"Is it over 10?"
Coach Zhang and Yang Yi were also stunned. What did this mean?
Even the World Cup only had a viewership rating of just over 1%. Football was the undisputed number one sport, yet they never expected the NBA Finals to have such high viewership in China!
"Huh, why is my TV silent?"
At the same time, many viewers waiting for the live broadcast found their TVs had no sound. They could only see two guests staring blankly at the camera.
"Gentlemen, please say something."
Yang Yi was the first to react: "Dear viewers, you are currently watching the NBA Finals, Game 1 of the Cavaliers hosting the Lakers."
"Damn it, I thought my TV was broken."
Many viewers in front of their screens exclaimed in unison.
They thought the TV was broken!
The station manager also breathed a sigh of relief. His eyes then gleamed in the dim room, catching a refreshing scent.
It was the scent of money!
With such high viewership, advertising rates for sponsors would naturally be increased. He, as the station manager, would truly strike it rich. More importantly, being able to produce such a high-rated program meant he could walk with his head held high within the station from now on!
...
"The starting lineups have already been displayed on screen."
"The Cavaliers, learning from their lessons against the Celtics, have returned to their previous starting lineup."
"Tang Long will play center, LeBron James is the small forward, Larry Hughes is the point guard, followed by Pavlovic and Drew Gooden."
"The Lakers' starting lineup is Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Vladimir Radmanović, and Derek Fisher."
"Although the Serbian player Radmanović is 2.08 meters tall, his greatest strength is his three-point shooting, with a hit rate of 36.7%. It's a real waste for someone with such excellent physical conditions to be a shooter!"
Coach Zhang chimed in after Yang Yi: "This also shows that the Lakers' overall team strength is still superior to the Cavaliers. Besides Fisher, Kobe is 1.98 meters, Radmanović and Odom are both 2.08 meters, and Gasol is an even taller 2.13 meters!"
"The Lakers' static talent and strength give them a significant advantage against the Cavaliers, which is why everyone favored the Lakers before the game."
"Coach Zhang, do you think the Lakers will exploit their height advantage in this game?"
Coach Zhang nodded: "The Lakers have quite diverse tactics, especially with Coach Phil Jackson perfecting the triangle offense. It involves three players on the strong side forming an attack with the other two players, and it changes based on the opponent's defensive lineup!"
"This is also why Coach Jackson uses Radmanović as a shooter. With Kobe, Gasol, and Odom, they can perfectly leverage the advantages of the triangle offense, leaving Radmanović to be a shooter."
"Therefore, this game is very important for the Cavaliers. If they can win the first two games at home, then even if they lose the next two away games, they will still have home-court advantage."
Yang Yi nodded: "It seems Coach Zhang still hopes the Cavaliers can make good use of their home-court advantage and secure the two home games steadily."
"Exactly. If you can't win at home, it will be even harder later, let alone facing the Lakers at their home court. Los Angeles fans have a much larger base than Cleveland fans!"
...
"Paul, we meet again."
At the tip-off circle, Tang Long and Gasol were ready to contest the jump ball. Their eyes were fixed on the referee's raised hand holding the basketball. At this moment, Tang Long's mouth was also busy.
"Tang, stop with the pleasantries. Everyone knows you like to distract people during the jump ball."
Gasol shot Tang Long an annoyed glance.
BEEP!
Just as he made this move, the referee blew the whistle and tossed the ball high into the air. By the time Gasol reacted, Tang Long had already jumped.
SWISH!
The ball was slapped into LeBron James's hands. James drove rapidly towards the basket. The Lakers, not yet prepared, had three players rush to stop him.
At the same time, Tang Long broke from the low post, drawing Gasol's attention again.
James jumped and passed, directly feeding Larry Hughes near the free-throw line. Hughes caught the ball and drove for a layup in one fluid motion!
The Cavaliers scored first, taking a two-point lead.
Gasol clutched the basketball and glared fiercely at Tang Long. That guy had definitely done it on purpose.
He had prepared himself during the pre-game tactical analysis, but he still fell for this guy's trick.
"Paul, don't mind it, it's just the beginning of the game."
Gasol nodded at Kobe Bryant and passed the ball to Fisher.
Fisher, that old slippery eel in the league, was not only hard to get a hold of but also skilled at controlling the offensive tempo. His court command experience was definitely in the top ten in the league.
Larry Hughes quickly closed in, but Fisher didn't engage him. After drawing the defender, he directly passed the ball to Kobe and then ran towards the baseline.
Kobe caught the ball, and Odom came up to set a screen. LeBron James, while holding Odom's body, asked Kobe, "Kobe, I'll buy you a drink after the game."
Kobe, who was about to drive, heard LeBron and replied while dribbling, "Sure... Fuck, you guys are shameless."
As he finished speaking, Pavlovic appeared out of nowhere. Odom, who was supposed to set the screen, ended up blocking his line of sight. The ball was directly stolen by Pavlovic.
The Cavaliers launched a fast break.
Pavlovic passed the ball from the free-throw line to LeBron James, who jumped and completed a thunderous dunk!
CRASH!!
Right at the start of the game, LeBron unleashed a powerful dunk. The fans at Quicken Loans Arena rose to their feet and cheered for him.
Kobe Bryant stared at LeBron with a dark expression.
"Just a small thing, it's only the beginning. I believe in you guys."
"Damn it!"
Kobe glared at LeBron.
Before the game, Coach Jackson had conducted detailed analyses targeting the Cavaliers' dynamic duo, including the individual abilities of LeBron James and Tang Long, as well as the Cavaliers' playing style.
However, they never expected these two guys to be so hyped up right from the start!
...
"Haha, I didn't expect it to be so effective. The fans played a role."
"Who says our fans are all trolls? Look at the tactics we devised for the Cavaliers, and they're working."
"It's all thanks to Tang Long. If it were someone else, how could they possibly listen to fan-suggested tactics."
That's right.
The trick they pulled at the start was suggested by Tang Long and LeBron James during their interactions with fans on the forum.
Everyone thought it was just a joke, but Tang Long and LeBron James actually used it, and it turned out to be surprisingly effective.
"Brothers, what are you waiting for? Let's start researching tactics, bring out Sun Tzu's Thirty-Six Stratagems, and let the Lakers team taste our power!"