Chapter 58: Big Talk Brought to Life!

"How did my Rui get blocked by the rim? Hahaha."
"That was a contest."
"His jumping speed just isn't fast enough, lacks a bit of athletic ability."
"The Cavaliers are really fierce, and James's fast break is second to none."
"Such a pity, Rui didn't jump high enough."
"My Rui is definitely not suited for dunking, he's meant for three-pointers, hahaha."
"I'm dying of laughter, Los Angeles Carter confirmed!"
Domestic fans were all teasing Li Rui, finding it hilarious to watch him make a fool of himself.

In the dead-ball possession immediately following his failed dunk, Li Rui was substituted off.
Mike Brown also called James to the bench for a rest.
Even now, Mike Brown hadn't resorted to staggering James's and the team's minutes.
A superstar's prestige was still firmly maintained.
Kobe led the Lakers' second unit in a charge. Kobe was formidable enough; when his shooting touch was off, he continuously attacked the interior, narrowing the score gap slightly between the two teams.

At the end of the first quarter, the score stood at 21 to 25, with the Cavaliers leading by 4 points.
The momentum inside Quicken Loans Arena was like a tidal wave. Whenever the camera focused on a Lakers player, long jeers would erupt. One had to admit that playing away from home carried immense pressure.

During the tactical briefing, Li Rui raised three fingers and poked the air three times, assuring the Zen Master immediately: "Coach, I promise you, I won't try to dunk anymore going forward. I'll finish with layups as much as possible."
The Zen Master smiled and patted Li Rui on the shoulder.
So this kid knows his dunking is trash.
Yet, the Zen Master still smiled and said, "It doesn't matter, Li. Keep cutting to the basket, choose your scoring method depending on the situation, and take the shot boldly if you're open."
The Zen Master had no choice but to rely on Li Rui now. After all, apart from Li Rui and Kobe, anyone else on the team found it quite difficult to get a shot off.
High-level games weren't for everyone, and what was a failed dunk anyway?
The Zen Master began to lay out the tactics.

Actually, the strategy for defending James was similar for every team: send one player to help on defense, then collapse the defense into the paint when he drove, forcing him into a mid-range jumper.
The problem was that James was far too familiar with this kind of defense. Instead, he used these mid-range gaps left by sagging defenses to calmly make his offensive decisions.
Either passing or driving.

After the Zen Master finished laying out the tactics, Li Rui raised his hand, just like a student asking a question after a lecture.
His attitude was good; he didn't dare to interrupt the Zen Master directly.
The Zen Master looked at Li Rui and asked, "Li, do you have anything to add?"
The Lakers players all turned to look at Li Rui, wondering what kind of trouble this rookie was trying to stir up.

Li Rui offered his opinion: "Coach, look, can we try using one-on-one single defense to limit LeBron, without resorting to double-teaming? We cut off his passing lanes to the shooters, force him into a one-on-one against us, compel him into low-efficiency isolation plays, and then have our big men stay in the restricted area to disrupt him..."
Li Rui's idea was based on the historical examples from his memory where the Spurs defeated the Cavaliers in the Finals.
In his memory, when the Spurs played in the Finals, they used team defense to wear down James, cut off his passing lanes, and force him into all sorts of high-difficulty isolation shots.

Then, the 1.0 version of James completely exposed his shortcomings in the Finals, averaging only 22 points and 7 assists, with his shooting percentages plummeting to an exaggerated 35% on two-pointers and a mere 20% from beyond the arc.
The Spurs' primary strategy was the tag-team rotation of Bruce Bowen and Tim Duncan!
As the defensive anchor on the perimeter for the Spurs, Bowen was renowned for his tight defense and physical contact. He used his long wingspan and experience to constantly disrupt James's dribbling rhythm, forcing him toward the baseline or sideline and restricting his driving space.
Meanwhile, when James drove into the paint, Duncan served as the core rim protector, providing timely help defense by using his height and wingspan to block the layup path while avoiding cheap jumping fouls.
The Spurs permitted James to score in isolation, but tried their utmost to make him finish through "high-difficulty methods," followed by utilizing team defense to sever the connection between him and his teammates.
Ultimately, they successfully swept the Cavaliers.

