The Godfather of Basketball

Hill's performance has a lot to do with his opponent's contempt and his temporary state. It is certainly impossible for him to maintain such efficiency all the time.

But at least he proved he has gas in the tank and is fully capable of playing in the rotation.

101 to 73, the Cavaliers finally beat the Pistons in an away game, ushering in a 6-game winning streak after the All-Star break.

Both Paul and Yao Ming played just over two quarters. The former scored 18 points, 9 assists and 3 steals, and the latter scored 15 points and 7 rebounds.

The performance of the role players in this game was very impressive. Butler, Carter, and Artest all scored in double figures.

Old Hill played 10 minutes in the first game of joining the Cavaliers. He scored 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks efficiently on 4 of 4 shots. He played very well.

Of course, Tang Tian and his coaching staff will not have a discussion, and the investigation of Hill will definitely last for a while.

Playing against the Eagles, he scored 5 points and 3 rebounds on 2 of 3 shots in 9 minutes.

Playing against the Grizzlies, he scored 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block on 4 of 7 shots in 15 minutes.

Playing against the Lakers, he scored 6 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists on 2 of 4 shots in 13 minutes.

Playing against the Celtics, he scored 3 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks on 1 of 4 shots in 10 minutes.

After five games, he averaged 11.4 minutes per game, contributed 6.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1 block, and his shooting percentage was as high as 59%.

Hill's one-handed pick-and-roll shots and air cuts are completely seamless with the Cavaliers.

And compared to scoring, his defensive performance is more impressive. The kind of confrontational defense and accurate prediction in the last century made people suddenly understand that defense can also rely on talent!

What makes the Cavaliers coaching staff even more excited is that Hill is a good teacher and teaches young players such as Butler and Green in the locker room. This signing should not be too cost-effective.

With Hill's stable performance, the Cavaliers' rotation lineup is basically determined.

Starting lineup: Paul, Green, Butler, Battier, Yao Ming.

Substitutes (in order of rotation): Carter (sixth man), Whiteside, Artest, Jeremy Lin, Grant Hill.

Bench players: Varejao, Parsons.

Fringe players (inactive list): Isaiah Thomas, Markieff Morris, Robin Lopez.

The rotation is not fixed, and the coaching staff will make adjustments according to the status of the players and opponents, but basically, this is the regular rotation lineup.

After the rotation was confirmed, the Cavaliers' record gradually stabilized.

At this time, the last important time of the season, the league's buyout deadline is approaching.

The Cavaliers lineup is stable. At this point in time, theoretically there will be no action.

But this morning's training session, Paul was absent.

The reason is a bit funny. Paul slipped and slipped while taking a shower at his own home, and twisted his hand as a result of putting his hand on the ground.

Fortunately, it is not very serious, but it will take 1 to 2 weeks to recover.

Now there is less than one month left before the start of the playoffs, no matter from any point of view, it is necessary for him to fully recover and play again.

It was Casey who told Tang Tian the news, and Tang Tian frowned slightly after hearing it.

Speaking of which, his system... seems like it hasn't appeared for almost a year!

In the past, before the finals, there would be a mission to win the championship.

He even wondered if what he got was a fake system!

Now there are only 2 honor points left, and he doesn't dare to use them indiscriminately. He can only wait for Paul to recover slowly.

"Should we consider signing a third point guard from the free market? In fact, it's not just Chris's injury. Our point guard line is a bit lacking in experience." Casey suggested.

Jeremy Lin is a sophomore, and Thomas is a rookie who has barely played. After James left, the Cavaliers have no organizational skills, whether they are shooting guards or forwards. It is impossible to expect Yao Ming to play organization there during the substitute period Center forward, physical strength can't keep up.

"No, the team roster is full now, no one is redundant." Tang Tian shook his head.

The Cavaliers currently have 15 players on their roster. If they want to sign another player, they can only lay them off. Moreover, there are no good point guards to sign in the free market. Basically not much playing time.

It is not cost-effective to sign a veteran and use a playoff game to give up a young player for this.

"Look at Jeremy's performance during this time, and if it's really not good, we still have Grant, who was born as a point forward." Seeing that Casey was still worried, Tang Tian said.

Casey nodded, and then looked at Jeremy Lin on the court.

Jeremy Lin's progress this year is obvious to all. Up to now, he has averaged 7.5 points and 3.2 assists per game. In the limited playing time, he has completed the role of a backup point guard very well.

Just playing as a starter and as a substitute are completely two concepts.

Don't look at Butler adapting so quickly, point guards and strikers are completely different.

Let's not talk about talent first, let's talk about two positions.

As long as the striker has defense and the offense can play fast break, he can basically play, but the point guard has to control the rhythm and organization. If he fights randomly, the damage to the team is immeasurable.

Casey is still a little worried. Jeremy Lin's defense is a problem, and he hasn't fought against top point guards.

Tang Tian was very confident. Jeremy Lin in his previous life had played "Lin Crazy" without his training, let alone played under him for almost two years.

Paul's accidental injury is a difficult period for the Cavaliers, but for Jeremy Lin, it may be his opportunity to express himself.

On the contrary, Thomas Jr. is an unknown.

For the next period of time, whoever is more suitable for the third organization point, Thomas Jr. or Hill, will be the focus of his investigation.

After the day's training was over, Tang Tian asked Jeremy Lin, Thomas Jr., and Hill to chat for a while.

Basically, it conveys a meaning, Paul is not there, they must be prepared for increased playing time.

After two days of training, the Cavaliers boarded a plane to New York, where they will face off against the New York Knicks.

The Cavaliers are now ranked second in the Eastern Conference, and the Knicks are ranked seventh in the Eastern Conference. If the playoffs start now, they will meet directly in the first round.

Because of the shortened season, the two teams played only two games in the past. One was won when James was still there, and the other was lost when James was absent due to injury.

In other words, the current season score of the two sides is 1 to 1, and the third game is the final match between the two sides of the season. Although it is unlikely to involve ranking issues, for the two sides that may meet in the first round of the playoffs, the winner People will obviously have an advantage in momentum.

On this night, regardless of the status of the team, the Madison Garden Arena in New York is still full of seats.

Although the record is not good, the combination of "Little Bully" Stoudemire and "Little Melon" Anthony is enough to make them buy tickets and be excited about it.

Not to mention that this will be their second straight season making the playoffs.