This Season, We're Breaking Out of the Eastern Conference and Reaching the Finals Stage!

With a sharp slap.

Big Z got to the ball first, tipping it into the backcourt as the Cleveland Cavaliers gained the first possession of the game.

Eric Snow quickly scooped up the ball from the floor and dribbled it across half court.

The moment he crossed midcourt, Su Yi on the wing immediately took off, moving without the ball.

Ray Allen, a master of off-ball movement himself, hurried after him, staying tight on Su Yi.

Su Yi came to abrupt stops and changed directions repeatedly, but still failed to shake Ray Allen.

Seeing this from the top of the arc, Eric Snow made a pick-and-roll gesture.

Big Z immediately came out from the paint.

His massive body firmly screened Luke Ridnour.

A great opportunity!

Eric Snow seized the chance to accelerate, shaking off Luke Ridnour and driving into the Seattle Supersonics' interior.

He had only taken one step inside when Nick Collison quickly rotated over to help.

Eric Snow reacted quickly, flicking his wrist and firing a cross-court pass to Big Z, who had rolled to the basket after setting the screen.

Big Z caught the ball without dribbling, cradling it as he took long strides toward the hoop.

One step, two steps—he soared high!

In midair, he slammed the ball toward the rim with all his strength.

BOOM!

With a thunderous crash.

Big Z threw down a one-handed tomahawk dunk.

The score became 2–0!

Big Z put the team on the board first.

"Eric, beautiful pass!"

Big Z immediately turned and shouted at Eric Snow.

Eric Snow's passes were still more comfortable to receive—there was no need to adjust at all!

Clap, clap, clap!

On the Cleveland Cavaliers' bench, Mike Brown could not help applauding the possession.

That combination had been excellent.

Then Mike Brown quietly looked toward Su Yi on the court. He had Su Yi to thank for this.

Before the game, Su Yi had specifically sought out Mike Brown to discuss making Big Z the offensive focal point tonight.

Because Su Yi knew full well that he was about to face Ray Allen, the best active three-point shooter in the league.

Anything Su Yi could do off the ball, Ray Allen could do too.

And Ray Allen's physical attributes were superior to Su Yi's in every regard.

So how many good shooting opportunities could Su Yi possibly get tonight against an opponent like that?

Before the game had even started, Su Yi already had the answer: very few!

And the reason Su Yi kept moving without the ball was to wear down Ray Allen's stamina as much as possible.

Of course, he also knew Ray Allen had excellent stamina.

So it was not just Su Yi wearing Ray Allen down on offense. At the same time, the Cleveland Cavaliers did not let Ray Allen off the hook defensively either.

They sent Larry Hughes to hound Ray Allen relentlessly.

The instant Ray Allen crossed half court, Larry Hughes gave him plenty of physical contact.

Ray Allen did not think much of it. He could handle this kind of contact.

He even began moving without the ball while battling through Larry Hughes' pressure.

Larry Hughes stayed glued to Ray Allen.

Just then, a dark figure stepped in front of Larry Hughes.

Most of Larry Hughes' attention had been on Ray Allen.

By the time he reacted, he had already crashed into the dark figure.

A great opportunity!

Ray Allen completely shook free of Larry Hughes and ran to the left wing at a forty-five-degree angle.

The ball arrived as he did.

The instant Ray Allen reached the left wing, Luke Ridnour's pass landed in his hands.

Ray Allen caught the ball without the slightest hesitation, quickly rose up, hung in the air, and launched a textbook three-pointer.

The ball traced a beautiful arc through the air, streaking like a meteor as it flew straight toward the basket.

Swish.

The ball sliced through the net and dropped cleanly in.

Ray Allen hit the three.

The score became 2–3!

"Ahhhhhh!"

Ray Allen's three-pointer instantly ignited KeyArena, and the fans throughout the arena erupted in cheers for the shot!

After scoring, Ray Allen quietly looked toward Su Yi. Ray Allen had originally thought Su Yi would be the one guarding him, but... it seemed he had overestimated him.

Ray Allen then quietly turned and headed back on defense.

Su Yi took the opportunity to walk over to Larry Hughes and leaned close to whisper in his ear, "Larry, in that situation just now, I'll help cover for you, but you need to close out on my man in time."

"No problem!"

Larry Hughes replied without hesitation.

The game continued. The Cleveland Cavaliers inbounded from the backcourt, getting the ball to Eric Snow, who dribbled it across half court.

The moment he crossed midcourt, Eric Snow's eyes sharpened as he immediately looked for Su Yi.

Unfortunately, Su Yi still couldn't shake Ray Allen with his off-ball movement.

Seeing this, Eric Snow immediately signaled for a screen.

Big Z promptly came out of the paint to set a pick for Eric Snow.

Using the screen, Eric Snow drove toward the Seattle Supersonics' interior.

Nick Collison rotated over to help right away, but when he saw Big Z rolling to the basket, he couldn't help but stop in his tracks.

A great opportunity!

Seeing that, Eric Snow didn't hesitate in the slightest. He came to a sudden stop, rose up, hung in the air, and took a mid-range jumper.

Swish.

The ball dropped steadily into the basket.

Eric Snow hit the mid-range shot.

The score became 4–3!

The Cleveland Cavaliers took back the lead by one point.

"Zha Junas, that roll was perfectly timed!"

The moment he scored, Eric Snow gave Big Z a thumbs-up.

A bright smile spread across Big Z's face.

At the same time, Mike Brown wore a broad smile as well.

Ever since Su Yi had become the team's offensive centerpiece, the entire team had been transformed!

Eric Snow, their starting point guard, had played all 82 games last season and averaged only 4.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists.

Those numbers didn't look remotely worthy of a starting point guard.

But was he really bad?

He had played in the league for ten seasons, after all, and had even followed Allen Iverson all the way to the Finals.

He had also delivered plenty of standout performances over those ten seasons, so why had he played so "poorly" after coming to the Cleveland Cavaliers?

In truth, it wasn't just Eric Snow. The other Cleveland Cavaliers players were the same. As soon as they came to Cleveland, their numbers immediately declined.

That wasn't normal.

At first, Mike Brown had been baffled. What exactly was going on?

They had played so well last season, and that was precisely why the Cleveland Cavaliers had traded for them.

Yet the moment they arrived in Cleveland, they struggled terribly.

It wasn't until Su Yi appeared that Mike Brown finally understood what had happened.

It wasn't that they couldn't play well; it was that they had never been given the chance to play well.

Before, it had been like a mountain standing in front of them, blocking out even the sunlight.

Now that mountain had been moved away, and sunlight could finally shine on them. All at once, they began to thrive.

This season, Eric Snow was averaging 9.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 8 assists per game.

If not for several earlier games dragging down Eric Snow's average, he would probably be averaging a double-double by now.

"Eric, Zha Junas, support Su well! This season, we're going to break out of the Eastern Conference and make the Finals!"

Mike Brown's eyes gleamed as he eagerly awaited that day.