In the second quarter, Brown switched to the Pistons' bench lineup, and he believed the bench bandits could cause problems for the Lakers. In fact, it doesn't matter if they can't stop the opponent, the Pistons are still in the leading position, and the benches only need to give the main team enough rest time, and they are trustworthy at least on the offensive end under Wade's leadership.

The Zen master also put Peyton and Malone on the bench, and the two veterans must now rest. Although their stats in the first quarter were not very good, the physical exertion was real, and in order to maintain their strength in the next games, rest was necessary for them, and it was enough to keep Kobe and O'Neal on the court.

However, no one expected that it was not Wade who took the lead on the Pistons' side, but Thomas, who did not return to the starting line for the sake of insurance. Dio's performance in the first few games was very good, which made the whole Pistons breathe a sigh of relief, but Thomas felt a lot of pressure, and if he failed to prove himself, the starting power forward position was bound to be threatened.

So in the first offensive round of the Pistons in the second quarter, Thomas was very determined to ask for the ball in the high post, and it could be judged from the position where he was standing Chang Wei that this guy obviously wanted to break through with the ball. Thomas's mid-to-long-range shooting is a threat, but in that case he mostly catches and shoots, and the most likely way to stop the ball in the high post is to break through himself.

After a long period of training, Thomas's breakthrough is not as good as that of guards like Kobe and Wade, but it is still second to none among the big men. The substitute power forward Walker himself is very average in defense, Thomas accelerated like a tank ran over, Walker didn't dare to stretch out his hand at all, at this time he stretched out his hand is definitely a foul. Seeing Walker wincing, Thomas pushed inside against him and hit a small hook shot before O'Neal pounced.

Seeing Thomas so aggressively asking for the ball, the other Pistons players on the floor also reacted, and everyone planned to fulfill him, as long as he could ensure offensive efficiency. Under the helpless gaze of the Zen master, Thomas made a burst of outside shots and scored consecutive points, and gave O'Neal two blocks on the defensive end, which was completely the most popular player on the court, and the Lakers had no players at all to stop him.

For Lakers players, a power forward like Thomas is indeed a bug, he can play alone and fight for rebounds in the low post, and he can also pull outside to shoot, and he is also very good at breaking through the high post. The inside combination of Walker and O'Neal is not bad, but Walker's strength is not as good as Thomas's, and O'Neal is not as flexible as Thomas, so he can only do whatever he wants.

By the time the Zen master replaced Payton and Malone, the Lakers still didn't close the score, and to the anger of the Lakers, the Pistons still didn't replace their main man, which they felt was a contempt for themselves. The Lakers players who came on the court with a lot of anger played very hard, they were desperate for an equalizer, and the Pistons' bench lineup suddenly felt a lot of pressure.

After missing shots in three consecutive rounds, Brown finally made the decision to make a substitution, and he was still afraid that the Lakers would get on the ground. However, he didn't let Wade and Thomas off the court, these two guys are hot now, and it is a bit wasteful to replace them, and Thomas and Wade staying on the court will not make the team's defense drop significantly, and it is the best option to continue to keep them.

Hamilton and Dio, who were replaced, had no objections, and Brown originally intended to replace Prince with Wade, but the latter was responsible for defending Kobe Bryant, and Brown needed him to play 48 minutes if he could. Thomas was even more pleasantly surprised, he didn't expect to be back with the other starters so soon, and it made him feel familiar.

However, Thomas still knows how to measure, he did not constantly hold the ball as before, but tried to cooperate with his teammates to play conventional tactics, and at the same time he actively cooperated with Big Ben on the defensive end to make the interior a no-fly zone, and it was difficult for the Lakers' outside players to come to the basket to score smoothly, and only O'Neal and Malone could score under their defense.

At halftime, the Pistons unsurprisingly led 55-42, and Thomas was undoubtedly the key to their advantage, as he scored 14 points, five rebounds and three blocks in the second quarter, proving that he had come out of a concussion, and Brown was very pleased that the Pistons were able to play the Lakers with a full lineup.

In the second half, the Lakers still didn't find their senses, and their offense was almost entirely supported by Kobe Bryant, who had no idea of passing the ball to his teammates, even if they were in the open space. Brown thinks that Kobe Bryant is killing the red eye, but Chang Wei doesn't see it that way, thinking of the Lakers' infighting in his previous life, he believes that Kobe Bryant is very dissatisfied with his teammates, so he plans to help the Lakers win by himself. Maybe it would work against other teams, but the Pistons don't eat it.

Prince was very successful in defending Kobe, and despite his constant offensive with the ball, Bryant was unable to feel anything under his harassment. But for Kobe Bryant, a severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, even if he repeatedly misses shots, he will continue to shoot until he finds his touch, but this also makes the Lakers fall further into the abyss, and the difference between the two sides soon widened to 18 points.

This made the jaws drop of all the experts and fans who followed this game, and it stands to reason that the finals should be the pinnacle matchup between the two strongest teams in the East and the West, but what is going on now? The Pistons directly beat the Lakers? Is it just a joke that the West is strong and the East is weak? Thankfully, this is in Detroit, and if it were Los Angeles, the Lakers would have been booed by the home fans.

The Zen master had to replace Kobe, but the latter's willfulness basically doomed the Lakers to the failure of the game, and in the end, the game that was considered a dragon battle before the game became one-sided, and the Pistons at home easily defeated the Lakers 99-88 and got the Finals off to a good start. At the end of the game, Bryant didn't say a word, and rushed into the tunnel with a blushing face, and he was obviously unable to accept the defeat with a competitive spirit, although it was largely caused by himself.

The Zen master was annoyed by Kobe's performance, but the others also failed to play at a normal level, and only O'Neal and Malone scored double-doubles in the team except for Kobe, which is rare for the Lakers. It stands to reason that the Lakers have a lot of experience and shouldn't have such a problem, but it turns out that anything can happen during the game.