Since their farewell in Toronto, Su Feng hadn't imagined that he and John Davis would meet again in such a dramatic way in the Finals.

To date, both the Heat and the Mavericks have a playoff record of 12-0 this year.

Before the game, various media outlets gave their predictions, some favoring the Heat and others the Mavericks.

Experts favoring the Heat believed that Su Feng's form this season was incredibly hot, especially after O'Neal joined the team. This combination, arguably the most dominant offensive force in NBA history, still had no rivals capable of cracking their code.

Experts favoring the Mavericks believed that their overall roster was more solid.

Besides Nowitzki, the Mavericks also had Finley, Howard, Terry, and others who could step up and share the offensive burden.

According to the schedule, Game 1 of the Finals between the two teams would kick off on the evening of June 8th.

Since the Finals were still using the 2-3-2 format, it was crucial for the Heat to defend their first two home games.

Online, many Heat fans complained to the league that with the continuous development and progress of the times, the NBA Finals format should be synchronized with the Conference Semifinals.

Otherwise, the team with the better regular season record would have no advantage whatsoever under such a format.

Initially, the reason the NBA Finals adopted the 2-3-2 format was mainly because of the vast distance between the eastern and western United States.

And at that time, transportation wasn't as convenient as it is today.

Plus, the 2-3-2 format could give the weaker team some advantages when there was a significant imbalance in strength between the East and West, so the 2-3-2 format was retained.

However, as fans had pointed out to the NBA online,

In today's world of highly developed transportation, the 2-3-2 format was clearly outdated.

In New York, Stern, realizing that the NBA should indeed move with the times, decided to officially put the matter of changing the Finals format to a 2-2-1-1-1 format on the agenda when the team owners came to the league for a meeting in the summer.

In Miami, in the days leading up to the Finals, Riley hardly slept in order to ensure that the Heat could successfully win the first two games...

Believe it or not.

In the past few days, Riley had used up five notebooks just studying the Mavericks' game footage from this season.

In Riley's view, no matter how successful the Heat had been this season before the Finals...

If they failed to win the final championship, it would be a complete failure for the Heat.

Because after trading the team's future for O'Neal...

Right now, the Heat could only seize the day...

To be qualified to think about tomorrow.

Apart from Riley, O'Neal had also been suffering from insomnia for several nights before the Finals.

As everyone knows, O'Neal has made it to the Finals a total of six times in his career so far.

However, what's heartbreaking is...

In those six Finals appearances, O'Neal's team was swept out four times.

Therefore...

Looking at the comments online that were convinced the Heat would lose because he would become a softie in the Finals...

Do you know how panicked this fathead is right now?

In O'Neal's view, if he couldn't win a championship this year...

Then even if he had the thickest skin, he might have to choose to retire.

"Relax, Shaq!

You know, out of all of us, you're the most experienced player in the Finals.

Why are you the most nervous now?"

The day before the game, at the Heat's final training session, Su Feng couldn't help but tease O'Neal, who was trembling even as he walked.

Hearing that...

O'Neal, who usually liked to make jokes and play pranks during training, couldn't say a word at this moment.

Yes...

Of all the players on the Heat right now, he had the most Finals experience.

But that...

You know, back in October of last year, there weren't many experts in North America who dared to favor the Heat.

So Su Feng was also curious if Davis had come up with a way to deal with him after thinking about it for a whole year.

On the court, after the two teams' entry ceremonies, the circular screen hanging above the AmericanAirlines Arena immediately showed the starting lineups for both teams tonight.

Mavericks: Chandler, Nowitzki, Howard, Finley, Kidd.

Heat: O'Neal, Haslem, Su Feng, Butler, Payton.

In the center of the court, amidst the cheers of the fans, O'Neal and Chandler jumped to start the game.

In the future, the "Fist King" who dared to use his dick to fish in the river was clearly a bit of a coward when facing O'Neal tonight...

Because even if his thing was 28 centimeters long, he couldn't fish up O'Neal, who weighed nearly 150 kilograms.

However...

On the court, just as Su Feng received the ball Payton passed to him...

Looking at the defender in front of him tonight, Su Feng couldn't help but be stunned.

Not Josh Howard.

Nor Michael Finley.

But...

Jason Kidd.

Kidd, who is 193 centimeters tall, has the strength of a small forward.

Also, before suffering any major injuries, his speed was top-notch.

Therefore, in Davis's view...

In this Mavericks team, there was no one more suitable to withstand the pressure than Kidd.

Because Howard and Finley's stamina...

That was the key to ensuring that they could relieve Nowitzki's scoring pressure on the court.

"You know, I've been thinking for a whole year, and I still haven't figured out how to deal with Su." At the same time on the sidelines, Davis said after turning to look at Mike Brown and sighing deeply.

"But I know...

When facing Su, the dumbest thing to do is to invest too many defensive resources on him." After a pause, Davis added.

And now, Mike Brown suddenly felt confused by what Davis said.

Because...

In Brown's eyes...

When facing a player of Su Feng's level...

Shouldn't you send your best player to match up against him?

"Su has extraordinary stamina.

When I was still coaching the Raptors, the Celtics suffered a great loss because of him."

As the person in the league who knew Su Feng the best...

Davis knew that no matter what defensive tactics the Mavericks adopted against Su Feng in this Finals series, the Mavericks couldn't contain Su Feng for seven games.

Moreover, if he really used Howard and Finley to take turns putting pressure on him...

Then...

Those two would definitely be tormented by Su Feng to the point of losing their original offensive rhythm.

In Davis's view, the most failed strategy the Celtics used when facing the Raptors back then was to use Ray Allen to match up against Su Feng when Artest went off the court.

Because at that time, for the most part, Ray Allen's stamina was slowly worn down and exhausted by Su Feng like that.

Therefore, after learning from past experiences and lessons...

Kidd.

Was the answer Davis gave Su Feng tonight.

On the court, after smiling, Su Feng said to Kidd with a look of emotion, "I knew there was still a possibility tonight.

But...

I didn't expect John to actually do this."

Are you kidding me?

Since Davis was the "famous coach" he had personally cultivated...

How could Su Feng not have expected that Davis would arrange for Kidd to defend him in the Finals?

It's just that...

Su Feng didn't expect...

Davis would arrange it like this from the start.

Sure enough...

In this league, the ones who are always improving...

It's never just him.

On the court, after dribbling the ball twice, Su Feng immediately called O'Neal over to set a screen for him.

...