The Eastern Conference Finals are about to begin.
At the Heat's press conference, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade spoke with the media.
Seeing LeBron James's serious expression, a reporter asked first, "Mr. LeBron, this is your second encounter with the Knicks this year. Last year, you went to a Game 7 and narrowly lost. Do you have confidence this year?"
LeBron James thought for a moment and replied slowly, "Last year we indeed lost narrowly, but this year, we won't have any regrets. Our chemistry is better, we are stronger than last year, and we will definitely advance to the Finals!"
The reporter saw that James spoke with conviction and was clearly full of confidence.
"Before the playoffs, you defeated the Knicks. Does this mean you have found the way to victory?"
LeBron James smiled and said, "Of course, not only will we break out of the East and enter the Finals, but we will also win the championship!"
After speaking, LeBron James and Wade high-fived and laughed.
It seemed the Heat had good team morale and had completed their psychological preparation.
The reporter then asked, "Wade, this year the Knicks are without Amar'e Stoudemire and have added Yi Jianlian. What changes do you think that brings?"
Wade pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "I've watched game footage of the Knicks. Compared to Stoudemire, Yi Jianlian has his advantages and disadvantages. He is young and more active on defense, but offensively, he's still a bit behind Stoudemire."
The reporter nodded frequently, indicating that Wade's assessment was quite fair and showed he had indeed studied the Knicks' games carefully.
...
At seven in the evening, at the New York Madison Square Garden arena.
The first game of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Knicks and the Heat was about to start.
The Heat's starting lineup consisted of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers, and Joel Anthony.
The Knicks' starting five were Li Feng, Tyson Chandler, Yi Jianlian, Bill Walker, and Rajon Rondo.
In the tip-off at center court, Tyson Chandler secured the first possession.
Although the Heat's Big Three was a prime combination, they had a weakness, which was their interior presence.
After all, with the high salaries of the Big Three, there wasn't enough money to sign good centers.
Another reason was that both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade needed space for their drives. If there was a dominant center in the paint, it would make the interior too crowded.
Therefore, the Heat didn't really need a dominant center.
Rajon Rondo dribbled the ball in the backcourt and advanced to the frontcourt.
Mario Chalmers defended Rondo one-on-one, while Dwyane Wade guarded Li Feng one-on-one.
It seemed the Heat had great confidence in Wade's individual defensive ability, assigning him to guard Li Feng off the ball.
Rondo called for a screen, and Yi Jianlian came out to block Chalmers. Rondo drove towards the paint.
Tyson Chandler pushed off Joel Anthony and drove to the basket. Rondo immediately lobbed the ball to him, aiming for an alley-oop.
Just as Tyson Chandler was about to slam it home, LeBron James suddenly rushed out, leaped high, and swatted the ball away!
That incredible vertical leap and astonishing speed were truly extraordinary!
LeBron James sent the ball out of bounds, and the Knicks continued their offense.
Although the possession remained with the Knicks, the morale of the Heat players was boosted by LeBron James's spectacular steal.
Dwyane Wade roared and charged towards LeBron James, and the two chest-bumped in celebration. Chris Bosh also yelled at LeBron James.
Li Feng signaled to his teammates to stay calm and not panic.
At this moment, morale was crucial, and LeBron James's leaping ability was truly terrifying.
Yi Jianlian inbounded the ball from the sideline.
Li Feng pushed Dwyane Wade aside, reached out, and caught the ball.
Earlier, Wade had guarded Li Feng one-on-one off the ball, but after he received the pass, Mario Chalmers immediately closed in, aggressively double-teaming him.
Seeing the intensity of their defense, Li Feng wanted to test the referees' officiating.
As the star player, it was important to gauge the referees' calls at the start of the game.
This would determine the rhythm of the game.
Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers made strong moves, hitting Li Feng.
However, through skillful dribbling, Li Feng weaved around them.
The referee watched the three players, whistle in his mouth, but did not blow it.
Li Feng understood; the referees would allow a more physical game today, permitting defenders to be rough.
This made things easier, and Li Feng began his counter-attack.
*Bang!*
With a change of direction, Li Feng drove towards Chalmers and then used his shoulder to push him away.
Dwyane Wade tried to come over for help defense, but Li Feng quickly accelerated, leaving both of them behind.
Mario Chalmers happened to block Dwyane Wade, and both were momentarily tangled.
With only 2 seconds left on the shot clock, Li Feng decided against driving to the paint and took a pull-up jumper!
LeBron James had one foot in the paint, watching Li Feng, waiting to block the shot.
Unexpectedly, Li Feng pulled up, and LeBron James couldn't do anything about it.
*Swish!*
The mid-range jumper was good.
