Before either team's players had taken the court, LeBron James and the notoriously anti-Yi Pierce were analyzing the matchup from the commentary booth.
Pierce had gone on at length, finally concluding:
"So that's my take. This year's Lakers are a jump-shooting team, and the Raptors don't have many people who can defend on the perimeter. They also have serious problems within the team, and their bench isn't good enough. They dig themselves into a hole of dozens of points every game, so the Raptors will have a very tough time."
"Wang has filled the forty-point hole his bench dug for him in each of the last two games. Do you know what that's like? It's like Tracy McGrady scoring thirteen points in thirty-five seconds at the end of a game two nights in a row."
"Doing it two games straight is already incredibly difficult. I absolutely don't believe he can do it three games in a row."
LeBron James, however, smiled and said, "I believe he can, because he's Wang Yi."
Pierce chuckled. "Then let's see who comes out on top."
As the Raptors' home-court introduction lit up with a spectacular, almost ethereal light show, both teams took the floor.
The Raptors' starting lineup was unchanged once again.
Just as Wang Yi had said, they wouldn't change their starting lineup at all for the entire season.
Wang Yi, Zhang Jiacheng, Hachimura, Dauding, Pang Bo.
Unless something unexpected happened, those five would start every game this season, except when they were resting.
The Lakers' starting lineup was as follows:
Point Guard: Hield
Shooting Guard: Saipan
Small Forward: Miyazaki Isamu
Power Forward: Robin
Center: Peter
You could call this lineup unbalanced, and you wouldn't be wrong.
At just six-foot-four, Point Guard Hield was on the shorter side for his position.
Center Peter