After successive failures, the most difficult paths were blocked; not to mention the management, the players themselves would want to escape.
Before the Finals kicked off, various major sports media personalities also made predictions about the outcome.
The results were different from last year: this year, almost all media outlets, including TNT, predicted that the Heat Team would win the championship.
They provided a variety of reasons.
Some cited the regular season as evidence: this year, the Heat Team completed a double kill against the Grizzlies;
Some banked on Wade as the deciding weight on the balance of victory, saying that last year, Wade was hampered by injury and fatigue, but this year the Grizzlies would not be able to stop him;
There were even some who brought up Scarlett, saying that in January of this year, Scarlett got engaged to Roman Darric, claiming that Hansen no longer had the advantage of the "shower water" over Durant, which would change the face-off situation between the two.
The media’s lack of faith in the Grizzlies was not without reason, and it was undoubtedly related to Hansen’s mockery of their "voting with their feet" in the DPOY election results.
Plus, a yellow-skinned Hansen had dominated the League, yet hadn’t maintained the humility expected of him, which annoyed them even more.
Previously, they covered Hansen’s bold statements because they were great material for news, but now they just wanted to see Hansen fail.
This wave of external reactions was somewhat unexpected, but it was something TNT’s The Big Three were pleased to see.
They were worried that they wouldn’t have any material to work with this year.
In TNT’s latest program, Barkley took on the role of the "Lonely Brave Man." Official source ıs 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾·𝗇𝖾𝗍
O’Neal and Kenny Smith, including their guest "Magic" Johnson, all favored the Heat Team to win the championship this year.
Barkley, however, remained steadfast in his support for the Grizzlies, just like his previous statement during the Western Conference Finals: "Whether the Grizzlies or Spurs come out on top, they will become the champions."
As a result, the classic bet between the two was on again.
And this time, they played their trump card right at the start.
O’Neal and Barkley truly embarked on a round of "heavy betting."
Because their bet focused only on G1, and the loser would have to pay the winner one million US dollars.
To say nothing of anything else, this alone maxed out the attention on the Finals G1.
Because of their superior regular season record, the Grizzlies had home court advantage over the Heat Team in the Finals.
And this year was the year the Finals format changed, adopting the 2-2-1-1-1 format, so the Grizzlies’ home court advantage was a real advantage.
The FedEx Forum was buzzing with excitement for G1.
Although the media generally had little faith in the Grizzlies, this did not at all affect the confidence of their fans.
After all, they were never the favored ones this season, yet they still made it to the stage of the Finals.
As some Grizzlies fans said on social media: "We’re only four victories away from a dynasty."
During the pregame warmup, the cameras panned to players from both sides, and the mood was quite different.
The Heat Team appeared more relaxed; after sweeping the Pacers in a gentlemanly manner and being infinitely favored by the outside world, they had every reason to be at ease.
On the contrary, the Grizzlies were in a more serious state; no one would be all smiles faced with collective skepticism.
After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups for both teams were announced.
Heat Team: Chalmers, Wade, Durant, Bosh, Perkins
Grizzlies: Conley, Hansen, Guy, Randolph, Little Gasol
The same opponents, the same lineup, felt like a continuation of last season’s Finals for the players and fans of both teams.
Durant opened the game with a mid-range shot over Guy, showing his excellent form.
Although the media’s reasons were far-fetched, for Durant, who is active on social media all year round, the psychological pressure of the Finals was indeed much lighter without the pressure of Scarlett’s "shower water."
However, Hansen immediately responded with a powerful dunk after breaking through Wade, displaying his form.
Or to be more precise, his mindset.
Hansen obviously knew why the media was so blatantly biased, but he wouldn’t tell himself: they’re undermining you only because you offended them, don’t overthink it.
On the contrary, he would tell himself: the whole world doubts you now, you must prove them wrong.
This was an ignition of the competitive desire.
During the regular season, external factors were needed to maintain excitement due to the long duration of the season.
But in the Finals, such psychological cues could harness his emotions, making him even more invigorated.
Or just like he said at the press conference: play with anger.
Because the media wasn’t entirely wrong; this year, the Grizzlies indeed got swept by the Heat in the regular season.
So, regardless of the reasons, he had to give it his all, only then would he have a chance to beat this Heat Team, which was stronger than last season.
Certainly, neither the fans nor the Heat Team would feel this at the start.
Bosh received the ball high up and went one-on-one with Randolph, his agility successfully getting him past Randolph, but as he drove into the lane and faced Little Gasol’s help defense, he could not succeed as he had in the regular-season opener.
Players needed time to adapt to new rules, and Little Gasol, being a player with high basketball IQ, had evidently adjusted to them, despite a major injury early in the season.
After Bosh decided to go for a strong attack, Gasol accurately timed and emphatically blocked Bosh’s shot.