This Forward is Not Serious

There were a lot of cheers on social media after Smith had a great game.

"George Karl has an instruction manual for JR Smith", "Lin and JR showed a tacit understanding that existed in Denver", "This is the best signing of the Nets in the offseason"...

Compliments like these poured in.

This is very realistic.

Just like what Lin Ying had thought about, in competitive sports, being dishonest is the original sin. If you are no longer good, many things can be tolerated.

Of course, some people are worried that Smith's performance may be a flash of inspiration.

After all, "convulsions" is quite high in Smith's label.

Time finally gave the answer.

Smith has changed.

He's still inconsistent and won't be able to perform as well as he did against the Heat every night.

But he did change.

The biggest point is his defense, which has changed from the road in the early morning to the path in the forest.

Maybe his defensive skills are not very good, but he is indeed very motivated and looks decent.

This change could allow Carr to keep him on the court longer.

According to statistics, in the half month after the game against the Heat, Smith averaged 30 minutes per game, averaged 14.6 points per game, and shot 43% from three-point range.

He became the Nets' well-deserved sixth man, the role the Nets always wanted him to be.

Fans don't know the stories behind Smith. They only know that Smith ushered in a new life with the Nets.

In the past half month, the Nets' record has gradually begun to get on the right track, achieving a record of 6 wins and 2 losses.

Their record of 9 wins and 5 losses this season also puts them in third place in the Eastern Conference, following the Knicks and Pacers.

All this can be explained.

A large part of Smith's increased playing time came from Joe Johnson.

This allowed Johnson to get enough rest and his condition began to gradually recover.

Smith's performance and Johnson's recovery greatly reduced Lin Ying's pressure, and the injury on his hand gradually improved.

He doesn't have to fight until he gets injured like he did in Phoenix.

Just like an equation, changing one factor will cause the result of the entire equation to develop in a completely different direction.

Smith's X factor has brought the Nets back on track.

…

After that day's training, Lin Ying was training, and Cole called him to the office.

In the office, Carl and McMillan were both there.

"Lin, we are going to let Deron rest for some games. What do you think?"

After Lin Ying sat down, Karl spoke.

Unlike Sloan who made a decision and informed him, Carl preferred to deal with issues through discussion.

Deron's rotation is not only related to the coaching staff, but also to Lin Ying, the core of the team.

"I'm OK."

Lin Ying gave his answer without much thought.

Everything is on track for the Nets, but the only exception is Deron.

Deron chose conservative treatment for his knee injury and surgical treatment for his ankle.

The Nets season last year lasted until June, which meant that he only came back after three months of rest.

This caused injuries to recur before he could regain his form.

Although the coaching staff made a conscious effort to control his playing time, it didn't work.

In order to ensure the situation in the playoffs, proper rotation is the best solution at present.

There was no problem seeing Lin Ying, so the decision was finalized.

Of course, time will tell whether it will work or not.

If that doesn't work, they can only ask Deron to call a truce.

That was the last step, and it was not what the coaching staff wanted to take. After all, it would be more difficult for Deron to get back to his form after returning from the truce.

After the chat was over, Lin Ying left the office.

As for the question of who will replace Deron in the starting lineup, the coaching staff will decide on their own, and his input is not required.

He went straight to the infirmary.

After Deron finished training, he went to the infirmary to recover.

Lin Ying went to see him.

In the infirmary, not only Deron, but Livingston was also there.

Karl has been addicted to using three guards since the Heat game, and Livingston squeezed Kirilenko out of the rotation.

The good news is that it took Livingston five years to finally recover from his serious injury.

However, out of caution, he would still go to the infirmary for treatment after each game.

When a person has experienced the horrific injury of breaking his leg at a 90° bend, it is difficult to become careless.

"Coach Karl just came to see me, and he told me that he would arrange for you to have a rest."

Lin Ying first cared about Deron's injury, and then revealed the coaching staff's decision in advance.

"I can still hold on."

Deron did not appear happy, but rather worried.

The Nets finally got back on track, and he was worried that his rotation would put the team in trouble again.

"Don't worry, we have a lot of people playing. Look at Sean, he can only give his best after recovering from his injury."

Lin Ying opened his mouth and gave Livingston an example.

"Yes, mentality is very important. Believing in yourself is more effective than anything else."

Livingston on the side said in agreement.

This is what he has learned over the past few years.

Injuries are uncontrollable, but people's emotions can be controlled.

