thefictionvixens Chapter 9 The Chosen Easy Ball Expert
Chapter 9 The Chosen Easy Ball Expert
In the early possessions of the game, the ball was almost entirely in O'Neal's hands. If the Clippers double-teamed him, O'Neal would pass the ball to the player on his side, letting them stretch the defense and shoot open shots.
If the opponent's rotation is in place, then pass the ball around again, stretching the defense until a suitable opportunity to attack arises.
Because Kobe is not playing, the Lakers are not playing the triangle offense right now, but the traditional inside-out offense, with O'Neal as the core and the others looking for opportunities.
However, because the Lakers were using a 1-inside, 4-outside formation, the interior space was quite ample, so most of the time, it was still O'Neal who finished the game alone.
There's no way around it, O'Neal playing against Ogvorkandie is practically the same as playing against his own grandmother.
No, even when O'Neal plays one-on-one against his grandma, he has to be careful, afraid of hurting her.
But against Ogvorkandie, O'Neal could go all out, giving this second-year number one draft pick a good lesson with elbows and punches.
The bulging muscles all over O'Neal's body made him the perfect target.
In the first four minutes, O'Neal scored 8 points on 4-of-5 shooting, displaying superhuman form.
Lin Ze made his first contribution to the game at 4 minutes and 20 seconds into the game, when he and O'Neal were on the same side. Odom went in to help defend, and O'Neal passed the ball to him.
With no one guarding him beyond the three-point line, Lin Ze swiftly brought the ball down, sending it flying towards the basket.
"Whoosh!"
With a crisp sound, the 200-point three-pointer, the result of intensive practice, was released, and the basketball swished through the basket with perfect accuracy.
"Mendelsohn." Jackson called over his top assistant from the sidelines: "Go find some game footage of Lin from last season. I think his hand position has changed. No, it's not just his hand position, his entire shooting rhythm and overall body coordination are different."
Just as Jackson instructed Mendelsohn to find Lin Ze's game video, Lin Ze had already made a contribution on the defensive end.
After a series of passes, the Clippers successfully drew O'Neal out of the paint. Ogvocandy received the ball and tried to dunk, but Lin Ze positioned himself in advance and fell to the ground as the two collided.
"Offensive foul!" the referee promptly issued the ruling.
"Find the defensive footage too," Jackson quickly added. "Did he always have this defensive instinct?"
"Not during his time with the Bulls." Mendes, a veteran and friend of the Bulls, shook his head decisively: "Even in Chicago, his lateral movement wasn't this fast."
After successfully drawing an offensive foul from his opponent, Lin Ze became even more formidable!
In the next possession, Odom helped defend O'Neal again. Lin Ze seized the opportunity and suddenly accelerated to cut to the basket while shouting for the ball. O'Neal immediately passed the ball through the gap. Lin Ze caught the ball and jumped up, easily making a layup for another 2 points!
O'Neal's pass was truly excellent; his playmaking and passing abilities have always been underestimated.
While O'Neal's playmaking ability couldn't compare to Webber or Divac, it was still far superior to at least 90% of the centers in the league. However, it was overshadowed by his powerful individual offense.
"Great pass, Shaq!" Lin Ze high-fived O'Neal after scoring.
"You ran really well!"
However, Lin Ze did not get another chance like that for the rest of the first quarter.
After being thoroughly outplayed, the Clippers changed their defensive strategy, switching to fronting the ball. Without Kobe, the Lakers had no one to comfortably feed the ball to O'Neal in this situation, causing their offense to stagnate. They could only rely on Rice's individual isolation plays to score bits and pieces.
This is also why the Lakers lost to the Jazz and Spurs in the previous years.
Nobody was feeding O'Neal the ball, and the team didn't have a comfortable or suitable system.
They brought in Jackson to make up for this shortcoming.
In the first quarter, Lin Ze played for 7 minutes before being substituted by veteran AC Green. The Lakers began to rotate their players, and Lin Ze returned to the court after 5 minutes in the second quarter.
The score is now tied at 35-35. After the Clippers adopted a fronting strategy against the Lakers, their offense became quite sluggish.
At that moment, along with Lin Ze, were O'Neal, Harper, Fisher, and Brian Shaw.
In the first possession after arriving at the court, Fisher, outside the three-point line, wanted to feed O'Neal the ball, but faced with fronting, he couldn't find the right moment to pass.
At this moment, Lin Ze seized the opportunity and suddenly accelerated to cut through the air, shouting Fisher's name at the same time.
Fisher immediately passed the ball, and Lin Ze received it and attacked the basket again, successfully scoring a second layup with the help of O'Neal!
"Wake up, rookie, this is a game," Lin Ze encouraged Odom on their way back on defense. "Defense!"
"FUXX!" Even though Odom was a rookie prone to daydreaming, he could tell Lin Ze was mocking him: "You won't score against Asians again!"
Then in the next possession, eager for revenge, Odom rushed to the basket, but under Lin Ze's deliberate enticement, he ran into O'Neal's arms and was blocked by O'Neal's powerful block, which swatted away his layup attempt.
More than 10 seconds later, Odom, wanting revenge, rushed to the basket to double-team O'Neal after he received the ball, trying to get back at him. But O'Neal passed the ball out again.
Lin Ze takes a shot from beyond the three-point line!
"Whoosh!"
Lin Ze scored 5 points in a row!
"Fuck! How could you pass the ball to Shaq?" After scoring, Lin Ze didn't forget to offer O'Neal some emotional support: "I thought you couldn't even see me!"
"Keep running!" O'Neal was extremely pleased with the praise: "You're on fire! In your first game with the Lakers, you're getting at least 20 points!"
"Oh, sorry rookie." After celebrating with O'Neal, Lin Ze turned to Odom: "I forgot about you. Didn't you just say you wouldn't let me score anymore?"
"This is the last time!" Odom gritted his teeth and uttered the harsh words once again.
"This kid, how come he's so good at taking open looks?" Mendes couldn't help but say, "He didn't have this much efficiency last season with the Mavericks!"
"Let's keep watching." Jackson wasn't in a hurry to draw conclusions. There were only four balls, and they were all easy balls with wide-open shots. Whoever had a good touch would get a free win.
More than Lin Ze's consecutive catch-and-shoot shots, Jackson was more concerned about Lin Ze's defensive play that had just forced Odom into O'Neal's arms.
Offense depends on your feel for the game, but defense requires hard work!
This kid's defense has improved so much?
I hope he didn't get a single day of rest this summer.
Jackson doesn't believe Lin Ze's defensive improvements were developed while playing for the Mavericks.
After all, a team with only 10 wins or so can't possibly practice any defense, not to mention their head coach is that madman who's gone mad.
"Whoosh!"
Lin Ze received a pass from Harper this time, pulled up for an open three-pointer from the corner, and made it again!
Then, he looked at Odom and said Odom's lines.
"The last time!"