stonecrandall Chapter 105 A facade of harmony masking underlying discord! Lin Tian, stirring up trouble!
Chapter 105 A facade of harmony masking underlying discord! Lin Tian, stirring up trouble!
Chapter 105 A facade of harmony masking underlying discord! Lin Tian, stirring up trouble!
Keep in mind that this is O'Neal's fourth year, and the final year of his rookie contract.
This is the year of his contract!
Mourning, Wespont, and Laettner, who was the same age as him and was easily beaten by O'Neal, all received early contract extensions!
But the Magic were incredibly reluctant and unwilling when it came to giving O'Neal a new contract!
Several times, O'Neal and his agent tried to talk to the Magic about O'Neal's contract extension, but the Magic always avoided the topic and always tried to dodge the question.
Just days before the playoffs began, O'Neal, extremely annoyed with the management, pushed open the Magic's general manager's office and, in an almost roaring voice, asked them if they were prepared to renew his contract. Only then did the Magic's general manager finally give in.
After offering a bunch of irrelevant words to appease O'Neal, the Magic's general manager also quietly gave O'Neal a hint.
A multi-year contract with an annual salary of over ten million is absolutely no problem!
They will absolutely not let O'Neal down!
But when O'Neal excitedly asked when he could sign the contract, the Magic's general manager looked hesitant and insisted on waiting until the end of the season!
At first, O'Neal didn't know why, until one day during the playoffs when he passed by the general manager's office and overheard the conversation inside, he finally understood why!
The Magic are indeed willing to offer him a big contract, and they are also willing to keep him.
But all of this is predicated on the following condition: Hardaway won't get angry!
What O'Neal overheard was the Magic's general manager asking Hardaway if he would be angry or jealous that O'Neal got a big contract a year earlier than him.
Listen to this, is this even human language?
I entered the league a year earlier than Hardaway, so of course I should get a bigger contract a year earlier than him! Do you think I'd wait for him to do this?
That time, O'Neal didn't push open the door and confront Hardaway and the team's management, but his mindset changed after that incident!
Shaquille O'Neal, who originally planned to spend his entire career in Orlando, the city of Disney, wants a change of scenery!
Find a place that truly respects him, treats him as a cornerstone, a trump card, and the number one core player!
This is why O'Neal was so happy every time Lin Tian praised him as the best center!
You Orlando may look down on me, but there are plenty of places that admire me and think I'm amazing!
As for the team's head coach Hill, he watched as O'Neal and Hardaway spoke less and less, and the two went from being very close to only communicating on the court, but he turned a blind eye to this and did not try to mediate at all.
He felt that the team had already won 60 games, so the remaining minor issues were not really problems at all!
As long as we win, we can cover everything up!
Hill thought this way and did this way, but he never thought about what he would do once the Magic started losing!
As someone who probably knows the most about the conflict between O'Neal and Hardaway in the world, Lin Tian knew that his provocative words before the game would definitely have an effect and would definitely cause some minor problems between O'Neal and Hardaway.
But he really didn't expect the effect to be so good!
During the warm-up, Lin Tian noticed that O'Neal and Hardaway didn't talk to each other at all, nor did they have any contact or interaction with each other!
The problems and grudges between these two people may have long since reached the point of irreconcilable conflict!
Two equally confident geniuses, both with sensitive and fragile personalities, and neither of them being the type to take the initiative to back down or clear up misunderstandings with the other, so of course the problems between them will only get bigger and bigger!
After the warm-up ended, the starting players from both sides took to the field!
For the Bulls, due to his previous good performance and matchup issues, Lin Tian became the team's starting point guard for the second consecutive game. Together with the Bulls' "Big Three" and Longley, this five-man combination, which has been considered by outsiders to be the Bulls' strongest and most reasonable, finally started together!
On the Magic's side, in addition to the twin stars Hardaway and O'Neal, there's also Grant, a key player in the Bulls' last three-peat, sharpshooter Nick Anderson, and Dennis Scott!
These five players are also the Magic's top five scorers in this season's playoffs! In fact, only these five players on the entire Magic team average more than 10 points per game! The sixth-highest scorer is Brooks Thompson, who only averages 5 points per game!
In addition to their high average points per game, these five players also have a very high average playing time!
All five players played for more than 37 minutes!
O'Neal and Hardaway played for more than 40 minutes!
