In the early years of his career, Jordan simply couldn't get past Larry Bird.

During the mid-career, Jordan indeed led the Bulls to be thrashed repeatedly by the Detroit Pistons.

But when has Jordan ever been as despair-inducing as he is now?

Facing Bird, Jordan's later impressive offensive skills were already taking form.

The high scores he chalked up against the Celtics, and the content he displayed on the court, only led people to think...

Every team other than the Bulls must be cautious, for once Jordan matures, he will be unstoppable.

As for being thrashed by the Pistons time and again?

On the court, Jordan had long used his continuously evolving offensive skills and progressively perfected mid-range shots and fadeaways to make Bulls fans feel the championship drawing near, and convinced them that Windy City Chicago would eventually witness the blooming of roses.

If this were James' first professional year.

Then Cavaliers fans would not feel as desperate as they do now.

Quicken Loans Arena, end of the first quarter, 36 to 21.

In the first quarter, with a 7-for-9 shooting, including 1-for-2 in three-pointers and 4-for-4 in free throws, Qin Yue delivered a glamorous scoring performance that even Cavaliers fans couldn't fault, scoring 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal for the Warriors in a single quarter.

Looking at the stats board alone, James also had 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists in the first quarter.

But through the most direct live viewing, Cavaliers fans distinctly felt that the technical differences between James and Qin Yue on the court were...

A presentation that could be described as worlds apart.

Perhaps, on some previous nights, James would also appear raw before some technically skilled opponents.

But...

The "dunk" Qin Yue completed in Cleveland last season, and the story where he led the Warriors to a comeback that left Cleveland fans envious, was destined on this night to magnify James' technical shortcomings infinitely.

This was a typical game where there's no hurt without comparison.

In the first half of the second quarter, to prevent his brother from having too tough a time, Qin Yue, lounging on the Warriors' bench, didn't forget to threaten O'Neal, who dared to contend for staggered playing opportunities with him: "If you dare to score, I'll hit the court immediately!"

Upon hearing these words, O'Neal, who had just planned to position himself low, immediately moved to the high post to obediently set a screen for James.

Truly an obedient little fish.

Qin Yue found that, after last season's beatdown... now O'Neal was even more obedient in front of him than some pretty girls he once spent good nights with.

This was also a manifestation of Qin Yue's ever-evolving dominance on the court.

Especially facing opponents like O'Neal, whom he completely countered one-sidedly.

Although Qin Yue was restraining an older version of O'Neal, although such behavior can't be called respecting the elderly and caring for the young... he was indeed establishing his own authoritarian rule point by point.

Taking advantage of Qin Yue's time off the court.

With O'Neal's solid screens that could bring tears to Hardaway, Kobe, and Wade, James quickly drove multiple rounds hard against Biedrins and Murphy on the court.

At this time, on the Warriors' bench, Mike Malone was massaging Qin Yue's legs while saying: "Now you know why I labeled this game as 'irrelevant,' right?"

Qin Yue nodded and said: "Mike... you sure understand this Cleveland Cavaliers better than I do."

Actually, given the Warriors' defense level tonight...

Even if the Cavaliers couldn't hold their ground, they could engage in shootouts with the Warriors to keep up.

But the main feature of the "Knight's first period" is...

Even knowing there's a tiger on the mountain, they only have to face it knowingly.

The Spurs vs. Cavaliers series in the 06/07 season finals was a classic case.

In the game, as long as James held the ball, the Spurs' five players would immediately shrink back to the paint.

This maniacal shrinkage mirrored the Warriors' outside unguarded plug-the-paint strategy tonight quite ingeniously.

In short... as long as there were enough people piled in the paint, the James of this period would automatically strip away his emperor's new clothes called "proficient at organizing."

In the 2007 finals, James averaged 6.8 assists per game, but his average turnovers were as high as 5.8 times.

Apart from the open three-point chances his teammates got through repositioning, which James could still pass to in time, the Spurs' one-trick pony...

Even repeatedly forced James into holding the ball atop the arc and looking, and looking again, during the game.

As for the reason...

It was naturally because the way James engaged teammates in this period was only through penetrations and passes that even Artest deemed overly simplistic.

Although, given the prerequisite that his teammates successfully ran to open positions, he'd indeed press the pass button, like Qin Yue this season, and accept an assist.

But just as Qin Yue wouldn't consider such assist stats to reflect his playmaking ability, these assist stats equally couldn't prove James's playmaking skills.

The manifestation of playmaking ability is always the fast breaking of opposing defenses on the court, not the accumulation of technical stats gained through the tilting of team's tactical resources.

For example, tonight, Qin Yue broke down the one-man-in-four-and-a-half-Cavalier maneuver like drinking water without hesitation.

In the latter half of the second quarter, even when Qin Yue reentered the game, Cavaliers coach Mike Brown was still baffled...

Why was the one-man-in-four-and-a-half play he meticulously designed for the Cavaliers before the game so easily cracked by the Warriors?

Quicken Loans Arena.

The Warriors' offensive possession.

This time, directing his teammates to position in a 1-2-2 formation, Qin Yue just planted himself at the top of the arc and forced the Cavaliers' one-man-in-four-and-a-half maneuver to involuntarily convert into a 3-2 zone defense.

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