The addition of James has once again boosted the Heat's already high popularity. This season, almost every Heat game at home, the American Airlines Arena is packed.
And tonight is no exception.
Li Kaiming interacted with the young fans as usual before the game. When he returned to the court, he looked around and saw that there were really loud gongs and drums, firecrackers were blasting, and the red flag was waving and there was a huge crowd!
This is the appeal of superstars to fans.
At 7:30 in the evening, after the Heat's appearance ceremony ended, the starting lineups of both sides of the game were also displayed on the big screen above the arena in the form of photo stickers.
Miami Heat, point guard Carlos Arroyo, shooting guard Dwyane Wade, small forward LeBron James, power forward Chris Bosh, center Zydrulnas Ilgauskas.
Washington Wizards, point guard Kirk Hinrich, shooting guard Nick Young, small forward Al Thornton, power forward Kaiming Li, center Andre Blache.
Players from both sides stood near the center line. The referee on duty, David Jones, said hello to the technical table, then stood in the center circle, held the ball with one hand, and threw the ball into the air after a whistle.
Brac and Big Z jump ball. Although Big Z was undoubtedly a level higher than Brac in his peak period, he is indeed older now and his condition is no longer as brave as it used to be.
Blatche, who was at his peak age, easily won the game and passed the ball to Li Kaiming. The Wizards won the first possession of the ball.
The Heat's home commentator is a combination of two veteran commentators, Eric Reed and Jason Jackson. When Reed saw the Wizards taking the lead in attacking, he said to Jackson next to him, "This offense can generally be seen today. Late game trends.”
"Oh?" Jackson next to him raised his eyebrows, with a look of disbelief on his face, "How can you tell this?"
Reid showed a confident smile on his face, "It's very simple, just watch how the Heat defend the Wizards. If they defend the Wizards' offense, they will lose. Do you still expect the Wizards to defend the Heat's offense? ?”
After hearing Reid's analysis, Jackson suddenly said, "The Wizards are in the frontcourt, let's see how the Heat defend the Wizards!"
Hinrich dribbled the ball and directed his teammates to move outside the three-point line. After everyone else was in place, Brac inside followed the pre-game drill and came out to cover Hinrich. An old and slow center like Big Z It is the most vulnerable point to attack.
Blatche blocked Arroyo, and Hinrich used the screen to break through the three-point line, but when he took a step into the three-point line, he realized something was wrong. The Heat's defense was not that simple.
After Arroyo was blocked on the line, James on the same side had quietly moved himself a little closer to the inside, ready to help defend at any time. Hinrich had no confidence to break through in the face of James' help defense, even if the inside was already at this time No more rim protectors.
Fortunately, Li Kaiming discovered Hinrich's embarrassment in time, and immediately turned around and cut inside. After receiving Hinrich's pass, he directly made a golden rooster independently and took a mid-range shot against Bosh's defense.
The basketball fell into the basket with a swoosh, and the Wizards won the first attack of the opening game!
0 to 2!
Seeing Li Kaiming easily score two points as soon as he came up, Reid in the commentary box was no longer calm, "Bosh was obviously distracted on this shot. Li Kaiming is the Wizards' biggest offensive threat. You should never, never should, and you can't." Let him get such an easy chance to take action!"
When the Heat attacked, Arroyo dribbled the ball to half-court and handed the ball directly to James. Next to the Big Three, his role was to hold the ball through half-court, and then take the pass from the Big Three and shoot directly.
James faced Thornton's defense with the ball. He first took the ball with both hands on the outside and observed the situation. After finding that there was no obvious opening, he immediately dropped the ball and made a powerful breakthrough.
Although El Thornton is a player who is relatively good at defense, against the most physically gifted player at the small forward position, his defense is simply not good enough.
James didn't even need to change direction, he directly used his speed to lead Thornton by half a body, and then relied on his strong body and confrontation ability to rush to the Wizards' inside with Thornton on his back!
Blatche, who was under the basket, immediately ran over to help Thornton with defense, but James was too fast. As soon as Blatche turned around, James had already broken through to the basket and shot directly.
In this process, Thornton was like a toy, destroyed in the first round of defending James!
James scored a layup, 2-2!
Jackson in the commentary box couldn't stand it anymore. "It seems that El Thornton can't defend LeBron at all. Is he going to deal with the latter like this for a whole game? I'm worried for him..."
Reid next to him smiled, "It seems that LeBron has a very strong desire to win the game tonight! El Thornton is in danger!"
Thornton on the court seemed a little helpless after James easily broke through and scored one. He spread his hands and expressed that he was indeed helpless in the face of this kind of attack.
Li Kaiming, who was standing next to him, saw this and patted Thornton on the shoulder, "Al, just do your best. We will help you with your defense in the next round!"
When the Wizards attacked, Hinrich dribbled the ball past half-court and handed it directly to Li Kaiming. Li Kaiming held the ball on the outside and faced Bosh's defense. He directed his teammates to run with his right hand, and then suddenly dropped the ball and rushed in!
