Chapter 1 2011~2012 NBA Finals Opener

U.S. time, June 12th, the first game of the 2011~2012 NBA Finals officially kicked off at the AT&T Center.

The first game of the Finals was the focus of global attention.

At the game, TNT's big three, plus ESPN's Miller and Breen, made a strong five-person appearance.

Not only fans in the United States, but also China across the ocean saw a surge in viewership because of Tang Tian's participation.

On CCTV-5, veteran commentators Zhang Weiping and Su Qun were also at the commentary booth early to warm up the atmosphere.

"Zhang Zhidao (Director Zhang), which side do you think has a higher probability of winning this first game?"

"I think? The Spurs should have a better chance." Zhang Weiping thought for a moment and said.

"How do you say that? First of all, the Heat just fought the Celtics in the East for seven games, so they must be in worse physical condition.

"And in terms of playing style, the Spurs are a typical inside-out style. The spacing is much better than the Heat. The Heat's outside players can all shoot three-pointers, but they haven't been very accurate in the playoffs.

"Also, the Spurs' defense, Green, Leonard, Tang Tian, their entire front line, including the outside defense, is very good, and they are not afraid of James and Wade's breakthroughs.

"Finally, there's Popovich's ability. Spoelstra on the other side isn't bad either, but look at the Western Conference Finals against the Thunder, Popovich's three-wing lineup isn't something that ordinary coaches can come up with and dare to try.

"Plus, this is the Spurs' home court, so the Spurs are more likely to win the first game."

As an older generation commentator who is often active on the front lines of games, Zhang Weiping's commentary is quite professional.

"Then what aspects do you think the Heat need to do well to win?" Su Qun continued to ask.

"Well, it still depends on James and the Heat's outside shooters. The spacing we talked about is also relative. If James feels good tonight, and the Spurs' defense shrinks, and the Heat make their three-pointers, then the Spurs will be in trouble.

"Actually, it would be great to have a Kobe at this time. He can break through and shoot, which is better than James."

Su Qun couldn't help but laugh when Zhang Weiping said this. Even if the Lakers weren't in the game, he could still talk about Kobe.

The commentators talked eloquently, and the scene quickly entered the opening ceremony, and the starting lineups of both sides were also released.

For the Heat, the outside players were Chalmers and Wade, the forwards were Battier and James, and the center was Bosh.

Bosh played as a substitute in 3 Eastern Conference Finals games after his comeback, and he returned to the starting lineup in this game.

And Spoelstra took the initiative to change, putting Battier, who had performed well before, into the starting lineup.

Plus, with Bosh playing the five, this is also a lineup to push the fast break.

On the Spurs side, because Bosh is the kind of big man who can post up and pass the ball, Popovich didn't use the three-wing starting lineup.

The outside players were Parker and Green, the forwards were Tang Tian and Diaw, and the center was Duncan.

This is also a lineup without a center.

Both sides coincided.

After the opening ceremony, the starting players from both sides took the stage one after another.

Before taking the court, the players went to the technical table to wipe their hands with magnesium powder.

Magnesium powder is a common auxiliary tool used in the NBA to prevent sweaty palms and avoid slippery hands.

After James wiped the magnesium powder, he grabbed a handful and threw it into the sky towards the Spurs fans.

Spreading magnesium powder.

The Little Emperor's signature move.

Whether it's at home or away, he does it every time.

Most fans are already used to this action, but some fans couldn't help but boo.

After all, playing on the road, this action is a bit provocative.

After the starting players took the stage, Bosh and Duncan jumped for the ball in the center of the court.

Bosh is taller than Duncan and has a wingspan that is no less than Duncan's, but after the whistle sounded, the ball was tipped back to the half court by Duncan in advance.

The Stone Buddha didn't win a jump ball against Ibaka in the Western Conference Finals, but he finally got his revenge in the Finals.

The Spurs attacked first.

Zip hammer tactic, Tang Tian and Green's positioning to open up space, Parker broke through to the basket on the left side with Diaw's pick-and-roll.

As Zhang Weiping said, the Spurs have a good sense of space on the court, and the Heat's defense is very wide.

After Parker broke through, he didn't pass the ball to Green or Tang Tian according to the tactics, but passed the ball back to Duncan under the basket.

Duncan received the ball and directly leaned on Bosh to shoot.

Bosh is tall and has a long wingspan, but he is not strong in confrontation. After being leaned on by Duncan, he couldn't get up.

Duncan's shot was not greatly interfered with, and the ball hit the backboard and went into the hoop.

The Spurs scored first.

For the Heat's offense, the Spurs put up a 2-3 zone defense from the start.

