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Before the end of the first half, the Cavaliers had already expanded the gap to more than 20 points with a devastating offense. The disparity in points left the Heat unsure of what to do next.
In the second half of the game, the Heat team was completely demoralized, and everyone, including James, had given up on the game in their hearts. However, the desperation is that even if they console themselves in their hearts by thinking they didn't play well, they truly have no idea how to fight against the Cavaliers.
It's not simply a matter of tactics or strategies; the Cavaliers' lineup has reached a point where it can crush the Heat, just like the Spurs defeated the Heat in the 2014 Finals or how the Warriors dominated the Cavaliers in their matchups. The difference between the two teams is so vast that compensating for it is practically impossible.
With a score of 108:99, the Cavaliers won the first game at home by 9 points. While the point difference might not seem particularly large, anyone who watched the entire game knows that after the third quarter, the Cavaliers, who had a lead of nearly 25 points, substituted most of their main players, including Wang Chong, who rested on the bench for about 5 minutes at the start of the fourth quarter.
The Heat only managed to narrow the gap from over 20 points to nearly single digits when most of the Cavaliers' main players were off the court. However, with Wang Chong's return, the Heat, who had worked hard to catch up during most of the quarter, immediately lost their chance to turn the game around.
Throughout the game, main players like Owen and Gasol only played about 32 minutes, while Wang Chong played a bit more than 35 minutes, which is very little compared to the 40 minutes of playtime most stars get in the playoffs.
The most notable contrast is James, who played 43 minutes, scoring 33 points, with 8 rebounds and 9 assists, his stats looking much better than Wang Chong's 29 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. But what's the point? It still doesn't change the fact that the Heat are being blown out.
After winning the first game, the Cavaliers continued to improve, and two days later, in Game 2, there was another convincing victory, 119-105, with a net win of 14 points. This game also highlighted a sense of despair.
James was on fire, posting a near triple-double with 39 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists throughout the game, but the Heat still faced unilateral repression from the Cavaliers and couldn't lift their heads at all.
After two games, the score between the two teams stood at 2-0. Although the game was not over, if the Heat could maintain their two home victories upon returning to their local court, there would still be hopes for a comeback.
But not to mention the others, even the Heat fans had little hope for that. The difference in strength between the two teams was so obvious that only the blind could miss it; why would the Heat win even at home?
On May 9, the Heat returned to the Miami court, almost clinching a victory. In this game, Wade, who had been struggling for two games prior, finally marked the beginning of a rebound, surpassing the opposing Wiggins by scoring 28 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists, while James also had a near triple-double with 34 points, 9 rebounds, and 11 assists.
The efficient performances of the two allowed the Heat to lead the game for three full quarters, and by the end of the third quarter, the two teams still had an 11-point difference.
This undoubtedly gave the local Heat fans hope for a win, and they couldn't help but get excited. But the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
In the final quarter of the game, the situation changed. First, Wang Chong scored two three-pointers from beyond the arc, and then Irving also hit a three-pointer, breaking into the paint with the ball, leading to Howard making 2 of 2 free throws.
The two combined for 11 points, and in the blink of an eye, the Heat could maintain a lead of just five points. A five-point difference is not a setback for the Cavaliers, who are filled with offensive and defensive capabilities.
In the last 2 minutes of the game, Wang Chong took full control of the ball, scoring 7 consecutive points in 2 minutes and hitting a quasi-buzzer beater to reverse the score.
On the last possession for the Heat, at this point the difference was just 2 points, theoretically giving them a chance to seal the game; as long as they could score a three-pointer at the buzzer, they could take down the Cavaliers.
James held the ball at the top of the arc, faced with Wang Chong's defense, chose to extend the play until there were only 6 seconds left, then drove towards the paint, and passed the ball outside.
Wade barely received the ball from the outside, and at that moment there was not much time left in the game, leaving him with no chance to adjust his stance, forcing a shot against Wiggins' defense.
With such a rushed shot, Wiggins, who had been prepared, relied on his height and arm length to directly block it with a big rejection.
At the same time, the final buzzer sounded, officially ending the game, but the local Heat fans remained seated in disbelief at what had just happened.
One second left, and you pass the ball? Even if James had forced a layup at that moment, he could have tied the game with 2 of 2 free throws; why pass the ball outside? And to Wade, who has never been good at three-point shooting?
Watching a hard-earned victory slip away was even more uncomfortable for the Heat fans than the clear and clean losses in the first two games.
But James's choice to pass the ball in such a critical moment was something Wang Chong had become accustomed to; it was not surprising at all.
This is LeBron James!
Missing out on this victory hit the Heat hard, and the fourth game of the series two days later was a complete loss, directly snatched by the Cavaliers.
There was no suspense, with a score of 4-0, the Cavaliers swept the Heat decisively and smoothly advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.
For James, the Cavaliers fans finally let out a sigh of relief.
After 4 games, although James averaged 34 points, 11 rebounds, and 10.4 assists per game, posting a luxurious triple-double average, the beauty of the stats alone could not change the fact that, aside from the third game, which was a back-and-forth with the Cavaliers, the other three games were all blowouts.
James basically recorded and went through the process in the third quarter, not using all his strength at all, and his stats look ordinary compared to James, who was relentless all the way.
In the fifth season for the Heat, James and the Big Three have fallen to Wang Chong for five consecutive years, losing every time without exception.
Even the toughest critic couldn't find excuses or reasons at this moment.
If they could still insist that Wang Chong relied constantly on the superstar lineup of the Bulls to defeat James, they could no longer use that excuse this season.