Bosh's movement speed is very good for the power forward position, but even so, he was shocked by Li Kaiming's breakthrough!
Because the moment Li Kaiming started, he took one step and threw Bosh away!
The Heat's current lineup is the most tightly defended on the outside. When it comes to the inside, the frame protection is average, so Spoelstra also knows that his team's outside line cannot be easily passed.
When Li Kaiming was half a body ahead of Bosh, James, who was guarding Thornton in the corner, immediately came over to defend him. Li Kaiming knew that Thornton's outside shooting relied heavily on wide open spaces, so he waited until James blocked him before passing the ball to him. Thornton in the bottom corner.
But it is a pity that even so Thornton failed to hit the three-pointer.
The rebound was grabbed by Big Z and handed to James for halftime.
After James arrived in the frontcourt, he did not play by himself like he did in the previous round. Instead, he passed the ball to Wade. The current Big Three have not yet found the best way to cooperate, especially when playing positional battles, star players are still the main players. .
After Wade got the ball, he called a big Z screen, then accelerated directly to break into the penalty area. Facing Li Kaiming's help defense, he used his signature step, and then made a reverse layup!
4 to 2!
The fans cheered in the American Airlines Arena. Wade's breakthrough was like a work of art. Every time he made a move, he could win the applause of the home fans.
The Wizards served. Hinrich reached the frontcourt and cooperated with Li Kaiming. The two used a fake pick-and-roll. Hinrich held the ball and flicked it out. Then Li Kaiming used his speed to move down and caught the Heat off guard.
The ball was successfully passed to Li Kaiming's hands, but he was also caught in the Heat's double-team. At this moment, he was surrounded by Heat players.
Spoelstra had studied Li Kaiming very in-depth before the game and knew that a simple double-team between two people would not limit Li Kaiming's performance, but would allow him to drive his teammates, so he prepared a big gift for Li Kaiming!
Fortunately, Li Kaiming was tall enough. Except for Big Z, no one who defended him was taller than him, so he only panicked for a while, then calmed down immediately, and then passed the ball to the outside at 45 degrees. Nick Young.
Wade's return to defense was extremely fast. Nick Young failed to seize the momentary open opportunity. He hit a three-pointer, James won the rebound, and then launched a fast break!
All members of the Heat began to move crazily toward the backcourt. Their best tactic on the offensive end was defensive counterattack. James quickly dribbled the ball to the frontcourt under Thornton's defense, and then handed the ball to Wade, while he He directly pushed Thornton away and rushed to the basket!
Wade on the outside also reached the ball and directly gave an alley-oop. James took off on one foot under the basket, blocked the ball in the air and then dunked with one arm!
6 to 2!
The fans at American Airlines Arena once again let out a tsunami of cheers!
Reid in the commentary box also lamented, "The cooperation between LeBron and Dwyane looks so pleasing to the eye. The Wizards seem to have no way to defend the Heat's fast break!"
In the opponent's home court, and with the opponent showing momentum right from the start, the rest of the Wizards couldn't help but feel a little nervous at this time.
And Li Kaiming also knew in his heart that if he wanted to still play in today's game, it was his turn to step up and cool down the American Airlines Arena!
After Hinrich dribbled to the frontcourt, Li Kaiming asked for the ball directly from outside the three-point line.
The rest of the Wizards pulled away to create opportunities for Li Kaiming, and all eyes in the audience were fixed on him.
Facing the defense of Dragon King Bosh, Li Kaiming bent down and made a fake probing move. After finding that the latter had no reaction, he suddenly increased the range and stabbed Bosh directly on the left side with a long stride!
This step shocked Bosh!
The last time he was passed by Li Kaiming with such a step, now facing the same action, Bosh subconsciously took a step to his left!
When Li Kaiming saw Bosh retreating inside, he suddenly retracted his thrusting right foot, then picked it up from outside the three-point line and threw it!
Bosh also reacted and immediately rushed towards Li Kaiming, but the latter still hit hard!
6 to 5!
The American Airlines Arena, which was like a boiling pot just a moment ago, immediately fell silent after this goal!
Sanders on the sidelines clenched his fists excitedly and looked at Li Kaiming with eyes full of appreciation.
This guy always steps up at times like this, he's a silencer on the road!
Even Reid, the Heat's home commentator, had to admit the power of this goal, "Li Kaiming scored a crucial goal and helped his team stabilize the situation!"
The Heat's home commentary is naturally biased towards the home team, but in the studio of China Sports Channel, it's a completely different story.
Director Zhang Weiping slammed the table hard, "Good shot! Li Kaiming's shot was so reasonable. If no one else on the Wizards team can do it, he has to do it!"
Su Qun on the side also nodded, "The Heat's momentum has risen just now. If this goal is not scored, I'm afraid the point difference will soon be widened to 10 points!"
