The longest river

Chapter 241 Tiny Ohio appeared simultaneously...

Before the Finals officially began, a major event occurred in the basketball world.

James opted to sign a massive 7-year, $8700 million (including $1000 million in bonuses) contract with Reebok.

This contract set a new record for rookie signings.

After the signing was completed, news broke that Adidas and Nike offered James even bigger contracts, especially Nike, whose contract reached 10 years and $1.15 million (including $1500 million in bonuses). They see James as the hope for the brand's revival.

But in the end, James decided to follow in the footsteps of his idol, Yang Shuai, and join the Reebok family.

Yang Shuai, who has already grasped James's shrewdness, was not surprised at all by James's decision.

As his Portland career progressed, Nike had fallen far behind Reebok, even moving their headquarters out of Portland, not to mention the privileges Yang Shuai received this season.

In this context, James would not choose Nike, because he wouldn't create difficulties for himself.

Moreover, and very importantly, although Yang Shuai is still nominally with Reebok, his HY brand has already become independent.

Just like AJ and Nike, although the two companies are related, they are actually two separate brands.

Therefore, James knew that by joining Reebok at this time, he could still receive the utmost attention from Reebok.

The day after the signing news broke, Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Pacers and the Trail Blazers tipped off at the Rose Garden Arena.

James was present at the scene.

During the pre-match warm-up, he even went down onto the field to chat and take photos with Yang Shuai.

This is part of Reebok's business plan.

Before James entered the election, there was already a huge marketing campaign for him, with nicknames such as "King" and "Chosen One".

The small state of Ohio has produced both a "GOAT" and a "chosen one," generating a huge amount of buzz.

Of course, this was just a small incident before the finals, and the cameras focused more on the players on both sides.

Pippen quickly appeared in the shot.

As a former member of the Portland Trail Blazers dynasty, it remains to be seen how he will perform against his former team in the Finals.

After Pippen, the camera focused more on O'Neal and Young.

O'Neal looked relaxed.

In terms of strength, the Pacers are not much stronger than the Lakers and Spurs, but their advantage lies in their high ceiling.

If the Pacers have a good outside shooting touch, they can beat any team in the league.

Take the Christmas Day game for example. If it weren't for Yang Shuai's record-breaking 83 points, the Pacers would have won that game easily.

Yang Shuai seems to be taking this more seriously than in previous series.

They are just one step away from helping the Trail Blazers win back the championship.

This was also evident after the opening ceremony, when Yang Shuai didn't make any major moves, simply waving to his fans in a very routine manner.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups for both sides were announced.

Pacers: Pippen, Miller, Kirilenko, Harrington, O'Neal
Trail Blazers: Billups, Reed, Young, Wallace, Sabonis

Pippen had been a substitute since joining the Pacers, but Thomas put him in the starting lineup for the Finals.

After the game started, the Pacers, playing away, took the initiative.

After drawing a double team with a strong attack inside, O'Neal passed the ball to Harrington in the corner, who drained a three-pointer.

Returning to the defensive end, Thomas's intention to adjust the starting lineup was also very clear: he used Pippen as the lead defender and Kirilenko as a help defender against Yang Shuai.

Although Pippen is getting older and slower, his size is still there. Combined with Kirilenko's help defense, even if they don't limit Yang Shuai's performance, they can at least force the ball out of Yang Shuai's hands as much as possible.

Their strategy did work. Under the interference of four long arms, he finally chose to pass the ball to Billups, who was unable to respond to Pippen's three-pointer after the replay.

Turning back, Pippen made a tactical gesture, and Harrington set a screen for Miller.

Because he had just made a three-pointer, Harrington bounced off the wall and forced the Trail Blazers to switch defenses. Miller seized the opportunity, shook off the mismatched Wallace, received a pass from Pippen, and hit a three-pointer.

This caused a stir among the Portland fans at the stadium.

The Pacers started with a 6-0 run, giving the Trail Blazers a rude awakening, but more importantly, their outside shooting was just as hot tonight as it was in the Christmas Day game.

