He Xi Meng witnessed Alston's defense and Antoine Walker's three three-pointers on the court.
To be honest, it wasn't Alston's fault.
Alston wasn't out of position defensively. Antoine Walker simply stood and shot over Alston, making every shot. It would have been the same no matter who was defending.
Because of Antoine Walker's brief outburst, the Heat and the Celtics were neck and neck at the start.
As the first quarter neared its end, it was time for the substitute lineup to come in.
For the Heat, Coach Van Gundy subbed in Mourning, Kapono, and Payton, while Antoine Walker and Wade remained on the court.
For the Celtics, Coach Kerr successively brought in Perkins, David Lee, Hu Wei Dong, and Tony Allen, but kept He Xi Meng on the court.
As long as He Xi Meng was on the court, the Celtics didn't have to worry about their rhythm collapsing, and the young players on the court could maximize their potential.
Wade switched to He Xi Meng, drove, and passed to Kapono on the wing, wanting Kapono to showcase his three-point skills.
Hu Wei Dong defended actively, chased back immediately, and contested the shot, successfully affecting Kapono's touch and causing the ball to bounce off the rim.
David Lee secured position and grabbed the rebound. He turned and passed to He Xi Meng. After a steady advance, He Xi Meng lobbed a pass to David Lee in the paint.
David Lee was posting up Antoine Walker.
Antoine Walker attempted to taunt the Celtics' first-year rookie: "Come on, kid, let me see your strength..."
Before Antoine Walker could finish speaking, David Lee faked, turned, and drove past Antoine Walker, using him as a pivot to penetrate the Heat's basket.
Facing the help defense of Mourning, the rookie showed no fear. He leaped up and delivered a powerful one-handed slam dunk, putting the ball into the hoop before Mourning could.
"Wow~ What's this rookie in number 42 called?"
"This big white guy has very agile footwork!"
"Not just his footwork, that dunk at the end was also quite spectacular!"
The fans in Boston were immediately curious about this young rookie who dared to make a statement with his first shot in his first career game.
On the bench, Monta Ellis was happy for David Lee but also anxiously awaited his chance to play.
Finally, before the end of the first quarter, the Heat substituted out Wade, and the Celtics substituted out He Xi Meng, bringing in Monta Ellis.
After Monta Ellis came onto the court, with only one final offensive possession remaining, he decisively chose to drive, using his speed advantage to overpower Payton and score his first career points.
In the beginning of the second quarter, Kerr continued to field the five substitute players, while the Heat continued with their eight-man rotation. It seemed the Heat were very eager to win this game.
Utilizing the youthfulness of the Celtics' substitute lineup, the Heat sped up the pace, luring the young Celtics players into matching their rhythm. Then, with strong defense, they disrupted the Celtics' normal offensive and defensive flow, going on a 9-2 scoring run to establish a lead of about five points.
From his VIP seat, Michael Jordan frowned upon seeing this situation: "This year's draft doesn't seem as reliable as last year's..."
It was a bit too early for Michael Jordan to make that judgment, as it was only the first game of the new season.
However, overall, the Celtics' substitute lineup this year was indeed less stable than their main substitute lineup last season.
Because last season, the Celtics' second point guard was the veteran Payton.
Ten years ago, Payton was a top point guard in the league, one of the best.
Although his condition had declined significantly over ten years, his fundamental skills and experience were still present.
This season, He Xi Meng had actually found Van Exel to replace the veteran Payton.
If Van Exel were to replace Monta Ellis as the second point guard, the effect would certainly be better, but Monta Ellis would lose many opportunities to develop.
This was a trade-off.
If the Celtics wanted to develop new talent and quickly mature Monta Ellis, they had to accept the instability that Monta Ellis's inconsistency would bring to the team.
Fortunately, with the experience of the previous season, Kerr had already dealt with all sorts of incidents. He was accustomed to the "surprises" that rookies might bring.
He Xi Meng had already stabilized the situation at the end of the first quarter, so Kerr's first instinct was to bring in Carter or Yao Ming.
If Carter were to come on, Monta Ellis would have very little room to play.
To develop the new talent, Kerr decided to bring in Yao Ming and substitute out Perkins, pairing Yao Ming with Monta Ellis.
But He Xi Meng stood up and suggested to Kerr: "I'll go in and guide Monta. You can let Allen rest for a while."
"Okay!"
Since He Xi Meng was willing to step in, Kerr naturally had nothing to object to.
After He Xi Meng entered the game, he immediately went to Monta Ellis and said: "Control the tempo, slow it down! On the NBA court, point guards who can't pass will be heavily restricted by opponents..."
Payton, who was guarding Monta Ellis, was also an old acquaintance of He Xi Meng.
Last season, their positional relationship was similar to that of He Xi Meng and Monta Ellis now. Payton was He Xi Meng's main backup.
"Simon, these rookies are a bit lacking this year?"
Payton heard He Xi Meng coaching the newcomer on the court and immediately had a mischievous thought. He deliberately spoke sarcastically, trying to provoke the young Monta Ellis.
"Don't pay attention to the provocations from that old guy. He just wants you to get fired up and forget your responsibilities. Learning to accept challenges is also a crucial skill you need to master now! You'll receive countless greetings from veterans throughout the season... Gary's greeting today is considered mild..."
Payton on the other side was immediately speechless.
"Simon, this way it's no fun! How can we welcome the rookies? Are you going to be this kid's nanny for the entire season? Explaining to him in every game, 'This is a greeting from so-and-so, this is a provocation from so-and-so'..."
"No need, Gary. Monta is the rookie I'm most optimistic about this year. Just watch, in less than half a season, he'll be able to take on your responsibilities from last season! He'll not only manage the team's bench smoothly but also provide us with significant scoring help..."
Well! Payton originally intended to provoke Monta Ellis with words, making him lose his temper and even his composure.
Unexpectedly, He Xi Meng used his strength against him, directly completing a live demonstration of "trust" education.
After He Xi Meng's high praise, Monta Ellis felt that he would be letting down his trust if he didn't perform well.