After the end of the first game, the Cleveland Cavaliers were not too happy.
The reason is also very simple. As the leader of the team, LeBron James encountered a small situation. The back injury that existed at the beginning of the season recurred again. Although the problem was not serious, the team management decided to let LeBron take a temporary truce in consideration of the situation in the finals.
As soon as this news came out, the entire Cleveland fans were shocked!
While fans are worried about LeBron, they are also worried about the future of the team.
“Can a team beat the Raptors without LeBron?”
"LeBron's injury came too suddenly! But you can't blame him, this guy is already an almost 34-year-old veteran! If it were other players, he would have retired at this age! Now LeBron can still persist It’s not easy to score 27+ on the court..."
"It's just a back injury! You can rest now. Anyway, I think there will be no problem if we beat the Raptors... Take care of your physical condition now. The real battle will be when we face the Warriors in the finals." ......."
Different from the reaction of Cavaliers fans, Raptors fans are obviously having fun when it comes to LeBron's truce.
Many people believe that once a superstar like LeBron takes a break, the entire Cavaliers team will be completely vulnerable.
"The Cavaliers are nothing without LeBron!"
"That's right! Even if there are Kevin and Zhao, these two guys can't stop us from winning at home..."
"Someone said that Zhao once led the Timberwolves to the Finals? Come on! That is in the past... The Timberwolves successfully entered the Western Conference Finals without him this season, so it has nothing to do with him. Does it matter?"
There were many comments on the Internet, but Zhao Feiyang had no intention of paying attention to them.
After the first game, he set his sights on the Western Conference Finals. Not only him, many Cavaliers players are also paying attention to the Warriors and Timberwolves. On the evening of the game day, a group of players even found a video room in the hotel to watch the live broadcast of the game.
Oracle Arena.
Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
This is not the first time the two teams have played against each other. It can be said that the two teams have been each other's most competitive opponents in the past few seasons.
Both sides have their own wins and losses, but judging from the final result, the Warriors are still slightly better. Of course, this cannot be ignored without mentioning Zaza Pachulia's stepping-stone. From a sportsmanship perspective, the Warriors' championship does have some flaws.
Beep.
The on-court timer sounds.
The starting lineups of both sides appeared.
The Warriors' lineup is a little different today.
The other positions remain unchanged, except Pachulia in the interior is gone. This guy accidentally stepped on the opponent's foot in the last game of the semifinals and sprained his ankle. After being checked by the team doctor, he was reimbursed for the season, and he will no longer be able to play in the Warriors' subsequent games.
Of course, the Timberwolves players are quite happy for such good news.
This is true from Zach LaVine to Derrick Rose to Adrian Ennis.
"Oh! That's great! I feel a lot better when I see that guy isn't here."
"This means that our probability of reaching the finals will be greatly improved... Who would have thought that a notorious bastard would be injured. It's a pity that I was not there, otherwise I would have opened the champagne... ..."
The Warriors players were speechless when they heard what LaVine and Adrian said, but no one stood up to speak for Pachulia. Even Stephen Curry knew that Pachulia's step on the ground was very serious. It's shameful, but as a teammate, he can't stand up and accuse his teammates when the situation is unanimous.
But this does not mean that he agrees with the other party's actions.
Snapped.
The referee threw the ball high, both sides jumped the ball, and Dwight Howard slapped the basketball away.
It was Rose who caught the basketball.
After getting the ball, he quickly rushed towards the half court. The Warriors responded quickly and did not allow Rose to seize the opportunity to make a sneak attack, so Rose stood at the top of the key and directed others to run.
LaVine on the wing came up to respond, and Rose gave the ball to him. LaVine didn't hesitate to get the basketball and threw a three-pointer into Klay Thompson's hand.
Uh-huh.
The ball went in.
During the offseason, LaVine spent a lot of time training his three-pointers. His three-point shooting percentage has also improved significantly since this season, and now is the time to test all this.
"nice shot!"
Zhao Feiyang, who was watching the game in front of the TV, was so excited that he stood up and applauded among the Cavaliers team.
Regarding his actions, everyone else was a little confused for a moment, and even LeBron James looked at Zhao Feiyang blankly.
Zhao Feiyang ignored these.
The Timberwolves are his hard work. He has watched this team grow up and brought them out with his own hands. Even now that he has left, his feelings for this team are still very strong.
Therefore, he did not hide his love for the Timberwolves at all.
His eyes returned to the field.
The Warriors serve.
Curry advanced with the ball, and after halftime he was marked by Rose. The two met each other, and Draymond Green suddenly moved to the high post to cover Curry, and Rose was thrown away.
Curry took advantage of the situation and rushed into the two zones, and Adrian quickly came up to cover the defense. Seeing that the breakthrough route was blocked, Curry decisively passed the ball to Kevin Durant on the wing.
Andrew Wiggins was marking Durant one-on-one. The latter raised the basketball, feinted away, and threw a three-pointer in the face of Wiggins' interference.
Uh-huh.
The ball went in.
Durant's single made the Warriors fans excited, and many stood up and cheered for him.
The game goes on.
In the first quarter, the Timberwolves and Warriors were very aggressive offensively.
For the Warriors, Curry felt hot and threw two three-pointers not long after coming on the court. Durant was also in very good shape. Facing Wiggins' one-on-one marking, he scored the ball several times in succession, forcing the Timberwolves to adjust their defensive strategy and let Adrian on the side help Wiggins. Go up and double-team Durant.
For the Timberwolves, after several seasons of hard work, their inside lineup is now unprecedentedly strong.
Howard and Adrian performed very well. The two of them completely suppressed Green and Iguodala in the paint. Especially Adrian, his performance has improved rapidly this season. Since the start of the playoffs, he has successfully replaced Ibaka in the starting lineup.
In this game, Adrian had a hot touch against Iguodala. He scored the ball repeatedly in singles under the basket, which once made Iguodala's defense useless.
Because of this, with their powerful offense and defense inside, the Timberwolves once turned the penalty area into a no-fly zone.
By the end of the first quarter of both sides, they also led the Warriors with a score of 33 to 29.
