On June 12, 2012, the first game of the Finals between the Warriors and the Heat officially started at Oracle Arena.
The Warriors' starting lineup remains unchanged, with Curry, Klay, Prince, Kirilenko and Yao Ming on the field.
The Splash Brothers will never separate as long as they are together, this is inevitable!
If you want your opponent not to double-team Curry, you have to bring Clay up!
If you dare to double-team Curry, you will pay the price!
To deal with double teams, it's not enough to just shoot accurately, you also need to shoot quickly!
When double-teaming, you need to rotate to help defend. As long as you rotate, there will be an opening!
Of course, if the opponent's rotation speed is fast enough, your chances of making a move will not be very good.
For ordinary pitchers, a defensive shot is not a good opportunity.
But for a top pitcher like Clay, just giving him a chance is enough!
When a pitcher who is as accurate and as fast as Curry is on the court, the opponent will feel a lot of pressure!
Because Klay's scoring explosiveness is no worse than Curry!
Curry can kill his opponent in a short burst, and so can Klay!
So as long as Clay is here, he will definitely play with Curry.
Prince has been with the Warriors for three years. He is very comprehensive, tall and long-armed. He can handle three-pointers and dribble well. He can support defense well. He has rich experience on the court and has a good temper. Curry can do it with him at the top of the key.
Play without the ball with peace of mind.
Compared with Ariza and Tucker, Prince's advantage is that he has a certain ability to attack independently and is better at passing and supporting, so Deng Fang still likes to put Prince in the starting lineup.
Kirilenko exists because someone needs to defend James!
Kirilenko has a better physical advantage than Prince and has a stronger shot-blocking ability. With him teaming up with Yao Ming on the court, the Warriors can create a no-fly zone under the basket!
As for Yao Ming, he is of course the first choice at the center position.
Each of the Warriors' five starters is the best choice, and there will be no changes under normal circumstances.
The Heat's starting five are Chalmers, Wade, James, Battier and Bosh.
Chalmers is very solid at the point guard position this season, mainly because his three-point shooting is very reliable.
If a team has James on the team, then the team's point guard's tasks are very simple. One is to be able to shoot three-pointers, and the other is to carry the ball across half court.
This kind of point guard has another name, that is, dribbling guard!
Chalmers' three-point shooting is very reliable and his defense is also good, so he can be a starter.
Wade, James has nothing to say, he will definitely be the starter.
Bosh was injured before, and his condition has not been very good since his return. He played as a substitute for a few games, and slowly returned to the starting position in the Eastern Conference Finals.
In the last game against the Celtics, Bosh played very well and was extremely efficient. It was obvious that his form was back.
Bosh, who has regained his form, is still very good. At least he can open up the space, which is what James likes.
As for Battier, he is currently the best choice for the Heat's power forward position.
With James here, what the team needs most is space!
What kind of player can open up the floor?
Can shoot three-pointers!
Battier's three-point shooting is very reliable, his defense is also very good, and he has secured his starting position since the middle and late stages of the season.
Even if he is not the starter in some games, Battier still plays more minutes than Haslem and others!
In general, the Heat's lineup is very mobile and good at three-point shooting. There are three who can shoot and two who can break out. The configuration is quite reasonable.
The two teams were opponents in last season's finals. They know each other well and there is no need to test them.
The game fell into fierce competition as soon as it started!
The Heat worked very hard on the defensive end. They still flanked Curry, helped defend Yao Ming, and targeted Kirilenko.
Again, it's not that Kirilenko's three-pointer is inaccurate, it's that others are more accurate!
Curry must not be let go, nor can Yao Ming. Clay is the key target. Prince has proven himself, his three-pointers are very reliable!
The only one whose three-point shooting is not stable is Kirilenko!
Kirilenko's three-point shooting percentage this season is 36%, and he also shot 35% in the three rounds before the playoffs!
This shooting percentage is not lower than the league average, at least much higher than James!
James worked hard on three-point shooting during the offseason, and his three-point shooting percentage in the regular season this season is 36.2%, which looks good.
However, in the playoffs, James' three-point shooting percentage was only 25.9%!
Even Chalmers' three-point shooting percentage in the playoffs was only 35.9%, not much higher than Kirilenko!
But everyone else in the Warriors' starting three-point shooting range is more accurate than Kirilenko. Even Yao Ming is more reliable than Kirilenko!
If you can't let go of anything, then you can only bet that Kirilenko won't score!
Deng Fang also knew that the Heat would do this, but he was not afraid.
If you dare to bet, so will I!
Kirilenko's three-point shooting percentage is 35%. You all dare to bet on this. Then James and Wade's three-point shooting percentage are less than 30%. Why don't I dare to bet!
Kirilenko can also play without the ball, pick and roll with Curry, cover Klay, and score on air cuts. What about James and Wade?
In comparison, the Warriors are more willing to gamble!
The Warriors' defensive strategy is the same as before, which is to leave James and Wade open!
No matter how well you shoot three-pointers in the regular season, I will let you two go!
Chalmers, Battier and Bosh can't have open three-pointers, but James and Wade can!
Curry, Clay and Yao Ming were all standing near the three-point line, while Kirilenko was two steps inside the three-point line, and Prince, who was guarding Wade, was even three steps inside the three-point line!
Kirilenko's defense is very good. With his height, wingspan and speed, it is very difficult for James to break through easily.
As for Wade, Prince stayed close to the penalty area, and he was very experienced. It would be difficult for Wade to cut in through air.
The Heat targeted Kirilenko, and the Warriors played several pick-and-rolls. Kirilenko made three open three-pointers, but only made one.
But it was even worse for the Heat. James and Wade took a total of 5 three-pointers and failed to score any of them!
The first quarter lasted more than 4 minutes, and the score became 8:2!
Both teams defended very well and fought very fiercely, which resulted in a poor performance for everyone.
Spoelstra called a timeout.
After the timeout, Mike Miller came on and Wade came off.
This is the Heat's established strategy.
Since we want to give James enough ball rights, we must let him play happily!
How can we make James feel comfortable?
Give him enough shooters!
Let him break out!
This is the emperor's request and must be met!
After the Heat acquired Mike Miller, the Warriors couldn't defend like they did just now.
If Kirilenko is still allowed to defend James alone and the other four are outside the three-point line, it will be easy for James to break in.
Kirilenko can't just sit near the free throw line and watch James shoot three-pointers.
If someone is a superstar, it doesn't mean he can't shoot a three-pointer. If he is completely open, he can still make it.