Not long after the opening, amidst the cheers of the home crowd, before He Xi Meng and Carter could unleash their full power, Yao Ming suddenly exploded!
In the first four games, Yao Ming's average score hovered around 20 points.
On one hand, the Cavaliers' head coach, Mike Brown, greatly admired Yao Ming. The more he admired him, the more fiercely he defended against him. Because he knew that once Yao Ming went off, the Cavaliers would have no chance of stopping him…
Therefore, even when the Cavaliers lost the previous few games, they didn't forget to guard the basket tightly. As a result, Yao Ming had a tough time in the paint during the first four games, unable to find many good shooting opportunities.
On the other hand, it was because Carter and He Xi Meng of the Celtics took turns scoring, which was enough to offset the impact of James's injury. Yao Ming only needed to play a supporting role to help the team win, so he naturally didn't force himself to take center stage.
By Game 5, the Cavaliers were in a do-or-die situation.
James advised head coach Mike Brown not to emphasize guarding the basket anymore and encouraged the Cavaliers players to go all out.
James's intention was good. Because Yao Ming, who was heavily guarded in the paint, consumed a significant portion of the Cavaliers' combat power.
Including Zydrunas and Drew Gooden, neither of whom had played to their full potential in the first four games.
James was fighting alone and wanted to remove the restrictions on the Cavaliers' interior players so they could go all out and provide him with enough support.
But the problem was that while James suggested freeing up his interior players, he was also essentially freeing up Yao Ming.
James wanted to go all out, and Mike Brown obliged, no longer asking Zydrunas and Drew Gooden to double-team Yao Ming all game, allowing them to fight freely!
Although this change by the Cavaliers was not obvious, how could it escape He Xi Meng's eyes? He could tell from the moment the game started that the Cavaliers had changed.
After giving Yao Ming an alley-oop dunk and confirming the Cavaliers' adjustment, He Xi Meng immediately reminded Yao Ming to be ready on his way back on defense.
"Big Yao, it's your turn!"
With He Xi Meng's simple words, Yao Ming immediately understood the meaning.
In the subsequent game, Yao Ming changed his playstyle from assisting and rim protection in the previous games, frequently posting up in the low post and demanding the ball.
He Xi Meng naturally wouldn't waste any of Yao Ming's opportunities, continuously feeding him the ball.
While James was still focused on He Xi Meng and Carter, Yao Ming had already quietly become the leading scorer of the game.
When James finally noticed Yao Ming's terrifying change and, during a timeout, urged head coach Mike Brown to make adjustments again, Mike Brown shook his head and said, "It's too late! We have no turning back now, we can only go all the way! LeBron, you asked for freedom, and I've given it to you. Don't worry about the final outcome, just go all out…"
Once the arrow is shot, there's no turning back! Now that the great god Yao Ming has been unleashed, how could it be easy to put him back?
Thus, James didn't get the reinforcements he wanted, but instead faced the barrage of the league's top center!
In this game, Yao Ming was on fire, shooting 16 of 25 from the field, including 2 of 3 from three-point range and a perfect 8 of 8 from the free-throw line, scoring 42 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks, single-handedly defeating the Cavaliers who had originally wanted to go all out…
James was a bit stunned! It was only now that he truly understood why head coach Mike Brown had always emphasized guarding Yao Ming so tightly and preventing him from dominating the paint… It was a pity that it was too late.
With James occupied by He Xi Meng and Carter, no one on the Cavaliers could contend with the rampaging Yao Ming.
However, the young emperor did fulfill his promise after the first game, resolutely fighting until the last second of the game!
James's will was impeccable, but in the face of absolute strength, even the strongest will could only be a consolation for the loser. The outcome was decided and could not be changed.
The young emperor's first semi-final journey in his career ended in a crushing defeat.
Although he received a lot of praise, James was not satisfied with his performance. Especially in the semi-final series against the Celtics, James did not play up to his expected standard or stats at all.
Under the Celtics' triple-iron defense, James's offensive efficiency was low. Over the five games, he averaged only 25.6 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, a full 10 points less per game than in the first round of the playoffs.
What bothered James even more was that He Xi Meng had Carter and Yao Ming by his side, but who did he have?
Snow was strong on defense and weak on offense, Larry Hughes was strong on defense and weak on offense, and Zydrunas, both offensively and defensively, had a significant gap compared to Yao Ming…
"If I had teammates like He Xi Meng, how would this series have played out?"
James began to conceive the idea of brotherhood basketball, which came about earlier than in the original history's "awakening."
He Xi Meng was unaware of James's inner change, nor did he know if it would affect James's future development. In fact, James's future development would affect the overall landscape of the league…
In short, more and more changes might occur in the future, and even He Xi Meng was starting to find it difficult to predict the league's future direction.
Fortunately, He Xi Meng now also possessed the power to influence the league's landscape.
As for the future, he would just take it one step at a time. He would deal with whatever came his way…
After the game, Mike Brown, while congratulating the Celtics on advancing, did not forget to praise Yao Ming.
"He reminds me of Shaq back in the day! He has the same dominance in the paint as Shaq! But what makes him even better than Shaq is his much, much superior touch! It's too difficult to contain him with conventional defensive tactics. We tried, but we failed miserably…"
James, on the other hand, directed most of his praise to He Xi Meng.
Although in his heart, James did not believe that He Xi Meng had defeated him. He hadn't lost to He Xi Meng, but to He Xi Meng's teammates. Therefore, in his evaluation, James focused on He Xi Meng's team-building ability.
"What's most amazing about him is his leadership! He can make top players like Vince and Yao Ming willingly surround him, act as his assistants, and work together towards the same goal… I admit, I'm a little bit jealous of that…"