He Xi Meng had a strong premonition that in today's finals, the Celtics would inevitably be drawn into an offensive shootout with the Mavericks. It would then come down to who had the more potent offensive firepower.
Facing Kerr's doubts, He Xi Meng didn't have many good answers. After all, it was difficult to contain a prime Dirk Nowitzki on the offensive end.
However, the Celtics were not without options.
He Xi Meng offered Kerr a bold suggestion: move Perkins into the starting lineup to guard Eric Dampier, and have Yao Ming drop down a position to guard Nowitzki!
Dampier was originally a blue-collar center for the Mavericks designed to wear down Yao Ming. Using Perkins, also a blue-collar center, to wear him down would be a fair trade.
As for Yao Ming, he had guarded Nowitzki plenty of times in national team games against Germany. His defensive effectiveness was better than that of most power forwards in the league!
However, asking the 7-foot-5 giant to play power forward was an utterly insane idea!
After being shocked, Kerr calmly considered the suggestion and finally felt it was feasible and worth a try!
In terms of execution, however, Kerr made some adjustments. Instead of directly moving Yao Ming to power forward, he designated the newly promoted Perkins as the nominal power forward. In the actual game, they would switch defensively, with Yao Ming guarding Nowitzki and Perkins battling Dampier in the post.
This adjustment by the Celtics caught the Mavericks completely off guard!
Nowitzki, who had averaged around 28 points in the previous three rounds, saw his scoring plummet to just 16 points in this game due to Yao Ming's interference.
Nowitzki's signature mid-range jump shot, under the reach of Yao Ming's long arms, saw him hit only 4 of 14 attempts, a shooting percentage below 29%, marking his worst performance of the playoffs so far.
He Xi Meng had already prepared himself for an offensive slugfest with the Mavericks. He hadn't expected the Celtics to actually hold their home-court advantage and win Game 1, 98-90, through defense.
In Game 2, the Mavericks adjusted their strategy. Nowitzki moved the offensive initiation point from the low post to the three-point line, extending his driving distance and using his speed to get past Yao Ming, thus avoiding the interference of Yao's long arms.
This adjustment proved quite effective. Nowitzki's shooting percentage rebounded to around 50%, and his scoring increased from 16 points to 26 points, essentially reaching his season average.
The Mavericks' offensive efficiency began to improve, but not enough.
This improvement was well within He Xi Meng's expectations.
He Xi Meng, along with Carter, intensified their outside shooting. Leveraging the home-court advantage of the rim, they shot an impressive 18-of-27 from three-point range, a staggering 66.7% three-point percentage!
It was precisely this hot shooting from beyond the arc that allowed the Celtics to win Game 2, 108-99, taking a 2-0 lead over the Mavericks.
Returning home, the Mavericks first used continuous drives to trap Yao Ming in foul trouble, forcing Kerr to bench him. Nowitzki then seized the opportunity to go on a scoring run.
In this game, the "German Express" delivered a series of career-highs for the series with 42 points and 13 rebounds!
Josh Howard, who had been suppressed by Diop for two games, Jason Terry, who had been suppressed by He Xi Meng for two games, and Stackhouse, who had been limited by Ariza, all had excellent performances in this game.
The Mavericks finally found their rhythm, playing their preferred offensive style, and with a 116-109 victory, they clawed back a game.
In Game 4, Kerr decided to go all-in on defense, instructing the Celtics players to focus on the three-point line from the start, hoping to win the game decisively. Unfortunately, Kerr's gamble didn't pay off.
In this game, the Celtics' overall outside shooting touch was cold. In less than three quarters, the Mavericks had already extended their lead to over 15 points.
Kerr simply gave up on the fourth quarter, strategically retreating to conserve energy and save their strength for Game 5.
The pivotal Game 5 returned to the North Garden Arena.
To boost morale, Michael Jordan began spending lavishly, giving every fan in attendance a Celtics jersey, ensuring the arena was awash in green!
"This game, we must win, not lose!"
In the locker room before the game, Jordan issued a stern command to the Celtics players, adopting the tone of a "General of the National Army."
In reality, such rallying cries often did more harm than good. Aside from increasing the players' psychological burden and causing their movements to become stiff on the court, their actual inspirational effect was minimal.
Fortunately, after two seasons of playing together, the Celtics players were already accustomed to Jordan's metaphysical style of encouragement. They simply treated his words as pre-game warm-ups.
After all, whether it was He Xi Meng, Yao Ming, or Carter, they were all veterans with extensive NBA Finals experience. If the sky were to fall, they were the ones who would hold it up.
Whether they could afford to lose or not, Jordan's words alone, or those of any other player, didn't matter. Only the words of Monte, Yao, and the three of them carried weight!
Facing Jordan's theatrical pre-game pep talk, He Xi Meng exchanged glances with Carter and Yao Ming. They decided to keep their thoughts to themselves. If Jordan wanted to make a show of it, let him. The real game would be played as usual.
If they could win, who would want to lose?
But the will to win alone wasn't enough; they also needed the means to win!
In this game, the Celtics adjusted their tactics and playstyle once again.
In the previous four games, Perkins starting and Yao Ming playing an de facto power forward role, while effective in the first game, had yielded mediocre results in the other three.
Nowitzki, with his ability to receive the ball and face up in isolation, had successfully moved his offensive starting point from the low post to the perimeter. This allowed him to evade Yao Ming's long arms and simultaneously pushed Yao Ming into a situation of rapid physical depletion.
Therefore, after careful consideration, Kerr and He Xi Meng discussed and decided to have Yao Ming return to his natural position, freeing him from defensive duties and engaging the Mavericks in a straightforward offensive battle, without any gambles.
He Xi Meng agreed with Kerr's choice. The Finals had reached this point, and adjustments to tactics and lineups would have minimal impact. If early in a war, opposing sides might still engage in surprise tactics, but in a prolonged engagement, it ultimately came down to who had the deeper resources and could endure until victory.
The pivotal Game 5 was about pure grit and determination, with no room for fancy tricks.
Amidst the cheers of the entire crowd, the game that would decide the ultimate direction of the Finals finally began...