"If they take a bit of a loss and start to shrink the inside, then this tactic may end up playing and it will become a test of the stability of our outside pitchers." Cassel continued.

Tang Tian paused, then thoughtfully.

What Cassel is talking about is a problem.

The Celtics' defensive system is no worse than that of the Cavaliers, shrinking the restricted area, it will indeed become difficult to score inside, and when the time comes, the outside line is an opportunity, and if you shoot, the game will be easy, and if you can't shoot, you may explain it directly.

After all, it's a new tactic, and it's a bit of a double-edged sword.

After a two-day break, the opening game of the Eastern Conference semifinals kicked off in Cleveland against the Cavaliers and Celtics.

Two years ago, Tang Tian led the Cavaliers and the Celtics to play against each other, when the two sides played 4-2, and the Cavaliers won three games in a row to advance after falling behind 1-2, which can be called a classic.

This time again, it will be like a continuation of an old feud for both sides.

Cleveland fans were also quite excited.

After going through the first round, they found that without James, the Cavaliers team is still so strong, which gave them a lot of confidence in the team to hit the three-game championship dynasty.

The Quickloan Stadium was full that night, and the fans wore the red T-shirts distributed on the spot, and the atmosphere of the whole stadium was extremely high-pitched.

Amid the low roar of the live DJ stretching their voices, the starters from both sides were introduced.

The Cavaliers followed the regular lineup, with Paul and Green on the outside, Butler and Battier on the front, and Yao Ming at center.

On the Celtics side, as expected by Tang Tian and Cassel, Buss, who started the regular season, did not appear in the starting lineup, with Rondo and Ray Allen on the outside, Pierce and Garnett on the front, and Stiensma in the center.

In the cheers of the fans at the scene, Yao Ming jumped to win Steensma and officially opened the curtain of the series between the two sides.

Paul carries the ball to the front court, and Yao Ming's block.

The Celtics opted to shrink the box and Paul gave the ball back to Yao Ming.

Pierce switched over directly.

Yao Ming opted for a mid-range shot.

Pierce's defensive speed is fast, but the height gap between him and Yao Ming is too large, and the interference of reaching out does not stop Yao Ming's sight.

"Huh!"

Yao Ming's first mid-range hit.

Rondo carries the ball to the frontcourt, the Celtics run in the half, and Ray Allen pulls out a three-point strategy.

The Cavaliers' forward line changed defenses quickly, and Battier's closeness directly undermined the Celtics' tactics.

Seeing that time was running out, Rondo reached out directly to signal to open up the space, and then directly handed the ball to Garnett in the high post.

After Garnett received the ball, he leaned his back against Butler, raised the ball high with his right hand, glanced at the Cavaliers without a clip, and directly chose to play with his back, leaned on two times and turned and stepped to the basket, facing Yao Ming's high hit board.

Butler's defense is aggressive, but more of a defender or swingman, and almost useless to a big interior player like Garnett, who is most realistically holding the ball high and he can't even reach it.

Paul's advancement, when he arrived in the frontcourt, he was looking for Yao Ming to block and dismantle, and at this time, the Celtics' defensive tactics changed, and Rondo grabbed the position in advance and no longer gave Yao Ming a chance to block and dismantle.

Paul tried several times without success, directly let Yao Ming fall into the high position, and after giving the ball in, he stretched out his hand to signal his teammates to run and attack.

Butler and Green's off-ball blocking, Green ran out and then gave Paul's block, Paul accelerated away from Pierce, and received Yao Ming's pass directly on the right side of the 45-degree angle of the three-point shot.

"Bang!"

The shot was a little shorter, and the basketball smashed out of the frame.

Garnett turned to collect the defensive rebound, but at this moment, Yao Ming turned and used his speed to shake off Stiesma, reached under the basket, and reached out to get the ball into the basket before Garnett.

Rondo carried the ball to the frontcourt, and this time he directly signaled Pierce to Garnett to block without the ball, and then took it apart and put the ball in.

The intention is obvious, to use personal ability to eat the Cavaliers' forward line.

Paul directly shrinks the bag clip.

But at this moment, Rondo cut to the basket, received Garnett's pass, and scored a low-handed layup.

4 to 4.

It was completely different from what I imagined, and the two teams actually fought against each other in the opening game.

Tang Tian looked at the field thoughtfully.

The defensive intensity of both teams is actually not weak, and this situation is not so much a battle against each other, but not that no one can pinch the opponent.

Yao Ming's flexibility is much stronger than Stiesma's, and it is difficult for the Celtics to limit him, and conversely, Garnett is not a player who only looks at the basket like Anthony, he has both offensive ability and strategy ability, even if he is old, the two short forwards of the Cavaliers alone are enough to drink a pot.

After more than four minutes, the score was 9-10, and the Cavaliers were still one point behind.

"Our forward height is too bad." Casey turned his head to Tang Tian at this time and said.

Tang Tian nodded, then got up and called Vallejo and Carter up.

The previous starting lineup was not changed, partly because they didn't want to disrupt the team's offensive chemistry, and on the other hand, they also wanted to see if the help defense package could be effective.

Looking at it for a while, there is no problem on the offensive end, but the problem on the defensive end is really too big because of the height gap, and the auxiliary defense package that relied on to survive before has also failed.

Paul's breakaway resulted in a foul on Stiesma, two free throws, and the game went to dead-time time.

The Cavaliers made substitutions, with Vallejo and Carter coming on for Butler and Green.

Rivers paused at the adjustment.

The Cavaliers' substitution came much earlier than normal, and after the adjustment, the average height of the team on the court went up all at once.

Paul hit both free throws and the Cavaliers took the lead.

Rondo went to the front court with the ball and still called for Pierce to make a single block for Garnett.

Butler went down, but Battier was still on the court, and he wasn't much taller than Butler.

However, this time the blocking and demolition miscalculated, and the old Carter used his experience to grab the position in front of Pierce in advance at this time, and Battier went directly to replace Ray Allen, and the Celtics' tactical intentions were destroyed in advance.

Rondo immediately motioned for Garnett to make an off-ball pick-and-roll for Ray Allen.

As a playmaker who is more paranoid than Kidd, Rondo is nicknamed "Coach on the Field" and has a poor ability to read games.

As the Big Three aged, his rise in the team's low post and his own growth, this feeling became more and more apparent.

After Battier's speed was blocked, Vallejo couldn't keep up with Ray Allen, who managed to get a chance.

Rondo's first-time hand-shake pass.

"Huh!"

Ray Allen catches the ball and hits a three-pointer.

At 13-11, the Celtics came back again.