The game started with Pierce unleashing his full power!
Yao Ming won the tip-off, giving the Celtics the first chance to attack. He Xi Meng tossed the ball inside, intending for Yao Ming to overpower Jason Collins. Pierce, however, closed in quickly. Exploiting Yao Ming's blind spot, he launched a surprise attack from behind!
As He Xi Meng's warning just came out, Pierce had already stolen the ball and turned to counter-attack!
This game, the player tasked with guarding Pierce was not Carter, but Tony Allen!
He Xi Meng had Carter switch to small forward, letting Tony Allen handle Pierce.
Tony Allen's defensive skills were still a bit raw, but his core strength was immense. Against a floor-level scorer like Pierce, it proved quite effective.
Tony Allen stayed tight on Pierce, preventing him from accelerating and buying his teammates time to get back on defense.
By the time Pierce advanced to the frontcourt, all the Celtics, except for Yao Ming, had reset.
Pierce's fast break failed, forcing him to transition to half-court offense.
Utilizing his skillful isolation moves, Pierce successfully faked out Tony Allen, creating space for a shot.
However, perhaps due to the long absence from the FleetCenter, the basket he could once hit with his eyes closed, this time rejected Pierce's shot, rendering his first attempt of the game fruitless!
Yao Ming made up for his mistake by fighting hard to secure the defensive rebound and passed it back to He Xi Meng to advance the ball.
He Xi Meng pushed for a fast break, but Kidd stuck to him like glue, giving He Xi Meng no opportunity to advance or shoot.
However, the current situation for the Celtics meant that fast breaks didn't require He Xi Meng to do it all himself.
Carter and Josh Smith, one on each side, had already begun their rapid advance!
Josh Smith, new to the league, was incredibly athletic!
His speed in transition was nearly on par with Carter's.
Yet, Josh Smith's physique was even larger than Carter's!
Once he got going, he was unstoppable unless he made a mistake.
After crossing half-court, He Xi Meng deliberately slowed the pace, observing which of Carter or Josh Smith had a better opportunity.
The Nets, on the other hand, clearly focused more of their defensive attention on Carter.
Pierce and Scalabrine positioned themselves more towards the left flank!
They likely predicted that He Xi Meng would be more inclined to pass to Carter than to the rookie Josh Smith.
But this Celtics team inherited the Spurs' philosophy of playing the right way. Therefore, it wasn't about who had the bigger name; it was about who had the better opportunity, and that's who they passed to!
In this play, Josh Smith clearly had a better opportunity than Carter, so He Xi Meng's choice was not Carter, but Josh Smith on the right flank!
With a long pass, He Xi Meng lobbed the ball directly towards the right side of the basket!
Scalabrine rotated from the center, attempting to disrupt the aerial connection between He Xi Meng and Josh Smith!
However, Josh Smith didn't give him that chance. He leaped high, grabbed the ball directly above Scalabrine's head, then spun and threw down a thunderous dunk over him!
Two points! Josh Smith put the Celtics on the scoreboard!
Upon landing, Josh Smith immediately flexed his biceps, showcasing his strength!
The Boston crowd responded with enthusiastic cheers and applause for Josh Smith!
As the Celtics' primary dunker this season, Josh Smith's popularity among the fans surpassed that of Ariza, Tony Allen, and Kevin Martin!
"New Dunk King!"
The Boston fans now affectionately called Josh Smith by this nickname!
Why "New Dunk King" and not just "Dunk King"?
Because the title of "Dunk King" was exclusively reserved for another of the Celtics' super dunkers: Carter!
Although this season, under He Xi Meng's suggestion, Carter had focused most of his energy on three-pointers, honing his off-ball three-point shooting skills!
However, when fast break opportunities arose, Carter didn't hesitate to showcase his signature Carter moves for the fans!
Carter had transcended the typical definition of a "dunker." For him, these dunks, apart from consuming a bit more energy, posed no significant risk of injury.
This was because such dunking maneuvers were well within Carter's control!
Unlike some who treated every dunk like a holiday and would avoid it if possible...
On the Nets' second possession, Pierce again signaled for the ball.
Jason Collins stepped up to set a screen for Pierce, momentarily holding off Tony Allen. Pierce found himself matched up against Yao Ming, intending to overpower him with his speed!
But Yao Ming's mobility wasn't slow. Pierce couldn't fully beat Yao Ming with his first step.
Yao Ming stayed behind Pierce, preparing to block the shot.
Sensing danger, Pierce, after rising up, didn't force a shot. Instead, seeing Yao Ming's block attempt, he retracted the ball and made a low-hand pass to Jason Collins, who was cutting in the middle!
Jason Collins caught the ball and took flight, aiming for a flying dunk to answer the Celtics!
Carter swooped in from behind Jason Collins and swatted the ball out of his hands!
"Good heavens! A guard directly blocking a center!"
He Xi Meng marveled at Carter's superhuman vertical leap, while simultaneously positioning himself for the rebound and quickly turning to initiate another fast break.
Kidd's stance was clear: no matter how the Celtics played, his primary mission was to restrict He Xi Meng!
Frankly, Kidd's approach was correct! Limiting He Xi Meng would, at the very least, neutralize one-third of the Celtics' offensive capability.
But was He Xi Meng so easily restricted?
On this play, Carter and Josh Smith were positioned too deep, making it difficult to initiate a quick drive.
He Xi Meng's options were either to control the tempo and settle for half-court offense, or to break through Kidd and go one-on-one!
The arrow was nocked and ready to fly!
It would be a shame to pass up such a good fast break opportunity!
Wasn't it just a matter of beating Kidd one-on-one?
He Xi Meng steeled himself. After crossing half-court with his back to the defender, he turned, executed a dazzling crossover, and put on a show of intent to drive strongly!
Kidd's core strength was top-tier among point guards, making him highly effective at tightly guarding point guards of his caliber.
However, Kidd's speed wasn't as exceptional.
Therefore, against speed-oriented point guards like Iverson, Kidd habitually used anticipation to compensate for his lack of speed.
Seeing He Xi Meng's crossover followed by a side step, Kidd's first instinct was that He Xi Meng was preparing to force his way into the paint for a score. Thus, Kidd quickly retreated, attempting to create distance from He Xi Meng.
As a result, after stepping sideways, He Xi Meng suddenly executed a behind-the-back dribble and a pull-up jumper. He left-handed, he stepped back and pulled up for a three-pointer!