Chapter 277: KG, the Villain.
After warmups ended, the starting lineups were announced amid the dazzling lights and cheers from the arena.
Cavaliers: Kyrie Irving, Han Sen, P.J. Tucker, Tristan Thompson (TT), Spencer Hawes
Lakers: Jordan Clarkson, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Channing Frye, Timofey Mozgov
One of the biggest pregame storylines was whether Kevin Garnett would start for the Cavs. After all, despite his age, Garnett had been a starter throughout his entire career, with his last bench appearance dating all the way back to his rookie season.
But Coach Malone decided to break that streak.
Garnett's legacy was already legendary. He didn't need to cling to meaningless streaks like "consecutive starts" to validate his greatness — much like Jordan never needed to brag about his 1225-game double-digit scoring streak.①
Records like those were about longevity, not true greatness.
On the Lakers' side, an interesting adjustment had been made.
Jeremy Lin was benched, replaced by Jordan Clarkson, a second-round rookie from the latest draft.
The change was likely due to Lin's poor defense on Irving in the Christmas game.
The tip-off went to the Lakers, and the game began.