On October 26, 2010, the NBA regular season kicked off.
The Alliance has entered the second decade of the 21st century, and a new era is about to begin.
However, the schedule for the opening game still includes the most popular teams:
The Miami Heat face the Boston Celtics, the Phoenix Suns face the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Houston Rockets face the Los Angeles Lakers.
Among them, the game between the Eastern upstart Heat and the Celtics is undoubtedly the most watched.
After the crazy summer of 2010, the Heat, which was never a weak team, suddenly became a popular candidate for the Eastern Conference championship.
They landed big fish Chris Bosh from Toronto in free agency.
Replaced from the Grizzlies for outstanding scorer Rudy Gay at the 3rd position.
Inside, they retained O'Neal Jr. and extended Arroyo's contract in the backcourt.
With Bosh, Wade, and Gay as the iron triangle, they have the strength to compete for the championship in the eyes of experts and fans.
The arrival of Bosh is considered to be the same as when Gasol went to the Lakers, giving Wade enough help.
Bosh averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds with the Raptors last season.
He is one of the most powerful power forwards in the league.
Moreover, his shooting style of play complements Wade's impact style of play.
Gay had just signed a long-term contract, but was immediately sent away by the Grizzlies to assist the Heat.
People commented that this was another warm-hearted activity by the Grizzlies after the big increase.
It's just that Grizzlies general manager Wallace believes that using the young players who have just played in exchange for greater talent is the right choice.
The media commented that he was poisoned by Smart. It is said that the two have been very close since the summer league last season.
It's hard to say that Wallace wasn't influenced by Smart. After all, the Clippers also made the magical move of trading Gordon for Harden.
Heat is rising like the rising sun from the south coast.
It can't be said that the sun is setting in Boston, as the sun is no longer at its peak in the area.
The Celtics successfully retained Ray Allen and Pierce this summer.
The biggest move was signing Shaquille O'Neal in free agency.
Kendrick Perkins was injured and missed Game 6 of the Finals, indirectly causing the Celtics to lose the championship.
Perkins' injury was a torn anterior cruciate ligament and posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
It is expected to resume in January next year.
The Celtics need a meat shield center to replace Perkins.
The Big Shark in the entire league is undoubtedly the meatiest one.
Coincidentally, Riley also offered an olive branch to O'Neal during the offseason.
The Heat also need a big center under the basket to guard the inside.
O'Neal also won a championship with the Heat, so partnering with Wade again is an option.
As a result, O'Neal decisively refused and said, "A good horse never turns back."
Because Riley and O'Neal were at odds with each other in the first place, how could O'Neal's character turn around?
Therefore, the Heat renewed O'Neal's contract. Two former All-Star top insiders can now only work as blue-collar workers on championship teams.
The course of the game was as old as the ages of the players on both sides, a fierce defensive battle.
After 48 minutes of play, the scores on both sides were pitifully low.
In the end, the Celtics, who played at home, were superior, defeating the Heat 87:82, a 5-point advantage, and won their first victory of the season.
Min Congda watched the live TV broadcast of the match between the two sides at home and carefully observed the two teams.
He thought, the defense of the Eastern Conference team is really strong, but the Clippers are still not defended in these two games?
He thought so in his heart, but when he wrote to Fan Chen after the game, Min Congda felt that the two teams' playing styles were too rigid.
Especially on the offensive end, for the Celtics, Kevin Garnett's low post offense has disappeared due to his aging.
The core of the Celtics' offense is Rondo Pierce-Ray Allen's three-point cover in turns.
The result is that the Celtics' offense is relatively weak and lacks three-dimensionality.
The Heat's offensive problems are more serious, and the disconnect between Bosh and Wade is severe.
Basically, everyone plays his own role, and Rudy Gay is obviously not a good glue.
The three of them fought on their own, and Gay's defense was slightly worse and he was at a disadvantage in the one-on-one confrontation with Pierce.
