Chapter 352: Fighting like this is unfair
At eight o'clock, both sides announced their starting lineups.

Heat: O'Neal, Haslem, Antoine Walker, Wade, Jason Williams
Knicks: He Zhongqiu, Varejao, Shane Battier, Josh Howard, Nash
This series was broadcast live across the United States by ABC, with Bill Walton and Hubie Brown as the commentators.

Bill Walton said: "Antoine Walker was a backup in the regular season, but after entering the playoffs, he replaced James Posey in the first round."

Hubie Brown said: "Let's not talk about the first two rounds. When playing against the Knicks, the main opponent at the No. 3 position is D player Battier, who has no ball-handling ability and is not a big threat. It might be better to use Walker, who is more offensive."

Bill Walton nodded and said, "After Pat Riley replaced his disciple Van Gundy, the record has indeed improved significantly."

Hubie Brown smiled and did not pick up the topic. Instead, he said, "In this Eastern Conference Finals, the media is more optimistic about the Knicks, and the Knicks have the best regular season record in league history. I think the Knicks are indeed better."

In the CCTV live studio, Zhang Heli and Yu Jia were in very good spirits.

The Rockets did not make it to the playoffs, so they don't have to rush on both ends, which makes them much more comfortable than last season.

Zhang Heli analyzed: "In terms of strength, the Knicks are undoubtedly stronger. Zhongqiu will have no problem playing against O'Neal, and they have advantages on both offense and defense.

And since O'Neal can't attract double teams, the Knicks can focus on double teams on Wade. Unless Wade performs exceptionally well, his performance won't be very good."

于佳说道：“韦德首轮25分4.5篮板7.2助攻2抢断1.3盖帽，次轮27.2分6.6篮板6.5助攻2.4抢断0.6盖帽，看看这一轮的表现如何吧？”

Zhang Heli said: "It mainly depends on the quality of Shane Battier's backup and assist defense, his defensive performance is very crucial.

If Wade breaks through the three lines of defense of Nash, Battier and Varejao and enters the restricted area, he should be careful. Zhongqiu defends two players at once, and Wade can easily form a cooperation with O'Neal. "

"We must never let the Big Shaq and the Flash team up. The Big Shaq is old, but his dominance under the basket is still very strong," said Yu Jia.

In the player tunnel, the starting lineups of both teams met.

"Wolverine, we are coming." Wade shouted with fighting spirit.

"What are you here for?" He Zhongqiu asked curiously.

Wade said angrily: "Of course I will beat you and make it to the finals."

"Kill me?"

The ban was lifted. He Zhongqiu was in a very good mood. He was not angry, but just looked disdainful. He said, "Just relying on your unreliable mid-range shot? Or..."

At this point, he looked at O'Neal and jokingly said, "Shaq's mid-range shot?"

Wade was furious. His mid-range shots, well, outside the restricted area, his hit rate never exceeded 40%, and the Big Shark was even worse.

O'Neal said unhappily, "Wolverine, how about we compete under the basket?"

"I'm going to drag you out and kill you." He Zhongqiu said proudly.

O'Neal and Wade looked at each other in bewilderment. This was the Wolverines' ultimate weapon against them. They could only take a mid-range shot and Haslem could only defend them. However, Haslem's height was not enough to defend against the Wolverines.

Although coach Pat Riley arranged some targeted tactics, the Wolverines are more threatening than the Shaqs in their prime, and no one is sure.

"Superhero! Superhero! Superhero..."

The next performer to appear was He Zhongqiu, the final act. When he came out, the entire Madison Square Garden turned into a boiling ocean, and earth-shaking cheers echoed in the arena.

He Zhongqiu clasped his fists and saluted, but the shouting continued for more than a minute before it slowly died down after he repeatedly expressed his thanks.

"These are Zhongqiu's fans, giving him their support." Zhang Heli said excitedly.

The game starts at half past eight.

He Zhongqiu and O'Neal jump ball and the Knicks attack.

The Heat quickly returned to defense and set up a three-two zone formation.

But what was surprising was that small forward Antoine Walker was guarding the right waist position, while power forward Haslem was guarding the middle of the court, and the two switched their defensive positions.

He Zhongqiu first signed in at the low post on the left wing, then immediately pulled out to ask for the ball, moving to a position one step inside the 45-degree three-point line on the left wing.

