Late May, Boston's New Garden.
Rick Carlisle frowned after just three rounds.
The New Jersey Nets gained possession. Andrei Miller steadily dribbled the ball across half-court. In this system centered on spacing and height, his first option was not to drive; he needed to wait for his teammates to get into position first.
On the left horn, Elton Brand set a screen, blocking Ben Wallace behind him. At the same time, Yao Ming dropped deep into the low post and reached for the ball.
Big Ben reacted quickly, immediately lowering his center of gravity and attempting to use his top-tier core strength to push Yao Ming out of the paint. However, Yao Ming did not choose to force his way through. After receiving the ball, he leaned against Big Ben, made a simple feint towards the baseline, and then smoothly completed a front spin using his left foot as a pivot.
With a slight flick of his wrist, even as Big Ben jumped with all his might, his fingertips could barely reach Yao Ming's elbow. The basketball arced high and swished through the net.
On the other end of the court, Boston's offense was equally sluggish.
Chris Paul Pierce attempted to overpower Andrei Kirilenko at the right 45-degree angle. However, his signature step-back jumper completely lost its rhythm against Kirilenko's exaggerated wingspan and explosiveness, and the ball bounced off the rim and went wide. Inside, Brand's solid lower body blocked Garnett's cutting routes, while Yao Ming acted like a moving wall, blocking all of Boston's guards who tried to attack the basket.
Less than halfway through the first quarter, New Jersey took the initiative and established an 8-point lead. This is exactly the kind of opponent that Boston's defensive system fears most: enough offensive options on the perimeter and an absolute powerhouse inside who can disregard any defense.
Rick Carlisle called a timeout.
He pulled over the tactics board, quickly drew several lines, and issued clear instructions.
"Ben ( Wallace ), play smarter, front him! From the very first second you receive the ball, cut off Yao Ming's passing lanes." Rick Carlisle spoke very quickly. " Kevin ( Garnett ), you need to extend your defensive coverage even further. Whenever Miller tries to lob the ball inside, you cut off the high-flying lanes."
He then looked at Artest and Billups.
"Push the defensive formation across the entire court. From the moment New Jersey inbounds the ball from the baseline, stick close to Miller and Joe Johnson, forcing them to run down the shot clock early. If they can't comfortably get the ball into the paint within the first ten seconds of the play, the system will shut down."
After the timeout, the game immediately returned to Boston's familiar rhythm.
New Jersey inbounds the ball from the baseline. As soon as Andrei Miller receives the ball, Billups closes in. Every dribble and change of direction is accompanied by a rough collision of torsos. On the other side, Artest is entangled with Joe Johnson, cutting off all passing lanes.
Miller finally managed to dribble the ball across half-court, but fourteen seconds of the play time had already been used up.
At that moment, Yao Ming had just positioned himself in the low post Big Ben forcefully moved in front of him. Miller glanced at the dwindling shot clock and had no choice but to lob the ball high. But just as the ball was released, Garnett, who was guarding Brand on the weak side, suddenly burst into the passing lane with his terrifying explosiveness and wingspan, catching the ball in mid-air.
"Counterattack! Run!"
Garnett landed and immediately made a long pass. Pierce made a fast break, drove to the basket despite Kirilenko's pursuit, and scored a layup while drawing a foul.
The entire second half turned into a war of attrition, a close-quarters battle.
Byron Scott substituted Wang Zhizhi, attempting to use his three-pointers to further Big Ben Wallace and Garnett. Meanwhile, Rick Carlisle decisively pushed Raja Bell and Dwyane Wade onto the court.
Wade's arrival became the key to breaking the deadlock. This rookie with a historic first step completely ignored the height of New Jersey's interior defense. He repeatedly threw himself into the paint like a cannonball, using his smooth layups and fearless physical play to force his way through Yao Ming and Brand. On the defensive end, Boston's thugs used endless fronting, double-teaming, and delaying tactics to make every half-court set for New Jersey extremely difficult.
The final buzzer sounded, 89-85.
The Boston Celtics narrowly won the first game at home.
