The first five minutes of the first quarter were like two masters trying to fight for their lives, and it can be seen that both sides are in good shape, the Celtics did not collapse because of the long rest, the Pacers did not fall because of the seven games against the Pistons, and both sides were well prepared for tonight's big game. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Leon didn't do much in the timeout, just asked the players to pay attention to the foul control, and in Leon's plan, he still wanted to drag the decisive moment until the third quarter, which is also the period when the Celtics are best at dragging the opponent to death. Therefore, in the first and second quarters, he gave the players the task of keeping the offensive end fluid, finding the shooting touch as much as possible, and gritting their teeth if the Pacers were going to play hard physical confrontation.

It can be seen that although it is more risky in the starting lineup, Leon is still conservative and stable in the plan and expectation of the whole game, which is the Celtics' consistent winning mode, and letting Reed play as a substitute is also to improve the stability of the team's offensive end.

At the end of the timeout, Leon saw that the Pacers' side had replaced Reggie Miller with Stephen Jackson, and it was clear that the Pacers were also following their plan step by step.

It can be seen from the previous game with the Pistons that in fact, until the sixth game, the Pacers did not have much discipline compared to the Pistons in terms of game strategy, and often saw tricks, but were forced into a desperate situation by the old Pistons and Brown; But Reggie Miller's miraculous performance in Game 6 saved the Pacers from the edge of the cliff, and by Game 7 the Pacers seemed to be playing all at once, and O'Brien was enlightened.

In Game 7, the Pacers put Stephen Jackson off the bench and Miller to start, using a steady offense and a persistently strong defense to completely strangle the Detroit Pistons, because the Pistons' weakness on the bench and offensive difficulties led to their final fall in the fourth game.

Pacers coach O'Brien, who has tasted the sweetness, is determined to repeat the pattern of Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals, using Jackson's influence on both ends of the floor to enhance the team's offensive and defensive continuity, trying to keep the Celtics under pressure from start to finish, and then using Reggie Miller's big heart to finish the game in the fourth quarter. It's also the best thing Vogel and O'Brien can think of against the Celtics.

Maybe others will underestimate Leon and the Celtics, but O'Brien and Vogel won't, they know what a terrible person this former assistant coach is, and what kind of power this Celtics contains. If you want to steal a win in the first game, you must keep the Celtics under pressure throughout.

It's just that from the first five minutes, O'Brien still feels that he has underestimated the talent of the Celtics on the offensive end, and they don't seem to use much tactics, and they can easily find good offensive opportunities on several occasions and can get the ball to the basket. Especially in Tinsley's defense, Arenas's impact play has made Tinsley very helpless, and compared to last season, Arenas has made great strides in the season.

However, O'Brien knew that he wasn't just going to put on Stephen Jackson to deal with Reed.

………………

Jackson played very well against the Celtics in the Finals last season, with his spot-up shots, a couple of breakaways at key moments, and defensive restrictions on Reed and Arenas — yes, Popovich had Jackson play against Arenas for a small portion of the time, all of which made the Celtics suffer.

Jackson wasn't very fast, but he was powerful, had good awareness, was tough, and had a fiery temper that often made opposing players fearful. Of course, Arenas wasn't afraid of him, and seeing last season's Finals opponents meet again, Arenas couldn't help but step forward and spew two trash words at Jackson.

"I'm glad you're here in the east, so I can get you home sooner." Arenas said as he passed by Jackson. Jackson glanced at Arenas and ignored him, and it was the Pacers' turn to attack.

Tinsley continued to act as a playmaker for the Pacers, but the tactics began to change a bit, with Jackson starting to overdo the ball in the half, then O'Neal Jr. pulling up to the high post to cover and Artest, who had been holding the low post, to the bottom right corner to ambush him, and it was clear that O'Brien was letting Jackson dominate the offense.

Indeed, the Pacers are a little similar to the Pistons, they lack a strong ball-handling attack point from the outside, and a half-hanging ball-handling attacker like Jackson is already a good backcourt offensive engine for the Pacers.

Facing Michael Reed, who was also on the court, Jackson dribbled in with a slow pace and pulled to the baseline, he turned his back and leaned against Reed, and then made a forward jumper - the referee's whistle blew and awarded Reed a foul.

"Fuc-K......" Leon couldn't help but curse off the court, just reminded the player to pay attention to the control foul during the timeout, and as a result, he committed a foul as soon as he came up, and he had to send the opponent to the free throw line.

Jackson's trick is not clever, but it is very useful, Reed has just come on the court and obviously has not been active, and he has not mastered the scale of the referee, so he was taken advantage of by Jackson.

With both free throws, the Pacers took a one-point lead.

And in defense, Jackson once again showed his role, when Arenas naked Tingsley or after blocking and discharging, he would be the first to run over to help defend and interfere, and Arenas was no longer the style of the first five minutes.

Of course, this also came at a cost, which was to let Michael Reed hit a three-pointer, so the Pacers did not pull the score away, but began to slowly dominate the court.

"The first quarter was over, and at 25:23, the Pacers led by two points, and it was clear that the Pacers' strategy of letting Jackson come off the bench worked." Dick Stockton was pleasantly surprised to find that the Pacers' surprise results seemed to be a little better than the Celtics.

"That's right, but you have to understand that Leon's strategy is always a long-term strategy, and I'm sure Reed will play a more important role in the later games." Kerr believes in Leon from the bottom of his heart, but Stockton apparently doesn't believe it, believing that the Celtics' bench strategy is a bit excessive.

And Jackson's presence on the court brought not only offensive improvements, but also defensive suppression, and his presence made Artest and O'Neal Jr. a lot lighter and could focus more on Pierce and Garnett. And it seems, he single-handedly dealt with both Arenas and Reed.

After a brief break in the first quarter, Jackson continued to stay on the court after the start of the second quarter, while the Celtics had replaced Reed and replaced Bell, and it seemed that Leon was a little shaken by his substitution plan.

Two minutes later, the Pacers leveled the score at 30-25, and Leon called a timeout, and he replaced Paul Pierce with a five-minute break, and then put Reed back on and replaced Arenas, so that Bell was at point guard, and it was clear that the Celtics' offense was going to move to the front.

"Give them some color and see, but keep it up, our plan is in the third quarter and not let the game end early." Before going on the court, Leon put his arm around Paul Pierce's shoulders and said he couldn't stand Jackson showing off his power in North Shore Gardens. (To be continued.) )