It can be said that if the Bulls' roster and rotation show that they have a lot of available players and a deep bench, then the Magic are a team that relies on their starting five to win the game!
As long as they can withstand the Magic's starting five offensively, their bench is rather lackluster, with almost no reliable players!
The Magic's weak bench has always been a point of criticism.
And now, they are about to face their strongest enemy of the season!
With a whistle from the referee, the basketball was tossed into the air. O'Neal's terrifying physical attributes completely overwhelmed Longley, who was more ground-based, easily giving the team their first offensive opportunity!
"Watch out for Shaq! Luke, get back to the basket!" As soon as Lin Tian saw Hardaway get the ball, he immediately shouted instructions to remind his teammates to be careful when defending O'Neal.
Well, that's all nonsense. Langley isn't stupid; of course he wouldn't just stand in the center circle and stand there doing nothing!
Lin Tian was saying this to O'Neal and Hardaway!
He wants to make this series the last one for this duo!
They must be broken up!
Hardaway, facing Jordan who immediately and relentlessly guarded him, showcased his top-tier ball-handling talent. Against the former Defensive Player of the Year, Hardaway easily dribbled the ball up the court.
"Ball!" O'Neal suddenly flashed out and reached out for the ball outside the three-second zone, wanting to get a shot in the low post first.
But Hardaway ignored O'Neal, who had already gotten into position, and instead called for Grant's screen, drove straight to the mid-range, and forced a pull-up jumper!
"Whoosh!"
With a crisp sound, Hardaway scored the first two points for his team!
"It's okay, let him shoot! He can't kill us! No need for help defense, especially inside! Just let him shoot!" Lin Tian received a pass from his teammate at the baseline, calmly directing the attack while advancing forward. There's no need to rush in today's game!
The Bulls' first offensive possession was once again entrusted to Jordan, who was already holding back his frustration after two consecutive games of playing poorly due to the flu.
Not to mention that this time he was facing Hardaway, who had previously been very disrespectful to him and provoked him several times. How could Jordan possibly hold back? He was destined to go all out tonight!
So Jordan got into the game right from the start, aggressively and proactively demanding the ball in the low post. Facing Hardaway's defense, he pushed and shoved his way in to compress the space before suddenly turning around and making a shot!
"Whoosh!"
2: 2!
In the next offensive possession, Hardaway, who had been outmaneuvered by Jordan, was eager to get back at O'Neal. He once again ignored O'Neal's positioning, dribbled into the paint, and scored two points over Longley!
After making the shot, Lin Tian quickly reached the baseline, grabbed the basketball, and delivered another signature quarterback-style long pass. The basketball instantly turned into lightning and flew straight to Pippen's hands in the frontcourt!
Facing Scott, Pippen didn't hesitate at all. He dribbled the ball and drove hard towards the basket, easily pushing past Scott and scoring a layup!
"Kid, you dare call yourself Scott?" Pippen trash-talked Scott after scoring!
In the next few minutes, both sides engaged in a wonderful and exciting back-and-forth battle on the field!
Jordan repeatedly tried to take on Hardaway one-on-one, and Hardaway always responded on offense. With Scott hitting a three-pointer on the weak side, Lin Tian immediately received the ball and drove hard to the basket for a layup!
After about 5 minutes of play, the score was 14-16!
The Magic are currently trailing the Bulls by 2 points!
It's worth mentioning that Hardaway scored 7 of the 14 points, along with 2 assists! He was arguably the Magic's most important and best player in that half-quarter!
But Hardaway playing so well means that O'Neal had no impact whatsoever!
In the first 5 minutes of the game, O'Neal barely touched the ball, only took one shot, which he missed, scoring 0 points on 1 shot, and only grabbing two defensive rebounds!
Being completely ignored on offense is incredibly frustrating! And with his offense stalled, O'Neal started slacking off on defense too!
Especially after he failed to get the ball in the low post once again, Hardaway passed the ball to Anderson on the far side, but Anderson's three-pointer missed!
Once again ignored, O'Neal didn't even participate in the defense this time, but leisurely watched Lin Tian make a fast break layup! Then, O'Neal, who was still near midcourt, simply turned around and continued walking towards the frontcourt.
Then once again, although he was standing under the basket, he almost just watched Lin Tian rush into the paint and make a layup, without making any effective defensive moves!