New Jersey proved that their height did indeed threaten Boston's defense, while Boston used their physical strength, dynamic advantage, and tactical execution to drag this Eastern Conference upstart into the mire.
Two days later at FleetCenter Arena, Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals kicked off as scheduled.
After losing the first game, New Jersey Nets head coach Byron Scott made a very direct tactical adjustment. He significantly increased Wang Zhizhi's playing time, attempting to use Wang Zhizhi's three-point shooting and Yao Ming's high-post playmaking to completely draw Boston's interior defense away from the paint, thereby breaking Rick Carlisle's fronting tactic.
In the first half of the first quarter, this adjustment did indeed have an effect. Wang Zhizhi's presence beyond the three-point line prevented Boston's interior defense from collapsing as freely as it had in the previous game. Yao Ming received the ball near the free-throw line and twice delivered precise passes to Kirilenko and Joe Johnson, who were cutting to the basket.
But Byron Scott underestimated Ben Wallace's ability to evolve under the high pressure of the playoffs.
At 28, Ben Wallace is at the absolute peak of his physical and competitive condition. The wear and tear of the regular season seems to have no effect on him; the higher the intensity of the playoffs, the more terrifying his dominance on the court becomes.
On the defensive end, when Yao Ming attempted to facilitate from the high post, Big Ben displayed aggressive lateral movement and underhand steals, forcing Yao Ming into a dribbling turnover. On the offensive end, Big Ben delivered an even more fatal surprise to New Jersey.
Midway through the second quarter, in order to limit Wade and Pierce's drives, New Jersey's defensive formation collapsed heavily. Yao Ming and Brand almost completely left Ben Wallace, who was standing outside the free-throw line, open, gambling on his poor shooting touch.
Billups drove to the basket and passed the ball to the unguarded Big Ben Wallace.
Big Ben didn't hesitate, nor did he look for a handoff opportunity as usual. He jumped with both feet and, with a slightly stiff posture, released the ball from the top of the free-throw line.
"Whoosh."
Hollow core into the net.
This unpredictable mid-range jumper miraculously went in three times in the following possessions. When Big Ben punished New Jersey's collapsing defense from beyond the free-throw line, Byron Scott's defensive system instantly cracked. Yao Ming and Brand were forced to spread out, and New Jersey's previously impenetrable paint was forcibly opened up.
But it was Kevin Garnett who truly tore this wound open.
Facing New Jersey's overwhelming height advantage in countering Boston's "twin Twin Towers in the paint combined with Kirilenko," Rick Carlisle gave Garnett a new offensive instruction in Game 2: spread out, spread out even further, retreat directly to the three-point line.
In the third quarter, when Brand tried to help defend on the edge of the paint, Garnett was lurking in the left corner. Pierce drew a double team and passed the ball to Garnett, who caught it and decisively hit a three-pointer.
This play completely disrupted New Jersey's defensive rotation. Brand dared not leave Garnett open any longer and could only follow him closely to the three-point line. Yao Ming was blocked on the other side by the excited Big Ben Wallace.
New Jersey's most prized interior height has been completely moved out of the paint.
This became a celebration for Boston's guards. Artest crushed Joe Johnson with his tank-like breakthroughs, while Wade showcased his terrifying first-step explosiveness to the fullest, driving straight to the basket three times in a row through simple pick-and-rolls and easily completing layups.
Boston completely controlled the pace of the game in the second half.
When New Jersey's defense was forced to expand outwards to counter Garnett's three-pointers and Big Ben's mid-range jumpers, their rim protection advantage vanished; and when they tried to collapse back down, Garnett would punish them with his incredibly consistent long-range shooting.
The game is over, 95-86.
The Boston Celtics secured another victory, taking a 2-0 lead and moving the series to New Jersey.
Ben Wallace not only delivered 4 blocks and 3 steals throughout the game, but also scored a crucial 12 points on offense. Garnett, on the other hand, used his three-point shooting to create space and completely dismantle New Jersey's Twin Towers defense.
This Boston demonstrated not only their toughness on the defensive end, but also their rich tactical solutions when facing adversity and targeted Stephen Curry.