So I am the god of basketball?

The starting lineup for the Heat is Tim Hardaway at center, Washan Leonard at center, Mashburn at center, PG Brown at center, and Shaquille O'Neal at center.

Pat Riley's ability to put together a lineup has always been something that cannot be underestimated.

As a head coach, he knows very well how to choose the cornerstone of the team, and once he has the cornerstone, how to build the lineup around him.

Besides, he has a little bit of luck!
This was most perfectly demonstrated in the summer of 2010.

Did Wade and LeBron make an appointment to play together?

This can be concluded from various different statements later:

They had this idea and both signed contracts for the same year.

But where to play and how to play together were not discussed in depth. After all, the new contract signed is only for so many years. No one knows what will happen in a few years.

When that day came, Wade first contacted Chris Bosh, not LeBron James. He successfully brought Bosh to the Heat and confidently launched an attack on his second championship.

With Wade, the Heat's summer signings are over.

But Pat Riley smelled something different. He saw the possibility of LeBron James joining the team and negotiated with him in secret.

Everyone knows the rest of the story. As soon as Wade finished connecting with Bosh on ESPN, they announced nationwide that he had joined the Miami Heat in a live broadcast.

In fact, if these two knew that they had another teammate, they definitely wouldn't connect so quickly.

So there are only two people who promoted this matter, one is Pat Riley and the other is LeBron James.

This is Pat Riley's bad luck.

Others include but are not limited to trading Odom and Caron Butler for Shaquille O'Neal in 04.

Judging from the result of winning a championship later, this deal should be one of the most classic deals in NBA history.

This is a typical case of exchanging "scraps" for "big things".

It is a common practice among NBA general managers.

But often, some of the "scraps" that are taken out have achieved good results.

For example, the Philadelphia 76ers traded Allen Iverson for Miller. They still made it to the playoffs. The Nuggets traded for Allen Iverson, but didn't perform very well.

This year is the first time that Pat Riley has "picked up a bargain" since becoming the Heat coach.

The Mavericks' "Three Musketeers" fought over a woman and were all sold out.

The most valuable Jason Kidd was snatched away by the Suns, and Pat Riley was not idle either, trading for Mashburn, an "offensive kaleidoscope" who was in the same period as Meng Lang. In addition, he also brought in Dan Majerle, the former "second in command" of the Suns, who helped a lot when Barkley led the team to the finals.

Just like Barkley, Dan Majerle has now entered a period of declining form, but there is no big problem for him to stand out from the bench.

It is with this lineup that the Heat have achieved 62 wins and 20 losses.

However, because these people were traded this season, there were problems with the running-in process, which led to the team not being able to play to its best potential and often falling into danger.

But the strong lineup depth allowed them to turn danger into safety time and time again.

After defeating the Bulls and the Pistons, all Miami fans believe that they are the strongest team this year. The new record they can create is not only their first finals, but also their first championship!
That’s enough, Heat!

No one can stop Meng Lang.

On this point, not to mention Pat Riley, the entire league has actually reached a consensus.

So during the regular season, the Heat's way of defending the Lakers was the same as other teams, all of which was to make use of other people as much as possible. When facing the Heat, Meng Lang averaged 45 points per game.

But now, everyone knows that this Lakers team has changed. They started to play defensive counterattacks, and Barkley also focused more on the offensive end to make up for the damage on the offensive end.

So if Meng Lang is left alone, it will be difficult for the Lakers to arrange defense if they have another player. ——With Barkley on the Lakers, doing this is really not a good idea.

Even if we can't restrict Meng Lang, it would be good to consume his physical energy as much as possible and make it more difficult for him to fight.

Moreover, the Heat also have Pat Riley, the "tactical master", and they also have defensive resources to mobilize. They are fully equipped to achieve this defensive goal.

It can also be seen from the beginning of the game that the Heat have made detailed preparations for Meng Lang.

Strategically they were in 1v1 mode most of the time when defending.

However, when facing Meng Lang calling for a pick-and-roll, they would switch defense in advance and let Mashburn on the wing follow out, with the aim of preventing Meng Lang from punishing their inside players.

Then when defending alone, try to focus on entanglement.

This is somewhat similar to the way the Pacers defended Meng Lang before.

But the person the Pacers used to tangle with Meng Lang was Reggie Miller, whose body shape was different from Meng Lang, and his tangle could not cause much impact.

It's different on the Heat side. They have guys with physical fitness who can fight him head-on.

In the interior, they have two players over 2 meters tall, who can compress the space.

This was an era without the "three-second zone", and it was the most comfortable era for Shaquille O'Neal.

The idea was good, but when Meng Lang saw this familiar routine, he knew it was aimed at him.

But his current mentality is to be a know-it-all.

You think this will stop me, right?
Then I will tell you with practical actions...

No, change it!

Leonard has enough weight and strength comparable to that of a forward, but his height is a problem. Mashburn is proficient in everything on the offensive end, but Pat Riley will need a long time to coach him on the defensive end.

Meng Lang almost kept switching shots, not even making free throws. Facing Leonard, he just shot at him. Leonard stretched his arms straighter than a ruler, but it didn't interfere at all. Facing Mashburn, Meng Lang kept "backing up" and after pushing him until he lost his balance, he made a series of "turnaround jump shots".

He was so excited about shooting later that he even performed a "one-legged stand" and directly silenced the Heat's home court.

The result was that they scored 10 points in a row at the start, helping the Lakers to go on a "10-3" scoring spree.

Still not calling a timeout?

Meng Lang gestured to Pat Riley on the sidelines.

The "magic calculator" had no choice but to call a timeout.

Now the Lakers are even more excited.

When Meng Lang walked off the court, they excitedly rushed up to him and high-fived him.

It really makes me feel at ease to be with such a big brother.

