Eddie Jones and Pau Gasol were old acquaintances for He Xi Meng and Yao Ming.
He Xi Meng caught up with Eddie Jones, while Yao Ming caught up with Pau Gasol.
Carter stood by the side feeling a bit lonely, so he started to ponder: "Why is Xi Meng always meeting old acquaintances wherever he goes? Why do former teammates all show Xi Meng so much respect, and seem to get along well with him?"
He Xi Meng finished catching up with Eddie Jones and Pau Gasol, and even greeted Battier, the current third-in-command of the Grizzlies, which came as a bit of a surprise to Battier.
In this game, Yao Ming couldn't play as casually as he did in the last game against the Hornets.
The Hornets didn't have a good center, but the Grizzlies did.
Pau Gasol had now grown into one of the league's top centers, essentially on the same level as Yao Ming, just ranked slightly lower.
While the battle between Yao Ming and Gasol wasn't as spectacular as the Yao-Shaq rivalry,
for old fans, the tactical coordination and footwork on display were even more captivating.
In this game, the two big men demonstrated what a playmaking center was from the high and low post to the fans.
The head coaches of both teams unreservedly centered their offensive and defensive strategies around Yao Ming and Pau Gasol, leaving the Memphis fans in attendance mesmerized.
Carter was tangled up by Eddie Jones, and the two dueled fiercely on the scoring end.
The Grizzlies had high hopes for Battier today. Head coach Mike put him on He Xi Meng in a mismatch, hoping to limit He Xi Meng's performance.
Battier's performance in the first three quarters was commendable, and it seemed he had successfully contained He Xi Meng. However, in the final quarter, when He Xi Meng saw that the Celtics were struggling to break through the Grizzlies' defense and establish a lead, he decided to unleash his own power!
This surge of power completely dismantled all of Battier's efforts from the previous three quarters.
He Xi Meng had only scored 10 points in the first three quarters combined, but in the fourth quarter, he scored 16 points on his own, pushing his personal score to the highest of the night.
Carter had been battling Eddie Jones for three and a half quarters and had only managed 25 points. Seeing He Xi Meng effortlessly reach 26 points, how could he not be frustrated?
109:98. Thanks to He Xi Meng's outburst in the final quarter, the Celtics narrowly secured a victory on the Grizzlies' home court.
Watching He Xi Meng effortlessly conclude the game, the Logo Man, observing the live broadcast from his luxurious office, couldn't help but confide in his assistant: "My biggest mistake over the years was letting this kid go. Letting him leave the Lakers was my most misguided decision."
He Xi Meng was unaware of the Logo Man's sentiment.
After leaving Memphis, the Celtics immediately headed to Texas to challenge the two Texas powerhouses: the Mavericks and the Spurs!
This summer, the Mavericks bought out Finley, consolidating all their privileges around Nowitzki.
At the same time, they built a lineup around Nowitzki that complemented him.
In the paint, they had Diop and Erick Dampier, and on the perimeter, they had Josh Howard, Jason Terry, Stephen Jackson, Devin Harris, and Adrian Griffin.
However, Josh Howard and Stephen Jackson were absent from this game due to injuries.
The Mavericks' starting lineup today was center Erick Dampier, power forward Nowitzki, small forward Marquis Daniels, shooting guard Adrian Griffin, and point guard Jason Terry.
Before the game, Nowitzki, as the host, voluntarily approached the Celtics' bench to greet He Xi Meng.
"I heard you shut down Paul in yesterday's game?" Nowitzki asked He Xi Meng with a smile.
As fellow attendees of the Nike Basketball Summit, Nowitzki, Gasol, and He Xi Meng were all very familiar with each other.
"Impossible! I didn't even guard Paul!" He Xi Meng adamantly denied.
"If I remember correctly, the big guy was the one guarding Paul yesterday!" He Xi Meng then pointed to Yao Ming, who was in the midst of shooting practice.
"You rascal! The Dallas news reported it, why are you still denying it?"
"The media are a bunch of liars, just writing nonsense to attract fans' attention!"
"That's true!" Nowitzki unexpectedly agreed with He Xi Meng. "But I also watched the highlight reel! Your final quarter surge was absolutely brilliant."
"Uh..." Nowitzki had pushed the issue to this point, and He Xi Meng knew denying it was pointless. "That was just an accident! You know, this new season, I'm planning to cultivate myself and play some 'health preservation' basketball."
"Health preservation in the regular season, and an explosion in the playoffs?" Nowitzki immediately saw through He Xi Meng's intentions. "I don't believe a wolf would refuse to eat meat! If it does, the only possibility is that it wants to eat a feast on an empty stomach."
"Uh... that's an interesting way to put it!"
"A German proverb."
"I like German proverbs."
"Thank you for liking them!"
The two ended their conversation, embraced, and parted ways. The game officially began.
Jason Terry brought the ball past half-court, attempting to pass it to Nowitzki. However, on the Celtics' side, Duò was desperately sticking to Nowitzki, preventing him from easily receiving the ball.
Before the game, He Xi Meng had a cup of coffee with Duò and advised him: "Our ability to win this game hinges on you, Boris!"
Duò was a smart man. Once He Xi Meng said that, he immediately understood that the Celtics intended to focus their defense on Nowitzki in this game.
For the current Mavericks team, while they had many offensive options, Nowitzki was the sole primary target.
The rest of the players, Erick Dampier was a blue-collar center with limited self-created offense.
Jason Terry had decent scoring ability, but with He Xi Meng guarding him, it would be difficult for the "Jet" to take flight today.
Small forward Marquis Daniels would be handled by Ariza, and shooting guard Adrian Griffin by Carter. The only position where the Celtics might have a weakness was power forward, guarded by Duò.
This was precisely the Mavericks' strongest position.
Facing He Xi Meng's instructions, Duò appeared unfazed. He calmly blew on the rose pattern on his coffee, took a gentle sip, and replied, "I will do my best!"
With that, Duò raised his coffee cup.
He Xi Meng also raised his coffee cup, lightly clinked it with Duò's, and said, "I will do my best to assist you in double-teaming Dirk together..."