"Erwin, is this the first time LeBron has missed an open shot today?"

In the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Pacers and the Cavaliers, the Pacers shrank the basket very simply after the opening of the game, and at the same time focused on the Cavaliers' two outside lines, Larry Hughes and Alexander Pavlovich, as for the core of the Cavaliers LeBron James, the Pacers' defensive strategy for him is that as long as James does not enter the three-point line, then he can shoot as he wants, shoot as he wants, and empty the offensive core of a team. Today worked wonders, and before halftime, the Pacers had a 17-point lead over the Cavaliers.

If it were replaced by a player with an average three-point ability, if the Pacers dared to play like this, they would have been shot to death, but James's three-point ability belongs to the lower middle group, and after missing two three-pointers in a row at the beginning, James was obviously a little unconfident in his shooting in the following games.

"I guess it's the sixth." Rick Carlisle's defensive strategy against James today was very effective, but for James, today's game was a complete ordeal, but Magic Johnson doesn't think it's a bad thing, only through setbacks can he grow, as the best new generation player in the league at the moment, James does need to go through some setbacks in order to go further and become one of the best players in the league.

"I've always had the impression that Rick Carlisle is very steady, even conservative, but the strategy he developed today to defend James was very bold, even risky." Emptying the opponent's offensive core in a divisional final, Rick Carlisle's tactical arrangement today is completely bold in Michaels' opinion, even Don Nelson, who is known as a "tactical genius" and "madman", I am afraid that he will not empty a superstar in a game!

"That's the precipitation that comes from the championship." For Larry Bird's chosen successor, Magic Johnson was not very optimistic at the beginning, although Rick Carlisle made the Pistons a top three team in the league when he coached the Pistons, and won the best head coach there, but Rick Carlisle has always given the impression of being conservative, and a head coach with this style is obviously not suitable for the Pacers at that time, but Larry Bird still resolutely chose Rick Carlisle.

And Rick Carlisle did not live up to Larry Bird's trust, after leading the Pacers to the best regular season record for four consecutive seasons and winning two championships, Rick Carlisle also changed his previous old-fashioned, conservative, confident, and bold, or it can be said that Rick Carlisle is a manager who watches the dishes, and what type of player he has in his hands, then what type of tactics he plays.

Back on the court, after missing the empty shot again, James, who was slowly retreating, was full of confusion and unwillingness in his eyes, James didn't know why the battle between him and Meng Xu in the first divisional final full of hope and longing became like this, he was wandering around the court like an outcast, and James didn't know what to do, how to solve this situation on the court.

And on the Cavaliers' bench, there is also a grievance at the moment, from head coach Mike Brown to many substitute players, all of them are expressionless looking at what is happening on the court, perhaps most of them have lost hope for this game.

In today's game, the Cavaliers are extremely aggrieved, especially head coach Mike Brown, and it is obvious that he is suppressed by the IQ of Rick Carlisle on the opposite side, originally before the game starts, Mike Brown has some mental preparations for the difficulty of the Eastern Conference Finals, in Mike Brown's view, even if the Cavaliers will be at a disadvantage, they will not be fully suppressed by the Pacers, after all, the tactics of the Cavaliers and the Pacers are very similar, the Pacers know the Cavaliers, and the Cavaliers also understand the Pacers, What is particularly critical is that James, the offensive and defensive core of the Cavaliers, in addition to his lack of playoff experience, is almost equal to Meng Xu in terms of strength.

However, after the start of the game, Mike Brown found that the source of his confidence, the core of the Cavaliers, James, had become the Cavaliers' shortcomings and the target of being targeted by the Pacers, and he racked his brains and couldn't find a solution to the problem, so he could only passively pin all his hopes on James himself, hoping that he could lead the Cavaliers out of the current predicament in a flash of inspiration.

At the same time, Larry Hughes, who was pinned on by Mike Brown, was completely locked up by Tony Allen of the Pacers today, originally in Mike Brown's plan, James and Meng Xu exploded each other, and Larry Hughes was the Cavaliers' winning knife and surprise soldier, but Larry Hughes disappointed Mike Brown today, and Larry Hughes was shot 1 of 4 by Tony Allen throughout the first half, and he couldn't play the role that Mike Brown expected.

Not only Larry Hughes, but also the Cavaliers' other outside lineman, Alexander Pavlovich, is also invisible under the defense of Tyshawn Prince, and the performance of Drew Gooden and Zajunas Ilgoskas is normal, but if you want to beat the Pacers, it is not just something that two players can do with normal play.

The offensive end can't play the offense you want, and the defensive end can't limit the Pacers' offense, at the end of the half, in Mike Brown's view, the Cavaliers have already explained today's game, although Mike Brown doesn't want to admit it, but Mike Brown knows very well in his heart that the gap between the Cavaliers and the Pacers is all-round.

For all NBA players, when the game does not start, they naturally hope that they are the final winner, and the Cavaliers are the same, they have worked hard to reach the division finals, but not for a few days of Western finals, everyone in the Cavaliers hopes to be one step closer, or even two steps further, but when the game starts, they find that they can't see the slightest hope, and almost everyone in the Cavaliers has been shaken in confidence.