NBA games can sometimes be simple and brutal; when your physical prowess overwhelms your opponent, you can just destroy them one-on-one.
Players in America have experienced a lot of one-on-one play since childhood, and isolation plays are what they are best at.
After Kayce brought the ball past half-court, he signaled Russell to come and get the ball, and at the same time, made an offensive gesture, telling his teammates to spread out.
Russell received the ball and faced Mario Chalmers' defense. He suddenly changed direction with the ball in his left hand, dribbled two steps with his right, and then pulled up for a jump shot from the free-throw line.
"Swish!" The mid-range shot went in easily.
After scoring, Russell looked relaxed. Mario Chalmers' defense was easily beaten by his excellent explosiveness, and the body contact beside him had no effect on him at all.
"Russell is playing too easily. Mario Chalmers should show his defensive attitude. His performance at the start wasn't very good!"
Van Gundy couldn't help but criticize the defense in that possession.
On Heat's offensive possession, Kayce first changed his defensive strategy. When the badge bonus effect was not significant, he started to allow jump shots but denied drives.
He used his height and wingspan advantage to cover Wade as much as possible. If the opponent found his shooting touch, Kayce accepted the fact that he might be outplayed; he couldn't achieve an all-around offense and defense performance yet.
When Wade received the ball off a screen, he immediately noticed the change in Kayce's defense. Instead of sticking close, Kayce gave him a little space. Facing this situation, a superstar player, of course, responded directly.
After a triple threat, Wade quickly put the ball down and accelerated to drive with his left hand. Kayce quickly adjusted his defensive Center of Gravity. At this moment, Wade suddenly pulled the ball back between his legs and then quickly shot.
"Bang!" It was a hard miss.
Kostić grabbed the rebound and passed it to Russell. Thunder pushed for a fast break, but Heat's mobility was also very strong, and they retreated quickly.
Kayce secretly wiped a bead of sweat. Wade's explosiveness and starting speed were too fast, and his drive was too threatening. He only had time to interfere, luckily the opponent's shot wasn't falling.
After Russell quickly dribbled past half-court, he found no good opportunities and passed the ball to Kayce to organize the offense.
Kayce first made an offensive gesture to his teammates, then called out to Durant:
"Kevin, move! Number 4!!"
This was a tactic Coach Ben had set before the game, utilizing Durant's finishing ability to attack Michael Beasley.
Although Beasley has great offensive talent, his defensive choices are very poor. This was exposed in his rookie season, and Thunder would, of course, exploit this loophole.
Durant ran two figure-eight cuts at the top of the key, and Heat's defense became a bit disorganized. A simple pick-and-roll switch made Beasley lose his defensive focus.
Durant, at the top of the arc, received a pass from Kayce after an off-ball screen, took a quick step to drive, and pulled up for a jump shot from the free-throw line.
"Swish!" The 2-point shot went in easily.
Beasley, playing at power forward, should have helped on defense, but unfortunately, he was already confused by the continuous off-ball screens.
"I think after this game, you two might not be brothers anymore!"
Kayce teased Durant while retreating on defense.
"No, I've warned him many times to pay attention to defense and listen to the Coach. This game, he's going to get a lesson!"
Durant said with a serious face. He always hoped his good friend would have better development, but Beasley didn't care about his words.
After losing the ball, Wade began to remind his teammates to pay attention to defense, and at the same time, Coach Spo shouted loudly from the sidelines, telling his players to stay focused.
Heat's offense this time was very simple, directly giving the ball to Jermaine O'Neal in the low post. The latter received the ball, backed down Kostić twice, and scored a layup under the basket.
"This is Thunder's interior problem. Coach Brooks' small-ball lineup prevents opponents from double-teaming Jermaine O'Neal, allowing him to easily score in the low post!"
Van Gundy commented without hesitation after seeing Kostić's defense.
Heat also made targeted arrangements before the game. Although their starting lineup wasn't tall, their footwork was not at a disadvantage. They defended Thunder's handoff passes very well at the start!