However, the Heat are obviously very thoughtful on the defensive end and have strong pressure on outsiders and the ball.
"As long as you defend well, defense wins the championship after all."
Min Congda believes that these two strong teams are still very qualified, especially the Heat.
If the Iron Triangle works well together, even if they work independently, they can still achieve good results.
In 2008, the Celtics' Big Three didn't have many offensive routines. In the end, they relied on defense and personal ability.
The second game was between the Suns and the Trail Blazers. The style of this game was different from the first game.
It's an offensive battle of Western Conference teams.
After Stackmire left, the Suns fell from a strong team in the Western Conference to the edge of the playoffs.
The Suns made reinforcements in the summer, and they brought in Turkoglu and JJ Hickson.
The Suns management's idea is very clear, which is to miniaturize, focus on outside, and make the best use of Nash's final time.
Nash is 36 years old, and reaching the Western Conference Finals last season may be his final peak.
Although point guards generally get better as they get older, the watershed is generally around 35 years old.
If physical fitness declines or a serious injury strikes suddenly, there will be a cliff-like decline.
In the first game of the new season, Nash was in good condition and rarely scored in the game.
He scored 26 points on 10-for-19 shooting and had only 6 assists.
Because the biggest pie-eating machine has left for the Knicks.
Without Stoudemire, the Suns have lost a lot of their offensive power.
Moreover, the introduced Turkoglu did not perform well in his first game.
The Suns' idea is to replicate the season in 2006 when Stoudemire was reimbursed.
French magician Diaw moved to the center position and sent the Suns into the playoffs with a wonderful performance.
But Turk and Dior are completely different in style.
Diaw is a central pivot player who is good at supporting and can hit the inside.
Turkoglu is the third small forward, a turret and through ball machine.
The highlight of his career is the internal and external connection with Howard.
If Stoudemire is here, the Turkish agents can still play a role.
Stoudemire is no longer here, so he is basically just an outside anti-aircraft turret.
In the Raptors, his combination with Bosh proved to be a failure, because Bosh is a projection inside man and does not make calls.
The Suns' attempt to recreate the power of the Turkish Scimitar was obviously a fish in the woods, and his deficiencies on the defensive end were magnified.
106:92, the Trail Blazers with a complete lineup easily won a victory at the Moda Center.
Batum, who faced Turkoglu, scored 19 points and 11 rebounds.
The third game of the opening game is the Lake of Fire battle that many people are concerned about.
An important reason why it has attracted so much attention is that Yao Ming will come back in this game.
After being unfortunately reimbursed in the 2009 playoffs, Yao Ming did not play in the entire 2009-10 season.
After a full year and a half of rest, he finally returned to the game amidst the expectations of Chinese fans.
And the first opponent is the Los Angeles Lakers.
Compared with the season in 2009 when he broke through the second round, the people around Yao Ming have changed a lot.
Artest went to the opposite Lakers and won a championship.
McGrady was traded away to the Knicks.
Brad Miller, who almost got into a fight with him during the game, came to the team.
Little black bean Aaron Brooks has grown into the team's top scorer and won the Most Improved Player award.
In fact, the biggest change is Yao Ming himself. He is no longer the low-post monster on the court.
In this game, Yao Ming played 24 minutes and scored only 9 points on 4 of 11 shots.
The Rockets relied on the strength of the team to struggle with the Lakers until the last minute.
The Rockets have been leading the Lakers.
At the last moment, Lakers guard Steve Blake hit a key three-pointer.
The Lakers overtook the score.
On the Rockets' side, Scola missed a layup and Brooks failed to make a buzzer-beater.
The Lakers won 112:110 and did not let this championship ring award night become a losing night.
Rockets fans are satisfied, they have been fighting with the Lakers until the last minute, and Yao Ming is back.
But in fact, Yao Ming's journey in the NBA is coming to an end.
(End of chapter)