If you don’t believe in yourself, then everything may not exist.

Deron nodded.

What Lin Ying just said was about injuries, but it actually reminded him that the team is very rich in the point guard position this season.

Barbosa, Billups, including Livingston who is now with him.

Lin Ying turned around and gave Livingston an affirmative look.

…

The Nets next game is on November 28th.

This day happens to be Thanksgiving Day in the United States.

Lin Ying didn't feel much about this festival. As a time traveler, he knew that this festival was a bit ironic.

102 Puritans fled to the American continent, and the severe cold in winter almost killed them.

Enthusiastic Native American Indians helped them and taught them survival skills such as hunting and planting.

The Puritans were so moved that they set a day called Thanksgiving and invited the Indians to participate.

Then a few years later, these descendants of the Puritans became the rulers of the American continent and drove out the Indians.

However, this holiday is a very important day for Americans, second only to holidays like Christmas.

The Nets conducted some gratitude activities before the game on this day. Players dressed as chefs gave some food to the fans at the entrance of the audience.

This kind of activity is not unique to the Nets. Many teams will use this method to bring closer the relationship between players and fans.

After participating in the event, the team trained normally.

Karl also announced before training that Deron would miss tonight's game due to ankle soreness.

The good thing about having an old injury is that you don’t have to come up with some misleading excuse for hip tightness.

By the way, Karl also announced the candidate to replace Deron in the starting lineup.

Barbossa.

This result is expected.

When Lin Ying is on the court, the team's offense revolves around him, and the need for space will be greater.

Barbosa's three-point shooting percentage this season is 38.3%. Although it is not as good as the peak, it is enough.

Moreover, Billups has not played much this season, and he will not be able to adapt if he is suddenly brought up to start the game.

…

That night, the Barclays Center was packed with people, and fans’ faces were full of smiles wherever the camera panned.

In such a grand festival, the fans are also in a very happy mood.

Of course, that includes the players.

Most of the people playing in the NBA are Americans.

On-site photographers were constantly looking for lenses before the game.

The Cavaliers struggled a bit at the beginning of the season, but they have been running well recently and have already reached the fourth position.

And the record difference between them and the Nets is only half a game.

Therefore, this game may also have some impact on the rankings of both sides.

Cavaliers head coach Kidd, Irving, Harden and Josh Smith training on the court.

For the first time since James left, the Cavaliers feel like a strong team.

On the Nets side, because Deron can't play, the starlight is a little bit behind.

But for the fans at the scene, whether they were from Brooklyn, New Jersey, or from other places, Lin Ying felt very profitable if he could beat them.

The pre-match warm-up is over and the opening ceremony begins.

The away team comes on first.

Irving, Harden, CJ Miles, Josh Smith, Hawes.

Kidd made adjustments to the starting lineup based on the Nets' lineup and took advantage of it.

After the visiting team comes the home team.

It was at this time that fans noticed that the home team's entrance song had changed.

The background music changed to "We Are the Champions," Swift's single released in the summer.

This single was an instant hit when it was first released, and it was very popular.

Although this is just background music, it has already attracted fans to cheer.

As Lin Ying said before, this has really become the exclusive battle song of the Nets!

In the background music, the Nets' starting lineup was also announced.

Barbosa, Butler, Johnson, Lin Ying, Chandler.

Chandler defeated Hawes in a jump, and the Thanksgiving Day war officially began.

Lin Ying caught the ball in the high post and found that the Cavaliers were using Josh Smith to guard him alone.

Josh Smith is that rare player who combines strength, confrontation, speed, and jumping.

The Cavaliers introduced him just to deal with Lin Ying and James.

Lin Ying tried his back and turned around with a fake move to deceive Smith's backward shot.

Smith's defensive awareness seems to be almost meaningless.

But the moment he took action, Smith unexpectedly jumped up to interfere with him.

Lin Ying's shot missed the basket.

This guy can really jump, and his bounce speed is a bit exaggerated.

However, Chandler directly squeezed Hawes under the basket and grabbed the offensive rebound.

Although Hawes is taller than Chandler, confrontation is his weakness, and he doesn't like confrontation very much.

"Bang!"

Chandler took off for the second time and smashed the ball into the basket with both hands!

The scene exploded instantly.

Don’t think of Tyson as a giant!

The Nets came out on top.

Looking back, Irving holds the ball, and the entire space on the Cavaliers' court is very wide.

Although Hawes is almost useless defensively, his space ability is enough to make him a starter.