In the blink of an eye, Lin Tian scored 4 points in a row, bringing the score difference between the two sides to 20:14.
The Bulls are starting to pull away!
The Magic's head coach reacted very quickly, immediately calling the first timeout of the game to give the team a break and allow them to regain their rhythm.
After all, this is against the Bulls, and any carelessness or relaxation could lead to a crushing defeat!
"Well done." Jackson, on the sidelines, high-fived each Bulls player who walked up to him. After everyone was seated on the bench, Jackson slowly said, "We did a great job warming up. A six-point lead is fantastic! Now, the warm-up is over! It's time to show some real skills!"
"Scott, get ready to double-team Hardaway! As soon as he enters the three-point line, rush over and double-team him!"
"Lin, use pick-and-rolls to attack O'Neal! Wear him down! I'm going to keep that Shaq completely out of form tonight!"
The Bulls are united and fighting hard, just waiting to teach the Magic a lesson. Meanwhile, the Magic have run into a little trouble!
"Shaq! You can't just stand there! You need to protect the rim, you need to dominate under the basket and take down every opponent who tries to drive in! You're the last line of defense under the basket, but what were you doing on the first two plays? Watching the show? Couldn't you have stretched out that damn arm and interfered with the Bulls' layups?"
Hardaway looked at O'Neal with obvious displeasure.
He was extremely annoyed by O'Neal's defensive approach that relied on eye contact.
O'Neal shrugged nonchalantly and said, "I've been watching the show on offense, so isn't it normal to be a spectator on defense too? Let's look at the stats. The great 'Penny' has already taken five shots! And me? I've only touched the basketball once!"
"When you're attacking, why don't you ever think about the fact that I'm actually watching the show?"
O'Neal's sudden outburst of questioning caught Hardaway off guard. In fact, O'Neal was right; Hardaway's refusal to pass the ball to O'Neal was somewhat intentional.
The Bulls' pre-game comments still affected him!
Shaq was unhappy, and Hardaway was unhappy too!
Two geniuses, neither willing to back down, neither believing themselves to be inferior to the other, inevitably lead to this kind of problem!
"Enough! Shaq! Anfernee, you two shut up!" Hill frowned, displeased. "This is a game! Are you two crazy? Talking about this during a game? Shaq, Anfernee is right, you really haven't been contributing enough on defense!"
"And you, Anfernee, you should utilize Shaq's dominance more on offense, give him the ball, and let him destroy the Bulls' interior defense!"
"You're both right, but you're both wrong! Understand? But none of that matters right now! Our goal is to win, to take down the Bulls! Not this pointless infighting. After this timeout, I want you both to change, to be more selfless!"
Hill truly lived up to his reputation as a master of impartiality in the league. He immediately offered a half-hearted and meaningless argument, and just by looking at the expressions of O'Neal and Hardaway, it was clear that neither of them took Hill's words to heart.
Their current thoughts are quite aligned.
"Unless that bastard changes his tactics first, I absolutely will not change!"
As the timeout ended, all ten players from both sides returned to the field!
"On the first possession, Hardaway will definitely pass the ball to O'Neal! Dennis!" Lin Tian walked onto the court, observing the Magic players' expressions as he gave instructions: "Dennis, be ready to double-team O'Neal at any time and steal the ball from him! Fouling him is acceptable if necessary!"
"Scott, Michael, whenever Hardaway passes the ball, be ready to fast break. The ball will definitely fly precisely into your hands, so just run!"
"When did this kid start giving us tactics?" Pippen couldn't help but ask, watching Lin Tian run off to find Longley after giving instructions to the three men. "Does he even remember he's a rookie?"
"If you were to score 60 points in a Game 7, you could command all of us, Scott," Jordan said, chewing gum and gesturing towards Pippen. "For now, we'll listen to him. After the game, we'll give him a good 'intensity' test! Command me to play? Do you think it's that easy?"
Hearing Jordan's words, Pippen grinned mischievously and said, "No problem! I've recently learned two new moves. After the game, I'll let Lin try them out!"
The Magic's offense still started with Hardaway dribbling the ball up the court, and then he saw O'Neal backing down Longley and reaching out for the ball!
After a slight hesitation, Hardaway immediately passed the ball to O'Neal, who had already secured his position in the paint!
