On the Celtics' side, Kerr was also feeding motivational speeches to his teammates, urging them not to waste this rare home-court advantage and to lay the foundation for victory.
As for tactics… tactics were to be left to He Xi Meng!
In the previous game, He Xi Meng's real-time command had continuously switched the offensive focus between the interior and exterior, making it difficult for the Heat to defend both.
Adjustments from the bench simply couldn't keep up with the pace of the game!
Therefore, Kerr decided to forgo any interference and focus on "assisting" He Xi Meng's on-court leadership, only instructing the players: "Play according to our regular tactics! Listen to He Xi Meng for any adjustments!"
The current Celtics team had Yao Ming, a staunch supporter of He Xi Meng, who resolutely followed and unswervingly implemented He Xi Meng's orders.
Carter's loyalty might not have been as absolute as Yao Ming's, but before joining the Celtics, Carter had prepared himself mentally. As long as He Xi Meng didn't reduce his role as the second star or his team status, Carter would definitely not clash with He Xi Meng and would fully support and cooperate with his work!
After nearly a season of integration, He Xi Meng had fulfilled his promise by ensuring Carter's shot attempts, team status, and personal statistics, and Carter was naturally fulfilling his promise by fully supporting He Xi Meng's control over the Celtics!
With the support of Yao Ming and Carter, frankly speaking, any other thoughts from the remaining Celtics players were unimportant and wouldn't make much of a ripple.
Moreover, there were no troublemakers within the Celtics team anymore.
Payton and Malone were too old to stir up trouble and lacked supporters.
Josh Smith, Ariza, Tony Allen, Kevin Martin, Perkins, and others were too young and had been thoroughly disciplined by He Xi Meng over the season, leaving no room for rebellion.
As for Fox and Hu Weidong… they were on the same level as Yao Ming, being He Xi Meng's most loyal supporters, sharing in his success and failures, and unlikely to oppose him.
Therefore, Kerr saw things most clearly.
Some matters were best left to "professionals."
As for who the "professionals" were, and how to identify them…
Kerr listened to Jordan, Jordan listened to He Xi Meng, and He Xi Meng… He Xi Meng listened to the call of his own heart…
As the game began, O'Neal once again unleashed his signature hip check, successfully disrupting Yao Ming's tip-off rhythm and giving the Heat the first possession.
Damon Jones brought the ball past half-court and handed it to Wade, who faced Tony Allen, looking for a chance to isolate and shoot. O'Neal was actively positioning and calling for the ball near the paint!
O'Neal's rhythm seemed aimed at washing away the shame of fouling out in the previous game against the Celtics?
Wade lobbed the ball to O'Neal, letting him post up.
On the Celtics' side, He Xi Meng didn't have Josh Smith double-team, letting Yao Ming guard O'Neal one-on-one!
Seeing this, O'Neal employed his powerful butt-pushing technique, shouldering Yao Ming towards the basket!
Yao Ming didn't lose his position, retreating and defending.
He would give up the paint position, but how he chose to score depended on his fate…
In his prime, O'Neal would have ended the battle with a powerful spin and dunk after pushing his way to the basket!
But now, O'Neal found it difficult to spin around. Age was one reason, but more so, the cumulative effects of injuries and increasing weight had robbed O'Neal of much of his agility!
If he weren't facing Yao Ming, O'Neal could have slowly picked up the ball and used a high-post offense.
However, facing Yao Ming, who controlled the air space, the slow, high-post game had proven ineffective in previous games.
If O'Neal's moves were even slightly slower, after being bumped away, Yao Ming would re-establish his position and swat the ball away!
Therefore, O'Neal had very limited time to make a move.
For this first possession, O'Neal put all his might into it, exerting force, spinning quickly, and shooting immediately…
Hey, good luck! He accurately hit the rim, scoring the Heat's first points.
O'Neal, having successfully scored two points, was also very happy, turning around, clenching his fist, and cheering himself on!
Even the confident Shaq sometimes needed to pump himself up…
On the Celtics' turn to offense, He Xi Meng held the ball on the perimeter, waiting for Yao Ming to get into position.
He Xi Meng passed the ball to Yao Ming at the opportune moment, and Yao Ming used his footwork, swaying left and right as he drove into the Heat's interior!
Wade, on the weak side, unwilling to let O'Neal defend so passively, snuck around from behind Yao Ming, attempting a steal.
But He Xi Meng kept moving in front of Yao Ming, like Yao Ming's other pair of eyes, constantly monitoring the Heat's defensive movements.
Seeing Wade's subtle shift, He Xi Meng immediately warned Yao Ming!
Yao Ming timely pulled the ball back, narrowly avoiding Wade's steal, and passed the ball back to He Xi Meng on the perimeter!
He Xi Meng caught the ball and, without stopping, quickly passed it to Carter, who was cutting across the court!
Wade's defensive collapse to guard Yao Ming presented a prime offensive opportunity for Carter!
Although Yao Ming couldn't see Carter's position, he could pass the ball to Carter through He Xi Meng!
He Xi Meng naturally lived up to Yao Ming's expectation, immediately passing the ball to the cutting Carter!
Carter shook off Wade and drove towards O'Neal in the paint!
"Damn it! Not again?"
O'Neal had been taken out of the previous game by a joint effort from Carter and He Xi Meng. Seeing Carter's approach now, how could he not understand the Celtics' intention?
"Do they really think of me as a pushover for the Heat?"
O'Neal struggled intensely in the paint. Emotionally, O'Neal certainly wanted to block Carter's shot and make the Celtics fear him. But rationally, O'Neal knew that if he jumped for this shot, his chances of blocking Carter were less than 10%, but the probability of committing a foul was no less than 30%!
This was because Carter was clearly driving towards him to draw contact.
Should he jump or not? This was a crucial decision for O'Neal.
If O'Neal were a brainless brute-force center, he wouldn't have this dilemma; he'd just go for it without thinking, dealing with the fouls later.
But O'Neal was not that type! Despite his imposing physique, O'Neal was a player who, in his rough exterior, possessed a refined and meticulous mind.
In the blink of an eye, O'Neal still had the presence of mind to analyze the pros and cons!
Ultimately, O'Neal came up with a "best of both worlds" solution!
He had to go up for it! Not doing so would damage his reputation.
But how he went up, and at what speed, was a matter for consideration. After all, he knew his knees best…