Chapter 765: Chapter 765

The basketball swished cleanly through the hoop, Embiid showcasing his top-notch, smooth touch as a big man.

The referee’s whistle blew at that moment, as TT was penalized for a foul due to over-aggressive defense.

Embiid smiled after scoring, then raised both hands inwardly, signaling for the cheering to grow louder.

Though their playing styles are similar, Embiid is far more extroverted than Towns.

Character determines destiny, which predicts that his career achievements will surpass Towns’.

Embiid’s additional free throw was steady, scoring 3 points in a row right at the start.

Hansen advanced to the frontcourt, and at that moment, the new tactic was initiated.

Hansen gestured, prompting Jokic to move to the three-point line for a pick and roll.

This appeared to be the previous pick and roll tactic, but the difference was, Jokic set a hard screen, while Hansen didn’t rush the attack but dribbled away to open up space.

Immediately afterward, Jokic took Simmons to the basket and began posting up after reaching a low position.

Throughout this process, Korver and Covington remained at both corners, with TT completely sinking to the baseline.

This suddenly created two mismatches on the court, Hansen against Embiid and Jokic against Simmons.

The Cavaliers’ tactics were unfolding smoothly, with Hansen observing the defense before switching directions to break past Embiid and make a mid-range shot from the free-throw line area.

Embiid clearly couldn’t keep up with Hansen, and with Jokic posing an offensive threat in the low post, the 76ers’ interior defense couldn’t step out, leaving only the wing players to come over for help.

But Hansen’s attack was decisive, leaving no time or opportunity for their backup.

The only pity was that Hansen’s touch hadn’t warmed up yet, and the ball bounced off the rear edge of the rim.

However, Jokic had already turned around, successfully securing the rebound over Saric for a putback.

This brought a whistle and cheers from the audience, as Saric was unable to even jump under Jokic’s suppression.

Saric, a space-oriented power forward, at 100 kilograms in front of the 120-kilogram Jokic, was indeed like a baby.

The 76ers continued using Embiid’s low-post tactic, but this time Hansen abruptly turned around mid-flow with Simmons and directly stripped the ball from Embiid’s hands.

The Cavaliers rapidly executed a defensive counterattack, with Hansen using Mysterious Steps to shake off Butler for a finish in the fast break.

"Han is far more terrifying than a lion!"

Barkley joked from the commentary booth.

The 76ers adjusted their offensive strategy, beginning to use Embiid for pick-and-roll plays for Simmons, but Hansen completely allowed Simmons to double-team Embiid.

During Simmons’ draft selection, he was touted as the "next James," which was one of those rare occasions when the media truly understood basketball because Simmons, like James, lacked shooting capability and focused only on attacking the basket.

Hansen completely disregarded his perimeter defense during the defense.

Embiid was pressured into stopping the ball by such double-teaming, albeit with the experience to raise the ball overhead, preventing another steal by Hansen.

The 76ers’ play stagnated, with Butler stepping up for the ball, Embiid erecting a stationary screen, and Butler capitalizing on it for a mid-range shot.

When Butler first joined, he and Embiid had quite a few clashes, but now they seem to have meshed quite well.

The competitive strength shown by the 76ers was indeed impressive.

Hansen continued the pick-and-roll with Jokic, also creating mismatches for isolation.

However, noticing his cold shooting hand at the start, he promptly drove to the basket post-screen.

Though not opting for a mid-range shot, Hansen’s low dribbling center of gravity accelerated his breakthrough, leaving no room for the 76ers’ wing players to shrink back.

Moreover, Jokic turned around to reverse block Saric, enabling Hansen to rise into the paint following a violent slam dunk.

Quicken Loans Arena erupted instantaneously, with many fans excitedly standing and cheering.

Though unaware of the Cavaliers’ tactical adjustments, spectators could see the Cavaliers’ half-court offense tonight seemed simpler yet more efficient!

Brett Brown is the head coach of the 76ers, a part of the "process," having been the 76ers’ coach since 2013.

The reason he wasn’t dismissed like Hinkie was because he fits the typical Popovich-style coach profile and has a wealth of knowledge.

