James and Big Z scored consecutively and managed to equalize the score.
It’s the first game of the new season and no one wants to lose.
What’s more, this happened in a game that was broadcast live across the United States.
In fact, James has always been aiming to make the playoffs. Last season, the Cavaliers were only one win away from the playoffs.
To be honest, the Cavaliers do have a chance to make the playoffs.
If I try harder this year, maybe I can succeed?
So, James will not let any victory slip away from Cleveland easily.
At this time, all the Cavaliers fans were cheering for the performance of Moose and Big Z.
So much so that when Wayne took off his training clothes and went on the court, the fans at the scene didn't react much.
In Cleveland, James is the most popular athlete, and the MOP in the Final Four doesn't work here.
But far away in China, the fans are in a different state.
Seeing Wayne finally appear in an official NBA game, all the fans stared at the TV intently.
"Hey, Wayne is on the court! Yes, in this tense moment, Wayne should be sent up to make some changes. Let's see if Wayne's previous outstanding performance can continue!"
Coach Zhang was happy. Without Wayne, who would watch the game?
During this period, NBA jerseys were still loose in style.
With the tight-fitting jerseys of the future, it seems that every player can fill up the jersey.
But now this jersey makes Wayne look thinner.
When Cavaliers coach Paul Silas saw Wayne come on the court, he immediately told Gooden: "Don't let him shoot easily."
That's it, there's no other special arrangements.
Silas certainly knew that Wayne was the MOP of the semi-finals, and he also knew that he performed well in the summer league and preseason.
But now, he mainly has to think about how to clamp Artest and how to open the Pacers' solid defense.
Containing Wayne wasn't as high a priority.
After Wayne came on the court, he took a deep breath and adjusted his condition.
Although it was his first time playing in an official NBA game, Wayne felt he was quite adaptable.
After all, when playing in the NCAA, the scene was no smaller than this.
The game resumed and the Pacers attacked.
Now without O'Neal, who had many offensive skills, Drew Gooden finally breathed a sigh of relief.
As for this rookie, he was only the 12th pick. No matter how good he was, he wouldn't be so embarrassing, right?
Sure enough, the Pacers quickly passed the ball to Artest. Without O'Neal, Artest was undoubtedly the team's first choice.
James lowered his center of gravity, frowned, and prepared to continue fighting with Artest. But Artest did not break through directly, but waved to Wayne to set a screen for him.
Wayne ran to Artest's side skillfully. Wayne had practiced this pick-and-roll tactic countless times in the past month.
After Wayne’s “wall” was built, Artest immediately accelerated!
James wanted to bypass Wayne and chase Artest, but Wayne secretly squeezed James hard, slowing down his pursuit.
This is actually an illegal cover.
But as long as the referee can't see it, it's not illegal!
"Ward!" Young James looked at Wayne in surprise. This guy has only played his first game, but he already knows these "ultimate secrets"?
Wayne acted as if nothing had happened, as if he had just done nothing.
He whistled and retreated to the three-point line to help Artest create space.
Wayne also wants to learn well, but there is no way. Among these teammates, he can learn nothing but bad things!
One moment Artest comes to teach a lesson on elbow strike, the next moment O'Neal comes to teach a lesson on illegal screen. Can Wayne be blamed for this?
James was unable to catch up with Artest in the first time because of Wayne's "nonchalant" squeeze.
So Drew Gooden had to switch defense to Artest.
Gooden was heartbroken.
He also said that he could relax for a while after O'Neal left the court, but now he is facing Artest again.
Can you give me a break? Where's my rookie?
Bring me my rookie!
Gooden's defensive ability can only be considered average, so Artest just carried Gooden and rushed in.
And because of the change in HC rules this season, Gooden didn't dare to touch Artest. He waited until Artest entered the three-second zone before he dared to use his hand to support him.
But it was too late, and in the end, Gooden could only watch Artest slip past him with faster steps.
The most important thing is... he had seen Artest's iron elbow, so he quickly dodged...
In this way, Artest successfully broke through Gooden and completed a layup with the help of the screen.
The Pacers continue to maintain the lead!
"Wayne's screen was crucial in this ball. He and Artest had a very good understanding of each other. Now that Wayne is a new player, the most important thing is that he can integrate into the team system."
Coach Zhang boasted a lot, even though Wayne didn't even touch the ball in that attack just now.
After Artest scored the goal, everyone around him immediately moved away.
Then the next second, this guy started waving his elbows and beating his chest wildly, as if he was going to kill someone to liven up the atmosphere.
Well, it seems that Harden was still too young at that time, and he even dared to pass by Artest.
Seeing Artest score a goal, Carlisle nodded approvingly.
Wayne and Artest's pick-and-roll seems like it could be used as a regular scoring routine.
After the Cavaliers attacked, Big Z pulled Foster away in the mid-range, and young James broke through Artest!