But just as O'Neal got the ball and hadn't even had a chance to put it down, Rodman popped out from his blind spot and slapped the basketball!
Rodman quickly grabbed the basketball and immediately found Lin Tian. Lin Tian caught the basketball, glanced at it, and then threw it towards the frontcourt with one hand!
"Whoosh!"
"boom!"
The sound of a basketball cutting through the air!
Immediately following was the loud bang of Jordan slamming the ball into the rim with both arms!
The Bulls score 2 more points!
"Shaq! Watch out for the ball!" Hardaway was getting anxious, dribbling the ball while giving the order to O'Neal again.
"Can't any of you remind me? Are you all blind or mute?" O'Neal slapped his hand in frustration and looked at his teammates with displeasure.
Rodman's steal just now really can't be blamed on O'Neal. Someone suddenly popped out of his blind spot. Even if it were Olajuwon or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, he wouldn't have been able to see it!
Next, O'Neal once again firmly positioned himself in the low post to call for the ball. This time, Hardaway first observed the situation on the court and, after confirming that no one was double-teaming O'Neal, tried to pass the ball to him.
But the moment he raised the basketball, Jordan charged in! Just as Hardaway gathered the ball to pass it out, Jordan suddenly intensified his defense!
Even Hardaway was caught off guard by Jordan's sudden increase in defensive intensity. To make matters worse, he was no longer able to dribble. Just as Hardaway struggled to turn around to protect the basketball and wait for his teammates to come and receive it, the first person to come and receive it was Pippen!
Pippen darted in two steps to Hardaway's side, and together with Jordan, they surrounded Hardaway in the middle!
At that moment, the referee's whistle suddenly blew!
"Shaq O'Neal, three-second violation!"
"FUXX! Pass the ball! Or at least say so if you're not going to pass it!" O'Neal yelled in dissatisfaction. The team had just decided to make him the core of their offense, and they immediately committed two turnovers. Anyone would be extremely annoyed in this situation!
"Can't you see it yourself? I'm being double-teamed! Can't you see?" Hardaway helplessly spread his hands, his eyes filled with impatience as he looked at O'Neal.
How come I never noticed before that this fat guy is so annoying?
"If you had a truly excellent point guard instead of a so-called combo guard, you'd definitely play even better," Lin Tian's voice suddenly rang in O'Neal's ear. "But for us, this is a good thing! The most dominant center in history is completely useless; we're having such an easy time!"
After Lin Tian finished speaking, he didn't wait for O'Neal to react before quickly dribbling past him and driving all the way to the frontcourt. Then, Lin Tian slowed down again and used two screens to put Hardaway in his place.
"Kid, you think you can beat me?" Hardaway, still furious after being thoroughly outmaneuvered by Jordan and Pippen, immediately adopted a menacing stance when Lin Tian used a screen to try and take him down one-on-one. "Or do you think I'm some trash on par with Starks or Derek Harper?"
"I didn't mean that," Lin Tian grinned, revealing his sunny and innocent side. "You're amazing, Anfernee, really amazing, but you're not scary at all right now, we're not afraid of you at all! Do you know why?"
"Because you don't have a partner who's truly right for you! A big man who only goes one-on-one in the paint but doesn't screen for you or create space for your drives might sound impressive, but he'll only waste your talent!"
At this point, Lin Tian suddenly waved his hand, summoning Lang Li out from the inside. After Lang Li provided a solid screen for him, Lin Tian's speed exploded again. He flashed past Hardaway and rushed towards the basket!
Just as O'Neal moved to help defend Lin Tian, the basketball in Lin Tian's hand suddenly flew out again, heading straight for the top of the basket.
"boom!"
This time, Pippen seized the opportunity and cut to the basket for an alley-oop dunk!
After their spectacular play, Lin Tian and Pippen gave each other a high five in excitement. Then, Lin Tian quickly turned around and whispered as he passed Hardaway, "See? Although Longley isn't as good as O'Neal, he's willing to screen for me! I can use him to break through anytime!"
"And you? How many screens has Shaq set for you this season?"
How many times did you provide cover?
Haddaway said, "What the hell are you doing?!"
In my entire life, I've never enjoyed a screen from Shaquille O'Neal!
He never leaves the three-second zone and never screens for anyone on the team!