After the ball was passed around the outside, Chalmers got a chance.

Chalmers' open three-pointer missed.

Except for Battier, the Heat's role players have not performed well this year.

Duncan boxed out Bosh and grabbed the defensive rebound.

Parker dribbled the ball to the front court. With the same tactics, Duncan continued to post up Bosh.

Bosh lowered his center of gravity and stretched his arms to interfere with this ball.

Duncan continued to turn around and shoot.

"Bang!"

This ball was interfered with by Bosh and didn't go in.

However, Duncan's movements were faster than Bosh's. After judging the landing point of the ball, he directly reached out to score a layup.

4 to 0!

In less than 2 minutes into the game, Duncan has already gotten 4 points and 2 rebounds.

Spoelstra was on the sidelines with his hands on his hips, looking at Bosh with a helpless expression.

It's not like Bosh is weak, and he's such a big guy, but he's being suppressed by an old Duncan.

For the Heat's offense, Bosh pulled out to the three-point line.

James chose to break through for a layup.

One step.

Two steps.

After taking the third step, he stood up and contested with Diaw, causing the latter to foul and getting two free throw opportunities.

There was a chorus of boos at the scene.

James took the two free throws under the booing.

Both missed.

Duncan grabbed another rebound.

Parker dribbled the ball to the front court, and Duncan continued to hold the ball to post up under the basket.

Battier came back to help defend at this time.

Duncan directly flicked the ball to Green on the outside.

Green took the ball and shot a three-pointer.

"Bang!"

This ball was slightly off.

However, Duncan boxed out his position under the basket, grabbed another offensive rebound, pushed away Bosh with force, and directly dunked with both hands!

"Whoa!"

This dunk detonated the scene and also caused Barkley and O'Neal in the commentary booth to scream.

This is the 35-year-old Duncan!

Spoelstra could only shake his head at this time. He called Haslem up and asked him to prepare to replace Chalmers.

Wade made a breakthrough after continuous changes of direction and then a sudden stop jump shot.

But Tang Tian gave enough pressure, and his shot was still off.

The Heat haven't scored yet!

Turning around, Parker directly lobbed the ball to the basket.

Duncan posted up Bosh for the fourth time.

Wade wanted to shrink back on this ball, but Duncan's outward passing action forced him back again.

Duncan then made a large-scale turn towards the basket, a reverse layup.

Bosh reached out to block.

But Duncan shot very quickly.

"Pa!"

"Bang!"

"Swish!"

The referee whistled, Bosh's shooting foul.

But Duncan's shot hit the backboard and went in!

2+1!

Duncan's eighth consecutive point after the start!

He dominated the paint!

The reaction of the fans at the scene exploded directly.

Tang Tian rushed in front of Duncan and roared.

I am Stone Buddha, who are you!

He really wanted to roar it out.

But Duncan was expressionless.

Okay.

You are Stone Buddha, you are expressionless, you are awesome!

Taking advantage of the dead ball time, the Heat replaced Chalmers with Haslem.

This move was a helpless move by Spoelstra.

The Heat are good at defensive counterattacks. If they can't even defend, then there's no point in counterattacking.

Haslem is somewhat similar to Collison of the Thunder. They are both players who do dirty work.

And compared to Collison, his defensive ability is stronger and he is not afraid of confrontation.

Duncan's extra free throw missed, and Haslem protected the defensive rebound.

James scored a goal under the basket against Diaw, finally breaking the Heat's scoring drought.

Turning around, Diaw assisted from the high post and directly passed the ball to Duncan under the basket.

Duncan received the ball and confronted Haslem before shooting a hook shot.

"Bang!"

The ball hit the back of the rim and bounced out.

Haslem's top defense effect is obviously better than Bosh's.

However, relying on his height and wingspan, Duncan suppressed Haslem and grabbed another offensive rebound, directly squeezing past Haslem and scoring a layup!

Duncan's third offensive rebound!

The 10th point in a single quarter!

"Man! You can't let an old guy score like that in the paint!" O'Neal said, spreading his hands.

"If it were me, I would definitely push him out of the restricted area!" Barkley also shouted.

"Hey! Hey! Charles, can you?" Kenny Smith interrupted in time.

"I...okay, even if I can't push him out of the restricted area, I will respond on the offensive end!"

Before Barkley could finish his words, James broke through and attracted Duncan's double team, passing to Haslem.

Haslem dribbled the ball and wanted to dunk, but Duncan retreated and slapped the ball out of bounds.

"Man, what were you saying?" Smith said to Barkley with a smile.

"He can't do it." Barkley said disdainfully.

He, Sir Barkley, was also a master in the paint back then, much stronger than Haslem.

