【Guide】News on April 20, The Cavaliers defeated the Celtics 113-100 at home, and the total score of the series was 1-
0 lead.
Irving scored 30 points on 11 of 21 shots and 5 of 9 three-pointers in his NBA career playoff debut. He scored 20 points in the first half and hit the first five consecutive three-pointers.
Irving’s playoff debut
As the first half drew to a close, Irving controlled the ball outside the left three-point line, and his iconic change of direction shook the defender’s center of gravity.
Irving made an emergency stop and stood up, one step away from the three-point line, and threw the ball against the defense.
The ball flew out of a beautiful arc, and as the whistle at the end of the first half flew into the basket, the Cavaliers’ home court instantly boiled.
Irving, a rookie in the playoffs, scored 20 points on 8 of 12 three-pointers and 4 of 4 three-pointers in the first half of the playoffs of his NBA career. In the second quarter, he made 4 of 5 three-pointers and scored all 4 shots.
With 12 points, he made all 3-pointers in the first 5 shots of this campaign, and scored 30 points in the whole game. He is the player with the most points in the two teams.
Irving still maintains his aggressiveness in the regular season, combining sudden shots with continuous attacks on the Celtics’ defense, using breakthroughs to compress the defense of the Celtics, and then gaining good opportunities for outside shots.
With a goal in the first quarter, Irving dribbled the ball from the outside and passed between two Celtics defenders.
James said frankly before the game that the Cavaliers’ core players lack playoff experience, which is what he is more worried about.
James focused on Love (Weibo), but only briefly mentioned Irving.
Obviously, James is not worried about Irving, because although Irving has never played in the playoffs before, he has always had a big heart and is a fighter born to fight tough battles.
After James returned to the Cavaliers, the outside world was more worried about Irving’s running-in with the active No. 1 player.
Because in the first three years of Irving’s effectiveness in the Cavaliers, despite his gorgeous skills and beautiful data, his style was too unique, and there were even rumors of fighting Waiters for the right to scramble the ball.
Compared with Wade (microblogging) who took the initiative to delegate power, can Irving and James be a perfect combination of two swords?
Irving also took a detour at the beginning of the season. He forgot to pass the ball as soon as he shot too many shots. He focused on creating opportunities for his teammates, and his own offensive quality would decline.
As the season progressed, Irving gradually figured out the best way to play next to James, and the key point was to make better use of the space James created.
James is bound to take away Irving’s possession of the ball. Irving’s possession rate of the ball this season is 26.2%, a career low, but at the same time, his true shooting percentage of 58.3% is a career high.
James’ ability to restrain the defense is something that Irving’s previous teammates never had.
When James is on the court, the opponent will inevitably send the best wing defender in the team to match up, and they must always pay attention to assisting defense. The defensive pressure on Irving will be much less, and James is also a passer.
A passing superstar, this has benefited Irving a lot.
Irving’s field goal average this season has decreased compared to last season, but his scoring average (21.7 points) has risen instead of falling compared to last season (20.8 points). In this season, he scored 50 points in two games, playing the most efficient year of his career.
Irving’s outstanding personal ability has played an important role, and his cooperation with James is also a factor that cannot be ignored.
This is the case in the regular season, and the same in the playoffs.
In the playoffs, James paid more attention to passing the ball to drive the team. Irving scored 21 shots in this campaign, the highest of the two teams, 3 times more than James.
Irving combined his personal offense with the space James created to make a stunning playoff debut.
The playoff journey will not be smooth, but Irving has really made a good start.