Kayce noticed this situation, and Wade's defense at the start put a lot of pressure on him, limiting his passing. Now was not the time to be stubborn.
After giving Russell an offensive gesture, Kayce started to move off-ball. Wade naturally chased him to defend. Through a back screen from Kostić, Kayce quickly popped out to receive the ball, having already shaken off Wade's defense.
Russell immediately passed the ball. Kayce received the ball and faced Quentin Richardson, who had rotated over to defend. He quickly put the ball down and accelerated to drive with his right hand.
The bonus effect of the Quick Stop Master badge allowed Kayce to break through the opponent's defense in one step, gaining more than half a step. Jermaine O'Neal in the paint noticed this and immediately stepped up to delay.
But Jermaine O'Neal's defensive positioning was a bit off; he stepped up too far. Kayce flicked his wrist while moving, making a hidden bounce pass that instantly penetrated the opponent's defense.
Kostić easily received the ball and threw down a one-handed dunk!
"Slam!" An easy alley-oop finish.
"Boo!!!"
The American Airlines Center crowd booed loudly; no one likes to see an opponent easily dunk in their restricted area.
"A beautiful pass! I have to praise Kayce; his understanding of court spacing is excellent, and after Kostić was scored on in the paint last possession, Kayce immediately delivered an assist for him!"
"This is what a point guard on the court should do. You have to get your teammates involved in the offense, you need to help everyone find their rhythm, and Kayce does an excellent job of that!"
Mark Jackson himself liked Kayce's playing style: he could assist, take responsibility, had a calm mind, and possessed the qualities a core player should have.
Kostić, who had just dunked, immediately came over for a high-five. Kayce's lobs were indeed sweeter; Russell's lobs were sometimes too hard and difficult to catch.
Heat's offense: Wade received the ball on the baseline, dribbled past half-court, and Jermaine O'Neal came up for a screen. Kayce chose to go under the screen to prevent the drive, but the Flash stepped back and shot directly after the screen.
"Swish!" The mid-range shot went in easily.
"Ah!!! Oh!!"
The live fans immediately gave a huge cheer for their superstar. After scoring, Wade even showboated, raising his right hand and looking at it. Without showing off, the Flash felt uncomfortable!
Kayce looked at Coach Brooks and, seeing his downward hand gesture, knew that he was to maintain his defensive strategy.
"Defensive talent freaks are really annoying, especially those with both strength and speed; it's unsolvable."
While inbounding the ball, Kayce couldn't help but complain in his heart. At the same time, he gestured to his teammates that the offense needed to speed up. They had to take down Jermaine O'Neal first, otherwise, the game would become passive.
Wade's defense was tight, so Kayce didn't force himself to receive the ball to organize. On the court, he moved off-ball and set screens for his teammates. Durant stepped up to attack at this point.
After coming off a screen, Durant received a pass from Jeff Green, accelerated to drive with his right hand, and then suddenly made a large crossover dribble, shaking off the tight defense of Quentin Richardson.
He took three big steps and took off directly, facing Jermaine O'Neal's block, he dodged in the air for a layup.
"Slap!"
"Whistle!" The referee blew his whistle, a shooting foul.
"Nice job, Kevin! Keep attacking the paint when you have a chance!"
Taking advantage of the free throws, Kayce quickly said a few words to his teammates. Now was not the time to float around and shoot. If there was a chance, they should drive straight to the basket. Two fouls, and Jermaine O'Neal would have to be subbed out.
Durant stood at the free-throw line and calmly made both free throws.
"Smart offensive choice. Thunder will continue to strengthen their attack on the paint. A small-ball lineup can't defend an attacker like Durant. Oh? Heat called a timeout? It seems Coach Spo needs to make some adjustments."
Mark Jackson noticed the changes on the court and began to praise Durant's offensive choices.
During the timeout, Coach Brooks also instructed his players:
"Guys, maintain this aggressiveness. We want to play at a faster pace. On defense, no helping, and we must control long rebounds!"
Kayce knew that Coach Brooks trusted his team's offense. As for interior defense, that was up to fate.
