The Road to Stardom: Start as a Slam Dunk Master.

Chapter 348: First victory!

O'Neal's eyes were red and he almost jumped up. If Fisher and Walker hadn't grabbed him hard and saw that the referee had put the whistle to his mouth again, it scared O'Neal. This is his home field. ...Otherwise, I'm afraid I'd be greeting the referee and his family again right now.

beep!
Lakers make substitutions.

No. 0 substitute center Somai LS Marko comes on, No. 34 Shaquille O'Neal comes off.

Although the NBA is not a FIBA ​​rule, technical fouls are not counted in the accumulated number of personal fouls in a single game, and a free throw is nothing more than a trivial matter. But now the first quarter has just begun, and the guy has already accumulated 2 fouls, and he has already committed fouls. With his current emotional state, leaving him on the court in the first quarter will only cause more trouble. This guy's mentality is completely messed up.

O'Neal walked to the bench, still cursing, and then smashed the towel handed by his teammate to the ground.

Phil Jackson's face was livid and he said nothing.

This is O'Neal. If it were any other person, Jackson would tell him to get out right now, but Jackson also knows very well that if the Lakers want to win four consecutive championships, or even win this game, then O'Neal's Strength is also indispensable.

And with the big man's current mood, scolding him yourself would only add fuel to the fire.

O'Neal is indeed important enough to the Lakers dynasty. He is so important that even if this guy is passive and uncooperative this season, the team's top management still gives him unlimited tolerance. The Buss family even came off the court to talk to him in person. , to persuade him to change his mind.

Although power forward Samaki Walker's skills were superior, he was a little overwhelmed by the flexibility and athleticism of the opponent's red-haired man. He was unable to form a pincer attack on Chandler in the paint. Instead, he was robbed by the red-headed man from time to time. A few rebounds put the Lakers' entire interior in a state of almost total collapse.

But even though his status has been so obviously recognized, he is still dissatisfied, still caring about superficial things, and jealous of Kobe Bryant...

After all, he was an angry Zen master, with a majestic posture and a white-haired beard. His raised brows and angry eyes made him look calm and intimidating.

After the ball barely rotated for a circle, Kobe fought against Payton's defense and tried to solve the problem with his personal ability. However, Payton's maggot-like defense was not something he could easily get rid of, and what was even more terrible was Yes, he still has to face the SuperSonics double-teaming at any time.

The Sonics did not use their rotating defense, which was completely defeated by the Lakers' more mature offensive triangle system, but instead used man-to-man.

The Lakers have given O'Neal enough respect. Not only talking about ball rights, during the three consecutive championships and even this season, Kobe's scoring average is already higher than O'Neal, but he is the top tactical player in the team. The first possession and so on were still given to O'Neal. Even the teacher Phil Jackson always asked his disciple Kobe to pass first and then shoot.

Rookie center Samarco, who just took over his position, was completely underwhelming. He was almost completely blown away by Chandler, who was also a sophomore.

A pull-up jump shot after the breakthrough was completely blocked by Payton's big hand, and the result of the forced shot was that it bounced out of the frame.

The Zen master had a cold face and finally couldn't listen anymore.

Small forward Fox was completely blocked by Lin Dong on the offensive end, and catching the ball was almost equal to losing the ball.

But now, that naughty kid got out of his way and caused trouble for the team, but he didn't know how to reflect. Instead, he scolded the real warriors who worked hard to support the team.

Although Fisher has an advantage over Brent in terms of strength, their flexibility is slightly inferior, and they are evenly matched.

Jackson actually wanted to yell, 'If you hate Kobe so much, then get out of my team.' But after all, the temptation of four consecutive championships was on his head, and the team owner, the Bass family, still had high hopes for O'Neal.

At this time, the Lakers have the ball. Since the center and power forward positions are completely locked up, the triangle offensive area lacks a leader, which results in the triangle offensive system on the court being completely unable to play.

This sentence circulated in Phil Jackson's mouth for a long time, but he did not curse it after all. He just said sternly: "Look at this team that has brought you three consecutive championships! Think about what you have given me today. What happened to it!”

And Kobe Bryant…

but……

O'Neal swallowed, frowned and closed his mouth, and then turned to look at the field.

"Shut up!" Phil Jackson scolded him coldly.

"That guy did it on purpose! He should have taken the initiative to pick and roll me just now!" O'Neal was still cursing, pointing at Kobe.

Frankly speaking, in the eyes of the Zen master, O'Neal is indeed very strong, but he is like a naughty child who will not grow up. While his disciple Kobe Bryant has not yet reached his peak, he already has the demeanor of a predator.