The Big Shark O'Neal did not follow to defend, because even if he wanted to, he could not keep up with He Zhongqiu in terms of speed.

Wade was deployed on the left wing and he immediately prepared to defend He Zhongqiu.

"Whoosh!"

Nash passed the ball from the top of the arc towards He Zhongqiu.

The ball flew over Wade's head and he immediately pounced on He Zhongqiu who was two meters away.

At the same time, the Heat's zone defense formation immediately shifted to the left wing, and Haslem in the high position pounced on Battier and implemented the fastest defense.

But He Zhongqiu did not pass the ball. Instead, he shot a long two-point shot over Wade's head. With his left hand, he held Wade, who was only at his chest, and threw the ball towards the backboard with his right hand.

Wade jumped, but couldn't reach it, and his rhythm was half a beat slow.

"Oh!"

The basketball hit the backboard and bounced off, then went accurately through the basket.

"Clap clap clap..."

Madison Square Garden immediately erupted in warm applause.

"Haha, Wade switches to defend Wolverine, and Wolverine may shoot outside all night tonight." Bill Walton laughed.

"Haslem can't defend the Wolverines from the outside, as proven last season," Hubie Brown said.

"Little guy, you don't have to jump at all. Don't waste your energy." He Zhongqiu, who had succeeded on the field, advised kindly.

"Don't call me little guy, I'm 18 months older than you." Wade said unconvinced.

"Why not call you Jumping Man?" He Zhongqiu asked.

"What's that nickname?" Wade's head suddenly became bigger.

The Heat attacked, and the Knicks also set up a three-two zone defense formation.

Battier guarded the high post, but Nash went to the left wing this time, and Josh Howard guarded the right wing.

Off the bench, He Zhongqiu is at the left waist position, on the wing with Nash, and Varejao is at the right waist position.

"Is this to let Zhongqiu provide backup defense for Nash and Battier? He is the third line of defense, and the basket is left to Varejao?" Zhang Heli asked.

Yu Jia said: "Once Wade breaks into the restricted area and Zhongqiu comes to defend, Varejao will have to play two under the basket and defend both Shaq and Haslem at the same time."

At this time, White Chocolate pushed the ball to the frontcourt and observed the Knicks' defensive formation.

This is different from the Knicks' regular season defensive formation, and Wade is observing the same.

If we still look for Nash, then when he breaks through on the left wing, he will most likely be double-teamed or defended by Wolverine outside the restricted area.

If he doesn't look for Nash, he will have to face the defense and backup of two defensive stalwarts, Battier or Josh Howard, on the front line, making it much more difficult to break through.

Finally, he decided to play Nash first and try out the Knicks' defensive formation. When he ran to the left wing, White Chocolate pulled to the right at the top of the arc, attracted Battier's defense, and suddenly passed the ball behind his back.

Wade received the ball on the left wing. Battier was unable to double-team him, so Wade easily broke through Nash and headed for the left elbow area.

Battier quickly made up for the defense, but still failed to get a frontal defensive position in the left elbow area, so he could only stick to Wade's right side and force him to dribble with his left hand.

When Wade took a step into the restricted area, He Zhongqiu had already blocked him and completed the double-team.

At this time, the Big Shark in the low post on the left wing was moving towards the basket and reaching for the ball.

"squeak!"

Wade stopped suddenly and turned around to protect the ball, then pulled to the left wing, blocked He Zhongqiu with his right elbow, and passed the ball with his left hand into the basket.

Affected by He Zhongqiu, the passing action was a bit forced, which affected the passing speed.

He Zhongqiu turned around quickly and dived to the basket two meters away.

Under the basket, O'Neal and Haslem teamed up to trap Varejao behind them, completely occupying the most advantageous offensive position.

When O'Neal received the ball, He Zhongqiu turned one step and reached out to him, almost knocking the ball away.

The next moment, he turned around and jumped up.

Almost at the same time, He Zhongqiu jumped up from behind O'Neal, instantly surpassed O'Neal, looked down at him, and pressed down with his big hand.

O'Neal held the ball high above his head with both hands and was about to smash it into the basket, but before he could exert any strength, a big hand like an iron hook suddenly pressed on the basketball.

"Hey!"

He slammed down with all his might, trying to break free from He Zhongqiu's block.

"Get down here!"

But at this moment, He Zhongqiu's terrifying level 98 strength exploded, pressing O'Neal to the floor with both himself and the ball.