In Shaquille O'Neal's words: That's something only blue-collar workers do. I'm a super center, I would never do such a thing!
In the next Magic offense, Hardaway dribbled the ball up the court once again, and O'Neal once again dominated the paint, demanding the ball!
This time, Hadaway didn't hesitate any longer!
To hell with that great white shark!
I'm not passing the ball to you!
With that thought in mind, Hardaway suddenly exerted force with his feet and began a forced breakthrough against Jordan!
However, even though Jordan was over 30, his footwork, movement and physical strength were still at the top level in the league. Even though Hardaway was exceptionally talented and hailed as a genius of his generation, it was still incredibly difficult for him to easily break through Jordan's defense!
What's more, besides Jordan, the Bulls also had two All-Defensive First Team caliber players, Pippen and Rodman!
Just as Hardaway reached mid-range, another figure suddenly appeared beside him.
Pippen is back!
Hardaway's reaction was incredibly fast. The instant Pippen charged over, he saw Scott open on the baseline and immediately made a one-handed pass, throwing the ball towards the baseline.
But the basketball still failed to reach the designated position. It had only flown halfway when Lin Tian suddenly appeared from the side and intercepted it, grabbing the basketball and launching another counterattack!
The Magic players didn't have time to react. When Lin Tian rushed to the basket and completed the dunk, neither Anderson nor Scott had even run inside their own three-point line, let alone defend Lin Tian's layup.
They could only watch as Lin Tian made his layup.
At this point, Hill had no choice but to call another timeout.
In several consecutive possessions, the Bulls scored easily, and then the Magic made a series of mistakes. The gap of only 6 points just now has exceeded 10 points in the blink of an eye!
If this goes on for two more rounds, the match might be over!
The point difference should be close to 20 points in the first quarter!
On the Bulls' side, everyone seemed relaxed. The Magic, who had won 60 games in the regular season and were considered a strong team that swept through the Eastern Conference Finals, didn't seem that strong at all!
Especially the only two players on the team who can actually play, they actually had a conflict and started trash-talking each other right there on the court!
"The Magic's biggest weakness is that they have too few available players! Aside from their starting five, their bench strength is practically negligible!"
During the pause, Jackson sat on the bench, looking confident, and began his analysis.
"Secondly, although their two star players are both excellent, apart from these two, or rather, apart from Hardaway, the team does not have a second reliable ball-handler. Scott and Anderson are both shooters, and Brian Shaw, who came on as a substitute, is not worth mentioning."
"So, as long as we contain Hardaway and prevent him from orchestrating the team's offense, the Magic will be forced into a situation where Hardaway can only engage in endless isolation plays. However, when it comes to endless isolation plays? There isn't a single team in this league that can rival us!"
"So, we'll continue to target Hardaway, increase the intensity on him, prevent him from organizing the offense, and prevent him from passing the ball to his teammates, especially to O'Neal!"
"Secondly, Lin, you should rest and conserve your energy. When Hardaway goes to rest, that's when you'll go on stage and dominate, completely sealing the victory! Everyone, if everything goes smoothly, we can eliminate all suspense by halftime! We can clock out at halftime!"
"get off work!"
"get off work!"
"get off work!"
The Bulls players erupted in waves of excited shouts, and like Jackson, they could already smell the scent of victory in this game!
Jackson replaced Lin Tian with Ron Harper, a former star guard for the Cavaliers. Although he has now declined to an average of only 5 points per game, his defense and experience are still there. Replacing Lin Tian with Harper to disrupt the connection between Hardaway and O'Neal is definitely the best choice!
Lin Tian, who had been substituted off the field, comfortably lay back in his chair and watched the game at a leisurely pace!
The Bulls are missing Lin Tian right now, and although their signature fast breaks and quarterback-style passing are completely gone, with Jordan and Pippen on the team, the basic foundation of their offense remains intact!
They stopped playing fast and instead settled into positional play, taking it one ball at a time and playing steadily!
On offense, Jordan and Pippen took turns dribbling the ball, while on defense, the whole team focused on Hardaway. Longley started to front him, and Rodman roamed around trying to steal the ball. The Bulls used all their strength to completely cut off the connection between him and O'Neal!
Of course, the Bulls' defense was also a gamble; they focused almost all their defensive resources on those two players, leaving the Magic's role players exposed.
