The longest river

Chapter 249 A Royal Flush at the Start!

On the night of the game, Conseco Arena was packed to capacity, and the media area was filled with reporters from major media outlets.

Yang Shuai's Cavaliers debut was already highly anticipated, and his confident pre-game remarks further amplified the attention on this opening game.

During the warm-up, the camera captured Yang Shuai's every move.

On the other side of the court, O'Neal looked at the big screen above him with obvious displeasure.

He was in despair after being swept by the Trail Blazers last season.

His 1996 contract worth over 100 million yuan expires this summer, and he is preparing to leave the Pacers, since that way he will at least not have to face Yang Shuai in the Finals again.

However, Yang Shuai's decision to leave the Trail Blazers changed his mind.

He signed a 2+1 contract with the Pacers, with a player option for the third year, and recruited Payton and Malone, forming an F4 combination that surpassed the Rockets' Big Three of yesteryear.

After being tormented by Yang Shuai for so many years, the tables have turned, and now it's his turn to torment Yang Shuai.

As a result, Yang Shuai got the courage from who-knows-where to say he would lead the 17-win Cavaliers to contend for the championship, and he seemed to think he didn't take them seriously. Today, he must let Yang Shuai know that leaving the Trail Blazers was the worst decision Yang Shuai ever made!
After the warm-up, both sides proceeded to the opening ceremony.

Just as James was introduced, a chorus of jeers erupted from the crowd.

Clearly, James' poor performance in the preseason has backfired on him due to the marketing tactics he's been using.

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

Cavaliers: James, Young, Davis, Boozer, Ilgauskas

Pacers: Payton, Miller, Kirilenko, Malone, O'Neal
Except for Yang Shuai playing at shooting guard, the starting lineups for both teams were exactly the same as predicted by ESPN.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas won possession for the Cavaliers in the jump ball. Young and Ilgauskas executed an off-ball screen in the frontcourt. Just as Ilgauskas got into position, James' pass arrived.

Rookie LeBron James has many issues, but his passing ability is commendable, especially in this kind of tactical passing, where he can even anticipate the play.

Kirilenko was quick to cover, but Yang Shuai was even faster at combining the ball.

"Shh!"

Seizing that fleeting opportunity, Yang Shuai swiftly and decisively scored his first basket in his Cavaliers career.

This drew gasps of amazement from the audience.

Although he changed into a different jersey, his smooth movements, handsome figure, and effortless composure remained unchanged.

However, the Pacers players on the court remained calm, as this kind of scoring was expected; after all, you can't prevent Yang Shuai from scoring.

The Pacers played methodically, with O'Neal posting up in the low post.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas is 2.21 meters tall, making him a giant in the paint on par with Yao Ming. However, he only weighs around 120 kilograms, so it would be difficult for him to defend Shaquille O'Neal one-on-one.

However, just as Payton passed the ball inside, apart from Davis who was marking Miller, the rest of the Cavaliers players were collapsing inside, especially James who directly left Payton open.

As soon as O'Neal got the ball, he was surrounded.

However, he reacted quickly and passed the ball back to Payton, who then had a great three-point opportunity.

The Pacers played a one-star-four-shooter lineup last season, and O'Neal's passing awareness improved significantly.

However, just as the ball came into Payton's hands, the fans in the stadium noticed that the atmosphere on the field was completely different from last season.

Previously, the player receiving the ball would have shot immediately, because with O'Neal in the paint, rebounding was guaranteed, which was the basis for the "one star and four shooters" strategy.

But Payton hesitated.

Payton's career three-point shooting percentage is just over 30%, and last season it was less than 30%, and his shot attempts also dropped to 2.5 per game, making him a low-productivity and inefficient player.

His hesitation allowed James to quickly get back on defense, and the Pacers gained nothing but wasted offensive time.

Payton reorganized the offense and passed the ball to O'Neal again. This time, O'Neal didn't pass the ball but instead used Ilgauskas's hook shot as he turned around.

This is also one of O'Neal's signature moves.

However, Ilgauskas, who didn't get any contact from O'Neal, used his height advantage to block O'Neal's shot.

When Yao Ming faced off against Shaquille O'Neal for the first time in his rookie year, he blocked O'Neal three times in a row at the start of the game; it was basically the kind of play he made.

Once you reach a height of 2.20 meters, you don't need to force them to lower their center of gravity; their low-post one-on-one plays are very easy to block.

