The outcome of this game will essentially determine the final trajectory of this series.
The Cavaliers' greatest advantage is home court.
The Celtics' greatest advantage is He Xi Meng, an unpredictable factor.
After his slight eruption in Game 1, He Xi Meng remained subdued in the subsequent three games. If the Celtics proceed smoothly in this game, He Xi Meng will undoubtedly continue to be quiet. But if the Celtics' offense falters…
No one can guarantee what He Xi Meng might do…
Celtics fans are hoping for He Xi Meng to do something.
Cavaliers fans are also hoping, hoping He Xi Meng will be steady, not stir up trouble at this critical juncture, and focus on recovering from his injury.
Whether He Xi Meng causes trouble depends primarily on how his Celtics teammates perform.
If his teammates can suppress the Cavaliers as they did in Games 3 and 4, then He Xi Meng can enjoy a quiet game and simply win the series without breaking a sweat.
However, if his teammates play as poorly as they did in Games 1 and 2, then in this crucial game, He Xi Meng will certainly not stand idly by. It would be impossible for him not to stir things up.
As the game began, James, uncharacteristically, held back his full strength, playing a true organizing role from the start, constantly creating opportunities for his teammates and activating their scoring touch.
He placed particular hope on Zha Zhuo Na Si and La Li Xiu Si.
Zha Zhuo Na Si had been thoroughly outplayed by Yao Ming in the first two games, and now he was avenging both old and new grievances, playing with genuine effort.
In the opening possession, Zha Zhuo Na Si posted up Yao Ming, forcibly pushed him aside, and scored with a hook shot.
Back in Cleveland, Yao Ming could not play with the same dominance as he did at home. In some physical confrontations, he had to hold back, otherwise he would fall into foul trouble. This is a difficulty that visiting teams must overcome.
Zha Zhuo Na Si helped the Cavaliers break the deadlock first, providing considerable support to James.
But La Li Xiu Si was not as fortunate.
After four games of engagement, He Xi Meng's competitive form was improving. While his offense hadn't shown a significant change, his defense on La Li Xiu Si was becoming increasingly comfortable.
In Games 1 and 2, La Li Xiu Si averaged 22 points, but in Games 3 and 4, with a similar number of shots, his average scoring dropped to 14 points.
From the start of this game, James still didn't give up, hoping for La Li Xiu Si to have a breakout performance. However, He Xi Meng's defense was on point.
La Li Xiu Si missed his first three attempts and committed a careless turnover.
On the Celtics' side, while Yao Ming and Carter were not as ferocious as they were at home, their shooting percentages were still decent.
Overall, with James not exerting his full effort, the Celtics held the advantage on the court, which was reflected in the score as they began to take the lead.
As the first quarter neared its end, He Xi Meng was finally substituted out, replaced by rookie Rondo.
James, who had been holding back for most of the quarter, could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He immediately switched to his solo mode, taking over the Cavaliers' possessions and attacking the basket against Rondo.
Rondo, the coach, was also quite frustrated!
"You're a standard, top-tier small forward, why do you have to come play point guard and bully people?"
As a point guard, Rondo had long limbs, excellent core strength, and top-tier defensive anticipation.
But against James, no matter how high Rondo's aspirations were, he couldn't overcome the gap in skill.
Fortunately, Head Coach Kerr did not expect Rondo to defend James alone.
At the same time as He Xi Meng was taken out, Kerr also substituted out Tony Allen and Gortat.
Tony Allen was He Xi Meng's bodyguard, helping him fend off James's attacks.
Gortat was He Xi Meng's rearguard, helping to cover up for defensive lapses.
The players who came in were Matt Barnes and Ersan İlyasova.
Barnes's primary role was to assist Rondo in defending James.
İlyasova was there to stretch the Cavaliers' paint, creating space for Yao Ming's post-ups and Carter's drives to the basket.
Rondo's defensive performance was limited, but in terms of playmaking, he skillfully delivered lobs to Yao Ming in the post and passed to Carter on the wing, doing so in an organized manner that showed glimpses of He Xi Meng's style.
Even He Xi Meng himself had praised Rondo's playmaking in front of the entire team on multiple occasions, calling him a future star of the Celtics…
In the early part of the second quarter, with Yao Ming and Carter off the court, and He Xi Meng playing a dual-point guard formation with Rondo, Rondo repeatedly used He Xi Meng as a passing decoy, faking passes and driving to the basket, completing three layups.
James, who was being toyed with by Rondo, was furious!
To get revenge and to salvage the Cavaliers' morale, James abandoned screens and drove directly at Rondo. He used a bulldozer-like drive, pushed Rondo to the basket, and forcefully leaped, completing a one-handed dunk over Rondo to vent his frustration!
He Xi Meng didn't mind Rondo using him as a decoy. Instead, he was happy that Rondo had successfully drawn James's attention away from him!
Without James constantly focused on him, He Xi Meng would have more opportunities to attempt shots off the ball.
However, before He Xi Meng could get a shot off, Head Coach Kerr made another substitution, taking He Xi Meng out and bringing back Carter and Yao Ming.
Kerr now treated He Xi Meng as a treasure of the team.
During He Xi Meng's injury, the Celtics had been plagued by injuries, as if cursed by misfortune.
When He Xi Meng was not injured, Kerr clearly remembered that the Celtics seemed to have an immunity to injuries. Their other core players had largely avoided major injuries, and even the role players were energetic and steadily improving…
Kerr knew, of course, that a significant reason was that when He Xi Meng was healthy and on the court, the Celtics had sufficient rotation at every position, with virtually no player being overused. The team's core players also adopted a staggered resting strategy from time to time, allowing them to get as much rest as possible.
But when He Xi Meng was sidelined with an injury, the full rotation and resting strategy could no longer be guaranteed, and the team fell into a vicious cycle.
This was the rational and scientific explanation.
The irrational and unscientific explanation was that He Xi Meng brought good luck to the team, and he was blessed by the gods!
Americans believe in both science and God, so these two concepts are not contradictory or conflicting.
This could well explain why Kerr has been so "protective" of He Xi Meng in recent games…