Walker and Samarco, who were under the basket, were completely blown away by the SuperSonics inside. No. 10 Sakuragi Hanamichi easily picked off the rebound, and then made a long pass to Lin Dong who had already rushed to the frontcourt for a fast break.

At the beginning, the balance of power was 5:5, but in just two or three minutes, it had reached an astonishing 7:18!

But... instead of showing the expression of reflection on O'Neal's face as Phil Jackson expected, he actually showed a proud smile: "Without me, what else can they do? Hehe!"

Phil Jackson felt a chill in his heart.

This hopeless idiot, he is still thinking about taking a seat with Kobe, instead of thinking about how to help the team win!
Zen Master knows that the Lakers are in big trouble in this series...

The roaring sound in the Key Arena has not stopped since O'Neal came off the court.

Taking advantage of your illness to kill you, driving O'Neal away was what the Sonics were most looking forward to seeing. At the same time, it only took one quarter for the entire league to see the Lakers' weaknesses.

This season's Lakers, although the OK combination is still strong, their bench depth is definitely the lowest in history. The backup center is only a sophomore who averaged 4.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game this season. It is no wonder that O'Neal is absent from the regular season. In the 22 games, the Lakers will have a record of 17 losses.

Without the inside line, the Lakers are like a tiger with its teeth pulled out, and even the triangle offense that the Lakers rely on for survival cannot be launched. Kobe Bryant alone cannot support this team.

The Sonics were man-to-man on the defensive end. Payton's full strength restricted Kobe. In addition, Lin Dong selectively cooperated with Payton to attack while blocking Fox, which made Kobe very uncomfortable and had full offensive firepower. Can't be used.

In the entire first quarter, they took 13 shots, but only made 4 of them. The 30% shooting rate was simply not enough to help the team keep up with the Sonics' fast break.

On the SuperSonics side, although rotation defense is not used, the fast break system of running and gunning is accurate every time. Coupled with the advantage of the inside basket, the protection of rebounds also ensures the SuperSonics' second offense, which makes the scoring The gap keeps getting wider.

9:21、11:27、14:31、16:36……等得第一节结束时，双方的分差已经来到了惊人的17:41。

Every goal scored by the Lakers was extremely difficult. It was either a lucky throw from the outside by veteran Fisher and Fox, or it was a strong hit by Kobe against all kinds of flanking attacks and Payton's almost rogue entanglement.

And every time they were defended, it was almost like directly giving points to the Sonics. Their fast break after defending against counterattacks was too fast. The average attack time of the counterattack round was about 4 seconds, and every play must be Enter.

At 14:31, Phil Jackson actually wanted O'Neal to play, and there was still a possibility of getting back at that time. But seeing this guy smiling on the sidelines while watching his teammates being beaten, Zen Master knew that even if he let him go up, it would be in vain. This guy's mentality was not correct at all, and the only result of getting stronger would be to further stimulate his inner struggle for power. The desire to seize the throne and be jealous.

Say?
If words were useful, then the Lakers wouldn't have fallen so precariously to seventh place in the regular season this season.

At the end of the first quarter, I saw O'Neal smiling and high-fiving his teammates who looked dejected at the end. When it was Kobe's turn, O'Neal even said with a smile: "Hey, Peter Pan, good job!"

Kobe looked at him coldly, but O'Neal laughed until Phil Jackson said in a cold voice: "Bryant, you take a rest in the second quarter, Shaq, you lead the team!"

win?
Already trailing by 24 points in a single quarter, facing a rookie who was underestimated by everyone and already possessing a certain ability to solve problems, and facing the now surging SuperSonics, the two ace players of their own still had a gap in their hearts and almost couldn't stand each other. It's possible to play a decent match, and it's still at the SuperSonics' home court.

How to win? You take the head to win?
Phil Jackson knew very well that the Lakers were destined to lose in this first game, and there was no possibility of coming back.

Then you have to use the remaining time to teach Shaq a lesson, at least let him understand the meaning of unity and teammates!
O'Neal could roughly guess what Phil Jackson was thinking, but he didn't care at all. At this time, his eyes were shining: "Then it's up to me!"

The Lakers made substitutions in the second quarter.

O'Neal returned to the game, but Kobe sat on the bench.

Frankly speaking, if he were not in a hostile position, Lin Dong couldn't help but want to applaud Phil Jackson's arrangement. This coach is so good.

He can put it down, and treat O'Neal's psychological problems promptly when he discovers them, even if it costs him the outcome of a game. He doesn't care about the gains and losses of the moment. This is what a true champion coach does. style.

But as an opponent, the troublesome question is thrown to the Sonics.

