As the league's famous sharpshooter, J.R. Smith is known for his strong offense and weak defense.
But for the Cavaliers, who have signed the Big Three and whose salary space is not ideal, J.R. Smith is already the best candidate they can find for the swing position at No. 23.
The Cavaliers have Yinman Shumpert who is more defensively capable off the court, but although Shumpert is very active defensively, his shortcomings on the offensive end are more obvious. For the Cavaliers, they hope to have enough offense.
Ability J.R. Smith on the field.
Moreover, although J.R. Smith's defense is a bit weak, it is still below the middle level in the league. He is also guarding Wang Feng, the Warriors' third-leading scorer, on the court, so the pressure will not be particularly great.
Judging from the game situation in the first half of the first quarter, it seems that this is indeed the case.
The Warriors frequently launch attacks around Curry and Thompson, and Wang Feng more often stays outside the three-point line in the corner waiting for opportunities.
After the timeout, J.R. Smith still followed Wang Feng.
But this time, Wang Feng did not run directly to the three-point line in the bottom corner. Instead, he came to a 45-degree angle to the left three-point line.
Seeing this scene, J.R. Smith was slightly shocked.
"Is this guy ready to take the initiative?"
The entire Cavaliers team attaches great importance to the outcome of this Christmas game and has made adequate preparations before the game.
J.R. Smith alone has watched almost all of Wang Feng’s recent game videos.
This position is Wang Feng's favorite and most accustomed offensive position with the ball. Including the previous game where he performed well against the Bucks, most of Wang Feng's offense with the ball is launched from here.
Of course they don't know that the reason why Wang Feng likes to attack from this position is mainly because the 45-degree angle is also covered by the three-point shooter badge in the bottom corner. With the blessing of the badge, he has more offensive options.
He can shoot mid-range shots from close range, and he can step back and shoot three-pointers from far away.
The effect of the corner three-point shooter badge is very powerful. Not only three-pointers, but also long two-pointers within the three-point line and about the width of your feet can also enjoy the badge bonus.
It’s a bit strange to say that it’s obviously a corner three-point shooter badge, so why can a two-point shot also trigger the badge? But that’s the fact. Since the 2K series of games had their own badge function, corner three-point shooters have always been like this.
The Cavaliers videographer didn't know these twists and turns, and it was impossible to know that Wang Feng could still cheat. His judgment was that this was Wang Feng's personal offensive preference and habit. Although it was not correct, the result was no different.
Not only J.R. Smith on the Cavaliers side, but everyone else saw Wang Feng's position and immediately understood the Warriors' intentions.
But it is clear that when Curry and Thompson pulled down positions far away from Wang Feng and stood still, the Cavaliers players responsible for defending them did not dare to neglect at all, and could only follow and stay away from Wang Feng.
Even James, who was guarding Green, was no exception.
Don't look at Green's subsequent failure to pull three-pointers, and his opponents directly opened up their position to shoot for him. However, during the 15-16 season, Green was really good at three-pointers. His three-point shooting rate throughout the season reached 38.8%, which was higher than most.
Outside shooter.
With the space completely stretched, Wang Feng directly faced a one-on-one situation with J.R. Smith.
Holding the ball in both hands and staring at J.R. Smith in front of him, Wang Feng was not nervous at all.
He remembered clearly that J.R. Smith's overall rating in the 15-16 season was around 77, which was lower than Wang Feng's now, and his abilities were basically concentrated in scoring, such as shooting, finishing and organization.
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Wang Feng's body shape is close to that of J.R. Smith. J.R. Smith, who is 1.98 meters tall, is slightly shorter than Wang Feng and weighs a few kilograms more than Wang Feng.
What's ridiculous is that in this case, Wang Feng's strength, which has always been a weakness, is that he still has the upper hand in the comparison with J.R. Smith.
Wang Feng's strength is only 55, which is in the middle and lower reaches among forwards. He suffers a lot against many stronger forwards.
J.R. Smith's power is only 46, which is not as good as Wang Feng.
With both strength and speed ahead, Wang Feng has many more offensive methods to choose from.
On the first ball, Wang Feng didn't make any fancy moves. He just held the ball and started suddenly, relying on his speed advantage to instantly pass J.R. Smith.
The opponent's defensive strategy is similar to that of Middleton of the Bucks. They would rather let Wang Feng break through than let him shoot a three-pointer.
But Middleton has proven that such defense alone cannot limit Wang Feng's scoring. After all, neither Middleton nor J.R. Smith are top perimeter defenders. If it were the Spurs' Kawhi Renner,
Germany, or the Pacers' Paul George, Wang Feng simply cannot score easily with the current situation.
Wang Feng, who went straight to the basket, met Kevin Love who was defending and made a throw. The basketball hit the board and successfully scored two points.
In the next round, Wang Feng used the gap hunter badge to successfully deceive J.R. Smith's center of gravity, and stepped back to score a three-pointer.
Immediately afterwards, the Cavaliers made a passing error and the Warriors seized the opportunity to form a fast break. Wang Feng made an emergency stop jumper from the mid-to-long distance and hit it again!
In three rounds, Wang Feng's offense was completed, scoring 7 points in a row, forcing the Cavaliers to call a timeout.
"Very good, continue to maintain this offensive rhythm."
Cole beamed with joy and praised Wang Feng repeatedly.
Wang Feng's touch was really good in this game, and he was particularly determined when he shot.
After the timeout, the Cavaliers replaced J.R. Smith and replaced Yinman Shumpert with better defense.
In last season's finals, Wang Feng faced Yin Man Shumpert most of the time.
This is a perimeter player with good defensive ability and very good physical fitness.
Unlike J.R. Smith, Yinman Shumpert is ahead of Wang Feng in terms of speed, agility and strength. If it weren't for his poor offensive ability, the Cavaliers' starting position should belong to Shumpert.
However, physical fitness is only the basis of defensive ability. Shumpert's excellent defense is entirely based on his explosive physical fitness. When it comes to defensive skills and abilities, he is also almost useless.
Basketball is not a sport where physical fitness alone can solve everything.
Even though his speed and agility are slightly inferior to his opponent's, and he is at an absolute disadvantage in terms of strength, this does not mean that Shumpert can prevent Wang Feng from dying.
"brush!"
The crisp sound of brushing the screen sounded again.
Wang Feng raised his arms high. Shumpert, who was jumping extremely high in front of him, had completely blocked his shooting sight, but he could still shoot the basketball.