At this point, once Anderson or Scott finds their shooting touch, the Magic could launch a counterattack in no time!
but……
Clearly, none of the Magic players were in form tonight!
An open shot? Blown!
A layup attempt after a cut? It was contested and missed!
For the remainder of the first quarter, the Magic could only rely on Hardaway's sporadic shots and drives to slowly increase their score.
O'Neal only had 3 shot attempts in the entire first quarter, making only one shot for 2 points!
The Bulls' defensive strategy worked!
When the Bulls' strategy proved remarkably successful, tonight's score was naturally enough to send the United Center fans into a frenzy of cheers.
35: 20!
In the first quarter, the Bulls successfully built a 15-point lead by cutting off the connection between Hardaway and O'Neal, forcing Hardaway to take repeated isolation plays!
In the second quarter, Hardaway, who had been harassed by Jordan and Pippen for the entire quarter, had to go to the bench to rest. He was heavily targeted and his stamina was greatly depleted. Looking at him now, it was hard to believe that he had only played one quarter. He was panting heavily and his whole body was soaked in sweat. You could easily believe that he had just played the whole game!
With Hardaway off the court, the Magic will naturally have to make O'Neal their absolute core player!
On the Bulls' side, Lin Tian, Wennington, Kukoc, Kerr, and Pippen were all on the court together.
After seeing that the Magic were only fielding O'Neal, Lin Tian gathered his teammates together again and said, "From now on, we don't need to guard O'Neal so tightly! Let him score a few points, let him get a few points!"
"Why Lin? I could try to defend against him!" Wen Ningdun didn't understand what Lin Tian meant by saying that.
"What I mean is, letting O'Neal score as many points as he wants while Hardaway is out is absolutely beneficial for us! Not only are we already up by 15 points, giving us plenty of room to squander, but more importantly, what do you think O'Neal will think when he realizes Hardaway is off the court and he can start scoring repeatedly?"
"Does he feel like he's back in form and has transformed into the invincible Shaq again, or does he think Hardaway is deliberately throwing the ball at him and not passing it to him properly?"
"Of course I think Hardaway is playing him!"
The other four members of the Bulls all spoke in unison, expressing their opinions.
So the rest of the second quarter became O'Neal's showcase!
He received the ball inside, spun around, and drove to the basket for a thunderous dunk! He used his shoulder to push past Wennington for a one-handed poster dunk! Facing Wennington, he quickly spun again and followed up with a hook shot for another basket...
In less than 5 minutes, O'Neal, who only scored 3 points in the first quarter, went on a rampage. Apart from making only 1 of 4 free throws, which was really embarrassing, he made all 5 of 5 shots under the basket and scored 11 points!
In the second quarter, O'Neal truly began to resemble a terrifying Great White Shark!
However, with only O'Neal as a strong point on the court, the Magic, despite his unstoppable individual prowess, were unable to significantly narrow the point difference.
Although the Bulls deliberately left O'Neal open on defense and didn't specifically double-team him, on offense, whether it was Lin Tian's penetration and passing, fast breaks, or Pippen's high-post playmaking, the Bulls played very well!
Although no one played as brilliantly as O'Neal during this period, the Bulls managed to maintain their lead!
When Jordan and Hardaway returned to the court, the Bulls still had a 14-point lead!
In other words, O'Neal's explosive scoring only managed to bring the team back by 1 point!
Even if they only manage to close the gap by one point, that still means they've narrowed the score difference.
But when Hardaway returned to the court, the Bulls' defense changed again. They increased their defensive intensity once more, with relentless double-teaming, fronting, help defense, high-intensity physical contact, and constant harassment and targeting!
In this situation, Hardaway was once again targeted and suffered greatly by Jordan and Pippen. Forget about passing the ball to O'Neal, he could hardly even dribble properly, organize the offense, or observe the situation on the court!
The Bulls' aggressive defense is absolutely top-tier, among the best in the league today!
O'Neal certainly couldn't feel Hardaway's embarrassment and discomfort!
He didn't care who was targeting Hardaway; he didn't have time to think about that!
O'Neal knew that in the half-quarter when Hardaway was out, he scored 11 points, but in the few minutes after Hardaway returned, O'Neal couldn't get the ball again and only scored 2 points!
Hardaway! He definitely did it on purpose to not pass the ball to me!
