The first practice went well.
Of course, when it comes to the Cavaliers’ perimeter players, except for LeBron James guarding Su Wan, no one else could pose any threat to him at the moment. This includes McGinnis, who could only potentially match Su explosively when he’s in form.
Without activating "The zone" mode, Su Wan’s true level was roughly in the upper-middle range among the rotation players.
It’s evident how weak the Cavaliers’ overall perimeter strength is for the new season.
How things would turn out specifically would still have to be verified in the upcoming regular season.
After the training ended, the Cavaliers headed to Milwaukee to face the Bucks.
In the early 21st century, the Bucks were a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference, but as the power struggle intensified among Ray Allen, "Big Dog," and "Alien," the Bucks management decided to execute a clean sweep, trading all three to promote Michael Redd as the new face of the team.
Redd lived up to expectations. Last season, with "unlimited shooting rights," he played all 82 regular season games, averaging 21.7 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game, and even led the team into the playoffs.
However, towards the end of last season, TJ Ford suffered a season-ending injury, missing the rest of last season’s games and all of the new season’s regular season games, casting a shadow over the Bucks’ campaign.
Despite only averaging 7.1 points last season, TJ Ford delivered 6.5 assists per game, serving as the team’s absolute "engine." Without his breakthrough passes, Redd faced even fiercer double-teams on the flanks.
Sure enough, in the Bucks’ first game of the new season against the bottom-feeders of the league, last season’s last-place and trade-off of their ace McGrady to the Magic Team, they suffered a bitter defeat.
Redd’s performance wasn’t good either. He scored 19 points on 9 out of 21 shooting, with a true shooting percentage of only 45.3%!
Su Wan’s impression of Michael Redd wasn’t strong; he only knew that at his peak, Redd once scored 57 points in a single game, was selected for "Dream Team VIII," and then famously had the "Respect for Yi Conference." As Yi Jianlian’s senior and alongside Mo Williams, they were dubbed "the duo that pressures the backcourt" among domestic fans.
Other details about Redd came from the team’s scouting report:
A left-handed player, physically above average at position two, outstanding shooting ability, although his shooting form isn’t standard, his release is very quick; possesses some low post back attacking skills, often delivers brilliant passes during these plays, which was the main way he accumulated assists. His breakthrough ability, limited by strength, isn’t outstanding. His off-ball movement is excellent, capable of observing defensive lines and adjusting his positions based on the defense...
This wasn’t the type of player Su Wan excelled in defending.
Even if he activated "The zone" mode, he would be better at handling those who drove with the ball.
For example, Bucks’ small forward, "2001 All-Star Dunk King" Desmond Mason.
So, he planned to switch defenses.
Newell didn’t hesitate for a second and agreed immediately.
He would still rely on Su to take on those tougher small forwards in the future!
Today marked the Bucks’ home opener for the new season, so, despite losing their first game, Bradley Arena was still packed tonight. However, their enthusiasm was somewhat misplaced.
When LeBron James appeared, they cheered.
Milwaukee is just 701 kilometers from Cleveland, a mere 2-hour flight. They were envious that Cleveland had LeBron James. They hoped that Milwaukee could also give birth to their own "City Son."
Not just them, all the small cities wished they had Cleveland’s luck.
"Perform well!"
Before the game started, Paul Silas, unusually solemn, instructed Su Wan.
The external public pressure was immense.
Su Wan responded with his usual words, "First, I need to get the ball!"
In the first two games, it was only when LeBron James failed to break open the game that he finally got possession of the ball. But how many teams in the league have defensive setups like the Pacers or the kind of dominant center like the Heat that can shrink space in the paint?
The starting power forward for the Bucks was Fan Huo’en, once appointed by the "Red Priest" as "Larry Bird II," a misfit "Power forward sharpshooter" of his era ; their center, an athletic player from UCLA who later went to the CBA to test his mettle on the boards, was Dan Gadzuric.
The outside line was poor, to say the least; in the "lonely backcourt," Reid at least possessed some defensive ability, but Mo Williams truly lacked any defensive visibility.
Besides, he spent last season warming the bench on the Jazz, and with Ford out for the season this summer, the Bucks lacked a main point guard, finally giving him the opportunity to start. You can imagine his capability.
Faced with such defense, how could LeBron not fiercely "farm" his stats—no, I mean, seize the opportunity to fiercely showcase his breakthrough ability?
Su Wan quite understood LeBron, and LeBron didn’t let Su Wan down, starting strong with various aggressive ball-handling moves.
After playing two days of "high-end matches", now facing the Bucks’ porous defense, LeBron appeared unchained, easily scoring after various breakthroughs, like a marauding Killing God single-handedly taking on hundreds.
Su Wan, along with the other Cavaliers, all became mere spectators.
The offensive end for the Cavaliers was effectively a one-man show for LeBron.
In less than seven minutes, LeBron had scored 10 points.
During that time, Su Wan only touched the ball once.
Meanwhile, as LeBron continuously scored from his breakthroughs, the Bucks were also persistently scoring—Mo Williams really couldn’t guard LeBron.
But LeBron couldn’t guard his passes after breakthroughs either.
Driven by him, even with LeBron’s heroic performance, the Bucks were still leading 18 to 13.
This situation strangely worked against the Cavaliers again.
LeBron felt damned frustrated.
This opponent couldn’t guard him at all, which should have meant a match where he could "CARRY alone and lift the whole game"!
So why now...
Were they behind again?
He wasn’t happy about this!
Su Wan was also surprised; he had not expected that the Bucks, in a fast-paced exchange, could demonstrate such fierce firepower. What he didn’t know was that a game between his Cavaliers and the Bucks without him would end in a Bucks’ victory of 102 to 88, a 14-point triumph.
LeBron James performed excellently in this game, scoring 31 points with 8 rebounds and 6 assists, setting aside a 40% shooting percentage and 4 turnovers, these were peak LeBron stats.
The Bucks won this game by capitalizing on fast-paced exchanges.
Drew Gooden and "Big Z’s" movement abilities were perfectly exploited, often executing fast breaks and numerous "Second Attacks". Just look at the game data for Fan Huo’en to understand – a "double-double" with 22 points and 14 rebounds would make one think Fan Huo’en had suddenly transformed into a basketball tough guy.
Playing against such a team meant they had to slow down and position themselves.
Coach Paul Silas called a timeout, "LeBron, we need to slow the pace down."
But LeBron wasn’t willing.
No way, just yesterday, they were practicing routines for position play, didn’t this just put the ball back into Su Wan’s hands?
In that case, wasn’t he the one opening up the game?
This was even more unbearable than dying, no way, absolutely not!