Eastern Time on April 21, 2007, at the Quicken Loans Center in Cleveland, the stands were packed with Cleveland fans.
This is the Cavaliers' most promising season. They have never been so close to the O'Brien Trophy.
Amid cheers and screams, the home team Cavaliers and visiting team Orlando Magic have already appeared on the court and started warming up on the court.
Mike Brown has also announced the starting lineup for this game.
Although in the second half of the season, he once put Rashard Lewis on the bench, but gradually played later, Mike Brown gradually discovered the importance of Rashard Lewis to the Cavaliers.
With Rashard Lewis on the court, Lin Yu and LeBron James will have plenty of space. Without Rashad Lewis on the court, at least it will be difficult for James to completely rush forward.
Therefore, for the sake of the team's offense, Mike Brown could only make a compromise and put Lewis back on the starting lineup.
In the first game of the playoffs, his starting lineup was point guard Andre Miller, shooting guard Lin Yu, small forward LeBron James, power forward Rashard Lewis, and center Zarunas-
Ilgauskas.
Sitting behind the commentary box at Quicken Loans Center were Lin Yu’s old acquaintances, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley.
Before the game started, they first chatted about James' rhetoric before the game.
"Not one, not two, not three, not four, but five, six, seven..." Charles Barkley carefully considered the series of numbers: "Seven, Kenny,
What did you think of?"
Kenny Smith's brain is much easier to use than Barkley's. He blurted out: "Michael Jordan only has six championships!"
"So, LeBron has very blatantly given his goal, he wants to surpass Jordan!"
Seven is obviously greater than six, but the way in which these seven championships were won and the value they hold after they are won is worth talking about.
But neither Barkley nor Kenny Smith care about this. What they care about is that compared to LeBron James, who is Pippen?
"If LeBron James' goal is Michael Jordan, and he has set the number of championship goals at seven, then the question is, who does LeBron James think is Scottie Pippen?"
Charles Barkley said Lin Yu's name without hesitation: "Of course it's Lin Yu!"
"What about Rashard Lewis? Who is he?"
"Dennis Rodman?" Charles Barkley laughed and shook his head: "Oh no, this is outrageous. Their styles and characteristics are so different!"
"If we distinguish based on style characteristics, then LeBron James is more like Scottie Pippen. He is good at fadeaway jumpers and always contributes key goals and key kills. The Chinese Lin is the real Michael Jordan. As for LaLan
Shad Lewis, maybe we can think of him as a three-point version of Dennis Rodman."
Kenny Smith winked, and Charles Barkley continued to laugh, even louder.
The young LeBron James is very arrogant, which also gives commentators the opportunity to tease him, and now, Kenny Smith and Barkley are teasing James.
James couldn't hear the ridicule, and Lin Yu, who was involved in the topic, couldn't hear it. If he could hear it, he would agree with Kenny Smith's analysis.
On the court, after the warm-up, James stood on the big Cavaliers logo in high spirits.
Lin Yu stood beside him, looking at another part of the court, where the Magic's starting five were just released. Standing in the center, wearing a pair of arm guards, was the extremely muscular Dwight Howard, who was short and stocky.
The eye-catching Tony Batty, the tall Hedo Turkoglu, the gentlemanly Grant Hill, and the short Jamal Nelson.
The head coach of the Magic is Brian Hill, a veteran coach who has been coaching since the 1990s and coached the Magic during the Penny Shark era.
Brian Hill's use of Howard is completely different from Stan Van Gundy. In other words, he doesn't pay much attention to Howard. He only arranges some low-post singles for Howard as requested by Howard himself. All other offensive scoring depends on Howard himself.
For Howard, Brian Hill values his defense more.
As for the offense, Grant Hill and Turkoglu on the outside, as well as Jamal Nelson, all play more important roles.
Whether it's Howard on the defensive end or Grant Hill, Turkoglu and Jamal Nelson on the offensive end, the Cavaliers have something to deal with.
"In the 2006/2007 NBA playoffs, the first round series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic, this is the Quicken Loans Center Arena. Charles and I will provide commentary and broadcast of the first game..."
As the referee appeared in the center of the court with a basketball in his hand, the starters of both teams were ready, and the battle was about to begin.
"Okay, dear viewers in front of the TV, the game is about to begin. Now what we see is Zarunas Ilgauskas versus Dwight Howard. The two star centers from the Eastern Conference are facing each other.
, they are going to have a jump ball duel in the first duel of the opening game!”
With a beep, the referee blew his whistle and threw the ball into the sky above the arena. After a burst of noisy cheers, the winner of the jump ball duel was already decided.
"Superman Dwight Howard won the game without a doubt, helping Orlando get the ball in the opening seconds."
Jamal Nelson received the ball, and he quickly controlled the ball to the frontcourt and handed it to Grant Hill.
Brian Hill's tactics are very particular about the coordination of pass, cut and cover, but when he encountered a center Howard who was unwilling to play pick-and-roll, he had to put Tony Barty in the starting lineup and add an inside man who could play pick-and-roll and provide screen.
players.
So at the beginning of the game, Grant Hill, who was facing Lin Yu, asked for a screen. After a single block, Lin Yu switched defenses, and Grant Hill faced Rashard Lewis, who was covering the defense.
Lewis's defense was not good and could not withstand Grant Hill's impact.
Grant Hill, who rushed to the mid-range, directly shot a mid-range shot, and with a bang, it hit the frame.
At the beginning, Hill had not yet found his shooting touch. After missing a shot, he stopped where he was, waiting expectantly for Howard to rush for the offensive rebound.
During the regular season, Howard averaged 3.5 offensive rebounds per game, ranking fourth in the league. Relying on Howard's offensive rebounds, the Magic reversed many offensive rounds that had ended.
Therefore, Hill's expectations were not without reason, but they met an extremely special knight.
As soon as Hill's mid-range shot was released, Lin Yu and LeBron James rushed to the basket immediately, each judged the landing point of the basketball, took their respective positions, then aimed at the basketball and jumped up.
As for Big Z inside, he got stuck in place and directly blocked Howard. Howard struggled to get rid of Big Z's entanglement. Before he could take off, the rebound was already in the hands of LeBron James.
Then, Lin Yu shouted: "Counterattack!"
The crowd of knights flew away like arrows in the wind.
The Magic failed to retreat in time, and the Cavaliers immediately found an opportunity to defend and counterattack.
LeBron James rushed to the frontcourt with the ball, attracting the attention of all the Magic's defensive players. He passed the ball to one side, and Lin Yu who caught the ball made a mid-range shot with a whoosh.
The cheers exploded, and in the context of the playoffs, the atmosphere in the entire Quicken Loans Center also became heated.
"In the first attack and defense of the opening game, the Cavaliers played a defensive counterattack that they are good at. The Orlando Magic made a big mistake. They did not retreat immediately after completing the shot. This gave the Cavaliers ample room to counterattack..."
"China Lin lived up to expectations and made an open mid-range shot during the counterattack!"