One Year Left to Play

Chapter 550 - 168: People in Suits Are Never Good Guys!

The ball bounced off the inside of the rim and couldn’t slide into the basket due to the two forces. After both hands left the ball, it spun around the rim and slid out!

All three players under the basket hurriedly jumped up. Zhang Hao fell off O’Neal’s back and was bounced off by O’Neal’s bear-like back. He took two steps back and hurriedly tried to jump up but it was too late, while Campbell couldn’t jump.

But O’Neal’s body was like a BUG, his second jump was unbelievably strong, yet when he poked the ball, he poked it to the top edge of the backboard, where it bounced again before falling back onto the top edge.

The referee’s whistle blew, out of bounds!

The fans at the scene went wild with cheers, that was O’Neal! Even Campbell could only use physical exhaustion against the giant beast inside, but Zhang Hao completed the block!

Listening to the crowd shouting "Gentleman", "X", no one was shouting for Campbell. Campbell wasn’t bothered though, as defenders like him aren’t meant for the spotlight.

Moreover, Zhang Hao timed it perfectly and anticipated accurately...

Campbell felt somewhat unsung because he and Zhang Hao together managed to stop O’Neal, yet the cheers went to Zhang Hao, but he wasn’t envious.

The TV commentators were also exclaiming over Zhang Hao’s earlier anticipation.

O’Neal was very eager during his second jump, but after poking the ball out of bounds, he lost his composure, though not in anger, just much calmer...

"That guy, deliberately trying to anger me! So despicable! It’s really true people in suits are never good!"

As for Zhang Hao...

Anticipating O’Neal wouldn’t pass, completing the block?

No, Zhang Hao hadn’t anticipated it at all; he even hoped O’Neal would pass so he could waste time drilling without making a basket, simply exhausting O’Neal.

Even if O’Neal got an assist, it would be best if Anfernee Hardaway was the scorer, provoking more mental damage to O’Neal.

He was merely inspired by the mockery O’Neal threw at him after Anfernee Hardaway’s goal, using the opponent’s method against them, wanting O’Neal to seek single plays rashly.

Last season, when the Lakers faced the Magic, they won one game and lost the other against the previous season’s runners-up. Zhang Hao specifically requested the videos of those two games. In the game they lost, Campbell was absent, whereas in the game they won, Campbell had exhausted O’Neal for a full 32 minutes.

Zhang Hao didn’t delve deeply into the specifics because the lineup differences were significant. He looked at some turning points and detailed data analysis, and in the game Campbell was absent, O’Neal played against Divac, going 26 for 20 despite Van Exel scoring 26 points with 10 assists and Sibaros scoring 23 points with 7 assists; the Lakers were still crushed by O’Neal’s 46 points.

But with Campbell present, O’Neal’s number of shots and efficiency drastically reduced, making 22 out of 11 attempts throughout the game, which looked good, but 12 attempts concentrated in the 16 minutes Campbell wasn’t on the court. Moreover, the overall efficiency was vastly different from 26 out of 20.

Playing against the Magic, the greatest fear isn’t O’Neal and Anfernee Hardaway scoring, but them scoring without significant exertion, allowing them to continuously score, which would let their dual-core single play dispersion and wing responding tactic flourish.

Del Harris’s defensive strategy is to prevent O’Neal and Anfernee Hardaway from single scoring plays, just let them play isolation, but last season proved that while the idea was good, the effect was poor. O’Neal, like the first attack of today’s Magic, was adept at choosing opportunities. With Campbell on the court, he actively reduced shot attempts and opened spaces for Anfernee Hardaway. The game they won against the Magic last season was merely won by 7 points, forced into a shootout, except Campbell indeed had the impact of exhausting.

But this year, Anfernee Hardaway became stronger, making the game more uncontrollable, thus they must find a way to force O’Neal into isolation...

After completing the block and O’Neal poking the ball out of bounds, just as O’Neal calmed down, Zhang Hao immediately walked out of bounds preparing to execute the inbound pass, saying to O’Neal in passing: "Penny wants you to pass the ball, you should pass, he can guarantee scoring."

The fire that had just gone out flared up again, though not as fiercely, and O’Neal instantly quickly ran back before the referee inbounded.

Not in a hurry...

It had just begun...

Zhang Hao received the ball and, after Campbell crossed the middle line, cautiously executed the inbound pass to Van Exel, pulling back diligently once in the frontcourt.

As for stats, unless Zhang Hao was aiming for really good numbers, he wasn’t very concerned, winning is key.

After Anfernee Hardaway had scored one on Zhang Hao, naturally Van Exel needed to get his own back. He had confidence against anyone, even facing Jordan, whether winning the matchup was a different story.

But against certain opponents, Van Exel indeed had valuable experience, like against Payton, against Kidd, and now... against Anfernee Hardaway in front of him.

Last year the Lakers won one game 119 to 112 against the Magic, and narrowly lost another game 110 to 114, relying on what? If only looking at the shootout aspect, Van Exel’s performances of 25+10 against the Magic in both games were definitely crucial!

Against Anfernee Hardaway’s gambling-style steal attempt, Van Exel easily broke through, and very skillfully chose his breakthrough route, avoiding Horace Grant’s mid-range defense, stopping for a jump shot, and scored!

The direction was different, but the distance was similar, both being stop shot jumps, helping Zhang Hao regain ground!