Is it to put some water in and continue to breed O'Neal's inner expansion? Or keep winning and let Phil Jackson get his way?
Lin Dong, Payton and McMillan all chose the latter without hesitation.

No matter how good something is, it cannot be used over and over again.

You have to win this game after all, and the Lakers senior management will definitely do some psychological work with O'Neal after the game. The temptation of four consecutive championships, coupled with the two days of calmness in the middle, may even be possible. With some promises from the Lakers' top management, O'Neal will eventually come to his senses. He will definitely adjust his mentality in the next game, just like he chose to return to the team at the end of the regular season. Expecting him to provoke his teammates to win the entire series simply by relying on his dissatisfaction with them is undoubtedly a fantasy.

Now that I have the advantage, I just need to securely win this first game.

As a result, a more terrifying attack mode started...

In the first quarter, Kobe Bryant was guarding Lin Dong on the defensive end. In addition, the SuperSonics had the inside advantage and most of the balls were played on fast breaks. This allowed the Sonics to score mostly at the basket.

But now without Kobe, the Lakers' outside defense against Lin Dong only relies on Fox, who is not qualified for the All-Stars, and it is really like giving it away.

Lin Dong made 3 of 8 7-pointers in a single quarter, and also had two 3+1s. Plus two breakthroughs, he scored 27 points in a single quarter, turning O'Neal, who was originally confident in guarding the basket, into a hopeless stone. .

As soon as Lin Dong pulled out, he firmly blocked Chandler, then raised his head and looked at the basket until the basketball steadily passed through the net and fell, making all his expressions and movements useless.

On the offensive end, although O'Neal is still unstoppable under the basket, first of all, the ball cannot be passed in... Without Kobe Bryant, the Lakers' triangle offensive system can barely take shape thanks to O'Neal's low axis position, but But it has no power. After all, the players pulled to the outside simply do not have the strength to defeat the Sonics defenders alone.

The ubiquitous pressing and stealing of the ball by Lin Dong and Payton also made Fisher one head and two bigger. Not to mention organizing the offense, he would lose the ball if he was not careful.

Even though O'Neal made 8 of 6 shots in the second quarter and scored 12 points, the point difference was continued to widen by the Sonics.

By the end of the first half, the score had reached 35:79.

There is a gap of 44 points. Although in terms of single quarter score, the second quarter seems to be a little less lost than the first quarter, but is that important?
Seeing O'Neal walking down with an embarrassed look on his face, Phil Jackson didn't say anything more, nor did he assign any more tasks to O'Neal and Kobe.

There was silence in the Lakers' locker room at halftime, and when they waited for the second half, O'Neal and Kobe were both benched.

But this time, the indifferent and annoying smile on O'Neal's face finally disappeared from Phil Jackson's eyes and became silent.

The Zen master knew that this guy's mentality had changed a bit, but it was not the right time to preach or give him a chance to 'atone'.

Atonement for what sin?

Trailing by 44 points at halftime, can you still catch up?
Rather than letting him rush onto the court now to show off his 'own insights', it would be better for him to sit on the sidelines and taste the bitter wine he brewed himself, so as to teach him a profound lesson!

And since it has been decided to sacrifice this game to adjust O'Neal's mentality, even Kobe does not need to go up.

A bowl of water must be level, at least on the surface, otherwise O'Neal may have to think too much and destroy his hard-earned reflection.

And speaking of it, Kobe easily fell into the Asian boy's trap and "sympathized" with his enemy, becoming a sharp knife stabbing the already sensitive O'Neal. This in itself was also his fault. That move was too immature!
of course……

Phil Jackson felt that if it had to be said that this was because Kobe was not mature enough, it would be better to say that his opponent was too cunning.

During the garbage time of the second half, Phil Jackson was holding his hands on the sidelines, squinting and looking at the Asian boy on the other side who was also sitting on the bench. The boy smiled politely at him and waved. Hello.

"..."

Phil Jackson couldn't help but laugh too.

I heard that the people of the Dragon Kingdom are good at strategy. West Point Military Academy even introduced their art of war written thousands of years ago. The Zen Master even bought an English translation to read it - Sun Tzu's Art of War, and he really benefited a lot.

I heard that many people in the Dragon Kingdom have ancient wisdom. Hasn't this kid also read the Art of War?

He really does not look like most so-called talented players with simple minds and well-developed limbs when they first entered the NBA, but full of sophistication.

Treating such a guy as a young rookie may be the biggest positioning mistake in itself.

In the next game, not only Shaq must be adjusted, but also the tactics against the Sonics and the Asian newcomer must be adjusted.

The Lakers are not so easy to kill!

(End of this chapter)