Pippen's addition gave Thomas more options on the defensive end, and he obviously wouldn't give Yang Shuai as many shot opportunities in the Finals.

Although they are only one step away from the championship, this step looks like the hardest one for the Trail Blazers.

Just as the fans were thinking this, Yang Shuai immediately gave them a huge reassurance in the next round.

After receiving the ball, he first blew past Pippen's defense, then changed direction to get past Kirilenko who was helping on defense, and finally drove to the inside to score a shot over O'Neal.

This one-on-three situation sent the fans into a frenzy.

Yang Shuai is telling Thomas in the most direct way that Pippen plus Kirilenko? That's not enough.

The camera panned to the Pacers' bench, and when Thomas appeared in the frame, it also focused on Bird behind him.

Thomas's temporary tactical change clearly shows the influence of Bird.

Moreover, they didn't seem flustered in the footage, as if what was happening before their eyes was within their expectations.

The Pacers' subsequent decision confirmed this; they did not continue to increase their defensive investment.

Or rather, Bird's emergence already hinted at something: it's unrealistic to truly defend against the current Yang Shuai. Even the Spurs couldn't do it, let alone the Pacers, who have O'Neal as a defensive weakness.

But the consumption is still acceptable.

Even Yang Shuai would need to expend more energy to finish off the combination of Pippen and Kirilenko.

Carlisle quickly realized this as well. After all, he had teamed up with Bird to defeat Jordan, and they had relied on this very tactic. It was impossible for him not to be aware of it.

He stood up and made tactical gestures, and the Trail Blazers began to make more tactical runs on the weak side.

Yang Shuai quickly passed the ball to Reed, who had created an opportunity.

Reed's three-point attempt after receiving the ball immediately attracted the attention of the fans in the arena.

Billups' previous three-point misses weren't simply a matter of shooting touch, but rather because the Pacers' perimeter defense covered too much area after Pippen started.

Wingspan is a huge advantage on defense, just like Wambanoyama, who, with his incredible wingspan, can jump straight from the paint to the three-point line to block shots.

Pippen and Kirilenko weren't quite that exaggerated, but they could still provide significant disruption when covering.

Therefore, this not only tests three-point shooting ability, but also the speed of the release. This is why Carlisle would pass the ball to Reed.

Reed's release speed is fast enough, and he is also left-handed, making it easy for defenders to misjudge his release point.

"Shh!"

Amid the expectant gazes of the fans, Reed's first three-point attempt swished through the net.

This not only ignited the emotions of the fans at the scene, but also gave Reed a lot of confidence in his shooting.

Thanks to Yang Shuai's offensive pressure and the team's tactical support, Reid once again got a great three-point opportunity.

This time, he made a more decisive shot, and the basketball seemed to have a tracking device attached to it as it pierced through the net once again.

This moment made the fans in the stadium go wild.

They had expected that when Yang Shuai was being heavily guarded, other players on the Trail Blazers would step up, after all, Wallace and Billups had already developed, but they didn't expect that the one who would step up would be Reed.

Although Reed's performance this season has been decent, he is, after all, only a second-year player and this is his first time on the big stage of the NBA Finals.

However, things they didn't expect continued to happen.

When Reed received the ball on the perimeter again, he made a shooting motion that sent Harrington flying as he rushed out, then dribbled one step to the mid-range and scored!
After Carlisle made tactical adjustments, he scored 8 consecutive points.

That's how basketball is, especially for shooters. Whether the first shot goes in or not can have a domino effect.

Moreover, Reed's performance proves that his ceiling is far more than just an NBA starting player.

Reed is in hot form, and Yang Shuai is constantly creating opportunities for him.

As a time traveler, Yang Shuai was the one who knew Reed's potential best.

As Reed continued to score, Bird and the Pacers' strategy of wearing down Young also failed.

What makes it even more difficult for them is that they struggle to contain Reed's performance.

It's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't.

When a team has Yang Shuai, Wallace, and Billups, you're destined to be unable to commit much defensive effort to a team's power forward.