This play demonstrated Li Feng's exceptionally high basketball IQ.
The home crowd was ecstatic and applauded enthusiastically.
Ever since Li Feng's triumphant return, the fans had seen him as a savior.
Li Feng had become a great hero of New York City!
The Heat's offense.
Dwyane Wade dribbled past half-court, with Li Feng guarding him one-on-one.
LeBron James moved up to the high post, screening Li Feng, allowing Wade to drive to the basket.
Tyson Chandler went to help defend, but Wade used a behind-the-back dribble to get past Rondo and drive to the basket.
Just as Tyson Chandler was about to rotate, Wade made a floater!
The Flash was indeed the Flash, too fast!
Tyson Chandler and Rajon Rondo couldn't keep up with Wade's speed.
The score was tied at 2-2!
From the opening, both teams had clear strategies and executed plays from their practice sessions.
Although Dwyane Wade and LeBron James had good chemistry, often referred to as the "LeBron-Wade Connection," starting with a pick-and-roll was still relatively uncommon.
It was clear that the Heat were very well-prepared.
The Knicks' offense.
Li Feng dribbled past half-court again, but instead of attacking himself, he passed to Rondo.
Rondo and Yi Jianlian had many practiced plays, so Rondo made a hand signal, and Yi Jianlian immediately screened LeBron James and reached out for the ball.
Still bothered by LeBron James's steal earlier, Yi Jianlian was very cautious and took a pull-up jumper!
This was the Knicks' strategy today—
Increase the mid-range game!
The advantage of decisive jump shots is that they are difficult to defend.
Especially for someone like Yi Jianlian, with his height and long arms, who liked to shoot mid-range jumpers.
LeBron James, guarding in the paint, could only watch as Yi Jianlian hit the mid-range jumper.
In the first quarter, both teams displayed their distinct characteristics. The Knicks increased their mid-range offense, while the Heat intensified their drives.
After over five minutes of play, the score was tied at 12-12.
In the first five minutes of the first quarter, Li Feng only took 2 shots, scoring 4 points.
LeBron James had not exerted much effort offensively in the early stages, allowing Dwyane Wade to initiate the offense.
He was very active on defense, preventing the Knicks' interior players from scoring much.
During the timeout, Spoelstra praised LeBron James.
In fact, LeBron James had always been somewhat resentful of Spoelstra because Spoelstra did not treat him as the sole core, but rather as a dual-core with Wade.
In some games, he even made Wade the core and LeBron James the supporting player.
LeBron James was naturally displeased.
But after their first year's failure, LeBron James had conducted self-reflection.
He learned a lot from Li Feng.
Li Feng could not only attack himself but also orchestrate the team.
He knew when to assist and when to force the issue.
Therefore, at the start of today's game, LeBron James wasn't forcing his own shots and focused on defense.
This allowed Wade's offensive power to be unleashed, and LeBron James played a sweeping role on defense.
During the timeout, D'Antoni emphasized to his players that there could be no relaxation on either offense or defense.
Li Feng also said a few words.
"Brothers, taking jump shots earlier was the right move, but from now on, we're going to attack the paint!"
The players didn't quite understand why the strategy had suddenly changed.
Li Feng explained, "Earlier, when we were shooting, LeBron James was collapsing his defense in the paint. After the timeout, they will definitely expand their defensive coverage, so we'll drive to the basket a few times."
"Tyson, I'm counting on you!"
Tyson Chandler rubbed his head and replied with a smile, "No problem, watch me throw down a few monster dunks!"
...
After the timeout, the game resumed.
As expected, LeBron James's defensive line began to expand outwards, with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade focusing their attention near the three-point line.
Li Feng and Rajon Rondo started lobbing the ball into the basket.
Tyson Chandler was delighted, scoring consecutively with dunks, and the Knicks took the lead.
Seeing the unfavorable situation, LeBron James whispered a few words to Wade and quickly retracted their defensive line.
Li Feng had been watching them all along and signaled to his teammates. As they contracted their defense, he instructed them to increase their mid-range and long-range shooting.
With over nine minutes played in the first quarter, the Knicks held an eight-point lead, 27-19.
Spoelstra couldn't stand it any longer and called a timeout.
The Heat were so well-prepared, but Li Feng's series of maneuvers had managed to suppress them.
After the timeout, both sides began to deploy reserves, bringing in some substitute players.
However, Li Feng remained on the court, as he had requested.
This game was too important, the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals.
According to statistics, teams that win the first game of a playoff series have about a 70% chance of winning the series.
Moreover, last year's Game 7 between the two teams was decided by only one or two baskets.
Therefore, the home-court advantage had to be secured.
Li Feng was determined today; he would rather play 48 minutes than let the Heat turn the tide.