Irving directly changed directions and passed Barbosa.

Barbosa's pace was a bit disadvantaged against Irving due to age and injuries.

Irving drove to the basket, Lin Ying shrank towards the basket, and jumped to block the shot the moment Irving took action.

However, Irving's reaction speed was really fast. He dodged a waist pull lever in the air, and then switched to the other side of the basket to take a shot.

This ball shows all his talent.

It's just that Lin Ying appeared to be stuck in the air, and another hand in the air interfered.

"Dang!"

Irving's shot hit the frame.

Then, a figure suddenly inserted into the inside line, jumped up to meet the pop-up ball and pressed down directly.

"Bang!"

Back-up dunk from Josh Smith!

There was a commotion in the place.

Lin Ying was also a little surprised.

However, this seems to explain why the Cavaliers can adjust well.

In this large-space offensive system, not only the two guards are comfortable, but also a forward like Josh Smith who relies on breakthroughs and dunks will be very comfortable.

Johnson caught the ball in the frontcourt and directly hit Myers with his back. After suppressing Myers with a few blows, he turned over and hit a jumper.

Because he played small forward again, he didn't lose much weight and returned to the way he played when he first came to the Nets.

This is also the reason why he can regain his form so quickly.

Like J.R. Smith, he's playing in a familiar way.

And this does not conflict with Karl's tactical philosophy. Johnson's body is much more solid than Myers, and he is naturally mismatched.

The Nets' opening offense felt good.

Looking back, Harden attacked with the ball.

Butler's defensive position was accurate, but he failed to withstand it.

Harden has obviously gained weight this season.

The Nets defense was forced to shrink.

At this time, Harden made a beautiful pass to Miles in the bottom corner.

Miles's corner three-pointer is his most stable point, and the trajectory of his shot looks very positive.

"Uh-huh!"

The basketball passes through the net.

5 to 4!

The Cavaliers' offense is also in good shape!

Lin Ying switched to the three-point line in the frontcourt to catch the ball, and the Cavaliers also used Smith to defend alone.

This time he changed from back-to-back to face-to-face.

It was in this round that Smith's defensive weaknesses were exposed.

His lateral speed is not as good as expected, which makes him less effective when defending outside attacks.

Lin Ying's first step was to directly pass him.

The Nets also have good space, and Lin Ying's breakthrough strides are quick, and he has reached the basket in the blink of an eye.

But the moment he jumped up to take action, a figure suddenly flew from behind him.

Josh Smith!

The lateral movement speed is a bit slow, but the pursuit speed is fast enough!

Some fans once described Josh Smith's playing style: He let fans know what James, who plays purely by his body, is like.

It's really a bit abnormal. Smith jumped up in the air and directly passed the basket with his head, and then bent down to block Lin Ying.gif!

It feels like: His grandma has to bend down to get to you!

Moreover, there is physical confrontation between the two in the air during this process, and ordinary players have no room for adjustment other than taking risks.

But it’s a pity that it’s Lin Ying.

Lin Ying's current physical confrontation ability in the air is very strong. His center of gravity basically remains unchanged, and then he changes the ball from his right hand to his left hand with a lever movement in the air.gif.

This time Josh Smith in the air widened his eyes.

This works too!

"Uh-huh!"

The ball fell steadily into the net bag after wiping the board!

The Barclays Center exploded instantly!

Smith's abnormal block made Lin Ying's classic goal of the season!

…

The first quarter lasted for more than 9 minutes, and both sides began to rotate.

Lin Ying also took a break.

When he came off the court, he looked up at the score. 22 to 24, the Cavaliers were only 2 points behind the Nets.

The Cavaliers' lineup is more reasonable than imagined.

He walked to the bench and sat down, took a sip of water from the staff, and then looked towards the court.

After a wave of operations during the offseason, he was originally optimistic about the Cavaliers. After the actual match, he found that the Cavaliers were even better than imagined.

Especially Josh Smith, if he were replaced by James, he would be even better.

Or, in fact, the Cavaliers can keep Smith and directly find a third party to sign for James (James' contract year option will be next summer).

Because the Cavaliers currently have Irving on a rookie contract, while Harden and Smith have big contracts, and they are both at the 15 million level.

This salary space cannot be said to be healthy, it can only be said to be perfect.

And for a player of James' level, position is not a problem, just gain weight and go back.

Irving, Harden, James, Josh Smith, Hawes.

Tsk, hometown basketball is invincible!