77. The Cavaliers' Gate
On January 17, 2012, the Cavaliers easily defeated the Detroit Pistons last night, and then they welcomed their next opponent. Compared with the previous team with a bottom-skinned bottom, the Memphis Grizzlies are currently ranked among the top four in the Western Conference, which is really a big test for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Memphis' strong inside combination and strong style of play will make people feel shocked!
This is a difficult bone to chew, not to mention that the Cavaliers are back-to-back in this game!
Before the game started, not only the outside media were not optimistic about the Cavaliers, but even Cleveland fans were a little worried. Although they were actually the only record in the league, they were proud of the sarcastic world, but people were not machines. The Cavaliers are in the limelight now, and they want to break their unbeaten golden body if they are a team.
Memphis people are very difficult to get pestered.
The game started at 7 o'clock in the evening. Cleveland's football market is currently booming, and the Quick Loan Center is still overcrowded and the attendance rate is overwhelming.
Both sides sent all their main players to the court in this game, and there were no injuries in the team. It can be said to be a battle against Mai Mang!
Compared to the easy victory over the Detroit Pistons in the last game, the Memphis is obviously much more difficult than the Detroits who lost their tough traditions. The game has been entangled from the beginning.
Like the Cavaliers, the Memphis can also be said to be a team with balanced offense and defense, especially their inside line, which is unstoppable on the offensive end and as solid as a rock on the defensive end. Last season, the reason why the Memphis Grizzlies were able to complete the "Black Eight" miracle was that they relied on the two evil bears in the inside line, one black and one white, to crush the old Spurs to complete the promotion.
Now, this evil bear paw extends to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have not failed this season, which is naturally a test for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
If it can be defeated, then the Cavaliers can continue their winning streak. If they lose, they fall under the Memphis' bear's paw. The Cleveland Cavaliers will also fall back to the mortal world and continue to compete with other teams, and cannot be as unique as they are now!
No one doesn't want to be unique and become the darling of thousands of people. Naturally, the Cavaliers are currently in such a state, and Cleveland players will of course work harder.
But let alone the Memphis Grizzlies are outstanding in the Cavaliers' weakest link, their recent state has become better and better. Although the Cavaliers had a home advantage that night, it was not easy to fall into the game to win this opponent from the Western Conference.
The two sides played evenly in the first quarter, and no one took advantage. The Cleveland Cavaliers, who played at home, did not establish a huge advantage in the first quarter tonight, not like last night.
23:25, the Memphis Grizzlies, who played away, were only two points behind at the end of the first quarter, and soon, they caught such a trivial disadvantage in the second quarter.
Although Kyrie Irving is currently a sharp knife in the second team of the Cleveland Cavaliers. His breakthrough can tear the opponent's defense apart, tonight the Grizzlies' defense is not only excellent, but also in their second team, OJ Mayo cannot be underestimated!
Kyrie Irving is indeed famous all over the United States before entering the league, but isn’t it the same for OJ Mayo, who entered the industry earlier than him.
Both of them are examples of young fame, but one is the more you get mixed up, and the other is the one who has not yet entered the team's starting lineup. The more you get mixed up, the more you get backward, it is definitely the OJ Mayo who entered the league earlier than Kyrie Irving. However, even though Mayo's data this season is far less outstanding than his rookie season, he can still contribute 17 points per game to the team, which is the main scoring point of the Grizzlies in the second team!
And tonight, after OJ Mayo came on the court, he made consecutive breakthroughs and shots not only helped the Memphis Mongol Grizzlies quickly equalize the score, but also began to gradually establish a leading advantage.
Until the Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott realized that the Grizzlies had already turned away in the second quarter, but instead led the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 4-point advantage.
The two sides then re-entered the main competition in the second quarter, but these 4 points were put into a ravine and stuck at the throat of the Cavaliers, making the Cavaliers feel extremely uncomfortable in the first half.
52:50, when the first half ended, although the Cavaliers finally broke the 4-point obstacle, they were still behind the Memphis Grizzlies who played away at the end of the half.
In terms of the Cavaliers, the players are not in good shape. Even Wu Dawei only scored 14 points and 7 rebounds. Although Wu Dawei still contributed 2 blocks and 1 steal on the defensive end, it is still difficult to stop the Memphis Grizzlies from performing in the inside two-team group.
Although Wu Dawei's defense is the best in the league, it is worthy of being said that no one can match his right position at the moment. But after all, Wu Dawei is just a player with the third position. Although he occasionally has the experience of playing in the fourth position, he is not a real low-post player after all. Moreover, Wu Dawei is only alone, with two fists and four hands, and it is difficult to defend against Randolph and Gasol, who are in excellent condition.
It can be said that the reason why the Memphis Grizzlies were able to play against the Cavaliers in the first half was not because of the performance of two inside players. The inside led the outside line, which allowed them to find a good opportunity in the hands of the Cavaliers, which is now in the limelight.
Mark Gasol played for 18 minutes in the first half, contributing 10 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists to the team. As the axis of the team in the offensive and defensive rounds, Gasol's performance is impeccable; while Zach Randolph, as the bridgehead for the Memphis Grizzlies' offensive end, scored 18 points and 7 rebounds unstoppable in the first half!
