Later Comers Surpass the First, Turning Guest into Host

November 1st. The Cleveland Cavaliers kicked off their season with the opening game, facing off against the Eastern Conference powerhouse, the Washington Wizards.

These two teams were old rivals.

Last season, the Washington Wizards finished fifth in the East, while the Cleveland Cavaliers took fourth.

They met in the first round of the playoffs, and the Cavaliers ultimately eliminated the Wizards 4-2 to advance to the second round.

The Wizards were also Larry Hughes's former team.

Larry Hughes had spent three years with the Washington Wizards, improving each season.

That caught GM LeBron's eye, and he was invited to Cleveland to be bled dry, his stats plummeting off a cliff, earning him the label of a "CBA teammate" from LeBron Stans.

Larry Hughes: (sobbing)

After Larry Hughes left, the Washington Wizards quickly found a replacement—Caron Butler.

Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, and Gilbert Arenas formed a brand-new Big Three.

In his first season with the team, Caron Butler integrated quickly and put up stellar numbers.

Averaging 17.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.

He became the best supporting piece alongside Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas.

So whether the Cleveland Cavaliers could win this opener came down to whether they could at least somewhat contain the Wizards' Big Three.

Before the game, in the Cavaliers' locker room, Coach Mike Brown kept stressing to the players that they had to limit the Big Three's offense.

The Cavaliers players nodded along repeatedly.

As for Su Yi, he sat in the corner zoning out, since he wasn't even sure how much playing time he'd get.

Once Coach Mike Brown finished speaking, the entire Cavaliers roster filed out to the player tunnel for the pregame introductions.

Su Yi didn't have high hopes for the introductions—after all, he hadn't made himself known to the Cleveland fans yet.

During a few home preseason games, when his name was called, he only got scattered applause.

"Su!" "Su!" "Su!" ... But when the announcer introduced his name for the opener, the moment he stepped out of the tunnel, he was met with an unprecedented roar.

Su Yi froze for a second, then jogged out while glancing around—what was going on?

When he spotted a familiar face in his #24 jersey a few rows back in the front section, weren't those his college buddies? How did they get here?

Rough estimate: a few hundred people!

"Yi, give it your all! I brought our alumni to come watch you play!"

Sitting at the front of that group was none other than Xu Rui. He'd rallied them all to cheer for Su Yi.

Hearing Xu Rui's voice, Su Yi couldn't help the grin spreading across his face.

Brothers aren't about quantity but quality. Thanks, A Rui!

Su Yi murmured to himself.

Then, as one Cavaliers player after another ran out of the tunnel, when the last one—LeBron James—stepped out, the entire Quicken Loans Arena erupted, fans screaming wildly: "LeBron!" "LeBron!" "LeBron!" ...

Indeed, LeBron James in his 1.0 era was truly the hero of Cleveland Cavaliers fans.

Too bad he'd break their hearts later.

LeBron James jogged to center court, basking in the fans' cheers.

The grand introductions ended.

Both teams wasted no time warming up.

After warm-ups, the starters from each side shed their warm-up jackets and stepped onto the court.

As for Su Yi, he quietly returned to the bench, waiting for Mike Brown's call.

"BEEP! BEEP!"

With the whistle, the game officially began.

Right from the tip-off, whether it was because he was facing his old team the Washington Wizards, Larry Hughes played very aggressively.

He drove in first, drew the Wizards' defense, then kicked the ball out to an open Eric Snow.

Eric Snow caught it, adjusted slightly, rose quickly, hung in the air, and released a mid-range jumper.

The motion was smooth, fluid, and decisive.

"Swish."

The ball nestled cleanly into the net.

Mid-range shot, good.

He opened the scoring for the team.

Then Eric Snow returned the favor, feeding a cutting Larry Hughes for an easy layup.

The two worked in sync, leading the team to a 4-0 run.

This wave of attack wasn't over yet.

Smack.

Larry Hughes anticipated Gilbert Arenas's pass on defense and completed the steal.

After the steal, Larry Hughes charged toward the Washington Wizards' backcourt and finished a one-man layup.

Just over a minute into the game, Larry Hughes and Eric Snow had teamed up for a 6–0 run.

Maybe LeBron James couldn't stand being left out, because he immediately stepped in and started taking control of the ball.

That turned point guard Eric Snow into an off-ball guard, while Larry Hughes grew visibly uncomfortable, forced to catch several hot-potato passes.

Luckily, LeBron James nailed his first three shots, keeping the Cleveland Cavaliers comfortably ahead.

That guy really enjoyed playing with a lead.

But as time passed, the Washington Wizards shook off their sluggish start and erupted under the leadership of their Big Three.

First, Gilbert Arenas assisted Caron Butler for a score, then Antawn Jamison completed a steal on defense and went coast-to-coast.

It wasn't over yet!

With their offense picking up, Washington also applied defensive pressure on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

During one drive, LeBron James got trapped by the defense and tried to kick the ball out to the corner.

But no one was in the corner, and the ball sailed out of bounds.

LeBron James: turnover +1!

Gilbert Arenas seized the opportunity, used a screen to dribble one step to the left, quickly jumped, hung in the air, and released a three-pointer.

Smooth and seamless, all in one motion.

Swish.

Three points in.

The Washington Wizards went on a 7–0 run.

Just before the end of the first quarter, they managed to overtake the Cleveland Cavaliers by one point.

Then it was Cleveland's turn to attack. LeBron James directed from the top of the arc, used a screen, and drove into the paint.

Brendan Haywood quickly slid over, leaped high, and raised both hands, putting heavy defensive pressure on LeBron James.

LeBron James muscled through Brendan Haywood for the layup.

Clang.

The ball bounced off the rim.

"Foul! Foul!"

Landing on both feet, LeBron James spread his arms and shouted at the referee.

But the referee shook his head, ruling that Brendan Haywood hadn't fouled.

The Washington Wizards didn't care about that—no whistle meant they pushed the fast break.

Gilbert Arenas dribbled quickly up the court, flicked his wrist, and passed the ball to Antawn Jamison on the left.

Antawn Jamison didn't hesitate. He jumped immediately and released the shot just before the first quarter ended.

The moment Antawn Jamison's shot left his hand, the first quarter's time expired.

The ball arced gracefully through the air.

Swish.

Antawn Jamison's buzzer-beating two-pointer hit.

The Washington Wizards came from behind, turned the tables, and ended the first quarter leading the Cleveland Cavaliers 30–27, up by three.