From the fans' perspective, O'Neal aggressively lunged towards Carter.
But in reality, Carter deliberately slowed down by half a beat, allowing O'Neal the time to charge forward. O'Neal, however, intentionally lagged by a beat, firmly denying Carter the opportunity to get close! He offered a symbolic interference, letting Carter score.
"Every single one of them is a seasoned veteran..."
Wade, standing behind Carter, couldn't help but inwardly lament the sophistication of Carter and O'Neal.
Meanwhile, He Xi Meng, not far away, inwardly regretted, "O'Neal is getting craftier by the day! It seems unlikely we'll be able to take him down in this game. If that's the case, should we change our strategy..."
On the Heat's second possession, O'Neal eagerly called for the ball at the edge of the paint. Wade passed him the ball, and O'Neal spun around with all his might, but the shot bounced off the rim.
Yao Ming's interference wasn't just for show, and O'Neal's shot lacked its usual precision.
Josh Smith secured the defensive rebound and immediately passed it to He Xi Meng.
He Xi Meng intended to initiate a fast break, but Wade, Damon Jones, Eddie Jones, and Haslem retreated to defense with remarkable speed!
Essentially, only the "Big Shark" was left trailing behind, while the other four had already returned to their half, wary of He Xi Meng's quick counter-attack.
"Alright! If you want to play a half-court offense, then let's play a half-court offense!"
The Celtics' current lineup was well-rounded, with no obvious weaknesses in their inside or outside game. Moreover, playing on their home court, they were not at all intimidated by the Heat's half-court offense.
Facing Damon Jones' somewhat aggressive defense, He Xi Meng calmly controlled the ball, guarding against any careless turnovers, while observing the Heat's defense and waiting for Yao Ming to get into position!
In this possession, Wade dared not attempt a steal, and Haslem did not double-team.
Yao Ming went one-on-one against O'Neal, ultimately opting for a pump fake followed by a turnaround fadeaway jumper in the post!
Yes, this low-post move, derived from Duncan, was still as effective as ever – simple, practical, efficient, and with a high success rate!
Two years prior, Yao Ming, due to a slightly weaker core, couldn't hold off O'Neal during the turnaround, resulting in an unstable lower body and a lower shooting percentage on his fadeaway jumper.
Compared to two years ago, Yao Ming had made significant progress. He was now much more fluid when executing this turnaround fadeaway, making it even harder for O'Neal to contest, and his shooting percentage was now very close to Duncan's.
On the Heat's third possession, O'Neal no longer called for the ball; he was getting tired.
In the previous few possessions, the Celtics had clearly targeted O'Neal, constantly seeking physical confrontation. O'Neal had inadvertently become the busiest person on the court.
The energy expenditure was too rapid. O'Neal decided to conserve his energy, leaving the offensive end to the younger players to make their moves.
Otherwise, at this rate of energy consumption, he would likely be exhausted by halftime and become a defensive liability for the Heat…
Uh, while O'Neal was already a relatively weak link in the Heat's defense, his height and mass still provided some presence. If it were Mourning or Haslem, their height disadvantage against Yao Ming would be too significant, and the Heat would also be unable to defend effectively.
Seeing O'Neal no longer seeking the ball, Wade decided to try his luck.
Wade still used his lightning-quick drives and then a pull-up jumper after a sudden stop, forcing up a shot against Carter's defense! And he made it!
It appeared Wade's shooting touch was adjusting well. Carter's defense on this play was flawless; he didn't lose his man and stayed close, yet he couldn't prevent Wade from scoring.
On the Celtics' third possession, He Xi Meng let Yao Ming rest for a bit and instead called for a high-post screen from Josh Smith. He then isolated Haslem and drove to the basket from the side!
Wade abandoned Josh Smith and collapsed to help Haslem block He Xi Meng's direct drive to the hoop.
Facing the Heat's double-team, He Xi Meng didn't choose to attack the basket. Instead, he executed a no-look lob pass, directly throwing the ball to a spot behind Wade!
Josh Smith, having cut off from He Xi Meng's pick, was already on the same page. He sprinted behind Wade into the paint and, while Wade's attention was on He Xi Meng, he soared into the air, caught He Xi Meng's lob pass, and powerfully slammed the ball into the Heat's basket!
A beautiful alley-oop dunk!
O'Neal, pulled to the wing by Yao Ming, saw Josh Smith's thunderous dunk. With the mentality of "better him than me," he silently rejoiced, "At least the background wasn't me..."
In the opening stages, both teams' offensive efficiency was quite high.
On the Heat's side, Wade demonstrated a strong scoring desire and impressive shooting touch right from the start.
On the Celtics' side, they had initially intended to replicate the previous game's strategy: first, get O'Neal in foul trouble, then attack the Heat's interior, forcing the Heat to shrink their defense, and then open up their outside shooting… However, this tactic seemed difficult to execute today because O'Neal "refused to cooperate."
The "Big Shark" was willing to sacrifice defensive efficiency to stay on the court and battle the Celtics until the end, forcing He Xi Meng to resort to another classic strategy against him…
However, it was still the beginning of the game, and it wasn't yet time to deploy that particular strategy.
Currently, with He Xi Meng orchestrating the offense, the Celtics were steadfastly playing team basketball, displaying a more cohesive performance than the Heat.
Despite this, as the first quarter drew to a close, the score difference was not substantial.
Wade, with 14 points scored single-handedly, helped the Heat stay close to the Celtics, with the score at 23:24!
As the rotation period began, the Heat saw the introductions of Mourning, Laettner, Kenyon Martin, and Rasual Butler.
Coach Pat Riley, known for not overplaying his starters, meant the Heat showed no signs of a reduced rotation.
If the Heat were sticking to their original rotation, the Celtics had even less reason to shrink theirs.
Although Coach Jim O'Brien didn't opt for a complete five-for-five substitution, it was essentially not much different.
Perkins, Malone, Kevin Martin, Hu Weidong, and Payton all received playing time and opportunities, albeit on a rotational basis.
Neither team managed to create a scoring run during the rotation period, so the scores continued to rise and fall alternately.
But just as the rotation was nearing its end and the starting lineups of both teams were beginning to return, Eddie Jones, from beyond the three-point line, hit two consecutive three-pointers over Kevin Martin, helping the Heat reverse the score and gain a five-point lead.
Coach O'Brien quickly brought He Xi Meng back in to stabilize the situation!