On the other side, Shaquille O'Neal walked off the court with an unhappy look on his face, turning his head from time to time to say something to Hardaway next to him. When the camera got closer, he kept all his words to himself, sat on the bench, and used a towel to smooth his hair.

The whole act was full of a sense of frizziness.

Pat Riley looked at him like this and knew without thinking what he had said to Hardaway, but this was also what he needed Shaquille O'Neal to do next: "Give the ball to Shaquille O'Neal in the low post as much as possible, and then help him open up space for him to play one-on-one!"

He knew very well that O'Neal was unhappy because he had not received the ball in three rounds.

He does know O'Neal well enough.

The game had been going on for so long, but he still hadn't scored a single point. And Meng Lang was still scoring, and he was so anxious. When he heard Pat Riley ask him to pass the ball in the next period of time, his eyes lit up instantly.

When the game resumed, Shaquille O'Neal, who thought he could have a great game, immediately felt the malice from Chuck Daly. He double-teamed him and would rather let other Heat players attack than give him a chance to play alone under the basket.

And the timing of the double-team was very good.

The outside players who came to double-team him did not rush over at once, but slowly approached him, and waited until he finally squeezed into a suitable position to turn around before double-teaming him. This way, he could consume his physical energy and prevent him from causing damage under the basket.

Shaquille O'Neal was even more unhappy.

I felt so suffocated that I felt like a hot air balloon, about to explode.

In fact, this is also Shaquille O'Neal's problem.

What O'Neal is best at is 1v1 at the basket.

He is the most destructive center in NBA history.

And there is absolutely no need to add one.

But he needs his teammates to help him create such opportunities.

This is why he always needs to partner with outside players above the All-Star level.

Only when the outside line attracts enough defense and gives him the opportunity to play hard at the basket, that is his most comfortable rhythm.

This style of play, which gives the ball to him in the position, is not his most destructive style.

When Shaq was on the Lakers, his mother came to watch the game. She was very dissatisfied with her son who had been trying to get the ball under the basket for a long time but couldn't get it. She yelled at Phil Jackson: "Give the damn ball to Shaq!"

But Phil Jackson just said lightly: "What we are doing now is to let your son play one-on-one in a comfortable space."

Space is the most important aid for Shaq.

So even though the Heat tried to get the ball to Shaq, the situation was not ideal for the Heat.

Shaquille O'Neal also failed to show his powerful destructive power.

But at this time, Mashburn stood up, first with a mid-range jump shot after a set of silky combos, and then a three-pointer went straight in. He scored 5 points in a row, the scene was excited, and the situation was opened up.

Shaquille O'Neal quickly followed him to catch the ball.

Because he was standing on the outside, the Lakers didn't dare to double-team Shaq easily.

Shaquille O'Neal showed his destructive power under the basket, and he still played well even when facing Divac, the "European tank".

At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers' lead was only 2 points.

"This is the role of Jamal's arrival. What he brings to this team cannot be replaced by anyone else!" Pat Riley was interviewed during the intermission and praised Mashburn highly.

Even though Shaquille O'Neal scored 11 points in the first quarter, in his opinion, it was Mashburn who opened the scoring in the first quarter.

He was indeed the person he wanted to take down immediately at that time.

In fact, what many people don’t know is that when the Mavericks ran into problems, Pat Riley’s first reaction was to grab Mashburn, not Kidd.

Because Kidd's asking price is high, and the Heat already have Hardaway, they don't need Kidd at all.

Now, Mashburn played his part.

The substitute rotation time is the "fighting session" between the former players of the Suns.

Maalley was considered one of the best forward-guard swingmen in the league at the time, but facing Barkley, he was indeed a little unstoppable.

The biggest bug of Barkley is that other players of the same height and weight are generally slow and short, so such players can generally become famous in the NCAA, but cannot make a name for themselves in the NBA.

Barkley's superb physical fitness allows him to have the speed of an outside player at this weight, so that he is like a drill when "backing down" and like a "little fat man" bomb when breaking through.

Moreover, he specifically targeted Mali, which affected his offensive state as well.

After the substitute rotation time passed, the Lakers took another 6-point lead.

Shaquille O'Neal rushed onto the court, but Chuck Daly did not follow him into the starting lineup.

Originally Shaquille O'Neal thought Chuck Daly looked down on him, but then he realized that this guy had a very dark heart.

He actually used the "Hack-a-Shark" tactic!
no……

Others usually do this when they are stuck in a situation.

You are still leading by 6 points. Isn't it inappropriate to do this?

Chuck Daly really doesn't have any shame at all.

Haha, you don’t think that he is a good guy just because he is standing here in a suit and tie, do you?
Don't forget, it was he who shouted "I want blood" to the Pistons.

These tricks that mess with people's mentality, aren't they easy for you to use?

There is no psychological burden at all.

Moreover, what he wanted was Shaquille O'Neal to play in a state of impatience.

The more impatient he is, the easier it is to play this game.

What’s even more infuriating is that this “Hacker Shark” guy also plays psychological warfare. If you don’t attack fiercely, then I will just hold on for now. I will definitely give you the last push when you turn around and stop you with a fierce foul.

Yes!

I must score the penalty!

Shaquille O'Neal knew very well that if he wanted to break this situation, he had the initiative and the way to do it. That was to throw the ball into the damn basket.

Only in this way will the opponent not dare to continue "cutting the shark".

only……

"Dangdang!"

"Dangdang!"

"Dangdang!"

"Shh!"

The result of 4 of 1 free throws allowed the Lakers to "hack the shark" more unscrupulously.

For a long time, Shaq was afraid to touch the ball.

Putting Shaq on the court early without the ball presents a problem:

When should we replenish the consumed energy?

He is not a very energetic guy. (End of this chapter)