Faced with the strong Carter, the Heat's Wade decided to fight fire with fire, using a solo effort to drive past Carter and the recovering Yao Ming for a layup!
The precocious Wade could already carry the Heat's offense.
This summer, Riley had traded away Eddie Jones precisely because Wade's improvement had been so rapid.
Eddie Jones's most prized scoring ability had become somewhat redundant for the Heat.
Therefore, Riley traded Eddie Jones to the Grizzlies for Jason Williams, valuing White Chocolate's passing and control abilities to further unleash Wade's offensive and scoring prowess.
So, if nothing unexpected happened, this season would mark the first peak of Wade's career.
On the Celtics' second possession, He Xi Meng still looked for Carter, but Wade positioned himself early, preventing He Xi Meng from passing to Carter.
He Xi Meng settled for second best and passed to Yao Ming in the paint!
After the trials of last season, Yao Ming could now handle his own.
For three seasons with the Spurs, Yao Ming had been criticized by some anti-fans, who questioned if he only became an All-Star starting center because he rode on Duncan's coattails.
Last season, without Duncan's help, Yao Ming, with his own strength, delivered a double-double of 20+10, silencing all his critics!
Yao Ming had also undergone a substantive transformation, solidifying his position as the league's current premier center.
Facing the former league's top center, Shaquille O'Neal, Yao Ming caught the ball, turned, faked with his footwork, and backed down O'Neal. Against Haslem's help defense, Yao Ming rose up between the two, stuffing the ball into the hoop with one hand!
Carter hadn't dunked, but Yao Ming had kicked off the new season with a dominantly powerful slam.
The local Celtics fans immediately erupted in thunderous cheers for Yao Ming.
On the Heat's second offensive possession, Wade again drove with the ball, attempting to repeat his earlier success by using his speed to attack the basket.
However, this time, a player in a Celtics' #32 jersey emerged from the side, blocking Wade's sure-fire layup off the backboard from the flank!
More crucially, after blocking Wade, the #32 player landed, then jumped again, effortlessly snatching the rebound.
Indeed, this #32 player was the Celtics' new acquisition this season, Borris Diaw.
Diaw wasn't tall, only 2.03 meters, but his leaping ability was exceptional. This was one of the reasons he could play center for the French national team.
Of course, besides his excellent jumping ability, Diaw's strength was also formidable. This allowed him to stand firm when battling for position under the basket.
After the block and successful rebound, Diaw casually passed the ball to He Xi Meng on the wing.
He Xi Meng retreated to receive the pass, and Carter accelerated his drive.
He Xi Meng, after receiving Diaw's pass, didn't stop the ball but directly lobbed it to Carter streaking downcourt.
Carter shook off a host of pursuing Heat defenders, racing ahead to face an open basket and leaping high...
"Is Carter going to lay it in? My old back might just snap from him!"
"If he doesn't dunk this, he's truly channeling Xi Meng's spirit..."
Fortunately, although Carter showed a tendency to play like He Xi Meng, at the crucial moment, he hadn't forgotten his identity as a dunker.
Amidst the anxious anticipation of the crowd, Carter, as the fans wished, powerfully slammed the ball into the basket, completing an almost tomahawk-style dunk!
The entire stadium rose to their feet in a roar of approval. This was the Carter the fans knew and loved.
"Fly! Dunk!"
The fans on site expected Carter to continue his momentum, fully utilizing his specialty to give the team a fiery start to the new season.
However, on the third possession, Carter retreated to the three-point line again, expressing his determination to transition his game through shooting.
Ironically, Carter missed this three-point attempt. After Yao Ming grabbed the offensive rebound, he passed back to Carter.
Carter faked out Wade, put his head down to drive, but halfway through, he suddenly remembered his desire to transition. Instead of driving all the way to the basket, he pulled up for a jump shot from a step inside the free-throw line...
Good heavens, the Boston fans were already preparing to stand and cheer for Carter, and he pulls this off?
"Carter has changed... He's been led astray by Xi Meng..." Seeing Carter sink this short-range jumper, fans who enjoyed his dunks couldn't help but sigh.
But Carter himself knew clearly that to achieve greater heights, he had to shed his label as a dunker.
After winning the championship last season, the Celtics faced no pressure this season. Defending their title would be great, but not defending it was also acceptable, coupled with He Xi Meng's support... thus, this was the perfect season for Carter to transition.
Therefore, at the very beginning of this season opener, Carter displayed a strong desire to score, and he did so mostly through shooting, a significant departure from his previous preference for attacking the basket.
On the Heat's side, Wade, in his initial game form, was also eager for revenge and playing aggressively.
However, with the addition of Diaw this year, the Celtics' interior defense not only hadn't declined but was trending upwards.
While Diaw's athleticism might not match Josh Smith's, Diaw's defensive anticipation was arguably even better than Josh Smith's!
Last season, under He Xi Meng's guidance, Josh Smith had also put in a lot of effort defensively, providing significant help to Yao Ming. But this was a difference in talent, not effort.
Wade's attacks on the basket were not very successful, with several drives being disrupted by Diaw, leading to frustration.
O'Neal tried to step up and share the scoring burden with Wade but was suppressed by Yao Ming.
After a summer of indulgence, O'Neal had gained a few more pounds, his footwork had become a bit slower, and his physical condition had clearly declined compared to last season. O'Neal tried to use his usual tactic from previous seasons, muscling Yao Ming off the block with his backside, driving to the paint, and then looking for opportunities to shoot.
But this time, he found himself lacking the strength to even move Yao Ming off the block!
O'Neal's core strength was declining, while Yao Ming's core strength was increasing. With this ebb and flow, their physical confrontation was becoming more evenly matched.
Furthermore, O'Neal's footwork was not as agile as Yao Ming's, so his success rate in scoring through brute force naturally became increasingly low.
Fortunately, the Heat's new acquisition, and a former Celtic discard, Antoine Walker, seemed to have eaten something special today. In the first quarter, he was 3-for-3 from three-point range, much to Ariza's annoyance.
This big guy looks like an interior player, but his playing style is exactly like an outside shooter's!