Chapter 877: So-Called Open Conspiracy, Only the Willing Take the Bait!

In the last nearly 8 minutes of the first quarter, the Lakers scored 12 points.

17 to 18, the Lakers trailed by 1 point going into the intermission.

…

The score was nerve-wrackingly low, but the first quarter’s process… Listening to the passionate cheers of the live audience, the Lakers’ players also felt very comfortable.

They had done well defensively in the past few games, but in terms of physical confrontation, playing against the New York Knicks, they realized that their defensive confrontations were still too weak and initially unaccustomed to it.

Fortunately, Del Harris made timely adjustments, and under O’Neal’s rough and tough defense, they quickly adapted to this kind of confrontation.

Regarding the current situation, Del Harris was very satisfied, especially with Zhang Hao’s adjustment on the offensive end… no, it was O’Neal’s adjustment on offense. Anyway, it was not Zhang Hao doing well.

Zhang Hao was more aggressive on offense, but his efficiency was not high, making 2 of 6 shots to get 5 points, and scoring a total of 9 points in the first quarter; O’Neal focused on tip-ins and finishing, scoring not a lot but saving himself considerable energy on offense, not needing to go one-on-one or draw double-teams to dish out the ball.

Although the two hardly communicated, it was obvious to anyone that they were indeed very well-suited for each other.

It’s just that Zhang Hao, over the past year or so, had focused 90% of his energy on strengthening his offense, making his defensive progress seem slow… In fact, his progress was also significant, but mainly because his offensive advancement was too fast, making his defensive progress seem slow in comparison.

In reality, the improvements on Zhang Hao’s defensive end, when considered alone, are not bad at all. For an offensive player who has played for less than two years, his defense no longer lags behind.

It’s just that the media, experts, and fans have too high expectations for Zhang Hao…

Luckily, O’Neal is only turning 25 next month, and Zhang Hao just turned 20 not long ago. Both of them have a lot of time to improve…

…

Returning from the intermission, Del Harris sent Fisher, Brian Shaw, George Lynch, Jason Williams, and O’Neal onto the court.

When O’Neal puts aside his pride, goes all out to play, and is willing to do the dirty work, the Lakers’ strongest player, without a doubt, is O’Neal on both the offensive and defensive ends.

At this time, Del Harris knew well who to rely on; O’Neal was the key to their defensive transformation. Tonight, in this situation, O’Neal had to play more.

O’Neal’s stamina was not an issue. On this point, Del Harris felt that talent is truly something frustrating!

No matter how hard others try, they cannot compare to O’Neal’s addition of the word “diligence” to his style… Immediately, Del Harris’s frustration extended to the other member of the Remy Martin Duo.

Looking at the kid sitting on the sidelines drinking energy drinks, here was another guy who had both talent and effort.

The New York Knicks sent out Cales, John Starks, John Wallace, Buck Williams, and Charles Oakley.

The referee blew the whistle signaling the start of the second quarter, with the New York Knicks attacking first.

After taking two sips of energy drink, Zhang Hao handed the cup to the ballboy, watching this period led by O’Neal.

Originally, this phase was supposed to be his, but now it turned into O’Neal’s. Although he had prepared mentally, he couldn’t help feeling a bit of melancholy…

Previously, during such a situation when the game was tight, it was always up to Mr. Zhang to take advantage during the rotations and open up the game.

But there was no way around it; O’Neal was indeed stronger, with better stamina… And this, for Mr. Zhang, was also a time to rest and recover his touch, which tactically was also beneficial to him.

As the second quarter started for the New York Knicks, Cales missed a three-pointer.

Buck Williams, a top player in Brooklyn Nets’ history, did manage to grab the offensive rebound from the crowd. Fortunately, O’Neal made up for the box-out error and blocked Buck Williams’ second attempt, allowing Jason Williams to secure the defensive rebound.

Zhang Hao looked at this top player in Brooklyn Nets’ history, feeling a bit regretful. During the offseason, their first target for a frontline reinforcement was Buck Williams, with Jerome Kersey as the second option. From both strength and health perspectives, Buck Williams was stronger.

But not every player is willing to come to the Lakers. Some just don’t want to, right?

When it was the Lakers’ turn on offense, O’Neal positioned himself on the left low post of the three-second area to ask for the ball.

Preventing premature double-teaming, apart from Olajuwon, it’s really hard for anyone to limit O’Neal’s post-up.

However, after O’Neal received the pass from Brian Shaw, Buck Williams immediately stepped up to double-team, along with Charles Oakley forming a sandwich.

John Wallace pulled back, and instead of passing it to George Lynch, O’Neal took a dribble before the double-team was fully formed, grabbed the ball, and forcibly turned around, pushing Charles Oakley away from the baseline!

After turning, O’Neal took a step, forcefully pushing out to dunk!

Buck Williams jumped directly onto O’Neal, with Charles Oakley pressing on the right and Buck Williams hanging on his back. O’Neal actually jumped! Though the jump height was insufficient, O’Neal’s agility was brilliantly displayed at that moment, executing a hang-time maneuver, flicking his wrist…

Accompanied by the referee’s whistle, O’Neal scored with a hang-time layup!

“Damn!”

Even Zhang Hao, who always acted… no, was always calm, couldn’t help but curse at this moment.