The rest of the game developed interestingly. Thunder's Kayce transformed into an outside shooter, a screen-setting expert, reducing his ball-handling. Durant and Russell began to attack the paint, simply playing drive-and-kick.
Heat, on the other hand, wanted to slow down the pace, getting the ball to the interior. At the same time, their perimeter players also increased their drives, but as the game went on, Heat themselves sped up the pace.
Kayce saw it very clearly on the court: because Beasley was very strong offensively, after two consecutive isolation scores, the ball would not leave his hands once he got it.
On an offensive possession, after Kostić set a screen, Russell accelerated to drive with his left hand. After getting past Mario Chalmers, he drove straight to the basket, shouldering Jermaine O'Neal.
"Bang! Swish!"
"Whistle!" The referee blew his whistle, and the basket counted with an additional free throw.
"Roar!!!"
Russell, who had fallen to the ground, heard the whistle and immediately jumped up, pounding his chest and roaring. Jermaine O'Neal had no time to dodge; Russell was too fast and charged right into him.
Coach Spoelstra immediately became frustrated seeing this situation. Looking at Joel Anthony on the bench, he really didn't want to use him, but he had no choice. With a wave of his hand, he sent him in, after all, there were still three quarters left in the game.
Russell stepped to the free-throw line and calmly made the additional free throw.
"Pay attention to defense, guys! We continue to speed up the offense, and watch out for their drives!"
Kayce kept reminding his teammates; now was not the time to relax.
Heat's offense suddenly became much more stagnant. Joel Anthony was just a raw big man, with poor athleticism; he could only be a meat shield on the court.
Jermaine O'Neal could make mid-range shots in the paint; the difference between the two was too great! Now Kostić only needed to stay in the paint, and Thunder's perimeter defense was not bad.
Wade initiated a pick-and-roll with the ball, saw that Kayce was still going under the screen, and also noticed that Kostić wasn't stepping up. He again took a step-back mid-range jump shot.
"Bang!" It was a miss. The rebound was grabbed by Jeff Green, who immediately passed it to Russell.
Kayce and Durant had already frantically accelerated past half-court. Russell didn't stop the ball, passing it directly to Durant.
Beasley tried to delay, but Durant easily dodged him with a behind-the-back dribble, continuing to accelerate.
Wade was defending two-on-one at this point. Seeing Durant about to take off, he reluctantly stepped up. Durant didn't force the shot, gently tossing it up for an alley-oop.
The ball arrived with the player. Kayce caught the ball with both hands, briefly hung in the air, swung it around, and slammed it into the basket!
"Slam!" A windmill dunk.
"Oh!!!"
The American Airlines Center crowd also let out a huge gasp.
Kayce, after landing, had a smile on his face. It was a rare easy score. He pointed with both hands at Russell and Durant, indicating that it was a beautiful pass.
"God! That dunk was spectacular! Thunder's transition speed is astonishing. I believe no one is questioning Kayce's combine data anymore; he is a genius player!"
Mark Jackson sang praises for Kayce.
For the remainder of the first quarter, Thunder completely controlled the offensive rhythm on the court. Heat's perimeter players had low shooting percentages under the pressure defense, and Thunder frequently initiated fast breaks.
Russell and Durant thrived in this rhythm, playing exceptionally efficiently. Coach Spoelstra made personnel adjustments, but it couldn't stop Thunder's offense.
By the end of the first quarter, it was 32 to 24, with Thunder leading by 8 points.
Kayce had 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists in the first quarter. His teammates were all scoring, and he didn't force his offense, as Wade's defense was indeed very strong, making him very uncomfortable.
During the break between quarters, the atmosphere on Thunder's side was relaxed and happy, everyone smiling. On Heat's side, the atmosphere was heavy, mainly because Wade sat with a towel over his head, not saying a word.
The Flash was partly annoyed by his poor shooting touch, going 2 for 7 in the first quarter, frequently missing shots. On the other hand, he envied Thunder's trio:
"Playing with my good brothers, will I ever have such an opportunity?"
Wade looked at Heat's bench and suddenly felt that the future was bleak.