The Heat's starters were all substituted out, and the entire reserve lineup came onto the court.
Seeing Li Feng still on the court, Spoelstra shouted from the sidelines, "Defend Li Feng to death! Defend Li Feng to death!"
The Heat's reserve lineup included several tenacious players: Michael Cole, Shane Battier, James Jones, Mickaël Piétrus, and Mike Miller.
Shane Battier had started most of the regular season games.
However, in the playoffs, Spoelstra placed him on the bench, specifically to counter Li Feng increasing his playing time.
After the substitutes came on, Battier and Jones aggressively double-teamed Li Feng.
Li Feng, however, remained unfazed, handing over the ball-handling responsibilities to Chauncey Billups and letting his substitute teammates play 4-on-3.
As a result, the game remained closely contested.
After more than three minutes into the second quarter, D'Antoni, fearing Li Feng would get too tired, substituted him out.
If it were the Li Feng of the past, he would indeed have been tired.
But after this return, with the system's enhancement, Li Feng found that his stamina had significantly increased.
Li Feng left the court to rest, and Rajon Rondo came on, maintaining the team's perimeter offensive threat.
The point difference hovered between seven and eight points.
With 6 minutes and 31 seconds left in the second quarter, the score was 45-37, with the Knicks leading by eight points.
Spoelstra had no choice but to put four starters back on the court, and he replaced Mario Chalmers with Battier, with the intention clearly being to limit Li Feng!
The Big Three returned to the court.
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, along with Chris Bosh, had red eyes; they were desperate to win this game.
D'Antoni waved his command flag, and the Knicks also brought their starting lineup back.
As soon as LeBron James stepped onto the court, he initiated a "tank" drive, smashing his way to the basket.
Tyson Chandler had decent vertical leap, but lacked in speed. LeBron James made a strong layup and scored two points.
Li Feng's heart tightened. LeBron James was starting to attack aggressively, which indicated that the Heat were about to dominate the court.
"Yi, Bill Walker, pay attention to help defense!"
The Knicks were also prepared. As soon as LeBron James initiated a strong attack, they would begin to contain him early.
In other words, they could not let LeBron James pick up speed.
In the past, this task was handled by Li Feng.
However, the Heat had also prepared for this, with Wade instructed to stick to Li Feng like glue.
Therefore, Bill Walker and Yi Jianlian had a more important task.
On the Knicks' offense, Li Feng faced a double-team and passed the ball out early to Rajon Rondo.
Rondo saw that Battier was not intending to help defend and immediately pulled up for a three-pointer!
He was so confident!
In the first quarter, Rondo was 0-for-2 from three-point range, but in the second quarter, he still shot decisively!
*Swish!*
He actually made it!
LeBron James shook his head in frustration, thinking Li Feng was going to respond to him.
This was the trust within the Knicks!
After the basket, Rondo and Li Feng chest-bumped in celebration, and Li Feng roared, "Well done! Little Cannonball!"
The Heat's offense again. LeBron James wanted to repeat his previous move, the "tank" drive.
However, as soon as he started, he bumped into Bill Walker, knocking Walker to the ground.
The referee hesitated for a moment, then pointed to Bill Walker, calling him for an illegal screen.
Walker became agitated and rushed over to argue with the referee.
Li Feng quickly stopped him, "Walker, it's okay. Next time you anticipate it a bit earlier, it'll definitely be called a foul on him."
In fact, Li Feng knew very well that such fouls happen in the blink of an eye, and it could be called either way.
Referees usually tried to find a balance.
This time they called a foul on you, and next time they would call one on him.
As long as it wasn't an obvious bad call, most games would find a balance.
LeBron James was smug and continued his attack.
This time, Yi Jianlian positioned himself early, and LeBron James collided with him.
Indeed, the referee pointed to LeBron James this time, calling him for an illegal screen.
LeBron James was also unconvinced, but he understood what was happening and did not argue, merely spreading his hands to indicate his innocence.
With the Knicks players fiercely defending, LeBron James's "tank" drive was contained.
But LeBron James was an all-around player; not only could he score himself, but he was also a top-tier organizer in history.
Therefore, on the next possession, LeBron James did not force a shot. He found Battier in the corner and passed him the ball directly.
This pass was too sudden. Rondo was screened by Chris Bosh, so his rotation was slow.
Battier caught the ball and shot a three-pointer!
I have to say, Battier was indeed a prime 3-and-D player. Although his skills with the ball were average, his three-point shooting percentage was high when he had an open look.
Li Feng knew LeBron James was switching modes and made another gesture to his teammates.
On the Knicks' offense, Li Feng dribbled past half-court. He first passed the ball to Rondo, then suddenly broke away from Wade and ran towards the sideline!