The Cavaliers were the last team in the league before Wang Chong joined; their record was so poor that they won the championship in 4 years and secured 3 titles. But Wang Chong immediately transformed them into a championship-caliber team that can crush the Big Three of the Heat, fully demonstrating that it is not that Wang Chong's team is too strong; it's where Wang Chong is that makes the team strong.
With this loss, it is really difficult to say whether James will stay with the Heat this summer.
The current situation of the Heat is truly grim; Howard has a massive contract of over 20 million, but his form has visibly declined, and with aging and injury accumulation, his dominance on the court will only weaken further.
Howard's declining dominance is not entirely his own issue; with the gradual rise of the current small-ball era, the strategic and tactical position of Howard as a blue-collar center with a single skill has become increasingly diminished, and it is only a matter of time before he is phased out.
Wade, on the other hand, is genuinely declining in strength and is not good at three-point shooting, raising concerns about his future.
The Heat's salary cap is full, and at the same time, there are no development prospects, and their trade value is low; essentially, there is no hope at all.
Last season, James really wanted to leave, but the path back to the Cavaliers was completely blocked by Wang Chong, so he reluctantly stayed with the Heat but signed a 1+1 contract, giving him the option to leave this summer.
However, the Heat is not particularly interested in retaining James.
In recent years, the Heat has treated James like an emperor, hoping that he could ignite the start of a championship for the team, but the result has been disappointment year after year.
Even though James's presence has attracted a lot of attention and commercial value to the Heat, it has also brought several negative consequences.
Now, even if James leaves, they will not feel regretful or reluctant.
You all have been praised so much, yet you can't even win a championship! It's truly a waste!
The Cavaliers swept the Heat 4-0 and were the quickest group to decide the winner in the second round of the Eastern and Western Divisions, while several other matchups continued to go back and forth.
It was during this period that the league began announcing the results of the season awards.
What remains undeniable is that this year's awards are less about the NBA season and more about the Cavaliers' awards ceremony.
The Rookie of the Year was won by Andrew Brown. Wiggins won, but it's not as impressive as it sounds; Wiggins averaged around 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists per game this season, with his value on the court being more evident on the defensive side.
However, this is relative to his peers. In the 2014 rookie class, Wiggins, averaging 14+4 per game, is already the best player, while the other rookies lag behind.
In addition to Wiggins, the five players selected for the All-Rookie First Team include Nikola, averaging 10 points and 5 rebounds per game; Mirotic; Jordan with 11.9 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists; Clarkson with 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists; and Elfried Payton and Nolens Noll with 9.9 points and 8 rebounds.
In this comparison, Wiggins deserves to win the Rookie of the Year award.
The same can be said for the Sixth Man of the Year.
Louis Williams, who averaged 12.8 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists per game, doesn't stand out statistically, but his competitors are mainly Iguodala with 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists; Ginóbili with 10.5 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists; and Aaron Brooks with 11.6 points and 3 assists.
In the original 14-15 season, the Sixth Man of the Year was Louis Williams. However, Williams, who originally played for the Raptors, averaged 15.5 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists per game, which is obviously much more impressive than his stats for the Cavaliers.
At the same time, his strong rivals included Isaiah Thomas with 16 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 assists, and Jamal Crawford with 15.8 points.
With Louis's current stats, there was no way to compete with these two.
But due to the butterfly effect caused by Wang Chong, the career trajectories of these two players have also changed dramatically.
After two golden years with the Bulls, Thomas Jr. was signed by the Phoenix Suns as a free agent last summer, and his average this season has risen to 20 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists per game, which is better than his original season of 14-15.
Jamal Crawford is with the Lakers, and due to Kobe's season-ending injury, he became the Lakers' starting point guard, receiving plenty of touches, averaging 18+2+4 per game this season.
These two players' statistics are only impressive compared to their contemporaries, but the main issue is that both have become starting forces for their respective teams, which disqualifies them from the Sixth Man award. Thus, Williams deserves to win.
The Most Improved Player award ultimately went to Jimmy Butler of the Bulls.
This season, Butler has become the second offensive core for the Bulls, averaging 20+6+3 per game, truly deserving of this award.
Of course, there's no suspense about the Coach of the Year award, which went to the Cavaliers' head coach, David Blatter. He led the team to a record of 68 wins in the regular season; even if the credit is more due to Wang Chong, it makes sense that the head coach receives this award.
Finally, there are two awards left: the Defensive Player of the Year and the Most Valuable Player.
Surprisingly, both awards went directly to Wang Chong, and he won them all.
This was beyond what many people expected, as the competitiveness for both the MVP and DPOY awards is extremely high.
Firstly, for the MVP of the regular season, Wang Chong led the team to 68 wins, and his personal average of 31+8+5 per game was impeccable.
But Curry of the Bulls also had a stellar performance this season. Although his team's record and personal stats were slightly inferior to Wang Chong's, he was definitely in the MVP discussion.
As for DPOY, the competition included Kawai Leonard from the Spurs, Jordan Jr. from the Clippers, and Anthony Davis from the Pelicans.
No one anticipated Wang Chong winning both of these awards.
If you closely examine the votes, you'll find that, whether for MVP or DPOY, Wang Chong's selection was quite thrilling.
In the regular season MVP voting, Wang Chong received 35% of the votes, while Curry received 33%, just a 2% difference.
For DPOY, Wang Chong received 29.4% of the votes, and Leonard received 28.6%, with an even smaller gap.
But regardless of how convoluted and thrilling the award process was, the outcome is that Wang Chong won both the regular season MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year. If you add the All-Star MVP and the scoring champion to his personal achievements, Wang Chong has secured all the honors a superstar can achieve in a season, and now the only thing left is the Finals MVP.
With the incredible dominance the Cavaliers are currently displaying, it's only a matter of time before the Finals MVP goes to Wang Chong.
End of this chapter
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