The two of them made a fierce muscle collision, and this breakthrough method almost disappeared in the future.
After a year of growth, young James' physique is now as good as Artest's.
So, he successfully forced his way into the restricted area and prepared to continue attacking the basket.
Even if you can't score, you can still cause damage and continue to shoot free throws like you just did.
However, this time when James broke into the three-second zone, he found that there was darkness under the basket.
Wayne, who is tall and has long arms, has returned to the basket to make up for the defense!
"So fast." Mousse curled his lips. When he just broke through, he clearly saw Wayne still beside Gooden.
In the blink of an eye, Wayne reached the basket.
Under the double , even the chosen one would find it difficult to force points.
So, Mousse glanced at Gooden who was left open by Wayne and decided to pass the ball on the spur of the moment.
Gooden doesn't like to shoot three-pointers. To be exact, there are few power forwards who like or are allowed to shoot three-pointers now.
So, he stood one step inside the three-point line.
After receiving the basketball, Gooden decisively chose to shoot.
Finally, the work has begun!
This kind of opportunity to pick up a bargain is rare around the big guys, so you must seize it.
But just as Gooden was about to shoot, he found that the No. 99 rookie appeared in front of him again.
Wayne's defensive speed is so fast that he can quickly retreat after defending the inside, which makes both James and Gooden suffer a setback at once.
Gooden is not the type of player who can do fancy assists in the air, so he only has two options.
Either force a pass and then make a turnover, or force a shot and try your luck.
Gooden naturally chose the latter.
But Wayne's defensive height was too scary. Under his interference, Gooden not only couldn't aim, but also couldn't control his shooting hand shape.
The basketball flew straight towards the basket, drew a beautiful arc, and then...fell directly out of bounds.
"Three misses, Wayne defended Gooden's three misses. His advantage in height is not something that everyone can challenge."
When Gooden saw the basketball fall directly out of bounds, he was stunned for a second, then frowned and moved his shoulders, pretending that his old injury had relapsed and he didn't shoot well.
"Ouch, ouch, my shoulder hurts a little."
However...his shoulder wasn't injured at all, and Cleveland fans knew it.
This is called being afraid that you are not embarrassed enough, so you have to add some extra embarrassment to make yourself more embarrassed.
Wayne's defensive assist speed made Paul Silas very worried.
That rookie really took over the position of O'Neal, the help defense monster, perfectly.
This is something that Harrington couldn't do last season.
In fact, if Gooden had shot from beyond the three-point line just now, Wayne might not have been able to catch up.
But there was no way, he had to take a long two-point shot within the three-point line, and Wayne just happened to be able to interfere.
The Cavaliers wanted to take advantage of the time when O'Neal was off the court to overtake the score, but ended up in a tough battle.
While Gooden was still fooling the fans with his Oscar-level performance, Wayne had already run across half court and started cooperating with Artest again.
This time, Artest's breakthrough attracted both Gooden and James, so Artest imitated James just now and passed the ball to Wayne.
Wayne held the ball with both hands outside the three-point line, and Gooden immediately ran back in panic.
Everyone knows that he can’t let go of this rookie!
Wayne's three-point shooting percentage was already very high in the preseason, which shows that the NBA three-point line is not a problem for him at all.
Of course, Gooden didn't jump up stupidly to interfere with Wayne, he just raised his arms high.
In this way, even if Wayne wants to attack Gooden, he will have a chance to make up for it.
But Wayne neither broke through nor shot. Instead, he pushed the ball with one hand and passed it to Jackson who was cutting into the penalty area!
The cooperation between Wayne and Artest attracted the defensive attention of all the Cavaliers players.
So when Wayne's pass penetrated the Cavaliers' entire defense, they realized that Jackson had cut in silently.
Big Z saw Jackson receiving the ball and facing an open basket, and hurried to the basket.
But Big Z's footwork...it's not an exaggeration to say that he is one of the slowest players in the NBA.
"Good shot, very smart pass! As soon as Jackson moved, the ball reached Wayne. Hey, this is how the ball should be played!"
Coach Zhang was relieved. He was worried at first that Wayne's debut would be as embarrassing as Yao Ming's, but it was obvious that Wayne and the Pacers had already gotten along very well.
Although he has not scored a single point, Wayne has already caused considerable trouble for the Cavaliers.
Wayne can play a role on both offense and defense.
With Wayne's help, the powerful Pacers completely suppressed the Cavaliers led by young James. Wayne, the sixth man, also bought time for O'Neal to accumulate anger.
At the end of the first quarter, O'Neal, full of energy, came back and blew up the Cavaliers' inside line.
O'Neal's inside skills are quite solid, and he is very good at back-to-the-basket hook shots.
After the first quarter, the Pacers led the Cavaliers by 8 points.
Wayne scored 2 points with 1 of 1 shot, but he also had 2 assists and several wonderful defensive plays.
