Before entering the NBA, Yao Ming dominated games mostly from the inside. This was because there were virtually no players in China who could pose a threat to him in the paint.
However, in the NBA, Yao Ming was still a considerable distance from dominating the paint.
He Xi Meng's growth plan for Yao Ming had three steps. The first was to master the essence of David Robinson's step-back jumper and establish absolute offensive threat at the edge of the paint.
The second step was to gain the ability to operate as a high-post facilitator, possessing at least one or two offensive sets centered around him.
The third step was to gradually enhance his aggression and dominance in the paint, ultimately becoming its ruler.
Although the Spurs hadn't explicitly asked Yao Ming to develop in this direction yet, during his time playing alongside He Xi Meng for the national team, He Xi Meng had frequently instilled the concept of high-post facilitation in him due to fatigue issues.
Yao Ming's height gave him an unparalleled view of the court. Coupled with his high basketball IQ and exceptional chemistry with He Xi Meng, as long as He Xi Meng could shake off Bonzi Wells and get an open shot, Yao Ming's pass would arrive in an instant...
As a result, the Spurs' on-court style suddenly became somewhat peculiar!
Yao Ming, the tallest player, transformed into the Spurs' playmaker, while He Xi Meng, the original playmaker, became the most potent offensive weapon.
In less than half a quarter, He Xi Meng hit five three-pointers from beyond the arc, forcing the Trail Blazers to call two timeouts.
With half of the second quarter played, the Spurs and Trail Blazers remained locked in a tight contest.
By the end of the second quarter, before halftime, He Xi Meng's sudden barrage of three-pointers allowed the Spurs to extend their lead to 11 points!
The Spurs fans in the arena cheered ecstatically.
The Trail Blazers players in the visiting section looked dejected, their morale plummeting.
Initially, the game had been a straightforward matchup, man-on-man, general-on-general. Rasheed Wallace against Yao Ming, Amar'e Stoudemire against Tony Parker.
However, Parker couldn't handle Stoudemire, so the Spurs brought in the unpredictable Gilbert Arenas.
Arenas successfully disrupted Stoudemire's rhythm, prompting the Trail Blazers to substitute in Bonzi Wells.
The Spurs, instead of letting Arenas continue, brought in He Xi Meng!
Yes, it was from the moment He Xi Meng stepped onto the court that the Spurs began to play unscrupulously.
He Xi Meng initially exploited the backup point guard, Earl Watson. Seeing the unfavorable situation, Coach Cheeks brought in Bonzi Wells, intending to use Wells' strength to disrupt He Xi Meng's drives.
Unexpectedly, He Xi Meng directly directed the Spurs players on the court to change their strategy!
Indeed, the Spurs didn't even call a timeout, and Coach Popovich didn't shout instructions from the sidelines. Instead, He Xi Meng himself made the adjustments on the court.
He entrusted the ball to the center, Yao Ming, and then unleashed his offensive firepower...
This offensive surge... it was a veritable flood of three-pointers that washed over the court, completely stunning the Trail Blazers.
By the end of halftime, as the Trail Blazers players headed to the locker room to regroup, they were still trying to process what had happened in the past five minutes.
Why had He Xi Meng suddenly exploded offensively?
Why had the Spurs suddenly gone on a 20-8 run?
Why had the game suddenly started to resemble a blowout?
Trail Blazers head coach Cheeks couldn't explain what had happened at the end of the second quarter. He could only resort to psychological suggestion, loudly encouraging his players: "There's still the second half, anything is possible! We just need to do what we need to do, and victory will ultimately belong to those who persevere and fight until the very last moment..."
Coach Cheeks's motivational speeches were mediocre. For players who had been in the league for more than five seasons, they were mostly immune.
Take Rasheed Wallace, for instance, or Amar'e Stoudemire; they had no interest in listening to such platitudes from their coach. Even more so for veterans like Scottie Pippen, Shawn Kemp, and Dale Ellis, who had been in the league for over 10 seasons.
In contrast, they were more eager for Cheeks to clearly explain how they could limit He Xi Meng's scoring in the second half and how they could counter the Spurs' offense to narrow the deficit...
But unfortunately, these details were not provided by Cheeks, which disappointed the veterans.
However, there was one peculiar individual who actually bought into this motivational speech!
Bonzi Wells!
This was Bonzi Wells' fourth season with the Trail Blazers, and he was no longer a rookie, so he shouldn't have been easily swayed. But he had recently become a core player for the team!
When the head coach usually gave such speeches, Bonzi Wells would stand on the outermost periphery of the crowd. The rousing words seemed directed at the core players and had little relevance to him as a role player off the bench.
Now, the head coach was looking directly into Bonzi Wells's eyes as he spoke, giving him the illusion that these words were meant specifically for him! This encouragement was exclusively for him. The motivational speech was brewed just for him to consume... Bonzi Wells, naturally, didn't hesitate, tilting his head back and drinking down the entire bowl of "chicken soup"!
After drinking it, Bonzi Wells let out a roar and returned to the court with the demeanor of "success or death"!
And surprisingly, the "chicken soup" actually worked!
At the start of the second half, Bonzi Wells was on fire. He single-handedly took the Trail Blazers' first 6 shots, making 5 of them, including 2 three-pointers, scoring 12 points himself!
The unstoppable Bonzi Wells made Manu Ginobili doubt himself: "Is my defense really that bad?"
Fortunately, Ginobili wasn't fighting alone. While the Spurs' defense couldn't handle the "on fire" Bonzi Wells, on offense, He Xi Meng responded with a three-pointer, Bruce Bowen hit a three-pointer, Tim Duncan scored with a low-post post-up, and Ginobili himself made a layup with a Eurostep drive!
The Spurs, using teamwork, scored 10 points.
Although the score was once again narrowed to single digits, the Spurs' advantage remained.
Coach Cheeks's motivational speech hadn't completely worn off yet. For the remainder of the third quarter, Bonzi Wells continued to score, adding another 8 points! Combined with the 12 points he scored at the beginning of the quarter, he amassed a total of 20 points in the quarter, solidifying his position as the "King of the Quarter"!