"The Pacers are very strong, they swept the first two rounds, but we're not going to be afraid of any opponent, especially the Pacers, and we showed that in the regular season against the Pacers, and we have the most dominant big man in the league, Shaq O'Neal, and with him we can beat anyone."

"Meng? He's very strong, he's the best outside player in this league right now, and the Pacers have had an easy time in the first two rounds, but, man, trust me, they're not going to have an easy time in the Eastern Conference Finals because they're going to meet me, the best interior player in this league, the omnipotent Superman, and the big shark that devours everything. ”

After the Heat eliminated the Nets and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, they couldn't wait to declare war on the Pacers, from head coach Pat Riley to Shaq O'Neal, when interviewed by reporters, they all unceremoniously pointed the finger at the Pacers, and there was a great tendency to not give up if they didn't cut the Pacers off the horse.

Due to the special ranking rules this season, the Heat finally don't have to meet the Pistons in the playoffs, so after eliminating the Nets 4-2, the Heat finally appeared on the stage of the division finals again after 9 years, the Pacers, the Heat, the Pistons, these three teams are the three strongest teams in the Eastern Conference in recent seasons, and the relationship between these three teams is also very delicate, basically can be summarized as the Heat restrains the Pacers, the Pacers restrain the Pistons, and the Pistons restrain the Heat.

In recent seasons, whether it is the regular season or the playoffs, except for the accidental factors in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, the Pistons have always lost more and won less against the Pacers, but the Pistons have won more and lost less against the Heat, and the Pacers have played extremely difficult in the face of the Heat, even in the season when the Pacers won 74 wins, they did not take advantage of the Heat, so the Heat is still very confident in this Eastern Conference Finals, in their hearts, as long as they don't play the Pistons, the rest of the Eastern teams, it's not enough for them to play, especially Shaq O'Neal, who is confident that the Pacers have nothing to fear.

。。。。。。

"That big fat man is really arrogant, Jermaine, I must teach him a hard lesson today."

"Yes, Jermaine, him, him hard, let him know who is the boss of this alliance."

"Jermaine, your chance has come, that fat shark is on the board waiting for you to kill him!"

On May 23, 2006, just after the Spurs and Mavericks finished the tie-break, the Eastern Conference Finals between the Pacers and the Heat were staged.

Punch Duncan, kick O'Neal, Jermaine O'Neal's ideal is now well known in the Pacers, Duncan has no chance this season, because in yesterday's tie-break battle, the Spurs lost to the Mavericks in overtime and have been eliminated, as for O'Neal, it is now in front of him, if the Pacers want to return to the Finals, they must pass the Heat, so O'Neal, as the core of the Heat, has naturally become the target that the Pacers must target, Because he was worried that NN Hilario would not be able to carry Shaq O'Neal, Rick Carlisle asked Jermaine O'Neal and NN Hilario to switch positions when he was arranging his tactics, Nn Hilario played the No. 4 position, and Jermaine O'Neill went to the No. 5 position to play against the big fat man, it can be said that Rick Carlisle gave Jermaine O'Neal a lot of "face".

"Jermaine, defending against that big fat guy is the key to whether we can win or not, so you have to be mentally prepared."

"And NN, as long as the fat guy catches the ball, just go and wrap him up, don't pay attention to the player who is opposite you. The other thing is that you're playing the number four today, so you have to be a little bit more aggressive on the defensive end, and if there's a leak on the outside, you're going to fill in as soon as possible. ”

"Meng, Jermaine played the No. 5 position today, so you need to take on more responsibility on the defensive end."

After the Pistons were swept by themselves, and the biggest imaginary enemy lost the semifinals, the Pacers are now very relaxed, but Rick Carlisle, as the head coach, is not easy at all, the interior combination of Jermaine O'Neal and Nn Hilario is also a first-class interior combination in the league, but the Pacers are still afraid of the super interior line like Shaq O'Neal and Tim Duncan, especially since Mutombo's condition has been greatly reduced due to injury, and the Pacers have not taken advantage of the Spurs and the Heat. So for this round of the series, Rick Carlisle is still a little worried, although the sharks are old, the aftermath is still there, and the series with the Nets, Shaq O'Neal can still play 23 points, 11 rebounds, 2.5 blocks.

"The Miami Heat's starting lineup today hasn't changed much from the previous round against the Nets, which is still playmaking guard Jason Williams, shooting guard Dwyane Wade, small forward Antoine Walker, power forward Udonis Haslem, and center Shaq O'Neal."

"On the Pacers' side, except for Jermaine O'Neal playing the No. 5 position today and Nn Hilario playing the No. 4 position, there have been no changes, and it is still playmaking guard Tony Allen, scoring guard Tysean Prince, and small forward Meng Xu."

"Although the Pacers' five players have not changed, it can be seen from the exchange of Jermaine O'Neal and Nn Hilario that the Pacers' tactics may have changed some times today."

After the players on both sides walked out of the player tunnel one after another, Magic Johnson and Michaels on the sideline commentary bench began to introduce the starting lineups of both sides, and after introducing the starting lineup of the Pacers, Magic Johnson was speculating whether the Pacers were going to change lineups today.

"Whatever you want to do, victory will be mine." After both sides warmed up and all the starters came on the court, the head coach of the Heat, Pat Riley, who has the title of God Operator, skimmed Rick Carlisle, who was also standing on the sidelines, with the corner of his eye, this scene has appeared in Pat Riley's mind many times.

With the whistle of the referee on duty, Jermaine O'Neal and Shaq O'Neal, who represent the Pacers and the Heat jump ball, jumped at the same time, and the Pacers and the Heat and the Eastern Conference Finals officially kicked off.