The ball was blocked near the free-throw line, but Yang Shuai seized the opportunity and quickly controlled the ball.

Then, in the instant he looked up, he saw two figures rush out of the three-point line one after the other.

One is Davis, and the other is James.

James, in particular, had already crossed the mid-court line in the blink of an eye; his fast break speed surprised even Yang Shuai.

Keep in mind that James weighs 113 kilograms, which is considered a heavy forward.

Excluding the possibility of teleportation, the only explanation is that James didn't even consider protecting the defensive rebound in that play, but had already turned and sped off the moment O'Neal released the shot.

Yang Shuai made a long pass to James, who, like a wild horse, sprinted to the frontcourt, pulled the ball over his head, and delivered a powerful tomahawk dunk.

James scored his first career basket (preseason stats don't count towards career statistics), and it was a spectacular fast-break dunk.

There was a commotion in the place.

The scene gave them a sense of déjà vu.

Then someone quickly remembered.

Yang Shuai debuted with the Pacers, and LeBron James is just a carbon copy of Yang Shuai!

No, in terms of fast break speed alone, he might even be better than Yang Shuai.

James' fast break performance was spectacular, but that was just a result.

It's like a peach growing on a tree. James is the one who picks the peach, but that's not the key point. The key point is how the peach grew on the tree in the first place.

The Cavaliers relied on collapsing their defense to force the Pacers to take quick shots and create opportunities for fast breaks.

This tactic is not unfamiliar, as Scott used the same approach when he coached the Nets.

To break this tactic, the Pacers need to ensure a high success rate in positional play.

O'Neal continued to establish position in the low post. This time, after receiving the ball, he still didn't pass it. Instead, he first gave Ilgauskas a challenge, and then quickly turned and hooked the ball.

Only a player of O'Neal's physique could pull off such a move.

However, O'Neal underestimated the Cavaliers' determination to tighten their defense.

The moment he turned and reached out, he was surrounded by three people again.

With Scott's tactical system and Thibodeau's training intensity, the Cavaliers' defense has been completely transformed compared to last season.

O'Neal's shot was interfered with and went wide of the basket.

O'Neal jumped quickly to put the rebound in, but he missed the putback despite being surrounded by multiple defenders, and Boozer ultimately secured the rebound.

This time, Payton kept a close eye on James, preventing him from increasing his speed, but the Cavaliers still had two figures speeding down the court.

One was Davis, the other was Yang Shuai. Kirilenko chased down Yang Shuai, who then passed the ball directly to Davis after reaching the frontcourt.

After receiving the ball, Davis took a step and leaped into the air, performing a powerful windmill dunk!
This caused quite a stir at the scene.

The Cavaliers scored two fast break dunks in the first two possessions.

This isn't even a matter of the Pacers' lack of defensive effort; rather, while the Pacers' roster looks strong on paper, Payton's three-point shooting is inaccurate, and Kirilenko's three-point shooting isn't much better. The spacing ability of this roster is, to put it mildly, terrible.

As long as the Cavaliers don't give Miller any opportunities to shoot from the outside, they can double-team O'Neal with impunity.

Moreover, with the Pacers' roster, Malone is 40 years old, Miller is 38 years old, Payton is 35 years old, and O'Neal, although only 31 years old, is too heavy. It can be said that apart from Kirilenko's quick feet, the others basically do not have the "chase and defense" attribute.

Now they understood the source of Yang Shuai's confidence when he said those things in the interview yesterday.

The Cavaliers' strategy was like hitting the Pacers where it hurt.

The camera then focused on O'Neal.

With a series of blocks and missed shots at the start of the game, O'Neal's performance tonight was rather dismal.

O'Neal's expression was also very unpleasant.

He had originally planned to thoroughly humiliate Yang Shuai, but he pulled down his pants pocket right at the start, showing that he was already losing face.

Although it was clear to everyone that passing the ball to the inside for a one-on-one play was not a good option, O'Neal still kept calling for the ball with his back to Ilgauskas.

Payton passed the ball in again, and this time O'Neal made the save.

He still chose not to pass the ball to the opponent and then turn to attack, but this time he turned towards the baseline to prevent the Cavaliers from double-teaming him.

Moreover, he demonstrated his agile, overweight nature, using his size to block Ilgauskas and then quickly hitting the backboard.