This is the first time that the Cleveland Cavaliers fans saw the Cleveland Cavaliers fall behind their opponents in the first half in the game at the Quick Loan Center. This made the fans sweat for the team they like.
Before tonight's game, the Memphis Grizzlies came with a strong winning streak. It was really bad for the visitors! Whether the Cavaliers' eleventh winning streak could come as scheduled. People were also a little confused after the half-game.
Fifteen minutes later, the second half was reopened with the prayers of Cleveland fans. The Cavaliers players who had been resting took the lead in the first attack just at the beginning of the second half.
Scoring 4 points in a row helped them regain the lead in the game, but the Cavaliers did not grasp the rhythm of the game. The Memphis did not show any weakness, and the two sides entered a stalemate.
The Cavaliers have a home advantage, but the Memphis Grizzlies are waiting for their time, although they are away games. However, their last game dates back to two days ago, and the Cavaliers played back to back tonight.
Of course, Memphis people are better at physical reserves.
Gradually, the Cavaliers were a little stalemate. Slowly, the Memphis regained the lead in the game. The Memphis played without any haste. Relying on their advantages in the inside, they made it easy to advance step by step, and turned around.
After the third quarter, the score had become 80:75. The Memphis Grizzlies, who played away, not only maintained their advantage, but also continued to widen the gap between the two sides in this quarter.
However, of course the Cavaliers would not give up so easily. Although the Memphis played easily, the Cavaliers, as the only unbeaten team in the league, are naturally not so easy to match.
In the fourth quarter, head coach Byron Scott replaced all the best players in the team on the court early and wanted to make a desperate attempt. However, the Memphis Grizzlies, who completed the "Black Eight Miracle" last season, were obviously also a team good at fighting hard battles.
The two teams played more and more intensely in the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers had the chance to overtake the game and reverse it, but in the end they returned in vain at the critical moment.
As the saying goes, things will turn back. Some dynasties collapsed quickly after their peak. Obviously, tonight was not the lucky day for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They eventually lost such a game. 115:113, by two points, they lost their first game of the season and missed the eleven consecutive victories...
Although Wu Dawei contributed 28 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks in the whole game, it was difficult to resist. The Memphis Grizzlies' inside combination scored 54 points, 29 rebounds and 10 assists in the performance...
Since the beginning of the new season, the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have been unstoppable in the limelight, lost their first loss of the season on this day, which has suddenly become explosive news. Everyone's eyes are already attracted by such a game. There are many people who think that the Cavaliers will lose to the game tonight. They never thought that the Cavaliers actually lost to the "big dark horse" of the Memphis Grizzlies with a two-point disadvantage.
For a time, it caused a fierce discussion and countless people were gloating. The Cavaliers were in the limelight this season, which naturally made many people feel unhappy. At this time, there was a chance to laugh at the Cavaliers. Of course, these people were trying their best to seize them.
On the second day after the game, many media put their opinions on the Cleveland Cavaliers' first defeat in the season on the front page of their newspaper page.
"The Cleveland Cavaliers are weak and lose to the Memphis Grizzlies with two points!"
"The weaknesses are revealed, the Cleveland Cavaliers are definitely not an invincible teacher!"
"What to save you, the Cleveland Cavaliers' unguarded paint area!"
The performance of the Memphis Grizzlies' inside double towers in this game has allowed countless people to see the biggest flaw in the current Cleveland Cavaliers!
Chris Carman's average of 10 points and 7 rebounds per game this season, his 47% shooting percentage, and Andre Valecho's 8 points and 9 rebounds have fully demonstrated the Cavaliers' inside flaws!
This game also made many people seem to have found a way to easily defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers. That is to attack its inside line!
The Cleveland Cavaliers' defeat shocked the entire league. Although they lost a game, they still ranked first in the entire league with a record of 10 wins and one loss; however, under the instigation of many good people, it seems that the fate of the Cavaliers this season is already in danger.
In their opinion, the disadvantage of the inside has become the fatal point of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Losing this game was really extremely depressed for Wu Dawei. He passed by the eleventh consecutive wins and stopped at the ten consecutive wins. It was absolutely fake if Wu Dawei said he was not sorry. Because he even thought to himself that he could win twenty consecutive wins or thirty consecutive wins in one fell swoop...
However, losing this game is not a big deal for the Cavaliers. How can there be a team that is unbeaten for many years? Especially in competitive sports events, eternal victory can only be in the heart.
It is the so-called immortality of the spirit.
So everyone was just depressed about the defeat in this game. They lost more games last season than this season. However, the outside world seemed to regard this game as the life of the Cavaliers, as if the Cavaliers who lost this game would lose their future.
Although after this game, Wu Dawei performed many losses in this game in interviews with the media, and would not have any impact on the Cavaliers.
"It's just an ordinary game, but what's different from this season is that we ended up losing this game. It's no big deal!"
Although Wu Dawei made it clear, it is obvious that the media will never give up just like this. Especially those who dislike the Cavaliers, they are ready to rush up and bite the Cavaliers at any time. How could Wu Dawei easily make the article go through?
They believe that this game loss with the Grizzlies is just the beginning of the fall of the Cavaliers this season, and they will soon face a series of failures! The reason is simple, because after the game against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Cleveland Cavaliers will still be at home and welcome their next opponent after a day off.
Chapter completed!