Beijing time on January 25, the NBA regular season continued, the Cavaliers home 95-93 victory over the Knicks, the first half of the two teams each led, the middle of the third quarter, the Knicks suddenly attacked the short circuit, the Cavaliers took the opportunity to play a wave of 21-3, at the end of the third quarter, the Cavaliers 76-69 led the Knicks by 7 points.
After entering the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers only relied on free throws to score 1 point for half a quarter, and the Knicks also overtook the score, and in the last minute, the two sides fought a 91-91 draw, and at the critical moment, Garland scored a three-pointer, and the Cavaliers finally had a thrilling victory over the opponent.
After winning this game, the Cavaliers have won two consecutive games, the Cavaliers have a record of 7 wins and 1 loss in the past 8 games, and the current total record is 29 wins and 19 losses, ranking fifth in the East and only 1.5 wins away from the Heat (30 wins and 17 losses) in the East.
It is no exaggeration to say that now, halfway through the regular season, the Cavaliers are the most surprising team in the East and even in the whole league, and there are too many surprises in this team - Garland played an All-Star performance, Jarrett Allen proved that he deserved 20 million a year, and Mobley is the best rookie in the half.
As well as on the bench, Lefour's performance also has to be mentioned.
Take this game against the Knicks, Lefour played 24 minutes, shooting 6-of-12 (all three-pointers), 20 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal, the highest in the 20-point Cavaliers; the third quarter when the Cavaliers established an advantage, Lefour scored 4 of 6 three-pointers in a single quarter and scored 14 points.
So far this season, Love has played 40 games, 38 off the bench, averaging 14.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, shooting 43.4%/40.2%/87.1% of the three, and shooting 61.4% of the true shooting.
It should be said that Love's playing time is only 21.4 minutes, and if you translate it into every 36 minutes, Love can average 23.4 points per game this season, looking at the Love career, this number can be ranked third in his scoring per 36 minutes.
This year's LeFu is almost as good as last year's.
Last season, Love played only 25 games, averaging 12.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, shooting 40.9%, shooting 36.5% from three-point range, and shooting 55.6% from the field.
In the offseason, the general manager of the U.S. men's basketball team, Colangelo, belittled Lefu in an interview, saying that Lefu's withdrawal from the national team was not surprising at all, because "there was no oil in his fuel tank", which directly made Lefu fall to the bottom.
This season, Love came back to life, he accepted the role of a substitute, playing time career low, but in the limited playing time, Love re-proved himself with more efficient performances, the evaluation of him is getting better and better, and the internal atmosphere of the Cavaliers is becoming more and more relaxed.
Obviously, winning is a key factor in The Transformation of Luck, and when talking about playing well again, Love also said: "Good momentum can change everything in an instant, I think winning can change a lot, and I can learn from mistakes." ”
The winning culture is the Cavaliers' biggest difference this year, this team wins not only wins, but the respect of other teams, and Loaf said of that: "I think we're slowly gaining respect from the league, that's what we want, we want to prove that this team can make the playoffs." ”
In previous reports, the rumors about The Love deal have also changed from last year's no-brainers: the Cavaliers and Love have discussed the possibility of a trade, but Love enjoys spending time with the Cavaliers and he likes the atmosphere in which the team is currently working hard for the playoffs.
It's not just Love who needs the Cavaliers, but now the Cavaliers, who are playing a very important role on the bench, especially after Rubio's injury, which at one point blasted 20+ in five consecutive games, including a long-lost 35 points.
Of course, The current Love may still not be worthy of his annual salary (31.26 million this season, 28.94 million next season), but at least, he has re-proved that he can play an important role in a strong team, and is willing to accept substitutes and fewer opportunities, and once given enough playing time, he can deliver efficient performances on the offensive end - Love's annual salary last season was also 31.26 million, compared to last year, it is now too fragrant.