Sam Cassell, nicknamed "Sam I Am", not only possessed a strong mentality but also outstanding individual skills.
His post-up game had amazed countless fans, and his layup where he toyed with Kirilenko was particularly talked about.
So when Sam Cassell came onto the court, even Mike Brown was taken aback.
Mike Brown knew this player very well. As one of the "blue-collar" players, the head coach often liked to put Sam Cassell on the court to break the deadlock when the team was struggling. He always performed well, leveraging his strengths.
"Is Boston surrendering?"
Larry Hughes gestured towards Sam Cassell.
"Isn't this guy already thirty-nine this year? Boston is actually putting such an old guy on the court. Are they saving energy for the next game? Hahaha..."
Pavlovic and Drew Gooden chuckled, clearly not taking Sam Cassell seriously.
"It's better if we all stay focused. If a thirty-nine-year-old veteran can still play in the Eastern Conference Finals, he must have some special skills."
Tang Long, seeing everyone getting complacent again, couldn't help but remind them.
"He's an old guy, he'll be out of breath after a few steps! Tang, you're being too cautious."
Tang Long gave Larry Hughes an exasperated look.
This guy...
Tang Long sighed helplessly.
He knew that no matter what he said now, Larry Hughes probably wouldn't listen.
Soon, the Cavaliers learned why Doc Rivers had sent Sam Cassell onto the court.
The veteran was incredibly quick, and on offense, he was as slippery as an eel.
He drove to the basket against Larry Hughes, who was trying his best to defend him. Suddenly, Cassell spun around and shot.
The ball went in smoothly!
Initially, Larry Hughes thought he wasn't focused enough. But the next time he was ready to block Sam Cassell, Cassell dribbled once, moved his body, and immediately followed up with a shot. Larry Hughes had already jumped to contest, yet the ball swished through the net!
Larry Hughes had been scored on twice in isolation, and his face turned green.
"What do you think? Still dare to underestimate an old guy?"
To survive in such a brutal competitive arena like the NBA, one would have been retired long ago without some serious skills.
"It was just a coincidence. Let's play a few more possessions, and I'll see if he still has any stamina."
Larry Hughes, outwardly defiant, was inwardly more serious.
However, Sam Cassell's post-up game was indeed excellent, and defending him was very difficult for Larry Hughes.
At the end of the second quarter, thanks to Sam Cassell's outstanding performance, the Celtics scored twenty-three points, while the Cavaliers only managed nineteen.
At halftime, the Cavaliers led by only one point, 41-40.
"What do you think? Still dare to underestimate an old guy?"
Facing Tang Long's teasing, Larry Hughes awkwardly waved his hands.
Who would have thought that this old guy would come on and change the momentum of the game, revitalizing the Celtics' offense?
"It's not too bad. After all, he's thirty-nine, and his stamina limits his performance! If they play like this in the third quarter, he'll be gassed soon."
Tang Long patted Larry Hughes on the shoulder: "Besides, his height will make it difficult for him on defense. I'll get revenge for you in the third quarter."
At this moment, Mike Brown called everyone over with the whiteboard: "Garnett won't be coming out first. I expect him to play in the latter half of the third quarter, so we'll make a lineup adjustment for now. Gibson will guard Sam Cassell, and Big Z will attack the Celtics' paint."
Tang Long understood that this was to give them some rest.
At the start of the second half of the third quarter, the Cavaliers sent out their reserve lineup.
The two commentators in the broadcast booth didn't analyze the substitutes much, focusing more on discussions about Tang Long and speculations about what would happen when the main players from both sides entered the game.
It wasn't entirely the commentators' fault; the reserves played competently when they came on.
However, after Gibson entered the game, his defense on Sam Cassell was very effective. Coupled with his declining stamina, Sam Cassell's shooting percentage gradually decreased.
Just five minutes into the third quarter, Mike Brown called a timeout and sent the starting five back onto the court.
Doc Rivers had intended for Sam Cassell to continue attacking Larry Hughes, but his shooting percentage had dropped. After consecutive misses on offense, he also frequently allowed the Cavaliers to score on defense.
By the time Doc Rivers decided to call a timeout, the Cavaliers had already established a ten-point lead.
After that, he didn't even call a timeout and didn't let Garnett play in the third quarter.
As a result, the Cavaliers, with a surge of points from Tang Long in the paint, outscored their opponents 28-17 in the third quarter, re-establishing a lead of over ten points.
In the fourth quarter, Garnett returned to the court but couldn't stop the surging Cavaliers.
Considering the upcoming games, Mike Brown subbed out the starters for three minutes of rest. When the Celtics began to gain momentum, he put all the starters back in.
Relying on the advantage built in the first three quarters, the Cavaliers defeated the Celtics 88-79 in the first game, securing the victory!
After the game, C5 reported that the viewership for this game had reached levels comparable to the All-Star game.
Especially during Tang Long's playing time, the activity on Tieba and forums reached an all-time peak!
Facing reporters after the game, Tang Long was in an exceptionally good mood.
"Tang, you achieved another double-double in this game, but we also noticed that you and Garnett seemed to have a disagreement in the first quarter. What happened then?"
"It was a battle between men, which is normal! Of course, this is competitive sports, which emphasizes skill and physicality. If you only resort to dirty tactics, even a victory is a shameful one, not to mention they lost!"
The reporters immediately got excited.
Tang Long was targeting the Celtics again, which meant more traffic.
Wanting to provoke Tang Long further, they saw him push past the reporters and head towards the locker room.
As soon as he entered, James reached out to Larry Hughes and the others, taunting, "Give me the money! Give me the money!"
Larry Hughes and the others, with grim expressions, took out stacks of U.S. dollars and handed them to James.
"Did something happen that I don't know about?"
Larry Hughes looked at Tang Long and said, "LeBron said you'd definitely provoke the Celtics when you were interviewed. We thought you wouldn't. As a result, you made us lose money."
James happily jingled the money his teammates had lost: "You guys are still too young, you don't understand Tang well enough!"
Tang Long slung an arm around James's shoulder and nodded towards him: "LeBron, since you won money, you should treat everyone to a meal, right guys? Do you think I'm right?"