Rivaling James

As James returned to position, JB's pass was already out, thrown to Westbrook trailing behind. He received the ball and drove straight to the basket, finishing with an easy floater.

If a contested three-pointer isn't made after setting up in the half-court, it can easily lead to the opponent's fast break. This is especially true against a team like the Thunder, who often push the pace, and they wouldn't pass up such an opportunity.

James took the ball back at the top of the key to organize the offense. Using TT's screen, he intended to drive into the paint, and Adams immediately retreated, preparing to protect the rim as if facing a great enemy.

However, Old James waved his hand, and Love in the corner received the ball and shot. With a decisive motion, the three-pointer was made.

After joining the Cavaliers, Kevin Love, having lost weight, completely transformed into a stretch big man, aiming to follow in Bosh's footsteps.

The Thunder's offense ended in failure with Westbrook's missed shot, and they were immediately hit with a counter-attack by the Cavaliers.

James is a beast. At 6'8" and 240-250 pounds, he runs faster than guards when he moves; it's truly terrifying.

Chen Xi watched the Little Emperor perform a real-life dunk up close for the first time. He had to admit, Old Zhang's performance was quite spectacular in this regard.

The Thunder went on offense again. Chen Xi came up to receive the ball, while Westbrook tried to slip into the ghost spot, ready for a cut at any moment.

Looking at Irving in front of him, Chen held back his urge to break through and passed the ball to Butler on the other side.

Butler faced James, drove to the mid-range, and found he couldn't push through. Old James wouldn't let him go further inside. After two consecutive pump fakes failed to shake Chen's balance, he passed the ball back to Chen Xi.

The offense was stalling; it needed a jolt of energy.

Chen Xi received the ball and immediately pulled up for a jump shot without hesitation.

"Ohohoh!!!!!"

Chen, who had just splashed a shot over Irving, was incredibly excited and ran back to the backcourt with a smile.

Irving was helpless. With his less-than-stellar physical abilities, he was only half a step too late to contest the shot.

The two teams exchanged baskets back and forth.

The Thunder couldn't defend James, and the Cavaliers couldn't defend Westbrook.

Chen Xi was quite lucky. The current Irving wasn't the Mavericks version yet, lacking that strong defensive will, which made things much easier for him.

Butler, on the other hand, was less fortunate. Most of the time, he was matched up against James, and his efficiency on both ends of the court had declined significantly.

Surprisingly, in the ensuing exchange during the transition period, the Thunder gained the advantage.

Realizing the starting lineup was at a disadvantage, Donovan decided to let Butler lead the bench unit against the Cavaliers' reserves, staggering James's playing time.

This immediately boosted the strength of their bench forwards.

Butler, Roberson, and Grant were on the floor for the Thunder. For the Cavaliers' bench, aside from Korver, who had recently been traded from the Hawks, there were no stable scoring options.

At the end of the first quarter, the Thunder used their advantage during the transition period to erase their deficit and tie the score at 28-28.

On the Cavaliers' bench, Tyronn Lue sank into thought as he looked at the scoreboard.

Should he let LeBron play a bit longer? He should be fine, right?

With James and Irving off the court, his teammates didn't even know who to pass the ball to.

You know, James just needs to play his full minutes, but the head coach has many more factors to consider.

If you can't find the book title, try searching for the author. Maybe the name has been changed!

Returning to the game, Chen Xi looked with surprise at James, who had re-entered the game.

"What the heck? Isn't it 2017? Why is an '18 LeBron on the court? The 'fish' is starting the 'Old Zhang' minutes a year early???? If he's really that prescient, knowing Irving would leave at the end of this season, is he letting Old Zhang adapt in advance????"

Cavaliers possession. James drove hard, pushing off Roberson, and faced the Thunder's remaining backup center, Joffrey Lauvergne. With a "horse-riding and shooting" move, he scored easily.

Chen, who was responsible for leading the bench early in the second quarter, suddenly felt immense pressure. Damn it!

He received the ball at the top of the arc from Payne's hand-off. Using the Cavaliers' switch, he managed to get Korver in front of him.

Korver, an old friend.

Chen feinted a shot, shaking Korver's balance, then immediately drove. After two steps, he executed a between-the-legs pullback. Ding~~

The Ankle Breaker badge lit up.

Korver, eager to recover, lost his balance and stumbled backward, leaving Chen Xi in place to easily take the jump shot.

James looked at the young No. 3's familiar move, and a flashback of his former teammate wearing a red No. 3 jersey suddenly appeared in his eyes.

That second-generation "swagger king" of the league also had a similar play, a famous moment where a step-back crossover made someone fall.

Back on the offensive end, James composed himself, stepped forward to receive the pass from point guard Feld, and directed traffic. After all, he couldn't just drive to the basket every possession; that would be too tiring. LeBron, who had played 14 years in the league, had long learned to manage his stamina on the court.

Korver ran three off-ball screen plays in a row, but Chen Xi caught up to him each time, leading to a frustrated, contested shot that missed.

"Damn it! This kid is sticking to me like glue!" he complained while retreating on defense, and LeBron overheard him.

"Don't rush, be patient." After offering a simple word of comfort, Old Zhang couldn't think of a good defensive solution. After some thought, he decided to target that No. 3 in the next possession.

He would wear him down on offense.

Receiving the ball again from Payne, Chen faced the Cavaliers' backup point guard Feld. A simple fake easily shook his balance, and then Chen took a dribble, stepped sideways, and easily shot a three-pointer.

He easily scored another 3 points.

"It seems the Cavaliers' backcourt can't defend Chen at all; they're too easily fooled!"

"We can't be too harsh on them. I think they have no choice. Anyone defending an opponent with a 49.6% three-point shooting percentage would likely focus their defense on the shot."

The two commentators were making snide remarks by the technical table.

Turning back, James called for a screen and brought Chen Xi in front of him.

Chen's expression turned serious as he looked at the 2.03-meter giant before him. They were finally matched up.

Although he had been doing weight training recently, Chen Xi only weighed 91 kilograms so far. After all, gaining weight too quickly could affect his shooting touch, and Chen Xi didn't want his sharpest weapon to become dull.

James, who weighed at least 120 kilograms, made Chen Xi doubt if he would be simply knocked apart.

Even though it was an absolute disadvantage, he couldn't just let James drive to the basket.

Chen Xi bravely took a step forward, blocking James' path.

Old James wouldn't pass up such an opportunity and drove to the basket without hesitation.

Chen Xi followed closely, but after James intentionally got close, he was pushed away by two consecutive physical bumps and could only watch him easily lay the ball up.

Can't find the book title, you can try searching for the author, maybe they just changed their name!