But not choosing doesn't mean not being able to!
Carter stayed with He Xi Meng all day and learned by watching. There was no difficulty, just a change in shooting rhythm.
Carter's unexpected chase-down three-pointer was also good!
Yao Ming switched from defense to offense, Carter switched from driving to chase-down three-pointers, and the Celtics' series of unusual rhythm changes began to make the Mavericks' head coach Avery Johnson on the sidelines a little anxious.
On the Mavericks' third possession, Johnson loudly reminded his players, "Give the ball to Dirk!"
This season, the most reliable point of the Mavericks' offense was undoubtedly Nowitzki. When the Mavericks' offense was blocked, the "Little General" first thought of giving the ball to Nowitzki.
And Nowitzki rarely disappointed the "Little General."
On this play, after multiple passes, the ball was eventually given to Nowitzki, who had made his way down.
Nowitzki received the ball with his back to the basket, pushed away the defending Diop, and used a mid-range fadeaway jump shot to help the Mavericks score a high-difficulty two-pointer, temporarily stabilizing their footing.
But the Celtics didn't want to give the Mavericks any breathing room. Turning around, He Xi Meng, with Terry's quick advance past half-court, called for Yao Ming to execute a pick-and-roll. He Xi Meng successfully shook off Terry and, chasing behind Nowitzki and Dampier, drove to the Mavericks' basket.
Frankly, He Xi Meng hadn't played such a fast-paced offense in a long time.
Since having Yao Ming, a powerful weapon in set plays, He Xi Meng's first choice was always to play steadily.
Including the previous four games, He Xi Meng hadn't shown such strong offensive desire, so the Mavericks were caught off guard by Carter, and now they were caught off guard by He Xi Meng again. 138Reading Net
Nowitzki twisted to block, but He Xi Meng used a Ginobili-esque Euro step to sidestep the German tank. Finally, facing Dampier, he made a极限 post-up fadeaway jumper!
From Nowitzki's high-difficulty mid-range fadeaway to He Xi Meng's high-difficulty Euro step plus极限 post-up fadeaway jumper, the game had only lasted 7 seconds!
If D'Antoni were watching this Finals game on TV, he would have to give He Xi Meng a thumbs-up: "You're still more run-and-gun than run-and-gun..."
The Celtics' series of unusual moves truly stunned the Mavericks, leading them to play somewhat in a panic during the opening stages. Their defense was poor, and their own offense was organized somewhat disjointedly.
This was exactly the effect the Celtics wanted to achieve.
Amidst the roaring cheers of the home crowd, the Celtics took an 8-point lead in the first quarter.
"Look! Look! Thanks to my jersey giveaway idea, the team is playing so passionately, right?"
In the VIP box, Jordan was again bragging to Larry Bird.
Because of the "jersey giveaway" idea, Larry Bird had explicitly expressed his opposition.
First, it was expensive, and second, it was unnecessary.
For a game like Game 5 of the Finals, even without the jersey giveaway, over 80% of fans would bring their own team jerseys.
Whether or not that 20% was there, the scene would still look overwhelmingly green, a sea of green.
But Jordan insisted! He had to fill that 20% that wasn't green. The price to pay was giving away over ten thousand jerseys...
Alright, you're the big boss, you have the final say.
As long as the team wins in the end, this money can be considered Jordan playing with water.
In the second quarter, the Mavericks brought in Stackhouse, Devin Harris, and Diop.
Stackhouse had been serving as the Mavericks' sixth man all season.
It's worth noting that before this, Stackhouse was a solid core starter and scoring leader for the Pistons and Wizards.
As a former All-Star, Stackhouse's ability had always been good, but he lacked the temperament of a star player. He wasn't tough enough when it mattered, which had always been criticized.
Don't know what Mavericks owner Cuban promised Stackhouse, but starting this season, Stackhouse was willing to be the Mavericks' sixth man, even giving up his starting spot.
The Mavericks' run to the Finals this season had a lot to do with Stackhouse playing sixth man.
Because if Stackhouse had gone to a weaker team, he could have easily played shooting guard or small forward, but he didn't.
This choice was very similar to the Spurs having Ginobili play sixth man.
Upon entering the game, Stackhouse immediately used his isolation abilities to score twice against Hu Weidong.
Old Hu had missed the first few rounds of the playoffs due to injury. He finally recovered and made it to the Finals, but in the previous games, he was at a disadvantage against Stackhouse in their matchups.
Hu Weidong couldn't defend Stackhouse, so Kerr had to substitute in the more defensively capable Tony Allen for Hu Weidong.
Old Hu's playing time in these few games had been significantly reduced.
There was no alternative.
In the Finals, every player had to prove themselves with their performance.
In this game, Hu Weidong still couldn't defend Stackhouse. However, he followed He Xi Meng's suggestion from before the game and decided to match offense with offense.
After Stackhouse made his first mid-range jumper, Hu Weidong actively moved to find an opportunity for a cut and drive.
Monta Ellis was a ball-hog, but when a teammate had an open chance, he dared not refuse to pass.
Hu Weidong received the pass, drove strongly, and scored an off-balance layup, making a powerful comeback.
After Stackhouse made his second stop-and-pop jumper, Hu Weidong still actively asked for the ball. Although Monta Ellis didn't pass and chose to shoot a three-pointer himself,
Hu Weidong fought hard for the offensive rebound, spun around, and took a jump shot, scoring again.
Hu Weidong's two strong responses not only withstood Stackhouse's onslaught but also dispelled Kerr's idea of substituting him, successfully earning him playing time for the entire rotation.
By the time He Xi Meng and the other starters returned, the Celtics still led the Mavericks by 8 points.
The Mavericks' rotation lineup was strong, but the Celtics' rotation lineup was also not to be trifled with!
Hu Weidong, Monta Ellis, Tony Allen, David Lee, Perkins, Gerald Green, Gortat, Ilyasova, Van Exel, Fox.
Old Van and Fox were injured and couldn't play in this year's playoffs, while Ilyasova had never made the 12-man roster...