Kenny Smith agreed with this. Flying Pig was a real compliment.

But you can't ask Haslem to play like Barkley.

They get paid differently.

"It seems that I missed something earlier. This Duncan, his advantage in the paint is very obvious." Zhang Weiping also said in the commentary booth at this time.

Su Qun nodded.

Zhang Weiping missing something was one aspect, but on the other hand, probably none of them thought that Duncan would still have this kind of strength at this age.

The Heat's baseline pass was made, and Wade caught James' pass and made a shot.

4 to 10.

But in the next round, Duncan's strong attack in the paint caused Haslem to foul again.

After making both free throws, he took care of the Spurs' first 12 points!

12 to 4!

"That day, they finally remembered the terror of being once dominated by giants."

The Japanese manga "Attack on Titan" was a big hit last year, and at this time, many otaku (geek) fans unconsciously had this sentence in their minds.

Duncan's dominance in the paint during his peak period was really no different from a giant, only O'Neal in the commentary booth could compare.

Now the giant has returned again.

Spoelstra was really helpless at this time.

Duncan didn't play like this or could play like this when they played against each other in the regular season!

With the paint being penetrated like this, there's no way to talk about defensive counterattacks!

He turned around and called Joel Anthony up again.

This is going to be three heroes fighting Lu Bu (an analogy for taking on a strong opponent).

Bosh's three-pointer from the outside missed, and Diaw grabbed the rebound under the basket.

Duncan made another foul against Haslem under the basket.

The game entered a dead ball, and Joel Anthony came on to replace Haslem.

This move amused several giants in the commentary booth.

The Spurs only have one old Duncan, but the Heat are constantly making substitutions.

Anthony is only 3 centimeters taller than Haslem, but he and Hayes are the same type of player, with a hard enough body and a stable enough lower body.

He really did push Duncan out of the three-second zone like Barkley said.

Duncan had no chance to shoot in the paint. Parker's shot to the basket was interfered with by James and missed.

James grabbed the defensive rebound and sent a quick pass to Battier in the front court.

However, Battier's three-pointer in the bottom corner was interfered with by Tang Tian and failed to go in.

Duncan grabbed another defensive rebound.

When the Spurs pushed to the front court again, Diaw sank to the paint, and Duncan made a fake move to pass the ball inside from the high post.

After seeing Anthony shrinking in, he directly shot a mid-range shot at the free throw line.

"Bang!"

Still hitting the backboard!

Still in!

The 14th point in a single quarter!

Bosh, Haslem, Joel Anthony!

None of them worked!

And more importantly, the Heat have no more usable inside players!

James broke through in the front court and passed to Wade for an open three-point opportunity. Wade aimed and took a shot but didn't make it.

Tonight, the rim at the AT&T Center is rejecting the Heat's shots!

Tang Tian protected this long defensive rebound.

When he got to the front court, Duncan was posting up Anthony in the high post, and made a turn towards the basket, attracting Bosh to help defend before quickly passing the ball to Diaw.

Diaw shook his big butt and directly dunked with both hands!

16 to 4!

The Spurs played with great momentum.

Popovich's pre-game arrangements were full of targeting, and the Spurs players used super high execution to play everything he wanted!

The Heat are really a bit helpless!

The point difference is constantly being widened, reaching a maximum of 17 points!

However, Duncan's age is there, and he was replaced after playing 8 minutes in the first quarter.

The Heat's inside players breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like the sky was bright.

After the first quarter, the Spurs led 30 to 18.

Although the Heat recovered some of the point difference after Duncan left the court, they still had a 12-point lead in the first quarter!

No anxious moments, this is the situation Popovich wants to see.

The second quarter started.

On the Spurs side, Parker and Diaw led the team, plus Ginobili, Leonard, and Splitter.

On the Heat's side, Spoelstra put James on early, plus Chalmers, Miller, Haslem, and Turiaf.

James came up and passed a good ball to Miller.

However, the Spurs defended very quickly, and Miller was interfered by Leonard when he shot, so he didn't make it.

Turning around, Parker passed to Diaw, and Diaw's three-pointer from the arc hit the backboard and went into the hoop.

The point difference has reached 15 points!

No one expected that the Finals would be a completely one-sided game!

"The Heat...they were almost eliminated by the Celtics before!"

"Seriously, I don't know where LeBron got the courage to say he wanted to win the championship. They were inseparable from the Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals."

"Yeah, if the Celtics hadn't played so badly in the sixth game, the Heat wouldn't have even made it to the Finals!"

"Then you mean I shouldn't want the championship?"

"Well, I'm speechless to what you said."

…

The one-sided game has already made the home fans start to tease James.