Chapter 170 Experts and Media

The Finals were about to begin, and experts and the media started making predictions as usual.

The result was quite surprising. This year, almost everyone favored the Pelicans.

"LeBron and his Cavaliers are strong, but the Pelicans are clearly the stronger and better team," Shaquille O'Neal said bluntly on TNT.

"I can't find any reason for the Pelicans to lose the Finals. The Cavaliers are at most close to the Warriors in strength, and the Pelicans swept them," ESPN columnist Kevin Pelton analyzed.

"The game may be intense, but the winning side will be the Pelicans. This is a fact that everyone can see," Fox Sports columnist Jason Whitlock described in his news analysis.

Not only the media, but in pre-game fan votes, more than 80% of fans believed the Pelicans would win the championship.

And in score predictions, 4-1 was considered the most likely outcome.

When the Pelicans achieved 74 wins, fans were shocked but also felt there was a lot of luck involved.

But then the strong performance in the playoffs completely dispelled that idea.

The Pelicans were just strong, that was it.

With the Finals about to begin, there was some bad news for the Pelicans.

Davis' recovery was slower than expected, and he would miss the first game of the Finals.

Perhaps because of this, even though the outside world overwhelmingly favored the Pelicans, when the betting websites gave the odds for the opening game, the Cavaliers' odds were lower than the Pelicans'.

On June 2nd, US time, the opening game of the Finals officially kicked off at the New Orleans Arena.

The venue was packed, and commentators from various countries were in position.

Not only in the United States, but also in China across the ocean, and all over the world, countless eyes were focused on this game.

Because they were in different divisions, the two teams only played twice in the regular season, and the Pelicans won both times.

But the regular season was just the regular season, and those games didn't have much reference value in the Finals.

The opening game was crucial to determining the direction of the Finals.

Davis, as he said before the game, didn't play, but he still came to the bench in a suit to cheer for his teammates.

After pre-game warm-ups, the opening ceremony began, and the starting lineups for both teams were announced.

For the Cavaliers, Irving, James, and Love all started, along with Mozgov and J.R. Smith.

The change in the Cavaliers after Lue took over as coach was the complete liberation of the team's offense, with Smith replacing Shumpert as the starter.

The Pelicans had their regular lineup, with Aminu continuing to replace Davis as the starting power forward.

Mozgov won the tip-off against Jokic, officially opening the curtain on the Finals.

Irving came up and used a pick and roll with Mozgov to break past Jokic, scoring with a layup under the basket.

Tang Tian shook off Smith and responded with a sudden stop jump shot.

In the return, James received a pass from Mozgov and forced his way to the basket, drawing a foul on Aminu.

"The Cavaliers are playing very smart and very targeted."

Just as Kenny Smith said in the commentary booth, the Cavaliers knew that Davis couldn't play, so they focused on attacking the Pelicans' inside game from the start.

The Pelicans' 30-point comeback in the last game of the Western Conference Finals was earth-shattering, but the impact of Davis' absence on the inside was also obvious.

This was seized by the tactical genius Lue.

Tang Tian used a pick and roll with Aminu to make another sudden stop mid-range shot.

The Cavaliers' offensive firepower was fierce, but their defense was really much worse than the Warriors.

However, this beautiful goal was whistled late, with the sideline referee signaling Aminu's moving screen.

There were boos from the crowd.

The whistle came too late.

These first few possessions were a microcosm of the entire game.

Tang Tian's condition was as good as it was in the Western Conference Finals, but the Cavaliers' style of attacking the inside kept them from falling behind.

And most importantly, despite it being the Pelicans' home court, the referee's whistles were clearly favoring the visiting Cavaliers.

Jokic received his sixth foul of the game with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, and the game was decided.

The Cavaliers eventually defeated the Pelicans 116-106, taking the first win of the Finals.

James played the entire game, putting up a triple-double of 40 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists, a very strong performance.

For the Pelicans, Tang Tian also scored 40 points, but it was in vain.

Jokic performed well, contributing a near triple-double of 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists, but was fouled out with five minutes left in the game.

The Cavaliers unexpectedly won the opening game against the Pelicans, which caused a shock among fans and the media.

"Scoring 40+ with a triple-double to lead the team to victory in the first game, LeBron is worthy of being the number one player in the NBA!"

"We all underestimated LeBron, he is not only the number one player in the league, but also the greatest small forward in NBA history, his desire for the championship exceeds everyone!"

"His Majesty slapped everyone in the face, you just keep looking down on him, whether you are the 73-win Warriors or the 74-win Pelicans, you are all ghosts under His Majesty's blade!"

"Facts prove that His Majesty's vision is correct. What if he was wrong in the beginning? He still makes you submit!"

"His Majesty is the most promising person to surpass Jordan, Tang is too weak!"

"This is a season of reigning over the world, His Majesty will be crowned!"

……

On social media, because everyone favored the Pelicans before, the Cavaliers and James fans didn't dare to speak out much.

Now that the Cavaliers won the game, they all jumped out, and James was praised to the sky.

"We underestimated the Cavaliers, they can rely on offense to compete with the Pelicans."

Barkley expressed a different view from O'Neal in the latest TNT program.

"Lue has proven his strength, he knows very well that the Cavaliers' advantage is LeBron, and he also knows that the Pelicans' weakness is the inside game. He fully uses his own advantages and attacks the opponent's weaknesses to the death. It's simple, but very effective," ESPN columnist Kevin Pelton analyzed the Cavaliers' tactics.

"The Cavaliers have proven their strength, this is not a Finals without suspense, James has a good chance to win his second championship!" Fox Sports columnist Jason Whitlock changed his previous view in his latest article.

The opening game would determine the direction of the entire series. The Cavaliers won the opening game and also changed the outside world's perception.

Now, the Cavaliers were the more favored side.

This was competitive sports, the voice always stood on the side of victory, and the pressure was always on the side of failure.

The second game of the Finals would continue at the New Orleans Arena.

Losing the opening game meant the Pelicans lost their home court advantage, and their current situation was also of most concern to the outside world.

At the open practice the next day, the Pelicans' training hall was almost surrounded by reporters.

But what surprised the reporters was that although they lost the opening game and their home court advantage, the Pelicans' morale looked very good, the same as before the Finals.

And they also saw another figure, Davis, who didn't play in the last game, also participated in the entire practice with the Pelicans.