Chapter 57 What is Lower Intensity?

After Tang Tian gave that answer, the reporters below stirred.

What did he mean that it was lower intensity than the team's training games?

Hey, this is the Finals!

Are you saying the Cavaliers are weak?

This is clearly provoking the opponent!

This is so unlike Tang Tian!

Although you used to be Tang "Never Low-Key" Tian, the Spurs rookie, you've been very low-key since you arrived at the Pelicans!

Besides kicking Green in the nuts, stomping on Pachulia's foot, buying a super yacht worth over 100 million US dollars, holding a world-renowned wedding, establishing a global foundation, and becoming a city hero in New Orleans, you're still very low-key!

"I don't mean to belittle my opponents; I'm simply talking about this game."

Tang Tian realized that what he said might be misleading, so he quickly explained.

Huh!

Just talking about this game!

Does that mean the Cavaliers played badly in this game?

Still provoking!

Tang Tian saw the reactions of the reporters below and suddenly realized that no matter how he explained it, it wouldn't be appropriate.

He was telling the truth. The Pelicans' starting wing defenders were definitely stronger than the Cavaliers'.

During training, Jrue Holiday and others defended him to the death to achieve the purpose of preparing for the game, so he felt very uncomfortable.

It's like how after experiencing great pain, people no longer see small pain as pain.

Having experienced Holiday and others' high-intensity defense, dealing with the Cavaliers was indeed easier and more comfortable.

So, what he said was entirely his true feeling.

But it seemed that no one believed his truth!

And the more he explained, the worse it got, so he simply stopped explaining.

The post-game press conference of the Pelicans was reported, immediately causing an uproar among fans on social media.

"Damn! I like it! The league's number one player should have this kind of dominance!"

"Haha, why don't we just skip the Finals and watch the Pelicans' team training games!"

"And the winning team gets the championship? The Pelicans monopolize the top two spots? (?w?)"

"Hey, I'm so angry, but it seems like there's nothing I can do. I'm feeling blue!"

"Damn it, my King will come back! The Cavaliers will make a comeback!"

"Don't push it too far! Do you really think my King has no fans? Don't get too cocky; you'll have a good show next game!"

"That's right, my King is the number one player in history; he'll crush that scrub Tang!"

...

Fans argued fiercely on social media, and the atmosphere was so tense that they were almost ready to have a real keyboard battle.

Tang Tian had inadvertently ignited the fuse of war.

The next game of the Finals was still three days later, but this time the venue would be in New Orleans.

This was a great opportunity for the Pelicans to defend their championship.

For the Cavaliers, they were already on the brink of elimination.

The day before Game 5 of the Finals, the entire Cavaliers team flew to New Orleans.

The plane was a chartered flight. Except for J.R. Smith and a few others who were carefree and playing cards, everyone else was doing their own thing, and the atmosphere was a bit沉闷 (chen men, gloomy).

It couldn't not be沉闷 (chen men, gloomy).

If they still had hope of dragging the Finals into overtime in the last game, now they were a little lost.

1-3. In NBA history, zero teams have ever come back in the Finals from that deficit.

Yes, not a single one.

The most recent time was the Cavaliers themselves. They were also down 1-3 to the Pelicans in last year's Finals.

What happened after that was well known. They tied the series at 3-3, but in the end, Tang Tian scored 62 points in three quarters and ended Game 7 early.

They failed last year, even with Adam Silver's help.

This year, without Adam Silver, the probability of them turning it around was almost zero, just like the number of teams that had done it.

So, losing the last game basically meant they had already lost.

That's why the atmosphere on the plane seemed so沉闷 (chen men, gloomy).

LeBron James bit his nails, looking out the window, his thoughts racing.

Leaving Miami and coming to Cleveland to play hometown basketball while bearing the blame for abandoning his brothers was the best choice he made after considering various factors.

After all, the Cavaliers had Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love in his prime at the time, and the Big Three's theoretical strength didn't seem to be worse than the Heat's.

If he could bring the first championship in history to his hometown, his position as the league's number one player would be even more consolidated.

He might even have a chance to chase Michael Jordan's position as the greatest of all time.

But things didn't go as planned. Just like how he was repeatedly defeated by the Spurs in Miami, it seemed that he would be continuously defeated by the Pelicans in Cleveland.

The person who brought him such misfortune was Tang Tian, the person whose name alone made his head ache.

And what's even more fatal is that Tang Tian is no longer the Tang Tian from the Spurs era. The current Tang Tian is stronger than him.

To put it bluntly, Tang Tian took away everything that originally belonged to him: the championship and the title of the league's number one player.

This made him very angry, but unlike Kevin Durant, he had to maintain his image.

Unable to vent his emotions, he couldn't help but start to doubt himself over time.

Was it still necessary for him to do this?

Love was becoming less and less efficient, Irving seemed to have completely lost his previous sharpness, and then there was that disastrous Hassan Whiteside.

Moreover, these people had very long contracts, which would be the Cavaliers' framework for the next few years.

If they still couldn't beat the Pelicans this year, perhaps they would never have another chance.

After all, he was getting older and older, and the time left for him was getting shorter and shorter.

He was currently signed to a 1+1 contract. Did he really want to continue staying in Cleveland?

"LeBron, what are you thinking about?"

As he was thinking, James Jones sat down next to him and asked with a smile.

When James saw that it was Jones, he had to say that the only elder brother he recognized in the league was Jones.

"Nothing."

James smiled and temporarily put his thoughts away.

"I know you're thinking about tomorrow's game. Don't worry, we believe in you, you will lead us to win the game."

Jones said with trust in his eyes.

James nodded seriously after hearing this.

He would wait and see what the future held; now they had a game to play.

Even if they couldn't win the championship, they should at least win one more game than last year.

He couldn't let down the team's lineup this year, nor could he let down the enthusiasm of the Cleveland fans.

They would play one game at a time, and maybe an opportunity would arise.

Looking at the light in James's eyes, Jones knew that he had rekindled his fighting spirit.

The loss in the last game wasn't a mistake by Lue and the coaching staff. Their poor performance was also a big reason.

Now, with their backs against the wall, they had to win at least one more game.

No one had ever come back from a 1-3 deficit in the Finals, but on closer thought, it wasn't that difficult.

If they won the next game and then won a home game before playing Game 7, with everyone working together, anything was possible.

Besides, they had LeBron James.