Oracle Arena, amidst the golden waves rising higher and higher on site, the five starting Warriors led by Qin Yue successively stepped onto the court—Qin Yue, Murphy, Wallace, Bell, Curry.
The Warriors continued their strategy from their previous encounters with the Lakers, using Nash as the best sixth man and starting Murphy to partner with Qin Yue inside, providing offensive spacing.
The only difference is, Old Bell has returned to the Warriors' starting lineup for the finals.
Because besides Pierce, the Celtics have Old Carter on the wing who requires the Warriors to designate soone to strictly guard him.
And just as the five starting Warriors took their positions, the five starting Celtics, led by Pierce, stepped boldly onto the center of the court—Horford, Duncan, Pierce, Carter, Kenyon Dooling.
This season, Horford, who successfully made it to the Eastern Conference All-Stars as a substitute, is no longer the sa as before.
Historically, as a star inside player who could single-handedly defend Old Jas until the twilight of his career.
The progress Horford made in his first three seasons has made him one of the few current league players who can match up against Qin Yue.
As early as Qin Yue's second season, the great Jeff Van Gundy once said that to limit the Warriors' offense, you first need a player who can match up against Qin Yue.
Otherwise, if Qin Yue forms a natural mismatch on the court, your defensive strategy will be limited to various types of zone defense.
Before the ga started, Qin Yue deliberately turned his attention to the Celtics' bench.
Unlike the past two years, where Piggy Rivers would only shout "Co on, co on, let's go, woof, woof" whenever a crisis lood.
With Alvin Gentry taking over as the head coach of these Celtics, Qin Yue saw that this Green Army has undoubtedly received an epic upgrade.
In the previous Eastern Conference semifinals, it took this Gentry-coached Celtics six gas to settle the Magic...
But compared to the sa period in history, this Magic, possessing "Martial Saint" Jackson and "Grand General" Arenas, was indeed a more formidable opponent.
As for their Eastern Conference finals battle with the Bobcats that went to a ga seven?
Qin Yue knew well that this Bobcats team, which had perford miracles all the way to the Eastern Conference finals, couldn't be viewed with a regular-season perspective anymore.
Moreover, from a lineup standpoint, could the Bobcats even pose so restraint against the Celtics?
Faced with Artest, Pierce, whose ankle injury hadn't healed at the ti, was destined to suffer.
Then there's Randolph, who Duncan has always struggled to handle.
And Roy, who could treat the Celtics' backcourt like an empty road in the early morning.
In fact, if it weren't for Gentry's adept command, coupled with Artest being ejected due to a flagrant foul in ga seven...
In Qin Yue's eyes, the outco between the Bobcats and Celtics was truly uncertain.
But overall, if the Celtics' coach were still Rivers...
This Green Army might have already drowned in a more powerful Eastern region compared to the sa period in history.
"In this finals series, the Warriors' physical condition is clearly better than the Celtics'." Before the jump ball, Smith said, "They got nearly ten days of rest before the finals began."
Hearing this, Barkley replied, "But this is also the luck the Warriors earned through strength. Since they swept the entire West invincibly, Celtics fans shouldn't complain about why the Warriors got more rest ti than them."
At this mont, Barkley hit the nail on the head.
Why do the Warriors have the natural advantages in this year's finals?
Because they captured 75 wins in the regular season, which ensured they had ho-court advantage against any opponent in the playoffs.
As for the Warriors' obvious better physical condition compared to the Celtics'?
"Kenny, if the Celtics were in the West, do you think they could easily sweep the Mavericks and Lakers like the Warriors did?" Barkley rhetorically asked on TNT TV Station.
Then, before Smith could answer, Barkley added, "But I believe even if the Warriors were in the East, they could easily advance to the finals!"
Barkley revealed the reason why the Warriors were favored before the finals began.
On the court, Qin Yue won possession for the Warriors during the jump ball.
Curry brought the ball past half-court and quickly passed it to Qin Yue in the opening, taking advantage of the Celtics being unsettled.
Facing Horford, Qin Yue leisurely dribbled between his legs before pulling up for a shot.
Swoosh——!
The Warriors, with a shot from Qin Yue, comnced their first strike after a two-year absence from the finals.
0 to 2.
Back on defense, leaving Horford to Murphy, Qin Yue rushed towards Duncan.
Seeing this, Barkley exclaid, "Attacking only faces the toughest threats, defending only guards the opponent's core inside. I think only the Warriors players know what kind of security ssiah provides them on both ends."
The Celtics usually start their first attack centered around the inside.
On the wing, seeing Duncan didn't settle as planned, Pierce transitioned the ball to the other side, where Carter lobbed it to Horford.
Although as a modern center, posting up isn't Horford's forte, facing the relatively soft Murphy of the Warriors, Horford had to take on so interior offensive responsibilities.
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