In the time it took for a few commentators to speak, the opening ceremony had already begun, and the lineups of both sides were also announced.

Raptors: Lowry, Danny Green, Leonard, Siakam, Gasol;

Nets: Caruso, Crabbe, Lin Ying, Tucker, Jokic.

Gasol struggled to move the ball back to the Raptors' half, and the curtain of this focus battle officially began.

When the Raptors attack in the frontcourt, Gasol holds the ball directly at the top of the key to support the attack.

Their previous trade was seriously underestimated. The arrival of Gasol not only improved the team's internal strength, but also added a new style of play for them.

Gasol's height allows him to provide better frame protection, and his current organizational skills allow him to push Ibaka to the bench.

You know, this is Ibaka who has never been closed.

However, past games have proven, and the Raptors' offense in the opening game also proved that such adjustments are worthwhile.

Leonard made a reverse run without the ball to get rid of Tucker's defense. Gasol's pass was given early. After receiving the ball, he took a step into the air and directly glided and dunked the ball with one hand.

Basket!

The Raptors come out on top!

Leonard took the initiative to high-five Gasol while retreating.

His face still has the same expression as it did during the Spurs days, but it can be seen from his body language that his current mood is happy.

Fans like to watch stars play one-on-one and difficult goals, but for players, they obviously prefer the opportunity to score after catching the ball.

Even the stars are the same. After all, for them, the game lasts four quarters. In order to help the team win, they need to save their energy as much as possible in the front and then use it in the final decisive moment.

The Nets advanced to the frontcourt and played a mirror image. Jokic also held the ball at the top of the arc to organize the offense.

However, unlike the Raptors, this wave of tactics did not create direct scoring opportunities.

The Raptors' defense, especially the forward defense, is better than the Nets!

Riley's classic theory believes that the ultimate development of basketball in the future will be five strikers about 2 meters tall.

This is not only offensive flexibility, but more importantly defensive mobility, and they respond to each other.

At this point, this Raptors team is infinitely closer.

Danny Green, Leonard, and Siakam, the defensive combination of these three forwards is like a big net, and it is extremely difficult for you to get through.

This is also an important reason why the person Gasol squeezed out was Ibaka, not Siakam.

Not because it's stronger, but because it's more suitable.

This wave of offense by the Nets ultimately came to nothing.

Raptors head coach Nurse was obviously prepared. With Siakam's main defense and Leonard's quick defensive interference, even Jokic didn't have a good chance to give the ball to Lin Ying in the end.

These two opening rounds also set the tone of the first quarter.

The Raptors have great offensive flexibility and they can always seize opportunities to score.

Especially Leonard, Tucker, who almost despaired of defending Tatum, did not form an effective defense against him.

Leonard's state after entering the playoffs is definitely at MVP level!

On the Nets side, Lin Ying was very uncomfortable being entangled by Siakam and Leonard.

Especially Leonard, whose big hands had already intercepted passes from his teammates to Lin Ying twice in the first quarter alone.

Moreover, the Raptors' bench is also underestimated. Ibaka had the upper hand in the confrontation with Anunoby and Zhou Qi.

Moreover, VanVleet, who had an average performance in the first round, also ushered in a strong recovery in this round. He came off the bench in the first quarter and scored 5 points from inside and outside.

At the end of the first quarter, the score on the field was 28 to 21, with the Raptors leading.

Over at the commentary box, Smith and McGrady were laughing from ear to ear.

Facts have proved that although the two of them combined have far fewer championships than the other two, their predictions are much more accurate!

"Shaq, no team is always at the top, and you should have more say in this than anyone else."

McGrady even said to O'Neal.

The reason why he said this is also very simple, because it was as strong as the "OK" group, which also stopped at three consecutive games at that time.

And at that time, the Lakers did not have a core exodus like the Nets do now, and they did not even encounter any major injuries, but they really failed to take a step further.

Because three years in a row is incredible, but four years in a row, there are too many variables.

Take now as an example, who could have thought a year ago that the league structure would become what it is today?