Once this idea arises, whether it's personal conjecture or a fact, it only proves one thing—
The partnership between O'Neal and Hardaway has come to an end; the two have begun to distrust and resent each other.
In particular, when the Bulls entered the player tunnel to rest with a 24-point lead at the end of the first half, Lin Tian's words stirred up O'Neal's pent-up grievances and frustrations.
"Luckily, the Magic don't have a truly selfless and reliable point guard! Otherwise, we would have been utterly destroyed by Shaq! Aside from fouling tactics, I think the only people in the world who could stop Shaq are his teammates!"
Hearing Lin Tian's words, O'Neal almost burst into tears, wishing he could hug Lin Tian's face and kiss him!
Look at that! Now that's what a true football expert looks like!
This is someone who truly understands how to play basketball; this is someone who truly knows basketball!
Get the ball, don't shoot, pass it to the shark!
Just as Lin Tian finished speaking, he turned around and met O'Neal's gaze.
In an instant, the performing spirit within Lin Tian suddenly surged forth. In just two seconds, expressions of shock, regret, sorrow, melancholy, apology, and pity flashed across Lin Tian's face, finally ending with a relieved and relaxed smile!
Lin Tian felt that his performance in that instant was definitely good enough to win an Oscar for Best Actor!
There are no flaws whatsoever; it's simply a masterpiece!
With such a performance by them, the Magic's locker room during halftime must be incredibly lively!
Who knows... they might even smash his brains out?
"Anfernee, why can I easily get the ball when you're not here, but when you're on the court, why can't I even touch the ball?" In the locker room, O'Neal sat there angrily, looking at Hardaway, and asked the fundamental question.
"What do you mean?" Hardaway, never one to mince words, glared at O'Neal and said, "You mean, I deliberately didn't pass you the ball?"
"So you admit it, huh?" O'Neal snorted, sitting there with his arms crossed, staring intently at Hardaway.
"Do you want to try being double-teamed by Jordan and Pippen? Otherwise, you'll never know how hard it is to get the ball to you!" Hardaway roared. "If you want more balls, come out and set two screens for me, then cut to the basket! I guarantee I'll feed you!"
"But if you keep staying inside and don't come out, sorry, I can't pass you the ball! I'm being guarded too tightly!"
"Why should I set a screen for you? That's a job for blue-collar players! I'm Shaq! Shaq! Understand? Shaq never sets screens for anyone!" Shaq was even more blunt, stating directly that he would never leave the paint.
"You can stay in the three-second zone, you can live in the three-second zone for the rest of your life! That's certainly your right, but if you choose that path and you don't get the ball, don't blame me! I can pass the ball to whomever I want, that's my freedom too!"
Hardaway and O'Neal were locked in a fierce battle, neither willing to back down. As soon as Hardaway uttered his last words, the two of them stood up from the bench almost simultaneously, staring at each other as if ready to fight at any moment.
"Enough! What's wrong with you two? The game isn't even over and you're already fighting amongst yourselves? Should we call in the reporters and have them report on your conflict?"
The team's only veteran, Grant, a key player from the Bulls' first three-peat, finally stood up. He stepped between the two and continued, "Instead of wasting energy on infighting, why not think about how to break down the Bulls' defense? Their tactics are designed to divide us, to make us fight amongst ourselves!"
"I've played under Phil, I know him very well, I know how dirty his heart is, he'll definitely use a lot of psychological tactics! Otherwise, how do you think he got the title of 'Zen Master'? Don't fall for it, stay calm, that's how we have any hope of winning!"
After Grant's remarks, O'Neal and Hardaway managed to prevent the conflict from escalating further. Instead, they exchanged a snort and angrily returned to their seats.
Head coach Hill only appeared at this point, spreading his hands and saying, "Shaq, their tactics are indeed targeting you and Anfernee. I hope you can think about it carefully, think about the difficulties Anfernee is facing, and think about how many traps and obstacles the Bulls have set up between the two of you!"
"And you, Anfernee, you really need to find a way to get the ball to Shaq more often! His disruptive power and finishing ability on offense are exactly what we need! Only when Shaq gets going will we have any chance of turning the tide in the second half! Understand?"
"Understood." Hardaway and O'Neal both nodded, but everyone could see the perfunctory look in their eyes and gestures.
The conflict between these two is becoming increasingly difficult to resolve.
(End of this chapter)