"Shit! How is that possible?"

Being held down, O'Neal was so depressed that he felt like vomiting blood and his emotions were somewhat unstable.

Because this was something he had never experienced before. Since he entered the league, with his explosiveness, strength and tonnage, he had never been pinned down by anyone when he was dunking with both hands under the basket. This was the first time, and he was pinned down from behind.

In addition to being depressed, this block also greatly hit his self-confidence.

"Oh ho!"

When He Zhongqiu pinned the Great Shark down from behind, Madison Square Garden was in an uproar. Countless people raised their arms and cheered excitedly.

"God, Wolverine is holding the Great Shark in the cap. He slammed down the Great Shark's hands. He is showing us what power is."

The Knicks' live commentator Bingo Boris roared excitedly, and the huge sound rolled over Madison Square Garden.

The basketball flew over the top of the backboard, hit the basket stand, and fell outside the court. The referee immediately pointed to the Knicks' frontcourt, switching offense and defense.

"This block is definitely ranked first among all the blocks this season," Bill Walton said in shock.

"This was the first time that the Great Shark and Wolverine faced off in this round, and the young Wolverine defeated the old Great Shark." Hubie Brown also said with a surprised look on his face.

"Indeed, this ball shows us that the Sharks are indeed old and no longer have the courage they had when they won three consecutive championships," Bill Walton said.

The Knicks attacked, and He Zhongqiu moved to the left wing again. After receiving the ball, he once again had an opportunity to single out Wade.

"Bang! Swoosh!"

Wade was not tall enough and lacked strength, so he was unable to provide effective defense. Fortunately, He Zhongqiu had a good touch today and made another long two-point shot.

Bill Walton laughed with great amusement, "It's not fair to play like this."

"Ha ha……"

Hubie Brown laughed: "Wade defended Wolverine, and Wolverine basically took open shots. With his rebounding skills, eight out of ten shots might be a bit high, but six out of ten shots is definitely a bit low."

Bill Walton nodded and smiled, and said, "Wolverine made 2 of 2 shots. He will definitely continue to play like this. The Heat must adjust their defensive tactics immediately."

On the sidelines, Pat Riley shook his head helplessly and made a timeout gesture to the court. Then White Chocolate received the ball and called a timeout.

"Next we'll play mixed defense, Haslem will guard the Wolverine who's out, Shaq will guard the restricted area, and we'll play zone defense on the outside, focusing on guarding Nash."

"Udonis, your defensive height is not high enough, try some more tricks, like tickling his armpit when he shoots."

Haslem was stunned. Is this possible, Mr. Riley? Are you sure you won’t anger Wolverine?

After the timeout, the Heat attacked.

O'Neal had just lost face and wanted to get back at someone, so he went into the low post on the left wing to take up position.

He grunted and wanted a deeper position, but unfortunately, although he had a lot of space, he was not as strong as others and could not squeeze in, so he had to stay outside.

After getting the ball, he gathered all his strength and dribbled backwards.

He Zhongqiu's agility and speed now increased again, and he flashed outwards in an instant.

O'Neal missed the shot and fell backwards. As he fell, he lost control of the ball and it was caught by He Zhongqiu.

"Ha ha……"

As the Shark flipped over, a huge laugh broke out at Madison Square Garden.

While O'Neal was unable to return to defense, the Knicks launched a fast break, and finally He Zhongqiu successfully dunked at the basket and scored 6 points in a row.

"No, the current O'Neal is no match for Wolverine," said Bill Walton.

"Just like the current O'Neal is no match for the Shaq during his three consecutive championships," Hubie Brown said.

Bill Walton said: "The Wolverines played very excitedly in the first two rounds, scoring 40 points in the first round and 42 points in the second round. They performed quite violently. The Sharks have to hold up in this series!"

"Ugh!"

Pat Riley looked at the embarrassed Great Shark, then at the running Wolverine, and couldn't help but sigh deeply.

After much difficulty, he got the Big Shaq, but there is a more terrifying Wolverine in the East, whose strength even surpasses that of the Big Shaq in his prime. He sees no hope of breaking out of the East!

"Dwyane, you take over the offense," he shouted onto the court.

For now, we can only hope that the Flash and the Big Shark can create synergy. There is no other way.

0:6, Heat attack.

(End of this chapter)