Winning four consecutive championships is more difficult than imagined.

"No, Tracy, you don't know Lin well enough."

Before O'Neal could speak, Barkley couldn't help but start to retort.

After hearing this, Maddie just smiled and said nothing.

Of course he knows that Barkley is the number one player, but basketball games are not decided by one person.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Nets' bench was in good shape. Rose and Gay scored consecutively to quickly close the score, and the Raptors had to call a timeout.

After the timeout, Nurse directly replaced Leonard.

This substitution had an immediate impact. Leonard was in hot form and scored consecutively. Just when Lu replaced Lin Ying on the court, the Raptors had already opened up the score again.

"This Raptors team is much better than we imagined. I can see the shadow of a championship in them."

The situation in this period finally succeeded in impressing the Sharks, and O'Neal also turned his support to the Raptors.

Among the four giants in the commentary box, only Barkley looked longingly at Lin Ying, who had just replaced him.

Although the Raptors' defensive strategy in the first quarter was successful, it was only the first quarter, right?

In the first attack after the substitution, Lin Ying held the ball outside the three-point line.

His move immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the commentary box.

It looks like the Nets are preparing to let Lin Ying take over the game.

However, in the first quarter, Lin Ying played a lot with the ball, but he was also limited by the Raptors' tall and flexible forward line, and the effect was not very good.

Will this work in the second quarter?

But just after Lin Ying reached out to say hello, they quickly discovered the difference in the Nets' tactics this time.

Jokic mentioned the high post and set up a pick-and-roll for Lin Ying!

In the past, the Texas Twins' pick-and-roll was unsolvable. After Durant left, Lu developed the pick-and-roll style of Lin Ying and Jokic.

Although the flexibility is not as high as the Gemini pick-and-roll, Jokic is better than Jokic because of his large size and good pick-and-roll effect, which naturally creates more opportunities for Lin Ying.

This was quickly demonstrated on the court. Siakam had seen Jokic's coming action in advance and had the awareness to bypass it in advance. However, Jokic was too big and he failed to squeeze through.

After taking it apart, Jokic also bounced directly to the top of the arc and beyond the three-point line, and Siakam had to follow.

Lin Ying got a chance to hit Gasol out of position.

To say that Gasol is tall and powerful, he is more effective in both offense and defense than Ibaka, but there is one thing that he obviously cannot compare to Ibaka, and that is that he is big but small in defense.

Ibaka was born as a power forward, and his flexibility is enough to cope with mismatched defenses under normal circumstances, but Gasol is too big.

The moment the dislocation was formed, Lin Ying accelerated to the right, forcing Gasol to retreat.

That is to say, after he retreated, Lin Ying changed direction and pulled back again, and then retreated back to the three-point line.

This move was a bit big, and Gasol was almost knocked down with his hands on the ground.

But even if he wasn't knocked down, by the time he stabilized his body and straightened up again, Lin Ying had already shot from outside the three-point line.

Moreover, from the pick-and-roll to the retreat, Lin Ying's movements were very fast. The rest of the Raptors team had no time to help defend and could only watch Lin Ying take action.

They could only leave the decision to God, and God quickly gave them the answer.

"Whoa!"

Along with a crisp sound of hitting the net, Lin Ying's three-pointer came down!

The venue was suddenly filled with cheers from the fans.

This three-pointer is very crucial.

Because the score on the court at this time is 40 to 32.

If the goal had not been scored, then if the Raptors had continued to score, the point difference would have reached double digits immediately.

But now the ball was scored, and the score difference suddenly became 5 points.

This is critical, both situationally and psychologically.

After returning to the defensive end, its effect was also reflected.

The Raptors' same tactical moves failed to create opportunities. In the end, Leonard's face-to-face singles were blocked by Tucker!

And when it came to the offensive end, Lin Ying and Jokic continued to play pick-and-roll.

This time Siakam was blocked solidly by Jokic, and Lin Ying got another chance to play Gasol in a misplaced position.
To be continued...