during the substitute period. With the scoring abilities of James and Irving, even when I am not on the court, the team's offense will not be much inferior to its opponents."
"This..." Tyronn Lu hesitated.
Although what Wang Feng said makes sense, with such a tactical arrangement, it is still very risky to just guess without seeing the results.
What if Wang Feng’s performance as a substitute is not good? What if Durant, without Wang Feng’s control, scores 50+ points in a single game?
The Cavaliers now have no way out. If they make such a big adjustment rashly, if something goes wrong, he, the head coach, will have to bear the responsibility for the failure of the game!
"Coach, although I'm not sure if we can win the game this way, if we continue to play according to the original tactics and arrangements, we will definitely not be able to beat the Warriors!"
"...Okay, I will think about it carefully and then discuss it with LeBron to come up with a result."
…
In the NBA, 1+1 does not necessarily equal 2. This is a problem Wang Feng discovered in the three games of the finals.
Originally, according to his idea, the Big Four lineup of himself + James + Irving + Love would be stronger than the Warriors' lineup of Curry + Thompson + Durant + Green, especially since the ability to attack and intercept shots has been enhanced to the present level.
Wang Feng, who is now at the top of the league, is almost comparable to either Curry or Durant.
James is definitely better than these two MVP-level players. When comparing Irving to Thompson, Wang Feng thinks Irving is even better.
As for Green and Love...
Even before time travel, Wang Feng never felt that Green was a very good player. It was just because he happened to be selected by the Warriors and played in the Warriors. His defensive contribution to the Warriors was greater than that of most players in the league.
Any defensive player can do it, but as for his ability to deal cards from the top of the arc... let's not mention it, or maybe he just doesn't have enough offensive ability to handle the ball on his own and is limited by his height and can't cut inside to eat.
Therefore, he can only control the ball and stand in the top arc position to pretend that he is organizing the game.
In this comparison, the Cavaliers' Big Four are obviously stronger than the Warriors' Big Four, and are even so strong that they can completely make up for the gap on the bench.
However, this is not the case.
Just like the three-game series in the finals, the situation was somewhat beyond Wang Feng's expectations.
Mainly because the performance of Irving and Love was much worse than Wang Feng expected.
Irving averaged 23 points per game in three games and shot 42.9% from the field. His performance can only be considered average.
However, in Wang Feng’s impression, in the 2017 Finals, Irving averaged 29.4 points per game in 5 games and maintained a shooting percentage of 47.2%. His performance was second only to James and Durant, and even better than Curry.
.
Love was even worse, scoring 14 points, 21 points and 6 points respectively in these three finals, averaging 13.6 points per game and shooting less than 40%.
The same time period, the same level of fitness, but both performances were affected.
The only reason Wang Feng can think of is himself.
Wang Feng, who averaged 29.6 points per game, is very efficient, but such a high score still takes up a lot of ball rights and shot rights. These ball rights are deducted from Irving and Love.
Irving and Love are not Curry and Thompson who can show their strength without the ball. Both of them are players who need the ball to perform well. Especially the former, who already has the ball when James holds the ball a lot.
Cuts, and now there is another Wang Feng, so it will naturally be affected.
Irving complained about this many times in the middle of the season and even went to the head coach and general manager, but no one supported Irving, not even James.
The reason is very simple, your efficiency is far less than Wang Feng, why should Wang Feng give you the ball?
But now, the team has half a foot on the edge of the cliff, and Wang Feng must take the initiative to make sacrifices. No matter how gorgeous his personal data is, it will be meaningless once the Cavaliers lose the finals.
Wang Feng can accept a brief change in positioning for the golden badge of his choice that will be awarded by the system after winning the championship.
On June 9, 2017, Game 4 of the Finals was still at the home court of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Before the game, both sides announced today's starting lineup, and many people were stunned when looking at the list.
"The Cavaliers changed their lineup? Did I read that correctly? In this game, the Cavaliers actually put Wang Feng on the bench?"