So things seem to have come back to that question that only Whitsett knows: how exactly did the Trail Blazers manage to find so many good players from so many low draft picks?

Barkley and Kenny Smith then began introducing Reed from the commentary booth.

Although Reed has performed very well this season, this is the Finals stage, and such a performance is not just good, but outstanding.

It was around this time that they mentioned that Reed played for West City High School in Columbus when he was in high school, and that Yang Shuai's opponent in high school was also from Ohio.

Then they naturally started talking about LeBron James, who was present that evening and had just signed the biggest rookie endorsement deal in history with Reebok.

It's surprising that such a small place as Ohio has produced so many basketball talents.

So, God thought that Ohio's basketball genes were too barren before, so He filled them up all at once?
The only good news for the Pacers is that they had a good shooting night from beyond the arc.

That allowed them to essentially tie the game with the Trail Blazers by the end of the third quarter.

However, in the final quarter, Carlisle displayed his coach of the season level, suddenly adjusting the defensive tactics.

He had been double-teaming O'Neal for the first three quarters, but suddenly stopped.

This significantly increased the difficulty for the Pacers to get shots off from the outside.

Moreover, as he accumulated fouls, he began to use the "Hack-a-Shaq" tactic against O'Neal.

O'Neal's free throw percentage suddenly improved last season, but it has fallen back below 50% this season.

Shaquille O'Neal's free throws are like Schrödinger's cat; you can never guess which direction they'll take.

Of course, most importantly, the physically fit Yang Shuai also looked for more pick-and-rolls with Sabonis on offense, taking advantage of O'Neal's retreat to score.

With five minutes remaining in the game, the Trail Blazers had extended their lead to double digits.

Thomas was forced to substitute O'Neal off the court.

After O'Neal left the court, Miller demonstrated his clutch ability, sinking a three-pointer to narrow the gap back to single digits.

However, this scoring streak did not last long.

With O'Neal off the court, the Pacers' "one star and four shooters" strategy became ineffective, making it much more difficult for Miller to get shots from the outside. Not to mention that he is now older and his movement speed is no longer what it used to be.

Thomas faced a choice between two poisons, and even with Bird by his side, he was at a loss.

Ultimately, the Trail Blazers defeated the Pacers 114-106, securing a winning start to the Finals.

In terms of statistics, the Pacers made 14 of 28 three-point attempts, a 50% success rate, which was quite hot.

Miller and Harrington each made four three-pointers, and with O'Neal included, three Pacers players scored over 20 points.

For the Trail Blazers, Reed was the biggest contributor to the team's victory tonight. He scored 31 points on 13-of-18 shooting, including 5-of-6 from three-point range, 2 more than Yang Shuai.

Yang Shuai contributed a near triple-double with 29 points, 8 rebounds, and 15 assists.

Two days later, Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Trail Blazers and the Pacers continued at the Rose Garden Arena.

The Pacers continued with their previous defensive strategy, focusing their defense on Young while also keeping an eye on Wallace and Billups.

After all, Reed is much less of a threat than these three, and they don't believe that a second-year player can maintain a high level of performance on the Finals stage.

However, it turned out that Reed really succeeded!
He made three three-pointers in the first quarter, scoring 11 points in that quarter alone.

Moreover, the Pacers' shooting touch tonight was nowhere near as good as in the first game.

This allowed the Trail Blazers to extend their lead to double digits by halftime, and they continued their momentum in the third quarter, turning the final quarter into garbage time.

The Trail Blazers defeated the Pacers 106-90 at home, taking a 2-0 lead in the series.

At this point, the media began to discuss whether O'Neal would experience another sweep in his career.

Moreover, since it's the finals, being swept again would make the memory even more vivid.

However, it was at this moment that Ernie Johnson brought up a very interesting topic.

That is, is it possible for Reed to steal Yang Shuai's Finals MVP?

After the first two games, Yang Shuai averaged only 26 points, while Reed averaged 28.5 points.

(End of this chapter)