The King Mountain Battle, Quicken Loans Arena was packed.
The importance of this game is self-evident, and the air before the match is filled with tension.
After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups for both teams were announced.
Celtics: Irving, Bradley, Durant, Horford, Towns
Cavaliers: Hansen, Wade, Covington, TT, Jokic
Stevens was momentarily stunned upon seeing the Cavaliers' starting lineup.
Malone unexpectedly put Wade into the starting lineup.
Before the game, there was no inkling of changes in the Cavaliers' starting lineup; their secrecy was quite effective.
However, the purpose of this change is apparent to him, solely to let Wade handle the ball and reduce Hansen's initial energy expenditure.
This would indeed have some effect, but Wade's form this season has declined, not to mention that putting Wade in the starting lineup weakens the Cavaliers' bench strength.