It’s just that I didn’t get a block. It’s really not easy to block these guys in the NBA.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Artest and James, who had played the entire quarter, both rested.
What Paul Silas didn't expect was that Wayne actually replaced Artest as the third player!
Because James plays about 40 minutes in every game for the Cavaliers, the backup center generally has little presence.
Robert Traylor is such a player with no sense of presence.
As the No. 6 rookie in 1998, he was almost forgotten as soon as he entered the league.
Traylor looks even fatter than James. His excessive weight makes him extremely slow and has poor physical fitness.
The worst thing is that his heart has never been very healthy.
For this reason, he changed four teams in his seven-year career.
Paul Silas really didn't expect Carlisle to play this trick. If Traylor was allowed to face Wayne...that would be a gift!
It was indeed a gift. At the beginning of the second quarter, Wayne dribbled the ball past Traylor outside the three-point line, then went straight into the penalty area and caused the Cavaliers to foul.
Traylor was indeed too slow, which made his strong body of no use at all.
"Xiao Wei's attack is very fierce. We have seen him bravely enter the penalty area more than once in the preseason!"
He is indeed very fierce. With a "body of steel", does he really need to hide from attacks?
Wayne is never afraid of charging into a crowd with the ball.
Wayne made two free throws, extending the lead to double digits!
Seeing that the 6-foot-5 Traylor was completely unable to reach Wayne, Silas was flustered.
Letting Wayne play the third position, isn't that bullying!
Afterwards, Traylor planned to use his weight to crush Wayne to regain his face.
But this guy's low-post technique is so rough!
He can only push people, but he has no way to finish them off.
This is why Bird insisted on letting Wayne practice low-post offense. If you don't have low-post skills, it will be useless even if you have an advantage in weight or height.
Traylor could only force a layup at the basket roughly, and then Wayne got his first block in the NBA.
"He was knocked directly to the ground. Haha, this is Wayne's height advantage! The short guy has no chance in front of Wayne!"
Wayne's block gives people one feeling - tough!
This sudden appearance made people forget how he was just crushed by Traylor...
"LeBron, LeBron! Oh no, oh no! They are cheating and actually sent No. 99 to the three position!" Silas was anxious and called LeBron's name directly.
Right now, only James can deal with Wayne.
Right now, only James can deal with the Pacers!
Young James, who had just taken a breath, shook his head and said, "Is it so difficult for me to rest peacefully for two minutes?"
I haven't even had time to sit on the bench yet and I'm already beaten up?
"You go on the court to replace Traylor and open up the one-on-one attack on Wade!" Silas patted James' shoulder solemnly.
Then, James walked to the technical table and waited for the dead ball.
As a result, after several rounds, there was no dead ball situation.
During these few rounds, Wayne made two pull-up shots over Traylor's head and made both of them.
I'm just throwing myself in front of you, what can you do to me?
Traylor has become autistic. He shouldn't bully his senior like this!
Finally, on an offense, the Cavaliers caused the Pacers to foul.
When a dead ball opportunity arose, James quickly stood up, took off his training clothes, and prepared to go on the court to put out the fire.
"Wayne, just let me meet you properly!" A-Jan thought to himself.
As a result, at this moment, a familiar figure appeared beside him.
Seeing James preparing to come back on the court, Carlisle immediately asked Artest to go back on as well.
Wayne has completed his mission. He successfully allowed Artest to rest in peace while helping the team maintain, no, expand its advantage!
Artest looked at James fiercely, as if telling him: "Keep fighting!"
Moose wanted to go on the court and bully the weak opponent, but Carlisle gave him a tough challenge.
"Wayne went off the court and was replaced by Artest. In just a few possessions at the start of the second quarter, Wayne had already scored 6 points. Wayne's role in the Pacers now is called the Sixth Man.
What does Sixth Man mean? It means the sixth man, a sharp knife on the bench! As long as he comes on the court, he will definitely play the role of a main player. "
In the CCTV studio, Coach Zhang’s small English class started.
When Wayne came off the court and high-fived Artest, he exchanged glances with the confused Mousse.
Young James was disheveled in the wind. I came, but you left cruelly, leaving me with a... ruthless man with an iron elbow.
Wayne felt comfortable and left the field contentedly.
It's so fun to hit and run away, and develop in a sneaky way!
And because his growth value is calculated based on the overall strength of the opposing team, it doesn't matter whether he scores directly over the opponent's strongest player or not.
Only in a one-on-one duel will the growth points be calculated based on the opponent's personal strength.
Due to the presence of young James, the system assesses the Cavaliers' overall strength to be quite strong.
This is equivalent to fleecing James from Traylor!
Is there any better deal than this?
Wayne came off the court with great stats, and then watched young James continue to suffer.
Alas, the life of the sixth person is so simple and plain.
And boring.