Tony Allen's defense was more suited for guarding scorers who preferred post-ups or mid-range pull-up jumpers. Against a scorer like Wade, who relied on driving to the basket and overpowering opponents with speed, it was far less effective.
However, the Heat couldn't contain Kevin Martin and Hu Weidong either!
With Payton orchestrating the offense, Kevin Martin repeatedly attacked the Heat's rim, while Hu Weidong launched shots from mid-to-long range!
In recent seasons, Hu Weidong had either been training with Mr. Jordan or He Xi Meng, and his improvement was evident for all to see!
It was only due to his physical limitations that Hu Weidong's defensive capabilities ranked in the lower-middle tier of the league.
This was because the shooting guard position in the league was indeed filled with talents and stars.
While Hu Weidong's driving ability was decent, He Xi Meng had discouraged him from pursuing that route. The reason was simple: injuries!
Hu Weidong had once been sidelined by injuries, ultimately missing out on the NBA.
Now that he had defied fate and successfully entered the league, it would be a terrible loss if he were to be sidelined again due to injury.
Given that the intensity of NBA games was far higher than domestic leagues, Hu Weidong had, on He Xi Meng's advice, shifted to a shooting-focused playstyle.
As a result, while Hu Weidong's game might be somewhat limited, it was better than having no avenue at all, wasn't it?
During the rotation period, Hu Weidong hit two corner three-pointers off the ball, effectively supporting Kevin Martin and helping the Celtics withstand Wade's onslaught during the rotation.
By the end of the rotation, both teams remained tied.
With Wade off the court resting, the game primarily became a matchup between O'Neal and Eddie Jones.
Without any warning, He Xi Meng suddenly surged. First, with a fake pass and a real drive, he toyed with O'Neal before easily sinking a layup. Then, while O'Neal was fully focused on attacking Yao Ming, He Xi Meng stole the ball from behind, turned, and pushed for a fast break. From two steps beyond the three-point line, he rose up and hit a pull-up three-pointer!
He Xi Meng scored five consecutive points, helping the Celtics begin to establish a lead.
Before halftime, Wade returned to the court and sank a three-pointer from the top of the arc, briefly narrowing the deficit to three points.
However, at the start of the third quarter, He Xi Meng and Carter teamed up, unleashing a barrage of three-pointers that washed over the Heat's perimeter defense, successfully extending their lead to 11 points!
Ultimately, the Celtics defeated the Eastern Conference's top-ranked Heat 117-107 on the road!
Carter finished the game with 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists, second only to the Celtics' leading scorer. At the post-game press conference, Carter told reporters with a relaxed expression: "I never imagined scoring could be so easy! You just need to get to the right spot, and the ball seems to have eyes, flying into your hands. All you need to do is shoot it, nothing more..."
"I finally understand how the Spurs used to win!"
"Winning makes me happy! I think I've made the smartest decision of my career!"
...
Being able to win games without carrying the team made Carter somewhat excited, and he found himself talking more than usual.
Yao Ming only scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds today as he battled O'Neal, but he recorded 4 blocks, two of which were swatted away from above O'Neal's head, fulfilling He Xi Meng's pre-game instructions.
Fans who watched the live broadcast of the game had an illusion: it seemed like He Xi Meng didn't score much in this game!
This was because during most of the Celtics' offensive possessions, He Xi Meng was either lobbing the ball to Yao Ming in the post or feeding passes to Carter and others on the perimeter. He Xi Meng's few scoring opportunities were all "opportunistic" shots!
But after checking the post-game statistics, the fans were stunned!
He Xi Meng, through these opportune shots and piecemeal scoring, had accumulated a game-high 27 points and 10 assists!
Meanwhile, Wade, who had been running all over the court for nearly 46 minutes, only managed 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Were the fans' eyes deceiving them, or was He Xi Meng's scoring efficiency just that high?
O'Neal, under Yao Ming's pressure, scored 23 points and grabbed 9 rebounds today. While his stats weren't low, his shooting percentage was quite poor. It took him 23 attempts to score those 23 points, which, for an interior player, was not a great shooting percentage.
Especially compared to the anomaly that was He Xi Meng, who scored 27 points on only 15 attempts, shooting an incredible 70% from three-point range, hitting 7 out of 10 shots!
No wonder Carter expressed such strong emotions at the post-game press conference about how easy scoring was. It turned out he wasn't just marveling at his own ease of scoring...
After leaving Miami, the Celtics continued their road trip. Their next opponent was the Orlando Magic!
This summer, the Magic traded away McGrady and acquired the Rockets' backcourt duo, Francis and Mobley!
Hill, who had been sidelined by injuries, returned, and the top draft pick Howard joined the team.
On the bench, they also had the Turkish shooter Turkoglu, poached from the Kings!
If new head coach Brian Davis could integrate them properly, the Magic's current roster was quite strong.
Of course, "quite strong" was a relative term.
At the center position, Howard might have had a significant advantage against other centers in the league, but against Yao Ming, rookie Howard was no match!
Unlike the previous game where Yao Ming feigned offense, this game saw Yao Ming in genuine attack mode!
From the start of the game, He Xi Meng continuously created opportunities for Yao Ming, feeding the ball to Yao Ming's opponent in the paint.
Yao Ming exploited Howard's unstable base, powering through him in the post, executing turn-around jumpers, finishing with alley-oop dunks, and using pump fakes before a one-handed slam...
Just as O'Neal had schooled a young Yao Ming entering the league three years ago, Yao Ming was now qualified to school the rookie Howard!
The only difference was that while the rookie Yao Ming was dominated by O'Neal, he also fought back, blocking O'Neal three times, which made O'Neal no longer dare to speak disrespectfully to Yao Ming.
Howard also wanted to block Yao Ming, but unfortunately, Yao Ming's footwork was too agile, and his fake moves were too numerous. The newly crowned top pick was spun around by "Big Yao's" dream shake!
Throughout the entire game, Howard not only failed to record a single block but also went 0-for-5 on offense, scoring only 7 points from free throws, with his stats concluding at 7 points and 9 rebounds.
In contrast, Yao Ming was unstoppable in this game...