Boozer's help defense on the weak side had arrived, but he was simply outmatched by O'Neal's turnaround.

Not only did the ball go in, but the referee also called a defensive foul on Boozer.

A cheer erupted from the crowd; O'Neal's basket had redeemed him handsomely.

O'Neal also made a domineering celebration gesture towards the fans on the sidelines with a fierce look on his face.

The Cavaliers players didn't react much. Just like the Pacers couldn't prevent Yang Shuai from scoring, even if the Cavaliers double-teamed him completely, they couldn't prevent O'Neal from scoring a single basket. After all, he is the strongest center in the league.

James, on the other hand, was watching O'Neal's celebration with great interest, seemingly lost in thought.

O'Neal goes to the free throw line.

"when!"

Unsurprisingly, the penalty was missed.

This time, it was Ilgauskas who grabbed the defensive rebound.

Then, two more Cavaliers players rushed out of the three-point line.

One is Yang Shuai, and the other is James.

The fans at the scene were stunned. Were you guys playing some kind of permutation and combination game?!
This time it wasn't a transition between offense and defense; Payton and Kirilenko for the Pacers had essentially retreated to their own half.

However, when the ball was in Yang Shuai's hands, and Yang Shuai did not slow down but instead charged towards the basket, both players could only rush towards Yang Shuai to defend.

Just before the two players could close in, Yang Shuai tossed the ball into space.

With the ball leading the way, James leaped up from the ground, caught Yang Shuai's pass in mid-air with one hand, and slammed it into the basket.

"Oh!"

For the third time since the start of the game, the Cavaliers' offense ended with a dunk, and this time it was an alley-oop dunk!
James was extremely excited after landing, and rushed straight to Yang Shuai and bumped him in the chest.

Actually, not to mention the outside world, he himself wasn't very confident about playing well in the opening game, after all, the intensity of the regular season games is a level higher than that of the preseason games.

But now he realizes he was worrying for nothing.

Because Yang Shuai made the game easier!

This can actually be seen from the comparison between the last two games of the preseason.

In the two games Yang Shuai played, James' scoring records were broken repeatedly.

Ultimately, the reason is that after Yang Shuai entered the game, the opponents instinctively focused their defensive attention on him, and double-teaming became the norm.

Yang Shuai is not afraid of double teams. He has a lot of experience with the ball-handling style of play when he was with the Trail Blazers. He has a strong and timely ability to handle the ball.

This means that playing alongside Yang Shuai will always give you many opportunities for easy shots.

James scored 4 points, all of which came from passes by Yang Shuai, and all of them were simple plays.

How could he not be excited in the face of this situation?

In the transition between offense and defense, O'Neal continued to establish position in the low post.

This time, Ilgauskas was decisive and chose to go around to the front of the defense.

O'Neal is generally not afraid of going in front of him, but Ilgauskas is tall, and Payton wasn't sure he could lob the ball in.

The ball eventually fell to Malone on the weak side, who caught it and hit a signature mid-range shot over Boozer.

Last season's playoffs gave the impression that Malone was no longer capable of being the core of a team, but with his ability, he is more than qualified to be a role player.

The fans at the scene breathed a sigh of relief when they saw this.

At the start of the game, the Cavaliers launched a series of fast breaks, and they were genuinely afraid that Malone would miss shots and then be chased down and attacked again.

Both sides launched another positional attack after the opening ceremony.

Yang Shuai continued to use Ilgauskas's screen to make runs, but halfway through the run, he suddenly made a reverse run and went straight to the basket.

James then delivered a beautiful bounce pass, which bounced off O'Neal's back and flew towards Yang Shuai.

After a series of successful dunks, James relaxed and became more confident in his moves.

However, he couldn't pass the ball like Mark Jackson and others; the pass was a bit low, heading straight for Yang Shuai's knee.

Fortunately, Yang Shuai was the one who caught the ball. He bent down and caught it in his hand. When he stood up again, he had already leaped into the air.

At this point, it was too late for the rest of the Pacers team to help defend.

"Oh!"

Yang Shuai jumped, flipped his body, and slammed the ball into the basket with a beautiful back dunk.

10:4.

The scene was in an uproar.

The Cavaliers didn't launch another fast break in this possession, but they were still dunking.

After the game started, the Cavaliers bombarded the Pacers' basket relentlessly, completely stunning them!

(End of this chapter)