One Year Left to Play

Chapter 553 - 169: Cut Zhang Hao?

The Lakers have always claimed to possess a good center to counter O’Neal, and it’s not just talk. They’ve truly groomed someone capable of going one-on-one against O’Neal, even arguably the best in the league at single-handedly defending O’Neal’s strong attacks.

In terms of overall defense against O’Neal, it’s certainly not as good as last year’s Olajuwon. For fast breaks, it’s definitely not up to par with David Robinson. But when it comes to head-on defense, with enough bulk, strong interference awareness, and a mentality that’s hard to break down... right now, no one really compares to Campbell.

This was recognized after last season, with public opinion generally considering Campbell to be a product the Lakers used to attract big stars to join.

Among the 28 cities where the 29 league teams are located, it’s estimated that 27 cities’ teams and media believe O’Neal will be the future’s number one center, definitely becoming the greatest contender against whom all stars will compete, much like the Magician, Big Bird, Jordan, Olajuwon, or the Bad Boys in the future.

The trend of stockpiling big man centers to counter O’Neal is evident, and the Lakers got ahead of the curve. When star players entered free agency, the Lakers already had the upper hand.

The Lakers’ successful grooming of Campbell has been highly praised since last season, as everyone watches to see which major star with an expiring contract the Lakers can lure over the coming years.

The Magic, of course, were also prepared, so at the start, O’Neal chose to pull away from the three-second area to crash the boards, an arrangement made by Magic’s coach Brian Hill, who excels at nurturing and using big centers.

But O’Neal followed the tactic for just one possession, then stubbornly insisted on solo plays, demanding the ball on the court and wanting it even when tired.

That much was manageable, as the Magic had strategies for such situations.

It’s impossible to completely shut down O’Neal; even Olajuwon couldn’t. All one can do is maximize the limitations.

Campbell can limit O’Neal, but it’s still just a limitation. O’Neal’s solo success rate won’t be too poor, maintaining a shooting percentage around fifty percent.

Preserving O’Neal’s energy and employing a strategy akin to Tian Ji’s horse racing is Magic’s best option, but if O’Neal himself is unwilling, then so be it, let him dig in, as his efficiency won’t be bad regardless.

It’s better than O’Neal being unhappy and getting lazier if denied the ball when he wants it.

And as the Magic expected, even when O’Neal’s stamina declines, as long as he has the energy for solo plays, their offense won’t lose to the Lakers.

See, when O’Neal shot 3 for 6, scored 7 points, grabbed 2 rebounds, and had 2 assists with 2 turnovers, the Magic still led the Lakers by two points at 18-16.

When O’Neal’s solo plays can’t be stopped, the Lakers’ offense lags. Even as O’Neal starts to turn the ball over, the Lakers struggle to quickly overtake the lead.

At this point, O’Neal had been in possession of the ball for about 10 consecutive possessions. Even with his extraordinary talent, such weight of 132 kilograms pounding low for 10 possessions really takes a toll.

O’Neal quit asking for the ball to play solo and passed it out instead.

Magic players were a bit surprised at O’Neal’s two turnovers in three possessions, but at least he released the ball when he should have.

After O’Neal was done pounding, it was Anfernee Hardaway’s turn for solo plays, while O’Neal honestly stayed nearby to crash the boards and held a significant shot-blocking threat on defense by staying under the basket.

But the premise was that O’Neal had to behave.

However, to the Magic players, tonight’s O’Neal was inexplicably acting up!

Though he often acted up, tonight, he was particularly unruly.

Defensively, he wasn’t properly protecting the rim. As soon as Zhang Hao made a move inside, he’d follow Zhang Hao, focusing on him when Zhang Hao was close by.

Decreasing interior defensive threats was a secondary issue; without O’Neal boxing out, and Horace Grant not being under the basket to box out but extended to defend the mid-range instead, the Magic’s average rebounds were negative. Once in rotation time, when the Lakers played Jason Williams and Campbell in the interior, the Magic’s defensive rebounding collapsed!

No one could reason with him, and Brian Hill, being a nice guy, wouldn’t speak harshly. He wouldn’t even fight for decisions from management that dissatisfied him, so apart from Anfernee Hardaway and Horace Grant, no one else dared speak up.

Yet, tonight, O’Neal found these two particularly annoying, and the more they spoke, the more he ignored them.

A rebellious mindset settled in!

This was already crushing for Magic players and the coaching staff, but even more devastating things lay in store.

Anytime his stamina slightly recovered and he felt capable, O’Neal would go demand the ball, entirely disregarding the idea of staying near for board-crashing as his teammates hoped, only wanting solo plays.

Originally, it was the Lakers using Campbell to drain O’Neal, but as the game progressed, it seemed like the Magic were using O’Neal, one of the league’s top four centers, to drain Campbell, the blue-collar brute!

Against Campbell, O’Neal’s performance was equivalent to an ordinary All-Star, with quite a few turnovers as well.

This was a devastating blow to the Magic’s strategy!

Don’t be fooled by Dennis Scott and Nick Anderson, who average 5.5 three-pointers a game and form the most powerful three-point combo in the league, nor by Horace Grant, who has the highest league-wide shooting percentage for big men with a 41% long-range mid-range shooting, 46% mid-range, and 47% from close range outside the three-second area.