After listening to Li Rui's words, the Zen Master pondered for a moment without directly dismissing them.
"Fine, your tactic sounds good. Why don't you go play single defense against LeBron later?"
"Me?" Li Rui pointed at his own nose. "Coach, are you joking?"
Last game you had me go inside to deal with Shaquille O'Neal, and this game you want me to single-defend James?
Theory and reality are two different things.
As a time-traveler, Li Rui had watched many of James's games and didn't believe he currently possessed the capability to contain the present-day James.
In his impression, James had already entered his prime.
Although his own defense was decent, he couldn't stop this guy.
Old man.
I was just talking big, please don't take it seriously.

"I am not joking. Since you proposed single-defending him to limit him, you go do it. I believe you can." The Zen Master nodded with renewed seriousness.
The overall tactical framework Li Rui proposed was good, but it contradicted his own arrangement, which felt slightly like a challenge to his authority.
The Zen Master decisively threw the hardest task right at Li Rui.
Single-defend James and make him inefficient.
Since you brought it up, you handle it.
It wasn't personal animosity from the Zen Master, but rather that the Lakers genuinely lacked any other players capable of defending James.
Walton had proven he couldn't stop him, Kobe needed to focus on the offense and couldn't afford to exhaust himself further on defense, and Li Rui possessed good defense with a height close to James's...

Realizing the Zen Master was not joking, Li Rui wore a bitter smile.
Sigh.
Damn it, I should have kept my mouth shut.
This was nothing like the basketball novels he had read.
Normally, after a protagonist offered their opinion, shouldn't the Zen Master be shocked by the protagonist's brilliant tactical insight?
Then decisively alter the team's tactics, assign Kobe to single-defend, deploy a twin-tower interior to contain James, and thereby secure victory?
How did it turn into this for him?
It turned into him taking the single-defensive assignment!
Big talk turned into harsh reality!
Imagining himself going one-on-one against James, Li Rui nodded numbly.

"Hahaha!!"
Walton, standing beside him, threw his arm around Li Rui's shoulder and burst into laughter.
Today's rookies are truly reckless; they even dare to instruct Phil on how to arrange tactics.
Awesome, he wouldn't have to deal with that guy himself anymore.

"Li, don't worry. Before he gets a head of steam, I'll help you with the help defense." Bynum patted Li Rui's firm backside in a very loyal manner.
"And what if he does get a head of steam?" Li Rui asked.
"Then I'll duck a bit faster. I don't want to get posterized and make the headlines," Bynum sold out his teammate decisively. "After all, you don't need to be in his highlight reel together, just you alone will do."
"Andrew, can you for once in your life be tough? Go up there, hit him, you coward." Li Rui gave Andrew's backside a hard smack in return.
Bynum shrugged and spread his hands.

Li Rui had no words to complain.
He certainly couldn't expect the present-day Bynum to restrict James the way Roy Hibbert, the "Black Yao," could.
Here, everything depended on oneself.
Furthermore, the Lakers were not the Spurs. They possessed neither a defensive specialist like Bruce Bowen nor an experienced interior dominator like Tim Duncan, making it extraordinarily difficult to mechanically copy-paste that tactical blueprint to defeat the Cavaliers.
To put it bluntly, the personnel was just this group of players...

The second quarter of the game started quickly.
Li Rui substituted for Walton to guard James.
The defensive results were far from ideal. James's explosive first step was faster than his, and his physique was immensely powerful. When James decided to force his way through one-on-one, Li Rui found it extremely difficult to stop him.
Not to mention the screens and other tactical plays, plus the occasional goddamn, nauseating crab-dribble steps!
Launching a fast break from the backcourt three-point line with just a single dribble, he spun his wheels like the wind and rushed to the frontcourt for a dunk...
What is the point of playing?
No wonder your Team USA has been losing so miserably in FIBA tournaments over the past few years!
Serves you right to lose!
Wonderful that you lost.
Li Rui was accustomed to Kobe's solid, textbook-style offensive and defensive matchups, and encountering this situation completely shattered his basketball worldview.
James played largely the same as in the first quarter, exerting a massive presence.
As for Bynum providing interior deterrence in the paint, theoretically Bynum could contest a bit, but in reality, he failed as well.
James wasn't an idiot; whenever he couldn't breakthrough, he simply changed his method of attack.
Hey, he could even kick it out to an open teammate—didn't expect that, did you?