He had already detected the Cavaliers’ tactical changes, stepping off the bench to the sidelines, making tactical signals to the court.

The 76ers continued using Embiid’s low-post tactic in the frontcourt, but this time Butler instead of Simmons passed the ball.

Although Butler’s three-point isn’t particularly outstanding, compared to Simmons, it’s far better, allowing him to pass the ball without needing to cut behind Embiid but rather merely standing to stretch the space.

Embiid continued backing down TT, showcasing his Illusion Step, feinting TT’s defense and attacking the basket.

Whether Embiid literally killed lions at age six is unknown, but it’s certain he didn’t start basketball until age 16, self-learning Olajuwon’s Illusion Step via video, and his touch is exceedingly smooth, making his basketball talent visibly apparent.

But his attempt didn’t succeed because Hansen had returned to the basket.

Without holding the ball, Simmons moved to the weak side, but with insufficient space, he couldn’t stretch the play from the weak side.

Simmons and Embiid pick and rolls often caused Embiid to get trapped, whether Simmons held the ball or not...

Embiid attempted to leverage height for a putback, but Hansen’s hop speed greatly excelled his, snatching the defensive rebound right before his eyes.

But with Hansen in the paint, the Cavaliers’ current lineup couldn’t expedite a fast break, both sides returned quickly to the frontcourt setup.

Simultaneously, the 76ers’ defense changed.

Initially, Embiid defended Jokic, but now Saric took up the role.

Unlike Davis, Embiid’s defensive range isn’t extensive, he couldn’t return once leaving the restricted area.

Especially since TT lacked range, leaving Embiid in the restricted area could exploit his interior defense abilities.

This adjustment appeared problem-free, but Hansen quickly signaled to spread, then asked Jokic to post at the high post.

Embiid remaining in the restricted area left Saric defending Jokic.

The earlier confrontation under the basket had shown the fans what it was, highlighting a natural mismatch.

Hansen fed the ball inside, and once Jokic held it, he didn’t rush into an offensive move.

He raised the ball overhead single-handedly, scrutinizing the 76ers’ defensive formation.

He waited two seconds before initiating his attack.

Possessing a high basketball IQ, those two seconds pressured Embiid to make a choice: move to his side for a double-team, or move to the opposite side to avoid a defensive three-second violation.

Once Embiid moved to the opposite side, Jokic instantly applied strong pressure on Saric, leaning him back to lower the center of gravity, then used his elbow to break into a spin move.

At this point, Saric was entirely incapable of threatening Jokic, while Embiid lagged too far to intervene, allowing Jokic to score easily with a layup. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅✦𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾✦𝗇𝖾𝗍

Brown displayed a helpless expression at this moment.

The Cavaliers’ points themselves were difficult to defend against, and now they were executing mismatched isolations, leaving no recourse for opponents.

Moreover, the primary issue is the pairs’ ball-handling abilities were remarkably high, not easily resolved by simple double-teaming.

Inappropriately speaking, he’d rather the Cavaliers possess Embiid than Jokic.

Embiid moved to the left high post to continue receiving the ball, facing the basket against TT, executing a crossover with a stop-and-jump shot like a guard.

Yet, this time his attempt didn’t connect.

This guard-like style from a center is challenging to defend against given their high release point.

Nonetheless, this style heavily relies on touch.

Embiid and Towns’ reliance on their smooth touch allows them to play this way, yet biased towards inefficiency compared to delivering the ball straight to the rim like Jokic.

Brown didn’t adjust the defense back, as Hansen continued passing to Jokic.

This time Embiid chose to double-team Jokic, approaching from behind, attempting to catch him off guard like Hansen.

Unfortunately, Jokic had already noticed him, turning back with both hands, raising the ball overhead, anticipating Embiid’s rush.

Then, within the "double-team," he steadily delivered the ball to the unmanned TT beneath the basket.

TT slammed it fiercely with both hands to score, unguarded.

Once more, Quicken Loans Arena was ignited.

The Cavaliers began stretching the score.

Though this style was simple, it proved unbeatable.